As the saying goes, money can make the world go round.
Ruyan has had a deep understanding of this recently.
When they arrived in Suzhou, Ruyan took charge of all the finances and became Xia Shang's personal butler. He also had to deal with the sales problem of Wuliangye. However, Xia Shang was a hands-off shopkeeper. When he ran out of money, he took it from Ruyan.
Such lavish spending. Ruyan was just a concubine, so she had to give Xia Shang money, so every time Xia Shang asked for money, Ruyan had to give it to her.
On the eve of New Year's Eve, Xia Shang and Ru Yan were alone to discuss their plans for the coming year and told Ru Yan that he was planning to build a large winery in Suzhou. Only then did Ru Yan tell Xia Shang about his current situation.
First of all, because it is not safe to go from Yangzhou to Suzhou, the Xia family's money in Yangzhou is completely separated from that in Suzhou. Even Qin Huairou only brought some scattered silver with him this time. So now in Suzhou, Xia Shang can be self-sufficient.
Wuliangye has not yet become famous in Suzhou. Although the price and sales volume of Wuliangye are not bad, compared with Suzhou, they are less than one-twentieth. But the consumption in Suzhou is four times that of Yangzhou.
At the moment, Hero Manor is still adding money to the village. This manor is too big. Xia Shang only renovated a place for himself to live in. There is still an area in the manor that has not been renovated, and he has to support not only servants, but also
There are a dozen old men who don't show much publicity. They are all from the Hero Manor. They were once famous figures in the world. Since Xia Shang occupied the manor without spending a penny, he naturally spent money to improve the life of the old man.
In Suzhou, the income was small and the expenses were high, and they were in the embarrassing position of living on their laurels for a long time. And Xia Shang was a person who could not lower his living standards, so Ru Yan secretly pawned some jewelry behind his back to survive.
The current land price in Suzhou City, even in a remote corner, is 20,000 taels per acre, which works out to 35 taels per square meter. And a winery the size of a winery outside Yulin County requires eight acres, that is,
160,000 taels, which does not include the construction costs of many infrastructures, workers, and raw materials. What's more, Xia Shang plans to build a larger one, and the estimated land price is about 250,000 taels.
This price is more than a thousand times compared to the price of building a winery in Yulin County. This is the difference between inside the city and outside the city. It is impossible to rent such a large piece of land, because even for a large house
, the land needs to be as large as two or three, and if one family is willing to rent it, it does not mean that the other family is willing to rent it. It is also a very complicated matter.
Moreover, the current wine market is not as good as before. Because of Xia and Shang's loose management of formulas, the wines on the market have generally become purer and stronger. The gap between them and Wuliangye is constantly narrowing.
Xia Shang's proposal was very good. He could directly build a new winery in Suzhou, which would solve the problem once and for all. However, Ruyan calculated an account for Xia Shang, and required at least 400,000 taels of silver to build and operate the winery. And Xia Shang
The money I have now is only thirty to forty thousand taels, which is more than ten times the difference.
Because of this matter, Ruyan was so worried that he broke his head.
I thought that after finally finding a new and good store, Wuliangye could increase its sales.
But if the problem in the goods supply chain cannot be solved, even if we have a good shop, we will not be able to do business without enough goods.
At midnight, it snowed again.
In the room, Huairou was already asleep, while Ruyan and Xia Shang were still thinking of ways in front of the light.
To be precise, Ruyan refused to let Xia Shang sleep. She told her husband all the difficulties he was currently facing, but the man in front of her still looked sleepy and unmotivated, as if he hadn't heard anything.
.
Such an attitude worries Ruyan, but also makes her happy. At least for now, it seems that her husband still trusts her very much.
Seeing her husband falling asleep again in front of the table, Ruyan quickly patted his hand: "Husband, cheer up. Once this year is over, the next year will come as soon as you say it will, so it's not early.
How can we make these preparations?"
Xia Shang yawned and forced his eyelids open: "Ah? Ah? What else should I prepare?"
"Hey! Not to mention money, it's hard to find land for a winery. It's dangerous outside the city, but land inside the city is precious. Even if you have money, you can't buy such a large piece of land if you want to. If you move, you will be affected by at least ten people.
There are several families, and there is a lot of trouble among them!"
"Aren't there still some abandoned manors?"
"Those are all in the hands of the imperial court. It is even more impossible to buy land from the imperial court. Which prefect would dare to sell such a large land at will? Regardless of whether it is fair or not, if it is spread, it will be said that he is lining his own pockets and not serving as an official.
You are so stupid."
"What if it's the imperial court's instruction?"
Ruyan was slightly startled: "This... this is naturally a different matter. But..."
"Okay, let's not talk about this for now. Since I have expressed my thoughts, there is a way to do it. As for the land, I have long been optimistic about it. It is right behind Suzhou Mansion, two streets away.
, isn’t there a ruined temple there?”
"There? Isn't that the place where the murder occurred not long ago?"
"I think it's a good place. It's close to the city gate, has good transportation access, and there are no homes. It's just abandoned and idle land."
"Those lands are all in the hands of the imperial court, and no one has lived in them for many years. And even if we inform the prefect, we don't have any money."
Xia Shang yawned again. Looking at Ruyan's serious look, he really had no choice but to say, "I didn't want to talk about this, but I'm not sure. It shows that you care so much, so I might as well tell you. If
I have a pretty good prediction. Either tomorrow or at the beginning of the year, someone will hand over that piece of land to me and give it to me for free. Do you believe it?"
"Ah?!" Ruyan opened her mouth in surprise. At first she just took it as a joke, but later she saw that her husband was calm as usual and he was not joking. For a while, she didn't know how to answer the question.
Ruyan was a little confused. She lived next door and was pushed out by Xia Shang.
There was really no other way, so he returned to the room reluctantly, probably to carefully understand Xia Shang's last words.
Xia Shang returned to the bed and was taking off his clothes when the woman on the bed suddenly spoke: "Mr. sir, is everything you said true?"
Xia Shang was startled: "Madam, are you awake?"
Qin Huairou closed her eyes and smiled: "I believe what my husband said is true."
"I'm not sure about this either. I hope everything goes well."
"What about Ruyan?"
"Ruyan? What?"
"Have you made any mistakes during the past six months when Ruyan was with your husband?"
Xia Shang thought for a while and smiled: "It's nothing. Ruyan is an extremely smart woman. She is now stepping on two boats. It is difficult to stabilize both sides. I don't reject this situation, but sometimes
I will sweat a lot for her. At least for now, she has lived up to my trust." (To be continued)