This year, the farm has expanded soybean cultivation. But now the soybeans themselves are out of stock, and Nick wants him to fight for them. Xun Suji decided not to fight with this madman, so he simply made a substitute - broad beans and tofu.
Broad beans are easy to grow, easy to grow, and have high yields. In addition, the roots can fix nitrogen, and the bean husks are excellent organic fertilizers. The farm plants a lot to improve the soil. The supply of goods is sufficient. In those years when supply was difficult, broad beans and tofu were also a common substitute. Its disadvantages are that it looks ugly, is dark when made, and its texture and taste are far less delicate than real tofu.
Soybeans were not enough, and mung beans were an important dietary remedy for relieving summer heat. The tofu shop had no choice but to continue to buy bean sprouts from broad beans. Xun Suji used porcelain basins and pottery jars to make bean sprouts.
After the production of substitutes for the tofu workshop became regular, Xun Suji gathered people from the immigrants to form a soybean garden team. This team is really unambiguous: a bankrupt soy sauce shopkeeper, unemployed soy sauce masters and handymen, a group of soy sauce garden practitioners from all over the world gathered in Lingao and formed the first commercial entity under the Ministry of Light Industry - Tianchu Sauce Garden.
He did not put the Tianchu Sauce Garden in a food factory, but found a remote place in Dongmen City. Xun Suji's idea is very simple. Since Chuanchuan Group has gradually abolished the supply system, with more and more immigrants joining in, the consumption of pickles and the like will also increase day by day. It is much more convenient to place all production and operation sites in Dongmen City than to place them on farms in the green zone.
He originally thought of naming this sauce garden "Liubiju", but he heard that Liubiju has existed in Beijing for many years - it is said that the plaque of "Liubiju" was inscribed by the famous Yan Song . If you use it again, you may be suspected of being an impostor. So we used the name of Tianchu MSG Factory, Wu Yunchu, the inventor of Chinese MSG who had made outstanding contributions to the Chinese food industry.
"Actually, the name Tianchu is very good. It's stylish! It has artistic conception!" Mo Xiao'an said when Tianchu opened, "In the future, when the food factory gets bigger, it can also be called Tianchu."
Tianchu Sauce Garden uses traditional techniques and equipment to brew bean paste, chili sauce and soy sauce, and also pickles various pickles and pickles. The products are not only supplied to various canteens, but also sold externally. The chefs in the soy sauce garden come from all over the world, bringing the flavors of their respective hometowns. Xun Suji himself is a chef, he is knowledgeable about food, and he is good at mixing the best of different families. It didn’t take long for the reputation of Tianchu pickles to spread.
The Council of Agriculture applauded this initiative. Some of the large amounts of vegetables in the vegetable fields of the original farm could not be consumed in time and were forced to be converted into feed, especially cabbage and radishes, which have high yields. Now that there is a soy sauce garden, the excess vegetables are consumed by the soy sauce garden and there is no waste at all. Huang Dashan came to the soy sauce garden several times to provide technical guidance, and also sent several new yeast strains.
Travelers are also sincerely happy to have such a soy sauce garden. It is always a good thing to have more food that can adjust the taste. Not long after it opened, many people came to Tianchu to offer their ideas and tips for making pickles and dried vegetables from their hometown.
Xun Suji saw that the demand for pickles was good and the supply of red peppers was sufficient, so he customized several large pickle jars from Xiao Bailang and taught the workers in the pickle garden the techniques of making Sichuan pickles. Sichuan kimchi will soon be available in the cafeteria. The refreshing and delicious kimchi is very popular in the hot summer. Even the gentry and officials in the county bought people to try new things.
Then he started thinking about Xiao Xiami in the seafood processing factory. Every day, Bopu’s catch contains a large number of low-grade shrimps. In addition to being dried to make shrimp skin, they are also directly used as phosphate fertilizer or feed. Xun Suji remembered that he had eaten "Jinzhou side dishes" in the Northeast, which were soaked in shrimp oil - they were delicious, extremely salty and went very well with rice. The so-called shrimp oil is actually the upper clarified liquid extracted from shrimps after salt fermentation. As for the mixed sediment in the lower layer, it is "shrimp paste", which is also a seasoning sauce.
After he discussed his idea with the seafood processing factory, he quickly got this "shrimp oil". The characteristic of "Jinzhou side dishes" is that most of them are pickled with "small vegetables". Cucumbers and eggplants are the most popular, and these have no cost in the first place - they are sifted from the vegetable garden.
Neither Xun Suji nor Mo Xiaoan expected that Tianchu Sauce Garden would become one of the most important export enterprises of the Ministry of Light Industry in the future.
A few days after Mo Xiaoan handed over the affairs of the food factory, Zhang Xin returned to Lingao. That night, he asked someone to invite Zhang Xin to his office - he wanted to hear about the export products from this man who was at the forefront. Again, this is the opinion of a professional with a sales background.
"But I don't know how you plan to sell MSG." Zhang Xin said after hearing his preliminary idea, "I would say that if there are no food control problems, the idea of dried rice noodles is good, because everyone needs to eat. But. MSG is just the icing on the cake. Rich people don’t need it, but poor people don’t need it.”
Rich people are very particular about their food. They use stock made from slow-cooked whole chickens and hams, and they look down on artificial flavors like yours. It is a problem for the poor to have enough to eat. They would not have thought of this thing - and after all, MSG is just a seasoning, not a canned soup. Adding some MSG cannot "turn water into chicken soup", which makes its sales a big problem.
"Isn't it hopeless?"
"No, there are still sales." Zhang Xin said, "In addition to the rich and the poor, there is also a middle class, but you can't expect it to export in large quantities. Also, small businessmen who come to high trade will not like it either. This - the customers they face don't need it. They may use it in the catering industry."
"It doesn't matter if it's in the catering industry, it's good if it can be sold."
"We can try this." Zhang Xin thought that he could use it in the kitchen of Qiwei's inn, mule and horse shop, and the like. If the response is good, people will naturally come to inquire.
"If you are a small businessman from Guangdong or Fujian, and you have sold out your goods in Lingao, what goods do you think will be more popular back home?" Mo Xiao'an listed, "They probably wouldn't dare to do it, after all, it is against the law. .Sugar is a bulk commodity, so it’s pointless for them to carry dozens of kilograms, and there is sugar in Leizhou. There are also quite a few in Fujian..."
"The first thing is to be cheap, the second thing is to be novel and unprecedented, and the third thing is to be easy to use." Zhang Xin said, "Australian products now have a reputation for being exquisite and easy to use. Mirrors and glass are generally affordable for ordinary citizens, but they envy Australia. The mentality of wanting to use Australian products already exists. Just like some people may not be able to afford a Mercedes-Benz, but they insist on getting a Mercedes-Benz logo as a keychain.”
Zhang Xin's opinion is to open some cheap and high-quality Kit Kat products to cater to this mentality in the market.
"Actually, the sewing needle is good, the steel mouth is good, and the appearance is the best on the market. It can well reflect the impression left by Australian products." Zhang Xin commented.
"But sewing needles need to be made of steel, which is a first-level controlled material..."
"How much steel can be used?" Zhang Xin disagreed. "How much iron is a 12-pound shell fired from a cannon? One shell can make many, many needles."
Mo Xiao'an hesitated and said: "There is also a problem of production capacity. Sewing needles are produced by machinery factories. They are not urgently needed supplies and are often ranked last."
In fact, production of sewing needles was discontinued after less than 10,000 sewing needles were produced. Not only did the machinery factory have too many things to do, but there was also a lack of interest in manufacturing such small hardware and daily necessities.
"This equipment cannot be placed in the machinery factory. Although you all belong to the Industrial Energy Commission-but these people in the machinery factory are playing with machinery. They are all building steam engines and boilers. It is not interesting enough. You want them to make it for you. Sewing needles? Talk to the Du Gong and ask the machinery factory to manufacture more complete sets of needle-making equipment and add them to the establishment of the Ministry of Light Industry. Workers, you ask the machinery factory to help you train, and the raw materials will be allocated by the Planning Commission, so you can sew clothes like this Only the needle factory can ensure that it operates every day.”
Mo Xiaoan wondered why she hadn't thought of it earlier! If the machines and personnel are in the hands of others, things will naturally not go smoothly.
"It's a sudden enlightenment!"
"We also hope that the light industry sector will engage in more new product sales. If we always sell mirrors and glassware, we will get tired of aesthetics sooner or later."
“How are the sales of flat glass?”
"Like glass mirrors, how big a market can this kind of thing have?" Zhang Xin's views on luxury goods are very clear - although luxury goods can bring huge profits, they are not the main development direction of the product. But now it’s cold up there. So far, no one has been willing to implement Mr. Wen's initiative to make small mirrors cheaper. After all, the current profits are considerable and stable.
The Works Energy Commission itself is not willing to make mirrors cheaper now. The production capacity of glass factories is limited. Once sales increase after cheapening, it will be even more difficult for glass factories whose own tasks are tight.
"You can also pay attention to the food. It's not MSG - are there any cheap popular snacks that can buy several for one penny...for example - sugar?"
"sugar?"
"Sugar!" Zhang Xin said, "Yes, children eat sugar. When I was a child, I lived in a small county in Hunan. A relative went to Guangzhou on a business trip and brought me a pack of fruit candies. At that time, I thought it was The most delicious food in the world..." Zhang Xin was immersed in the memories of the past.
"Will there be a market for it?"
"At least it's impossible in Guangzhou. Don't forget how Wenzhou people came from back then."
"I know that - chicken feathers for candy."
"The sugar made from chicken feathers is just maltose made by farmers during their spare time. In China, where material conditions were extremely scarce at that time, Wenzhou people could save their first capital, and it might also be possible in the Ming Dynasty."
"I understand, we are engaged in the candy industry." Mo Xiaoan nodded. This is indeed an idea. Xiantang is a bulk product of the Chuanchuan Group, and there is a shortage of raw materials. Moreover, it is deeply processed to increase the added value of the product.
Although the price of sugar is not low now, it is sold in terms of "stones". No matter how cheap the candy is, it still costs one or two pennies. When it comes down to it, candy is much more profitable.
Zhang Xin mentioned a few more materials that might be exported in bulk, starting with writing paper. Now that the chemical industry department has been able to produce sulfuric acid and caustic soda, large-scale batch papermaking is no longer a problem. Whether it is Leizhou's bagasse papermaking or straw papermaking, the paper produced by Chuanchuan Group is definitely the cheapest. After adding kaolin, it can also make paper with the highest whiteness.
"Writing paper is very expensive." Zhang Xin said that although the raw materials for papermaking are cheap, in the past era without chemicals, it took a long time and a lot of labor to turn the papermaking raw materials into pulp. The only chemicals that can help It's just lime.
Mo Xiao'an's Ministry of Light Industry has a papermaking workshop with local methods. Papermaking workers recruited from immigrants from the mainland are responsible for the production, and the entire process is done using local methods. Mo Xiaoan is clear about the inefficiency of local papermaking. In addition to better-quality paper for writing, most of the paper produced is used as toilet paper.
The papermaking industry in the Ming Dynasty was already quite developed, but its value was still not low. In addition to the special tribute paper that each paper-producing area required to pay tribute to "pieces" of paper, the government also instituted a "paper collection" system: prisoners who were interrogated for crimes had to pay a certain amount of paper. Later, even litigants involved in the case were required to pay a certain amount of paper. Got to "receive paper".
The paper used for account books in the past was already very thick and poor quality. Zhang Xin even saw someone writing on the back of this paper. Writing paper was not cheap at the time.
"After talking about paper, we have to talk about books. Books are not cheap either. We have a chance." Zhang Xin said.
What is the price of books in Guangdong? Zhang Xin said that the price is very high, higher than any other country in the 21st century. A set of well-collated and engraved commercial printed copies costs at least one or two taels of silver.
"The technology of engraving books should have been very mature in the Ming Dynasty. Engraving is a labor-intensive process, but after it is finished, can't it be used again and again?"
"The cost of engraving is very high, and it is not easy to preserve. It is damaged by insects and mildew, and some need to be repaired or replaced every year. This kind of long-term maintenance cost is not low."
Moreover, engraving is labor-intensive and material-intensive, and it takes up a lot of space after completion. If the long-term sales of unpopular books or new works cannot be guaranteed, booksellers will be reluctant to engrave them. Therefore, it was difficult to publish new books in ancient times. Authors often had to pay for printing at their own expense. Authors who were short of money could only publish books by looking for sponsors. Li Shizhen wrote "Compendium of Materia Medica" and received the help of Hu Chenglong, a calligrapher and book collector in Nanjing, and Wang Shizhen, a literary giant at the time. Only then could he see his work begin to be engraving during his lifetime. As for its official publication, it would have to wait until after his death. It was not officially published until the sixth year. The publication time span of books is so long and the cost is huge, which is difficult for modern people to imagine.
"You can ask Zhou Dongtian about this. He specializes in this matter. We might as well set up a movable type printing factory."
After talking with Zhang Xin, Mo Xiaoan felt that he was greatly inspired. I wrote several pages full of it. Zhang Xin had another business promotion matter to discuss with him.
"This matter is directly related to the Ministry of Light Industry, and it also involves whether we can still occupy the commanding heights of fashion consumption in Guangzhou in the future!"
Ancient society also had fads and fashions. In the late Ming Dynasty, Guangzhou was a place with a strong commercial atmosphere and the supremacy of consumerism. Taking the commanding heights of fashion could change the consumption habits of the wealthier citizens to a great extent, thus allowing all kinds of high-yield "Australian goods" to be sold smoothly. enter the market.
"What exactly is it?"
"Ziming Building has been renovated." Zhang Xin said.
"It's not like Pepi is causing trouble again." Mo Xiao'an was instinctively disgusted and suspicious of this person.
"Her idea is included, but this is a collective discussion at Guangzhou Station." Zhang Xin first emphasized this "collective discussion", "We want Ziming Building to be a fashion consumption place in Guangzhou..."
"Don't be the Ming Dynasty version of Tian**jian. This way it will be easier to gather information and build relationships. It's high, it's really high!"
"Where," Zhang Xin smiled, "it's more complicated."
The guiding ideology of this renovation is to transform Ziming Building into a model of "Australian lifestyle". Install various modern living facilities and sell various luxury goods to wealthy people who can afford a lot of money, including food, clothing, housing, transportation and other aspects.
"Note that these are life necessities, not luxuries."
"What's the difference? Ordinary people can't afford it."
"Generally, there are many kinds of common people. There are still many people in Guangzhou who live a prosperous life." Zhang Xin has been in Guangzhou for a long time and has a deeper understanding of the social life of the Ming Dynasty. The life of the people in Guangdong, especially in the Pearl River Delta, is still very good. It is considered stable and comfortable. Especially in a city like Guangzhou, although people often die on the streets and there are many beggars, the living conditions of ordinary citizens are still passable.
Although this kind of citizen class can barely be called the "Ming Dynasty middle class", although they may not be able to spend a lot of money in Ziming Tower, they are just like the modern middle class who are particularly obsessed with "high-end", "elegance", "luxury", "top quality", With words like "noble", you have to endure hunger to buy an LV bag, and sometimes you have to pretend to be cool and go to places where you will feel distressed for a while just to have a cup of coffee. The life enjoyment of the rich is What they imitate. If you can't enjoy all of it, at least you can enjoy some of it.
"I generally understand what you mean. Ziminglou is similar to a high-end club or nightclub."
The example of Ziminglou is a high-end nightclub in modern time and space, which is nothing more than entertainment, food, drink and entertainment. It’s just that all of this will be packaged with technologies, concepts and products from modern time and space.
"Then Pepi is a famous prostitute or a madam." Mo Xiao said without hesitation.
", Pepi is going to fight for you. She is Guo Yi's concubine in name..."
"Xiao Guo has a great appetite."
"Didn't I say it was in name only?" Zhang Xin said dissatisfied, "Don't make excuses. This is a tentative commercial promotion activity by Guangzhou on the mainland. If it succeeds, your Ministry of Light Industry will be flooded with orders. coming!"
"Okay, okay, I'm all ears."
"The first thing now is to get a full set of sanitary ware." Zhang Xin gave him a list, "The sanitary ware must be taken out within two months, and the rest can be delayed!~!
