Section 44 Lin Quanan's new business

If this continues, he can only be satisfied with being a merchant in Dongmen City, selling goods from the north and south on the mainland. Of course, the life of such a dough rich man is not bad. However, how can an ambitious person like Lin Quanan be willing to enjoy such a small situation?

Doing business also requires new changes

Thinking like this, someone walked into the closet. Lin Quanan opened his eyes and recognized it as his neighbor and tenant Lin Li, who was a "Fu Lao" like him, and the two of them were still from the same village, and they were a little related to each other. Lin Quanan bought dozens of acres of garden land and paddy fields in the countryside and planted them for him.

Lin Li used to be a burden-carrying peddler like him, and after he made a successful deal with the Australians, some adventurous vendors followed in his footsteps to buy vegetables, pigs and sheep for the Australians. However, after making a little money in the forest, he bought more than 20 acres of rice fields, built a house, took his wife and family to Lingao, and lived by farming.

Of course, it is tight for a family to live on more than a dozen acres of land, and after Lin Quanan became prosperous, he simply rented the garden land he bought for him.

Lin Li made a salute. He carried a basket of eggs carefully wrapped in straw rope. Two chickens, with their feet tied, struggled next to his feet.

"Lao Lin, is that you?" He said pleasantly that Lin Li was his old partner, although he stopped trading and turned to farming, he was finally a poor friend. "How have you been? This spring is good, isn't it? ”

"Okay, okay, thanks to you, sir." Lin Li looked at the "old man" in front of him with half envy and half remorse, this old man, like him three years ago, was wearing a local homespun cloth, with thick patches on his shoulders, and a broken straw hat that no one else wanted, and carried his burden up dozens of miles to sell goods and buy local products from village to village. In less than three years, the identities of the two sides are no less than muddy.

If I hadn't bought land and built a house back then, and continued to do business with him, I am afraid that the family business would not be so small. At last, this old friend still had some affection, not only gave him the garden land to plant, but also almost did not charge him any rent except for the daily supply of firewood, vegetables, chickens, ducks, and rice. Life can finally make do.

Thinking of this, he sighed silently - he was confused for a while, always thinking that this Australian would not stay for a long time, and it was serious to earn a few dollars to buy land and start a house safely, but he didn't expect that the situation of Australians would get bigger and bigger

Lin Quanan knew what he was thinking, he coughed, thanked him, and began to talk about serious things.

"Are all the workers ready? Can we get things done in three nights? ”

"Everything is ready. There are enough workers - myself, my wife, and my eldest son, who is fourteen years old, can do odd jobs or something. He blinked, "Sir, do you really want to do this?" ”

"Of course." Lin Quanan said politely and kindly, "I'm not afraid of 10,000, I'm just afraid of just in case." This situation is not clear to see. ”

He said again: "Just do it at night, don't do it during the day." ”

"During the day, there is not half a man walking near my yard - it is very deserted."

"It's better to be careful." Lin Quanan said.

Lin Quan'an told Lin Li to prepare to do something, which was to dig a cellar in the courtyard of his house—a cellar in which he certainly did not hide gold or silver treasures—and Lin Li had not yet reached the point where he could be trusted, and he had hidden dry grains, pickles, and salted meat. Ten stone of rice, a jar of pickles, a few pickled pork legs. It's enough to eat for months.

In addition to here in the forest, he has also made such arrangements in several other places. In case the official army came to conquer, he had a hiding place when the whole county was in chaos.

Lin Quanan felt that with the strength of the Australians, the officers and troops might not be able to win, but once the war reached a stalemate, the people's lives would be very sad, and a rich man like him would definitely become the target of people from all walks of life. In case of chaos in Lingao, he took his family to hide in these places, relying on this little thing to get through for a few months, waiting for the situation to clear up before reappearing.

As for the large sums of money, he had already found suitable places for them, and they could disappear without a trace at the slightest hint of the wind.

In the past few years, he has quietly purchased hundreds of acres of land in neighboring counties, and now all of them have been planted. If you really can't get along in Lingao, you can still escape to a neighboring county to mix with a small grain household.

All in all, Lin Quanan played the idea of "three holes of cunning rabbits".

Sent away from the forest. Lin Quanan began to think about another thing. Last night, Chief Xiong suddenly went to the Dongmen City Business Association and asked to see him by name.

Along with Chief Xiong came another big chief, this person's surname was Jiang, and the official title was said to be "bureau chief". Lin Quanan already has a little understanding of the bureaucratic system of Australians, knowing that the biggest is called the executive committee, and then the people's commissar or minister, and anyone who is called the director or director is slightly inferior. The hatless chiefs are the common people - the Australians have a nice saying called the senators - although they are neither old nor round.

Jiang Shan inquired about his business situation, asked him what difficulties he had, and what he needed help with. Lin Quanan talked to him about his recent situation, and talked about the current situation - he was single-handedly supported by Australians, and he was convinced that he was still useful to Australians. Otherwise, there would be no need to come and talk to him like this.

"How big a market can you do on Hainan Island?" Director Jiang said, "Going to the mainland is the right way." ”

This director Jiang then put forward a rather tempting idea: the Australians planned to support him to do business on the mainland and open a business. and gave him all sorts of preferential treatment in terms of money and goods. will even seek official support for him. The premise is that he must be completely obedient to the command of the Australians.

Lin Quanan was puzzled by this request. Of course, it's good to make money in business, but weishenme has to come forward on his own? He didn't have anything to rely on on on the mainland--if he had, he wouldn't have left his family alone to work as a cultivator in Lingao.

"We are not Ming people, we look and talk quite differently, and you will come forward to save a lot of trouble." Jiang Shan explained.

This explanation is reasonable, but Lin Quanan vaguely feels that things are not so simple.

Jiang Shan proposed that he come forward to set up a business on the mainland that was a north-south goods store -- this was a big deal in the commercial field of the Ming Dynasty, and it was not only necessary to have a large amount of money to purchase goods from all over the world throughout the year, but also to transport all kinds of local products from south to north every year. There are a lot of dealings with foot shops, boat dealers, carriage and horse shops, and dart boards. You can't do it unless you have a big hand or a businessman.

Naturally, the profits in this are also high, the north and south goods are "two-way profits", pay attention to not empty, the south freight north, the north goods sell to the south, and a trip is double the profit.

Lin Quanan's business has become bigger in recent years, and his horizons have broadened a lot. I also learned a lot about various buying and selling. He estimated that if he wanted to run the business of goods from the north and south, he would need to invest at least 50,000 taels of silver.

Of course, he could get the money, but it was almost all his assets. In case of failure, it will be difficult to make a comeback. Lin Quanan knew that he was a "hero created by the times", and he just seized the opportunity and made good use of it. This time we are going to lose, and it is difficult to say whether we can have such a chance again.

Jiang Shan didn't ask him to reply at the time, and asked him to go back and "think about it".

"I'm coming to visit tomorrow," Chief Jiang smiled, "Those who want to come to Shopkeeper Lin won't let go of such a good opportunity." ”

If you agree, this opportunity is indeed good, I originally wanted to go to the mainland to do it, I was afraid that there would be no shili behind me, and now with the support of the Australians, I can worry a little less in this regard. But how long can this Australian stay in Lingao?

For this matter, he tossed and turned in bed all night yesterday, and still didn't make up his mind.

Lin Quanan is no longer the Lin Quanan of the past, in the past he was a lonely bachelor, he was not afraid of anything, now he has a family and a business, and he has begun to look ahead.

"" he finally made up his mind.

If I hadn't gone out and carried a load of vegetables to Bairentan to sell, and hadn't been a guide for Australians to go to Goujiazhuang, how could I have today's family business? Lin Li also traded with the Australians in the past - he took it when he saw it, and now he is reduced to a tenant, eating some of his own leftovers to get by.

If he hadn't seized this opportunity, he would have lived a more comfortable life in the forest in the future, so he asked someone to go to the cooperative restaurant to book a table of banquets, and waited for this Jiang chief to come to discuss business.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Shan was not the only one who came in the afternoon, his old acquaintance Xiong Buyou, and an old man who didn't know him - he introduced himself as Skade.

They seemed to expect that he would agree to the business venture.

"Three years ago, when we first arrived in Lingao, we were a man-eating monster with red eyebrows and a green beard, and you dared to pick up a load of vegetables to sell at your door. Don't you have the courage to do business on the mainland now? Xiong Buyou said with a smile.

The cooperation with the Australians was well discussed. The two parties agreed to establish a new joint venture and named it "Wanyou". The total number of this brand is not located in Lingao, and the specific location is to be determined. The canal was used to traffic goods from the north and south.

The capital of "Wanyou" was set at 100,000 taels, calculated in silver. Lim Quanan contributed 50,000 taels, or 45 per cent of the share capital, and Australians contributed 50,000 taels, or 51 per cent, with an additional 6 per cent as remuneration for the various logistical and security support provided by the crossing group. The other 4% are official shares. The profits are used for employee benefits and entertainment expenses.

The parties agreed that all investment funds would be deposited into the company's account with Delong Bank within one month. All future monetary transactions will be carried out through Delong's bills. This is of course convenient and safe. But in the case of the crossing group, it is equivalent to a one-time return of 50,000 taels of silver free of charge. As for the investment of the crossing group, it is just a one-time account.

In terms of operation and management, Lin Quanan served as the manager of the shopkeeper, the patriarch served as the chief treasurer, and the personnel and financial power was held by the patriarch. So there's not much debate about that. Anyway, Australians' ability to make money is only bigger than themselves, not smaller than themselves. And the other party made a promise of "guaranteed capital and dividends". That is, if the transaction loses the capital, he just does not enjoy the dividends, and the principal is preserved; If there is a profit, dividends will be distributed proportionally. The worst outcome is nothing more than the loss of a few years of interest - speaking of the high school, there is no place for him to lend money for profit.

The two sides initialed a memorandum of understanding, and then agreed to formally sign the agreement three days later and file it on file - a business custom that is now being promoted across Lingao.

"We don't know about the buying and selling of goods in the north and the south, and we don't know what the shopkeeper Lin has to say?" Skade asked. As an officer of the Ministry of Colonies and Trade, he was far more enthusiastic about the matter than the Intelligence Service.

"North and South goods are a very profitable business." Lin Quanan said, "But I don't know much, but I've heard people talk about it." ”

Lin Quanan's idea is that Wanyou will set up a general number in Yangzhou, and then set up a branch number in Nanjing, Jingshi, Suzhou, and Hangzhou.

Set up a general number in Yangzhou to facilitate transportation. The goods from the north and south are the regional price difference. And the difference is very large. Fujian's dried bamboo shoots can be bought for only a few dollars of silver in the local area, and when they are transported to Beijing, they are a few dollars of silver. The red oranges in Dongting in Suzhou and the tangerines in Fuzhou can only be poured out during the production season, and they are trafficked to the north to be treasured fruits in the south; Sea cucumber shark fin, in Shandong is not too much silver, transported to Jiangnan and Beijing is a delicacy......

However, in the past, the transportation of large quantities of goods from north to south had to rely on canals in addition to mule carts. Specifically, it is transported by boat. Every year, the Cao army is allowed to carry private goods with the ship, and as for the downlink empty load, bringing goods is an important income for the Cao army.

Yangzhou is an important port where the north and south meet on the canal. Set up a general number here, whether it is the north goods to the south, or the south to the north, you can contact the nearest ship to distribute the transportation, and the remittance letter can also be sent by the boat along the way, which is very convenient.

As for the location of the four branches, it is a place where the goods are distributed in a prosperous commercial area, which is not only convenient for transportation, but also has a high level of consumption for residents, and is used to sell goods in stores, regardless of the retail whole is very convenient. Second, you can sit in the village or send people to buy nearby local products. Taking Hangzhou as an example, in Hangzhou not only can purchase all kinds of local products in the two Zhejiang regions nearby, but also can go deep into the mountainous areas of southern Anhui through Huihang Road to purchase various mountain goods such as tea and dried bamboo shoots, and can also go straight to Fujian to purchase various local products from Fujian.

"Why don't you go by sea?"

Lin Quanan was stunned, Jiangnan went to Beijing by sea, which was something he had never thought about. After all, the flow of goods and people between the two places has always been through the canal.

"I don't know." Lin Quanan shook his head, "I've only heard people say that shipping is difficult, and if you are swept away by wind and waves, you will be bankrupt in an instant." Everyone would rather use a boat, even if a few are sunk on the road, they will not be wiped out. ”

"The boat is slow."

"It's not only slow, but also the drawbacks during the period." Lin Quanan said. He'd heard a lot of tricks on the canal. From the beginning of the shipment, all kinds of extortion, theft, bad rules, along the way "rely on the water draft" to eat Cao I don't know how many.

"However, the merchant transports the goods and hands them over to the Cao army, and the dealings during the period are all negotiated by them, and it just costs a few more dollars for freight."

"Isn't it money?" Skade thought that if the freight from Jiangnan to Beijing could be converted into sea transportation, and a part of the cargo transportation business in the canal could be snatched, not only could the crossing group make a lot of money, but also a fleet across the north and south could be trained, and in the future, the army would have ready-made ships and sailors available for maneuvering at sea, and the routes along the way could also be developed as soon as possible.

In this way, it is better to have a head office in Shanghai.

Shanghai is the junction of China's north-south shipping, and it is very convenient for ships to go to sea, whether it is to Tianjin and Liaodong in the north, or to Guangdong and Fujian in the south, and even to penetrate into the inland provinces.

From Shanghai along the Yangtze River, you can easily reach the Huguang area, China's main grain-producing area, and occupy this golden waterway in China, you can use the Yangtze River as a transportation hub to penetrate into both banks. Continuously absorb the abundant local products and human resources, and sell a large number of goods.

……

If the Crossing Group wants to engage in trade with Japan, it is more convenient to start from Shanghai than from the Jinxia area occupied by Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Zhilong's goods shipped to Japan were raw silk and silk products as the largest quantity, followed by cloth, daily necessities and medicinal materials, which were produced in large quantities in the Jiangnan area, and were purchased and shipped nearby. In terms of freight, it is cheaper than Zheng Zhilong Group, which is located in a corner of Fujian......

In fact, Skade is still playing the idea of shipping grain for the Ming Dynasty, and millions of Shicao grain are shipped from Jiangnan every year.

However, this idea is too ambitious to be able to do it for a while.

The two sides have discussed and decided, and all parties have to make their own preparations. Lin Quanan immediately demanded that if he wanted to go out to serve in the general number, he needed to bring a wife and concubine, and bring his children, and other family members could stay in Lingao.

Of course, Jiang Shan agrees -- this is a reasonable request. In fact, Lin Quanan had another calculation: that is, to take this opportunity to transfer part of his population and property -- it was still the idea of being cunning.

"It's a pity that your son is too young, otherwise he could be your helper." Where did Jiang Shan know the little abacus in his stomach.

"In the future, I will need more support from the leaders." Lin Quanan said very politely.

Lin Quanan's Wanyou is known as Mountain Road in Lingao's intelligence bureau system. The code name is "Golden Brand". According to the discussions of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau and the Ministry of Colonial Trade, from the consideration of both trade and intelligence, it was decided that the future mainland intelligence-trade system would refer to the organization of the Zheng Group in those years.

The actions of the Zheng group at sea, except for a period after being appeased in the late Ming Dynasty, were suppressed by the Ming court in the early stage and blockaded by the Manchu Qing in the later period.