Then there is gunpowder, which is also one of the four great inventions. It is not difficult to get. All you need to do is find sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal in proportion. Of course, he still knows the proportions.
Although this is the simplest gunpowder, it is a rarity in Da Qin.
Of course, it would be better if he could create black powder, but he didn't.
Why! Still lack of knowledge! Li Zhao shook his head and sighed.
Soon, he asked his servants to buy raw materials, but he started drawing drawings.
In fact, he doesn't need to prepare too much. There is still a lot of iron smelted when making air guns. It is still high-quality wrought iron, which can be used as the main raw material. As for the bullets! The best material is a mixture of broken glass and iron beads, but glass has not yet appeared in Daqin, so we can only settle for the next best thing and use small iron beads for the time being.
Two days later, a store in a not-so-busy area of Xianyang City opened.
Different from other stores, this store does not sell ordinary items. It looks very strange. It actually sells a thin, yellowish, and boxy item. This item looks extremely weird.
The shopkeeper is Xiao He.
After a simple opening ceremony, sales began.
In front of the door, two slaves were shouting hard.
"We sell paper! Freshly made paper, good writing stuff."
This shouting indeed attracted a lot of people, but there were many people watching, but not many people buying.
Xiao He was doing business for the first time and his experience was not very good. When he saw someone coming, he took out a piece of paper to show off, as if saying, this thing can change your destiny.
However, the people of Da Qin had never seen such a thing, so how could they believe his lies.
At this moment, a young man was walking slowly, waving his fan. He was Gao Fugui.
Since the last time I bought jade and lost most of my father's fortune, I was imprisoned by my father for many days and was finally released. However, I feel very uncomfortable when I think of buying jade at a high price but having to sell it at a low price.
But he is not discouraged. He always believes that his investment idea is correct. Just invest! It's normal to make profits and lose money. If you lost money last time, you might be able to make it back again if you find an opportunity.
As he walked, he didn't know how many streets he had walked. Suddenly, he heard a cry: We are selling paper!
Looking up again, there were many people gathered there, and I suddenly became curious: Paper? what?
Driven by curiosity, he came to the door of the store and saw Xiao He swinging a stack of paper and talking about how precious this thing was.
But this thing is too rare and no one has ever seen it. No matter how much Xiao He said it, no one bought it. Instead, most of them made fun of it.
"Shopkeeper, it's useless to just say it. You said this thing can be written, but you can actually write it!"
Paper is precious, even if it is wasted, Xiao He would not be able to write on it unless someone buys it.
"Sir, if you buy a stack, I can give it a try."
Xiao He explained.
This remark caused laughter.
"Shopkeeper, I bought it but it was a waste product. That is not a waste."
"That's right! I don't dare to try this, it must be a lie!"
"That's right. The thing that can be written on is a bamboo scroll. This thing breaks into pieces when rubbed. Can it be written? Don't fool us, the scholars."
"Try it quickly or I won't buy it."
The laughter grew louder.
Xiao He had never encountered such a difficult situation. He was in a dilemma, should he try or not?
He knows that paper is reliable, but others don’t!
In the end, he was still ruthless and prepared to give it a try. If he wanted to trap the wolf, he had to make some preparations!
He took out a piece of paper and was about to write when suddenly someone slapped him with a fan. Maybe it was too hard and the paper was cut in half.
Suddenly, everyone burst into laughter again, this thing is too unbearable.
Someone smiled with an angry look and asked: "Shopkeeper, isn't this a lie? How can any written object be broken when touched, and the person who wrote it can survive, how much can this thing be preserved? If it is a precious classic written on it, But if it breaks into pieces, wouldn’t it be a disaster? This thing is useless.”
Some even said: "Although this item is cheap, it is far inferior to bamboo scrolls. Don't be fooled, everyone."
"Are you making trouble unreasonably?" Xiao He looked at the troublemaker angrily and scolded him.
"What? Are you angry after your lie was exposed? Hehe! This thing is ridiculous. Even if you give it away, people don't necessarily want it. Let's close it as soon as possible!"
The man was sarcastic.
But, at this moment, an uncoordinated voice came.
"You don't want it, I want it."
The person who spoke was Gao Fugui, and he came over. In fact, he watched for a while, and he saw things that others couldn't see.
He didn't say it out of mind, but after careful consideration.
Now is the time for the imperial examination, and a large number of scholars are emerging. Why study! You definitely need something to write on. Nowadays, bamboo scrolls and cloth are mostly used for writing. However, these things are expensive. A cheap bamboo scroll costs dozens of qin and a half. Fabric is even more expensive. Ordinary people wear coarse cloth and rags. , and how to afford fabric.
Of course, I can’t afford bamboo rolls either.
But this rare thing is different. Judging from the price, one piece only costs half a qin and a half liang, which means that one qin and a half liang can buy two.
Regardless of how many words can be written on one sheet, the price must be very popular, at least students from poor families can afford it.
"Yes, they are students from poor families." He thought of the key point. At this moment, these people are from powerful families, so naturally they don't have to worry about money and silk, but poor families do!
There are thousands of students from poor families. If each person buys some, wouldn't it mean that the demand is extremely high, and the amount of paper at the moment is not much.
At this moment, before he could see clearly what paper was, a business opportunity arose in his mind.
He wants to buy them all.
He experienced the fluctuation in jade prices last time. First the price fell to the bottom, and then it surged to the top. What was the reason? Isn't it because there has been a shortage of jade for a period of time? Now that this object is rare, isn't it a shortage?
When he heard that someone wanted to buy it, Xiao He's eyes lit up and he asked, "How much do you want, distinguished guest?"
"I want them all."
Gao Fugui looks very heroic.
Xiao He couldn't believe his ears. Others had been watching for so long and ridiculing them, but no one bought it. This guy was good, he wanted it all without asking anything.
Rare visitor!
However, Xiao He was an honest person and asked cautiously: "Don't your distinguished guests need to see the finished product?"
Gao Fugui waved his hand, seemingly indifferent, "No need, just pack it up and send someone to deliver it to my house."
Xiao He was so satisfied that he smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed. At this moment, people seemed to see a profiteer being born. He quickly ordered the slaves:
"Didn't you hear? Hurry and prepare it for your distinguished guest. You can deliver it to your house in person."
The servant responded with a smile and hurriedly prepared to go.
They never expected that all the finished products would be sold out just a short time after opening. What an unexpected surprise!
Xiao He was happy, but the onlookers ridiculed Gao Fugui.
"Hey! Isn't this the son of Gao Xieshi's family? Is he crazy? A discerning person can tell at a glance that this is a fraud, but he still bought it all. Does he have money but no place to spend it?"
Someone who knew Gao Fugui said in a low voice: "Hey! You don't know! This son is the prodigal son of the Gao family, and it is normal to behave like this."
"Is there anything more ridiculous happened some time ago?"
"Oh!" Someone was interested, but did not lower his voice, "What's this ridiculous thing?"
"Hey! Do you still remember jade? He actually bought a lot of jade in large quantities when the price of jade was high. No, in the end, he lost most of Gao Xieshi's family wealth and was shut down by Gao Xieshi for several days! Isn't this ridiculous? .”
"It's true! You're such a prodigal! It seems like he's going to suffer a loss again this time." The man covered his mouth and laughed, "He really doesn't have any discernment."
"Just wait and see the show! Assistant Gao doesn't know how to punish him this time."
Gao Fugui naturally heard these people's comments, but he didn't care. Invest! Some discussions are normal.
He didn't believe that every investment was so unlucky.
