I'm really not doing business

Chapter 703: Personal Stock Management Method and Four No-Investments

Zhu Yijun inquired carefully for a long time and determined that Yao Liyan's way of playing the game actually had certain similarities with the Shanxi merchants' body-stock method.

As an investor, Yao Liyan provided funds, venues, equipment, raw material supply, commodity sales and other channels, and assumed investment risks. This type of shares is called "silver shares" in the body share method. Managers and some master craftsmen contributed labor without investing, but enjoyed dividends and also held a certain proportion of shares, which were called "body shares."

The first shopkeeper's one-tenth of the share was called the first salary, the second shopkeeper's share was eight cents, called the second salary, and the head shopkeeper's share was seven cents, called the third salary.

Silver shares are 100% hereditary because they are investments of real money, and personal shares can also be inherited, but only very rarely. They are called deceased personal shares, which means that when a person dies, half of the personal shares he originally held can be given to his descendants.

In addition to personal shares, craftsmen generally hold shares, without investing, participating in decision-making, and only receiving dividends. These shares are generally called dry shares or individual shares. If they leave midway, dry shares will not enjoy dividends. Dry shares cannot be inherited and will be gone when the person dies.

If I can no longer do the work, my son will take over and inherit the shares.

"This is actually because there was no money to pay for labor in the beginning. After working as a paper mill manager for more than ten years, I started out on my own. I had spent almost all my money, and I was shocked to find that I could not produce anymore. At that time, I discussed with the craftsmen about the unpaid wages, but the craftsmen also had something to say. They would bear the risk of unpaid wages, and if they lost, they would share the loss, and if they made a profit, the boss would make the profit. This doesn't make sense!"

Yao Liyan said with emotion: "I thought the craftsmen were right, so I started to give them shares and work shares. Unexpectedly, the craftsmen worked very hard for the dividends, and the paper mill was revitalized all of a sudden."

"You did this in order to overcome the difficulties when things were difficult at the beginning. Why did you still use this method later?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously. Yao Liyan had more than one paper mill. He had as many as seven dyeing mills, cotton spinning mills, weaving mills, garment mills, paper mills, umbrella mills, alum mills, etc., all of which operated under the same business model.

Yao Liyan smiled and said, "The old saying is true. A hundred taels of salary belongs to an outsider, but a penny of stock belongs to the family."

"Because if you give your shares to the craftsmen, they will really work hard. Your Majesty, the business that Yao is involved in is of good quality and low price. Take the dyeing workshop for example. The blue clothes we dye never fade. Even the purple and black ones will not fade so badly. They will always look new after frequent washing. In addition, our prices are also low. This way, we can immediately open up the market, and the craftsmen in the workshop will be willing to study methods that are fast and economical."

"Aren't all the people doing this work? The harder they work, the more money I make, and as the boss, I can just sit back and reap the benefits."

Yao Liyan talked about the benefits. The body stock system highly binds the interests of the craftsmen with the workshop, so that they prosper together and suffer together. It encourages production enthusiasm and plays a great motivating role. And most importantly, the craftsmen also bear part of the risk. If the business fails, he, Yao Liyan, will lose the most, but someone else will bear part of it.

There is another reason why the body-stock method allows the workshop to last for a long time, and that is the separation of management rights and ownership rights.

In fact, the chief shopkeeper, second shopkeeper and big boss who hold shares have the power to make business decisions over the operation of the workshop. They are the specific operators and their status is almost equal to that of the owner.

Yao Liyan understands paper mills, but he doesn't understand dyeing mills. His meddling in the dyeing mills will only make the dyeing mill business more and more difficult. Moreover, Yao Liyan, as the boss, is very rich, and his sensitivity to the specific dyeing mill market is really low, and his reaction will be very slow.

To put it bluntly, with Boss Yao's current net worth, even if this workshop lost everything, Boss Yao would only sigh and say: Why did it fail?

It's far from being a serious injury, but to the owner and craftsmen of the workshop, losing the workshop is like the sky falling and the earth collapsing. Everyone in the workshop is very concerned and naturally more cautious than Boss Yao.

These big shopkeepers, second shopkeepers and big bosses can only rely on a workshop to change their own destiny. They have to try their best, be more sensitive to the market, and make positive adjustments. Especially for dyeing workshops and garment workshops, the fabrics, patterns and styles are different every year, so they need to adapt in time to cater to the market.

"Boss Yao makes so much money, isn't there anyone who is jealous? And it seems that because he has to give shares, Boss Yao's business skills are no longer a secret." Zhu Yijun asked with a smile.

"Yes, but they are reluctant to part with it." Yao Liyan said with a strange expression: "Your Majesty, I was born as a broker and comprador, which is actually a little better than a poor laborer. I also started as a clerk and became a shopkeeper. I opened my own workshop and know that everything is difficult."

"But these powerful families, let alone giving shares to the shopkeeper, give shares to the craftsmen. If the shopkeeper says something, they will complain and curse. The master has been working for a long time, and he will not listen to any opinions."

Is Yao Liyan's business secret a secret? Everyone in Zhejiang knows it clearly. Yao Liyan didn't even try to hide it from others, but he couldn't.

The same goes for the account books in the workshop. Because of the concept that everyone holds shares, everyone has an account and is extremely concerned about how much profit the factory makes. Not only the head manager, second-in-command and the boss check the accounts, but the craftsmen also do the accounting. Therefore, since everyone holds shares, the accounts are extremely clear.

Business skills are not a secret at all, it’s just that the powerful and wealthy simply can’t do it.

If you can’t even learn to respect people, how can you learn body-stock techniques?
Let the powerful give shares to the shopkeeper, the boss, and the craftsman? If the shopkeeper says something against them, they will fly into a rage, wishing to kill the whole family on the spot, and glaring at them with an expression that says, "You dare to contradict me? You are so bold!"
In the eyes of these old antiques, everyone below them is a slave, and they have long been accustomed to the strong personal dependence on production relations.

This decadent concept makes it impossible for them to accept this distribution method.

If the bosses gave the shopkeepers shares, let the servants be on equal footing with themselves, and gave them full freedom to make decisions and respect, would they still be confiscated by the always benevolent Majesty? Compared with Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu, Your Majesty is the most benevolent person in the world.

Yao Liyan didn't care at all. He was not a powerful or wealthy person. He was just a broker and comprador. The bigger his business grew, the less Yao Liyan interfered in the workshop. Even if he was asked to manage it, he wouldn't understand it. He just used his connections to introduce people everywhere, and left the rest to the people in the workshop to work hard on their own.

It was really like reaping the fruits of one's labor without doing anything, it was really like getting something for nothing, but Yao Liyan really made money.

When Yao Liyan talked about business, he was not nervous at all. He continued, "It's a situation where the wealthy and powerful finally convinced me to let the shopkeeper take charge, but I'm still worried and sent my third aunt, sixth aunt, little niece, and concubine's wife to take over. Well, how can a good workshop be good with so many people added?"

"Moreover, once these people enter the workshop, they will definitely be in charge of the accounts. If they are allowed to do so, they will definitely make a huge loss, and then everyone will bear the loss together. These bosses often do not care, and finally the workshop falls apart."

"That Fei family's third daughter-in-law ruined several workshops and caused a deficit of three hundred thousand taels. When asked, it turned out that she had used the money to support actors. It was really embarrassing, but the old man of the Fei family liked the filial piety of this third daughter-in-law. The third daughter-in-law said that it was all nonsense from the shopkeeper, and the old man Fei believed it. Tsk tsk."

"These old men always think their relatives are reliable. Hey, if their relatives are reliable, even an old sow can climb a tree!"

Yao Liyan never sent his relatives to the workshop. First, when he was not rich in the early years, he kowtowed everywhere for his old father and mother's illness, but he could not borrow money. When he became rich, all these relatives came to him, and they were so kind.
Secondly, Yao Liyan is actually very clear that compared with personal relationships, the system is more reliable. When everyone holds shares, the possibility of problems with the accounts is small. Having a so-called insider will be useless except for causing trouble.

Yao Liyan had his own experience, and he was very familiar with this game, so he would not send his relatives. But for these powerful and wealthy people, there was really nothing he could do. The powerful and wealthy people themselves relied on the clans for support. The specific executors of the production relationship of strong personal dependence were the clans. No matter who came to intercede, the head of the clan had to agree. It would be strange if anyone could succeed.

"That's right. The royal relatives and nobles of the Ming Dynasty, if their descendants were not ambitious, were mostly given idle positions and were not allowed to handle specific government affairs." Zhu Yijun smiled and talked about the Ming Dynasty. The politics of the Ming Dynasty was very mature. For example, the feudal system separated the princes and dukes from power. For example, the main job of the three dukes was to be high priests, presiding over suburban sacrifices, sacrifices to mountains and rivers, etc. Now there is also a temple for loyalty and bravery.

If you want long-term success, you still have to rely on the system.

"Your Majesty, in addition to the above two points, there is another one that the powerful and wealthy will definitely not accept, that is, the scale of the workshop will expand, and the personal shares will also increase because the workshop needs to add factories. At this time, the owner will have to take out silver shares for additional issuance, but most of these owners are unwilling to take out silver shares. This determines that even if the workshop is built, it cannot be expanded." Yao Liyan talked about the third point, which is also the most important one.

If Yao Liyan can do it but others can't, it must be that Yao Liyan did something right and others did something wrong.

The struggle for interests is the core contradiction here.

The shopkeeper's shares and the craftsmen's shares all increase as the scale of the workshop continues to expand. At this time, they need to be further distributed. The boss, who takes the largest share, has to take out his silver shares and distribute them. Because the scale expands and the profit increases, in fact, distributing silver shares can also be exchanged for more profits.

But these powerful and wealthy people don't think so. They feel that their shares cannot be distributed, so they keep diluting their own shares, making it impossible for the workshop to expand. As their own shares expand, the interests of these shop owners and big bosses will be damaged, which will limit the speed and scale of expansion in actual operations.

In business, being slow means death.

"I understand. The boss has to take out the silver shares to divide up the personal shares of the shopkeeper and the individual shares of the craftsmen every time the workshop expands. The boss is naturally unwilling to do so, but there is a problem with doing so. In the long run, will this workshop still belong to your Yao family?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously after hearing this. Doing so for five or ten years is fine, but after twenty or thirty years, the workshop will no longer be owned by the Yao family because the silver shares are constantly decreasing.

As for this workshop, it belongs to all shareholders.

"If it's not, then it's not." Yao Liyan shook his head and said, "I have already made enough money in the process of the continuous dilution of silver shares. I can just invest in new industries. If I have to care about this city or this place, I will get nothing in the end."

"Your Majesty, this workshop may not be named Yao anymore, but no matter who is in charge of this workshop, they have to give my Yao family some face. That's enough. Next time a related workshop is built, I will have a say."

Yao Liyan thought very clearly that instead of obsessing over the gains and losses of a workshop, it would be better to create some new industries to make money faster. His goal was to make money, not to collect rent by doing nothing.

The powerful and wealthy who are used to collecting rent by doing nothing always dream of ruling the country forever. But there is no such thing as ruling the country forever. When a person dies, he cannot take care of his affairs after death. Yao Liyan's goal is to make money, and he does whatever he can to make money, without thinking about ruling the country forever.

"There are gains and losses in this business. How does Boss Yao decide what to invest in? In seven years, he went from running a paper mill to the richest man in Zhejiang. He must have some unique experiences." Zhu Yijun asked the question that was deep in his heart.

When Yao Liyan heard the title of the richest man in Zhejiang, he broke out in a cold sweat. It was so hot that he was sweating all over. He was not from the Songjiang Sun family. His Sun Kehong was a first-class pioneer marquis of the court. He was the first pioneer on the Yuanxu Islands and maintained a good and close relationship with the court. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was an imperial merchant. Yao Liyan did not have such a profound background.

This title of "the richest man in Zhejiang" is not just a compliment; it is clearly a message to Your Majesty that the pigs here are fat and can be slaughtered!
Yao Liyan said with emotion: "Your Majesty, in fact, it's all just gambling, just like in a gambling house, nine out of ten bets are lost, but this one win can make up for the nine losses. This is the difference from a gambling house. As long as you succeed, the rewards are so generous that they can make up for the money you lose. In addition, I do have some experience, so I can always succeed three or five times out of ten." "In fact, it's not a unique experience. I never look at the industry, I look at the people, and I invest in people. Whether this person can succeed or not, I can tell at a glance."

"Oh? Tell me in detail." Zhu Yijun sat up straight.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was the number one investor in the Ming Dynasty. He invested 3712 million taels of silver before the tightening of the treasury, plus 1300 million taels of silver from the Southern Courtyard, totaling 5012 million taels of silver. He was very curious about Yao Liyan's unique investment method, who was also an investor.

Yao Liyan's title of the richest man in Zhejiang sounds scary, but his entire fortune, all added up, is only worth two million silver coins.

"There are four things that I won't vote for," Yao Liyan said with certainty, "The first one is not being loyal to the emperor or the country."

"The wind that blows the sea is blown by the imperial court. Those who are disloyal to the emperor and the country generally do not agree with the imperial court's orders and will definitely not abide by the law. If they do not abide by the law, when they are struck by lightning, they will definitely implicate the common people."

"The second one is not to invest. I won't invest if you like to brag. The more you brag, the less credible it is. He talks so much good, how can ordinary people get his turn? Good things don't circulate. This is true for things, business, and people. Good businesses need to be snatched up. The more you brag, the more likely you are to fail."

"The third thing is not to invest in businesses introduced by relatives and friends. It sounds good to say that it is a favor, but favors are the hardest to repay. Whether you make money or not is the second best thing. No matter whether your relatives and friends make money or not, you should not invest in their businesses or businesses introduced by them. If you make money, they will turn against you because of the money. If you lose money, they will never have anything to do with you again."

"The fourth reason is that I won't invest in people who are not resolute. It's fine if they are not magnanimous and don't care about others. It's normal to be a little selfish. Everyone in the world is selfish. If you don't work for yourself, you will be punished by heaven and earth. But if you are not resolute, you will definitely not succeed. You are used to giving up halfway and will retreat when you encounter difficulties. There will always be ups and downs in doing business. I won't invest in people who are not resolute. If I invest, I will definitely lose money."

The four no-invests correspond to the four investments, which means screening, especially the one of perseverance. It can be seen from the past that many people fail more than once or twice. Their attitude when facing failure and difficulties can clearly show whether they are determined or not.

"One word from you is worth ten years of study." Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Boss Yao, let's go to the workshop to have a look. It's not in vain. Before we leave, I will reward you with a cloak and a calligraphy piece for you. Just four words. You are a good manager. How do you think?"

"I bow to thank the emperor for his grace!" Yao Liyan's eyes lit up, and he kowtowed to express his gratitude. If anyone dared to embarrass him, he would just put on the cloak! It was a gift from the emperor, and if anyone dared to embarrass him, he would go and beat the drum to report it!

"Then let's go and see the workshop together." Zhu Yijun stood up. The reason why he gave a cloak that was almost never used and wrote a calligraphy was because Zhu Yijun had to conduct research in the workshop, which seriously affected the production of the workshop and delayed Boss Yao from making money. Some jobs with tight deadlines might even involve the risk of breach of contract.

Yesterday the emperor said he wanted to go for an inspection. This was a spur of the moment decision. In order to prepare for the inspection, the workshop was cleaned inside and out. The craftsmen's entire family, young and old, helped to clean the workshop inside and out. The more dangerous and flammable materials were placed elsewhere. Today's production was also delayed because the emperor was going, leaving only a part of the craftsmen to start work in a show-off manner.

Whether the workshop is real or fake can be spotted at a glance, as there are traces of production everywhere in the workshop. These traces of production cannot be produced in a short period of time. Yao Liyan's workshop is not glamorous, but you can see how busy it is on weekdays.

Zhu Yijun visited the dyeing factory. The water in each dyeing pool was clear, but the dyes basically had a pungent smell. In order to cater to God's sense of smell, there was not a drop of dye in the dyeing factory. Zhu Yijun noticed this strange sight. However, the dyeing pool itself had been soaked with dye, and it was obvious that it was used frequently.

The same is true for paper mills, which are just for show, but you can still see signs of use.

After visiting the paper mill and the dyeing factory, Zhu Yijun stood at the jacquard loom in the Dahualou of the weaving workshop and chatted with Yao Liyan. Yao Liyan didn't understand, so he called the master craftsman in the workshop to explain the details of the jacquard loom in the Dahualou in detail.

The official weaving bureau of the Ming Dynasty did not want weavers who came from brothels, but private weaving workshops did not have this concern, so the weaving workshops were quite prosperous and the quality was not bad.

"Hey, what is this warehouse used for?" Zhu Yijun walked past the cotton spinning warehouse, and then walked back, looking at a large round sign in front of the door with the word "Military" written on it.

Yao Liyan smiled and said, "This warehouse is used to store cotton cloth, quilts, cotton shoes, etc. that are delivered to the Ninth Battalion every autumn. It's not July now, and we've prepared them in advance as they're about to arrive."

"Is this a levy or a sale?" Zhu Yijun thought it was a levy from the government. After all, Zhejiang Jiuyang was not cheap.

Yao Liyan looked left and right, and then whispered, "It's neither a distribution nor a purchase, it's a consolation, and the money is paid by the workshop together."

"Ah? Comfort?" Zhu Yijun was frozen in place by these two words, and said in a daze and uncertainty.

Yao Liyan said with emotion: "The Ninth Battalion of Zhejiang goes out every year to fight floods. The dogs in the yamen... the masters deduct and reduce their salaries for no reason. The civilians who have received favors will send some of their own products when they return to the camp in September to comfort the soldiers for their hard work in fighting floods. Your Majesty, fighting floods is extremely hard. From March to June, they inspect the dams along the way. From June to September, they rush to rescue wherever there is a leak."

"The Nine Battalions have been fighting floods since they were established in the 34th year of the Jiajing reign, and they have been doing so until now."

Yao Liyan was very relaxed when communicating with His Majesty, and he almost said the word "dog official" directly. It was difficult for Yao Liyan to understand the government's thoughts. The Zhejiang Nine Battalions, what a useful group of people, who would do the flood control work without the Nine Battalions? How many people have received the favor of the Nine Battalions, and Wu Shanyan actually wants to reduce their salaries! He is really cruel!

"Oh, open it and take a look." Zhu Yijun motioned to Yao Liyan to open it and take a look. Each item was a quilt, two cotton coats, and a mattress. The quilt was four pounds of cotton. Zhu Yijun weighed it and found it was very heavy. A set of cotton coats consisted of a hat, ear warmers, clothes and shoes. The shoes had thousand-layer soles and looked very sturdy. There were three hundred items neatly arranged in the entire warehouse.

This item costs five cents of silver, one hundred and fifty taels of silver, which is really a lot.

"I have a total of seven cotton spinning companies under my name, with production ranging from one hundred to three hundred pieces. I go to Luomuying every year. In fact, I'm not the only one doing this. There are hundreds of private mills, large and small, doing the same in Zhejiang." Yao Liyan introduced how much he sent over every year. It was not his personal behavior, but a common practice in Zhejiang.

Reporting to the emperor and saving the people was not just Qi Jiguang's wishful thinking, but the summary of long-term practice.

The Ninth Battalion of Zhejiang has been fighting against floods and rescuing people for many years. The people know very well who is good to the people and who is not. Even these profit-oriented workshops are supporting the army, which shows that the Ninth Battalion is deeply loved by the people. According to the original historical line, the Ninth Battalion of Zhejiang and the Nanjing Zhenwu Battalion had the same fate. After the mutiny, they gradually disappeared in the long river of history.

Every sip and every bite, every cause and every effect, nothing in this world happens without reason.

Zhu Yijun looked around, thought for a moment and said, "Calculate how much money has been made since the establishment of the Ninth Battalion of Zhejiang. I will settle the account for you. Governor Shen, please settle the account and give it to the treasury. I will settle the account."

The loss was huge. He owed 12 taels of tax silver, and got a lot of gold coins! But Zhu Yijun didn't feel like he lost money, but rather felt like he had paid off a debt.

Debt free.

"No, no." Yao Liyan waved his hands repeatedly and said quickly, "Your Majesty, this is all the money from the workshop. It is all decided by the hands, body and silver shares. It is all out of kindness. It is really not much money. Besides, I can still make money. When I sell cotton textiles to these cotton mills, I say that the Ninth Battalion of Zhejiang has used it and it is good. The people all approve of it!"

"I know, but this involves military discipline, and it cannot be taken for free." Zhu Yijun looked at Yao Liyan and said with a smile: "Don't panic, every year the cotton products of the nine battalions of soldiers in Zhejiang are purchased from your Yao family, but we also agreed in advance that if you fool the soldiers, the national law will be ruthless."

"This..." Yao Liyan was still reluctant, he whispered: "Going to the temple to burn incense and pray for good weather, whether it is the Buddha's blessing, you have to go to fulfill your vow, and you have to prepare three animals to pray to the Dragon King for rain. The Ninth Battalion of Zhejiang really guarantees good weather, and giving this little is just a way of repaying the kindness."

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "We can't open this loophole. If we get used to it, it won't be long before we have to borrow the heads of our fellow villagers to fight for military merit."

During the Wanli period, it was still an era when killing innocent people for personal gain was widespread, and this could not be tolerated.

The emperor has his considerations and the people have their own wishes, but the army has its own regulations. The military pay of the nine battalions in Zhejiang is now directly managed by the Ministry of Revenue, and every penny must be accounted for clearly. In the past, taking the people's things was an act of helplessness, but now that the court is in charge, they cannot take them.

From the beginning of their dealings, Yao Liyan was very afraid of the emperor. If the emperor sneezed, his Yao family would have to go to Java. Yao Liyan was afraid, but on this matter, Yao Liyan unexpectedly insisted.

"Half?" Yao Liyan said tentatively, "My workshop has also earned a lot of reputation from this business."

"Your Majesty, I was born during the Jiajing period. I can remember things when the Japanese invasion was at its worst."

The Ming Army is of course His Majesty's army, but it is also the Ming Army of the people. Yao Liyan is very persistent, and this persistence is based on many considerations.

As the business grows, reputation equals money, reputation equals people's recognition of the company, which equals the market. All cotton products produced by Cotton Spinning are of the quality carefully selected by Jiu Zu.

People die for money and birds die for food. Yao Liyan does not want to lose his reputation. Similarly, a man must always have something to insist on in his life. Knowing to repay kindness is also Yao Liyan's persistence and perseverance. He remembers clearly who repelled the Japanese invasion when the Japanese invaders were rampant, and who saved him during the floods.

On weekdays, Yao Liyan always called the officials "dog officials", especially when Wu Shanyan was the governor.

"Okay." After serious consideration, Zhu Yijun agreed to Yao Liyan's proposal. The court would only pay half of the bill for these military supplies.

This investigation was very fruitful. Not only did we find out how Yao Liyan made his fortune, but we also learned about the four things not to invest in. There was also an unexpected gain, which was the people's great support for the Ming army that was able to report to the emperor and save the people.

(End of this chapter)