Although Liyang County is only one of hundreds of local counties under the jurisdiction of Jinshan Prefecture, it is not less prosperous than it should be.
According to the standards of later generations, the population and size of Liyang County was no less than that of a city. For comparison, before the refugees poured into Jiuquan Town, the population of Jiuquan Town exceeded 100,000. You can imagine how many people there were in Liyang County.
With more people, it will naturally become more prosperous. Compared with other counties in the south of the Yangtze River, Liyang County may be nothing.
But for Wang Xu, the scale of Liyang County is enough for him to make the first move.
"Liao Ji Pawn Shop!"
After entering Liyang County and walking on the busy streets, Wang Xu found a pawn shop.
The name of the pawn shop is Liao Ji Pawn Shop, which seems to have some relationship with the Liao family in the county.
The Liao family is not a wealthy family, they just have people working as swordsmen and pen officials in the county.
Such a low-class swordsman and penman opened a pawn shop with three entrances and three exits on the bustling South Street of Liyang County. Sure enough, he worked thousands of miles to become an official just for money. It is not as simple as he said.
"Master, is this okay?"
The man stopped the carriage on the side of the road and asked Wang Xu in a low voice.
Wang Xu nodded slightly. Those who opened pawnshops were all knowledgeable and had contacts with merchants from all over the world. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to do this.
Wang Xu was not sure of the actual value of the glass beads. If Liao Ji was willing to buy them for 500 taels, it meant that they could be sold for 800 taels.
Wang Xu is a manufacturer. He doesn't have the time or energy to open stores all over the world to promote his products. The sales aspect can only be left to the sellers.
Another point is that the Wang family's wealth is too low, and it is easy to choke to death if you eat alone.
Only by forming your own interest groups from the top down can you turn a small wooden boat into a giant ship that rides the wind and waves, fearless of any wind and waves.
Why is the pearl industry in Jiangnan always controlled by big families, and even the imperial court cannot touch the interests here.
It’s not because these businessmen work together and everyone has a backer, so the backers together become a hedgehog that no one dares to touch.
If pearls are like this, why not glass beads?
As long as he expands the market and brings big families from all over the country into the water, I don't believe there will be anyone to protect him.
At that time, even the imperial court will have to hold its nose and admit it. Whoever says it is expensive will definitely have someone tell you why it is expensive, just like the diamond marketing in later generations.
"Dead or alive?"
"It works."
"Fifty taels of silver."
"Shopkeeper, this is a fine bearskin coat. Look at the color of the coat and the leather. It cost 600 taels when I bought it. Why should you give me 100 taels?"
"You have a pretty good idea. This is a pawn shop, not a charity shop. Even if you die as a pawn, I will give you at most eighty taels. If not, you can go to the next shop."
When Wang Xu entered, there was a man with a knife arguing with the shopkeeper about something.
Judging from the appearance, this person should be a ranger from the Northland, or a wealthy traveler who has been to the Northland.
The man may have been happy once, but now he is in despair, just like Qin Qiong who sold his horse, even his clothes must be sold.
This is no exaggeration. With the rise of Confucianism in the world, both Buddhism and Taoism will have to step aside, leaving those who are hungry and those who are full, let alone those in the world.
For ordinary warriors, only when they have reached a certain rank, that is, can they become a bodyguard, be assigned as a guardian, gain the appreciation of nobles, or have made military exploits in the north, then they can make a living as a catcher or head catcher in the county.
More and more people either became soldiers guarding the city or became hunters in the countryside. Wang Xu saw many of these people.
"Sixty taels, the long one can be three months, the short one can be half a month. I will definitely come and redeem it."
"Fifty taels, if you don't think so, go to the next one. I guarantee you will come back."
The shopkeeper was uninterested, and he didn't look like he was doing business, but rather like giving alms.
The man with the knife had a red face and a thick neck. After hesitating for a long time, he still took the bearskin coat and left.
"Go slowly, this is Liao Ji on South Street. You can find me when you come back." Before leaving, the shopkeeper's eyes were smiling, and that look made it clear that you would definitely come back.
Feeling the surprise in Wang Xu's eyes, the boy who followed him whispered: "There are dozens of pawnshops in the county, and the rules have always been the same. When returning the leather jacket, the shopkeeper will secretly use his fingernails on the inside of the sleeves.
Make a mark. The man took the thing away and went to another pawn shop. The people there looked at the cuffs and knew what was going on. The price they gave would not exceed forty-five taels.
If a man behaves inappropriately again and leaves again, he will give you forty taels if you look at the next shop again. Unless you are really capable of being inappropriate, the more shops you go to, the less valuable your things will be. If there are more than six marks on the cuffs, people will just give you 40 taels.
No more collection.
Therefore, every one of these pawnshops in the county is not making money. The locals are better. Your accent sounds like you are from another place, and they will kill you alive."
The man who followed Wang Xu into the city was Zhou Sheng, the second housekeeper of the Wang family. When Liu Quan was away, he would be in charge of running the house.
Zhou Sheng was originally the shopkeeper of a restaurant in the county, but he came back after having an affair with his boss. In addition to joining the Wang family relatively late, his ability was even higher than that of Liu Quan.
"It turns out that there are so many things in this small pawn shop!"
Wang Xu listened quietly and interestingly. Isn't this just like the car repair shop down there in the 1990s?
At that time, cars were not yet popular, and there were only seven or eight repair shops in one county.
If someone's car breaks down, go to the repair shop, ask about the price, and leave if you find it too expensive.
Come on, then, in less than five minutes, all the repair shops in the county will know the condition of your car.
If you go to another place, either you can't repair it, or it's more expensive than that. If you have the ability, don't repair it, or go somewhere else.
Otherwise, you will have to suffer the consequences of being dumb.
Later, there were more and more cars, and there were more and more repair shops. As the experienced drivers became ill and became ill for a long time, they knew how to do it themselves, so the prices were more reasonable.
"Boy, are you pawning or pawning back?"
After the man with the knife left, Wang Xu and Zhou Sheng passed by.
Seeing that a pair of master and servant were coming, and Wang Xu was wearing either expensive or rich clothes, the shopkeeper finally cheered up, knowing that a big deal was coming to his door.
Wang Xu didn't say anything and nodded to Zhou Sheng.
Zhou Sheng took a step forward, took out a palm-sized box, and pushed it towards the shopkeeper: "We are from the Wang family in Jiuquan Town. Shopkeeper, please help the shopkeeper."
"Wang family!"
The shopkeeper's heart moved, and he asked: "But the Wang family is responsible for the disaster relief?"
Zhou Sheng nodded in response, then turned sideways to Wang Xu and said, "This is my young master."
"Hey, distinguished guest, a distinguished guest is here!"
The Wang family is now the new rich in Liyang County, so the shopkeeper has naturally heard of it, and even knows that the newly appointed Song County Magistrate has an unusual attitude towards the Wang family.
Although he still didn't know why the young master of the Wang family came to the pawn shop, he, the shopkeeper, could not offend people of this class, so he quickly asked the clerk to move the chairs and the apprentice to make tea.
"No need to be busy, there is something here, please let the shopkeeper take a look."
At Wang Xu's signal, Zhou Sheng pushed the box containing the glass beads in front of the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper looked at the box and saw that it was made of fine golden wood. Not to mention the contents inside, the box alone could not be put in without a hundred taels.
Just by glancing at it, the shopkeeper knew that the contents inside were unusual. He didn't even take it directly with his hands. Instead, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wrapped it in the box, and then opened the box carefully.
"hiss!"
Seeing what was inside, the shopkeeper took a breath: "Is this?"
Wang Xu said: "The crystal bracelet is made of twelve colorless and flawless natural crystal beads. Shopkeeper, please help me estimate the price."
The shopkeeper swallowed his mouth and saw that the twelve crystal beads in the box were all crystal clear and the same size. The twelve crystal beads were strung together into a bracelet. When the sun shone, it seemed like there was nothing, and it shone directly through the crystal beads.
It’s not that the shopkeeper has never seen treasures or gems before, it’s just that he’s never seen such pure ones.
Appraisal, how to estimate it? After looking at the crystal bracelet again and again, the shopkeeper still found it difficult to speak.
"Shopkeeper, if we sell this thing to you, how much are you willing to pay?" Seeing the shopkeeper's long silence, Wang Xu knew that in ancient times when there was no glass, the value of glass beads was really inestimable, because it had no
standard.
For example, the white man who first brought glass beads to North America used a box of glass beads in exchange for three boxes of gems belonging to an Indian chief.
Wang Xu didn't expect to exchange one box of glass beads for three boxes of gems, but these things couldn't be cheaper than pearls.
"Ten thousand taels!"
The shopkeeper looked at Wang Xu cautiously. This price was by no means the limit he could bear.
Wang Xu smiled. If there was only a string of glass beads, he would dare to say one hundred thousand taels, let alone ten thousand taels.
However, in his plan, at least 10,000 glass beads like this would be released a month. If there are too many, the value will naturally drop a bit.
"This crystal bracelet has twelve crystal beads. I want five hundred taels for one crystal bead, and six thousand taels for one crystal bead. I wonder if the shopkeeper thinks this business can be done?" Wang Xu said while holding tea.
, while taking a sip.
"Business?"
The shopkeeper glanced at the crystal bracelet in the box and said softly: "Is it still in stock?"
Wang Xu nodded lightly and said nothing else.
The shopkeeper stroked the box, looked at the beautiful crystal beads in the sun, and nodded heavily: "We can do it, we can definitely do it!"