Chapter 2167

Yu Chengli and Yin Changxing were secretly relieved to meet old acquaintances in the official office of Baiquan Town. Although they also thought that Xiu Nianzai, who had just arrived, would definitely not be a powerful figure in the town office, but at least they could learn from it.

Xiunian learned more information here, which may be helpful in dealing with local officials in the future.

Xiunian didn't think too much about it. He was not responsible for this kind of purchasing work. The most he could do was briefly explain the inside story of the transaction to the two of them. As for inspection and settlement, he was basically not qualified to intervene. In fact,

Can't be of much help either.

However, since they were acquaintances, Xiunian still generously introduced Yu Chengli to the mayor Jiang Zian, so that he could save unnecessary intermediate links.

When Yu Chengli was in Hirado, he was known for being good at dealing with the government. Naturally, he would not miss such an opportunity now. Although the other party was just a mayor, Yu Chengli originally did this with the idea of ​​​​multiple friends and multiple paths.

Even though it was a small deal, I didn't think Jiang Zian's official position was too low.

Having said that, officials like Yang Yun, who is in charge of local business in Zhoushan, usually deal with real big businessmen. With Yu Chengli's strength, it is difficult to find opportunities to get involved. On the contrary, grassroots officials like Jiang Zian can still do business.

It is easier to deal with. Even if the purchasing power of a small place like Baiquan Town is limited, Jiang Zian may have other social connections that can take care of his own business in the future. In short, maintain this relationship first, and don’t worry too much about the current situation.

A small business of ten taels of silver.

Yu Chengli first invited Jiang Zian to the gate of the town office to inspect the goods. These twelve silk cloths were hand-picked by him after he learned that the buyer was a government official. Naturally, there would be no defects in quality.

Because he hired other merchants to sell these silks, although the price was based on the market price, the actual transaction price was still slightly lower than the market price. If the commission for the merchants was deducted, Yu Chengli would basically not be able to

I made money from this transaction. But since the buyer is a government official, he cannot be silent to the officials who are handling the matter. He must take the initiative to provide kickbacks. So after calculation, this transaction is actually certain.

You will lose money.

However, Yu Chengli does not regard this as a simple loss, but as an investment. As for when and in what form he can receive returns in the future, it depends on his own business methods.

"The stuff is good and quite cheap. Boss Yu even delivered it to your door personally. It's really thoughtful!" After inspecting the goods, Jiang Zian also expressed his satisfaction.

Yu Chengli said: "I just heard Master Xiunian say that these silk cloths are gifts to express condolences to the local military families. Although I am a member of the Ming Dynasty, I have been taken care of by the Haihan Army in Hirado before. I can express my respect by contributing to this."

, I am also very honored."

Jiang Zian said: "How about I write you a check for this payment, and you can withdraw the money at Haihan Bank yourself?"

Yu Chengli bowed and responded: "Mayor Jiang finds it convenient."

Many local merchants use banknotes and checks issued by Haihan Bank as settlement methods, and official procurement projects are no exception. Yu Chengli has been in Zhoushan for so many days, and he has already opened an account at Haihan Bank and deposited money.

Put some of your property in to facilitate business settlement.

The delivery of the goods was completed quickly and smoothly, but Yu Chengli did not intend to say goodbye. For example, giving a kickback would be difficult to do in front of other people. Yin Changxing Xiunian and others must be sent out first for convenience.

Yu Chengli's original plan was to use the method he was most familiar with to treat Jiang Zian to a casual meal. After all, it was easier to build friendship at the dinner table than in this yamen. However, on the way to the town office, he paid attention to the surrounding environment.

There don't seem to be any taverns or restaurants in the very small town. I just asked Xiunian at the door and it was true. This method will definitely not work in Baiquan Town.

However, this did not trouble Yu Chengli. He ordered his followers to wait outside first. Although Xiunian did not understand the reason, his ability to observe words and emotions was no worse than Yin Changxing's. He immediately took the initiative to say goodbye and let Yu Chengli

I have the opportunity to talk to Jiang Zian alone.

After coming out of the town office, Xiunian did not leave immediately. Yin Changxing, who had not seen him for many days, stopped him and exchanged information on the current situation.

Compared with Yin Changxing, who has not made any actual progress so far, Xiunian's situation is much better. He has basically confirmed his status as an official, and the naturalization issue that has blocked most immigrants is just around the corner for him.

Although personal remuneration is still far behind that of the official establishment, the future is bright and there will be opportunities for career development in the future.

"Master Xiunian is so awesome! In just a few days, he has already worked in the government. When we meet again in the future, I will probably call him Master Xiunian!" Yin Changxing said with envy.

Xiunian waved her hands and said: "It's not as glorious as you said! I'm just running errands for the government. It's much harder than being a monk before!"

Xiunian's words were not modest. After he was assigned to Baiquan Town, although he was smoothly appointed by Jiang Zian and stayed at the town office as an errand, it was not a comfortable job. The first job he received

The first task is to visit ten villages within the jurisdiction of Baiquan Town to understand and assist in the local resettlement of Japanese immigrants.

They had to visit two villages every day and complete it in five days. This was not an easy task for Xiunian, who had just arrived in Baiquan Town, not to mention that he was still a foreigner. During this period, he encountered villages that actively cooperated, and there were also some places where

Don't take him seriously at all.

The situation of the Japanese immigrants assigned to various places is also different. There are good places like Fuqiang Village where even new immigrants insist on building brick houses for housing, and there are also some villages with poor economy that can only guarantee housing.

The new immigrants have stable food rations. As for housing, they can only live in tents and wait for the new immigrants to find solutions on their own after their daily work.

Since Xiunian's task is to check the resettlement situation of the immigrants, he naturally wants to try his best to strive for better living conditions for his compatriots. However, the objective conditions of each village are different, so his wish can often only be wishful thinking.

.And Xiunian is just a policeman sent by the town office to the countryside to understand the situation. He has no special real power, let alone directing the villages to do things, so it is difficult to change this situation.

Yin Changxing may think that his status is very prestigious, but there are difficulties that only Xiunian himself can understand.

Moreover, there are some things in Xiunian's work that need to be abided by the system and cannot be talked about too much to outsiders, so he quickly changed the topic to Yin Changxing and asked about his current situation.

"What else can I do? Just continue to run errands and do odd jobs for Boss Yu like before." Yin Changxing responded with a wry smile: "Maybe this job is suitable for a stupid person like me."

Xiunian said: "Didn't you originally plan to do some small business in Zhoushan?"

Yin Changxing shook his head and said: "It's easier said than done... I've looked around Dinghai Port these days, and there's no small business that's suitable for me to start. With my little capital, I can't withstand a big deal, so I can only look around while doing it. Okay.

Boss Yu is so kind and willing to give me a hand, otherwise I would probably have to go to the dock to carry bags and make ends meet."

Yin Changxing couldn't help but feel a little frustrated when he said these words. When he mustered up the courage to leave his hometown and venture out, he had great expectations for his future in Zhoushan, but the situation after arriving in Zhoushan was somewhat different from what he had imagined.

It was the same. This place was more prosperous than he imagined, and it was a free port that every businessman would like. However, the threshold for entry into the industry was relatively high, and it was difficult to find a suitable industry to start his own business with the little capital he had accumulated.

Yin Changxing knew that his strength was limited, and he did not dare to take too big risks to run an unfamiliar business in Zhoushan, a place he was unfamiliar with. He could only honestly work as an errand for Yu Chengli to maintain his basic livelihood.

However, it is precisely because he has seen the prosperity of Zhoushan Dinghai Port that Yin Changxing does not regret his decision to leave his hometown, nor does he intend to consider returning to Seogwipo because of a bad start. Although he also envies Xiunian's opportunities, he also understands

I can't do Xiu Nian's job. After all, Xiu Nian can also read and write, but I only slowly learned to write my own name after arriving in Zhoushan. How can I be employed as an official in Haihan with this level of education?

Xiunian said: "If you only focus on those businesses that can make a lot of money, the threshold will naturally not be low. You might as well broaden your horizons and start with things within your ability."

Yin Changxing smiled bitterly: "I can do my best...I can go fishing at sea. Do I have to go back to my old job now? I might as well do odd jobs for Boss Yu. At least I can still learn something."

Xiunian said: "Since you have limited capital but want to run a small business, why bother to squeeze into the urban area to compete with the big players? Do you know that in addition to Dinghaigang and nearby urban areas on Zhoushan Island, there are many places like Baiquan Town

If the same towns and villages can endure hardships, small businesses can actually be run in the countryside."

Yin Changxing's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he felt that what Xiunian said was indeed very reasonable. He had been too obsessed before and only wanted to do something in Zhoushan, which had limited his vision. He remembered that he had seen this town before when he came here.

There are very few commercial facilities on the street, and it seems that there are indeed opportunities that Xiunian mentioned.

Yin Changxing was afraid that the wall had ears, so he pulled Xiunian further away before continuing to ask: "Master Xiunian, can you tell me in detail what good career is suitable for me here?"

Xiunian responded casually: "There are a lot of things you can do to make a living! For example, you can buy a carriage and usually transport goods and errands to nearby villages, help them transport the village's products to the city, and transport various materials back to the village."

"What should we do when there is no business? These villages don't have goods to be transported to the city every day, right? Besides, it costs money to raise a pack horse on a daily basis." Yin Changxing immediately began to make plans and Xiu read out this idea.

pros and cons.

Xiunian said: "When there is no freight business, you just transport your own goods and sell them everywhere! There are two to three thousand people in Baiquan Town. Most of the oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, needles, thread, pots and pans that are used daily are not available.

Do you have to buy it from outside? You prepare some goods yourself, and usually use a cart to sell them in various villages. There are ten villages in Baiquan Town. If you go to one village a day, you will eventually have business, and you still have to worry about not being able to raise a horse.

horse?"

Xiunian's idea was not something he said casually. He had visited various villages in Baiquan Town these days and learned more or less about the living conditions of the local people.

Although Zhoushan Island is one of the most important trading ports on the east coast of the Ming Dynasty, the prosperous areas are mainly concentrated in the area around Dinghai Port on the south side of the island. Towns like Baiquan Town are backed by big trees to enjoy the shade and have developed based on local conditions.

There are some special side businesses, but after all they are just in a rural environment and do not have the strong commercial atmosphere and convenient material supply channels of Dinghaiport.

Although Baiquan Town has a lot of products, there are also many daily necessities that cannot be produced in the countryside, or the cost of production is too high, which is far less cost-effective than purchasing them directly. Such purchasing needs often go through a market held in the town on the first and fifteenth day of every month.

The market will come to solve the problem. There will be some traders selling some daily necessities to the town during these two days. At the same time, they will also take orders from the villagers and order some items from Dinghai Port for the villagers to make a profit from the price difference.

Most villages in this era would have such a form of business. For operators, the monthly fixed-time market means that they can maintain a customer base in a certain area with the least time investment, and go to another place at other times.

The same business is done in the township markets. As long as the time is planned well, the operator can maintain this trading system among multiple towns and villages, and the profits are still considerable.

This form of business is not too complicated to operate, and the prospects for making money are very good. As long as someone tastes the benefits, a lot of smart people will naturally follow suit. However, as more people do it, competition will intensify and profits will be diluted.

Slowly, some weak operators will be eliminated, and in the end, only some big players with enough capital, the ability to reduce costs through purchase volume, and the ability to compete in price wars will be left. Eventually, a market balance will be formed, with the most powerful operators

Several large merchants share most of the market share.

Although these large households still use this business method, their business scale is no longer small. It is still difficult for Yin Changxing to squeeze into this circle with his capital. However, the traditional business method has gradually been unable to satisfy the wealthy villagers.

their needs for supplies.

When Xiunian visited these villages, she heard more than once that the villagers complained about the inconvenience of purchasing daily necessities. They had to wait until the day of the market to go to the town to buy them, or they had to go across Zhoushan Island to Dinghai Port in the south. Most of the urban areas in the south

They are all doing wholesale business, and the demand from the villagers is very small, so some things are more expensive than at the market, and it is not necessarily cost-effective to travel so far to purchase them.

So Xiunian believes that there is actually a layer of space between the needs of market vendors and villagers, but there are too few people willing to operate in this gap, at least not yet in Baiquan Town. For Yin Changxing, who has limited capital,

, maybe this will be a good little deal.
Chapter completed!