Lu Wei came directly to Chen Qing's house, put the wooden box on the table, and winked at his sister Lu Xiu. Lu Xiu said to the surrounding maids: "You all stand down!"
The maids and guards all retreated to the hall. Of course, one of Lu Xiu's personal bodyguards was still by her side. Unless she was with King Yong, the bodyguards would not leave.
Lu Xiu smiled and said: "Xiao An is fine, what do you want to show me?"
Lu Wei opened the box, and it was filled with shining gold. Lu Xiu was surprised and said: "Where did brother get so much gold!"
"It's a total of five hundred taels, and it's the other party's deposit. King Yong said that I would give it all to you. You should keep the accounts for me. I should have told you!"
Lu Xiu suddenly remembered that her husband had told her that all the benefits given to her brother by the spies from the Jin Kingdom would be handed over to him and kept by him.
"I understand, I put it away for you."
Lu Xiu asked the female guard to carry the box aside and asked, "Have you bought your brother's new house?"
Lu Wei nodded, "This opportunity is too rare. The price of 50,000 guan is only 30,000 guan. I will seize this opportunity. Thank you for lending me the money."
Lu Xiu smiled and asked, "Can you make 20,000 yuan by changing hands?"
"No such thing!"
Lu Wei quickly waved his hands in denial and said: "I just want to buy an ancestral house for my descendants. It doesn't matter to me. By the end of the year, I can normally be promoted to a fifth-rank official and live in a five-acre house. After I retire from office in the future, I will
You can move to your own house."
"Didn't you allocate ten acres of land in the south?"
Lu Wei smiled bitterly and said: "I have two sons. The eldest will inherit my mansion. What about the second? I will definitely have children later, so I have to prepare something for them!"
Lu Wei said goodbye and left not long after. At this time, Chen Qingzheng and the counselors in the Internal Affairs Hall admired the wooden cotton cloth. The fineness, whiteness and comfortable feel of the wooden cotton cloth made everyone admire it.
Zhang Miao said with a smile: "My wife seems to have bought this kind of cloth too. It came from Gaochang. It is about the same whiteness, but not as delicate. It is very expensive. One piece of cloth costs five guan. The main reason is that it is very breathable.
It’s very comfortable in summer.”
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "What Zhang Gong is talking about is Gaochang white cloth, which is grass cotton cloth. This is wood cotton cloth, which grows on trees. Its quality is better than grass cotton, but because of its short fiber, it is not good
Weaving, so some grass cotton must be mixed in it. This kind of kapok tree is more common on the southeast coast, especially Ryukyu Island, which is covered with this kind of tree. We can purchase this kind of kapok in large quantities, and the cloth weaved from it
It will slowly replace fine linen, what do you think will happen?"
Jiang Yanxian reacted quickly and said with a smile: "The hemp fields can be used to grow food."
Zhou Kuan slapped the table and said, "That's right! Ma Tian occupies 40% of the land and liberates 40% of the land. This is a huge change!"
Chen Qing said with a smile: "It won't be so fast. After all, there is an adaptation process. It takes one generation! I estimate that 70% of the fields will be liberated in about twenty years."
Zhao Kai asked from the side: "Your Highness, what is Mu Mian's capital?"
Chen Qing said slowly: "The cost is one hundred cents per catty. This is the price after removing the cotton seeds. If the cotton seeds are not removed, it will be fifty cents per catty. Then we will remove the cotton seeds ourselves, and it will be about seventy.
I would probably choose fifty cents per catty. The quantity is too much. One person can pick up hundreds of catties a day. He will not focus on removing seeds. It takes three or four days to remove seeds. It is more cost-effective for them.
I know it well."
"Fifty cents per pound!"
Everyone exclaimed, and Guan Shigu said with a smile: "The imperial court used to give each of the senior generals of the Western Army two catties per year, worth sixteen guan of money, which is eight guan of money per catty. In the market, it is sold for two, five hundred.
Wen Yiliang, how many times the profit is this? It should be more than a hundred times! One hundred and sixty times!"
Chen Qing smiled and shook his head, "You can't calculate it like this, otherwise it won't be able to replace fine linen. Counselor Zhao, what is the market price of fine linen?"
"About a hundred Wen!" Zhao Kai replied.
"The market price of kapok cannot be higher than 150 fen, because its quality is much higher than that of hemp, so everyone can accept 150 fen, but no higher price can be accepted. Our net profit is about one pound and three pounds.
It’s about ten coins, so that businessmen can also make profits.”
"But businessmen will also go to the southeast coast to purchase kapok, and they may not buy ours unless they are selling it exclusively."
Chen Qing said calmly: "There is no need to sell it exclusively. Let them purchase it. They will soon find that if they sell it for 150 yuan, they will not only make no money, but also lose money. The transportation cost alone is beyond their ability to bear."
At this time, Zhou Kuan asked: "His Highness just said that this wood cotton cloth is also mixed with some grass cotton, but where does the grass cotton come from?"
Chen Qing smiled and said: "This is one of the main things I want to discuss with you. Kapok can obtain raw materials from Quanzhou and Ryukyu Island, which is within our control, but kapok is mainly produced in Gaochang, and the output is not large, so
We must introduce cotton wool cultivation, and I am considering planting cotton wool specifically in Lanzhou, where the light and heat conditions are more suitable."
"Your Highness, why don't you consider Fengzhou? Over there is the Beitao Plain of the Yellow River, and we can take advantage of this opportunity to develop it." Guan Shigu suggested.
Chen Qing smiled and said: "Actually, I have considered Fengzhou. There are many plains there, the land is fertile, irrigation is convenient, and there is sufficient light and heat. It can become a large granary and grow grass and cotton. But one problem now is population.
The shortcomings are that planting and harvesting cotton requires a lot of labor, and the second is safety issues. Before we completely deal with the nomads on the grassland, we cannot migrate a large number of people to Fengzhou, so Fengzhou can be considered in ten years."
“But Lanzhou doesn’t have a large population either!”
"There are miners and their families over there in Lanzhou, and I'm considering using them to grow cotton."
The miners near Lanzhou are mainly 20,000 Xixia soldiers and their families, totaling 100,000 people. They have all been changed to mining status. They have been mining for generations, and their families live together. Of course, they have income and can support their families.
They were well fed and clothed, and their children could study for free. At the same time, several temples were built there to guide and appease them spiritually.
It is a good idea to use miners and their family members to grow grass wool. It can increase the miners' income and obtain a large amount of grass wool at the same time.
Chen Qing's plan was unanimously approved by everyone.
Everyone dispersed in excitement, and Chen Qing called out to Jiang Yanxian.
"The year before last, I requested that alfalfa should be planted in large quantities on all river banks, on the edges of fields and beside streams."
Jiang Yanxian smiled slightly and said: "It is already being implemented. When spring starts next month, and your Highness goes to inspect the spring plowing, you will make a surprising discovery."
Chen Qing smiled happily and said, "Then I look forward to seeing you!"
Returning to the official room, Chen Qing asked Lu Wei and Zhong Huan, who had been waiting for a long time, to come in.
When it comes to reporting specific situations, Wang Hao usually lets Zhong Huan face King Yong himself, which also gives him a chance.
"Your Highness, our people followed Wang Shuang to Xianyang. We just got the news from Xianyang. He entered the yard with a wooden box. In addition, Wang Shuang bought a batch of goods from Xianyang's men a few days ago.
Thousands of sheepskins, Iron Fire Thunder will probably be hidden in the sheepskins and transported away."
"Very good, let the internal guards monitor you all the way. If conditions don't allow, I would rather give up monitoring than be discovered by the other party."
"Bizhi prepared to arrange a caravan to wait in Hedong City and set off from Hedong Road to Damingfu, Hebei. It is estimated that they are more likely to go to Fuyangxing."
"It's not spring yet, can they pass through the Taihang Mountains?"
"It should be possible. This year, there was a heavy snowfall on Hedong Road just like ours. I saw other businessmen who came from Hebei a few days ago. They said that the road was not closed due to the heavy snow."
Chen Qing nodded, "Be more thoughtful when selecting businessmen. You must choose locals and don't have Chinese accents. In a word, you must monitor them but not make them suspicious."
"The humble position will definitely make careful arrangements!"
Zhong Huan bowed and left. Chen Qing smiled at Lu Wei and said, "Tell me more about your transaction today! I'm very interested."
