When the dynasty was founded, the four major merchants of Jiangnan Xue, Cheng, Chen, and Zheng spent huge sums of money to support Taizu's army to recover China.

Therefore, after Taizu ascended the throne and became emperor, he issued an order to give four families as imperial merchants, and the head of his family either served in front of the emperor, or gave loose officials to continue to do business in the household department.

For example, the ancestor of the Xue family once held the position of a dignitary in front of the emperor such as the Zhongshu Sheren, and Xue Pan's father also took his father's position to search for treasures for the royal family.

At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, the number of imperial merchants has increased to a total of 36 in the north and south, and in the past two years, due to the dispute between the kings and the central government, the number of imperial merchants has directly decreased by fifty.

By the time the scribe Li Huan knocked on the door of the duty room, it was almost noon.

"Uncle, the six imperial merchant owners and the stewards of the three families in Beijing have arrived, does the uncle want to see them now?"

Jia Cong looked at Wei Ruolan and the others who were sitting around and were struggling to calculate the data, took out a silver ticket from his purse and handed it to Li Huan, and ordered: "Go and wrap up the Yanyun Building, let them go first, and Ben Bo will arrive later." ”

As soon as the three words Yanyunlou came out, Wei Ruolan and the others, who were originally muttering carefully with bitter faces, immediately quieted down, and looked at Jia Cong with wide eyes one by one.

It's a great place, and his new Oiran is a talented person, but they haven't seen it yet.

It's not that their group of second-generation officials and second-generation Xun can't afford to go, it's mainly that the rules for sacrificing wine are too strict, and they are worried that the board will hurt too much on their buttocks.

Uncle actually wanted to entertain that group of imperial merchant owners in Yanyun Tower, didn't he say that they could go with him to see and learn?

However, their wishes were soon shattered, because Li Huan reminded with a wry smile: "Uncle, I'm afraid it's not appropriate to go to Yanyun Tower......

"Oh? Why? ”

Jia Cong asked suspiciously: "Could it be that you have committed some taboo?" Worried about impeachment? ”

"It's not for this reason, uncle, the imperial merchant Xue family is not only Xue Zhen, the second son of Xue, who is in charge of the Xue family's business, but also General Xue's sister, the eldest girl of the Xue family."

Li Huan's answer made the people in the room stunned at the same time, they had heard that the eldest girl of the Xue family was in charge of the house, and the women did not let the women shave their eyebrows, and took care of the Xue family properly, but they didn't want this to be true.

Jia Cong didn't expect Baochai to come this time, so he really couldn't go to the land of fireworks......

"In this case, let's go to eat first, you hurry up and make arrangements."

Li Huan left the duty room, and Jia Cong shook his head helplessly. Although the Xue family's big house has changed its door, and Xue Zhen has also entered Beijing, the second room has not taken over the business for a long time, and Xue Zhen is still only a half-hanger, which is really bitter for Sister Bao.

If it weren't for Baochai's careful management over the years, the Xue family would have been devoured alive by life. This is the luck of the Xue family, but it is also the misfortune of Baochai.

Baoyu is fourteen years old this year, and Baochai is two years older than Baoyu.

The sixteen-year-old girl, who is still unmarried, can imagine what Baochai has brought to Baochai by showing up to take care of the family's business.

If the Xue family can have a man who can support the family, with Baochai's talent and family background, he will not worry about marrying at all.

Jia Cong stood in front of the window and looked at the light green plum blossoms blooming in the courtyard, remembering that when Mrs. Xue came to visit Rongguo Mansion a few years ago, she complained in front of the old lady and asked for help.

Mrs. Xue, who has a low family background, can't look down on it, and a family with a high family background is not willing to marry a woman who often shows up to run a business.

This is the situation of the world, even the old lady who is the princess of the county has given up face, and she can't make others change their views on this matter.

"Alas, what a headache!"

Jia Cong sighed in a low voice, and looked back to see that Wei Ruolan and the others were still staring at him.

"Have you figured it out?"

He Chong handed an account book to Jia Cong: "Uncle, according to our calculations and the consumption of grain transported by the imperial court, it costs ten taels of silver for each stone of rice to be transported to the Anbei Metropolitan Protectorate. If this group of imperial merchants can win the bid at the price of seven taels and one stone, the imperial court can save nearly six million taels of silver in grain alone. ”

"It seems that this matter is really imperative, otherwise, just the three million people of the Anbei Metropolitan Protectorate will be enough to impoverish the imperial court."

Jia Cong closed the account book with a snap and said to everyone: "Let's go, you will go with me to meet these imperial merchants for a while, whether you can save money for the court is up to you." ”

……

Food first has the characteristics of the south of the Yangtze River, and the inside and outside are carved and painted, as if telling the story of the Qinhuai River.

The private room on the second floor is spacious and bright, with several mahogany tables and exquisite wine and snacks on the table. There are some literati calligraphy paintings and scrolls hanging on the four walls, which makes the whole space more elegant.

In the corner of the private room, a luthier is playing a melodious music. Her piano sound is as melodious as flowing water, which is intoxicating.

In the sound of beautiful music, guests may talk in low voices, taste wine and chant poetry, or lean against the window to enjoy the bustling street market.

The grain sent to the Anbei Protectorate was very important, so the nine imperial merchants invited by Jia Cong were all carefully selected by him, and their loyalty to the imperial court was one of the main factors in Jia Cong's choice.

This kind of thing will never go out of style.

Baochai was wearing an elegant light blue jacket today, draped in a red coat, and sat by the window with Xue Zhen.

Because he was wearing a veil, although the heads and stewards of the other imperial merchants wondered why the Xue family was still headed by a woman, they did not disturb a woman who had not left the cabinet at this time.

The Xue family is now different from before, and Xue Pan, the head of the Xue family, is now an official to the third grade, and he is the prince's confidant.

Even if they talked a lot about the Xue family's girl showing up in private, who would be crazy and say it in front of others.

Xue Zhen has been in Beijing with her sister for half a year, and she has been familiar with the family's business with Baochai for half a year. The forces in the capital are complicated, and even a talented person like Xue Zhen will be difficult to take over for a while.

This time, the household department invited him, and it was a matter of millions of business, and Baochai had to bring Xue Zhen over in person.

Xue Zhen looked at the few curious family heads and stewards who looked at him from time to time, he knew what this was for, and said to Baochai guiltily: "It's all my fault, and my sister is embarrassed by this." ”

"What does it have to do with the second brother? I've been used to it for a long time. ”

Baochai smiled indifferently, and whispered to Xue Zhen to introduce the people in the private room: "The person who appreciates the painting is the Li family in Liaodong, backed by the Tu family of Duwei of the horses, and his family accounts for thirty percent of the entire business in Liaodong." The one next to him, the Shanxi Zhang family, is the younger brother of Zhang Siwei, the political envoy of Sichuan, and after the Eight Jin Merchants, the Zhang family became the first. Sitting there drinking tea and listening to music, the surname is Cao, the Queen Mother's Cao ......"

Xue Zhen carefully remembered the introduction given to him by Baochai, and roughly estimated the wealth of these families. I have to say that compared with Xue Pan, a rough man, Xue Zhen is more like Baochai's brother.

Handsome in appearance, outstanding in learning, good character, and full of cultivation......

Baochai personally brought Xue Zhen to the meeting, not just for this business. She planned to take advantage of this rare opportunity to introduce the imperial merchants in the capital to her cousin.

I will always have to deal with people in the future, I don't know the details of other people, and my cousin doesn't know how much he will suffer.

"Uncle Yongfeng has arrived!"

Crunch~

The door of the private room was pushed open, and Jia Cong walked in, surrounded by Wei Ruolan and others.

"I'll wait to see my uncle......"

"Hello everyone, sit down."

Jia Cong sat down with everyone, the pianist silently retreated, Wei Ruolan, He Chong and others were arranged on Jia Cong's left side, sat down along several cases, and put out a book of accounts and pen and ink, waiting for Jia Cong's orders.

It was the first time Xue Zhen had seen Jia Cong, and it was indeed Ning Rong Jia's family, just this face was enough for Qinhuai River to go crazy for it.

"Ben Bo invited you here today, because he has a big business to discuss with you......"

Before Jia Cong's words fell, there was a burst of discussion in the private room.

Among them, Cao Desheng, the head of the Cao family, as the president of the Beijing Chamber of Commerce, took the lead in opening his mouth: "Uncle, I dare to ask, but what about sending grain to the grassland?" ”.

Baochai and Xue Pan frowned almost at the same time, because when Cao Desheng asked this, the other seven families didn't seem surprised.

It seems that their Xue family was excluded by the Beijing Chamber of Commerce.

Jia Cong was not surprised, Cao Desheng was the nephew of the Queen Mother, and it would be strange if he couldn't inquire about the household's intention to bid.

He smiled: "The head of the Cao family is really well-informed, and this is exactly the case. ”

Wow~

From Jia Cong's affirmation, the discussion of the private room became louder. This is a business with a total of 20 million taels of silver, and it is also a great opportunity to open up the Mobei trade route, who is not greedy?

Jia Cong did not stop the discussion of several people, but watched them calculate and discuss with great interest.

This business is too big for a family or two to support, and the only way is to work together.

But Cao Desheng and the others seemed to have forgotten that there was only so much grain in the north, and they wanted to eat this business and left the Xue family, where did they get the food.

You must know that the Xue family has been operating in the south of the Yangtze River for nearly 100 years, and thirty percent of the grain ships on the canal are flying the flag of the Xue family.

When the discussion in the private room was a little quieter, Jia Cong spoke leisurely: "Two million stones of grain, one hundred thousand taels of salt, and tea...... Sent to the Anbei Metropolitan Protectorate within two months, are you sure? ”

"What? Two million stones? Two months? And salt and tea? ”

At this moment, Cao Desheng was a little hesitant, the amount was too big, and he was too anxious, which was completely beyond his imagination.

After the shock, the rest of the royal merchants and stewards huddled together again and whispered. There are too many, too many, not to mention salt and tea, these two million stone grains alone are not something they can gather in a short period of time.

If their news is not wrong or missing, the grain stored in the Hubu granary is now less than 10 million stones, which must be close to the nine sides first, and it is impossible to consume the grain in the warehouse for Anbei alone, which is why the Hubu will think about letting these imperial merchants handle this matter this time.

Silver is a good thing, but it delays the major affairs of the court, and even the people behind them are difficult to save their lives.

Several people calculated for a while, and finally found that with their ability, two months could not be completed at all.

Just as they wanted to retreat, Jia Cong said quietly: "If this is done, the wool business can be promised, and you can take a stake in the textile factory of the Ministry of Industry." ”

One sentence stuffed the withdrawal words of these people back into his throat, and Baochai, who had watched the play for a long time, couldn't help laughing.

In the quiet environment, although Baochai's laughter was small, it was still very clear, and everyone's eyes turned to the window position.

Jia Cong beckoned to Baochai and said with a smile: "Sister Bao remembers coming to the house to sit in her spare time, and my grandmother said that I haven't seen you for a few days, so I miss you." ”

Baochai had already regained his dignity when everyone looked at him, and apologized to everyone.

After hearing what Jia Cong told her, her heart warmed.

Why?

Because she only went to Rongguo Mansion to play a few days ago, it was impossible for the old lady to say this. Jia Cong's sister Shengbao is supporting herself, and at the same time, she is also telling these royal businessmen of the Beijing Chamber of Commerce one thing......

This big business of the household department must have a share of the Xue family.

Baochai could have thought that Cao Desheng, the president of the Beijing Chamber of Commerce, could not have imagined.

He quietly made eye contact with a few people, and the Zhang family's family advocated Sijiu to take the lead in nodding, and the rest quickly nodded and acquiesced in the matter.

The Xue family has gained a firm foothold in the capital, and the head of the Xue family is the prince's confidant, even if the Beijing Chamber of Commerce is unwilling to be shared with others, it has to admit that this matter is inevitable.

At least with the Xue family, they can also take care of them when they go to Jiangnan to do business.

Cao Desheng arched his hand at Baochai and Xue Zhen: "Can Xue Ergongzi move one or two steps and recalculate the data of these two million stone grains and salt tea with us?" ”

Xue Zhen did not directly promise, but looked at Baochai.

Baochai said directly: "Now the price of rice in Jiangnan is five dollars per stone, and the price of rice in Beijing is seven yuan. The Anbei Metropolitan Protectorate is thousands of miles away from the capital, and if you want to send the grain over, according to the consumption of ten and nine deliveries, one stone of grain will cost at least five taels of silver. Two million stone of grain, that is, ten million taels of silver. ”

Cao Desheng and others sighed at the intelligence of the Xue family's daughter, and at the same time, they were also a little annoyed that Baochai put these data on the bright side.

Expose the bottom line, how can they still make money?

However, Baochai didn't care about this, because she was sure that the court knew all about it. Don't forget the two gods of wealth in Great Xia, and now Jia Cong, a natural talent.

To play tricks in front of them is to die.

Baochai got up and made a blessing to Jia Cong: "In business, the little woman dares to say a number, if the uncle can allow it, the Xue family can send these two million stone grain to the capital within twenty days." ”

The atmosphere is decisive, worthy of the person at the helm of the Xue family!

is the thorough words of Cao Desheng and others who are angry with Baochai, and they have to admit that this woman is really extraordinary.

Jia Cong was also intrigued by Baochai's actions, and raised his hand and said, "Sister Bao, please speak." ”

I only heard Baochai say: "The Anbei Protectorate is far away, and it is a newly attached place, and it is full of dangers. Eight taels per stone, two million stone of grain, will be delivered safely within two months. ”

Jia Cong shook his head and stretched out his hand to compare six: "Six taels." ”

"Uncle Yongfeng, I won't have to make any money if I wait for six taels, maybe I'll have to lose money."

In business, no one in this group of imperial businessmen is willing to make a loss-making business. They are indeed loyal enough to the court, but loyalty cannot be eaten.

Sending a stone of grain to the grassland, costing five taels of silver is still the lowest bottom line of the estimate. But if there is a problem halfway, according to what Jia Cong said, the six taels of silver, if you can't get it, you have to put the old book in.

"Seven taels, this is the bottom line of the imperial court."

Jia Cong didn't bother to talk to this group of people, there were big people standing behind each of these people, and it was not difficult to get the data that the household department had calculated earlier.

He directly revealed his bottom line, and Cao Desheng's first reaction was not to discuss with several family heads and stewards in the capital, but to look at the window.

Baochai nodded: "Seven taels is okay, don't forget that when we go, we will pull rice, grain and salt, and when we come back, we can't leave the carriage empty." ”

Syllable!

Cao Desheng slapped his forehead directly: "I'm confused, this trip is not to make money from these grains, those cattle and sheep are the real profits." ”

Two million stone of grain, calculated according to seven taels of silver, that is 14 million taels of silver.

As for the salt and tea that were just additives, Cao Desheng directly told Jia Cong that the household department didn't have to take care of it, and that their group of imperial merchants would be loyal to His Majesty and sent to the grassland at a low price.

However, they also have a requirement, that is, the textile business of the Ministry of Industry, they want to take a stake. Moreover, they wanted to do a wool business in the Anbei Metropolitan Protectorate, hoping to get the support of the imperial court.

Jia Cong naturally agreed, because his original plan was to bring this group of imperial merchants in, rely on these people's funds and business routes, and use the fastest time to open up the sales of wool textiles, so that the economy of the Anbei Metropolitan Protectorate can run rapidly.

Otherwise, more than 10 million taels of silver will be transfused to the grassland every year, and no matter how rich you are, you won't be able to bear it.

……

Once the business was settled, the atmosphere in the private room became harmonious.

Baochai's impression on these business tycoons is not profound, decisive, intelligent, and atmospheric, if such a woman is a man, the president of the Beijing Chamber of Commerce may not be worthy of the master.

It's a pity......

These three words almost came up at the same time in the hearts of these family heads and stewards, and Baochai behind the curtain just used the meal silently, and Xue Zhen dealt with this group of old foxes on behalf of the Xue family.

The two purposes of coming here today have been achieved, and the next thing is what Xue Zhen should do.

At this time, it was outside, and Jia Cong couldn't squeeze into the curtain to talk to Baochai. After drinking a glass of wine with these old foxes, he returned to the main seat and whispered to Wei Ruolan and the others about what he was going to do next.

According to the custom, the imperial court was required to pay an advance payment totaling 7 million taels of silver, and the imperial merchants would pay the final payment when they returned to the capital after the grain was safely delivered to the Anbei Protectorate on time.

This is a big project with a total of 14 million taels of silver, which is related to the stomachs of the three million people of the Anbei Metropolitan Protectorate, and there can be no mistakes.

The household department not only has to carry out transactions, but also has to send people to check the quality of the grain, as well as to supervise the delivery of grain, which is troublesome......

Mu Congying's brows were about to clench, because Jia Cong, the hand-shaking shopkeeper, threw the matter of paying the advance payment to him. Sign a contract with each of the nine imperial merchants and pay the silver according to the share, which is a big head to think about.

He couldn't even eat, it was tens of millions of taels of silver, even if he was the grandson of the Guogong Mansion, his hand holding the pen was trembling.

Compared with Mu Congying, He Chong is much more interesting.

Ever since Baochai came out to negotiate with Jia Cong, he has been looking at the window. Jia Cong coughed lightly and reminded several times, but this guy didn't understand the meaning of the reminder.

When the curtain was hung in front of the window, He Chong's eyes still sneaked up on the figure behind the curtain.

There were many peeks, not only Jia Cong noticed it, but Wei Ruolan and others on the side also discovered He Chong's strangeness.

Jia Cong raised his forehead and coughed lightly again, and even whispered: "Master He, pay attention, be careful when you lose your manners, and when you go back, you will be hung by He Shangshu at the door of your house and whipped you." ”

Recommended commuter passes

On the last day of August, I made a 5,000-word chapter and asked for a monthly pass.

It's the last day.,Readers, give me a ticket.,Although it's slower.,But I'm staying up late and I'm insisting on updating.。 It's not easy for children~

(End of chapter)