The ice-free port has brought unusual prosperity and heat to Jiaozhou Bay. Although the wind direction is favorable to the south from October onwards this year, with the sailing technology at this time, it is still feasible to go against the wind, and even run faster against the wind.
Fully loaded ships from Huaiyang, Suzhou and Hangzhou are still sailing into the port.
The pier, despite the cold wind, was still full of people, including laborers loading and unloading goods, coachmen pulling carts and carrying goods, vendors selling goods and meals at the pier, etc.
The original fishing village has now become a bustling new town.
The city area enclosed by the newly built city wall has canals, castles, cultural temples and martial arts schools, as well as military camps and warehouses, residential areas, markets, etc.
The whole city is full of vitality, with construction sites still under construction everywhere. Many busy workers, who not long ago were hungry people fleeing for their lives, have now become workers working on a food-for-work basis, working here in exchange for money and food.
If it weren't for the gloomy winter here, people would even think they were in Jiangnan on the banks of the Qinhuai River.
The entire new city is neatly planned, with straight and flat streets interlaced like a chessboard, and canals running through the city for convenient transportation.
On both sides of the canal are bustling street shops, warehouses, warehouses, etc.
This brand-new port city now has a population of tens of thousands.
"The third child,"
"Shopkeeper, I'm here."
When Zhu Cian heard the shopkeeper's call, he quickly raised his head and answered.
"I brought you fried oysters. They're still hot. Hurry and get them while they're hot!"
The shopkeeper walked into the lobby of the Qingdao branch of the Hengxing from the outside wearing a cloak. Zhu Cian came forward to greet him, took the shopkeeper's cloak and swept the snow off his boots.
"Eat it while it's hot. I bought this from the auxiliary engine stall on the pier. Their fried oysters are the most authentic and taste great. The oysters are freshly bought from the fishermen at the pier every day, with eggs added.
and flour, some fresh vegetables and green peppers, and even some pepper,"
The Auxiliary Oyster Omelette that the shopkeeper is talking about is a stall on the Qingdao Pier, so it is called Auxiliary Oyster Omelette. The shopkeeper has to take care of the business every time he goes there, not only because it is delicious, but also because he is one of his own family.
Zhu Laosan met Queen Deng in Linqu, and things turned around for him. He entered the genealogy, and was given the name Ci'an by King Deng. He also received financial aid and gifts from King Deng, and even the court and the royal family gave him a piece of money to settle down and a subsidy.
The life suddenly became peaceful.
King Deng, who is now King of Nanyang, also arranged a job for him as a clerk in Hengxing Semicolon in Qingdao. He learned while doing it. Because he was literate and good at arithmetic, the salary was much better than that of an ordinary apprentice.
, there is no need to go through three years of unpaid time as a handyman apprentice.
Although he had to start from the lowest level as a clerk, he was at least a clerk. Not only did the company provide him with food, clothing and housing, but he also gave him one tael of silver every month.
The money is not much, but for Zhu Laosan, he is very satisfied with the salary. After all, he is still in the learning stage. When he performs well in the future, he will slowly rise.
After about two accounting periods, he will have the opportunity to obtain stock, which means he will have dividend rights. Even if the stock is very small at the beginning, it is still very promising.
At least you don't have to suffer from cold or hunger, right?
What's more, although he is not a clan member of the emperor's fifth service and cannot receive two taels of silver and six buckets of rice per month, at least his children under six years old can receive rations, which has relieved a lot of burdens.
"Eat quickly."
Zhu Laosan gratefully accepted the fried oysters from the shopkeeper. They were indeed still hot. When he took a bite, they were really fresh and tender. They tasted really good, and the most important thing was that they were not expensive.
A very generous portion of fried oysters. It only costs five cents in this winter. There are also eggs and vegetables. Although they only add a little, the oysters are enough, and there are a lot of them facing the lake.
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"The auxiliary engines should be sold more expensively, as they are too cheap."
"He insists on selling it at this price, saying that if it's cheaper, he can sell more, but if it's too expensive, everyone can't afford it."
The auxiliary machine who sells fried oysters is also named Zhu. He is also from the Ming Dynasty royal family. He is from the Qin vassal line. He is the nephew of Zhu Cunfu, the former king of Qin and now the king of Chang'an County. However, like Zhu Laosan, he was also a poor man in the past.
A low-level clan with no name, no wife in their thirties, and a bachelor.
Maybe it's because I'm a bachelor and I managed to survive in this troubled world.
After the new clan law was promulgated, he asked someone to give him a senior name, Zhu Fuji. Because he had worked as a fisherman on the beach for a period of time, he got the Anjia Bank and so on.
We set up a fried oyster stall.
Because he is willing to provide ingredients, tastes good, is cheap, and is easy to talk to, the business is booming.
"I was at the auxiliary machine today and saw a few more people in his stall. A woman with two girls, one boy and three children were helping him." The shopkeeper laughed and scolded, "This guy, it's a shame I paid him last time."
He said he was going to help him make arrangements to introduce a woman, but he said he was not in a hurry, but he ended up taking in a refugee widow in silence, along with three oil bottles."
Zhu Laosan also smiled.
"Then you should go and congratulate me when you have time. You finally have a family."
The shopkeeper nodded, as long as there is a woman, there is a family, that is true.
"That guy can't close his mouth now, it's cracked all the way to the back of his ears, and he can't stop laughing. I looked at the widow, she's only twenty-five or six, she's still young, her frame is good and strong, but she's a bit thinner.
Once you gain some weight, it will definitely be easier for you to have children."
The shopkeeper is also a member of the royal family. He is from the lineage of the Tang Dynasty. He is named Lin, the nephew of Zhu Yujian and the tenth generation grandson of Taizu. He is the same generation as today's emperor and two generations higher than the third generation.
Zhu Linkun was the lieutenant of Zhenguo before the Tang Dynasty, but now he is no longer a knight because he has served in the fifth service. But the shopkeeper doesn't care. Anyway, he can't get the salary before. The land and manors before the Tang Dynasty are nothing like them.
These people have nothing to do with each other, they are just as poor.
Now that I retain my royal status, I have no constraints.
This Hengxing Hao was a money shop opened by the emperor's internal funds and handed over to the clan. The money shop had many branches in Sanjing, Jiangsu and Zhejiang and other places. Excellent shopkeepers were hired to supervise the operation, and shopkeepers from all over the country
Apprentices are given priority to be children of the royal family.
Although the capital was provided by the emperor, the emperor did not want any profits.
The emperor also specially formulated a system for the Hengxing Hao. The Zongren Mansion was only responsible for supervision, auditing the books, and hiring a big shopkeeper. Then the specific operations were all handled by the big shopkeeper, including hiring two shopkeepers and three shopkeepers, and branch shopkeepers from various places.
, as well as recruiting apprentices, assistants, etc., these are all the responsibility of the big shopkeeper.
The entire operation is managed by the management led by the head shopkeeper.
As for the income, 60% of the income goes to the clan government on behalf of the family, and 40% goes to the shopkeeper. The clerks share the dividends with their own shares. The shopkeepers and others only have the right to dividends and no ownership rights in their shares.
The Zongren Mansion receives 60% dividends, but does not participate in daily operations.
The chief shopkeeper alone owns 10% of the shares, which means he owns 4% of the total dividends. The other shopkeepers and other shopkeepers all have their own differences and are given shares according to their positions.
A three-year apprenticeship only includes food and accommodation, but no salary or dividends.
However, after an apprentice becomes a clerk after three years, the first two accounting periods, that is, eight years, have no shares, only hard money, which is hard-earned money or salary. The hard money is different according to the length of time and contribution.
After two accounting periods and your performance is qualified, you will be able to obtain stock shares, from low to high. After you obtain stock shares, you will no longer receive wages. Even the big shopkeepers will receive dividends.
This special system is actually derived from the original east-partner partnership system in the Ming Dynasty, but it is more detailed.
There is an accounting period of four years, and dividends are distributed on a per-share basis.
The share allocated by the clan government is managed in a special account. This money is specially used to provide subsidies to the royal family, the clan's children, the elderly, the disabled, orphans and widows, and is not used for other purposes.
There is more than one company like Hengxinghao.
Some were funded by Zhu Yihai, some were designated by the imperial court, and some were even established by vassals like Zhu Yujian who donated money or established joint ventures. The models were mostly similar, using professional shopkeepers to operate, with silver shares and dividends, and the profits were exclusively used by the clan and the royal family.
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At the same time, it can also attract a large number of poor children of the royal family to find employment.
Zhu Laosan is now a first-level clerk, earning one tael of silver a month. But if he performs well in the future, he can get more every year. In the eighth year, he can even get seven or eight taels of silver. If he passes the exam and successfully gets the stock, it will be quite a lot.
For high-end business, its dividend income is also much higher than that of Xinjin.
If you reach the shopkeeper level and make a big contribution, it is also stipulated that even after death, you can still enjoy dividend income for one to eight years, and you can get dividends for two full accounting periods at most.
Not to mention that at the shopkeeper level, the usual remuneration and benefits are good.
"Let's have some fun together one day." The shopkeeper said with a smile, "The auxiliary machine said that business has been good recently, and he receives a lot of money every day, but he doesn't have time to save it. When you have time, go to the dock and help him get it."
Hengxing Hao is a money shop.
In the past, the money shop was mainly a rice shop and also engaged in the exchange of copper coins. Later, during the Wanli period, the money shop was officially established.
Make money and exchange it with the people to facilitate transactions.
In the past, currency was relatively confusing. There were all kinds of copper coins, ranging in quality from bad to bad. Gold and silver were weighed and used in different colors, so it was inconvenient for people to use money in daily life.
You have to exchange silver for copper coins, pay taxes with silver, and you may have to exchange copper coins for silver.
The money shop buys and makes money from the government and exchanges it for the people. One tael of silver is exchanged for 970 wen, and a discount fee of 30 wen is required. When the money is made and exchanged for silver, one tael of silver is exchanged for one thousand.
Zero and thirty cents.
Of course, money shops often also engage in lending business.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, various financial institutions were actually very complex. For example, pawnshops were the largest and were controlled by Hui merchants. They were also extremely profitable businesses and engaged in mortgage loan business.
There are also money shops, banks, silver houses, gold and silver shops, and even printing offices, etc. Some silver houses not only make gold and silver jewelry, but also exchange them, and some even specialize in melting and casting, which is equivalent to a silver furnace.
There are also those who do exchange and lending. Their business scope is very wide and chaotic, and their management is relatively chaotic.
And now the Shaotian Dynasty is in its third year.
Zhu Yihai also gradually advanced the rectification of the financial sector, starting with the minting of silver coins and the nationalization of copper coins, and later the issuance of exchange certificates, the establishment of household banks, etc., and now he has finally begun to abolish the two yuan reforms.
Starting from the first day of the first lunar month of the third year of Shaotian, all public and private payments, contract notes and all transactions must be made in silver dollars, and silver taels are no longer allowed.
Those who originally planned to pay in silver taels must be exchanged and paid according to the standard of one tael of 935-pattern silver equivalent to one dollar of dragon-pattern silver dollar.
There are dozens of names of folk copper coins, various private money and white money. Only Shaotian Tongbao and Shaotian Copper Yuan can be circulated and used. All other coins are not allowed to be circulated. They must be exchanged for new money at local bank branches and banks.
The standard of exchange shall be based on the standards set by the imperial court.
The long-gestating plan to abolish the two reforms and reform the Yuan Dynasty can be said to be a dimensionality-reducing blow by the imperial court to the entire financial world.
In particular, many detailed new financial regulations are coming, such as stipulating the business scope of various institutions such as pawnshops, banks, banks, etc., and even having to obtain a ministry subsidy (license) first.
The crackdown on private casting is also stronger and the penalties are more severe.
Just changing the tael to the yuan will cause countless shops that exchange gold, silver and copper coins to close down. In the past, silver taels were used in different qualities and needed to be appraised, exchanged, and even recast. The business volume here was huge and the profits were huge.
High, but now you can only use silver coins or copper coins cast by the imperial court, or exchange coupons.
The currency exchange business is also widely implicated.
But for the court, this is something that must be done.
This does not only mean regulating the market, nor does it only collect seigniorage, but has long-term significance.
As a money shop, Hengxing Hao was the first to understand the imperial court's will and adjust its business direction. Their main business now is to exchange silver taels, old money for new money, and exchange gold for the people on behalf of the imperial court.
It also does deposit taking, lending and exchange business.
They also issue money checks, which are actually similar to the checks issued by the Imperial Household Bank and the Royal Bank. They are all fixed-amount checks.
It turns out that some banks issued their own banknotes, that is, exchange coupons that can be exchanged with the banknotes. In fact, there are many over-issuances, which are equivalent to issuing banknotes by themselves. Now they have been completely banned by the imperial court. Even the imperial court itself is now
Strictly issue exchange coupons, and issue as many exchange coupons as there are in the warehouse, one by one, and never issue more to avoid accidents.
After all, Hengxing Bank has an official background, so they turned around quickly and opened branches in various places. The business was very prosperous, especially for some big banks such as Hubu Bank, which only opened branches in some first- and second-tier cities for a while, and they
But it can quickly sink into lower prefecture and county markets.
With legal ministry procedures, royal background, and formal operations, they now receive strong support, are developing rapidly, and have good performance.
For example, for deposits, the interest rate is even higher than that of the Hubu Bank, and the loan interest provided by the Hubu Bank is lower, and the deposit deposit is fully complied with the requirements of the court. In addition, the exchange of silver coins and copper coins is being promoted.
His enthusiasm and performance in this matter were praised by the Ministry of Accounts.
When major official media and newspapers praise them by name, it is a very weighty official endorsement, which makes their signature credibility even more resounding.
In the financial industry, the most important thing is credit.
"I have recently received a lot of old money of all kinds of silver. I have to arrange to hand it over to the account bank for exchange immediately. I'm going to go ahead. Remember to go to the pier when you have time to help the auxiliary machine exchange the money and then deposit it for him.
"
"I know, shopkeeper." Lao San quickly finished frying the oysters and nodded in agreement.
Normally the shopkeeper would take care of him, but with dozens of people in the branch, he had to make sure everyone was convinced and satisfied.
Today's life is very hard-won, and he cherishes it very much. Even if he is a friend, he will not neglect it in the slightest, and he will never always remember that he is a descendant of the royal family.
He didn't want to go back to his previous life as a disciple of the clan.