The doorman stuck his head out, took the two copper coins from the businessman, said "wait a moment", and ran inside quickly.
Even if the Chen family's business is big, they are just businessmen. Businessmen can only have two doors in their houses. Once they bypass the inner door, the main hall appears in front of them without any cover. After the small gatekeeper reported the whole story, Madam Qu thought secretly and frowned, "The printing workshop in Jing County? Shang Chengchun? I've never heard of him. Who is he?"
Chen Laowu shrugged his shoulders respectfully and answered, "I've never heard of it. I guess they are from a poor family who come here to beg for money."
Madam Qu thought for a moment and said, "Jing County is our hometown. Most of our ancestors are related to us three generations ago, or they are distant relatives. We can invite him to have a warm meal in front of the hall and give him fifty coins."
After the Chen family became rich, people from their hometown followed the smell of copper coins and loved to come during the New Year and other festivals. No matter whether they were relatives or not, the Chen family would give some money and would never let anyone go back empty-handed. Therefore, the Chen family had a very good reputation in Jing County, especially in the rural suburbs of Jing County.
Chen Laowu sighed, nodded, and raised his foot to prepare himself to become the Bodhisattva.
But before he could even take a step out, he heard the old boss, who was pouring tea for Madam Qu, hiss, as if he had just dug something out of the depths of his brain, "I remember that the red-tracing books that Shopkeeper He sold very well before were all produced by this Boss Shang's workshop."
Chen Laowu looked up at Manager Dong.
Manager Dong held up the teacup with one hand and smiled in a measured manner, "I heard that Boss Shang's business is quite big. Everything in black and white in Jing County comes from him. Although doing business with our family is still under discussion, we don't need to ask for money."
Madam Qu took a sip of tea and said, "Then let's ask him to come in." She told Mrs. Qu Er who was beside her, "Bring a pot of pre-rain Longjing tea and four cups of tea in a box."
This is ready to receive guests.
Chen Laowu's heart suddenly skipped a beat for no apparent reason and he felt a little panicked.
Now, whenever he heard the word "Jing County", He Xianjin's thin and long mantis face appeared in front of his eyes.
Chen Laowu shuddered involuntarily. Before he could say anything, a middle-aged man in a tattered fox fur coat stepped into the room, bowed to Madam Qu, then smiled and nodded to Manager Dong. When his eyes swept to Chen Laowu, the middle-aged man's eyes jumped and he just passed by.
Chen Laowu:! ?
alright!
The dust has settled!
This is definitely a mantis-faced dog!
Shang Chengchun brought two tightly wrapped bags of brown paper and handed them to Madam Qu, smiling sincerely, "I didn't bring much for the New Year... fresh tangerines, dried longans, dried fish and turtles, dried fish glue and deer antlers, rose lard rice cakes, meat dumplings and jujube cakes made by my wife. I wish you a prosperous New Year, longevity and good health."
The first part mentioned focuses on the expensiveness, while the second part mentions the human relations. Looking at Boss Shang, he has a sturdy body, kind and friendly eyes, and big drooping ears, which indicates a blessed appearance.
Old Madam Qu was old but her eyes were bright. She curled her lips and smiled, "It's a win-win situation!" She gestured for Mr. Shang to take a seat, "...Which printing workshop in Jing County are you from?" Old Madam Qu smiled, "Our Chen family came from Jing County, and we are familiar with both sides of the river."
"Which one?" Boss Shang laughed cheerfully, "All the printing workshops in Jing County are now owned by me! First, there was Shangji at the east end of the river. Last year, thanks to your Jing County shop's care, all three printing workshops in Jing County were taken over by Shangji!"
"Xianjin?" Old Madam Qu asked, "I heard that she made a copybook, and it's selling very well!"
Boss Shang nodded quickly, "Yes! You taught very well. Manager He brought the Jingxian shop to eat meat and drink soup. When people in my hometown talk about the Chen family, everyone is like this!" Boss Shang gave a thumbs up and laughed very honestly.
Chen Laowu lowered his head and caught a glimpse of Manager Dong with a smile on his face, looking proud of it. He thought to himself that something was wrong.
Boss Shang changed the subject and frowned, "It's just... Alas, it's just that with the current state of Qingcheng Mountain Academy, more than half of the business of copying and printing books in Jing County has collapsed..."
"One cannot sit still and wait for death. I will carry five printing machines and bring along workers to fight like you did in the past. I will come to Xuancheng Prefecture to try my luck and see if there is a better opportunity!"
Madam Qu pursed her lips and listened, then nodded. "What does the big business you mentioned have to do with the Chen family?"
Boss Shang clenched his fists and said excitedly, "I found a good place in Xuancheng with less than one acre of land a few years ago. It can accommodate all my printing machines. Unfortunately, the rent starts from ten years. The annual rent is eighty taels, which means eight hundred taels for ten years. If I want to move, the cost will reach more than one thousand two hundred taels. I only have less than three hundred taels of cash on hand..."
Madam Qu smiled and asked, "Are you here to borrow money?"
Boss Shang shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, no! It's not a loan! It's a clearance sale! I still have more than 20,000 red copybooks in my warehouse. If Qingcheng Mountain Court hadn't collapsed, I wouldn't have any trouble selling this amount. Now the future of Qingcheng Mountain Court is uncertain, and Jing County can't sell so many. If you're willing, I'll sell them to you for five hundred taels!"
Chen Laowu breathed a sigh of relief silently.
Five hundred taels...
Sure, sure.
Even if the mulberry paper workshop didn't have that much cash, he could fill the hole himself...
Madam Qu calculated in her mind that Xuancheng Prefecture governed six counties, and the population of Jing County was only over 10,000, while the population of Xuancheng Prefecture was over 100,000, so there was no need to worry about sales. She also calculated the money. She had seen the profit account sent by He Xianjin in early July. A copy book was sold for 50 wen, and there were over 20,000 books, so the selling price was more than 1,000 taels. Boss Shang sold it for 500 taels, which meant he was giving them money for free...
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