When he came to the guest room and sat down, Chen Qing smiled at the shopkeeper and said, "The store is very busy every day?"
The shopkeeper nodded, "They are all businessmen from all over the world, and their purchasing volume is very large. If we hadn't had enough stock, we really wouldn't be able to supply it."
"How much can you make in one winter?"
"Reporting to your highness, I can make a net profit of 20,000 yuan in one winter."
Chen Qing was surprised, "Are there so many?"
"Yes! We can sell 200,000 gu of goods in one winter. Not only our territory, but also merchants from the south of the Yangtze River come to buy. Sheepskin, cashmere and wool blankets are the most popular, followed by fine linen."
"What is fine linen?"
The shopkeeper laughed and brought in a small bamboo basket from the outside. Inside was a pile of gray velvet. Chen Qing touched it and said with a smile, "It's broken hemp!"
"It's finer and rotten than broken linen. It's made into a fluffy shape by using a bamboo bow. The price is very cheap. It's used to make cotton-padded clothes. It's very popular among the people. Although the sales volume is large, the profit is not much. It's mainly cheap.
, it’s only a hundred cents per catty, and we only make ten cents from selling one catty.”
"What about kapox and grass cotton? What's the price?" Chen Qing asked again.
The shopkeeper said quickly: "The price of these two is the same, three hundred coppers per tael, which works out to about five guans per catty, and the price is fifty times that of fine linen."
Chen Qing asked in confusion: "Is this because rare things are more valuable?"
"The main reason is that it is rare and expensive, but it also has its own advantages. For example, it is soft and warm, far more than fine linen. The biggest problem with fine linen is that it is relatively hard, and there will always be a lot of wear on the body when worn.
The fine thorns penetrate clothes and pierce the skin, which is very uncomfortable and not very warm. Straw cotton and kapok do not have this problem. In addition, they are scarce and are ten times more expensive. "
"Does anyone buy it?"
"Of course, straw cotton is selling very well this year, and big families are buying it. Moreover, we exclusively supply straw cotton, making huge profits."
Chen Qing smiled and asked: "Do you have cotton cloth? Cloth made of straw cotton."
"Yes! But the quantity is not large. We only have 5,000 pieces in stock. We have sold 3,000 pieces and have 2,000 pieces left. It is estimated that they will be sold out this month. Yesterday, a cloth merchant from Lin'an bought 500 pieces in one go.
match."
"How much does one cost?"
"There are two kinds, one costs 30 guan per horse, and the other is cheaper and costs 18 guan per horse."
Chen Qing was really shocked, "It's actually more expensive than silk!"
"Your Highness, a pound of grass cotton costs five guan, and a piece of cloth costs at least three pounds, and it has to be hand-woven into cloth. It is really not expensive, especially a piece of 30 guan. The quality is really good, very good.
Fine and white, we only have 300 horses in stock, and we are reluctant to sell them. The ones we sell are all 18 pieces per horse. We mainly want to be fresh. Your Highness, don’t underestimate the purchasing power of Lin’an’s powerful people. The Lin’an businessman bought 500 horses and said
If it’s not enough, I might have to buy more in two days.”
It's just cotton. In the final analysis, scarcity is more valuable.
Chen Qing smiled again and said: "Let's see if the shopkeeper has time tomorrow to set up a stall at my house and bring cotton products and cashmere and sheepskin products to my house. There may be many family members of high-ranking officials who will come to choose together.
They don’t have to come here collectively to buy goods.”
The shopkeeper quickly agreed, "I will take three guys over there, and I will send three more guys over here to help without any delay."
"Then I'll bother the shopkeeper. I'll do it a little early tomorrow morning."
"I dare not take it seriously. It is our honor to serve His Highness. We will go there at dawn. If we go early, we can wait a little."
When Chen Qing returned to the official office, he immediately sent someone to find Li Zhuangnong. Li Zhuangnong was originally appointed as the director of the Tianzhai Mining Department. Zhang Xiao was transferred to Henan Road as the pacification ambassador, and Jiang Yanxian was appointed as the Superintendent of the Left Division of Government Affairs.
Li Zhuangnong, who has outstanding ability, was promoted to the front yard Sima of the Government Affairs Department.
The Left Secretary for Government Affairs is mainly responsible for agriculture, animal husbandry, mining, smelting and foundry, handicrafts and commerce, as well as transportation, warehouses, etc. The affairs are very cumbersome, so three more Sima are set up to assist in management, namely the front yard, the middle yard and the middle yard.
In the backyard, Sima in the front yard is in charge of agriculture and animal husbandry.
Li Zhuangnong quickly walked into the official room, bowed and saluted, "I'm sorry to see you, Your Highness!"
"Li Sima just came back from Fengtian County?"
"Exactly, I took officials from the Animal Husbandry Department to Fengtian County to inspect their agricultural and animal husbandry cooperatives and prepare to promote them in various places."
Chen Qing's inspection in Fengtian was just an attitude, and the specific implementation was still completed by Li Zhuangong and the Animal Husbandry Department.
Chen Qing laughed and said: "Have they re-written the rules to separate captive and free-range breeding?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, they have been separated. The maximum number of free-range lambs is 300. They are only allowed to graze once a day. However, there is no upper limit for captive lambs. It is said that one family bought 500 lambs at once and brought them to be raised in captivity."
Chen Qing nodded, "What are your opinions?"
"Officials from the Animal Husbandry Department believe that if you keep too many animals in captivity, you will easily get sick, so they have added an area regulation to determine how many sheep can be raised in a certain area. You can raise as many sheep as you want, but the area must be large."
"That makes sense. He is indeed a professional in animal husbandry and has thought more carefully than me. It's up to you to decide!"
After a pause, Chen Qing continued: "I came here to ask you how the cotton planting situation is this year in Liangzhou?"
"Bizhong heard that the cotton planting situation this year is not very satisfactory, but the report has not been received yet. I don't know what the specific problem is, but I have sent people to Liangzhou. Maybe the report will come later."
"You don't know the reason, but I know. They chose the wrong seeds, planted short-staple cotton, and sold it to shops at a high price."
Li Zhuangnong was stunned, "How does Your Highness know?"
"Just go to Junuang Pavilion and you will know. All the cotton in Liangzhou is there. Li Sima, I'm worried that it's not the wrong choice. I'm worried that they are driven by profit and deliberately grow short-staple cotton, and then sell it to shops at a higher price than they do.
Sell it to weaving workshops to make money, do you understand what I mean?"
Li Zhuangnong nodded, "I understand, I understand. I will change my management. They are strictly prohibited from selling without permission. They must transport everything to Jingzhao. Their cotton seed remover will also be shipped back. The seed removal will be done in Jingzhao. The profits earned this year will be transferred to Beizi."
Chase it back."
Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "I have two ideas. First, we need to purchase a large amount of kapok. The quantity of kapok produced on Ryukyu Island and Fujian Road is huge. We must make full use of it, and then gradually cancel the hemp fields and convert the hemp fields into
Fertile farmland. Second, we need to gradually replace linen with cotton. The main thing is quantity. When the quantity goes up, the price will come down. This is a long-term process. Don’t be too hasty, but you must have a plan."
"I understand the humble position!"
Chen Qing smiled and said: "I want to plant a few acres of corn in my house. Please ask Li Sima to find me some good quality seeds."
"Remember your humble position!"
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[Maize is corn. According to the European and American definition, it was introduced after Columbus discovered America.
But in fact, it has existed in China for a long time. Volume 5 of "Food Materia Medica·Gu" written by Li Dongyuan in the Yuan Dynasty states: "Maize: a jade sorghum, planted in the western soil. Its seedlings and leaves are like corn and fat and short, also like coix. The seedlings are taller than
Three to four feet long, flowers bloom and produce ears in June and July, like wheat. There is a bract in the armpit of the seedling, like a brown fish, with white whiskers hanging down from the bract. After a long time, the bracts will be removed and the seeds will be gathered together in clusters.
They are as big as rice dumplings and are yellow and white in color, and can be fried and eaten."
It can be seen that in the Yuan Dynasty, a hundred years before Columbus was born, corn existed in China.
In addition, corn and peanuts were discovered in the Yangling Tomb of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. Please refer to the 1990 Shaanxi Archaeological Report, "Archaeological Discovery Confirms that China is One of the Origins of Corn and Peanuts"]