Chapter 62: Doing Business (2)

If you want to do business, you need to have a business mind, and it is not enough to list a general direction. The economy of the Song Dynasty is now close to collapse, so Shi Bin must show the courage to take a gamble to dig up a piece of meat in this economy.

Li Chao is a guy who can't afford to be early, and it can be seen from his words that he is still a business-minded. Now that he doesn't go to rob grain, things are not so exciting, but he can make money in a better way, he is like a chicken blood, and he eats and chats with big businessmen in Tanzhou and Yuezhou all day long.

I learned from President Deng of the Tanzhou Chamber of Commerce that the Jianghuai area has become very prosperous, and has changed from the previous "extensive growth" to "Smith growth". That is to say, early industrialization propelled by "Smith-type power".

Hearing these words introduced by Li Chao, Shi Bin immediately went to President Deng's house to ask for advice in person. If you listen carefully, you will understand that an agricultural and commercial society has been formed in the Yangtze River Delta region.

That is to say, the small-scale peasant economy has been transformed from self-sufficiency to the combination of self-sufficiency and exchange, and the exchangeability has continued to strengthen, and there is a tendency to catch up with or exceed self-sufficiency, and the small-scale peasant has gradually transformed from a producer of use value to a producer of exchange value.

Correspondingly, the non-agricultural industry in the rural economy has grown, with the introduction and expansion of new production projects such as tea planting, sugar production, silkworm raising, silk reeling, cotton spinning, and a variety of native products, the non-agricultural income in the peasant economic income statement has increased substantially, and the agricultural economy at this time has been an organic system including planting, handicrafts, commerce, transportation and other service industries, and is different from the original single structure of male ploughing and female weaving.

With these words of President Deng, Shi Bin was like an initiation, remembering such things as factories, and farms.

Of course, Jinghu South Road is still dominated by a small-scale peasant economy of men and women, and the center of Tanzhou has a small-scale commodity economy supported by water transportation.

Now that he had opened his mind, Shi Bin immediately called Li Chao and ordered him to organize each village into a full cooperative economy. And set the rules accordingly, everything must be followed. Even the local nobles have to pay the corresponding taxes, if they don't pay, they will be soaked out in the way of fundraising, and if they don't listen to good words, they will use some other methods, in short, they will have to pay taxes.

Li Chao said that more ships should be built for specialized commercial activities, and at least medium-sized merchant ships of 1,500 materials, otherwise it would not be profitable.

Of course, Shi Bin knew that this was wholesale, and took advantage of the huge amount of one-time freight to obtain the maximum profit. The higher the volume of freight, the lower the cost and the higher the profit.

Shi Bin promised benefits to move the governor of Tanzhou to issue an official document, and he guaranteed that as long as it was the goods that Shi Bin promised to buy, all the goods would be purchased on the premise of ensuring quality. As for how to purchase it, it will be sent to Tanzhou or Yuezhou by the heads of villages, towns, and designated chiefs of ethnic minority areas. In this way, it not only reduces the trouble of dispatching personnel, but also ensures that the local people will not be busy in vain, so that the relationship with the local authorities is closer and the control is easier.

Originally, I thought that if I got the government's permission to do business, I would be able to do business everywhere without obstacles, but at most I just went to invite local officials to eat two meals and get a few red envelopes. But I didn't expect things to be much more complicated.

This was the first time that Shi Bin's fleet was engaged in commercial activities, so the scene was not large, with only five medium-sized merchant ships. Coming all the way downstream along the Yangtze River, he entered the wharf in Ezhou to replenish supplies, and planned to test sell some of the goods.

The economy of Ezhou is more developed than that of Tanzhou, and it has been known as the "thoroughfare of nine provinces" since ancient times.

Before entering the wharf, I saw that it was crowded with people, and the merchants, porters, and people came and went almost without stopping. Seeing this, Li Chao, a water bandit, of course understood what it meant.

As soon as the ship docked, he disembarked and went to consult with the merchants on Main Street about replenishing supplies and selling goods. Naturally, everyone is happy to have business at the door, especially these new customers who have not been here, it is easier to deal with, and their money is easy to make.

As a newcomer, Li Chao is naturally not too strong, the bids are very reasonable, and even gave up part of the profits, which can be regarded as a familiar face. Although there is no business or treachery, it is not completely messy, those who saw Li Chao so sensible also gave him a good impression, suggesting that if there are some small problems, they can be approached.

Seeing that it was so easy to be accepted by the local merchants, of course he was very happy, Li Chao immediately invited a few bosses to drink two or two drinks to enhance their feelings. Stretching out their hands and not hitting smiling people, everyone has become "brothers" after drinking and eating, and they are also "friends with wine and meat".

The first step has been successfully completed, Shi Bin was very happy after hearing Li Chao's report, so he decided to get a batch of tea to Ezhou to be tested by him, and all the rest of the goods were sold by President Deng's channels, and the profits were divided into 10% for him.

Seeing that Li Chao and the local businessman had set up a line, it seemed that the relationship was not bad, and Chairman Deng was also very happy. The greater Shi Bin's power, the greater the strength of their Tanzhou merchants. So this far-sighted businessman also enthusiastically asked Li Chao if he had visited the dock.

How could he not know that he wanted to worship the pier and the mountain gate, so he thanked President Deng for the reminder with a smile and said that he would definitely not forget it.

This Ezhou is north of the Yangtze River, and has been influenced by the Central Plains culture for a long time, and its residents have been very civilized and the economy is also very prosperous, which is completely different from the "land of the Southern Barbarians" on Jinghu South Road.

So Li Chao soon set up a good store in Wuhan. Not only on the street, but also behind the street is the rich area, a color of dignitaries, rich businessmen and magnates, not very far from the wharf. It is a real prime location, and it is absolutely a daily gold fight.

But before he could be happy for two days, he couldn't be happy anymore.

It turned out that on the first day of opening, a sloppy dressed and foul-mouthed guy came to the store to buy a pound of Guzhang Maojian, and it was a surprise for a rogue to buy Guzhang Maojian, so Li Chao paid extra attention to him.

The next day, he came to make trouble, and he didn't care that there were other customers in the store, but he just said that the tip of the hair was a fake, and he had diarrhea after drinking it.

I thought it was just a little scoundrel who came to bully the living, so he asked his subordinates to push him out, and when he went out, Li Chao stuffed a few coins of silver into his pocket. Who knew that although the splash skin received the money, he still did not stop. He fell to the ground, bleeding from his leg inexplicably, and howled loudly and cried bitterly. In this way, people who don't know the inside will definitely think that the shopkeeper is not only selling fake goods but also unreasonable, and he will never want to continue his business.

The matter suddenly became serious, and Li Chao had no choice but to go out to deal with it in person. Standing and looking closely, the wound was indeed real, but it was a puncture rather than a bruise, so it was caused by the splash himself.

It seemed that he wanted to get more money, so Li Chao ordered his subordinates to go to the counter and take out a few more pieces of silver to splash the skin. Who knew that the splash didn't answer, and only said that he would go to the government to comment.

In this way, Li Chao knew that someone was manipulating. But now he is first and foremost a businessman, and he must solve the problem in the way of a businessman.

Knowing that there must still be someone after that guy, he walked over while apologizing, and whispered in his ear: "If I do something wrong, please come and discuss with your boss." ”

"Tomorrow at noon, President Qin's house of the Ezhou Chamber of Commerce." After speaking, the splash stretched out his hand in front of Li Chao.

In order not to make things worse, Li Chao's subordinates naturally went to take five coins of silver and slapped them fiercely in the hands of the splashers. After taking the money, he hopped away humming a little song.

When he returned to the store, Li Chao realized that he was too happy to forget to worship the pier to get such a play, but he also despised President Qin for being so thirsty for money. However, he still reported the matter to Shi Bin and pleaded guilty to him.

After receiving Li Chao's information, he realized that this business was originally to worship the dock. However, he was still unwilling, so he asked Jia Ling to discuss. In his opinion, he is also a state commander of his size, and he has thousands of soldiers and horses under him, and his father-in-law is still the commander of Huguang.

So he asked a little reluctantly: "Xiaoling, do you think that if I reveal my identity, can I not pay this unjust money and stop worshipping this dock?" ”

"Impossible, people die for money, birds die for food, your entry is to grab food from them, if you don't pay the money unruly, even if the government protects you, you won't be able to do it." Jia Ling said with a smile.

Of course, he knew that this was right, but he still wondered why he couldn't do it even with the people above him. So he modestly asked, "Why?" ”

"It's very simple, if you don't pay this money, the cost will be lower than others, and people won't be able to sell you. Although the officials will not come out to embarrass you, the rest of the people will attack you en masse. ”

"Attacking it in groups? Do you still unite to find fault? I'm an official, do they dare? Shi Bin said angrily.

"My Grand Commander, which of these powerful businessmen has no collusion with the powerful? Have you forgotten that your identity is all fake? As long as people really ignore my father's attitude and stab up, you can think about the consequences. Like looking at a naïve child, Jia Ling said helplessly.

Seeing that Shi Bin was no longer so unconvinced, lest he hadn't fully understood, she explained: "Husband, what do you say you rely on to do business? If you want to do a good business, it is definitely not more than power, but more than reputation. If you don't bow your head as a strong dragon, just a few more scoundrels will ruin your reputation, and then you will have to retreat even if you don't want to. ”

After Jia Ling said this, Shi Bin realized that not only could he not tear his face with the ground snakes everywhere, but he might also have to be a man with his tail between his legs.

Understanding the Tao here, Shi Bin ordered Li Chao to pay homage to various docks everywhere he went, and establish a good relationship with the local government and chamber of commerce.

Maybe it was because he had been an officer and soldier for a long time, and he was arrogant, forgetting that in addition to the white road and the underworld, Li Chao, the battalion commander, actually only worshiped the dock of a few big local tyrants of the Ezhou Chamber of Commerce, but forgot to worship the pier of the Ezhou gang boss.

Less than half a month later, Li Chao's store began to stop again, and there were still some scoundrels making noise, but this time it raised Li Chao's bullish temper. The clay man still has three points of fire, not to mention this murderous battalion commander?

No longer cowering, although he didn't dare to draw a knife to kill people on the street, he took out an iron rod and took a few fierce guards to beat the gang of scoundrels to the point of bleeding. Since then, there have been no more people who have come to pick quarrels and provoke trouble, but business has obviously deteriorated a lot, and some timid people have taken a detour.

At this time, Li Chao remembered that he had acted too radically, and it was estimated that he had to reconcile with the masters of those scoundrels, otherwise the business would be really yellow. He didn't dare to report this matter to Shi Bin again, if he knew about it, then it would be a big joke for him.

So I had to find a few bosses of the store next to me and ask where the beaten scoundrels lived and which gang they were.

After all, he also ate a few meals of Li Chao and drank a few catties of wine, and it was not kind to tell him what he should do and not do it, and it was too bad to help him if he didn't help him. What's more, judging from his behavior, he is not a good stubble, and beating people is completely reckless, and if he provokes him, he is looking for death. So they all persuaded Li Chao not to look for trouble, and it was appropriate to go to the dock, after all, the strong dragon did not suppress the head snake. Seeing that these bosses still had some conscience, he didn't care about the previous incident and told them that he was going to worship the dock.

Although I don't believe Li Chao's words very much, the bosses don't have to worry about it anymore, I just hope that Li Chao is not a stunned young man.

Soon found the dock of the Ezhou gang, I thought that this businessman was here to find fault, he was armed with knives, guns and sticks, and he looked ready to fight at any time. He, a man who was rolling in blood and fire, was afraid of this, and as soon as he entered the door, he threw the sword he brought with him to the ground. He also took out the fifty taels of silver in the baggage, indicating that he had come to worship the pier.

However, this still made people feel angry, and they brought a knife and threw it directly on the ground without cutting people, obviously looking down on the brothers on the dock. But it is precisely this domineering that makes those scoundrels dare not act rashly.

Of course, the gang leader has some skills, so naturally he will not be provoked by this. Instead, he welcomed Li Chao in with a smile, and the two soon walked out full of alcohol and shoulder-to-shoulder, as if the two were not unhappy before, but brothers who had not seen each other for many days.

With the Ezhou underworld leader, Li Chao really fully integrated into the economic circle of Ezhou, and finally could do business with peace of mind.

This also taught Shi Bin an important lesson: if you want to develop smoothly, you must abide by the rules.