Hong Gouzi finally agreed to go to the countryside to collect rat tails for Eunuch Cao. In fact, it didn't cost much. He sent two or three children to collect rat tails during the day and came back at night. The children's wages were not high. If you pay me more than ten yuan, you will definitely be satisfied.
This is one of the reasons why Cao Zhe asked Hong Gouzi to do this errand. If he asked an adult to do it, the day's wages would be at least 30 yuan and up. Hong Gouzi would have much easier time here, and he would give him a few enamels a day. The pots and pans will make this kid come home with a full load.
The purchase price of an enamel washbasin is about three taels of silver. If you sell one Hong Gouzi, you can earn back the cost of collecting rat tails. If you sell four or five, he can earn about one taen of silver a day. This is Not to mention a child, even Hong Gouzi's father had to work as a coolie for two or three days to earn so much money.
"Today, we all go out to the city to collect rat tails. We need to familiarize ourselves with the road first. After we establish ourselves as leaders, we only need two or three people to go there every day." After receiving the errand, Hong Gouzi quickly summoned his followers. Get up and prepare to take them out of the city for a trip first.
"Second Master, it's so far out of the city. If we go there, we will come back hungry."
"You don't need to worry about this matter. I will spend money to buy cornbread for everyone before leaving the city. I will definitely buy enough for you to eat and I won't let you all go hungry."
The little followers who were originally worried that they would be hungry after traveling far away were relieved once they heard that their elder brother would take care of the food. These days, when children go out, it is the happiest thing if they can have enough to eat. Only the adults at home can do it. It doesn't matter where they go to have fun.
After spending twenty pennies at a steamed bun stall near the city gate, Hong Gouzi's team bought thirty coarse grain steamed buns and took them with them, and then left the city.
After walking for more than twenty miles, it was already noon. We happened to encounter a village. The Honggouzi imitated the adults and shouted to keep the rat tail as they entered the village.
The villagers were very curious about this group of young men who came into the village and shouted. Someone came over and asked them how much a rat tail cost.
"Uncle, I'll charge you one penny per stick according to the official price."
"Do you really charge the official price for this doll of yours?"
"Uncle, it's natural that the goods will be collected according to official standards. We, Lord Shu, are here to receive the goods. How can we trap you? Go to Nancheng and ask around. Lord Shu has a reputation."
What Mouse Master? I’ve never heard of it! Looking at the gang of boys pretending to be adults in front of him, the villager who asked the question was very suspicious. However, he felt that as an adult, he would not be deceived by a bunch of boys. .So he turned around and returned home and took out the rat tail that was at home.
"Uncle, here are sixteen rat tails. I'll give you sixteen cents. You click on them." Hong Gouzi checked the rat tail and found that there was nothing wrong with it. He counted the sixteen cents and handed it to this man. villagers.
With the precedent of the first transaction, the villagers with rat tails suddenly became interested and hurried home to get their own inventory. After a while, Hong Gouzi collected more than 200 rat tails.
At this time, he had to stop, because the capital he brought out was gone. These days of selling rat tails, he had only saved so much private money, and he could not have imagined that he would finish the capital as soon as he started.
The story of collecting rat tails in the capital has long spread in the surrounding countryside. Seeing that rat tails can be exchanged for money, the villagers joined the army of rat hunters. However, it was not as convenient for them to exchange money as in the city, and the eunuchs in the palace only set up stalls in the city. So if they want to change money, they either have to go to the city themselves, or buy from a dealer who goes out of the city to collect rat tails. It is not worthwhile to go to the city specifically to sell rat tails, and selling to the dealer is lower than the official price. So when Hong When the dog uses the official price to collect the rat's tail, it will be collected so quickly.
With the two hundred or so rat tails collected, Hong Gouzi's team began to return to the city. When they passed a small river on the way, they ate up all the cornbread in the cold water of the river, and then went home with their stomachs full.
As soon as he entered the city, Hong Gouzi went to Eunuch Cao's stall and handed all the rat tails to the young eunuch who was doing the work.
"Gouzi, are you leaving the city today?" Seeing that Hong Gouzi brought more rat tails than usual, Eunuch Cao hurried over to ask about the situation.
"After leaving the city, let's take a trip first and see if we can do this."
"How is the situation? Are there many rat tails in the countryside?"
"There are quite a lot of rat tails in the countryside, but I have little capital and can only collect so much at a time."
"Hey, you are so clever. This is the general's army. Just wait!"
While Eunuch Cao was talking, he took out two large enamel basins and three enamel jars from under the table where he was sitting, placed them in front of Hong Gouzi, and then said: "This is the benefit that the Zajia will give you. , I will give you the book on credit first, and the price will be according to the official price in the palace. When you come next time, just bring the book to the Za family. The more you earn, the less you earn, it depends on your child's ability."
Taking the enamel goods from Eunuch Cao with quick eyes and quick hands, Hong Gouzi hurriedly said goodbye. These things were too big to take home, so he hurried to exchange these things for money before dark.
It was already afternoon at this time, and the market in Nancheng was far less lively than in the morning. However, Hong Gouzi took these pieces of enamel and just found a stall and put the things out when someone came over to ask about the price.
When he heard that the price was only 10% higher than the official price, the buyer immediately bought one. After a while, all five items Hong Gouzi brought were sold.
I did some calculations and found out that after all the hard work today, I made a hundred and thirty cents, leaving aside the capital that I had to give to Eunuch Cao. I gave each of my friends a commission of three cents of silver, and after throwing away the money spent on buying cornbread today, I made a net profit. This is a lot of money. This is the first day. If you add in the income from catching mice in the future, you will have an income of about a hundred yuan a day. This income is already quite high for ordinary people in the capital. , not to mention Hong Gouzi is still a child.
Hong Gouzi, who lives at the bottom, is lucky. By chance, he found a way to turn around. Although this road is not smooth, it also has great hope. If he continues to live like this in the future, he will not be able to use it. In a few years, he will be able to save some family property, and he also has a team and connections. With these accumulations, he may be able to make a career as an adult.
Not everyone has changed as much as Hong Gouzi these days, but in general, people living in the capital have had a better life these days. Throwing money to the bottom by collecting rat tails, as well as enamel factories and Driven by the arms industry, the stagnant market began to squirm. The most obvious change was that the spontaneous flow of food and other goods into the capital increased, and the prices of daily necessities in the capital were lower than the same period.
The normal market rule is an increase in cash. This year is another drought year, so there should be inflation, currency depreciation, and rising prices. But the market at this time is abnormal. The previously dead market has suppressed the supply chain, causing suppliers to There is no outlet in the market, and there is no liquidity in the buyer's market. When the buyer's side is suddenly injected with live money, the backlog of the supply-side market begins to release pressure, and then there is a situation where the money supply is obviously increasing, but prices are falling. To put it bluntly, The fundamental reason is that there was a shortage of currency in the market in the past, and prices have been operating at a high level for a long time, so much so that the little water Zhu Youjian noted cannot change the situation at all.