Zhu Hao's family moved, this time back to their former home.
The house had been in the hands of the Zhu family for half a year. Not to mention the poor operation of the shop, the backyard was also ruined beyond recognition. Zhu Niang found someone to tidy it up again this time. The garden and pool were sorted out, tiles were removed from the roof, and the door was painted with new paint.
The windows were all covered with glazed glass, and all the furniture and other items were bought new.
After getting everything ready, ten days passed and the family happily moved back.
“It’s still comfortable at home.”
Zhu Hao tossed and turned on the newly made big bed. The high bed and soft pillows were extremely comfortable.
Zhu Niang no longer had to pretend to be low-key for the time being. She could finally give her son a decent life. The bedding she prepared was all made of fine satin material covered with cotton quilts and felt very smooth.
During the Ming Dynasty, merchants were only allowed to wear cloth, which was insulated from silk, gauze, silk, etc., but there were no restrictions on others.
Although Zhu Niang went out to do business, she was still a chaste woman given by the imperial court. Her husband was once a member of the imperial family, and could barely be regarded as an official. This also brought convenience to the life of mother and son. There were not so many restrictions in life, so it was not said that they were making money.
If money can buy good things, you also have to walk at night in fine clothes.
"Xiao Hao, come out and help."
Madam Zhu greeted me at the gate of the courtyard.
Zhu Hao ran out of the room and saw Xiaobai and Aunt Li coming in carrying two heavy boxes filled with gold and silver.
Now we are nominally separated from the Zhu family, but we still can't bring all our belongings back, and we can't hide everything outside. This time we brought back a money box with at least two thousand taels worth of belongings in it.
"Put it in the cellar so that you can be prepared in case someone comes."
Zhu Niang whispered to Aunt Li.
Aunt Li went to the room with a cellar. This cellar existed originally. The entrance was behind a row of ancient bookshelves. It was very secret. When renovating the house this time, Zhu Niang accidentally discovered it and did not alert others. In order to raise suspicion, Zhu
My mother asked someone to dig two new cellars, which are currently used to store cloth and other items, while the old cellar is used to hide money.
Then Zhu Niang called Zhu Hao to the main room and asked Zhu Hao to place a spiritual tablet for his late father and offer incense.
Finally, the mother and son came to the yard, and Zhu Niang asked: "I heard that your grandmother has been selling glassware recently, but it is not going well... Will the Zhu family come to trouble us?"
In the past, she would rarely ask her son about these things.
But now her son seems to have the ability to predict. Every time there is a dispute with the Zhu family, Zhu Hao can accurately predict the situation. She cannot help but not talk to her son when something happens.
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "No, they sell one tael of silver per piece. Even if they can sell it in a big city, in a small place like Anlu, unless it is a wealthy family like Prince Xing's Mansion, who will buy it? I guess.
They are now thinking about how to sell the utensils elsewhere and have no time to take care of us."
"One tael of silver..."
Mother Zhu was speechless about the price of glassware sold by the Zhu family.
"Mom, do you remember that we did business with Mr. Su before? We sold him fifty cents a piece, but he refused to buy it. This shows that he has a clear understanding of the market for this thing... I guess in a place like Nanjing,
The price of a piece of glassware is less than a hundred cents. The Zhu family regards the bottles and jars we gave him as treasures and is reluctant to sell them at a lower price."
Zhu Hao looked like he was watching the excitement.
You Zhu family think that glassware is very valuable, and you have never heard of anyone selling it everywhere, so you think you can make a lot of money.
But I don’t know that this thing is flashy and unrealistic.
Although there are few artificial glassware in the Ming Dynasty, the problem is that the value of replaceable items is only so high. This item can be sold at a high price, but the quantity that can be sold is quite limited. Ordinary people spend dozens of pennies to buy a glass bottle.
What's the purpose of bringing the glass jar back? To hold water? Isn't it good to use a water jar? It will break when touched, and it's not as strong as a water jar!
Transparent and opaque... When every household needs this thing to arrange flowers? The key point is that even if someone uses it to arrange flowers, there is no other substitute? Doesn't cheap ceramics smell good?
"By the way, Xiao Hao, shopkeeper Ma came to inform yesterday that Dongzhu Su was on his way to Anlu. He said he had important matters to discuss, and he also pointed out that he wanted to talk to you... If you have time, please tell me
Uncle Zhong, Yu San and the others went to see Shopkeeper Ma to find out what was going on."
Zhu Niang found that she was marginalized, and her son was in charge of all business matters. Su Xigui seemed to be only willing to talk to Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "Okay, Mom, I understand. If Mom wants to go, we will go together."
"No need. It will be of great benefit to you to have more contact with Dongzhu Su. It will be of great benefit to your future conduct... Now that we have a family, we can let go of business matters as much as possible. Everything must be based on your studies."
…
…
Zhu Niang took back the shop and house left by her husband, but she did not plan to open another shop and do business.
Now that the family has a big business, why should she do something that is thankless? Even if the neighbors have any needs, she can still donate in times of famine and have peace of mind.
At the moment, she prefers to be a landlord and live a peaceful life. If she doesn't do business, she doesn't have to worry about making her business bigger and stronger and being remembered by the Zhu family again.
Anyway, I don’t lack anything now. If I have money, I’ll buy more land and collect rent and live with peace of mind.
But Zhu Hao's position for Zhu Niang was to be the "richest man" in the Ming Dynasty.
Separating from the Zhu family is a key step in making the business bigger.
Only by not being bound by the family can we bring more advanced things to the Ming Dynasty and let it make money for the family and make enough money.
After all, money cannot be obtained by taking the imperial examination. Officials in the Ming Dynasty were notoriously low in salary. Zhu Hao did not intend to become a corrupt official, but wanted to make money with his own hands and use this to change the times.
A few days later.
As expected, Su Xigui came to Anlu Prefecture in person.
He immediately visited Zhu Niang after arriving, and in the afternoon met Zhu Hao, who had specially taken a half-day leave from the palace.
"Master Zhu, it's been a long time. Come and sit down."
Su Xigui hosted a banquet for Zhu Hao alone in the middle of the afternoon. The flattering smile on his face made Zhu Hao see that the other party wanted something from him.
Zhu Hao asked Yu San to wait outside first, and Su Xigui also screened Shopkeeper Ma and others away.
The two of them sat at the only table on the second floor of the restaurant, facing a dozen exquisite dishes. Zhu Hao thought about it. Even if his family was rich, they couldn't eat so much chicken, duck, and fish every day.
"Little Master, shall we use the chopsticks?" Su Xigui smiled.
Zhu Hao said: "You're welcome, Mr. Su. Let's just say what we have to say. It's not too late to eat after we finish talking."
"Okay, Mr. Zhu is not a pedantic person. It's a pleasure to do business with you. If we have anything to say, let's talk directly... When I came here, I heard that your family's workshop has been handed over to the Zhu family? What kind of mirror business will you do in the future?
…”
Su Xigui raised issues he was concerned about as soon as he came up.
Zhu Hao smiled lightly: "Not affected."
"Ha ha."
Su Xi's eyebrows were dancing, "I knew you were prepared...how much money can you make from those things? Glazed bowls are flashy and will crack when exposed to slight heat and can easily hurt people; glazed bottles and jars are of little use and cannot compare to good pottery.
The vases; the glazed cups and glazed tiles are of some use, but the price is too high and I can't sell them... I gave them to the Zhu family, and they won't have any impact on you, but I just want to get your personal confirmation."
After Su Xigui received the letter from Shopkeeper Ma, how could he not guess Zhu Hao's intention with his shrewdness?
Hand over the glassware business, which has little market prospect, to the Zhu family, exchange the Zhu family's hands for the authority to single-handedly pass the split, and then monopolize the silver mirror and eyeglasses business, and go big...
Su Xigui was very aware of the grievances and grievances between Zhu Hao's family and the family behind him, so naturally he firmly considered the issue from Zhu Hao's point of view.
Not just for business, but also because he had suffered a lot at Zhu Jia's place.
"Just one more thing."
Su Xigui finally got to the point, "It's like this. The chief envoy of this province wants to present a treasure to the court, which is a mirror that can be used as a bronze mirror, but a small mirror is not good and needs to be larger..."
Zhu Hao understood immediately.
Huang Zan is currently doing things in the court to prepare for his future appointment as a capital official. Instead of trying to please the elders and ministers, he might as well take a shortcut, which is to give the emperor a generous gift that is unique in the world and build a grand palace.
If you send me a glass mirror, the emperor will definitely like it and will be promoted.
Zhu Hao asked: "How big does it need to be?"
Su Xigui said with a smile: "The bigger the better, it depends on how big the silver mirror can be made...and it is best to make two sides at once. You also know that this thing may not be reliable during transportation.
If something goes wrong, at least there will be a spare side."
After careful consideration, even Zhu Hao felt that Huang Zan's method of sending two silver mirrors to the emperor was a good one.
Zhu Houzhao is a master who likes novelty things. In addition, Huang Zan had a good official reputation and contributed to the court's contribution to the salt-drying method. This time the mirror is sent to the emperor, and the emperor has a great chance of being directly promoted to the central government as the Minister of the Sixth Department.
"It's not impossible..."
Zhu Hao sounded embarrassed, but his face was full of confidence.
Su Xigui is a smart person, and of course he knows what Zhu Hao wants to express. He said with a smile: "It's not in vain to ask the young master to help, you think this is good... Two mirrors, preferably more than three feet square, guaranteed to be one
One thousand five hundred taels of silver, plus one foot more in length or width, I will give you an extra five hundred taels, up to three thousand taels, what do you think?"
Zhu Hao waved his hand: "You can't make it too big. The bigger it is, the easier it is to break, isn't it? Why don't we just multiply two feet by four feet, and we'll get seven hundred and fifty pieces per side? What do you think?"
Su Xigui did a simple calculation and found that it was only eight square feet, one size smaller than the original nine square feet, but the price remained the same...
He smiled and said: "Young master, you are still good at settling accounts, so it's settled. I wonder when will the mirror be made? I can have it sent to the capital earlier."
Zhu Hao thought for a while: "Why does it take ten days and a half... I have ready-made colored glaze, but the craftsmanship must be exquisite. It is best to inlay gold, silver and gemstones on the edges. Does the frame also need to be made of good rosewood?"
?”
Su Xigui's eyes lit up when he heard this: "You want it, you want it. Just ask if you need anything. If there is any shortage, I will buy it back at a high price, or transport it from elsewhere... The young master is really thoughtful."
"Will Mr. Su go back to Wuchang, or wait here?" Zhu Hao asked.
Su Xigui smiled and said: "Just wait here, and then go directly to the capital. Stay in Anlu for a few days, and maybe talk to Tang Bohu about poetry and painting... Does the young master have something else to do?"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Today there are four updates again. The next chapter will be delivered at 12 noon. Please support me by subscribing! Double monthly ticket for the last 16 hours. I beg you!