Price fluctuations that do not conform to market rules are in most cases the result of man-made changes.
There are no problems with salt field production at present. Supply is still slightly higher than demand, and there is no inflation or contraction. There are no new taxes within the Lianghuai Salt Transfer Department. Under such circumstances, the strange increase in salt prices will inevitably affect border merchants and domestic businesses. Merchants, water merchants and Yaxing are inseparable from each other.
When it comes to price, you usually go to the person who may have the problem.
Mingyue Warehouse became a place that Zhu Yunwen had to "visit".
Zhu Di and Xu Huizu were arranged to pretend to be members of the Security Bureau and went to the Yangzhou magistrate's office to collect files. They would not be able to come back for a while, so Zhu Yunwen had to take Jie Jin and Xia Yuanji to Mingyue Warehouse.
There are benefits to be found in dental surgery, just like an intermediary in later generations, live streaming to bring goods, the benefits and tricks are difficult to explain clearly.
The warehouse is located on the riverside, and within a few steps is the dock. There are also several boats. Seven or eight guys are carrying bags and walking into the warehouse. Standing at the door of the warehouse, you can see that the inside is not only wide, but also quite deep. The shop leads directly to the courtyard, and the houses on the east and west sides may be used for storing goods.
"Who is a tooth shop? They have big business."
As soon as the waiter heard that there was business coming to the door, he quickly invited him inside, then said "later" and ran to the inner room to report.
Not long after, a somewhat elegant middle-aged man wearing a square scarf and a sky-blue robe came out. His red eyes narrowed slightly and he looked at Zhu Yunwen, Xie Jin and Xia Yuanji.
Feng Cheng was secretly surprised. The three people in front of him were as quiet as a mountain, and they had a majestic power. With their vicious eyes that had seen and recognized people for many years, these three people were probably not ordinary businessmen, at least they were owners with a big family and a big business, and they could talk their talk.
"Three of you, I am Feng Cheng. I work for a dental shop in Yanshi, Yangzhou. There is a dental note on the wall. If the deal fails in ten days, I will give you a hundred taels of treasure money to compensate."
Feng Cheng played his own signature.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Feng Cheng. This person had quite a good temper. He dared to say what he said about a good deal on the 10th without asking anything. I'm afraid he must have some skills, and at least he has plenty of connections.
"You don't even ask me how much salt I want to buy, but you dare to boast about it?"
Zhu Yunwen walked straight to the chair and sat down as if there was no one else around.
When Feng Cheng saw this, he thought highly of Zhu Yunwen. He was not a person who had been doing business all year round. He was afraid that he would not have the courage. He was not from a wealthy family and would not act arrogantly.
"No matter how much Young Master wants, Mingyue Warehouse can take it out."
Feng Cheng was very confident.
Zhu Yunwen tapped the table with his fingers and said softly: "Baqian Dayin, can you agree?"
"Eight thousand?"
Feng Cheng was stunned.
Eight thousand large baits can be converted into 3.2 million kilograms, more than 20,000 stones. According to the water merchant's price, one large bait costs four taels, which is 23,600 taels! If it is said that it is combined based on the teeth and two points are drawn, it will be six hundred and seventy-two taels.
If he cooperates with water merchants in the middle, he can make more than a thousand taels at a time, or even more!
Big deal!
Although Feng Cheng was in charge of the tooth shop in Yan City, there were not many Heshui merchants in Yangzhou who directly asked for 8,000 yuan at a time. Except for some giant merchants, such as Hui merchants, few people could eat it in one bite. So much salt.
"I wonder what your surname is?"
Feng Cheng became cautious.
Zhu Yunwen said calmly: "Businessman in the capital, six hundred years old."
"Six hundred years old?"
Feng Cheng squinted his eyes and couldn't remember when a big businessman named Nian appeared in the capital. However, Feng Cheng didn't think much about it. At the moment, whether in the capital or Suzhou and Hangzhou, many businessmen emerged from Nanyang following the imperial court. Many families have made a fortune from this, and it is normal for a few strangers and unknowns to come out.
"Can't do it?"
Zhu Yunwen asked.
Feng Cheng said with a smile: "Eight thousand big quotations are easy to talk about. As long as the young master really wants the goods, I will definitely have the letter in five days."
Zhu Yunwen calculated that "Emperor Jianwen" would arrive in Yangzhou in five days. By then, the officialdom would be trembling, and some people would put away their tails and retract their hands, fearing that it would be difficult to do things.
"Two days, I'll give you two days."
Zhu Yunwen stretched out two fingers.
Feng Cheng frowned and felt a little embarrassed: "Two days are really too tight, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it in time."
Zhu Yunwen said: "You can draw three points."
Feng Cheng waved his hands repeatedly: "The number of dental servants is determined by the court. The amount of transactions and the amount of receipts must be recorded in the account. Don't dare to add more."
Zhu Yunwen sighed: "Then I will give you an extra two hundred guan. If you still can't do it, then I will have to find a water dealer or a domestic dealer myself."
How could Feng Cheng let the fat in his mouth escape? He immediately said: "The two days are a bit tight, and I may suffer some losses in the negotiation. If you don't mind it, how about we still be here in two days?"
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly: "The sooner the better, money is a trivial matter. If I can't do this, I will probably lose face in the family, so shopkeeper Feng should be more careful."
Feng Cheng smiled.
It turns out that the family discusses the merits and demerits based on business. Many merchant families choose their successors in this way. Whether they are good or not, and whether they have the ability to take charge of the family business, they are sent out to make a deal - a competition, and the winner becomes the successor. The loser becomes the shopkeeper, which is reasonable and convincing.
This kind of person's business is easy to do, and it doesn't matter if the transaction price is artificially raised. This person will take the initiative to cover up all this for himself.
Zhu Yunwen asked casually: "When I came here, I heard that the price of salt had risen to eighteen cents per catty. Yangzhou is not as good as the capital, so why is the price still so high?"
Seeing that the deal was finalized, Feng Cheng felt relaxed and didn't care. He said directly: "This matter has nothing to do with our dental shop. The water dealer has increased the price, so we have to live."
"It's so good, why did this water dealer raise the price?"
Zhu Yunwen continued to ask.
Feng Cheng shook his head and just said: "I'm not sure, I'm afraid it has something to do with the price increase by domestic merchants..."
Zhu Yunwen was speechless. If he continued like this, would it have something to do with border merchants?
Feng Cheng felt helpless, frowned and said, "Actually, in my opinion, this has little to do with water merchants, internal merchants, or border merchants."
"oh?"
Zhu Yunwen was a little strange. The price increase had nothing to do with them?
Feng Cheng nodded and explained: "I can't say for sure, but I always hear some salt merchants talking about how tiring the system is."
Xia Yuanji's face darkened and he scolded: "The Kaizhong system has been in operation for many years and there has never been any problem. How can you say this system is tiring?"
The Kaizhong system was not an invention of the Ming Dynasty. It existed in the Song Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang thought this method was very good. The court saved a lot of manpower and material resources in transporting grain to the border and ensured military supplies. Merchants relied on warehouse money to go to salt. It was a place where envoys or merchants gathered to resell warehouses and make a lot of money. During this period, merchants and water merchants could also make a lot of money. There was profit for everyone. The price of salt during the Hongwu period was also stable at eight to ten cents. , never soared.
Unlike the Song Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang also levied a salt tax and could get about two million taels per year, which accounted for nearly half of the national treasury revenue at that time (half refers to the total income in silver, not converted into grain), but the price of salt in the Ming Dynasty was generally low , for example, the price of salt in the Song Dynasty was usually fifty to seventy cents per catty.
Comparing the Ming Dynasty vertically, we can see how much Zhu Yuanzhang loved his people.
Don't think that a slight increase in salt prices will have little impact. Much of the wealth of the Song Dynasty was supported by salt taxes. After all, it was a necessity. When many dynasties encounter difficulties, they will adjust the salt tax and try their best to make money quickly.
Why did Zhang Shicheng, a private salt dealer at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, who had a big business and a large family, not charge the people's tax? Who could afford to pay the food tax for selling salt? No matter how much money you deduct, you won’t be able to finish the food you bought.
The price of salt directly affects people's livelihood.
In the Tang Dynasty, a family of five would eat "one pound of salt every three days (related to its impurities)". One pound of salt was counted as 30 jin, and a month was counted as 10 jin. The cost for just one month was 300 jin. Three hundred coins per day. People in the Tang Dynasty could not earn as much as one hundred coins per day in the Song Dynasty.
Looking back at the Ming Dynasty, "A large mouthful is worth twelve pounds of salt, and a small mouthful is half a pound."
According to the calculation of a family of five with a couple and three children, a family needs to buy 60 kilograms of salt every year. If calculated as ten kilograms per kilogram, it will cost 600 kilograms a year and 50 kilograms a month. For ordinary people, In terms of income, it is roughly one and a half to two days' wages. If the price rises to 18 cents per catty, it will cost one or two orders of 80 cents a year, which is 90 cents per month, which is two or three days' wages.
What would you think if someone in future generations told you to spend one day's wages to buy this month's salt and twelve days' wages to buy one year's worth of salt? After the price increase, will it be extremely painful to buy a year's worth of salt with one month's salary?
But your flesh pain is a daily thing that countless people in the feudal dynasty have to face. They need to eat salt, especially those who do strenuous work, and consume more salt.
A penny increase in the price of salt puts pressure on the people!
Zhu Yuanzhang knew this truth, so he adopted the method of opening the middle, directly controlling the production side. Although he did not control the sales side, after all calculations, on the basis of retaining a certain profit from the merchants, the people could still eat low-priced salt.
Moreover, Kaizhongfa made great contributions to the Northern Expedition and border garrisoning during the Hongwu period, saving the court a lot of manpower and material resources. Now this Yaxing Feng Cheng was so bold that he directly targeted Kaizhongfa.
This is not dissatisfaction with the opening of China. This is a challenge to the great ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang.
Xia Yuanji scolded the other party to remind him to be careful when speaking and to be careful of misfortunes coming out of his mouth.
Feng Cheng didn't mind much. We are all businessmen, so it's okay to make a few remarks: "I just heard other businessmen say this. I don't know the specific details."
While Feng Cheng was discussing with Zhu Yunwen, a government servant wearing a soap uniform came in. Regardless of the fact that Feng Cheng had guests, he stepped forward and said, "The emperor is about to tour the north and will arrive in Yangzhou on the 16th. During this period, the price of salt will be very high." Turn it down, ten cents per catty."
Feng Cheng looked embarrassed and stood up quickly: "Boss Wang, our dental shop cannot afford ten cents per catty. When the store collects salt, it is already fifteen cents per catty. Doesn't this make us lose money?"
Bantou Wang glared: "It's your fault to lose money, that's what the boss said, if you do it, be careful of your head."
PS:
I'm moving tomorrow and have a day off.
Wow, when I tell you what I'm busy with in October, you'll understand why I couldn't update this month and even asked for leave...
I will make up for what I owe in October and November, and I will do what I say.
Hope everyone understands.
