On the second day after returning home, Zhu Shenzui went out alone after breakfast and went to the place where Ma Shizhou and others were accommodated yesterday.
This is a new store not far from Hengtong Salt Shop. This store was purchased by Kang Youfu under the name of Hengtong a few days ago.
Because of the collapse of the Liu family in Pingyang, the salt quota that originally belonged to the Liu family was quickly divided. Among them, most of the channels in Pingyang Prefecture and surrounding areas have fallen into the hands of Zhu Shenzui. In addition, the problem of surplus salt in Jiezhou has been solved. He already has private salt sales channels here. In the past few months, With the steady growth of imports and exports, it has made a lot of profits.
Zhu Shenzui has a good vision, and Kang Youfu is a natural businessman with a good way of doing business.
After becoming the head shopkeeper of Hengtong, it didn't take him long to figure out how the salt shop worked. Coupled with his intelligence, he quickly figured out the situation in this industry.
In addition, Kang Youfu also has Zhang Xijun next to him. Although Zhang Xijun has never done business, he is not a simple person. Kang Youfu may not be able to match him in terms of brains, but he is not as good as Kang Youfu in terms of business.
The two of them cooperated with each other, and the effect was far greater than one plus one equals two. In addition, Wang Rong was in charge of Wangjia Village. Xia Dong, Wang Jinwu and others were responsible for Jiezhou's surplus salt procurement and private salt channels. Yangtoushan Things have stabilized there, and in just a few months, the salt business has been booming and making a lot of money.
Not long ago, Kang Youfu came to discuss with Zhang Xijun and suggested that only one salt shop was not suitable for the operation of a trading company. Since Zhu Shenzui had gone to the grassland now, he would definitely bring back a large amount of goods when he came back from the grassland. The subsequent sales channels for these goods must be advanced in advance. solve.
Although after returning from grassland trade, the goods brought can be directly transferred to other trading houses to obtain profits. But if you do this, the sales channels are no longer in your hands, and the profits you get will be much less. In addition, Zhu Shenzui's trip to the grassland this time is just to explore the way. It is very likely to develop long-term and stable trade in the future. If we want to meet the long-term needs in the future, it is also necessary for us to solve these problems.
Kang Youfu pointed out that even if these are not considered, the business of salt shops alone will impose restrictions on the development of commercial banks. It is necessary to strike while the iron is hot to expand the business. In addition to the current salt shops and private salt sales, more suitable preparation.
In other words, it is a diversified business and you cannot put your eggs in one basket. This idea was approved by Zhang Xijun. Zhang Xijun felt that Kang Youfu's suggestion was good, but he did not have the right to make a decision. Moreover, Zhu Shenzui was not around now, so he could only wait until Xia Dong brought someone to deliver salt to Pingyang Mansion again. He told Xia Dong about this, wrote a letter explaining it in detail, and asked Xia Dong to go back and report it to Wang Rong.
Not long after, Xia Dong returned to Pingyang City and told Kang Youfu and Zhang Xijun that Wang Rong thought this could be done and could give it a try. In this way, Kang Youfu found another small shop nearby and planned to open a pawn shop here after buying it.
The role of a pawn shop is to pawn, charge low and sell high, earn interest margins, and also take into account sales channels, so opening a pawn shop is the most suitable choice for Hengtong now. Once this pawn shop is opened, then in the future, it will The two pillars that formed the trading house were enough to support the entire Hengtong.
Now that the pawnshop building has been taken over, the actual opening has not yet started. After all, Zhu Shenzui hasn't come back yet. They are just the shopkeepers, and it still has to be decided by the owner in the end.
So when Zhu Shenzui and his party returned to Pingyang from the grassland and originally planned to place them at the salt shop, Kang Youfu told Zhu Shenzui about the pawnshop. After listening to Kang Youfu's explanation, Zhu Shenzui did not He was blamed for making the decision without permission. Since Zhu Shenzui had handed over Hengtong's business to Kang Youfu, it showed enough trust. As long as it was beneficial to Hengtong in business, Kang Youfu could have made certain decisions.
What's more, Kang Youfu didn't make the decision without permission. He had discussed it with Zhang Xijun in advance according to Zhu Shenzui's instructions before leaving. He then sought Wang Rong's opinion and made the decision only after they unanimously agreed.
In this way, since there is such a pawn shop that has not yet opened, Ma Shizhou and others do not need to crowd in the salt shop, and they are placed there directly. Compared with the salt shop, the pawn shop is quite small and has a special warehouse. Whether it is accommodation or storage of items, it is more suitable than the salt shop.
"Sixth Master!"
I walked to the store in a car, walked straight in and went to the backyard. Everyone who was busy sorting out the goods in the courtyard looked up when they heard the commotion. They saw Zhu Shenzui coming and quickly greeted him.
"You guys are busy with your work. Have Shopkeepers Kang and Zhang arrived?" Zhu Shenzui waved his hands and asked them to do their own business. This time they brought a lot of things from the grassland, most of which were furs. Although the furs were all It is a good product, but the Mongolians' craftsmanship is still a bit rough. They need to carefully select it after bringing it back. Most of the furs need to be tanned again. Now they are doing the job of selecting and sorting.
"The two shopkeepers have arrived and are waiting for you in the main room." A waiter said.
Zhu Shenzhui nodded and continued walking towards the main room. When he entered the room, Kang Youfu and Zhang Xijun, who were sitting and chatting, saw him and stood up quickly, shouting "Sixth Master" in unison.
"Sit." Zhu Shenzui waved his hand and sat down directly at the main seat. As he took his seat, the two of them sat down, one on the left and one on the right.
Kang Youfu first poured a cup of tea for Zhu Shenzui, and then reported on the trading situation these days.
I just came back yesterday, and I mainly focused on settling down the people and goods. I didn’t have time to report anything else. When we met today, we naturally had to talk about business first.
Drinking tea and listening to Kang Youfu's report attentively, Zhu Shenzui nodded slightly in his heart. He was still very satisfied with Hengtong's management these days. It could even be said that Hengtong's management under the hands of Kang Youfu and Zhang Xijun had exceeded its expectations. Zhu Shenzui's original prediction.
Among the two, Kang Youfu, as the chief shopkeeper, is mainly responsible for the main reports, and Zhang Xijun is responsible for some minor and supplementary reports.
This lasted for more than an hour, during which Zhu Shenzhui carefully read the account books brought by Kang Youfu and asked several questions of concern.
In this regard, the two of them had a fluent exchange of words. After listening to it, Zhu Shenzui was very happy. He praised them in person and promised to reward them.
"Thank you Mr. Liu, this is what you should do." Kang Youfu's face was red. Now he is no longer the eldest son of the Kang family who was busy greeting customers in the tofu workshop. These days, he is responsible for the salt shop in charge of Hengtong, and he has a lot of clothes on his body. The great shopkeeper's temperament has been cultivated, not to mention Zhang Xijun, who sat there with a calm look and said nothing.
"If you have merit, you will be rewarded, and if you make mistakes, you will be punished. This has always been my rule. As long as you do well, I will not treat anyone badly!" Zhu Shenzui said with a smile. The two of them praised each other repeatedly, and Kang Youfu's face showed even more smiles. Uncontrollable joy.
"By the way, how did the matter I mentioned to you yesterday go?" Zhu Shenzui asked after talking about the salt shop.
"Going back to Mr. Liu, it's not difficult to find ordinary tanners. We have already found a few. However, it is not easy to find good leather tanners with reliable skills. There are not many in Pingyang Mansion. They all have owners now. Please give me some more, Mr. Liu. If there is time, I will find a way to chat privately, or go to other places to look for him." Kang Youfu replied with his hands in hand.
"This matter needs to be done quickly. Salary is not an issue. As long as you have good skills and spend some money to recruit people, it doesn't matter. From now on, Hengtong Trading Company will travel to the grassland for a long time. The fur revenue in Mongolia is huge. If there is no tanner who can do it, the price will be high. You’ll have to suffer a lot.”
"Master Liu, you can rest assured that I will handle this matter with care." Kang Youfu understood the meaning of Zhu Shenzui's words. The skill of the craftsman of fur (leather) is very important, such as a piece of cowhide. The quality of the tanning craftsmanship ultimately determines the value of the cowhide. Most of the cowhide and sheepskins traded from the grasslands are only preliminary processing. In the Ming Dynasty, they had to be processed carefully, and even the cost was directly determined. In this case, the value would not be improved. few.
This is how business is done, maximizing profits is a must. As a trader, Kang Youfu naturally knows this.
"Master Liu, I have a suggestion on this matter." At this time, Zhang Xijun said.
"you say."
"I'm afraid it will be difficult to recruit people from other businesses. Even if you can recruit people, it will not be easy. What's more, Mr. Liu, what you need are experts in this industry. Who wouldn't treat such experts as treasures in other businesses?" Zhang Xijun smiled slightly, opened the folding fan in his hand and shook it gently.
This guy was using a folding fan even though the weather wasn't very hot yet, with the air of a scholar. But having said that, he is a scholar, so this is in line with his status as a scholar. However, Zhang Xijun's reputation as a scholar has long been gone, and he has become the second shopkeeper of Hengtong. He wears robes and looks like a businessman, which makes him look like a scholar. Somewhat awkward.
"you mean……?"
With a snap, Zhang Xijun closed the folding fan and said with a smile: "This is very easy, why not start with the craftsmen, especially the craftsmen in the guardhouse. As far as I know, there are many good ancestral craftsmen in the guardhouse. If we can recruit these craftsmen, the problem at hand won’t be a problem.”
"However, it may be difficult for the commercial firm to recruit people from the guard office. It will certainly not be easy for others to do this. But I think that as the sixth master, it should not be difficult to do this, so I suggest that you start here, sixth master. As long as the Qianhu and the commander of the guard nod, it will be easy."
"Hahaha!" Zhu Shenzui burst out laughing. It must be said that Zhang Xijun considered the problem from a good angle. This was indeed a good approach.
"How is it?" Zhu Shenzui asked Kang Youfu with a smile.
Kang Youfu raised his hands in admiration and said: "Mr. Zhang said it is indeed true, this matter can indeed be done, why bother Mr. Liu..."
"Okay, this matter is settled. You go and inquire carefully first, and let me know when you are sure. I will find someone to handle the next steps." Zhu Shenzui agreed. This is not a difficult task for him. As a dignified person, In the clan, it is not difficult to use connections to recruit a few craftsmen from the guards. It is nothing more than opening up some joints.
What's more, Zhu Shenzui doesn't need to come forward to do this at all. When the time comes, just let Zhu Minlu, Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Qiuqi's uncle and nephew take care of it. The three of them are the best candidates. They have proven their ability by tossing the Liu family last time. Moreover, these three people can be regarded as Zhu Shenzui's kinsmen and are trustworthy people. It is more appropriate for them to come forward than to do so directly.
