Di Renjie naturally did not dare to take the joke from his boss and just laughed. Yiji Lianbode said: "Now that the prototype ship has passed the test, we can start work quickly and try to put it into use after the spring. This time in Changle Even the Emperor, the Supreme Emperor, and the Supreme Empress personally boarded the ship under your supervision. Huaiying, did you show your face for me this time?"
Di Renjie soon understood what his boss meant by "showing his big face". From the moment he walked out of the governor's office, wherever he looked, no matter what his relationship with him was on weekdays, there was a smiling face, even those in the past. I can't even say that I have a close relationship with him. People who can be said to be beyond my reach also come over.
"Master Di, Master Di! I am Hu Juyong, the chief minister of Shaanzhou Prefecture. He is also a native of Taiyuan. He and the master can be regarded as fellow townsmen. In the past, we were not close to each other. Today, I have a small bottle of wine at home. I would like to ask the master to go there. , let’s talk about hometown friendship!”
"Master Di, my little master, Xu Qiyu, is joining the army for Nanyang Prefecture. He happens to be passing through Shaanzhou. I have admired Master Di for a long time. I come to see you tonight. Please don't hesitate to give me a meeting!"
"Master Di, my Lord, Huang Juping, is from Luoyang. He and your wife are from the same hometown. I beg you to meet her and express your respect!"
Faced with the "kindness and kindness" that came to him, Di Renjie refused to answer one by one at first. Later, his patience was completely exhausted, and even the muscles on his face were twitching from laughing too much, so he had to simply claim to be sick and let him go. The servant stood outside and said only that the master's house was suffering from a sudden cold and there were no outsiders. He asked all distinguished guests to forgive him.
"Your Majesty, I finally understand why people in the world are so eager for power! This is just the emperor boarding the boat I built. Just like this, if it goes further, wouldn't he be praised to the sky?" Di Renjie was lying on the couch in the room, With a wry smile on his face, although he originally looked forward to fame and wealth, he mostly wanted to rely on his talents to achieve results and then be rewarded; and the experience during this period vividly told him what "choice is better than hard work" "Important", what does "standing in line is better than anything else"? He has endured hardships and hardships for so many years since he became an official. It would be good to get a good look from Shangguan, and promotion is even more difficult to achieve; and ever since he boarded the general's ship, he has been Understand what it means to be proud of the spring breeze, to give people to others, to give money to people, and to send the achievements directly to the emperor. If he had stayed in Luoyang, how could he be in the situation he is in today?
"Master, master!" The servant's voice came from outside.
"What's the matter?" Di Renjie, who was interrupted from his thoughts, was a little unhappy and said angrily: "Didn't I tell you already? Everyone says I'm sick and I'm missing!"
"Master, I'm not asking to see you, I'm giving you a gift!" The slave smiled bitterly and said, "Look, this is a gift list. I really don't dare to accept it, as long as it disturbs your purity!"
"Giving a gift?" Di Renjie was stunned. He took the gift list and saw only a few lines written on it: 100 pieces of Sichuan silk and a set of gold and silver utensils to show respect.
"Such a heavy gift?" Di Renjie was surprised. Three hundred pieces of Sichuan brocade was already a lot of money. At that time, the emperor rewarded ministers with dozens or hundreds of rewards. The upper limit for gold and silver utensils was even higher. In the Tang Dynasty, gold and silver were rarely used as currency to enter the market. They were usually used by the upper class as a tool to store wealth. Making gold and silver utensils was a great use. A set of gold and silver utensils made by famous craftsmen could even be used as family heirloom. Di Renjie certainly couldn't turn away someone who was so generous.
"Who gave the gift?" Di Renjie asked.
"It's a man in green clothes. He said he was sent by his master's order! His master is a woman, her surname is Gao, and everyone outside calls her Gao Wu Niang!"
"Gao Wu Niang, is it her?" Di Renjie was surprised. No wonder he was like this. Gao Wu Niang was a very legendary woman at the time. Legend has it that she was a descendant of Goguryeo and made a living by running a hotel after her husband died of illness. After remarrying, she obtained the technology of smelting silver and gold from her new husband, thereby making huge profits. After getting rich, this woman also donated money to help the poor many times, build roads, and became a famous merchant in Luoyang. Of course, Gao Wuniang is so famous not only because of her wealth and philanthropy, but more importantly because her second husband also passed away not long ago, and she is only twenty-six years old. A young widow with such a rich family will naturally It aroused the imagination of Luoyang people at that time. When Di Renjie was an official in Luoyang, he often heard about the reputation of Gao Wu Niang from his colleagues.
"That's right, so I don't dare to accept it. Master, will you accept it?"
Di Renjie pondered for a moment: "Let's do this, please invite someone in!"
A moment later, a man in green clothes came in. Di Renjie looked him up and down and felt that although he was a merchant, he didn't smell much of copper. He nodded secretly: "What's your name? What does it have to do with Gao Wuniang?"
"The villain Gawain is a member of the master's family!"
"Yes!" Di Renjie nodded: "Your master and I don't know each other, why do you send such a generous gift?"
"In business, the master is paying you a courtesy, naturally it is for business!" Gao Wen said.
"Oh?" Di Renjie laughed when he heard this: "Isn't your master engaged in gold and silver business? This doesn't seem to have anything to do with me, right?"
"Master Di!" Gawain took out something from his sleeve and presented it with both hands: "My master asked me to bring this to you!"
"Oh?" Di Renjie took the object and looked at it, but it was a hinge. He didn't recognize this object at first, but thanks to the time he supervised the construction of the water wheel, many of the paddles on the water wheel were made of The hinge is fixed, so he naturally recognized it: "This is a hinge, what's wrong? Why did your master send this?"
"This hinge was made by my family's craftsmen. My master heard that it was needed on the waterwheel you supervised a few days ago, so he asked the craftsmen to build several hinges like this and sent them to you for a look. Is it useful?"
"Oh?" Di Renjie became interested after hearing this. He fiddled with it for a while and found that the hinge was very finely made and made of high-quality iron. It was much better than the one used on his own ship.
"Well, it's very good. It's better than what's used on official ships now!" Di Renjie answered frankly: "I only heard that Gao Wu Niang in Luoyang was a gold and silver merchant, but I didn't expect that this one could be made so well? "
"Thank you for the compliment, Sir!" Gao Wen kowtowed: "Actually, my ancestors were engaged in iron smelting. After they settled in Luoyang, they switched to the gold and silver business. They also did iron smelting, but It’s just not famous. Moreover, the craftsmen in our family make many gold and silver utensils and jewelry, and the people and tools are all ready-made, so it’s not difficult to make this hinge!”
"Okay, okay!" Di Renjie was quite happy to hear this: "Then what does your master want?"
"My master asks you to make all the hinges on the boat to us. The price is only 70% of what is available on the market, and the quality will be based on the one we gave you as a sample!"
"70% on the market?" Di Renjie frowned: "Aren't you going to lose money?"
"Don't worry about this. My family has been doing this for generations. 70% is less, but as long as the quantity is large, it will be a lot. If the imperial court wants to build a canoe, it will not be one or two, it will cost dozens or hundreds at least. If the ship breaks down, it needs to be repaired, and if it sinks, it needs to be repaired. This business can last for a long time. Everyone likes a business that has long-term success!"
"Everyone likes a steady business? Hahahahaha!" Di Renjie couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "What you said is good, but it doesn't cost 70%, it's still the original price, but the goods must be good. Within a month, I will give you a thousand Come here with the auxiliary hinges and let me see how they are. As long as they are as good as this one, then this hinge business will be yours!"
"This -" Gawain was stunned. He thought that Di Renjie would be happy to get a 30% discount on the supply. After all, this way, he would have room to make profits, but he did not expect that the other party would actually want to supply the goods at the original price. Di Renjie saw what he was thinking and said with a smile: "I built the canal boat to transport grain for the imperial court. It was not to save money on shipbuilding. What I wanted was that the canal boat was strong and durable. Only by allowing merchants to make a profit can we Take out the best materials and build a first-class canal. Therefore, the materials used in the canal are about 10% higher than the market price, just to make you money. If you agree, you will use 70% price, then this will become a rule, and you will no longer be able to use more expensive hinges in the future. Maybe you can make a suitable hinge at 70% of the price, but if you can't make it in the future, where can I find it? Is there a merchant who can make a suitable hinge at 70% of the price? So I would rather let you earn more than use a hinge that costs 70% of the price on the market!"
After hearing these words, Gawain was also sincerely convinced and said in a deep voice: "The gentleman's lofty views are beyond the reach of the villain. After the villain returned, he immediately informed the master that within a month, a thousand pairs of hinges would be delivered!" "
"Okay! Let's do it then!" Di Renjie picked up the tea bowl and stopped mentioning the Sichuan brocade and gold and silver utensils.
——————————————————————
Shaanzhou, Qinghua Inn.
Gawain stood beside the long wooden table, his head bowed respectfully. His hands were lowered, and his fingertips were close to the hem of his robe: "That's what happened. Mr. Di accepted the gift, but he refused. We provide hinge suggestions at 70% of the price, insist on buying our hinges at the original price on the market, and also ask us to deliver a thousand pairs of hinges within a month. If they are the same as the samples, then we will manufacture the hinges for the future ships!"
Wuniang sat at the other end of the long table. She was a tall and thin woman. Like most Goguryeo women, she had fair skin, a high nose bridge, almond-shaped slightly dark brown eyes, plump lips, and thick black hair decorated with green. Wrapped in cloth, the ends hung on her shoulders, and her fair and slender fingers tapped the table rhythmically, as she always did when she was thinking about things.
"This Chief Di is a good official!" Gao Wen said cautiously: "He said he wanted us to make money so that we can build the best watercraft!"
"This is not certain yet!" Wu Niang said, her voice a little hoarse: "But even if it is 50% or 30%, I will agree!"
"Why? How to do it?" Gawain asked in surprise.
"Awen, you don't understand!" Wu Niang sighed, with a wry smile on her lips: "Actually, even 70% of us don't make much money. If you do the math, just the Sichuan brocade and the set of gold and silver utensils sent are worth it. How much is it? And this is just the beginning. If you want to continue this business, Director Di will have to keep taking care of it!"
"Do you still need to manage something?" Gawain asked in surprise: "Then why do we still want to do this business? Our current business has already made a lot of money?"
"Not bad!" Wu Niang sighed: "I made a lot, I should say too much. Sometimes I think it would be better if I could make less!"
"Earn less? Why, isn't more money better?" Gawain asked in confusion.
"Everything in this world has to have a certain degree. Before reaching this degree, the more the better, but after that it may not be possible!" Wu Niang picked up the teapot and poured water into the cup: "It's just like this cup. , will it be full after it’s passed?”
"Wu Niang, I don't understand?"
"The head of our family is from Goguryeo. He has only been in Luoyang for two generations. He has no roots and no one in the family is an official! If you have a family fortune of thousands of dollars, you can live a peaceful life. No matter how much you have, you will attract others. At that time, not to mention family property, even life may not be saved!" Gao Wuniang sighed.
"Then our family seems to have exceeded it!"
"It's been exceeded a long time ago!" Wu Niang smiled bitterly: "So while I asked everyone not to show their wealth on weekdays, I also spent money to help the poor and build bridges and pave roads. In fact, I spent part of the money to help our Gao family. Accumulated a little bit of yin. I thought it was better, so a few days ago someone took action in a few yards next to the Luoyang mansion, so I thought about buying them all, and then opening up the wall to connect them together, so that I can connect the work at home. Open the shop wider! I didn’t expect that it would show up and cause trouble!”
"Disaster? What disaster?" Gawain asked in shock.
"There was a man who was competing with us to buy a yard. He couldn't compete with me, so he went to the office to report me, saying how could I, a woman, earn so much money? I was clearly a criminal. If I didn't have good intentions, Someone notified me, and now I’m afraid I’m already in jail!”
"How could this happen?" Gawain's face turned red with anger: "Your money comes from a legitimate source, and you don't miss a penny in taxes on weekdays. Why do you want to take someone away just by saying a few empty words?"
"When is there a place for reasoning in a yamen?" Wu Niang sighed: "After all, I am a woman. There is no man as the backbone of the family, but I have some money, so naturally I become the fat one in the eyes of others. After all, As long as I am taken in, many things will also change. At that time, all I can think of is committing myself to others!"
When Gawain heard this, he didn't know what to say. As the saying goes, there are many disputes in front of a widow, let alone a rich, beautiful but powerless widow like Gao Wuniang. She doesn't know how many pairs of eyes she has. Look, if you go to jail, you won't be paid to get out. It is estimated that those people want money as well as people. It is even better to let them die in prison. After all, dead people cannot speak and do not need property.
The Gao Wuniang here did exist in history, but she lived during the Kaiyuan Tianbao period. For the convenience of the plot in the book, I advanced it by several decades. Friends who are interested can read "Taiping Guangji", which contains There is the life of this amazing woman.
(End of chapter)
