"Are there any ships?" On the lighthouse, the burning whale oil made a crackling sound. The old man moved the mirror and threw the light source into the sea.
At this time, he suddenly saw a ship slowly entering the harbor and was immediately startled.
You must know that the sea had already frozen two days ago. If the reputation of the harbor had not been taken into consideration, this lighthouse would have been deserted.
The old man limped and looked at the sailboat. Suddenly he slapped his forehead: "Damn it, this is the nephew of the county magistrate!"
It was precisely because it was not expensive for the county prince's nephew to go to sea that the lighthouse was delayed, for fear of missing the young man's schedule.
Who dares to object to this?
Soon, the ship broke through the broken ice and arrived at the dock.
"Ding ding ding!" The bell on the dock rang.
In an instant, a group of people gathered beside the trestle.
The flag was lowered and there was a wooden bridge.
When Gao An got off the boat, he was surrounded by his parents and relatives, crying, and the joy of reunion filled the world.
The Gao family was naturally not stingy with money, and a large amount of copper coins and coins were spilled out, causing everyone to scramble for them.
After returning home, Gao An took a breath and said, "Mom, Dad, I'm fine."
"Don't go to sea in the future, or my legs will be broken!"
Dad was furious and turned blue.
The old lady on the side didn't say anything, she just kept asking after her, obviously she didn't blame him for these words.
Gao An said excitedly: "Dad, I caught a whale, that kind of big fish, worth thousands of silver coins."
"You kid, do you want money at the expense of your life?" Dad scolded angrily.
"Dad, after this time, I will never go again." Gao An immediately compromised and said with a smile:
"Aren't we going to see other people's houses going up in flames, but ours is the only one going out?"
"No matter how strong the Gao family's foundation is, it won't work. We have to find a way out!"
After hearing this, Old Man Gao sighed and said nothing more.
In the past two years, there has been a whaling craze among the people, followed by a large number of supporting whale farms.
Whale oil can be used to make candles and oil; whale skin can be used as leather armor, clothing, or tents; whale baleen is an excellent bow-making material; whale meat is cheap, plentiful, and delicious, and is a hobby of middle-class families.
The whale farm is responsible for purchasing whole whales, then dividing the whales, and selling the skin, meat, oil, etc. to supporting merchants to obtain profits.
However, with the development of time, a large number of whaling teams were taken under the whaling farm and provided armed support, thereby monopolizing the whale trade.
Although the Gao family also has connections with the county magistrate, what whale farm doesn’t have a backstage?
In this competitive environment, there are hundreds of people raising whales at the Goblet's Whale Farm, and not one whale may be dismembered in two or three months, and both profits and reputation are affected.
The investment in the whale farm is huge, and it involves a lot of personal connections, including the county magistrate who has taken a stake in it, so he cannot give it up easily.
Old Man Gao said regretfully: "In this world, in addition to connections, doing business also depends on luck and ability. If I had known better, I would have spent money to buy land!"
Everyone knows that doing business is highly profitable, but the risks are also huge.
Most relationships can only rely on business ability if they leave the prefecture or county!
Therefore, the landowners and gentry were mostly accustomed to traditional local businesses such as cloth, salt, iron, wine, vinegar, pawnshops, and tooth shops, which had low risks and stable profits.
"Dad, since you broke into something, you have to fight for it."
Gao An smiled and said: "Let's buy more ships and recruit sailors this winter, and we'll be fine next year."
As he spoke, he clicked his tongue and said, "This is my last whale this year, and it coincides with the Chinese New Year, so the price must be high."
"I can have a good year."
In the afternoon, Gao An came to the whale farm, and a group of people started to knife the whale.
Since it was caught offshore, it was not dismantled directly, but brought back to the whale farm.
The whale is fixed to the starboard side of the whaling ship, and then a strong iron chain is lowered from the overhead to fix the tail fin.
Then, a scaffolding made of narrow wooden boards is lowered from above, just to the position of the whale carcass, and the butchers will stand on it to cut the whale carcass.
The tool used to cut whales is a huge shovel. The shovel head is made of steel-clad iron and is extremely sharp. Its handle can reach about two feet.
The market price of such a huge shovel, especially the steel-clad one, is no less than a hundred yuan, which is a necessary investment.
The first step in the cutting process is to cut off the whale's head.
Once the whale's head is cut off, it is chained to the stern of the ship, awaiting processing.
Then another butcher will take the shovel and start cutting the blubber.
There is thick blubber under the whale's skin. The butcher stood on the workbench and used a shovel to make a circular incision near the pectoral fin.
Then, ask the assistant to insert the large iron hook weighing 100 kilograms.
The iron hook is connected to the iron chain all the way to the platform. There is a pulley block above it, which is specially used to lift the cut whale blubber.
The delicate whale blubber is surprisingly beautiful in the sun, with a delicate luster. It weighs thousands of pounds and looks like snow on the iron hook.
But standing below, one looks extremely small.
It is very dangerous to hang this big iron hook. The sailor must first tie a safety rope around his waist, slowly climb from the boat to the whale carcass, then carefully walk over and pick up the big iron hook hanging from the ship.
Then he struggled to hook the whale carcass - once the soles of his feet slipped during this process, he might fall between the whale carcass and the hull of the boat and be squeezed to death.
If you are at sea, you will be bitten by sharks attracted by the fish meat and die.
The fallen debris fell into the sea, attracting a large number of fish, and huge fishing nets have been placed below.
Every half-quarter of an hour, everyone will lift the fishing net and place the fish into the warehouse.
In just half an hour, more than 10,000 catties of fish were caught.
Everyone doesn't take these sea fish seriously.
The old master explained at the side: "Master, the shark is the best. The skin is the best poncho. It is expensive to make shoes or armor. The shark fin is also expensive..."
Gao An nodded and sighed: "It's my first time here, and I didn't expect that just slaughtering fish can have such benefits!"
"Master, the benefits are huge!" the old master said casually: "When the whales are slaughtered, we have a shop where we can pickle the fish meat and make it into salted fish, which will sell for at least this amount."
As he spoke, he raised a finger.
Gao An just watched. As the slaughter progressed, a dozen people raised the fishing net on the pulley almost in the blink of an eye, and the fish came into the warehouse with a clatter.
A woman nearby took it to the scene and slaughtered it, throwing the internal organs directly into the sea to attract more fish.
At this time, the shark finally came, and everyone was excited.
Gao An noticed that the blubber would be pulled onto the stage piece by piece, and the entire whale's blubber would be slowly stripped off.
However, the huge pieces of blubber still need to be further processed. A group of men use sharp shovels to cut the blubber into small pieces the size of a fist.
Then use a sharp carving knife to continue cutting - small pieces of blubber will be cut into "pages".
Because one end is connected to the fish skin and cannot be cut off, the blubber is like a page in a book.
Because this can increase the area of whale blubber in contact with hot oil and better refine whale oil.
It can be said that most of whales' profits are in whale oil.
In addition, there are whale teeth, which are the raw materials of precious jewelry; whale tongues, which are expensive dishes; and whale baleen, which are the bow strings.
The most expensive of all are spermaceti oil and ambergris, which are more expensive than gold.
Spermaceti oil is a Chinese medicinal material and a lubricating oil for various watches and clocks. It is very rare.
"There is a lot of meat!" the old master said in a serious voice: "There is no shortage of meat around Fucheng, so we can only sell it cheaply."
"Cheap?" Gao An frowned: "I worked so hard to get it, how much cheaper does it have to be?"
"At least half."
The old master said solemnly: "In the world, pork costs about ten cents per pound, so it sells for five cents per pound."
"loss!"
Gao An sighed.
Walking on the street, I heard a lot of shouting.
With the passage of time, the market has become quite prosperous.
Although it is just a county town, it is densely populated and crowded. Although the cotton clothes are worn out, they are still warm.
Occasionally, you can meet poor people wearing ripped clothes and stuffed with reed hair, but they are not hungry or cold.
Beggars seem to have disappeared.
Of course he knew that this was what the county magistrate did.
Things like this that undermine political performance are basically packaged and sent overseas.
After walking around, he saw a shop where tin cans were placed one after another, eye-catchingly.
"What is this?"
"Canned food!" Seeing his unusual clothes, the clerk introduced him quickly: "This is from the army."
As he spoke, his voice lowered unconsciously: "These things were originally prepared by the imperial court in preparation for the Northern Expedition to establish slaves. Later, I thought they could be preserved for a long time, so I often made them..."
"Look, this is Arctic City's cod, whale meat, and all kinds of animal meat. It can be stored for three months to half a year!"
"It seems that your family is a big businessman. You need to prepare more dry food when traveling around. This canned food is very suitable!"
Gao An looked at these cans and was quite surprised.
It is wrapped in iron sheets, tightly packed and indistinguishable, and appears in a square shape.
There are three types: one catty, five catties, and ten catties. The types include fish, pork, and mutton.
If it can be stored for a long time, it will be extremely beneficial to navigation.
"how much for one?"
"One catty costs thirty cents, five catties costs one hundred and fifty cents, and ten catties costs three hundred cents."
The man continued to boast: "This is a life-saving thing at critical moments..."
After hearing this, Gao An bought two and took them home.
The iron sheet is very thin. If you cut it open with a knife, you will see that the meat inside is very firm, exudes oil, and smells delicious.
After taking a sip, he shook his head: "It's too salty."
I gave it to several servants and they all said it was delicious.
"It seems like this can has a lot of potential!"
With the development of the whaling industry, whales in offshore areas have disappeared, and a large number of whaling ships can travel far away.
At this time, long-lasting food like canned food is an inevitable choice.
The more Gao An thought about it, the more he felt that the canning farm was a good choice.
At that time, not only can you eat it yourself, but you can also sell it to other whalers to earn their money.
Immediately, he invested 3,000 silver coins, built a canning farm, and invited several master canners.
To his surprise, he originally thought that the iron can was very expensive, but who knew that the price of iron was only ten cents.
But you need to know that iron can be recycled, and the real cost is lower.
Whale meat on the beach is very cheap. Wouldn’t it be worth twice as much if it was canned?
Just do it if you want.
As soon as Gao'an made arrangements, canned goldfish of all sizes were immediately sold to the mainland of Shandong, and their presence was immediately everywhere in Jinan Prefecture, where the provincial capital is located.
One kilogram of canned food sells for thirty cents, and five kilograms of canned food sells for one hundred cents.
In an instant, many people started buying whale meat in large quantities under the guise of trying whale meat.
Especially in Jinan Prefecture, during the twelfth lunar month, more than 20,000 pieces of five kilograms were sold, making a profit of more than 1,000 yuan.
This immediately caused many small and large businessmen in Dengzhou Prefecture to follow suit, and in just half a month, there were seven or eight canning farms.
Some were sold to the south, while others were sold to Henan, Hebei, etc. in the mainland. The reputation of canned whales spread.
Dengzhou Prefecture became famous for its canned whales.
It has more than a dozen large and small factories, employing thousands of idle men as permanent workers, constantly digesting whale meat, and also adding other fish meat.
Even because the market is so big, other fish have to be used as fake whale meat to make a lot of money.
So much so that the name of Dengzhou Whale Canned Food is becoming more and more famous in Beijing.
Deep in the palace, Zhu Yixi heard a little bit.
Chu Yuze, the commander of the Jin Yiwei, had a serious face: "Your Majesty, the canned food was originally the secret of the imperial court, but now it has been spread out wantonly. This is dangerous..."
"I am willing to——"
"No need." Zhu Yixi showed no disgust on his face, but showed a smile of relief: "This is not a confidential matter. As long as the principle is understood, anyone can understand."
"Besides, canned goods benefit the country and the people. When there is a war in the future, the imperial court will purchase them directly, eliminating the need to build a place and hire migrant workers."
“It’s beyond my expectation that the private sector can develop!”
Chu Yu's expression remained unchanged, but she felt helpless in her heart.
This is a good opportunity. If you catch those businessmen, you can earn at least tens of thousands in extra money. It's a pity.
"What kind of regulations are there for Brunei?"
Chu Yu left unwillingly. At this time, the first assistant Du Yinxi came to see him.
This conversation is about the key location of Hunan - Brunei.
Du Yinxi is quite familiar with the situation in Brunei: "Brunei has no less than one million citizens, and there are about 100,000 overseas people. They are all people who have fled overseas to survive from the end of the Yuan Dynasty to the present."
"It is extremely beneficial to the country of Hunan. With its help, Brunei can be at peace soon, and it is no less than the country of Qin."
"What about Mr. Huang?" Zhu Yixi nodded and asked a tangled question.
The Huang family has a great influence in Brunei, especially the Han community. His stay in Brunei naturally hinders the development of royal power.
At the same time, Huang is also an important arm in stabilizing his domestic situation, and his stay in Brunei is of great significance.
Zhu Yixi was quite confused.
Du Yinxi said directly: "I think the Huang family is better off in Brunei."
"No matter how high the reputation of the Huang family is, it cannot be compared to His Majesty's own son, His Royal Highness the King of Xiang, plus the Qi State on the side, and his own navy. He will not dare to be presumptuous.
Zhu Yixi nodded slowly. This explanation was reasonable, but in fact the court considered it based on the lowest cost.
The establishment of Hunan at the lowest cost is naturally its pursuit.
I was forced to drive 300 miles to pick up someone in the middle of the night. I was so tired that I didn’t update until dawn. I’m sorry, brothers...