What does one hundred pennies mean?
In the late Qianlong period, the average price of a bucket of rice in the south of the Yangtze River was 140 to 50 cash (a bucket of ten kilograms); farmers working part-time earned 50 to 70 cash a day, and long-term workers earned an average of about 100 cash a month (a year's worth of rice). One tael of silver). Fifty cents can buy a foot of dark blue or fish-white cloth in Shandong. In places like Suzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiangning, the average monthly income of an urban family is around two taels of silver. Although it is calculated in terms of silver, the actual income is made from money, which is about 2,000 to 2,400 cash.
(The silver-copper exchange in the Qing Dynasty was not simply one tael of silver for 1,000 coins. This was just the exchange rate desired by the court. In fact, the silver-copper exchange in a region often depends on the local supply of silver and copper. Once the silver flows in If the quantity is too large, silver will be cheap and money will be expensive. For example, during the Northwest War, the local silver supply in Xi'an suddenly increased due to the military pay sent by the imperial court. The exchange rate of silver and copper in Xi'an at that time was one tael of silver to 985 Money.)
At this level, the pack of cigarettes in Shen Jingdan's hand is worth six to eight pounds of brown rice, which is the equivalent of two days' wages for farmers working part-time and 8% to 15% of the monthly income of urban residents. A pack of cigarettes costs 100 cents. If 10 packs of cigarettes are purchased in a month, an ordinary person will go bankrupt.
A group of businessmen puffed away in the flower hall all afternoon before they began to place orders for cigarettes with Shen and Huang. However, these people only bought four to five hundred boxes in total, and they all said they would take them back to try them out first, and if the sales were good, they would purchase a larger quantity.
Both Shen and Huang understood that although the tobacco used in the batch of cigarettes Zhao Xin gave them was easy to smoke and had a unique taste, it was still different from Fujian cigarettes.
During this period, in addition to Fujian tobacco produced in Fujian, cut tobacco was also produced in Jiangxi and Hubei.
The secret of why Fujian cigarettes are unique in the world in this era is that in addition to adding various spices during production, they also add oil for frying. This kind of cut tobacco fried with oil not only burns quickly, extinguishes the ash as soon as it falls to the ground, and is less likely to cause fire, but also has a special fragrance when smoked.
Although the emperors of the three dynasties of Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong did not smoke and did not like their courtiers to smoke, they did not prohibit the cultivation of tobacco among the people. This was also the main reason for the prosperity of tobacco. For example, the cut tobacco produced in Zhangzhou, Tingzhou, Pucheng and Xinghua in Fujian is sold all over the country. In particular, Jianyan produced in Pucheng has become a tribute purchased by the palace every year.
As for the reason why later British and American cigarettes entered China and became so popular, in addition to the large-scale manufacturing using industrial equipment, the huge sales system, strong capital support, overwhelming advertising and promotion methods were also the reason why cigarettes replaced traditional cigarette rods and cigarette pots. important reasons.
Faced with the unsatisfactory start, Lao Huang was a little discouraged. If he had known better, he would not have brought so many cigarettes back. You must know that when leaving Beihai Town, Zhao Xin gave the two of them eight thousand boxes of cigarettes. If this cannot be sold and the tobacco gets damp after being stored for a long time, hundreds of taels of silver will be wasted.
Shen Jingdan was not very anxious. He remembered that Zhao Xin told him before leaving that it was not important how much he sold at the beginning. What was important was to establish a huge sales network from cities to rural areas. Only with this network can cigarettes become popular.
In the next ten days or so, Shen and Huang visited various guild halls and did not sell many cigarettes. Instead, they sold most of the leather goods.
As for those figurines, they will be put in the "Huang Shengtai" North and South Grocery Store opened by Lao Huang's family for the time being, and they will be sold slowly.
Seeing that the most valuable goods were almost processed, Shen Jingdan said goodbye to Lao Huang, took his servant Ah Si, hired a small boat, and transferred from Wusong River to the South Canal, heading straight to Yangzhou.
Two days later, the boat docked at the canal pier outside Yangzhou City's east gate. As soon as he stepped onto the pier, Shen Jingdan couldn't help but blurt out: "We're finally home."
In the thirty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Guifang, the then magistrate of Yangzhou, built an outer city based on the Dongguo of Yangzhou City in the Song Dynasty to prevent Japanese pirates from invading the city, also known as the "New City". The city wall of the new city is connected to the east wall of the old city, with a total length of more than eight miles on the north, south, east and west sides.
In the Qing Dynasty, Yangzhou City was under the jurisdiction of Jiangdu and Ganquan counties. The western half of the old city and the southern half of the new city belong to Jiangdu County, while the eastern half of the old city and the northern half of the new city belong to Ganquan County.
Shen Jingdan's home is near Dongguan Street in Yangzhou New City, under the jurisdiction of Ganquan County. The east gate in front of us was originally called "Lijin Gate".
After the master and servant got off the boat, they just entered the Dongguan City Gate when they saw a boy in green clothes, about fourteen or fifteen years old, standing in the shade inside the city gate and looking around.
"Master!" When the young man in green saw Shen Jingdan, he jumped three feet high and shouted and ran over.
"Guisheng, I haven't seen you for half a year. I'm almost as tall as your father!"
Guisheng saluted and said: "Since I received the letter from the master, the day before yesterday, my wife and the second lady asked me to come to the city gate to guard for a while. It happened that the master came back on the third day."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up, took two bundles from Ah Si and carried them on his shoulders. "Dad, let me help you."
After the three of them passed the city gate, they turned right into Bianyimen Street, which leads directly to Bianyimen in the northeast corner of the new city.
"Guisheng, are the madam and young lady okay?"
"Everything is fine. It's just that Madam has been worried about you and Miss Quan, and they don't eat well every day."
"Well."
Guisheng walked behind Shen Jingdan and asked flatteringly: "Master, next time you go to sea, will you take me with you?"
Ah Si had a straight face, turned around and scolded his son: "Talk too much! What's wrong with you? Just serve the family honestly."
Shen Jingdan just smiled and listened without speaking. The three of them walked a few dozen steps north from Bianyimen Street and turned west into an alley. The house in the back was Shen Zhai.
As soon as the three of them reached the door, Guisheng stepped forward and pushed open the courtyard door, letting Shen Jingdan and Ah Si go in first. He followed behind and shouted inside: "Madam! The master is back! The master is back!"
The courtyard of the Shen family is not large, with three entrances from the front and back, covering an area of just over 500 square meters. As soon as Shen Jingdan passed through the foyer and entered the main hall, he saw two servants from the family holding his wife and little daughter to welcome him out.
I haven't seen my family for half a year, so I can't help but feel sad.
"Why didn't Sister Quan come back with father?" After Shen Jingdan changed clothes and returned to the back hall, the youngest daughter Ayu suddenly asked.
Mrs. Shen had read Shen Jingdan's letter before, so she naturally knew what was going on. She smiled and said perfunctorily: "Ah Quan is in Japan with Aunt Di right now, and he won't be able to come back for the time being."
"I want to play with Sister Quan, but she's not here, so I'm bored alone."
Mrs. Shen said: "In the past few years, when all your sisters were not here, I didn't see you feeling bored. You are not young anymore. After this year, it will be time to find someone to kiss you."
Ayu's expression changed, and she lowered her head and stopped talking.
Mrs. Shen didn't take it seriously and turned to Shen Jingdan and asked: "Master, how long can you stay when you come back this time?"
"I won't go to Japan for the time being. If I have anything to do in the future, I will go directly to Shanghai to pick up the goods."
Mrs. Shen felt happy when her husband said that he would not go to Japan for the time being. Whenever her husband goes to sea, she becomes anxious.
Just when Mrs. Shen was about to speak, Shen Jingdan said again: "Oh, there is one more thing. This time I stayed in Shanghai Lao Huang for a few days, and he wanted to propose marriage to his son."
When the wife heard that someone was proposing marriage to her daughter, she quickly asked: "Who is that?"
Shen Jingdan said: "Who else could it be? The owner of 'Huang Shengtai'. I figured Ayu was still young, so I didn't agree. I'll talk about it in a year or two."
Mrs. Shen said: "You're still young? You're already thirteen this year."
After hearing this, Ayu said anxiously: "Dad, I don't want to get married."
Shen Jingdan nodded and said, "Dad didn't agree. You go to the main hall first. I bought a lot of stuff in Japan. You go ask Ah Si for it."
When Ayu heard this, he quickly asked his servants to help him away. Seeing that his daughter's back was gone, Shen Jingdan said to his wife: "I met two great doctors in Beidi this time. They told me that giving birth to a girl too early is very harmful to the body. So, I want Ayu to have a good life." I won't make a promise until I'm seventeen."
"Seventeen? Then she's an old girl!"
Shen Jingdan ignored his wife's surprise, stood up, called Guisheng, and said: "Go to Ma's house on East Street and ask if the Ma family is home. If he is, tell him that I will visit the house tomorrow."
"Yes, sir." Guisheng responded and went out.
Mrs. Shen asked strangely: "Eh? What are you doing with Mr. Ma?"
"I have a good deal to discuss with him."
The Mr. Ma that Shen Jingdan was talking about was the Yangzhou salt merchant Ma Yu, the owner of "Jienan Bookstore". It is said that the most famous thing about the Ma family is their own library, also called "Xiao Linglong Mountain Library".
In the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong's reign, in order to compile the "Sikuquanshu", Qianlong in view that the collection of books in the imperial palace was not complete enough, so he instructed the Military Aircraft Department to ask the provincial governors and academic administrators to pay attention to searching for classics, and prepare a catalog in advance to submit to the court. After identifying the valuable bibliographies, we would then place an order for them, send them to the capital, and store them in the inner court, "to highlight the prosperity of the ancient right writings."
Unexpectedly, after the edict was issued, there was little response from the people. Especially the families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang who have passed down poetry and calligraphy to their families, no one is willing to give their collection of books collected over generations to the imperial court. It sounds nice, but in fact everyone understands that it is a matter of meat buns beating dogs.
In the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign, Qianlong once again ordered the governors of all provinces to quickly purchase the suicide notes within half a year. If there is any further obstruction, "the only thing the governor should do is ask." Now the governors and academic administrators of various provinces knew that the emperor was serious about taking action, so a large-scale campaign for soliciting letters was launched in various places.
The fathers of Ma Yu's family got rich from salt, but unlike other salt merchants who liked to build villas and play with thin horses, they loved collecting books and making friends with literati. The Ma family's rich collection of books was praised by people at the time, with as many as 1,385 kinds.
Qianlong had long heard of the name "Xiaolinglong Mountain Pavilion", so he ordered the Lianghuai Salt Administration to search for books from the Ma family. Based on the ledgers of the Ma family's book collection, the Xunyan Censor selected 776 books and submitted them in three batches. Worried about omissions, the Xunyan Censor made private investigations and undercover visits to confirm that the Ma family had no other private collections before giving up. As a result, the Ma family has become the family with the largest number of private book donations in the country. The hard work accumulated over many years by generations of people was finally gone forever.
Later, in order to commend Ma's family for ranking first in the country, Qianlong rewarded him with a collection of ancient and modern books. In addition, he also rewarded many additional poems written by himself - thirty-two verses of imperial poems for the pacification of Yili, sixteen verses of imperial poems for the pacification of Jinchuan, and thirty-two winning pictures.
What a piece of shit! Master Ma Yuma was so angry that he wanted to curse.
Qianlong wrote more than 40,000 bad poems in his life, and thus took away the Ma family's foundation for several generations "overtly and covertly". The Ma family's "Little Linglong Mountain Pavilion" has never recovered.
However, Shen Jingdan was not looking for the Ma family for books, but for cigarettes.
The Yangzhou Hanjiang Poetry Society, which was very influential in the history of the Qing Dynasty, was founded with the funding of Ma Yu's father and second uncle. When these literati of the Hanjiang Poetry Society hold parties regularly, in addition to drinking and composing poems, the most important thing they do is smoke.
For example, Li E, who was a member of the Poetry Society and the leader of the Western Zhejiang Ci School, wrote a poem called "Heavenly Fragrance" during his lifetime, praising tobacco as "better than betel nut and used to burn off food."
Another example is Quan Zuwang, another famous figure in the society, who actually wrote a poem called "Tampa Feng Fu" during his lifetime!
If we can sell cigarettes to the Hanjiang Poetry Society through the connections of the Ma family, and then let the literati of the poetry society write a few poems to praise it, then the sales of cigarettes will definitely be huge!
Turning back to Shanghai, Lao Huang has been busy helping Zhao Xin find a house since he handed over all the cigarettes and figurines to the shop.
In order to help the benefactors in Beihai Town find a house, Lao Huang personally took people to Suzhou and Jiangning, and looked at houses every day. When he returned to Shanghai from Suzhou more than ten days later, the shopkeeper came to tell him that two thousand boxes of cigarettes had been sold!
The shocked Lao Huang hurriedly asked who the buyers were. He thought they were several ship dealers he had bought from before, but unexpectedly the shopkeeper told him they were several brothels in Shanghai County.
"Brothel?" Lao Huang asked in surprise: "Why did the brothel buy so many cigarettes?"
The shopkeeper replied with a smile: "My boss, all the girls in brothels smoke nowadays."
"Pa!", Lao Huang slapped his thigh and said, "How could I forget this!"
Since the late Ming Dynasty, smoking has become an indispensable part of the high-end commercial entertainment provided by high-end brothels. As part of the tea party, it became customary for brothels to present pipe pipes or shisha pipes to customers.
And those famous prostitutes not only provided tobacco to their customers, but they themselves also smoked to refresh themselves because they often chatted with their customers until late at night.
Nowadays, famous prostitutes are often invited to attend gatherings of literati, so it is normal to accompany them to smoke together. It is said that a beautiful woman enjoys tobacco with her guests, and her gesture of puffing out smoke fascinates the poet, hence the poem "The jade lips are full of smoke and are also beautiful." Of course, they still smoke pipe pipes or hookahs.
Even though Lao Huang and Shen Jingdan hang out with alluring women in Nagasaki every day, it's because they can't get out and have nothing to do; but when they return to China, they rarely go to brothels. Therefore, neither Shen nor Huang thought of brothels as an excellent "sales channel" at first.
Thinking of this, Lao Huang asked the shopkeeper again: "How much does a box cost in the brothel now?"
"It was hard to sell before, so the owner gave me a 20% discount. All at this price."
"Come back next time and give them a 30% discount! The extra 10% discount will be a rebate!"
Thinking that there were more brothels in Jiangning and Suzhou than in Shanghai, Lao Huang immediately decided to bring a batch of cigarettes back to Suzhou!
A few days later, in the early morning, Lao Huang returned to Shanghai with satisfaction. The sales price of cigarettes he reached in Suzhou reached 80 yuan per box!
Back home, Lao Huang drank tea and smoked a cigarette, sighing secretly in his heart.
"I wish I had planned to come here every month and a half! It's only been more than half a month and it will be out of stock. Mr. Zhao, you must arrive on time!"
(End of chapter)
