Sunday, June 10, 1635. Bordeaux in the Old World, the weather is sunny.

In 17th-century Europe, people had to work, even on Sunday. Ordinary people have no money to eat and drink if they don't work, but the middle-class wives, who have gradually become wealthy for various reasons, often meet up with their friends on this day, and after dressing up, they go to the street to buy some items that the family needs.

And in France, where extravagance is gradually becoming popular, people's love for gorgeous goods is also increasing day by day. Since cotton was first popularized in aristocratic circles, the middle class, who had been committed to imitating the habits of aristocratic life, wore all kinds of cotton textiles with a hundred times more enthusiasm: capes, burqas, underwear, skirts, trousers, stockings, gloves, etc., and even tablecloths, curtains, bed sheets, etc., at home were replaced with cotton products. Especially in the warmer climate of the Gascony region, in addition to the new woolen wool blended with silk and short wool, cotton products are even more popular, accounting for the vast majority of the market share.

The middle-class view of consumption is like this, and the small citizen class, who have always imitated the living habits of the middle class, is no exception. They used all the little money they earned from their hard work to buy luxury goods such as sugar and tobacco, as well as a large number of cotton products, in order to quickly get closer to the taste of the middle class, and at the same time strictly distinguish themselves from the lower laborers.

The above aristocracy, middle class and small burgher class were the main force to buy cotton cloth. Of course, after the cheap and high-quality East Coast cloth began to be sold, perhaps some ordinary laborers who had some spare money might also buy some. Based on their large base, the total consumption of this part of the population is estimated to be not too small.

Early in the morning, in the cotton cloth shop in the more prosperous area of Bordeaux, next to the Pasquier family's textile factory, two dignified clerks opened the door and announced the official start of the day's work. Unlike before, when they opened the door, they also hung a small blackboard at the door, which read "New East Coast Calico, Price: 9 Su 6 Daniels (1 Su = 12 Daniels)" in French. ”

This price is the product of Xu Xin's compromise with Pasquier Sr. and others after hard work. Originally, according to the meaning of this 17th-century "comprador class", the price of East Coast white cotton cloth would be set at 10 sous, 6 deniers, or 11 sous, in order to grab high profits. However, under Xu Xin's arguments, the other party finally agreed to set the price of each cotton cloth at 9 Su 6 deniers (less than 2.4 yuan), and then gradually adjust the price according to the sales situation.

This price is a rare low price in the history of cotton. Since the introduction of Indian cotton cloth to Europe by the British in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the price of cotton cloth has fallen from an initial high of two pounds per horse, but it has remained above 15 shillings by this time. Of course, without the intervention of the cross-cutting public, the price of cotton cloth would have gradually fallen, and then it would not have reached a climax again until the seventies and eighties of the seventeenth century, when the price gradually climbed to a maximum of about £1 and 5 shillings per horse.

As soon as the price of 9 su6 deniers per cotton cloth was put out, the perceptive housewives immediately noticed. They walked into the store in amazement, then picked up the East Coast calico on the shelves and took a closer look.

These savvy housewives were amazed by the breathable, lightweight, yet tough nature of the East Coast cloth, and some housewives who had used high-grade Indian cotton even thought that the texture of the white cotton cloth was just as good as that of the Indian cotton, perhaps even better.

Soon, in the expectant eyes of the clerks, the first housewife asked for the purchase of two pieces of white cotton. She needed some tablecloths at home, and she thought that the excellent texture of the East Coast cloth in front of her was obviously more than capable of taking on the role, after all, she was a decent person now, and she shouldn't use those crude locally made cotton cloths anymore.

"Madame, this is the cotton cloth you wanted." After paying the fee of 19 su, the clerk diligently wrapped the two pieces of cotton cloth and handed them to the housewife in front of him.

After the first one came forward to buy, soon there was a second one. The clerks have also become busy from the initial idleness, they are constantly processing each customer's purchase request, and then packing the items, collecting the money and settling, and they are very busy. At this rate, they might be able to sell hundreds of cotton cloths in one morning.

Unlike the bustling scene in the store in front, there are also transactions going on in the warehouse behind the store, but these transactions are somewhat quiet. Some of the cotton dealers who had been doing business with the Pasquier family for many years had already received the news, and after carefully inspecting the quality of the goods, their eyes were full of excitement.

The quality of the cotton, which is better than that of Indian, is only sold at a lower price than the cheapest locally made cotton, which means that they have more room to operate.

Julian, on behalf of the Pasquier family and the bigwigs behind them, reached an agreement with the dealers in the warehouse: the wholesale price of cotton cloth was 9 sousels per horse, with 1,000 horses as a sales unit. Soon, the dealers who knew each other bought 8,000 horses. Many of them are not native Bordeaux natives, and when they buy cotton cloth, they will transport it to other towns in Gascony to sell, so their goods tend to sell at a higher price than Bordeaux locals, perhaps more than 10 sousels per horse.

If you don't count the freight, they earn 1 su per piece of cotton, and 1,000 horses is 50 francs. That's a lot of money, and at the level of the economy at this time, if you had an annual income of 50 francs, you would be able to stay in the middle class in a megacity like Paris, which was known for its extravagance, and this was the highest position that these small and medium-sized merchants could attain.

In one morning, more than 8,200 horses of high-quality East Coast cloth were sold, and the sales revenue was nearly 3,700 francs. This is a staggering figure, because it means that the gross profit of the new "comprador class" of Gascony, represented by the Pasquier family, has reached more than 800 francs, which is far more than the annual income of the old Pasquier's hand-weaving workshop.

After this calculation, Julian's face was suddenly full of smiles: It's still easy to make money like this! The textile factory is not as much money as it makes in the morning after a year of exhaustion, and it seems that the broken factory in my home can really be closed. Those workers who are willing to change careers to become shop assistants will not be willing to ask them if they are willing to move their families to the East Coast area, and whoever will work hard to run the factory in the future will definitely be the biggest fool.

At noon, the shop closed and the clerks explained in every possible way and assured that the store would be open for business in the afternoon, which calmed the customers who came in a hurry after getting the news. It took a while for the store to finally get deserted.

The fact that the sales in the store are deserted does not mean that the bulk trade in the warehouse will stop. As the news spread, more and more people became aware that the Pasquier family's textile factory began to sell a high-quality cotton cloth called "East Coast Cloth", and the price was two to three percent lower than the average selling price of cotton cloth in the market.

Some businessmen scoffed when they first heard the news: the average price of local cotton cloth on the market is about 12 sso, and if it is two to three percent cheaper, wouldn't the price fall to 9 sousa per horse, who can make money at such a low price?

Even for the cheapest low-quality Indian white bloodcloth, the purchase price is around 7-8 shillings per horse, and after long-distance ocean transportation, this cost will rise to nearly 9 shillings. In addition, several major textile countries in Europe, such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy, have begun to impose high tariffs on Indian cotton, and although the textile industry in France is not too developed, it has also followed the trend of imposing a general import tax of 7.5% on Indian cotton. The Bordeaux local government also imposed an additional 20% tax on Indian cotton cloth, so that even the lowest-grade Indian cotton cloth sold for more than 14 sous, and even around 15-16 sous.

Such a price, coupled with the fact that it was not much ahead of the quality, made the sales of Indian cotton cloth in Bordeaux and even the Gascony region never opened, only a few thousand horses per year, which was also a matter that the British East India Company had always regretted. For many years, the local cotton market has been sustained in such a rigid and uncompetitive environment. And the local textile merchants in Gascony are in such a semi-protected environment and earn their share of the money with peace of mind.

But the truth is the truth after all, and it is not difficult to find out that the Pasquier family has sold so much cotton cloth in the morning. Soon, the latest news came through various channels.

Unable to sit down at the table and enjoy a sumptuous lunch, the merchants, who had learned the truth, dressed themselves and hurried to the Pasquier family's workshop.

The balance of the market that has been maintained for decades has been broken, and the East Coast cloth has entered the market with an unstoppable momentum, relying on its quality and cost advantages, there will be no suspense that the cotton market that will sweep the whole of Bordeaux and even Gascony. All of these heralded the arrival of a crisis for the local traditional handicraft workshops and traders.

At this critical moment, they have to do something, maybe it is a good choice to dispose of their goods at a low price, the loss point is nothing, if a piece of cloth can't be sold, it is really a cry without tears. Of course, before doing this, they have to confirm the facts for themselves.

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