Honorable men are not stupid, they are smart. When it comes to making money, everyone is full of tricks.
As soon as this thing came out, everyone stared at it intently.
The Ming Dynasty used two things to light lamps. Candles and lamp oil. Needless to say, candles can only be obtained by going to a beehive and draining the honey. There were not many beekeepers in the Ming Dynasty. Candle production is limited. Not many people breed white waxworms.
One tael of silver only buys four or five candles, which most people can afford.
Therefore, most people light vegetable oil lamps for a while at night. This light is very dim. There was also thick smoke. Rather choking.
Oil extraction is not cheap, it costs 120 yuan per pound. And as food prices rise this year, oil prices will inevitably follow suit.
Zhu Chunchen immediately saw the business opportunity and immediately asked: "How much is this thing worth? What is the output?"
They are all old foxes, and they all know that this kind of lamp oil, which is needed by every household in the Ming Dynasty, has so many advantages, and the market is not a problem. The key points are two, one is production cost and the other is output.
The price is too expensive and not many people can afford it. Naturally, the market is no big deal. What does it mean if the output is too low?
Zhang Zhiji said: "This substance is produced by heating and cracking with Menghuo oil. Using Yang Fan's method, a pound of kerosene costs less than twenty cents."
It exploded below. With such a low cost, who would use vegetable oil to light a lamp? Moreover, at this cost price, even if it is transported to Yunnan, it is cheaper than oil extraction. There were 20 million people in the Ming Dynasty. How much lamp oil would be used? The market is so big that it almost drives them crazy.
Xu Xigao, Duke of Dingguo, asked: "I remember that Menghuo Oil is produced in northern Shaanxi. Hundreds of trucks are shipped to the Ministry of Industry every year. It is mainly used to preserve wood and to treat illnesses in Taiyuan Hospital. I heard that it is also used in the northwest. People use it to make fires and boil salt. I’m afraid there are too few raw materials for this thing, so it’s not easy to make.”
Zhang Zhiji said: "Yang Fan guarantees that this kind of raw material is available in Tianjin. It can be drilled and mined, as much as you want. There are waterways there, which can be transported by water. You can also directly refine the oil in the production area. Transport the finished product back."
Yang Fan was very reliable at doing things, and since he said he could do it, everyone half believed him. If Zhang Shize came and said this, everyone would slap him with loud mouths.
Yang Fan has a good way of making money and can make money in any business. The honorable nobles all know that. Take his development of Imperial City North Street as an example. At first, everyone laughed at him for taking money to build roads for His Majesty, and that he was a prodigal. However, now with the opening of Nanluoguxiang Community. They were all dumbfounded.
Yang Fan spent 300,000 taels of silver to build roads, install street lights, sewers, demolition, compensation, and build resettlement housing. These operations make them feel inexplicable.
Just drive away those common people and give them resettlement. I really don’t know what to say.
Now that the community is open for sale, they are sold out on the day they go on sale, and most of them are bought by businessmen in Beijing. By the time the nobles discovered the benefits of this house, it was already sold out. This project alone generated sales of 170,000 taels of silver. You can continue to make money every year with subsequent property and heating bills.
The supporting businesses, schools, and hospitals are also profitable. Let’s do the math. Next year Yang Fan will have three new communities on the market, which will make profits directly.
Now, it's getting colder and the heating has started. After these noble children experienced it, they spent money to buy second-hand houses. Now the price of second-hand houses has increased by 30%.
When the entire street, a total of 13 miles long, is developed, Yang Fan will make very little money. Just thinking about it makes me jealous. This street is enough for Yang Fan to develop for more than ten years. This is a good business with a steady stream of money.
Now, Yang Fan has launched the waiting business. A rough calculation shows that if this business matures, it will be a big business worth one million taels of silver a year.
Everyone couldn't sit still. They knew very well that in such a profitable business, no one would try to monopolize it. If Yang Fan and Zhang Shize hadn't caused trouble this time, he wouldn't have played with them at all. Yang Fan and the British government did it themselves.
Chen Yanzuo, the Marquis of Taining, asked hurriedly: "What kind of cooperation regulations does Uncle Dingyuan have?"
The nobles know very well that Yang Fan has soldiers in his hands and is more powerful than any of them. This time Duoyan and Haraqin were destroyed. Needless to say, he had more private soldiers than these people, and they were all elite. There was nothing they could do about Yang Fan.
Therefore, if this matter is to be successful, it depends on Yang Fan's intention.
Zhang Zhiji looked at Zhang Weixian. Seeing his father nodding, he continued: "Yang Fan said that the investment in building a refinery and extracting oil is huge. Of course, the output is also huge and the profits are huge. This is a big business with huge investment and huge profits."
All the nobles nodded. They are all people who do big things, and they all know that doing big business naturally requires investing a lot of capital.
"Yang Fan wants to set up a joint-stock company, which means that shareholders only bear risks and responsibilities for their capital contributions. If the company loses all money, shareholders are not responsible for continuing to pay compensation to creditors. I will distribute relevant information to you later."
"This company plans to raise 500,000 taels of silver, with a total share capital of 500,000 shares. Among them, the original shareholders will have 200,000 shares. The remaining 300,000 shares will be listed on the exchange and raised publicly from the public. The shares will be bearer , can be traded freely on the exchange. What we want to discuss is how to distribute these 200,000 shares."
"What Yang Fan means is that he and Zhang Shize are the sponsors each holding 25,000 shares, and the rest will be distributed through discussion."
There was a sudden murmur below, everyone was discussing whether to invest in this project and how much to invest.
Obviously, this matter is risky. No one knows whether oil can be recovered. No one knows whether the output can be increased to supply the entire Ming Dynasty. Everything was said by Yang Fan.
However, none of them were willing to give up this opportunity, because everything Yang Fan did made money. No one loses money.
The three dukes discussed it and quickly came up with a plan. The three dukes and their families subscribed for 10,000 shares, totaling 30,000. Eighteen marquises each subscribed for 5,000 shares for a total of 90,000 shares. The remaining 30,000 shares are just for the count who is here today, and each family subscribes to 1,000 shares.
After all, the risk of this thing is not small. Everyone wants to do it, but they are worried that they will lose money if they invest too much. Now a few dukes take the lead and there are more, the marquis is half less, and the rest is divided among the earls. No one has an opinion. They can still afford a few thousand taels of silver, just to participate.
Zhang Zhiji then said: "After the listing, we still need to raise 300,000 shares from the market. If you think there are less, there is still a chance to buy. But the opening price may be a bit more expensive. It will not be the price of the original shares."
Everyone also nodded, this was Yang Fan's compensation for everyone. Naturally cheaper.
Take a look at the British public, this matter has been settled. Then he said: "Let's discuss the remaining troops and horses in our hands."
