My life skills in Daming Liver

Compared with the anxiety of the officials of the Ministry of War, Li Guozhang's recent days are somewhat leisurely.

After subcontracting the purchase of winter clothes, Li Guozhang had a good time carrying cages and fighting birds every day.

Hou Ping was a small businessman who was stalking around Li Guozhang. Relying on his relationship with Li Wei, Hou Ping also won the right to buy two thousand winter clothes.

This batch of winter clothes totaled 30,000 pieces, and the purchase price set by the imperial court was one tael of silver each.

Li Wei got a profit of two taels of silver from it, and the purchase price he gave Hou Ping was eight taels of silver.

Nowadays, the cheapest and thinnest winter clothes in the Jingshi market cost about six renminbi. Originally, everyone planned that as long as they bought them in the Jingshi market, they could earn two renminbi for a piece of winter clothes.

But Hou Ping soon realized that he was wrong.

As everyone was buying winter clothes in the market, the price of winter clothes in the capital skyrocketed, rising by a full 30% in less than three days, causing the entire capital to complain, and Hou Ping couldn't receive cheap winter clothes at all.

Hou Ping had to go to Dengzhou with several other contracting companions.

Dengzhou port.

Dengzhou was an important town for the northern navy of the Ming Dynasty, a port where Korea and the early Japanese kingdom paid tribute, and also the residence of the northern navy of the Ming Dynasty.

After Hou Ping and others arrived in Dengzhou, they saw a lively scene.

Along the wharf, shops with the sign of "North and South Goods" are spread on both sides of the road, and all kinds of goods are placed directly on the boxes for the merchants to pick and choose.

Hou Ping watched all the way, really dazzled.

From the sound of selling, Hou Ping also figured out what is called North-South goods.

"Southern goods" are the goods shipped from Susong, Fujian and Vietnam, which contain the most popular new goods in the capital at present, and there are many categories.

"Northern goods" refer to the north, that is, the goods shipped from Liaodong, including fox fur, ginseng, and winter pearls, which are special products of the North.

Hou Ping looked all the way, and finally found a store that sells winter clothes wholesale. He hurried in, only to see a shopkeeper with a mustache behind the counter, making plans.

"The shopkeeper!"

Following Hou Ping's greeting, the shopkeeper hurriedly came out from the backstage, and he cupped his hands and said, "What do you guys want to buy?"

Hou Ping pointed to the winter clothes hanging on the wall and said, "Shopkeeper, how do you sell the winter clothes?"

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes and said, "I'm really sorry for the honored customers, all the winter clothes in the store have been ordered."

Hou Ping's face was a bit ugly, he didn't expect that he was a step too late when he arrived in Dengzhou.

But the shopkeeper continued: "However, the small shop has a branch in Songjiang Prefecture. You can place an order and buy directly from Songjiang Prefecture. It will be delivered to Dengzhou in about a month."

a month? Hou Ping's face was a little ugly. It was already October, and the north would have already entered the cold winter in another month, so it would be too late for the deadline assigned by the Ministry of War.

If it's too late, it's too late, Li Guozhang will naturally procrastinate!

Hou Ping said: "One month is one month, what is the store's price?"

The shopkeeper said with a smile: "Although the winter clothes look the same, the prices vary greatly."

The shopkeeper took out a thick winter coat and said, "This is the best winter coat in our store. The two layers of cotton are made of fine cotton. Look at how thick the cotton is stuffed between the cotton fabrics. This kind of winter coat won't be a problem if it comes out of customs." It can resist freezing, and one piece only costs eight coins."

Then the shopkeeper took out another thin winter coat and said: "This is the best-selling winter coat in the capital recently. Although the filling is not as good as the previous one, it can also resist freezing in the house, and the price is much cheaper than the one just now. One piece costs five denarii."

Hou Ping and his companions looked at each other, five qian silver was enough to make money from the unit price, but a group of him came from the capital in a hurry and had to transport the winter clothes back to the capital. This winter coat only earned three qian silver, two One thousand pieces is 600 taels of silver, including the shipping and loading and unloading costs, it doesn't seem to make much money.

Hou Ping quickly asked: "Shop, do you have cheaper winter clothes?"

The shopkeeper said: "Of course, the cheapest winter clothes are usually used by the people in Shandong near the sea and Jianghuai. These places are not cold in winter, so just a small amount of cotton is enough."

The store brought a thin winter coat, which didn't even have a stand collar.

Hou Ping quickly asked, "How much is this dress?"

"A winter coat like this only costs three renminbi."

Hou Ping's eyes lit up, but soon someone said: "The clothes look too thin, I'm afraid it's difficult to deal with!"

The store also said: "Our store has long-term business with Songjiang Xujia Workshop, and we can cooperate to customize."

"custom made?"

The shopkeeper brought another winter coat, only to see that this winter coat was bulging, but it was almost the same as the first eight-coin winter coat.

"This is a custom-made model. Instead of cotton, it's filled with chopped straw and reeds. At first glance, it looks like the most expensive winter coat, but it doesn't keep you warm."

"You can order this one, and it only costs three coins."

Hou Ping and everyone immediately said: "Just this one!"

Songjiang Mansion, the workshop of the Xu family.

Xu Kun, the second young master of the Xu family, is inspecting his garment workshop.

His father sent another letter urging him to move away from Songjiang Mansion, but Xu Kun didn't want to move at all.

So much equipment can barely be moved away, how will these workers move away?

Now that the workshops in Songjiang Mansion are flourishing, a skilled garment maker is a favorite, and Xu Kun spent a lot of effort to win over these workers.

In addition, Songjiang Prefecture is endowed with unique and convenient transportation, which is unmatched by other regions.

After the winter clothes are made, they only need to be pulled directly to the wharf of Shanghai Port, which is to sell them all over the country. If they are exchanged to other places, it will cost a lot of money just to pull the goods to the wharf.

"Young master, the people from the magistrate's yamen are here again."

Xu Kun waved his hand and said, "Take them to the warehouse, I'll be there later."

This is the random inspector sent by Shen Shixing, the prefect of Songjiang. They came to check the quality of winter clothes supplied to the Fujian-Zhejiang Allied Forces.

The Fujian-Zhejiang Allied Forces ordered 10,000 pieces of winter clothes from Xu's family, and the cost of each piece was one or two taels of silver. Xu Kun thought it was a huge profit.

But after signing the contract, Xu Kun discovered how perverted the regulations of Songjiang Mansion were.

The amount of cotton filling for each winter coat requires money, and one or two cotton fillings cannot be less.

Winter clothes must have a stand-up collar, a hem that exceeds the knee, and the cuffs must be tightened to ensure warmth.

In addition, there are requirements for sewing openings and cuff stitches. Songjiang Prefecture will send people to the workshop for random inspections from time to time, and those who fail will be asked to rework immediately.

Calculated in this way, although the price of one or two taels of silver is not a loss, it can't make much money.

Anyway, it's not a loss.

Xu Kun could only comfort himself in this way. He walked quickly to the warehouse and saw the officials of Songjiang Mansion who came to conduct random inspections.

"Mr. Xu, it's routine, sorry to disturb you."

Xu Kun, the scribe who was in charge of random inspection, also knew him. He used to work in the Songjiang Mansion. Xu Kun pulled him aside and said, "This batch of goods is fine. Would you like to let everyone drink tea?"

After speaking, Xu Kun took out a few silver coins from his sleeve.

Gu Shuli's expression changed and he said, "Mr. Xu, please don't do this."

Gu Shuli said: "Mr. Xu, if there is no problem, we will leave after the inspection. You don't need to spend this money. If there is a problem, it is useless for you to give these silver coins to the servant."

Xu Kun's expression changed slightly.

Gu Scribe said: "There is still an inspection before the winter clothes are shipped. Every time we check, we scriveners have to sign and sign. If something goes wrong afterwards, we will be held accountable."

"Mr. Shenfu treats his subordinates leniently and benevolently, but he is extremely strict with the management of officials. If he fails to handle the errands, he will be relegated and dismissed, and in severe cases, he will be handed over to the judiciary."

Xu Kun's complexion improved a little. Since this method was useless, Xu Kun simply asked the supervisor to continue to cooperate with them in the inspection, and went to inspect other workshops by himself.

Different from the clean and tidy workshop in front, this workshop is messy everywhere, with cut platycodon, reeds and straw in the baskets, and dust in the air.

I can only see the workers stuffing these messy things into the gray cotton cloth, and then the skilled weavers simply sew it up, as long as they make sure that the things inside will not leak out, so that the winter clothes can be considered qualified.

The steward in charge of this workshop came over: "Master, this batch of goods is ready to be shipped."

Xu Kun asked: "Isn't our Xu's logo printed?"

"According to the young master's order, there is no mark!"

"That's good. Remember, it was purchased by northern merchants, and we don't know anything about it."

"Master, don't worry, everyone knows that this is for the north, and it was ordered by a northern businessman."

Xu Kun made a round of inspection, and he had completed half of today's work.

In the afternoon, he still has to take inventory of raw materials, check orders, and inspect and receive the newly shipped cotton in Shanghai. He is very busy every day.

But compared to going to the capital and being a useless person beside his father, Xu Kun is quite satisfied with such a life.

The large and small workshops in Songjiang Mansion are running at full capacity, and the whole city is like a giant beast, swallowing a huge amount of raw materials and spitting out all kinds of goods.

Managing a city like Songjiang Prefecture is extremely challenging for any Ming official.

Shen Shixing, the new prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, made all the officials of Songjiang Prefecture look at him with admiration.

The young magistrate lord controlled the giant beast of Songjiang Mansion in an instant.

When Shen Shixing first took office, he looked like a good old man.

But after taking office, he immediately showed thunderous means.

Sending several old officials who remained in Songjiang Mansion to the Judiciary, and quickly handling the squeezed lawsuits in Songjiang Mansion, Shen Shixing's political skills are surprisingly sophisticated.

The "Law of the Ming Dynasty" already dealt with corruption and bribery very seriously, and Shen Shixing just reiterated the "Law of the Ming Dynasty", which was enough to deter officials at all levels in Songjiang Prefecture.

However, Shen Shixing did not use the "Law of the Ming Dynasty" according to the script. After becoming the prefect of Songjiang, Shen Shixing focused its energy on compiling civil laws.

There were already many lawsuits about property disputes in the Jiangnan area. After the prosperity of commerce, there were many commercial-related cases besides property disputes.

In the past, there was no unified judgment standard for these cases, and they often relied on the judicial interpretations deduced by the chief officials themselves, or cases from previous years.

Some officials adjudicated these cases without even clearing up the ownership relationship, just arbitrarily adjudicating them like a fight, or even forcing mediation to close the case.

At this time, Shishi Bank is writing the new "Civil and Commercial Law" provisions.

After handing over the files on the desk to the assistant, Shen Shixing rubbed his temples and said:

"Jianwu, sort these out and send a copy to the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion."

The young scholar next to Shen Shixing was named Shen Yiguan, the nephew of Shen Mingchen, a prolific poet in Hu Zongxian's staff.

Since the last time Lankeshan in Zhejiang wrote a poem to persuade Hu Zongxian to join Su Ze, Shen Mingchen was also appointed as an official.

And his nephew, Shen Yiguan, had a good reputation in Zhejiang and was proficient in criminal names. He was also confiscated by the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, and then sent to Shen Shixing as an assistant officer.

Shen Shixing relaxed and said: "The task given to me by the governor is to compile this set of "Civil and Commercial Laws" as soon as possible. I didn't know until I was appointed as the prefect of Songjiang that I was cheated by the governor. This "Civil and Commercial Law" Where is it so easy to make up!"

Shen Yiguan smiled and said: "This is all because of the trust of the governor in the master Futai."

Shen Shixing shook his head and said: "The governor employs people, and he always uses them to death if they are easy to use."

Shen Shixing looked at Shen Yiguan and said: "Jianwu, you also read the official document yesterday, the governor is going to start land negotiation in two provinces and six prefectures, and each prefecture has to send people, I have already reported your name. "

Shen Yiguan was startled and said: "Why is Shenfutai like this!"

Shen Shixing said with a smile: "This is also to let you experience the 'management' of the governor."

"I'm not kidding, this time the right to discuss, in fact, is 'inspection of land', 'inspection of records', 'Dasuo maoyue', 'making yellow books', etc. If you are familiar with history books, you should understand what I mean. "

Shen Yiguan nodded and said: "The governor wants to clear Zhang's land."

Shen Shixing nodded and said: "Those who have permanent property have perseverance. This time, the right to negotiate is to vacate part of the land and award it to meritorious soldiers."

"However, the right to discuss this time is different from any clearing of Zhang Tianmu in history."

Shen always looks at Shen Shixing in doubt.

Shen Shixing pointed to the draft on the table and said: "In the past, real rights were land rights, and the remaining taxes and corvee were all dependent on the land."

"However, in addition to land, mines, docks, roads, and shops are all important ownership rights. Commodities, goods, and contracts are also entitled to responsibility. This time, it is important to clarify the land, but it is important to clarify the property rights. Rights are also important."

"Before discussing the rights, the governor needs to discuss the property rights. You should go to Fuzhou first on behalf of our Songjiang Mansion."

Shen Yiguan was shocked and said: "The governor wants to hold the "Salt and Iron Conference"?"

Shen Shixing nodded and said: "Probably that's what it means. During this period of time, you should visit Songjiang Mansion more and bring your opinions here."

October 20, Guangzhou city.

Tan Lun, who pretended to go to the city, came to the mansion of Pan Jixun, the Guangzhou police inspector.

As soon as he saw Pan Jixun, Tan Lun got straight to the point, and told Pan Jixun the endless messages that Su Ze had given him:

"Brother Pan, Commander-in-Chief Su asked me to give you a message."

"If you do your best, the governor will ask you to rule the Yellow River."