There are 5,000 households in the food town, with an annual income of 5 million, more than 1,000 servants in the house, and various workshops and shops; Outside Chang'an City, on both sides of Jing and Wei, there are hundreds of hectares of fertile land and dozens of houses; In the north, in the plains, and in Wei County, there are a number of field houses...... All things add up, and the annual income of the Fuping Marquis Mansion still exceeds 10 million. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The above is the approximate family background that Zhang Fang sorted out during this period of time - it seems that after subtracting, one-thousandth of the country's fiscal revenue has not been reduced!

Of course, that's not how things work. Five million food towns, this is on the surface, everyone can see it. The income from the farm, the profit of the workshop and the shop, these are personal private property, which is hidden income. Unless the house is raided, no one can count.

The emperor rewarded (Shiyi), you can have red eyes, but people have a way to make money, you can't say anything, who doesn't do this in Chang'an? Therefore, the current Fuping Hou belongs to the "hidden wealth", which will not attract too obvious suspicion and redness.

Of course, the income is high and the expenses are also large, not to mention anything else, just the thousands of servants and craftsmen in the house, the money paid every year is not less than one million, and there are also the relatives and dependents of each house, and the expenses are not less than one million. As for the expenses for maintaining the operation of the Hou Mansion and the expenses for personal exchanges, the number is even greater.

Even so, there is still a surplus of millions of dollars per year. After four generations of accumulation, coupled with the previous generation's advocacy of frugality, even the burial did not accompany the funeral goods, and the accumulated family wealth reached almost an astronomical amount.

Looking at that number, Zhang Fang squinted and smiled, very satisfied. It seems that his early investment in Star Picking City has been settled.

The most valuable asset of Fupinghou is the fertile Shangliang land on both sides of Jingshui and Weishui. But Zhang Fang was more interested in the workshops and shops under the name of the Hou Mansion.

The workshops of the Hou Mansion are mainly concentrated in the West Market, Chengguo Manor and the old mansion of Duling. The industries involved are diverse and all-encompassing. Forging, weaving, washing and dyeing, woodworking, lacquerware, pottery, jade, animal husbandry...... Everything you need for life is everything you need to be completely self-sufficient.

Chang'an West City, mainly concentrated in all walks of life workshop area, most of them are government-run, and almost all of the Hou Mansion is involved.

In Chang'an East City, most of them are shops, and there are no less than a dozen shops operated by the Hou Mansion. Most of the self-produced items, except for some for personal use, are sold here. Among them, the most well-known is the oblique brocade, "Qili oblique brocade", which is second only to the top grade brocade of Shu. Due to the rarity and price of Shu brocade, oblique brocade has always been the mainstream of Chang'an's middle and upper class clothing.

Zhang Fang was amazed, this is simply a completely self-sufficient industrial chain.

Zhang Fang put down the account book and solemnly bowed his hand to the direction of the mausoleum, thanking the ancestors of the Zhang family for leaving such a rich inheritance.

……

On another day, Zhang Jingchen sent the last batch of account books, and escorted the previous account books and scriptures back to his home. After the things were delivered, they went into the cottage as usual to greet the head of the house.

At this time, Zhang Fang suddenly asked: "I have seen the list of workshops in the past few days, and almost all of them can be said to have all kinds of industries, but there is no paper workshop, why is this?" ”

Zhang Jingchen didn't know why the head of the family asked this, but he still replied respectfully: "If you go home, you used to have it, but after a few years of operation, the profit was very small, so I resold it......"

Under Zhang Fang's careful questioning, he realized that the quality of the paper in the Han Dynasty was not good at this time, even the famous paper of the Beijing master such as "Baqiao Paper" was fragile and rough, dark and thick, and was not suitable for writing. It is generally used to paste lanterns, windows, and medicine in pharmacies. Because it is not widely used, and it is also a small profit to make, the previous Fuping Marquis naturally looked down on.

Zhang Fang shook his head, for a period of time, he looked at Mu Jian's head bigger. Don't look at Zhang Jingchen who transported several truckloads of account books, let alone thousands of catties, in fact, if you change them to the account books of later generations, you will not be satisfied with a single car.

"It's time to get some good paper." Zhang Fang patted the high rolls piled up on the side of the case, and the wooden rolls made a snapping sound.

So Zhang Jingchen received the first order from the head of the family: "Give me a paper mill in the West Market, it doesn't matter whether it is profitable or not, the important thing is to have experienced papermakers and perfect papermaking equipment." Zhang Jingchen didn't understand why at all, but he wouldn't question the head of the family for such a trivial matter, and he should be respectful.

If the paper mill under the plate is a bit strange, it is somewhat reliable, and the second order of the next head of the house made him completely confused.

"According to the book, there is a pharmacy in Weicheng in the administration of the government, right?"

"Yes, it is the second room Yongxing family that is operating, and the profit is acceptable......"

"I don't care about making a profit, I just stock up."

"Hoarding...... Goods? ”

"Yes, hoarding brimstone and fire salt. You can directly purchase goods from Jiaohe in the Western Regions, and I have straightened out this channel. ”

Zhang Jingchen knows a little about medicinal materials, and knows that sulfur and fire nitrate can be used in medicine, but the amount is not large. ”

"Ten thousand catties."

"Huh? This...... Is 5,000 catties each too much? ”

"You didn't hear clearly, it's each, ten thousand, and catty."

The expression on Zhang Jingchen's face can only be described as wonderful.

Well, that's right, Zhang Fang is going to start "black technology". He doesn't know how to make paper, but he knows the basics, such as using bamboo as a raw material, soaking, pounding, compacting, dehydrating, and so on. However, for specific things, you have to see the paper mill in kind, and then communicate with experienced papermakers to find out the problems and improve them. Zhang Fang believes that as far as the technology of papermaking is concerned, it should not be too black technology. Because even if he doesn't do it, in less than a hundred years, someone will make a real paper suitable for writing.

As for gunpowder, the formula is estimated to be offered to the imperial court, but in Zhang Fang's impression, there were basically no wars in the late Han Dynasty. New weapons must be tested by war, and war is also the driving force behind the development of weapons and technology. Zhang Fang was very skeptical that without the help of the war, this gunpowder would eventually follow the original historical trajectory again, such as being reduced to fireworks......

According to the most conservative estimate, this gunpowder will not become a controlled weapon in three to five years, so Zhang Fang will let go of his hands and feet to procure, and the responsibility for the research and development of military gunpowder in the future will have to rely on himself, and he cannot count on the imperial court.

In addition, there is something that is very common in later generations, but Zhang Fang has been in the Han Dynasty for so long and has never seen it, and he wants to see if he can find it.

"Family Order."

"Ah, the old slave is here."

"Find out if there's a tree called 'tea tree'."

Zhang Jingchen searched his intestines and scraped his stomach for a long time, and he couldn't remember such a thing, so he had to agree first, and then slowly find someone to ask when he returned home.

At this time, I heard the head of the family ask, "Have the new servants settled down?" ”

"The newly arrived servant ......" Zhang Jingchen was stunned for a moment, then understood, calmed down, and said respectfully, "There are twenty-two people in total, and they have been arranged to live in the mansion, and they are subject to the instructions of the head of the family." ”

"Twenty-two?" Zhang Fang frowned, "I remember more than that." ”

"There was a man named Qu Liang who told the old slave that there were more than 30 of them, and some of them returned to their former residence in Qingxi; Some of them stayed in the horse collar, saying that they were close to home......"

Zhang Fang was silent and said slowly: "That's it, it's okay." ”

"There were several pairs of young men and women who repeatedly asked to join the head of the house to keep the rule for the old master, but the old slave dissuaded them."

Zhang Fang nodded and smiled: "Got it, let them (her) come." ”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Thanks to Feng Meng, Caizhu, String Moon Trace, Blue Sea-Lonely Sail, Wind Rising God 666) (To be continued.) )