The old man of the Xu family kept a low profile and bided his time, which set the tone for what Xu Ziwen would do next. Except for the matters concerning his brothers in Yangzhou, which Xu Ziwen did not have to worry about, he began to frequently contact the other six families.
This matter may seem complicated to say, but in fact it is not difficult at all. Even if the seven Jiangnan families are not all located in Nanjing, there will always be their family's industry in Nanjing, and their children will manage it.
A family that lives in a corner of the countryside can never be considered a big family. Nanjing is the center of Nanzhili. If there is no industry here, it means that this so-called family is not in the mainstream at all.
Also, the biggest difference between being called a family and other businessmen is that all of these families have children who are officials in the court, and there are countless officials who have good relations with them. Duanduan is already an official and businessman.
Compared with those businessmen who have worked hard to accumulate wealth for several lifetimes and have nothing left at the same time, their foundations are more solid and strong. It also means that
, Xu Ziwen's news will be spread not only through private channels, but also through official post roads extending in all directions.
The name is naturally to discuss the shares of each Jiangnan family in sea trade next year. This is also a common practice. Every year near the end of the year, these families will always send people to get together to discuss this business matter.
Adjustment and adjustment, one is to avoid vicious competition, and the other is to naturally exchange what is needed. This rule has been passed down for some years. Before this rule appeared, each company competed for shipping routes, production, and sales. It was not
There was no big fight. At that time, if hundreds of people were not killed every year, no matter which family there was, there was no way they could continue to work in this industry.
Even to this day, there is no shortage of overt and covert fights between the various families, but compared to the bloodshed back then, this is nothing to worry about.
This year's gathering is a month or two earlier than in previous years. However, this is not a court law or a fixed rule. Isn't it up to them to decide whether it's earlier or later?
The gathering place was located at Kuixing Pavilion. Yes, it was the Kuixing Pavilion restaurant facing the Gongyuan next to the Confucius Temple. It was also the place where Qian Wubing brought Tang Yin back. Although the Xu family was considered the host, Xu Ziwen was already determined.
Even though he was such a prominent person, he didn't even mention using several gardens of his Xu family as gathering places.
There is another important reason. This time, in addition to people from the other six families, Xu Zihou sent messages to almost all the merchants he knew who were engaged in maritime trade. These merchants were considered their competitors in the past.
When a big opponent appears, these people seem to become the ones that can be fought over. These people come from all over Nanzhili, and naturally they have all kinds of temperaments. Summoning such a group of people to your home
, is not a sensible thing to do, it is better to find a public place where everyone can gather together for a few days to talk things through, then forget it.
The Xu family booked Kuixing Pavilion for three days. Naturally, the boss of Kuixing Pavilion would not say no, but there were some sour students who came to the restaurant to relieve their worries and ran into trouble.
Keep people in mind.
The sixth day of November is an auspicious day, suitable for making alliances, making sacrifices, and getting married.
Early in the morning, people began to arrive in Kuixing Pavilion one after another. The guests with posts were led to the second floor by the store. The companions, guards and so on brought by the guests were left on the first floor for tea and snacks.
Waiting. By noon, the first floor was already packed with hundreds of people, while the second floor was sparsely occupied by more than a dozen people, and no one from the seven major families showed up.
"I don't know how much share I can get this year!" A sad-looking guy said to the person opposite him: "If I can't even get 30%, this business will really be impossible. There are so many profitable businesses.
You can do it, brother Liu, why do you have to fight with your brothers for this scrap?"
"If you can't do it, then don't do it!" The businessman surnamed Liu chuckled: "My appetite is not as big as that of Brother Li. If I have 30% more, I will wake up laughing at night!"
These are two people who go to Korea to do paper business. There is a reason for the sad face of the businessman surnamed Li. The paper business is really not comparable to those of silk, medicinal materials, porcelain, weapons, etc. Although the profit is very high in the eyes of ordinary traders.
It's impressive, but if you do sea trade, you can only make a small profit. Fortunately, a few years ago, he was the only one doing this business in Korea. He was also very wise and never talked with others on other commodities.
Competing for profits is just like this. Every three or two years, there will be unbelievers who will rush in and compete with him for a share. When encountering such a situation, if he doesn't frown, who will?
"You're okay!" Someone next to him sneered, "At least no one is competing with you on the Korean side. Whatever is set is the amount. Damn, I shipped half a ship of medicinal materials and copperware this year to the Ryukyu side.
Do you know, the current market price over there is eight silver and one gold, so I still do a shit business, I just brought those coppers back as ballast stones!"
"At least you made money on the medicinal materials!" said the sad businessman Li.
"What a waste of money. As soon as we landed, someone came to collect taxes. I thought it was the King of Ryukyu's indifferent taxman. I said a few words, Damn, they just showed their knives. When, let's
The Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty also started to collect taxes in Ryukyu. I saw it really. They are really our Jinyiwei. Except for the local people, they do not collect taxes. They collect taxes from people from outside. They also draw four out of ten. This is simply
It’s just robbing!”
"Are you talking about the Jinyiwei Overseas Thousand Households Office?" Someone next to him came over and said, "I know this. We have an unlucky guy in Yuhang. He and his boat were detained in Fusang. I heard that everyone was detained.
He was sent to work hard on the Silver Mountain, and the boat was confiscated. What a misfortune!"
"Yes, yes!" Everyone sighed in unison: "This business is getting harder and harder to do!"
"However, I don't seem to have heard of anyone meeting pirates this year. Have you heard of this?" Seeing the excitement they were talking about, someone came over from a distance.
"Hey, my dear friend, if you don't say it, you still don't think that the pirates have really stopped this year. How many ships are robbed every year? I haven't heard of it this year!" Someone nodded thoughtfully.
"Tsk!" Someone exclaimed and shook his head: "Everyone, you all know about the large ships with thousands of materials that run on the sea every day. Do you think any pirates will be blind in this sea area?
There are also some pirates who commit crimes and don't open their eyes. It's just that at the beginning of the year, they either lost their lives or were sent to Fuso to mine. You don't know this, right? Those people now are more vicious than pirates...
…”
He pointed to the east, and everyone fell silent. That direction was where the bull market was, and Sihai Tower was in the bull market. Almost everyone here didn't know it.
"Miss Wang is here!" There was a sound on the floor, and everyone stood up. A woman with bright eyes and white teeth walked up the stairs.
"Hello, Miss Wang! Hello, Mr. Jiang!" A group of people greeted the two of them. The two smiled and bowed their hands to everyone, looked around, and walked towards the table in the middle with only seven chairs.
"It seems that we are the first to arrive!" Miss Wang took off the cloak behind her and said to the pale-faced man next to her: "I said, Xiao Jiang is not at home, and he is so fake with winking.
What are you laughing at!"
"Sister Xiaohan!" The man smiled bitterly: "I was born like this, so please don't make fun of me!"
Naturally, people from the Wang family and the Jiang family came. After a while, the Su family, the Wang family, the Qi family, the Xu family, and the Zhao family gradually arrived one by one. For such a gathering, it was a bit humbling to come early.
It's a bit arrogant to be late. These family members have all grasped this speed quite well. Well, except for Miss Wang who seems a little careless.
"Isn't Xu Ziwen here? Are you still a local snake?" Seeing that a somewhat unfamiliar middle-aged man came to the Xu family, Wang Xiaohan asked rather aggressively. Apart from her and Jiang Zhiqing beside her, there were five families left.
, the people who came are not the ones who can make the decision, this is too disrespectful to take them seriously!
"My cousin is dealing with an urgent matter. It won't take long!" The Xu family members looked at the other people, "I wonder, except for Miss Wang family and Brother Jiang, the remaining few people may represent your family.
mean?"
Those people nodded in unison, and their movements were so neat that one had to wonder whether they had some tacit understanding before coming here.
"Let's get started. Last year it was our Xu family who hosted it. This year it's the Wang family's turn. Miss Wang, please!"
"Then I'm welcome!" Wang Xiaohan stood up.
"Several heads, I guess even if I have to make adjustments, I guess you won't be able to do it. These silks, porcelain, ancient tea and other things are all obtained by various families over the years at the cost of human lives. Let's not talk about this first. Let's start with
Let’s talk about it in a humble way!” she said.
"In the frosting business, our Wang family got half of the share this year. Next year, we don't want this half of the share. Does anyone want to exchange it?"
It was quiet all around.
"Half of the Jiang family's frosting will be exchanged for it!" Jiang Zhiqing raised his hands and said angrily.
Still quiet!
"I'm sorry, in the past years you all made your faces red with anger, but no one wants this for free!" Wang Xiaohan shouted angrily.
"They may not want it if you give it to them for free!" A voice broke the silence upstairs out of thin air. Everyone looked sideways and looked towards the place where the voice came from. They heard the floor shaking, and then a
The big fat man appeared from the stairs panting: "Girl, if you really don't want it, forget it!"