The twenty-ninth of the lunar month, the Chinese New Year's Eve. The north wind is howling, the snow is falling, and there are fewer people on the streets of the capital than before, and it seems to be deserted, but it is a lively scene in the people's homes.

One of the most important things today is to worship the ancestors, prepare various offerings and pray to the ancestors. There is also a light incense, that is, another year, burning incense outdoors, from today to the first day of the new year, a total of three days. At the end of the year, the people in the family gather to talk about the bitterness and sweetness of the year.

In Beijing, Zhu Houwei was involved in many people's discussions this year. The song he composed is currently only circulated between Shilin and Qinglou, and in this era, the seemingly noble Shilin and the seemingly lowly Qinglou clan are closely connected. However, King Fu was assassinated and the palace was burned, which was a rare event in the Hongzhi Dynasty. Although the murderer Liu family has been punished, the people also have different opinions about the murderer's motives, and they have their own opinions.

Zhu Houwei, who was used as a talking point, was roasting a fire in the hall of the World Chamber of Commerce, the floor here was a large villa built by Zhu Houwei's decoration team, the fireplace in the hall was burning, dispelling the cold, and Zhu Houwei was looking at the fire in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the shoulder, Zhu Houwei was startled, and the whole person almost jumped up, and when he looked back, it was Zhu Houzhao with a smile on his face.

Zhu Houzhao looked his younger brother up and down, "What do you think?" Shocked. Zhu Houwei was a little embarrassed, "It's nothing, what's wrong?" Zhu Houzhao said, "Come here, there's going to be a meeting." Then he turned and walked towards the conference hall.

This building is called the World Chamber of Commerce, and the construction area is also very large, the most in it is the conference room, and the other has only one study and bedroom, which is where Bai Xiaode works. There is also a top-secret data room, where there is information about the world Chamber of Commerce, large and small, except for Bai Xiaode, there are only Zhu Houzhao brothers who can enter and watch, and Hongzhi will basically not come.

Zhu Houwei followed his brother into the large conference room and found that the people inside were almost seated. In the center of the room was a large oval long table, at which about twenty people sat at it, most of whom Zhu Houwei knew, but there were also a few new faces.

Seeing Zhu Houzhao and the two coming in, the people inside all bowed, in the World Chamber of Commerce, there is no need to kneel when they meet, after a year of running-in, the people below are already familiar.

Soon, everyone sat in their seats, and there was a wooden board carved with their names in front of each other, which was also embarrassing for not being familiar with each other, and the different industries of the World Chamber of Commerce did not often move around each other.

Bai Xiaode, as the main manager of the Tianxia Chamber of Commerce and the host of the meeting, sat in the position of sitting north and facing south, and on his left hand side were the two Zhu Houzhao brothers.

Bai Xiaode stood up and said directly, "The year-end summary of the World Chamber of Commerce starts now. First of all, let me first talk about the main situation of the World Chamber of Commerce this year. The total profit was 1,125,300 taels, and the total expenditure was 8,400,000 taels (not counting 2,300,000 taels of the royal family). The Chamber of Commerce operates projects such as Crystal Zhai, military factories, cotton clothing factories, IKEA, and cement factories. Cooperatively operated Tianjin Aquatic Products, Mingyuan Carriage and Horse Travel, Shuntong Post. Finally, there are special projects Chaoyang Hospital, a convenient hospital and road construction. Except for Shuntong Post, other projects are already profitable. Okay, that's the overall situation, let's ask each person in charge to say what they plan for the next year. First of all, Crystal Zhai. ”

The person in charge of Crystal Zhai is Wang Juan, not only the business in the south is handed over to her to take care of, but also the person in charge of Crystal Zhai. In the past few years, Wang Juan has become an excellent businessman, and she has also gained a lot of fame in the Jiangnan area.

In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Zhu Lixue was popular, while other schools such as Xinxue had not yet formed an influence, and the status of women was severely compressed, and life was very miserable. But Wang Juan, as the person in charge of Crystal Zhai, as a woman, does such a big business, even if she is just a shopkeeper, it makes many women envious, and even becomes an idol in their hearts.

Today's Wang Juan is wearing a pale yellow skirt, with only an ordinary hairpin on her head, and no powder on her face, looking elegant and generous. Twenty years old is the best time for women, not only the beauty of youth, but also the charm and temperament of a mature woman. Zhu Houwei hasn't seen her for a year, and now that he has seen it, his eyes have stayed for a while, and he really sighs at the changes in Wang Juan.

When Wang Juan stood up, she inadvertently glanced at Zhu Houwei, then smiled and nodded. Zhu Houwei felt a little embarrassed, nodded, and looked away.

Wang Juan's speed of speech is not hurried, and her voice is crisp and bright, which makes people feel her ability: "Crystal Zhai now mainly sells glass products, soap, soap. Soap, soap is now close to saturation, and if you want to increase sales, you have to open up new markets. I have two plans here, one is to open a branch in Guangzhou, so that the Daming coast can basically be covered. Another strategy is to open branches inland, and as the roads are repaired, branches can be opened in prosperous cities in other provinces. As for glass, because it is restricted, it is in short supply, and there is no need to consider poor sales. ”

Everyone nodded their heads with joy on their faces. Today's crystal Zhai is the largest economic source of the world chamber of commerce, and the business of crystal zhai is booming, so the world chamber of commerce can develop well.

Bai Xiaode glanced at everyone before asking, "The development plan for next year has been given, and everyone will talk about their views below." ”

There are those who support going to the coastal areas of Guangzhou, and there are those who support the development of the inland. It's almost all said, Bai Xiaode asked Zhu Houwei to make a concluding speech. Zhu Houwei stood up and said, "If you go to Guangzhou, it is mainly a sea transport. It is better to transport the clan by ship than by land, both in terms of the volume of transportation and the degree of convenience. But now there is also a problem, and that is the safety of sea routes. The sea route to the north of the Ming Dynasty has basically been cleared, but there are fewer islands in the north, and the shipping route is relatively simple. After crossing the Yangtze River and further south, there are many islands, complicated shipping routes, and another problem is piracy. These pirates are not only from the Ming Dynasty, but also from the Japanese pirates, and the composition is complex and numerous. And the strength of the fleet of the World Chamber of Commerce is still not enough, so let's wait. Let's talk about the inland, many provinces, especially the Central Plains, have a lot of wealthy households, and the market is also very potential. With the road construction team will soon be able to enter Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places. Like Taiyuan, Xi'an, and Luoyang are all good locations, and they are not afraid that the market is too small after entering the market. There is also Yangzhou in the north of the Yangtze River, as well as the cities in Shandong, the cities along the canal are not only populous, but also wealthy. Moreover, the water and land battalions will begin to clear out the bandits and bandits along the road with the construction of the road, and the World Chamber of Commerce will also open a dart bureau next year, and with the escort of the dart bureau, safety will be guaranteed. That's pretty much it. ”

After Zhu Houwei finished speaking, Bai Xiaode nodded slightly and agreed, he proposed to go to the coast just now. In charge of the World Chamber of Commerce, he knows a lot about the convenience of shipping, but after listening to Zhu Houwei's discussion, the balance in his heart began to shift. When the time came to finally make a decision, Zhu Houzhao said with a smile, "Since this is the case, let's open a store inland first." In two years, I will go to Guangzhou. ”

Some of these industries need to be guided, but some are not. For example, a cement plant only needs to significantly increase production and research better quality cement. The catch of Tianjin fishery is far from reaching the critical point, and the market in Tianjin has not yet reached saturation, not to mention that the surrounding prefectures and counties have also begun to have demand due to the capital's love for seafood. Therefore, it is only necessary to increase the number of fishing vessels of various types to increase the amount of catch. In recent years, many markets have been in a state of undersupply, and the Chamber of Commerce's fishing industry can basically be said to be a monopoly, which is really good to do. Next year, a fishing company will also be opened in Dengzhou, and this time the Chamber of Commerce also gave fifty percent of the shares to the nobles who did not get the amount last time, and with the example of Tianjin fishery, the nobles took out their savings very happily.

All IKEA has to do is follow the pace of Crystal Zhai and open a branch. Next year, the first thing to open in Nanjing is to open a first, Jiangnan for sofas, Simmons and other things are also longing for a long time, even if this thing is not put in the living room, their own bedroom can also be placed, so that it will not be seen by outsiders.

The post office is mainly to lay outlets and form a scale, and there is nothing to say. The Zhu Houzhao brothers were most interested in the shipyard. Yang Yixing, the person in charge of the shipyard, reported the situation: "The fleet of the World Chamber of Commerce is divided into fishing boats and merchant ships. The warships belonged to the land and water battalions. Among them, according to their size, there are 75 fishing boats of less than 100 tons, 17 of which are between 100 and 300 tons, and 3 of which are between 300 and 500 tons. Next year, we will mainly build fishing boats of more than 300 tons, and a fishing boat of 700 tons will be launched in May. Merchant ships are 11 to 100-ton merchant ships, 21 to 300-ton merchant ships, 8 to 300-ton merchant ships, two to 500-800 merchant ships, and four 1,000-ton merchant ships will be launched next year. ”

Zhu Houzhao hurriedly asked a question: "What about the warships, how many are there, how big are they?" Yang and his entourage replied with a smile: "Eight warships are already in use under 500 tons, and three are under 800 tons." But next year there will be more launches. There are 12 of them of 800 tons, and they are currently studying to manufacture one of 1,000 tons and one of 1,200 tons, which are expected to be launched for use in the second half of next year. ”

Zhu Houzhao was a little depressed when he heard this, and Zhu Houwei whispered on the side, "Now that the Shandong shipyard is about to be used, in the year after tomorrow, the ship will not be as much as dumplings, and I am afraid that not so many people will be able to drive it." Zhu Houzhao became happy at this time.