Before arriving at Yingtian Prefecture, Xianjin summoned Li Sanshun and Hengxi for a brief meeting in the small cabin swaying on the water, and informed them of Princess Bai'an's intention to issue banknotes with rice paper. Hengxi was so happy that he shouted, "God bless! May the Three Pure Ones protect us! Amitabha, Confucius has shown his spirit!"
I have thanked all three schools of thought: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. He is truly a loyal believer who shows compassion everywhere.
Xian Jin smiled, "I think it's a good opportunity too."
"It's more than just a good opportunity! If it works, our Xuan paper will be the best in the world!" Hengxi's face flushed with excitement.
Li Sanshun, however, sat on a low stool with his legs crossed, his shoulders hunched, his fingers bent and tapping unconsciously on the corners of the stool, his mouth tightly pursed, and he didn't say a word.
Xianjin looked at Li Sanshun and tilted his head and asked, "Master Li?"
Li Sanshun came back to his senses and said after a moment's hesitation, "Using rice paper to issue banknotes... Then should we move our workshop to the capital?"
Xianjin thought for a moment, "The reason why Xuan paper is called Xuan paper is because it can only be made from the mountain stream spring water unique to Xuancheng Prefecture and the bark of the Chinese cedarwood tree that is only found in Jingxian and its surrounding counties. I don't think it can be moved."
A mountain nurtures a river, and a river gives birth to a grass and a tree.
A slight mistake can lead to a huge loss.
Without the Xuancheng Prefecture’s Xuan paper, can it still be called Xuan paper? Without the pulp from the euphorbia bark, can it still be made into “smooth as jade, with thousands of different colors of ink” Xuan paper?
Ever since Princess Bai'an proposed the idea of "using rice paper to issue banknotes", Xianjin has thought about it a lot.
After listening to Xianjin's words, Li Sanshun's tense heart finally relaxed: he was very worried that Xianjin would be dazzled by the prosperity and would move his workshop north regardless of the consequences in order to get things done!
Even if they sent out the original team, the water was different, the straw was dried differently, the climate was different, and most importantly, the raw materials were different - even if a true immortal came, they would not be able to make the same paper!
Li Sanshun patted his chest, crossed his legs, and breathed a sigh of relief, "You are a dog who has a clear mind."
Xian Jin said, "The circulation of banknotes is an important matter that will benefit the people and the market for thousands of years. People like you and me who are responsible for this important task need to have great virtue, endure great disasters, and be patient, so that we can achieve great results."
Li Sanshun:? Please speak human language.
Xianjin immediately changed the subject, "We have to do this business well! We have to make a lot of money and keep a good reputation. We have to have both the inside and the outside!"
Li Sanshun nodded, that’s pretty good.
After the initial excitement, Hengxi was overwhelmed by the fear of the big task. He frowned, "If the workshop doesn't move, we will face a lot of difficulties in this business. Using rice paper banknotes is like doing business with the court. The court has made demands and we have to meet them. The tribute has been changed three times, and there will be more demands and changes for banknotes! It takes at least more than 20 days to travel between Xuancheng Prefecture and the capital by water and then by official road! It only takes two months to go back and forth! With such a long communication time, how many years will it take us to complete it? Where will the cost of the travel, the manpower cost, and the initial investment come from?"
Hengxi didn't dare to think too much about it. His scalp would go numb and his mind would be a mess.
This thing sounds glamorous, but in reality, it's just like putting your head on your belt to make money.
Let’s not talk about how difficult it is to work for the imperial court! This is completely different from the ordinary client’s request.
For ordinary Party A, if you can't do your job well, the worst that can happen is that you won't make money from him, and we can just go our separate ways. When we meet again, we will still be good friends who curse the boss together.
If you don't do your job well when working for the court, your grandmother will be waving at you when you look up. Let's go to your grave and dance together on Qingming Festival next year.
It seems simple to issue banknotes on rice paper, but there are too many links to overcome, such as the reconstruction of the organizational structure of the workshop, how to open up the transportation channels, and which workshop to use to do the work - this is logistical support;
How to distribute, adjust, add or remove personnel involved in production, and how to manage them - this is team support;
If you work for the imperial court, can the imperial court advance money for you? It's good enough if people don't owe you money! As Hengxi said, who will pay for the initial investment cost? Who will advance the money? - This is financial guarantee.
.....
Under each major framework, there are at least four or five smaller issues, each of which is extremely tricky and involves two-way communication upward and downward.
You have to ask for money from above, people from below, and management in between, only then can you achieve results.
Xianjin turned around and hung a varnished wooden board on the wall. On the board was a large three-layer rice paper with twenty-seven lines of questions densely written on it. Only after four or five lines did Xianjin draw a big circle after the question with a red pen, indicating that he had thought of a solution.
There are just over twenty lines left, a list of questions denser than ants, with blanks at the end waiting for people to fill in.
Hengxi was confused when he saw this: "...We have to solve all these problems?"
Xianjin nodded.
"If we don't solve this problem, we won't accept banknote business?"
Xianjin shook his head, took out a reed pen and handed it to Hengxi very calmly, "Even if we can't solve it, we have to keep it a secret from the court."
Hengxi swallowed hard: "Are you so brave?"
Xianjin replied, "If we don't accept it and someone else does, we will never get ahead in our lives."
How could I not want such a large quantity of goods that is delivered to my door?
As for dancing on the graves, that will be done during next year’s Qingming Festival.
If you don't have courage and a risk-taking spirit when doing business, you won't be able to achieve big success.
Hengxi looked at Xianjin in awe: I don’t envy you at all for making money.
Only then did Li Sanshun realize the benefits of being semi-literate: since we can't read, we naturally have no worries.
The old man yawned in a lack of interest. He wanted to smoke a pipe, but he was afraid that Xianjin would roar at him, so he said, "...you guys chat first, I'll go out and smoke."
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