During the five-day opening event, a total of 430,000 taels were sold, with the highest sales on the second day reaching 110,000 taels.
The total net profit is more than 50,000 taels, with an average of 10,000 taels, which is extremely terrifying.
But Chongzhen also knew that this was because it was opened in Suzhou, which is known as the most prosperous county in the world. Even if it opens in other cities in the future, except for Beijing and Nanjing, it is unlikely that the opening can reach 30,000 taels.
However, it can also reflect the importance that people place on price, quality, and service.
In Sun Chunyang's letter, what surprised Chongzhen the most was Sun Chunyang's idea, that is, it was very troublesome when checking out, because the guests used different coins, including copper coins, broken silver, silver ingots, etc.
This is where the problem lies. Broken silver comes in different shapes and sizes and has different weights. You have to use a scale to weigh it. It also involves the fineness of the silver. It is difficult to estimate the value and the checkout speed is extremely slow.
The solution given by Sun Chunyang is to open a silver exchange office at the entrance, and exchange it into silver bars of one yuan, five yuan, or one tael minted by the department store supply and marketing cooperative. Customers can exchange them when they enter the store, and the checkout will be quick. A lot.
Although this method is good, it is only suitable for use in stores, and it cannot be circulated in a large area, nor can it solve the problem of carrying a large amount of money.
“It seems it’s time to put currency reform on the agenda!”
Chongzhen muttered to himself, put Sun Chunyang's letter aside, and then picked up Zhou Tingru's inscription.
The general content is that Suzhou's wealthy businessmen have jointly prepared to imitate the department store supply and marketing cooperative. The deposit has been paid and it is expected to open in three months.
"Haha, I'm not afraid that you will imitate me, but I'm afraid that you won't imitate me!"
Looking at the contents of the question book, Chongzhen sneered.
Now the gross profit of the department store supply and marketing cooperative is 20%, and the net profit is 12%, but this is far from the limit. The limit is that he does not make any money.
After other wealthy businessmen and gentry opened their businesses, he would lower the prices again, forcing the merchants to lower prices together to benefit the people.
If the price is not lowered, no one will buy it, and it will become unsaleable and rot in the warehouse.
But price reduction does not necessarily mean that a loss will occur, because when the imperial caravan goes out to sea and brings back many imported products, that one imported product can earn dozens of times the profit. If other goods in the supply and marketing cooperative lose money, the profits earned from the imported products can be made up for. .
Other caravans can also go overseas, but they must be escorted by the Ming Navy. This also requires money, and import and export duties must be paid.
All in all, the imperial court has enough to eat.
But he will not push the merchants to death, and he will only open one in Fucheng.
Department store supply and marketing cooperatives are like catfish among businessmen. If businessmen can adapt, they will adapt; if they cannot, they will go to counties and towns to do business.
It’s not that you can’t make money, it can only be said that from now on, the era of lying down and making money has passed.
He has three ultimate goals in opening a department store supply and marketing cooperative. One is to force merchants to change, the other is to circulate goods from all over the world so that people can become rich, and the third is commercial tax. The more you sell, the more you collect, and the national treasury can rich.
"The seeds have been planted, and we are waiting for the flowers to bloom and bear fruit. I hope the fruit will not be crooked melons or cracked dates!"
Chongzhen chuckled and put the two question books aside.
Now that everything is ready, all we have to do is wait for the Firearms Research Institute's iron-moulded cannon technology to be perfected and equip it with the Navy's fortune ships. After the spring begins, we can personally lead the army to annihilate the Jiannu, Mongolian tribes and Fusang in one fell swoop.
Time passed while waiting, and the weather became colder and colder.
But in a valley of the Firearms Research Institute, more than a hundred people were still sweating profusely, although they were wearing only thin clothes, and various sounds came and went.
Everyone was busy in an orderly manner under the command of Wu Dahua on the high platform in the middle of the field, while Xu Guangqi, Bi Maokang and others were waiting quietly on the high platform on one side.
Pieces of coke are poured into the bottom of the blast furnace. Under the agitation of the bellows, they are quickly ignited and the temperature rises.
Pieces of iron ingots that have been refined by the blacksmith are fed through the iron mouth of the blast furnace, turning red and melting at high temperatures.
…
Although the process was boring and the smell was unpleasant, Xu Guangqi and others still watched it with gusto.
It has to be said that the head of the smelting family does have a lot of skills. The whole process is smooth and pleasing to the eye, and the control of every link is extremely detailed and accurate.
I don't know how much time passed, but with Wu Dahua's sound of starting the furnace, the craftsmen quickly adjusted the positions of the blast furnace and the mold.
What is strange is that the mold is actually buried deep in extremely high-temperature iron sand. According to Wu Dahua, reducing the cooling speed of the molten iron can increase the toughness of the iron.
The molten iron enters the mold, cools and turns dark red, the mold is removed, burrs are removed, and the mud core is removed...
The whole process took more than half an hour. After everything was completed, a three-meter-long gun barrel with a caliber of thirteen centimeters and emitting a dark light appeared in front of everyone.
"Master Wu, how are you?"
I don't know when, Xu Guangqi and others came closer, touched the slightly warm barrel, and asked nervously.
As if Wu Dahua hadn't heard anything, he gently tapped the barrel with a small hammer, listening to the sound the barrel made. He knocked from beginning to end, then carefully looked at the texture of the barrel with a magnifying glass, and then moved closer to the mouth of the barrel. Observe carefully.
After a while, Wu Dahua straightened up: "The sound is like a loud chime, the texture is tight, there are few pores, and the tentacles are delicate..."
"So it's a success?"
"So far it seems to be a success!"
oh……
More than a hundred craftsmen in the valley cheered, having been waiting for this moment for so long.
Listening to the cheers, Wu Dahua suppressed his excitement and said in a deep voice: "The specific situation will only be known after actual combat."
"Then what are you waiting for? Take it to the valley and assemble it. Let's try firing a few shots!"
After Xu Guangqi finished speaking, the sergeant who had been waiting for a long time skillfully operated the lever to lift the gun barrel and place it on the carriage.
Half an hour later, the Hongyi cannon was transported to the fort and installed. It was charged, pressed, and loaded...
boom……
boom……
boom……
Tongues of flame spurted out, and cannonballs were shot out one after another.
Three days later, Xu Guangqi arrived at Dongnuang Pavilion: "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled my mission. The iron mold casting technology has been completed, and we combined the previous composite technology to complete the casting of the wrought iron core and pig iron body.
The experiment of the first Hongyi cannon was completed three days ago. A total of 300 shells were fired in three days. After inspection, there were no problems with the outer wall of the cannon body. There were slight unevenness and collapse on the inner wall, but it did not affect the launch. ,
It is currently impossible to predict what the limit is, and there are too many influencing factors. I can conclude that it will definitely be much better than before! "
"good!"
Suddenly hearing that the iron mold cannon casting technology was completed, Chongzhen was also extremely happy. He had been thinking about this since he traveled back in time, and finally got it done before he went to Beijing to build a slave.
This is the key to determining whether the Fusang, Jiannu, and Mongolian tribes can be wiped out at once, and it is also the key to determining the confidence of Ming Dynasty to join the great voyage.
"Huang Taiji, wait for me, let's settle old and new grudges together!"
