After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Xujiazhuang had a bit of a business atmosphere.
After the Xujiazhuang iron furnace was blown up, the iron yards under the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce began to be further integrated. The refined iron produced was no longer sold directly, but was sold through a shop in Xujiazhuang, thus attracting caravans to stop in Xujiazhuang.
This shop belongs to the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce and is specially used to receive caravans who come to Lingqiu to buy iron. There is no need for passing caravans to go to Dongshan to buy iron.
Xujiazhuang is no longer a simple village. Hutou Village has opened inns and restaurants, as well as some shops opened by members of the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce.
However, Xujiazhuang mainly relied on the iron from Dongshan to attract caravans, and at the same time sold some stolen goods sent by the county government.
The stolen goods that can be sent over by the county government are the kind of things that are inconvenient to sell. It's not that they are difficult to sell, but that these things come from improper sources.
But Liu Heng is not afraid of this. He now needs goods to attract the coming and going caravans. Only caravans from all walks of life are willing to come to Xujiazhuang to buy and sell goods, so that Xujiazhuang can slowly become a cash cow for Hutou Village.
Inside Xujiazhuang.
"Congratulations to Dongzhu Liu. Once the Xu family's iron furnace falls down, Dongshan will be decided by Dongzhu Liu and the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce from now on." Wang Qifu congratulated.
When he came to Lingqiu, he learned that all the Xu family's iron yards were exploding, and they would not be able to produce a pound of iron within a few months. Now the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce is so powerful that almost all the owners of the iron yards in Dongshan have joined. Dongshan Chamber of Commerce.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that even if the Xu family sets up the stove again in the future, they will no longer be qualified to fight with the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce.
Liu Heng said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Wang is so impressed. The Dongshan Chamber of Commerce serves the various iron yards in Dongshan and also makes it more convenient for everyone to come to Lingqiu to buy iron."
Wang Qifu smiled.
Putting aside the inconvenience, he knew that the price of buying iron would no longer be cheap in the future.
In the past, it was still a matter of shopping around, but now the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce has integrated all the iron yards in Dongshan, and the prices are also set by the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce. Buyers who want to buy refined iron can only accept the price proposed by the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce.
Liu Heng picked up the bowl and took a sip, and said: "The Fan family has a lot of leather goods, which need to be sold to the south through various caravans. I hope that the Fan family can open a shop in Xujiazhuang. For this reason, the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce sold the goods to the Fan family." Iron price, willing to give up a share of profit.”
The Fan family is well-known in several prefectures in Datong, Xuanfu and Taiyuan. If the Fan family can be persuaded to open a shop in Xujiazhuang, it will not be difficult to attract a group of caravans willing to come to Xujiazhuang with the name of the Fan family.
After hearing this, Wang Qifu pondered for a moment and said: "Now the fields in Xujiazhuang belong to Boss Liu. I hope that Boss Liu can sell grain to our Fan family, just like the Xu family did in the past. As long as it is grain, it will only be sold to our Fan family." .”
Liu Heng said with a smile: "That's no problem. As long as the Fan family is willing to open a shop in Xujiazhuang, the excess grain in Xujiazhuang will be sold to the Fan family."
"Since Liu Dongzhu said so, then there is no problem." Wang Qifu said with a smile.
In the past, the Fan family wanted to open a shop in Lingqiu, but was blocked by the Xu family, a local snake. Now they just changed the shop originally opened in Lingqiu County to Xujiazhuang. This did not cause any loss to the Fan family. The Fan family has a chance to enter Lingqiu.
Naturally, he would not object to this kind of thing, which had only benefits and could also open up the Lingqiu situation for the Fan family.
"Then let's have tea instead of wine and wish us a happy cooperation." Liu Heng raised the bowl in his hand.
Wang Qifu also raised his tureen and touched Liu Heng in mid-air.
After taking down the Fan family, Liu Heng breathed a sigh of relief.
The relationship between the Fan family and Beilu is what he values most. With the relationship between the Fan family, Hutou Village may not be able to contact Beilu through the Fan family in the future.
Smuggling is the most profitable business. How could he let Beilu get such a benefit and not get a share of the pie?
He didn't have the idea of smuggling before because he didn't have enough strength, and because the Xu family was here in Lingqiu, he didn't have time to take care of smuggling for the time being.
Now that the Xu family has collapsed and there is no iron farm, the Xu family's little shop land can only support itself at most, and can no longer compete with Hutou Village.
Even if the Xujia Ironyard wants to re-establish ironmaking in the future, the directors and shareholders of the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce will not give the Xujia a chance to rise again for their own benefit.
After sending away the shopkeeper Wang sent by the Fan family, Liu Heng said to Zhao Yutu: "How is the business at the mule and horse shop? Recently, there have been many caravans coming to Dongshan to buy iron. Are there any who are willing to hire us at the mule and horse shop? A caravan escorting goods.”
The Mule and Horse Shop is a newly established business in Hutou Village that is similar to an escort agency.
The officials, gentry and clan were unwilling to do this kind of business because they despised the low status and there was not much profit. Most of the people who opened mule and horse shops in various places were local snakes. Such forces pose no threat to Hutou Village.
As long as the mule and horse dealers in Hutou Village do not offend the local officials, the local mule and horse dealers can do nothing to the mule and horse dealers in Hutou Village. With the force of Hutou Village, it is difficult for the surrounding bandits and horse thieves to be opponents.
If Hutou Village takes over the mule and horse business in several prefectures around Datong, the operable profits will be even greater.
Zhao Yutu said: "Our mule and horse business has just been established and has no name. Many people don't really agree with it."
Hutou Village is considered powerful in Lingqiu, but outside of Lingqiu, Hutou Village is not known to many people, and naturally there is no trust in it.
Liu Heng thought for a while and said: "First use the method of door-to-door delivery of fine iron from the iron yard to open up the situation. I believe that as long as the price is reasonable, many caravans who come to Lingqiu to buy iron will still be willing to let the iron yard deliver the goods, so that their business The team can buy some more other goods and take them back, killing two birds with one stone."
"The Mule and Horse Company has already started doing this with the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce." Zhao Yutu said, "Many caravans agree with our door-to-door delivery service and only charge a part of the remuneration. They also need a lot of money to hire guards. We will deliver the goods." You don’t need to bear the risks in the transportation process when the goods come to your door. As long as the mule and horse business makes more trips, I believe more people will recognize our mule and horse business.”
Liu Heng said: "You can keep an eye on the mule and horse business. Over at the weapons field, I have asked Huang Zhong to speed up the test of the four-wheeled cart. As long as there is a four-wheeled cart, our Hutou Village mule and horse business will be able to The advantage will be greater.”
It is not difficult to manufacture a four-wheeled cart. What limits the four-wheeled cart is the steering problem. As long as this problem is solved, the four-wheeled cart can be successfully put on the road.
This kind of steering problem is not difficult to solve. Just add a bogie, and the bogie has been manufactured by the arsenal. Now the arsenal is testing four-wheeled carts on various terrains. When the test is completed, it will be equipped with For mules and horses.
What really limits four-wheeled carts are the animals and roads that pull them. It's not that the ancients couldn't make a four-wheeled cart. It was because of road and livestock restrictions, not that they couldn't make one. )
He chose to cooperate with the Fan family, on the one hand, to make Xujiazhuang a commercial district, and on the other hand, he wanted to use the Fan family's connections to get enough mules and horses from the Beilu.
The livestock shortage in the Ming Dynasty was so great that most farmers could only rely on manpower to farm and had no livestock at all.
