Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 318: Business is booming and has unlimited prospects
Zhang Yanling meets Qin Zhao in a workshop outside the city.

Qin Zhao was followed by Xu Gong and others. They walked to the huge metal can. Qin Zhao was surprised at the huge object cast in front of her. Although she had no idea what the various things she saw along the way were used for, she no longer had any doubts about Zhang Yanling.

She trusted Zhang Yanling's abilities to the core.

"Second Master, what are these things for?"

Qin Zhao asked curiously.

"It's used to store gas. To make soda ash, we first need to process the gas." Zhang Yanling said, "We have invested 5,000 taels, and we have already spent more than 3,000 taels. I think Mr. Qin has already looked at the accounts, right?"

Qin Zhao smiled and nodded: "Second Master's account records are very clear and well-organized, and there are supporting evidence and evidence. All the material selection, casting, and craftsman costs are reasonable prices. Very fair."

Zhang Yanling said, "Well, speaking of which, the labor cost in the capital is very different from that in the countryside. I thought that the labor cost could be stopped at 1,000 taels of silver, but now it seems that this aspect is likely to be overspent. However, in terms of materials, since the raw materials provided by the Qin family's own business are priced at cost, it can be considered as saving expenses."

Qin Zhao asked, "When can it be put into production?"

"almost."

Zhang Yanling said, "Autumn."

Xu Gong beside him was puzzled and asked, "It's already built like this, how many more months will it take before it can be put into production?"

Qin Zhao said: "You don't understand what the Second Young Master means. Even if everything is ready, many things in the capital are beyond our control. We still have to wait for the right time to start production."

"Master Qin understands me."

Zhang Yanling smiled.

Putting it into production in the autumn means waiting until Zhu Jianshen dies before launching the project.

If you start too early, you will easily be targeted, and then you may lose both your money and your life. One negligence may result in you losing the industry you have worked so hard to build.

Xu Gong sighed: "As the father-in-law of the crown prince, you actually have so many concerns?"

Zhang Yanling smiled but said nothing.

Prince's father-in-law?

Even if he is the emperor's biological father-in-law, so what? Relatives by marriage are always relatives by marriage. Unless they have a powerful backer, they will definitely get the emperor's support.

In Zhang Yanling's opinion, Zhu You might be a mediocre emperor, but in terms of protecting his own shortcomings, he was absolutely unmatched in the entire Ming Dynasty. He truly did his best to protect the interests of his wife's family.

"Second Master, the soap you ordered to be put into trial production has now been sold in the capital. The price is very high, but there are still many dignitaries who buy it. Because it was a tribute before, people are still flocking to it."

Qin Zhao's trust in Zhang Yanling also stems from one point: he saw the cash.

The big business of soda ash has not yet started, but soap, as a pilot product, has started to sell well.

In any era, good things will always sell well.

A square piece of soap looked ordinary, but its good reputation as a tribute to the palace immediately doubled its value.

There are many dignitaries in the capital, and many of them want to use the same items as the royal family. Ordinary clothes and accessories cannot be done, but for things like soap, as long as you are willing to spend money, even the things used by the nobles in the palace can enter your own home...

Not to mention the women of royal families, even the officials themselves wanted to try the feeling of having fragrance all over their bodies.

“Be sure to pay attention to the sales restrictions.”

Zhang Yanling reminded, "The batch of goods given to you will probably not be replenished in a short period of time. Sales will be limited and sold sparingly until midsummer. When the hot summer comes and you are sweating all over, the value of the soap will be truly reflected. Now is the time to build a reputation, and you must not sell out all the goods now."

Qin Zhao smiled and said, "As the second young master said, each visitor can only buy one bar of soap at a time. And they have to register in advance. In order to prevent someone from taking advantage of the situation and finding someone to buy for them, they have also sent people to keep an eye on it. Tickets are required for purchases. Just to get the tickets, you need a certain official background. It is extremely difficult for ordinary wealthy families to get a ticket."

Instead of selling soap, they sell tickets.

This sales model can be said to be a historical first in this era.

Of course, there are people in this era who understand hunger marketing, but no one does it to such an extreme as Zhang Yanling.

"Second Young Master, many people in the capital have recently wanted to get involved in the salt permit business..."

Qin Zhao took the opportunity to make her request.

Unfortunately, before he could finish his words, Zhang Yanling reached out to stop him.

Zhang Yanling frowned and said, "Master Qin, salt permits are the foundation of the country and are needed for military operations in the northwest. My father's current duties have nothing to do with salt permits, so please don't make things difficult for us.

"My Zhang family may get involved in this kind of thing in the future, but it would be unwise to rashly get involved when the situation in the capital could change at any time."

This is a reminder to Qin Zhao that as the leader of Huizhou merchants, you must learn to be patient.

It doesn't mean that we can get salt permits as we please just because Liang Fang and Wei Xing fell from power. These two were not the biggest holders of salt permits. They just held the power to distribute salt from the salt fields and controlled the distribution of salt.

But without Liang Fang and Wei Xing, the power would immediately be seized by Li Zisheng, and Ming Dynasty meritorious officials such as dukes, marquises and earls would be deeply involved. Even at this time, Liang Fang's power had not completely collapsed. After all, the successor to the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Stables was Luo Xiang, who was Liang Fang's disciple. Luo Xiang inherited Liang Fang's political legacy and network of relationships.

Even if two people fall, the overall situation has not changed.

But for ordinary merchants, they thought that the situation in the court had changed dramatically...

Qin Zhao said: "I understand, let's wait until autumn."

"Ah."

Zhang Yanling smiled and nodded.

Some things don't need to be said too clearly, it's enough to just know them in your heart.

But Xu Gong, who was standing next to him, felt uncomfortable. He kept talking about things after autumn. Was he sure that the business environment would be better by then?
Not necessarily!
……

……

"Second brother, this place is really nice. I want to move in... Can you manage so many people? If not, let me manage them."

Zhang Heling was in high spirits when he arrived at the new workshop.

Zhang Yanling smiled and asked, "Brother, do you want to be a gang leader so badly now?"

"Second brother, although I don't know what you mean by big boss, but I think, as long as I am given more manpower, I can fight happily, go out in glory, and everyone will be afraid of me, and everyone will serve me tea and water... That feeling will definitely be extraordinary."

When Zhang Heling said this, he straightened his back and looked very proud.

As he spoke, Zhang Heling looked toward the entrance of the workshop and asked, "Is that woman gone?"

"Ah."

Zhang Yanling nodded.

"The Hui merchants are really rich. They can easily take out several thousand taels of silver. Do you think we will be as rich as them in the future?" Zhang Heling said.

Zhang Yanling asked curiously, "Are you still afraid of having no money?"

"I asked my mother, and she said that I would at most be an uncle of the emperor, and an uncle of the emperor receives a salary from the court. How much salary one gets depends on one's position, and only capable people get high salaries. According to what my mother said, even if I become an uncle of the emperor, I will still be poor."

Zhang Heling seemed very aggrieved when he said this.

Zhang Yanling couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard this.

The old mother followed the traditional Confucian thinking in disciplining her son, which is to adopt repressive education.

She wanted Zhang Heling to realize his shortcomings compared to others and encourage her son to make progress...but she never thought that her eldest son had already been like this and everything was set. The only motivation that could motivate him to make progress was wine, sex, power and money, and everything else was bullshit.

"Second brother, don't laugh...what do you think?" Zhang Heling asked.

"I think what my mother said makes sense."

Zhang Yanling nodded.

"Alas! Am I only able to look good on the surface and never get rich? I think you are different. You are very capable and will definitely have good fortune in the future. When you make money, remember to share some with me."

Zhang Heling looked at his brother eagerly.

Zhang Yanling said, "Okay, we brothers are united and can break metal with strength. I just hope that you won't be blinded by money and betray your brothers."

"Am I that kind of person?"

Zhang Heling was a little angry and asked, "Who are you looking down on?"

Zhang Yanling sighed, "If someone offered you thousands or even tens of thousands of taels of silver to betray me, would you do it?"

"I won't do it!"

Zhang Heling pouted and said, "I will be the emperor's uncle in the future. I know how capable I am. They are paying to bribe me... Eh, will they really pay that much?"

Zhang Yanling couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard this.

Just when I thought you had made some progress, you were instantly back to square one.

"Okay, I'm just kidding. Am I that kind of person?"

Zhang Heling showed a flattering smile, "Second brother, you don't know that I am a principled person. I will never do anything that harms my family. But if someone offends me, I will not let them go even if I become a ghost."

"alright."

Zhang Yanling thought about it and nodded.

History has proven that this guy did not lie. But think about it, it is mainly because the two brothers were of the same character in history, and there was no reason for them to betray each other. But now the two brothers will definitely take different paths in the future. I wonder if the eldest brother will still be so "consistent"?
"Let's go home quickly. If we don't leave now, we won't be able to go back until dark."

"Why go back so early? It's better not to go back... I also want to see the big alleys outside the city. I heard there are a lot of playboys, and there are also little girls from Jiangnan... This is about you, you are just a kid, you don't understand so much. When you grow up, you will definitely be dazzled."

……

……

The two Zhang brothers returned home surrounded by people.

Zhang Yanling was sent to the back room.

At this time, Li Zisheng had already left, and Zhang Luan was alone facing the three yellow corals on the table, lost in thought.

“This thing is back in my hands.”

Zhang Luan had a dejected look on his face. "You see, the world is so unpredictable. I sent these things away like they were a plague, but now they are in front of me again, and they want me to sell them. It's really..."

Zhang Yanling asked, "Who sent it?"

"Li Zisheng sent it personally. He was drunk and said he would send me some money when he got back, but I haven't seen him since."

There was still some anticipation on Zhang Luan's face.

Zhang Yanling cursed, "Dad, are you out of your mind? Do you take the drunkard's words seriously?"

Zhang Luan said: "You don't know how righteous he sounds when he speaks, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Just as you said, he and I are just using each other."

After his son's analysis, Zhang Luan no longer expected Li Zisheng to cover his "big business".

Zhang Luan sat there with a worried look on his face and said, "You say this thing is good, but it's one of those things that has a price but no market, right? If I were to sell it for two thousand taels of silver, who would I sell it to? Who has such a fortune?"

"Two thousand taels?"

Zhang Yanling asked curiously, "Why is the price so high?"

"I also think the price is too high, but from what Pang Bingkun said, this is the price Liang Fang paid when he purchased them. Three pieces is six thousand taels. This thing... should have been fished out of the seabed, right? If a fisherman fishes out such a thing, it would be enough for an average person to live a life of luxury. Tsk tsk, this is what they call living off the sea."

Zhang Luan was filled with emotion.

Zhang Yanling said, "With only twenty-five taels of silver per year, a family of several people can live a carefree life without worries about food and clothing. And two thousand taels of silver is enough to support expenses for eighty years. Dad, you are right."

Zhang Luan said, "There are many high-ranking officials in the capital, but would any fool spend two thousand taels of silver to buy this thing? Not only do you need one fool, you need three at the same time!"

He showed a look of pain at the end of his speech.

"hehe."

Zhang Yanling laughed.

The old father finally understood the situation clearly. Where could he sell this thing?

It seems like it's not selling anywhere!
It is said to be worth two thousand taels, but if it is really sold on the market, it would be very good if it could be sold for four or five hundred taels of silver.

The main reason is that no one is selling or buying this thing, so it is naturally difficult to accurately estimate its price.

"Son, give me an idea quickly... Don't you usually have a lot of ideas?"

Zhang Luan looked at his son eagerly.

Zhang Yanling said, "Dad, you also said that there are many dignitaries in the capital, why don't you go and ask more?"

"I?"

Zhang Luan pointed at his nose and said in disbelief, "I went to their house to ask if they wanted this thing, but they just thought I was crazy. Why would they want this thing? What's the point of it?"

"Father, can we pursue higher goals? In addition to satisfying the basic survival needs of food, clothing, housing and transportation, people also need to satisfy higher-level enjoyment, which is why the luxury consumption market is formed.

"Dad, why do those dignitaries collect famous paintings and calligraphy? It's because hanging them there can show their status. You have suddenly become rich, or you can say that our family is not even a nouveau riche. We can't try to figure out those people with the mentality of a commoner like us." Zhang Yanling said.

"Tsk, tsk."

Zhang Luan laughed and said, "Son, if you want to pretend, don't act so noble. We don't even have that thing. Do you mean that if I sell it, will people really want it? You won't treat me like a fool, will you?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "What else? Or you can just tell Li Zisheng that you can't sell it and ask him to introduce you to customers. If others give him face, they will probably pay for it."

Zhang Luan said, "Relying on his face, can he make the fool willingly pay two thousand taels of silver? He can't be so easily fooled, right?"

"You keep calling me stupid. Dad, why are you so cynical today?"

Zhang Yanling said, "Go and try it first, and if it doesn't work, come back to me. I'll make a marketing plan for you, and then maybe you'll have a chance."

"Okay, who knows who is stupid. Anyway, this task has fallen on my head, so I will visit the dignitaries in the capital. Tomorrow I will go to the homes of the two brothers of the Queen Mother. Didn't they visit me before? This time I will see if they can take out the money."

Zhang Yanling smiled and clapped his hands when he heard this, saying, "Dad, your idea is right. Not only should we go to Uncle Wang Guo's house, but we should also publicize it with great fanfare. We should say that this yellow coral was lost after Peng Mianfu's family was confiscated. It is very valuable. It originally cost 10,000 taels, but now it only costs 3,000 taels."

"..."

Zhang Luan was speechless and frowned, "Son, I am just joking with you, don't make trouble with me. Let's talk it out, at worst I won't sell it."

Zhang Luan thought it would be a huge loss if he drove his son crazy just to sell a tribute.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Dad, just do as I say... I'll tell you why tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)