At noon, Guo Song rode a carriage to Xi'anmen Street, followed by more than a dozen guards on horseback.
Guo Song likes to understand the changes in Chang'an from many details. In fact, many things can be seen from the changes in the style of the streets and alleys.
For example, from the changes in fabrics, Guo Song found that since the second half of last year, more and more ordinary women were wearing silk and satin. This was not because people began to pay attention to luxury, but because the price of silk and satin had dropped, and even ordinary people could afford one or two.
Satin dress.
The decline in the price of silk and satin is closely related to Luoyang's economy. In the past few years, almost all the silk and satin from Jiangnan was shipped to Luoyang. The high price and large demand led to the expansion of sericulture and mulberry farming in every household in Jiangnan. Silk from Jiangnan basically could not reach Chang'an, but
Since the middle of last year, the demand for silk in Luoyang has plummeted, causing many silk merchants to have a serious backlog of goods. They began to sell to Chang'an, but people in Chang'an would not buy high-priced silk, causing the price of silk to fall again and again, falling by half.
, the people of Chang'an reluctantly accepted it.
The sales volume of silk in Luoyang fell sharply, mainly because middle-class families could no longer afford silk and satin, while large households and powerful people did not have such high demand. This also showed that middle-class families in Luoyang were beginning to go bankrupt, with long-term high tax burdens, low incomes, and deformed conditions.
Consumption finally became unbearable.
Another change is that more and more families in Chang'an have horses, and even those with better conditions can ride horses instead.
This is also the result of an oversupply of horses. The Jin State did not prohibit the export of horses. In the past, Wei, Yan, and Hebei would purchase a large number of horses. Now that the Three Kingdoms have perished, horse exports have dropped sharply, and prices have to be reduced, so that ordinary families can afford horses.
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The reason why Guo Song did not ban the export of horses is because horses are difficult to raise. A war horse needs at least 20 acres of land to grow grass to feed itself. Ten thousand war horses will occupy 200,000 acres of fertile land. This is a great impact on the national strength.
The Jin State had the Hexi Corridor, so there was no need to worry about fodder supply, but Zhu Si and Li Na, who were located in the Central Plains, had to trade fertile farmland for pasture.
In the past few years, Guo Song adopted the strategy of doing something and not doing anything to govern Chang'an and even the Jin State. He dredged rivers, banned various checkpoints and tax cards, reduced taxes, increased market platforms, and built a new Xi'an Gate.
The main street has changed the structure of Dongshi. These are all visible actions, but they will not interfere with the specific business operations of the merchants.
These policies have been implemented for three or four years, and the results are obvious. Business in various parts of the Jin Kingdom is prosperous, merchants are very active, and the merchant fleet is constantly increasing. There are fourteen trading houses specializing in transportation in Chang'an, with cargo ships ranging from 500 to 1,000 shi.
There are more than 2,000 ships, and this is a private fleet, and there are more than 3,000 official ships.
With Chang'an as the center, these fleets traveled to Lanzhou in the west, Fengzhou and Taiyuan in the north, Jiangnan in the east, and the Yangtze River Basin in the south, gradually restoring commerce that had been destroyed by war and blockade.
It can be seen from the merchants coming and going on the street that they are all walking in a hurry, even running at a trot, but their faces are full of energy. This is a sign of the prosperity of the market.
Not long after, Guo Song's carriage arrived at Xi'anmen Street. As soon as it turned into the street, a noisy and lively atmosphere hit the face. Xi'anmen Street was full of people, and the sounds of hawking and shouting came one after another.
The river was full of flower boats, and many dancers in costumes were getting off the boats, getting on oxcarts and leaving. It seemed that the flower boat show at noon had just ended.
Guo Song's carriage stopped in front of her eldest sister Guo Ping's shop. Guo Ping spent most of her time in the wine shop. She couldn't sit still. Although she invested in many industries, she had a soft spot for selling wine. Originally, Xi
The city liquor store was the main store, but now Changan people gradually regard the Meishou Liquor Store on Xi'anmen Street as the main store.
Moreover, Guo Ping inherited the first principle of Meishou Wine Shop. Meishou Wine was only sold in ten wine shops. Now there are only nine. At the end of last year, Guo Ping discovered that the Meishou Wine sold in Lanling Restaurant did not taste right. She
After three days of secret investigation, it was discovered that the owner of Lanling Restaurant was selling his own wine as Meishou wine.
Guo Ping immediately canceled the cooperative relationship with Lanling Restaurant and published an announcement in the newspaper for three consecutive days, causing Lanling Restaurant's business to plummet.
But this incident also made Meishou Wine make enemies. Several other well-known wine shops began to join forces to compete with Meishou Wine. Their prices were much lower. Although the taste and quality were not as good as Meishou Wine, they were more cost-effective.
, so that the mid-range Mei Shouchun wine was gradually squeezed out of the mid-range market.
When Guo Song walked into the shop, he saw his eldest sister Guo Ping criticizing shopkeeper Liu of the West Market Liquor Shop. Shopkeeper Liu sat aside with his head bowed, silently accepting the criticism from his boss.
"Sister, what's going on?" Guo Song asked with a smile.
"Yo! Little brother, you are back."
Guo Ping was suddenly surprised and happy. She didn't bother to criticize Shopkeeper Liu and said to him: "You must investigate the source carefully when you go back. Let me tell you, the other party is definitely not evil!"
"I know, I will give you the news as soon as possible."
Shopkeeper Liu bowed to Guo Song and hurried away on horseback.
Guo Ping hurriedly called her brothers to serve tea. Guo Song took the hot tea and asked with a smile: "Shopkeeper Liu Da has always been prudent in his work, but it is rare to be criticized. What's the reason?"
"Hey! This matter has nothing to do with Lao Liu himself. It's because his subordinates were negligent. Look at this."
Guo Ping handed an empty Meishou wine bottle to Guo Song. It was a celadon bottle. Guo Song took the bottle and looked at it carefully. It was very delicate and made exactly the same as the Meishou wine bottle. Guo Song could not see anything wrong with it.
, he looked at his eldest sister blankly, "What's the problem?"
"I know you can't tell. If Wen Yu were here, you would know it as soon as you carry it."
"You mean the weights are different?" Guo Song understood somewhat.
Guo Ping nodded, "This imitation bottle is two and a half times heavier than our bottle."
"There are still people imitating Meishou wine bottles now?" Guo Song asked with a frown.
The price of Meishou wine has always been very high, including the price of the bottle. The Meishou wine shop has always recycled each bottle at the same price, and has almost never encountered counterfeiting, mainly due to cost issues.
This kind of wine bottle itself is a celadon narrow-necked plum bottle. It is of very high quality. Even if you buy it alone in a porcelain store, it will cost you one or two yuan. Unless it is copied in large quantities, the cost of making hundreds of bottles alone will be more than two yuan.
Guan Qian.
It is impossible to imitate and sell fake wine in large quantities. Everyone in Chang'an knows that Meishou wine can be bought from specialized wine shops in Xishi and Xi'anmen Street, or go to the top ten restaurants and sell Meishou wine on street stalls. Everyone knows that it is fake.
,
Someone did this a few years ago, but it was a terrible loss. A bunch of imitation wine bottles fell on their hands.
Guo Ping sighed and said: "The workmanship of this kind of wine bottle is very exquisite, no less than ours. If we didn't make many, each bottle would cost at least two yuan, but the other party sold it to us at a recycling price of one yuan.
Why do we do this kind of loss-making business?”
"Why?"
"Because our wine bottle is exactly one kilogram full, but this kind of bottle can't hold one kilogram, and can only hold thirteen taels at most. If we don't pay attention and sell wine in this bottle, then are we short of a kilogram?
Short of two? When the news spreads, the Meishou Wine brand will be ruined. Brother, this opponent’s move is vicious!"
Only then did Guo Song realize that it turned out to be a sign of a fish-like trick, smashing eyebrows and longevity wine. This trick was really powerful, and he would be fooled if he didn't pay attention.
"Has it been bottled and sold?" Guo Song asked.
Guo Ping shook her head, "We have collected 300 of these bottles. They must be washed first and then left in the dark for three days before being filled with wine. Today, a clerk accidentally discovered that the weight was wrong."
Guo Ping took out two more cut wine bottle bottoms and placed them in front of Guo Song, "Brother, you will understand after you look at this."
Guo Song looked at the bottom of the bottle and understood immediately. The bottom of one bottle was very thin, while the bottom of the other was at least three times thicker. This technique was also used in later generations. A large pot of vegetables could be filled with two chopsticks and it would reach the bottom.
"Sister, do you know who did it?" Guo Song asked again.
"How could I not know that I am a group of people who hate Meishou wine to the core? In fact, I have given them the mid-range market. Meishou Chun wine has been discontinued. We are focusing on making Meishou wine and Meishou wine, but
These bastards still refuse to give up and want to destroy the Meishou Wine brand. I must make them look good this time."
Guo Song pondered for a moment and said: "Sister, please report this matter to the officials! The officials can convict you of counterfeiting Meishou wine."
"I plan to crush them all!" Guo Ping raised her eyebrows.
Guo Song shook his head, "Things are not that simple anymore. They have already adopted despicable means. If one plan fails, they will definitely try another one, which will make it hard for you to guard against. The best way is to ask the government to investigate. I will let the internal guards participate in the secret operation."
Investigate and punish severely."
Guo Ping was also a little worried. The other party's methods were despicable. If they drugged the wine, it would be impossible to prevent them.
"Okay! Sister, I will listen to you."
Guo Song immediately said: "In the afternoon, you go to the Chang'an County government office to report the case. Don't worry about other matters. I will make arrangements."