1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1187 Market Conditions
While enjoying the delicious food, Pan Yan listened to the group of Zhejiang merchants chatting about their business.Because of the difference in accent, he can actually only understand five or six points of the content, and he has to rely on half-guessing to understand the rest.After listening to the discussions of these merchants, he also realized that the big drama planned by Haihan was not a fuss, but actually affected the choices of these merchants.Even if these small businessmen are so enthusiastic, those big businessmen with resources in their hands and powerful backers will only get the news earlier and more comprehensively than these people. I am afraid that they have already secretly planned how to get a share of it.

Pan Yan paid the bill after eating, and walked out of the restaurant feeling his plump belly.Although the food in the Haihan army is not bad, but the oil and water are definitely not as good as the dishes in the restaurant. This meal is also satisfying, and he has fulfilled his little wish of tasting authentic Jiangnan delicacies.

It was still early, and Pan Yan decided to walk around the city. After listening to the discussion of the merchants at this table, he wanted to see what Haihan products were for sale in the shops in the city.Before this operation, he had seen the main products Haihan exported to Daming on Zhoushan Island, and he still had some impressions.

Soon Pan Yan found various products made in Haihan in the shops along the street. The most frequently appeared were all kinds of glass products, among which the most popular ones were large and small glass mirrors.Compared with the shortage of supply a few years ago, Haihan’s supply can now be delivered to Zhoushan Dinghai Port outside Hangzhou Bay, and the price of glass mirrors has therefore dropped to a level acceptable to ordinary people—of course, this is only The price of small-sized glass mirrors and the price of larger glass mirrors are still high.Most people buy cosmetic mirrors that are relatively small in size and relatively cheap in price, and only those high-ranking officials and nobles who are not short of money have the financial resources to spend hundreds of taels of silver on a half-length glass mirror.

In addition, transparent flat glass is also a popular building material for rich people. It is already a favorite of rich people in Hangzhou to replace the window paper and bright tiles in the study room with more transparent glass to increase the lighting in the house. A new fad.Pan Yan had visited the glass workshop that had already started trial operation on Zhoushan Island, and he admired Haihan's strange manufacturing technology. After the local glass workshop was put into operation, he would be able to supply a large number of products to the nearby Zhejiang market. up.At that time, the price of glass products will further drop, which means that more people will become users of Haihan products.

However, Pan Yan has no plans to buy real estate in Zhejiang for a long-term stay. He knows that he will return to Liaodong after his training and work in Dongjiang Town, so these glass products are just a rare sight for him, and there is not much consumption. desire.

Pan Yan came out of the shop selling glass mirrors, and saw a bookstore next door. He had seen books printed by Haihan himself on Zhoushan Island, such as "Army Training Outline", "Navigation Skills", etc., and it is said that they will also print Some classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics were exported to Daming, so they decided to go into the store to see if there were any books produced by Haihan for sale.

Many bookstores in this era are shops in the front and factories in the back, that is, drafting, finalizing, engraving, plate making, printing, and sales are all completed in the store.However, the production cost of engraving books is not much different in terms of engraving work and paper materials, etc. The profit mainly depends on the number of printed books. The more printed books, the lower the cost, but it may not be able to sell out quickly after printing more books. Cost recovery.There are also a small number of powerful booksellers who will make copper movable type or wooden movable type to print books, reducing the labor cost and time required for plate making, but the number of booksellers of this level is very small, and there may be only two or three in a province.

In addition to selling these relatively low-cost books in their own stores, they will also be sold wholesale to other small booksellers. Haihan, who is already very proficient in movable type printing, seems to be engaged in this business. It is said that there are currently books in Zhejiang. It has occupied a large share in the market.

After Pan Yan entered the store, a waiter came over to greet him immediately.Pan Yan didn't want to waste time asking around, but asked directly: "Do you have books printed by Haihan in your store?"

The guy didn't show the slightest surprise at this, and immediately responded: "This master is asking the right place. Our store just arrived this morning with a new batch of books from Haihan. The printing is exquisite and the price is fair. Master's side Please!"

Following his guidance, Pan Yan came to a row of bookshelves. Seeing that the books on them were all the most common collections of classics and history in the market, he took out a book and looked through it. It was indeed on familiar paper and fonts.Compared with similar books on the market, the paper is whiter and smoother, and the handwriting is clearer, which fully reflects Haihan's leadership in papermaking and printing technology.

The bookstore clerk explained that the prices of these Haihan books are [-]% lower than similar books on the market, which can be regarded as high quality and low price, and are very popular among readers.

Pan Yan asked curiously: "Did the Haihan people bring samples to sell to you at the beginning?"

The clerk shook his head and said, "How can Haihan people do such a time-consuming and labor-intensive thing? Many scholars come to the door to ask if there are Haihan books for sale. .”

Pan Yan said: "Why do these scholars behave like this?"

The clerk explained: "The colorful glass stationery sold by Haihan is very popular among local scholars. When they sell stationery, they often use the method of donating books to promote sales. The scholar got a copy of the Four Books and Five Classics and found that the book was beautifully printed. Naturally, I want to get a set together. The Haihan people don’t sell them directly, they just tell them to go to the bookstore in the city to buy them.”

Pan Yan suddenly realized that he was even more impressed by the business methods of the Haihan people, who could come up with such a way to promote their new products.They only need to find one or two bookstores in advance, and when their colleagues realize the market conditions, they will naturally follow suit and start selling Haihan's printed materials on the shelves.

The guy continued to sell Pan Yan endlessly, suggesting that he buy a set in exchange for glass stationery gifts.That's right, there are also counter-promotion measures in bookstores. No matter whether readers plan to buy books or the Four Treasures of the Study, they will definitely come into contact with other Haihan products.

Although Pan Yan was not a scholar, he didn't stand up to the guy's eloquent salesman in the end, and bought a copy of "Cao Zi Jian Ji" and a "Xiao Zi Lu", but he didn't want to take two books to the brothel. So I asked the guy if he could store the book in the store first.

The clerk is very good at being a man, so he responded immediately: "If the master is inconvenient to carry, it is natural to put it in the store first. If you find it troublesome, you can also give some rewards. The younger ones will find someone to send to the master's mansion later. The trouble of going back and forth to pick up the book."

As soon as Pan Yan thought that this was a solution, he took out a few more copper coins, told the address of Fengsheng Rice Shop, and asked the clerk to find someone to deliver it there.Pan Yan hadn't gone far from the store when a half-grown child ran past him, holding two books that had been packed just now. It seemed that these books would definitely arrive home before him.

Looking at the bustling crowds of people on the street, Pan Yan suddenly had the idea of ​​stopping here. The people here seemed to be living a carefree and peaceful life. Life of luxury.If you can stay here and be a commoner, it seems like a good choice.

However, such emotions did not bother Pan Yan for too long. He was still very clear about his current situation. The biggest reason why he was able to come to Hangzhou was because Hai Han liked his ability and was willing to give him some extra treatment.After completing the winter training, he had to return to the north to continue to work for Dongjiang Town, and at the same time take on the responsibility of communication and coordinated actions between Dongjiang Town and Haihan.His destination in the next few years will definitely be the battlefield in Liaodong, not the comfortable life in the Jiangnan water town. If he is lucky enough, he may become a general in a few years, and he will also have the opportunity to enjoy the glory and wealth of.

Pan Yan wandered around the city for half an afternoon. Seeing that the sun was setting towards the west, he slowly headed towards his intended destination.The place Lin Si introduced to him was called "Bi Chun Yuan", which was considered a relatively high-end brothel in Hangzhou.

This Bichun Garden does not look like a traditional brothel. From the outside, it looks like a very quiet private house. There are two soft sedan chairs parked at the gate. It seems that there are people who came earlier than Pan Yan.When Pan Yan walked to the door, a young man in Tsing Yi came over to greet him, and after asking about his purpose, he led him in.

After entering the courtyard, Pan Yan saw the small bridge in the atrium, flowing water, green trees and red walls, and the garden scenery is quite eye-catching, which fits the name of Bichun Garden.It's just that it's deep winter now, so there are more dead leaves on the trees, and almost all the flowers and plants are in a dormant state, looking a little depressed.

The boy in green took Pan Yan to the flower hall to sit down, and immediately someone poured hot tea and brought it up. Pan Yan was a little thirsty after wandering around for a long time, and just took a sip from the teacup when a woman in a purple padded robe came from the back hall. Come out to greet him: "This old man looks at the face, is it the first time to come to Bichun Garden, I don't know how to call him?"

Pan Yan saw that this woman was also a little purple, but she was already in her late teenage years, so she guessed that she should be some kind of bustard here, so she cupped her hands and said, "My surname is Pan, and she is a grain merchant from the north. My friends said this place is good, so I came here to see it.”

"Master Pan has come to the right place!" Immediately following Pan Yan's words, the bustard began to brag about the advantages of this brothel: "The girls in this courtyard are all from Jiangnan, they are all sexy, and they are all very young. ...Many dignitaries and dignitaries in this city will come here to patronize from time to time, if Master Pan comes here often, he will definitely be able to meet many people."

This old bustard can be regarded as somewhat knowledgeable, knowing that many customers who spend money to play here are not just for whoring, but as a place for entertainment and socializing, especially people in shopping malls and officialdom. They will use this to win over their social relations.Since Pan Yan claims to be a foreign merchant, the bustard naturally wants to promote the benefits of this place in a targeted manner.

Pan Yan smiled and said: "You can let the dignitaries go for a while, and you can introduce a few lovely girls first, so don't delay the master's time!"

Not long after, the bustard brought a group of gorgeous young girls, and Pan Yan picked out the one that was pleasing to the eye, so the bustard dismissed the others, and asked the girl named Xiuzhu to take Pan Yan to the room for "communication alone".Seeing that it was almost time for dinner, Pan Yan ordered a few more dishes and asked the servant to deliver them to the room.

Pan Yan hadn't touched the opposite sex for a long time, so he couldn't hold back in the room, so he pressed Xiuzhu on the bed first to vent.After resting for a while, Pan Yan felt a little hungry, so he got up to eat.The little girl was exhausted by his tossing, and she was still sleeping deeply on the bed.There were lamps and candles on the table, but Pan Yan couldn't find something to light the fire for a while, and he didn't bother to get dressed and went out to call people, so he simply sat at the table and ate alone under the light cast by the roof tiles.

Pan Yanzheng was eating happily, when he suddenly heard someone talking in a low voice outside the window, he had a keen sense of hearing, and vaguely heard words such as "Haihan" and "Big Fire", and immediately became alert, put down his chopsticks, and tiptoed to the By the window, listen to the sound outside the window.

Then a man's voice asked: "Just now you said that the matter of Tongsheng Wharf might be a trick of Haihan. Is this matter really reliable? You know that this matter is very involved. If you speak falsely, you may be in danger of your life!"

Another woman's voice responded: "The person who told the little girl had contact with the Haihan people on the dock that day. According to him, the cargo that Haihan unloaded from the ship that day was a bit tricky, and I thought about it carefully later. , there are quite a lot of eccentricities. As for the authenticity, the little girl dare not guarantee it."

The man said: "Forget it, I will know the truth after I ask that person. Tell me, how much money do you need to reveal this person's identity?"

The woman said: "Your Excellency also said just now that this matter is very important. If you say something wrong, you may lose your life. Naturally, the little girl needs more money to protect herself, so 200 taels!"

The man's voice was a little louder: "Are you crazy? 200 taels of silver, you can't even redeem yourself with that much!"

The woman replied: "The little girl is planning to redeem herself and leave. Otherwise, if the news is released, the little girl's life may not be saved. It is better to take a sum of money and leave earlier."

When Pan Yan heard this, he had already guessed the matter. The woman probably heard some news from a certain client, and planned to use this as an exchange, asking the man for 200 taels of silver, and then redeeming herself and leaving here.She called this man "Master", indicating that the man should be from the yamen, which should not be careless.

Pan Yan roughly knew the inside story of the fire at Tongsheng Wharf, and Haihan handled the matter so cleanly that the Zhejiang government investigated for several days and still had no clue.Although the current fire case has been declared closed and the charges have been forcibly placed on a group of non-existent robbers, if the case repeats itself, it will not be a good thing for Hai Han after all.

(End of this chapter)