bayedsolid Chapter 308 A coup
Chapter 308 A coup
Then he continued, "To be honest, I wrote a letter to Master Wu Qi and asked him to buy a batch of cloth at a high price."
"Are there many weaving workshops in your area? Are they run by farmers themselves or by gentry?" Shen Xiaoye had to ask clearly. She now vaguely understood why Master Wu Qi had invited her here before. It was not to deal with any land, but probably to use his name to import large quantities of cloth.
Magistrate Tan said: "All of them are available. The gentry do not need my efforts. They have their own channels. All we need to do is to coordinate with them to stop suppressing the prices of the farmers privately.
Fortunately, these people are from the local area, so they dare not lower the price too much when buying cotton."
He took a sip of the soup and continued, "There are very few partnerships that farmers can form, and most of them are individual farmers. In addition, in the early days of the country, Emperor Taizu vigorously promoted cotton planting and allowed cotton cloth to be used to offset tax grain.
The grain yield in Suining was not as high as that of cotton cloth, so naturally the cotton fields flourished.
In addition, they were very capable. Before, cloth merchants provided looms first and collected money later, so many families had looms.
Nowadays their cloth is woven better than before, but the big trading companies outside don’t know about this place.
If the Wu family's Derun Cloth Shop had been run properly and not taken the lead in colluding with other cloth merchants to deduct money, it would have been a win-win for both sides."
His friend snorted coldly: "You, you are always worrying about them. As a county lord, you were summoned to the capital to discuss matters, but you still didn't forget to find the owner of the goods for the farmers below.
Did you know that the gentry of Suning have complained to the prefect, saying that you are bullying the gentry?"
"I've only heard of oppressing the common people, how come there's also talk of oppressing the gentry?" Lin Erniu was stunned.
Shen Xiaoye motioned for him to pour the wine, saying that the magistrate must have suppressed the local gentry and done practical things for the common people, such as supporting the county school, building water conservancy projects for farmers, and clearing up unjust imprisonment of the common people.
At this time, the old escort leader Chang raised his cup and said, "Cheers to the county lord, please help us, the people of Guizhou, to see the light of day."
Shen Xiaoye raised his glass in response: "You are an official who really gets things done.
I will go to Suning tomorrow to have a look. As long as there is cloth to buy, I will definitely give a reasonable price."
Magistrate Tan drank it happily and chatted with them throughout the meal. He said that he would send his attendant to lead the way for them the next morning. Both parties returned home with great satisfaction.
Early the next morning, Magistrate Tan's attendant found the carriage inn and followed Shen Xiaoye and his companions to the county town, and emphasized which villages had the most individual weaving households.
After listening to him, Shen Xiaoye felt that the scattered weaving farmers would gradually be replaced by weaving workshops, which was the reason for their lack of competitiveness.
Suining was only sixty miles away from the provincial capital, and they entered the county town later that afternoon.
Not to mention, there are more cloth shops on this street than anywhere else.
Coincidentally, when she passed by a cloth shop, she saw Mr. Miao.
The other party didn't expect that she had come too, and came out to greet her with a smile. Everyone was here to find Bu Yuan's colleague, so they would meet each other every time they looked up or down.
Moreover, maybe I will have to ask the Shen family to dye the cloth.
Shen Xiaoye had the same idea. Everyone wants to buy goods at a low price and sell them at a high price.
So they talked to each other in great harmony and then said goodbye to each other.
But Mr. Miao revealed a piece of news that a shopkeeper under Mr. Wu Qiye also appeared in Suining.
Shen Xiaoye knew that the Wu family was unwilling to give up this source of goods, and they would probably choose to purchase goods from the gentry just like Miao Dongjia.
But she didn't expect that the Wu family was also well-informed. Almost as soon as they were arranged to stay by the county magistrate's attendant, Manager Wu, whom she had dealt with in Tongzhou, came to visit them.
As soon as they met, he said, "Seventh Master sent a message saying that he is in Beijing right now and cannot get away, so he cannot talk to you in detail, but Miss Shen will definitely come here.
Sure enough, I saw your convoy entering the city today.
Miss Shen, can we sit down and have a good talk? "
"Of course I can." In comparison, she trusted the people in Wu Qiye's group.
Manager Wu stated his purpose directly: "It is like this. Last year, the shopkeeper of the first house injured someone in Hexi Village, seven or eight miles south of the city, causing the weaving workshop under construction there to be suspended until now.
I approached many wealthy local families, hoping to form a partnership with them. The Wu family only paid but did not show up, but in the end, all the efforts fell through due to profit sharing."
"Have you or any manager of Derun Cloth Shop ever visited the injured person's home to apologize?" Shen Xiaoye only asked this.
The military officer nodded and said, "We did go, but because the mother of one of the injured heard about the fight and ran to help her son, she slipped and fell into the river and could not be saved.
The people in that village were determined not to allow our people to go in to pay their respects, but this was really an accident.
Moreover, the people from Hexi Village stole one or two thousand pieces of cloth from our warehouse. They had received money for the cloth, but the young master did not allow them to be investigated later."
She thought to herself, with the price you guys offered, anyone would be anxious, even if it was deducted from the interest on renting the loom, it couldn't be that low, "Manager Wu, let alone fighting and conflict, there are lives involved.
We can't possibly cooperate in the Hexi Village you mentioned." Shen Xiaoye flatly refused. This was an era that emphasized filial piety, and the village had a strong clan concept. No matter whose name the workshop was opened, the parties involved might take extreme actions.
Moreover, the cloth that was snatched back was also due to the fact that your cloth shop charged very low prices in the first place, otherwise there wouldn't have been a fight.
Manager Wu asked sincerely, "Can't you take 40%?"
"No, even if Master Wu Qi comes in person, it won't work." Shen Xiaoye thought for a moment, and then said, "I suggest you give up the villages over there, and if possible, sell the cotton fields to the villages at a low price through the government.
This will help to restore some of the reputation and reopen the restaurant at a new location."
Manager Wu smiled bitterly and said, "Young Master and Master Qi have discussed this before. This is the last resort.
The output of those hundreds of acres of cotton fields is really not low.”
Shen Xiaoye asked carefully: "What is the harvest this year?"
"It's not good. The nearby village deliberately cut off the water, which affected the irrigation." Manager Wu also made a last-ditch effort. Now it seems that it won't work. "We can only transfer it to the local gentry. The farmers can't afford it.
If the price is too low, it will offend the local gentry.
After all, we will deal more with large weaving workshops rather than individual investors in the future.”
Shen Xiaoye admitted this. She was not able to persuade others to give up their capital. After sending away the disappointed Wu Guanshi, Uncle Lin, who had been accompanying her without interrupting, asked, "Will the Wu family still give us cloth in the future?"
"My cousin, yes. Besides, Hexi Village is the cotton field of Derun Cloth Shop. As for Master Wu Qi himself..." There should be another piece of land but it is not in his name.
Shen Xiaoye seemed to remember that Master Wu Qi had mentioned that when he had chosen Suining's cotton cloth, Master Wu Qi had already kept some in reserve.
This is how family business works. Once it becomes big, everyone will have selfish motives.
This little incident on that day did not affect Shen Xiaoye's actions the next day at all.
For several days in a row, she wandered around the countryside and agreed on the price and collection time with the weaving farmers. In the end, she went to Hexi Village, which was closest to the county town.
It is worth mentioning that when Old Escort Chang met the head of the village in Hexi Village, he recognized him as the man who sold cloth for seventy cents at Cangzhou Wharf last year.
Apparently the village head also recognized him, because after buying the cloth, his grandfather Shen Shanyou, who was traveling with them, asked for their address in detail and even left him his name.
He said: "You really found me! Brother Shen keeps his word.
But let me make it clear first, cloth can no longer be sold at 70 cents a piece, even if you are his granddaughter."
It was a special case at the time, and every time he thought of the difference between the prices that a few guys quoted at the dock and then took away by profiteers at a lower price, he regretted it.
Fortunately, they only sold the three or four hundred horses for a trial at seven cents, and the next day they sold the one thousand horses at one cent and seventy-eight, but they were also sold out.
"Of course, I will look at the quality of the cloth and give different prices ranging from one penny and one cent to one penny and four cents." Shen Xiaoye naturally knew this from Magistrate Tan and Manager Wu. The village head was worried that the Wu family would come after him again, so he organized the villagers to sell the cloth at the canal dock two hundred miles away. Grandpa and Old Escort Chang happened to arrive there at that time.
The head of Hexi Village frowned and said, "One cent is too little. You know, one pound of cotton wool costs thirty cents, and three pounds cost one piece of cloth. With an extra twenty cents, it's better not to weave it." This is the same price as when selling it to the gentry.
Shen Xiaoye asked Erniu to take out the different grades of cotton cloth woven by his family, and took out the best three-foot-tall cloth. "Take out yours to compare. This kind of cloth costs one cent and four cents in Linghe County."
"Newly woven?" The head of Hexi Village looked at it and passed it to the weavers in the village for comparison.
They looked at each other and found that the sample cloth the little girl brought was tighter and smoother than the ones they had woven.
Someone stepped forward and asked, "Is the Linghe County you are talking about south or north of us?"
Shen Xiaoye said: "In the north, next to the capital, the weather is the same as yours, dry in winter.
Look, this one was knitted last winter." She then took out a few more pieces of different grades to show them.
Uncle Lin pulled Erniu and Zhuangzhuang, who were standing beside him, and asked them to keep a close eye on the cloth so that no one could take it away.
"Dad, look, there are more than ten people from our convoy following in. The villagers are afraid." Lin Erniu was not worried at all. The veterans were not just for show. If Xiao Ye hadn't been worried about scaring the villagers, the remaining ones at the village entrance would have come in as well.
Of course, with the head of Hexi Village here, no one dares to have any bad intentions. It’s not easy to find a reliable cloth merchant, and everyone is counting on selling at a high price!
"Why is your cloth so dense? We can weave it like this in summer, but not in winter and autumn." The weavers in the village were very puzzled.
Shen Xiaoye smiled and said, "Of course there is a trick."
When the villagers couldn't help asking what the trick was, the village head shouted at them, "How can you let other people's secrets be leaked to others?"
"It's not impossible." As soon as Shen Xiaoye opened her mouth, dozens of people in front of her stared at her.
She said, "Well, when you go to the county school gate to sell me the cloth tomorrow, I will ask the county magistrate to explain it to you."
The villagers were disappointed: "Not today."
"No, I'll take it to someone who knows about cloth and have them evaluate the grades for everyone." Shen Xiaoye hasn't been traveling around for nothing these past few days. She has found people in the surrounding villages who are particularly knowledgeable about the business and invited everyone to participate in the rating, with generous rewards.
This was also to reassure the farmers, so she would wait for County Magistrate Tan to return from the provincial capital, and then ask students who knew mathematics outside the county school to help with the accounting.
County Magistrate Tan was on his way back. He and Shen Xiaoye had agreed to collect the cloth in a centralized manner. After the cloth was graded, the farmers would have a better idea of the quality and would not be easily cheated by the cloth merchants.
As for the gentry who controlled the business, even if they did not like Shen Xiaoye to make the prices transparent, they would still endure it if they could get the method to weave high-quality cloth in winter.