It turned out that Hu Barong had patronized the transcription before, and did not carefully decipher the content, but now he followed the page number of the Song version of "The Golden Vase Plum" and checked it sentence by sentence only to find that there was a workaround after the order of the Senate, saying that if the raw cotton was not enough, it could be replaced by duck down.

The above even has a special definition for duck down, which must be the feathers on the duck neck, duck tail and duck wings, as well as the fluff on the duck belly and duck back, and there are methods of taking hair, scalding and drying hair. According to the secret text, ten ducks can get more than two taels of down, and the amount of eiderdown purchased by the Senate is also not small, and a total of 600,000 taels must be collected, which requires 300,000 ducks. It is also said that goose down can be replaced, and the quantity may be less. However, at this time the duck price to calculate, a duck three cents of silver, only the wool of others will not be the whole according to the price, but also on the work of food, this period is the busiest time of the year, ordinary domestic servants a day always get five cents of silver, inside and outside a arrival, 300,000 ducks to take the down, plus the transfer of storage, there is always less than 15,000 taels of silver.

Then there is time, Hu Barong calculated carefully, the people of Jiangnan like to eat ducks and geese, although this Songjiang Mansion is small, the number of geese slaughtered every day is also a thousand and five, and the ducks slaughtered are not much worse than five thousand. Fortunately, there is no conflict between taking velvet and eating meat, as long as it is appropriate to discuss with the big port owner near the left, and then post some money horizontally and vertically, it should barely work. If you collect cotton while collecting cash, although it is tight for more than a month, it is barely enough, it is really not good, the original warehouse is ready to be sent to the Luzon textile factory of the cotton can also be put on a batch first, it is nothing more than to affect the supply of export cloth, anyway, it is the overall arrangement of the Senate, I believe that Tianjin will not be embarrassed by itself.

After 10 days of this, Hu Barong arranged for people to secretly collect cotton from cotton merchants in Shandong, and on the other hand, he contacted the owners of duck and goose ports in various parts of Songjiang Prefecture to buy duck down and goose down, and after drying it, he carefully bagged it, and the first batch of 3,000 quintals of seed cotton, 1,000 bags of duck down, and 300 bags of goose down were loaded into a sea boat, and finally left the port for Taiwan. He calculated in his heart that in this way, one more month would be able to complete the tasks assigned by the Senate within the time limit.

Hu Dongzhu came back from the port, and before he could sit down, he saw Hu Hai coming in to pass the ceremony.

The two brothers, Hu Hai and Hu Feng, were originally Hu Barong's domestic servants, and after a struggle in Nanyang, they were both successfully naturalized in the Great Song Dynasty. It's just that this time he went to Shanghai to open a Wantong outer cabinet, and he became a special person by Hu Barong's side.

"What's the matter?"

"It's an invitation from a cotton shop." Hu Hai leaned closer and whispered, "The owner should be careful. ”

Hu Barong took the invitation and looked at it, saying that several wealthy businessmen from Songjiang Mansion had invited him to a banquet in Yuyuan Garden tomorrow.

"What do you think?" Now Hu Hai is in charge of confidential information by Hu Barong's side, and when there is no one else, he asks the other party directly. Wantong is doing business in the north and south on the surface, although these wealthy businessmen have had some dealings, but what they have in common is that they are all members of Songjiang cotton cloth company. Hu Barong Ming has always been in the name of making tea, occasionally dealing in some Australian oddities, although he also has some dealings with the cotton cloth shop, but he is not so close, this time the invitation is the head of the cotton cloth shop Guo Xingshou, which is clearly eccentric.

Hu Haidao: "The chiefs have repeatedly told us to keep a low profile, I think that in the past, the cotton harvest was mostly looking for foreign businessmen, and it was inevitable that people had been targeted a few times, this time the matter was in a hurry, and the cashmere was good, almost all of this seed cotton was done by us personally, and now the cotton goods in Shandong and Beizhi are tight, this time Guo Xingshou invited the owner to the banquet I am afraid that he has asked us about the matter, and he wants to take the opportunity to make trouble." ”

"And what do you mean?"

"There is no good banquet, don't go, we do our own, they don't dare to force us to fight with us in broad daylight, each with their own ability, as long as they do the errand assigned by the leaders, it is naturally good." Hu Hai has never broken the idea of returning to the rule of the Great Song Dynasty, since he has experienced it in Nanyang, and often heard about the recent actions of the Senate, he has lost interest in the Ming Dynasty, and his mind is full of the new life of the Great Song Dynasty, even if it is to Xintuo Taiwan, otherwise in this Shanghai County, after all, he can only walk as a slave, and he is not comfortable.

But Hu Ba Rongxian is a person who wants to do something, and the chiefs don't send anyone, but let him go to Songjiang Mansion to establish a foundation, which is difficult for people to understand, and he realized: "No, I thought I still had to watch the scenery." ”

"That's what the owner thinks?"

"The current situation is unclear, those weavers are talking more violently than last year, it is to be we to stabilize, I think this is the temptation of the cotton cloth line, otherwise we are a family to make tea, please do us? Maybe it's still an opportunity. ”

"Then I'll tell my brother to follow the owner." Hu Hai's younger brother Hu Feng is now in charge of the Hu Mansion on the surface, and he is actually doing security work.

"Just let Hu Feng go with me alone, don't worry too much at the moment, this place is also the best place in the south of the Yangtze River."

"But there is also 'the people's copy of Dong Eun' Yin Jian in front." Hu Hai still couldn't rest assured.

Hu Hai is talking about the fact that Dong Qichang's house was burned down by the people a few years ago, and at that time, some people also spread among the people, saying that the Dong family robbed the people's daughters and forced the scholars to death, which caused a big turmoil. Now it seems that although it cannot be said that the Dong family is not wrong at all, public opinion in Jiangnan can indeed kill people, among which there are many places to catch the wind and catch shadows, which shows that in the territory of Songjiang Mansion, there are never many things that are ruined by the accumulation of gold and bones.

This year, the weaving mills and weavers in Songjiang are anxious about the supply of raw cotton, and because of the military needs in Liaodong, most of the cotton goods in Beizhili go to Suning, and there are many weaving factories there, and most of the weaving ones are directly sent out of the customs, and even the cotton from Shandong has crossed the sea through Dengzhou a lot more than in previous years. In addition, since last year, it has been affected by Australian cloth, and the grievances of the people in Jiangnan are really not small.

"I'm self-reflecting." Hu Barong pretended to be relaxed, and in the afternoon of the same day, he first went to visit Gu Changzuo, the richest man in the county, and this one was also invited.

On the second day, Master Hu came to Yu Garden as promised.

This courtyard built by Pan Yunduan, the former secretary of the Criminal Department of the Jiajing Dynasty, for his seclusion was by Zhang Nanyang, a famous gardener, and it is still beautiful until 400 years later. But now Pan Yunduan has been dead for ten years, and although the Pan family, who has lost his protection, is still a little old in the court, it is not as good as it was back then. Nowadays, several descendants of the Pan family mostly serve in the Yamen in Beijing, but they are in a humble position, and they are guarding the huge family business, and they also devote their minds to business.

A county in Shanghai, the most profitable silk cotton sea trade, so the cloth shop Pan family of Songjiang Mansion also participated, this time when it came to the banquet in Shanghai, I naturally thought of Yu Garden, and the Pan family was full of promises.

When I entered the hall, there were already people waiting.

"Brother Xueyan, you're late." Guo Zengfu, the head of the line, greeted him with a smile, and called Hu Barong's table on his mouth, which was given to him by Yuan Yuan Ping. Guo Zengfu is the head of the Songjiang Mansion cloth line, but also the owner of the largest weaving factory outside the east gate of Songjiang Mansion City, Huating County out of the three ridges, cloud cloth, flying flowers, eyebrow weaving, his family Deyuntang accounts for more than half, especially the You Dun cloth of Deyuntang, snow white and delicate, is the best socks, exported to all over the world.

Hu Barong met Guo Zengfu and met the steward of the Pan family, the main family of the Pan family is Pan Yunduan's third brother Pan Yunliang, but the third old man does not send love calligraphy and painting on weekdays, and the things on the counter are all done by the housekeeper.

Gu Changzuo also came in person, and saw Hu Barong nodded slightly, his relationship with Hu Barong was drawn by his in-law Xu Guangqi, and Wang Xingping and Fu Xiaofei were involved.

In addition, the other people here are also a number of cotton cloth merchants in the house, and the forces behind them are even more complicated, Hu Barong roughly knows the Pudong Lu family, the Huating Dong family, the Xu family, the Changshu Qian family, the Qingpu Cai family, and some others can't be recognized for a while.

But like Changshu, Huating, and Qingpu counties, they are not close to here, these people have obviously arrived a long time ago, and today's battle is much bigger than expected.

Before the banquet began, Guo Xingshou had already picked up the topic, "Today, it is rare for Pan Fujun to show his love, and it is really an honor to lend Yuyuan to us rough people who are traders." ”

The steward of the Pan family continued, "Where did Guo Xingshou say, if it wasn't for the good operation of the cloth shop, where would there be today's prosperous situation, it would be a banquet for all the members of the line, and the Pan family should do the friendship of the landlord." ”

"Hey, it's a pity that there won't be any good days in the future." A middle-aged man said something depressing.

"Why did Master Shen say this?"

"Why? This year, there are enough cotton harvesters? My hair is going to turn gray. This old man Shen snorted, and did not forget to glance at Hu Barong a few times as he spoke.

As soon as these words came out, several other companies also seemed to have a code, and they all cried bitterly.

Another said: "In previous years, at this time, the cotton harvest was already enough, but this year, not only are there many weavers in vain, but even the order of cloth is much less, and this business seems to be impossible." ”

Everyone, you say a word to me, and soon it will become a matter of 'persecuting' Guo Xingshou to give him an idea.

Guo Xingshou looked 'helpless' and looked at Hu Barong's side.

"I heard that Brother Hu Xiandi has recently received a lot of cotton shipped from Shandong, I don't know if there is such a thing?"

"Where did Brother Guo hear this, you also know that I make tea on weekdays, where do you know about your cotton cloth business, today's banquet is very inexplicable."

Guo Zengfu said: "Xueyan should not be humble, I knew last year that a lot of cotton from Gu Yuanwai's family was sold to your family. ”

Gu Changzuo coughed when he heard this, but Guo Zengfu didn't care, and continued while observing Hu Barong's expression.

"This year, Shandong took the canal to come over the raw cotton, Xueyan has collected a lot, the day before yesterday on the boat, but someone saw it with their own eyes, all the best cotton bales."

Hu Barong saw that he said this, it was not easy to pretend to be stupid, he put down the fruit in his hand, and said with a faint smile: "Hu is just entrusted by others, but the business in this cotton cloth shop has not been experienced before, just thinking about the four words Tong Suo Wu Bullying, if someone can sell it, then I can buy it with all the passes, so I don't know what is the obstacle?" ”

After he finished speaking, he glanced at the hall, and looked like he was concerned about your.

"Actually, Brother Hu Xian is willing to seek the near and far, since the cloth merchants in Songjiang are now begging for cotton, why not give up the inventory in your hands to each family, I remember that Wan Tong does not seem to be operating a weaving shop, right?" Another person came out to put forward a 'rationalization proposal' and played a round.

Hu Barong glanced at it and recognized it as the owner of Chen in Luyuan Xipu Yunjin Zhai in Changshu County, behind this one is the Changshu Qian family, a sister of the Chen owner's family is now the wife of the Qian family's son Qian Qianyi, he knows that this old man Qian a few years ago to explore the flowers, the Hanlin Academy edited, but then because of the father's funeral at home, Ding was worried, a few months ago just started to take the Zhejiang Township Examination, and then turned to the right Chunfang Zhongyun. Hu Barong is so concerned about this person because a few days ago, someone in the DPRK and China was discussing the matter of competing for profits between Australia and the people, and this Qian Qianyi was a leader.

Guo Zengfu said: "Actually, I have a proposal, if Brother Hu Xian is willing to share the cotton in his own warehouse with everyone here, even if it is seed cotton, we are willing to pay a high price of two taels and one quintal." ”

Hu Barong glanced at Guo Xingshou when he heard this, and seemed to be a little tempted.

A person next to him immediately said, "Sitting on the ground is three or four dollars per load, this kind of business is not easy to find, but Hu Dongzhu has to promise me to wait for a condition, if you want to collect cotton goods from outside the road in the future, you must say hello to the cotton cloth shop in Songjiang in advance, so as not to break the rules." ”

"Say hello? If the proprietors don't agree, won't I be allowed to collect cotton in all passes? Now Hu Barong is no longer polite, anyway, it has been said, it is better to be tough, now a shipload of goods has been sent, and there are two ships waiting for drying and bagging will not be a big problem, the remaining half of the amount even if he does not use seed cotton, he is sure that all will be replaced by duck down, and the deadline will not be missed, and he can't make some gestures today, and he can get some benefits.

"You!" The man was visibly angry.

Guo Xingshou said to Gu Changzuo with a smile: "Gu Dongzhu and Hu Dongzhu have always been good friends, and it is good to solve the Xian Brother Xueyan in this matter, how can there be a business in the world that has been completed?" Or don't hurt the harmony. ”

Gu Changzuo couldn't bear it, so he had to say a few words to soften, which was insignificant. But he already had an idea in his heart, and last year he gradually stopped getting involved in cotton spinning and concentrated on running his cotton fields and maritime trade business, and this time he arranged the boat for Hu Barong.

Everyone felt bored, and they ate a feast lightly, and dispersed early.

After the banquet was dismissed, Guo Zengfu invited several familiar proprietors of cotton cloth shops to another secluded place outside Yu Garden.

"It seems that the things that pass with Wan can't be good."

[References]

1, "Daming Huidian"

2, "Records of Emperor Mingshen Zongxian"

3, "History of the Late Ming Dynasty" Fan Shuzhi

4, "Wanli Ye Ed" Shen Defu

5. "The Record of Crimes: The Biography of the Economic Ministers"

6, "History of the Ming Dynasty • The Biography of Xu Guangqi"

7, "The Biography of Erchen"

8. "Compendium of Materia Medica" Li Shizhen

9, "Weiya Anthology" Huo Tao

10, "Wan Department Miscellaneous Notes" Shen Bang

11. "Instructions for the Ministry of Industry and Warehouse"

12, "Wanli Accounting Record" Wang Guoguang, Zhang Xueyan

13. "Regulations on Food and Grain for Officers and Soldiers in Beijing"

14. Peng Xinwei, "A History of Chinese Currency".