The third elder brother was talking to the fourth elder brother and was begging him for help: "My Fujin is like a demon right now. He wishes he could open his house into a pharmacy. Medicines are expensive in the capital. The money spent on purchasing medicinal materials in the past few months has been like running water.
It’s not easy to send someone out of Beijing to buy some medicinal materials. This time, your retinue will pass through Hangzhou and help Third Brother buy some medicinal materials for you to come back..."
Hangzhou is an important intersection of waterways and fortresses and has one of the largest medicinal markets in Jiangnan.
This is just a piece of cake and doesn't cost anything.
The fourth elder brother agreed and just said: "After all, it is a guard and it is a waterway. The warehouses will be fixed by then. I'm afraid it will be inconvenient if there are more."
Now that he has gone to Jiangnan, he still needs to buy things here, and he will also need to occupy some space when the time comes.
The third elder brother took out a folded leaf and said: "It's not too much, not too much, and it can't be eaten as food. In a few years, the efficacy of the medicine will be exhausted. Just save a few kilograms of each item and it will be enough."
The fourth elder brother took the folded leaf and couldn't laugh or cry.
There are hundreds of kinds of medicinal materials, the most is ten kilograms, and the least is only two or three kilograms.
Is such a small portion worth buying thousands of miles away?
Even if there is a price difference between the north and the south, how much money can the difference be?
Dozens of taels of silver are worth the money, and it's still worth talking about.
The third elder brother coughed slightly and said: "We have made a fortune. The salary is fixed, but the expenses are huge. It is better to save as much as possible."
The fourth elder brother agreed to help and collected the folded pages without being verbose.
After the third elder brother finished one thing, he left the fourth elder brother and rushed to the ninth elder brother.
"Lao Jiu, Lao Jiu, do Third Brother a favor..."
With a flattering look on his face, he got straight to the point.
The ninth elder brother took a step back, looked at the third elder brother and shook his head: "My younger brother is not capable enough, how can I help you? You'd better ask others to help!"
The other brother's favor is just a favor and can be favored; this brother's favor costs money and is not easy to do well.
Third Brother: "..."
The tenth elder brother remained motionless.
The other younger brothers also had no intention of avoiding him.
The third elder brother sneered and said: "I haven't said anything about being busy yet, Lao Jiu, you are really..."
The ninth elder brother had just seen the general conversation between the third elder brother and the fourth elder brother, and also saw the third elder brother picking up the folded page.
Seeing that I am about to go out, can I ask for help at this time?
Besides helping carry things, what else can you do?
The south of the Yangtze River is prosperous, and Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Ningxia are all beautiful places that pass along the way, and the east and west are more complete than the capital city.
I still have a lot of things to buy for my own house, and I’m not willing to peddle this.
Brother Ninth Brother said with a bit of a scoundrel: "I'm lazy and useless. I can't help you much. Third Brother, if you insist on giving me orders, you are making things difficult for me and don't feel sorry for my brother..."
The third elder brother also heard it and hurriedly shook his head and said: "Don't worry, I don't want to tell you, I just want to tell you..."
At this point, he looked at his younger brothers who were watching the fun and couldn't continue. He pulled Brother Jiu and walked a few steps aside, and whispered: "I'm not in the Ministry of Rites now. There are relationships between colleagues in this yamen.
Most of them are elegant things, so I was wondering if I could tell you if, for my birthday gift in February, I could fold two boxes of stones and leave them alone."
His birthday is February 20th.
Even if the ninth elder brother is not in the capital, this gift must be complete and cannot be short.
After hearing this, Brother Jiu couldn't help baring his teeth and said: "Are you serious? This comes with a discount gift? Since you want to take the Chang fossil as a gift, just buy a few boxes."
The third elder brother looked at the ninth elder brother with resentment in his eyes, and said: "Both of the two shops selling Changshi fossils in the capital are yours. In five years, the price has increased tenfold. What was once a few tens of renminbi became a few hundred renminbi."
The 'plum blossom blood' now costs more than ten taels of silver!"
Brother Jiu listened with pride on his face and said: "Things are rare and valuable. Nowadays, only a few hundred Changshi seals are released in the capital every year, and the top ones are even less, more than a dozen taels of silver."
It’s not a loss if you buy it early, you’ll get it early. In a few years, it may cost dozens of taels! Besides, if you want to give it away as a gift, can a gift of several hundred pennies be the same as a gift of more than a dozen taels of silver?”
The capital invested in this transaction was not much, but the subsequent returns were considerable.
Originally, Brother Jiu planned to increase the price of Changshi fossils over a period of three years to make a quick buck.
Later, when he saw the price increase of Chang Fossil, he couldn't bear it and began to slow down the price. As a result, the increase became more fierce and the profits became more abundant.
According to his current selling method, the rough stones he hoards can be sold for decades.
Don't underestimate these stones. This income alone can equal the value of several imperial villages.
In a few years, the annual income from the prosperous stone will be used as filial piety in the palace, and it will be almost the same.
The ninth elder brother was not used to the third elder brother, and said: "You also know that a seal can cost more than ten taels. Your two-fold box should cost at least twenty taels. That birthday gift is only a few hundred taels of silver.
For a casual birthday, there are only a hundred or so birthday gifts..."
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The third elder brother was lucky and said: "Am I the only one else? Why do you use the selling price to convert it, but you can't use the principal price to convert it?"
Brother Jiu shook his head and said: "How do you calculate this cost? The purchase price of the ore only accounts for part of it, and the transportation from the south of the Yangtze River to the capital, as well as the carving skills of the masters who have retired from the internal manufacturing office, are almost 80% of the selling price.
Already..."
The third elder brother laughed angrily and said: "You think I don't have a shop in my house. The goods in whose shop only increase the price by 25% on the cost? The selling price five years ago is displayed there. The price at which you purchased the ore.
, at most 20% or 30% of the selling price, how much does this cost still count?”
Brother Jiu curled his lips and said: "Do you understand why I am not willing to give the Changzhi fossil as a birthday gift to you? I obviously made a loss, so I kept it and sold it in the shop, earning a few hundred taels of silver, but what about giving it to you in exchange?
, you got an advantage and still behaved, but based on the cost, you still have to mutter in your heart that I used stones as birthday gifts to take advantage!"
Third Brother: "..."
After all, we have been brothers for more than 20 years. Who doesn’t know who?
Lao Jiu really spoke from his heart.
The third elder brother knew that this matter would not work out.
He reluctantly said: "Then according to the cost you said, I will give my brother two boxes..."
At this point, I thought that the price of Changshi stone seals was increasing every year, but the favor exchanges in this officialdom were indispensable. I also wanted to hoard a few more, so I changed my mind and said: "Four boxes!"
The adults in the Ministry of Etiquette are all noble, and the only things that can be used as gifts are the study room and other things.
The seal material is small and small, and if it costs more than a dozen taels of silver, it is considered to be of high quality. However, if it can be replaced with an inkstone or something, at this price, it is a bit unavailable.
Seeing the pain in the third elder brother's flesh, the ninth elder brother was delighted.
But he also knew that it was not easy to take advantage of this.
The third elder brother is such a talker. If you take advantage of him once, you can talk about it for three years.
Besides, it doesn't sound good if you say it out loud.
It's as if he doesn't recognize his relatives and insists on making money from his brother's pocket.
But if Brother Jiu delivers it directly, he is not willing to suffer a loss.
As for Third Brother's behavior, if you let him take advantage once, there will be a second time.
Besides, there are so many older brothers and younger brothers who have set this precedent. If he takes advantage of this today, and another one takes advantage of others tomorrow, he will suffer a loss.
A favor gives a horse, but a trade does not spare a needle.
He said: "My family doesn't have a cloth shop or a silk shop. My third brother's family has both. Otherwise, we just fold cloth!"
Among the expenses of Baylor Mansion, cloth and satin also account for a large part.
From the master to the servants below, clothes must be added all year round.
The masters had their work cut by needleworkers, while the servants below received the cloth and silk directly.
After hearing this, the third elder brother's eyes lit up and he said: "Okay, okay, fold the cloth, fold the cloth..."
At this point, his eyes were a little wandering and he said: "Then I will also discount it at 80% of the selling price..."
Brother Jiu said boldly: "I'll listen to you, do whatever is convenient for you."
The third elder brother felt that he had taken advantage and said with a smile: "Brother, please change a few more boxes to save yourself the trouble of changing them later!"
Brother Jiu thought for a while and then set a limit and said: "Now I release forty boxes every year, including twenty boxes of carved materials and twenty boxes of white materials. If I give you more, I will give it to you in the shop."
There is not enough to sell, so I will give you at most five boxes of each item..."
Literary men are somewhat elegant.
Some people like white materials and carve them themselves.
After hearing this, Third Brother thought about the rising trend of his favorite "Plum Blossom Blood" in recent years, with the price increasing by several percent every year.
Lao Jiu holds a warehouse of ore, but he only lets out these printing materials, just hoarding the goods.
If I want to change it next year, it won’t be at this price.
The third elder brother gritted his teeth and said: "Brother finally said, don't have five boxes of each kind, ten boxes of each kind!"
The ninth elder brother looked at the third elder brother, a little surprised, and said: "Thousands of taels of silver, what are you doing with it? You can still be in the Ministry of Rites, and you won't be transferred to another ministry in two years!"
The third elder brother said: "Not only the officials of the Ministry of Rites use this as a good gift, but also the non-commissioned officers recognize it, Ya..."
After hearing this, Brother Jiu was a little reluctant and said, "That's too much. If you hoard a few more boxes, my brother will lose hundreds of taels of silver."
The third elder brother also felt that he had taken advantage of him, and said with a smile: "We have agreed, so don't be nagging, I won't always change with you..."