"... In short, thank you to all the bosses for coming to the meeting despite your busy schedule. Here, I solemnly announce that the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce has officially begun!"
Yang Wanfu opened with an impassioned speech.
Then, a bookkeeper led several waiters, pushed a white paper screen, and moved several wooden boxes into the lobby.
After all the items were placed in the hall, the accountant picked up a large brush and wrote a sentence on the white paper screen:
"Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, three meals a day to pass the time."
"As you young masters can see, this year's business selection topic is mainly about 'food'. Generally speaking, anything that can be eaten can be answered;
The rules are as always, each person can receive one thousand taels of pattern silver as a base money. You young masters can use this base money to purchase freely, but remember, the pattern silver is engraved with the Yang's Commercial Bank logo and cannot be transferred, loaned or forged. Otherwise, once discovered, it will be regarded as For cheating, disqualification;
In addition, this business selection can only be led by the younger generation of young owners. The big owners are not allowed to secretly assist, otherwise it will be treated as cheating;
Finally, in order to ensure the fairness of the competition, we will issue a 'silver book' to all young masters. The amount of all sales will be recorded in the form of accounting. If it is sold to a merchant, the official seal of the merchant is required. If you are an individual, your fingerprint will be required; the amount sold will be calculated by me personally after the competition, and then cashed out at Yang's Commercial Bank. "
At this point, the cashier and the waiter winked.
The man opened the wooden box and found the silver ingots neatly arranged.
Mr. Accountant added: "In order to encourage the young leaders of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, the amount of rewards for this business selection has also been increased - fifteen thousand taels for the top pick, eight thousand taels for the second place, and five thousand taels for the top pick!"
All the younger generation of businessmen stared at the white bonuses with wolfish eyes. This was not just money, but also an honor.
"This competition is limited to seven days, which means it will end at midnight on the tenth day of April. Now, all young masters, please write down the products you selected, and I will publish them on the screen... Allow half a quarter of an hour for discussion."
Servants distribute silver coins, silver books, paper and pens to each table.
All the merchants talked to their sons and gave them advice.
"Listen to me, this competition lasts only seven days. If you sell small commodities, you won't be able to make a lot of money, so try to choose expensive things. In my opinion, bird's nests and shark's fins are the best." The father-in-law said He pulled Song Che and Shen Wenjun and said.
Shen Wenjun said, "But the base money is only one thousand taels. If the product is too precious, the quantity will be limited, and the money earned will also be limited."
The father-in-law said: "Don't forget, your second uncle owns a restaurant, and the usual food and drinks are very profitable."
Shen Wenjun was speechless for a moment and looked at Song Che: "What about you, do you have any good suggestions?"
Song Che pursed his lips and said: "If you want to sell a lot of money in a short time, the product must be a hot item that can attract people, and if you want to attract people, it must be novel... Bird's nest, shark's fin, eight treasures are too common, I guess Many people will choose them, which will inevitably lead to many competitors, which is not advisable. In my opinion, it is better to..."
He picked up the pen and wrote the word "wine" on the note.
"You want to sell wine?" Shen Wenjun was surprised.
"Aren't you just kidding?" My father-in-law immediately retorted: "In Yangzhou city, there is a wine shop every ten steps and a restaurant every hundred steps. It is impossible for a thousand liang to purchase tens of thousands of kilograms of wine and sell them all!"
Ordinary wine cannot be sold, but if it is distilled and purified, there are two different concepts.
"The time for discussion has come. Please put your pen to paper." Mr. Accountant ordered loudly.
The father-in-law hurriedly grabbed the pen to make changes, but Shen Wenjun gently touched it with his little finger and pushed the brush to the ground.
When the father-in-law picked up the brush, the note had already been taken away by the servant.
The father-in-law was so angry that he slapped the table: "Huh! I won't even be able to get my principal back by then. I can't afford to lose this guy!"
"Dad, Song Che can sell five thousand pieces of silk and satin in one day. He must have a way to sell wine." Shen Wenjun looked at Song Che with a firm gaze.
Song Che smiled and shook his head, indicating that there was no need to say more.
Soon, all the selected products were collected, and Mr. Accountant posted the notes on the screen one by one:
"Master Yang from Yang's Trading Company, the product he chose is 'Longjing Tea'."
"The prince of Wang's Trading Company chose the 'Fine River Fresh Food'."
"Mr. Chen from Chen's Trading Company, the product he chose is 'fine bird's nest'."
"Master Li from Li's Trading Company, the product selected is 'Treasure Pastries'."
…
"Young Master Song from Shen's Trading Company... Hey, why is Shen the Young Master Song?" Mr. Accountant was surprised at first.
Song Che rolled his eyes. Does his mother need to mention her last name alone?
"Because he is the son-in-law of the Shen family!" Chen Rencai saw the opportunity and mocked loudly.
"Then you shouldn't call me Young Master, you should call me Young Master." Mr. Accountant quickly changed his words, "So Mr. Song's topic is... wine?" He glanced at Song Che: "Are you sure you don't want to change it?"
All eyes in the room were focused on the three Shen family members, more or less with an element of teasing.
The father-in-law covered his face, ashamed.
Song Che said loudly: "No exchange, just selling wine!"
"Are you afraid that you were drunk this morning and wanted to sell wine? Hahaha..." Chen Rencai laughed with his hands on his hips.
Song Che didn't say much and asked Mr. Accountant: "Sir, do you have anything else to explain next?"
Mr. Accountant said: "It's okay. The big bosses will stay in the business bank for a meeting, and the young bosses can leave to do business on their own."
Song Che put away the silver book, picked up the patterned silver, and pulled Shen Wenjun out of the hall.
After leaving Yang's Trading Company, we went straight to Fuman Inn.
"Song Che, don't tell me that I don't believe you. If you buy wine and resell it, it will be difficult to find a market and the profit will be too low. If you brew it yourself, it will be even more impossible. Grain wine will take at least more than a month to ferment. How do you sell it? "Shen Wenjun was very anxious.
Song Che said calmly: "I neither resell nor brew my own wine. Instead, I use distiller's lees for distillation processing."
"Distillation...processing?" Shen Wenjun was confused.
"Yes, these 'four words' alone are worth the bonus of ten thousand taels for the first place," Song Che poked Shen Wenjun's forehead with his hand:
"This is called payment for knowledge."
