Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 86: Ming Dynasty version of Pinduoduo? Such a business war?!

On June 6th, the sky cleared up after the rain.

The sky is as clear and blue as washed water.

In the early morning after the rain, the air is filled with bursts of refreshing moisture.

The streets of Yingtian Prefecture were already crowded with people. People doing business and working had already started shouting on the streets, carrying their trades on their backs.

The most prosperous streets in the city can no longer be described simply as lively.

It was completely noisy.

The streets were full of people, all looking around curiously.

Today is the day for selling Beijing salt.

Jingyan is the name that the newly crowned number one scholar gave to his salt business, Kyoto Salt Industry.

Although it has not officially opened yet, various rumors have already spread in the city.

People from all walks of life and the countryside came early in the morning to wait. Some really wanted to buy salt, some were curious about how much lower the price of the salt would be after it had been advertised for so long, and some just came to watch the fun. People had mixed feelings.

roadside.

There is a teahouse on the third floor opposite Kyoto Salt Industry.

In the private room on the third floor, several middle-aged men in coarse linen clothes were looking down indifferently.

They were indeed wearing coarse linen clothes on the outside, but the lining inside was all of the finest silk and satin.

The government stipulated that merchants were not allowed to wear brocade clothes.

They did not dare to disobey, so they wore coarse linen clothes when they went out.

But what's inside the coat is entirely up to your preference.

In the private room, the lean businessman named Luo, holding a bowl of freshly brewed tea, looked out the window coldly, his brows and wrinkles almost squeezed together, and sneered: "This top scholar is really good at creating momentum. He didn't sell a single grain of salt, but he attracted the attention of the whole city."

"It's a pity that there are so many people. I don't know how many of them really want to buy it, and how many of them just want to see him laugh."

"hehe."

A pot-bellied man beside him touched his round belly and laughed, "He is the top scholar, so he is very ambitious. Otherwise, why would he shout in the city every day that he wants to relieve the people's difficulties and worries, and that the people can afford salt, eat salt, and eat good salt."

“I just don’t know how they will react if they can’t sell at a good price when the sale starts.”

"The current emperor only gave him three months."

“It’s already the third month.”

Luo Gan took out ten copper coins from his pocket, placed them in a row on the table, and said to the housekeeper beside him: "When the salt shop opens, please buy some for me. It will be considered as a gift to this number one scholar. Otherwise, it would be unbearable for a dignified number one scholar to be bullied by merchants like us."

There was a burst of laughter in the private room.

Others also took out a few copper coins from their pockets.

Let this servant buy it for you.

Luo Gan teased, "This top scholar may be young, but he has big ambitions. Before the salt is officially put on sale, he has been talking about drastically reducing the price of salt, and also using the slogan of making salt affordable for the people, and making it affordable for the people to eat good salt. But there is no such good thing in the world."

“Salt is expensive, but it’s also not expensive.”

“Everyone wants to eat.”

"You have to eat it."

"But merchants like us get salt permits from the imperial court, plus salt tax, which is already five cents per pound of salt. There are also various transportation costs, and the fees for arranging things, etc., which directly exceed sixteen or seventeen cents. We have a big family to support, so the price of salt naturally exceeds twenty cents."

"There were severe floods in Shouzhou and Chuzhou a while ago, and the supply of salt was insufficient. The price of salt even rose to thirty cents."

"How low can he go?"

"Twenty-five?" someone asked with a smile.

Luo Gan said, "Twenty-five, we can do it, but I'm afraid he can't. He is responsible for making, transporting, and selling salt, and his expenses are much higher than ours. Even if he really sells it at twenty-five to please the people, we can just use a lower price to suppress it."

"The salt business is not something he can get involved in."

Luo Gan sneered, holding a large bowl of tea and standing in front of the window sill.

He looked at the sky and it was time.

really.

Luo Gan has a very accurate grasp of time.

As he walked towards the windowsill, the tightly closed Kyoto Salt Shop, which was sealed with more than a dozen door panels, was finally removed piece by piece. The "Kyoto Salt Shop" that had been rumored in Yingtian Prefecture for a month or two also unveiled its mystery for the first time.

But the first thing that catches your eye is not salt.

It's a wooden sign.

There are a bunch of '0' symbols hanging on it.

The only character they recognized was the last one, "jin".

Just as everyone outside was asking curiously, a pale-faced clerk came out.

He said coldly: "Be quiet."

"I know there have been a lot of rumors in the city lately."

"There are those who defame, those who slander, those who admire, and those who complain."

"I, Kyoto Salt Industry, don't care."

"Facts speak louder than words."

"Today is June 6th. My chief has chosen this day just to have a good start."

"You should also know that my chief is a newly crowned top scholar, extremely talented, and caring about the people. He wants to relieve their worries and understand their sufferings."

“That’s why I took the initiative to go into business.”

"It is intended to reduce the burden on the people and make it possible for people all over the world to eat salt."

"So our commander said."

“You can also remember these words.”

"Anyone who comes to my salt shop in Kyoto to buy salt within seven days will only need 18 coins per pound."

As soon as the clerk's words came out, there was a loud noise all around, and the crowd rushed to the desk like a flood breaking through a dam.

The clerk was caught off guard and almost knocked over.

"Eighteen cents? That's cheap. Give me a pound."

"I'll go first. I want two kilograms."

"."

Hearing the low price, people from all around flocked to the store.

In the past few months, the price of salt in Yingtian Prefecture has been rising.

From the initial 25, it has risen to 30, and there is a faint trend of price increase. The clerk barely managed to keep his body steady, and was also shocked by the scene in front of him, but before the sale, he had been reminded by Xia Zhibai many times, and he was barely able to keep his mind steady.

He knew the people's demand for low-priced salt, and that the price of salt had been intentionally raised by other salt merchants in the past two months.

At first they were very happy to hear that the price of salt had increased.

Because they can also sell their salt for more money.

But what Xia Zhibai said later made them wake up instantly.

A businessman cannot afford to be too early if he has no profit.

Where have you ever heard of a competitor deliberately raising the price of salt after stealing business?
Wouldn't that be letting myself take advantage for nothing?

It all has a purpose.

The purpose is to make them set a high price, and then use the "low-priced" salt to completely defeat their salt, thereby completely driving the Kyoto Salt Industry out of Yingtian Prefecture. Others may not understand the reason, so how could he not understand it?

The white of summer is as still as a mountain.

The salt that was originally scheduled to be sold in May was directly postponed to June.

And they are constantly releasing news in the city.

There are mainly two aspects. One is that Chuzhou and Shouzhou were hit by disasters, and the supply of salt to Yingtianfu was reduced, and the price of salt may continue to rise.

On the other hand, he has been constantly releasing news that Kyoto Salt Industry will hold a huge promotion when it opens to thank those who buy salt, and the price will be much lower than usual.

The salt merchants in Yingtian Prefecture thought that he did not understand business warfare.

Xia Zhibai could only laugh. The salt merchants in Yingtian Prefecture didn't understand marketing at all.

After more than a month of publicity, the name of his Kyoto Salt Industry had already spread throughout Yingtian Prefecture.

People in the streets and alleys, young and old, women and children, have heard it.

Moreover, after deliberate propaganda by salt merchants and Xia Zhibai, the people were under pressure to increase the price of salt. People's lives were already difficult, and the increase in salt prices was an unbearable burden for many families.

Even if it's just a few cents.

Under this kind of publicity, many people turned their attention to Kyoto Salt Industry, hoping that Xia Zhibai's Kyoto Salt Industry would really have a big price reduction as rumored in the city.

The people don't ask for much.

Just restore it to the level before the price increase.

Twenty-two-three cents.

Therefore, when the people, who already had a demand for salt, heard the clerk say that it only cost eighteen cents, they went crazy.

Too cheap.

They also know that businessmen are snobbish.

With such a big price cut, it is likely that only those in the front will be able to buy it, so they rush forward in a swarm.

Everyone wants to take advantage of this.

Clang clang clang.

Just as the people were huddled together, the clerk took out a gong and struck it vigorously, forcing the people who were huddled together to be quiet. The clerk said in a cold voice, "How can you huddle together like this in public?"

"You can rest assured."

"Plenty of salt."

"And I'm not done talking yet."

"After I finish what I'm saying, there's no rush for you to buy it."

However, the clerk's words obviously did not have much effect. The people who were squeezed to the front could not listen to him at all. They just wanted to squeeze forward and grab the cheapest 18-wen salt. They must not let others get there first. After being pushed by the crowd again, the clerk was knocked down with the gong.

He had a terrible fall.

The clerk got up from the ground depressed.

He was also holding back a rage, as he was originally a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue.

He followed the court's order and came to work under Xia Zhibai. Today, the store in the city opened, and he had fought for it with three other people for a long time. He was secretly proud of it for a long time, thinking that he could have a good time to show off, but in the end, he ended up in vain.

He was annoyed.

But I didn't dare to get angry.

When Xia Zhibai handed this matter to him, he reminded him again and again that he must maintain his composure and not show any dissatisfaction.

Otherwise he would send himself back to the Ministry of Revenue directly.

The clerk took a deep breath and put a smile on his face again, but it was a dry one.

He picked up the gong again and struck it vigorously, not caring about his image. He shouted loudly, "Don't push me. Wait for me to finish. Eighteen cents is not the lowest price. If you can meet certain conditions, the price of a pound of salt can be even lower."

"15 cents a pound."

As soon as the words came out, the surroundings became quiet.

"Fifteen cents?"

"Did I hear it wrong?"

"This top scholar is here to open a charity?"

"Shopkeeper, what are the conditions for buying fifteen cents of salt?"

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"."

Clerk Fang Mo coughed lightly to maintain his demeanor, and continued to shout at the top of his voice: "My boss said that if there are more than ten people who can form a group to buy, they can directly enjoy the special low price of only fifteen cents, but each person can only buy one kilogram at a time."

"If you don't want to form a group, within these seven days, you can pay 18 cents per pound of salt, no limit on the quantity."

"And my boss also said that if Yingtianfu, that is, Jingdu and the eight counties under it, sells 500,000 kilograms of salt within this month, from now on, the price of salt from Jingdu Salt Industry will never increase for the people of Yingtianfu, and it will only be sold for 15 wen."

talking.

Fang Mo took out a piece of paper from his bosom and said loudly: "This is the written document signed by my headmaster and the governor of Yingtian Prefecture."

"Official seal as proof!"

"If there is any violation, you can report it directly to the authorities."

"The government will convict the officer."

"But I also said in advance that the low-priced salt of 18 wen per jin will only last for seven days. After seven days, it will return to the original price of 20 wen per jin."

"As for the group special price of 15 cents per pound, it is only valid for one month."

"If the requirements are not met within a month, there will be no more special prices."

"My chief is very kindhearted. All this salt was made under his personal supervision. The cost is very high, but in order to benefit the people and to prove it to His Majesty, I dare to be the first in the world."

“No time to wait.”

(End of this chapter)