What used to be a crowded place is now empty. Occasionally, one or two people show up to ask for debts.
After obtaining the right to sell rice paper, gaining the support of King Xiang, and receiving an order of 20 million taels of silver from Su Xun, the Lu family was originally preparing to go big. For this reason, the two brothers were rubbing shoulders and were eager to give it a try.
Everyone wants to stretch out their hands.
To purchase Nanzhu and acquire workshops, the Lu family simply did not have enough funds, so they owed a lot of money. They just thought that they would be able to pay it back soon after everything went well.
Unexpectedly, the appearance of Shen's rice paper completely plunged the Lu family into a desperate situation. For a time, the Lu family's rice paper was heavily backlogged and could no longer be sold.
The high quality and low price of Shen's rice paper has caused the Lu family to fall from a place where everyone was touting it to a place where everyone is shouting and beating them up. There is an endless stream of debtors. Even if Mr. Lu Wuchiao spent his life savings, he could not fill the hole.
.
The three fathers and sons of the Lu family were sitting in the main hall, each of their faces looking uglier than the last.
It was difficult for Lu Wiqiao, who was almost sixty, to act cautiously and work hard to achieve the Lu family's current foundation. But in the blink of an eye, he was thrown into the dust. You can imagine the feeling of loss.
The eldest brother, Lu Shijiang, and the second child, Lu Shihe, no longer looked as confident as before. They just bowed their heads and remained silent for a while. They chose to make the wrong decision, and it was their intention to become enemies with Shen Ao. Now people are knocking on their door.
However, they didn't even have any countermeasures. At this time, they finally realized that they were not born to do business. Everything they had before was just because they had a good father and everyone praised each other.
"What should I do?" After a long time, Lu Wuqiao finally spoke. As long as he still has breath, he must not watch the Lu family decline. Although after this incident, the Lu family will definitely be severely damaged, and it will also change from the Daqian Dynasty.
He has withdrawn from the first echelon of the wealthy family, and may not even be able to enter the second echelon. But as long as he is still there, there is hope for everything, and at worst, he has to start over again. But he cannot bear the discouragement of his two sons, and it seems that he will never
Life is completely bleak. If you only have this ability to bear it, then even if the Lu family has no immediate problems, sooner or later something will happen, something big will happen.
Facing their father's question, the two brothers still bowed their heads and remained silent. It wasn't that they didn't want to say something, but that they didn't know what to say.
"Hey." Lu Wuchiao finally spoke after a long sigh, "Sell all the rice paper in the warehouse. Isn't Shen's rice paper priced at a price of one tael? We will also sell it at this price."
"Father, you will lose money if you do this." Lu Shihe, the second child, spoke with a crying look on his face.
"You have to sell it at a loss. You can't just put these rice papers in the warehouse to rot. And those Nanzhu, first contact anyone in Daliang City who wants to buy it. If not, send it back to the south. Anyway, how much will we pay?
We also want to sell, first get some cash to cope with the current difficulties. Our Lu family cannot be without integrity, otherwise, our Lu family will have no place in the world in the future." He shouted these words with a stern voice.
At that time, Lu Wuchiao's heart was bleeding, but he still had to do it. He would never allow the Lu family that he had worked hard to be stained with the flaws of not keeping promises and not paying back money. That would be worse than killing him.
It's even more uncomfortable.
Lu Wuchiao made a decision, and whether the two brothers agreed or were dissatisfied, they had no choice but to accept it. The fact was that they had no other option, so what else could they do but follow it?
"Report, sir, here comes Lu Shun." Just when the three of them looked dejected, the voice of the butler outside the door gave them hope again.
Fu Ma Lu Shun is a member of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Could it be that he is here to help them at this time? Thinking of this, the eyes of Lu Wuqiao and the other two people rekindled the fire of hope.
the more you hope, the harder you fall!
Lu Shun came, but not on behalf of the prince to help them, but on behalf of Shen Ao to discuss the acquisition with them.
This last life-saving straw was gone. Although Lu Shun's subsequent conditions were somewhat harsh, in the end Lu Wuchiao still reluctantly agreed on behalf of the Lu family. Although it seemed that they had suffered a lot, compared to them alone, I don't know how long it will take to raise the money from the sale, so Shen Ao's acquisition seems more acceptable.
The final result of the negotiation was that Lu's rice paper was packaged and sold to Shen Ao at a price of 700 yuan per dollar. According to Ma Lushun, the quality of Lu's rice paper was still a bit poor, and it needed to be sold in partnership with Shen's rice paper. The price Naturally it cannot be too high.
The Lu family's workshops, some of which were large in size and in good locations, were all purchased by Lu Shun. All of them were paid in cash. Although the loss was considerable, the Lu family could accept it.
All the Nanzhu hoarded by the Lu family was purchased by Shen Ao at 80% of the cost price. This was naturally another bargain, but compared to the Lu family transporting the Nanzhu back to the south, the shipping cost alone was not a small expense. I still didn’t know if I could sell it, so I had to grit my teeth and agree.
At this point, all the things of the Lu family that were useful to Shen Ao became part of Guo Changlong. After this incident, the Lu family withdrew from the ranks of the wealthy families and fell straight down to the third echelon. They wanted to catch up again, unless they met someone like Lu Wiqiao. Unless such a person has been working hard for decades, it is normal for him to eventually disappear into oblivion.
After Shen Ao's incident, Shen's rice paper officially and completely replaced Lu's rice paper. Because of its high quality and low price, it once entered the southern market and occupied more than 80% of the market in the entire Daqian Dynasty, which brought Shen Ao A large amount of silver has strengthened his own strength.
...
slave market.
Located in the Xicheng District of Daliang, bordering the suburbs, Shen Ao, five people and one monkey in a bullock cart walked for nearly an hour before arriving.
While still only vaguely seeing the crowd, a strange smell had penetrated into everyone's nostrils. Bai Qiutong, who was sitting on the bullock cart, frowned slightly. She was covered with white gauze again today. , but Shen Ao on the side could still imagine that the delicate facial features under the white gauze might have wrinkled together at this moment.
Shen Ao was not used to this smell, but he could still adapt to it. He had never smelled anything in the factory workshop in his previous life, and he showed a calm expression. He looked at the steward Shen Xing, and the guards Shi Lei and Feng Xun who followed them. They all nodded secretly.
Their young master has finally grown up. Not to mention how outstanding his talents and abilities are, his forbearance and ability to adapt are probably far incomparable to those young masters and dandy boys from other noble families.
A bullock cart pulled several wooden boxes on it and came slowly. Those with sharp eyes had already guessed that this was a big customer, a young man of eighteen or nineteen with small eyes and a bright light in his eyes. Then he ran towards the bullock cart from a distance. Before anyone arrived, the voice came first. "Masters, are you here to pick slaves?"
"Who are you?" Guard Feng Xun jumped out first and stood in front of the bullock cart to ensure Shen Ao's personal safety.
Seeing Feng Xun's attitude, the visitor stepped back to the roadside, then bent his body, bowed his head and said: "The young one is the broker here, the dog's name is Weng Jiu, if this is the first time for you guys to come here, Here, something small may play some role."
Weng Jiu looked very humble. Although this should undoubtedly be a big deal, as a broker, you can make a lot of money if you do well, but if you don't serve well, not only will you not get the benefits, but you will also get a lot of money. A whipping is also very possible. A former friend of his who was a broker, because he did not serve a nobleman well and said the wrong thing, he was beaten severely and died after lying in bed for three months. .
Since then, when the noble master came to the slave market, few brokers were willing to accept him. But in Weng Jiu's eyes, many things coexisted with opportunities and risks. Besides, he had not opened a business for a while and was waiting for rice to be cooked at home. Well, then Henhenxin took the initiative to jump out when no one else could hide.
"No need." Before anyone else could speak, steward Shen Xing spoke first and waved his hand. What is a broker? It is a person who gets something for nothing. They use their sharp tongue to make money from other people's pockets. Such people usually They all have no ability.
Being rejected by Shen Xing, a look of disappointment flashed across Weng Jiu's face, but he still stood aside respectfully, not daring to show any dissatisfaction. Otherwise, he was really worried that he would become entangled like a friend and get into trouble. If the nobleman is displeased, he will be whipped.
The curtains have been drawn and the car is covered with soft cushions. This is naturally Shen Ao's masterpiece. Although he cannot use horses due to his status, no matter what he uses, comfort is the first priority. He is not short of money. Of course, it's because of how comfortable it is. Shen Ao saw what happened outside the car, and he even saw the rejection of the butler Uncle Shen. He could also understand Shen Xing's approach, it was just to save some money. , but will the current Zhongguogong government be short of money? Not to mention soap, perfume, iodized salt, and rice paper are now shipped in large quantities every day, just saying that Xianweiju alone is making money every day, and it also needs brokers The little money I made from it.
I'm afraid Shen Xing is used to having children in poverty, so he is not used to having his money taken away by others. Looking at Weng Jiu's outfit, he is wearing a short shirt that has been washed and turned white. It is already November weather. , Except at noon, the weather has been very cold in the morning and evening. Anyone who has extra money will buy a long cloth robe. From this look, he is a poor man. In line with the idea of helping anyone, Shen Ao spoke. , "Let him come over."
Feng Xun, who was about to send Weng Jiu away when he heard Shen Ao speak, nodded and looked at Weng Jiu and said: "A certain young master asked you to come over. Remember, if you speak well, you will benefit a lot, otherwise, you will look good. "