The transportation business was difficult, and the distance made it hard for goods to circulate between the two cities, especially perishable food, which was rarely seen.
However, scarcity drives up value; the more difficult something is to transport, the more expensive it tends to be, and the more tempting the profits become.
If he could keep the ice at a higher temperature for longer and make it run faster, thus facilitating the transport of goods between cities, wouldn't he reap huge profits?
Of course, there are also many drawbacks, such as insufficient manpower, the possibility that hastily hired people may not be loyal enough, and whether there will be buyers for the transported goods.
Zheng Ruqian clenched his fists and watched as Manager Hao took out two hundred-tael silver notes. He reached out and took them, examined them carefully for a moment, and then handed them to Jiang Sheng.
Jiang Sheng carefully placed it into the small purse, her eyes crinkling with a smile, almost as if she wanted to kiss Zheng Ruqian.
Jiang Chengyuan couldn't understand it. It was just two hundred taels of silver, was it really worth being so happy?
Manager Hao, being an experienced and shrewd man, understood the key point: "This brother and sister, the brother will always give his earnings to his sister. At first, it will be a few coins, then a few taels of silver, then a few hundred taels of silver. I believe that in the future, when he earns tens of thousands of taels, he will also give them to his sister."
I don't care about the amount of money, but rather the proportion.
Zheng Ruqian gave Jiang Sheng everything he had. At first, it was two gold coins, then a few coins, and later two hundred taels of silver.
"Second brother made money again today. He told Auntie he wanted to add some dishes tonight," Jiang Sheng said excitedly. "How about a braised pork knuckle?"
"If you say it's okay, then it's okay." Zheng Ruqian smiled as he bid farewell to Manager Hao, and they agreed that the next batch of roast ducks would be delivered as soon as possible.
Xu Mo is still in the examination hall; the exam will last for nine days.
Zheng Ruqian has also lost a lot of weight and is not suitable to make another trip.
Fortunately, Jiang San and Jiang Si volunteered to write down the detailed address, and the two of them drove the carriage straight to Danyang County.
But this is not a solution.
Jiang San and Jiang Si have run off this time, what about the next time? And the time after that?
Ultimately, we still need to hire people.
No boss can do everything himself. Truly smart people learn to manage subordinates, hire people, and give orders.
A person can do only so much, but with their mouth, they can issue countless orders.
Just like Wen Zhiyun's clinic, after hiring ten female doctors, he didn't even need to dry the medicine himself. He only needed to take pulses and prescribe medicine every day, and the rest of the work was done by the chattering girls.
They learned to identify herbs from Wen Zhiyun and acupoints and muscles from Xiaozhu. In just over a month, they were able to start massaging. Although they couldn't compare to Xiaozhu, some ladies from prominent families were already requesting their services.
On the surface, Wen's Medical Clinic's expenses have increased significantly.
Wen Zhiyun paid the female physicians nearly two taels of silver per month, which would amount to nearly twenty taels for ten physicians. It seemed like a lot, but the benefits brought by the massages by the physicians far exceeded twenty taels, and the reputation and word-of-mouth brought to Wen's medical clinic were immeasurable by money.
Zheng Ruqian wholeheartedly agreed.
He always knew he needed to hire people; besides Wang Xiaosong and Pang Dashan, he needed more capable assistants to facilitate transportation between the various cities.
But the profits from transporting roast ducks are just too high.
Four taels of silver, a little hardship, and after half a month of transport, it turns into two hundred taels of silver.
If that person told Manager Hao that he didn't want two hundred taels of silver, but only one hundred and fifty taels, and could send over a hundred roast ducks, would Manager Hao agree or not?
If it were the Zheng Ruqian of the past, he could still naively imagine the promise and the affection he had for someone he had known for so long.
But thirteen-year-old Zheng Ruqian deeply understood that there are no absolute friends when it comes to interests.
Today, Manager Hao spent two hundred taels to buy his roast duck because there was no one else who could transport it. Tomorrow, if someone cuts their own profit, Manager Hao will abandon them and look for a cheaper roast duck instead.
To put it bluntly, Zheng Ruqian wanted to monopolize this profit line and was afraid of having his business stolen.
Changyan had witnessed his struggles and, after some hesitation, came to him. "Second brother, have you considered that ice is the key to this transportation?"
Zheng Ruqian was taken aback.
Indeed, anyone can transport roast duck, but everything will rot in hot weather, so ice is the key to this transportation.
“Ice isn’t cheap, but ten taels of silver can still buy a cartload,” Zheng Ruqian said with a sigh. “Ice can’t stop people from stealing business.”
"Second Brother, ten taels of silver is the price of ice in winter. What about in summer?" Changyan asked slowly.
If the price of ice rises from ten taels of silver to fifty or one hundred taels, and it becomes impossible to buy, then the profit from roast duck will be wiped out.
"Furthermore, Second Brother's advantage isn't just the transportation of one city," Changyan reminded him, tilting his head. "Manager Hao might not want the roast duck you transported from Danyang County, but would he be willing to give up the cured meat and fish from his workshop? Would he be willing to give up the dried green beans from Xieyang County, and the water chestnuts and burdock from Yunshui County?"
Once Zheng Ruqian's business empire expands further, reaching Yuhang County, then Yongjia County, or even Langya and Fengjing, his transport lines will be everywhere.
Even if someone wanted to grab a piece of the profit, no one dared to buy those low-priced items.
Zheng Ruqian thought about it more and more clearly, and the clouds parted to reveal the blue sky. "That's great, Xiao Wu. You're right. Instead of panicking here and being afraid that someone will steal our business, we should build up the entire transportation line of the Dayu Dynasty and spread Second Brother's people and carriages all over the Dayu Dynasty!"
He was so excited that he rushed out to hire someone.
Jiang Sheng listened to the whole thing from the side, blinked and muttered, "Ice is so expensive, I wish we could freeze ice ourselves."
This is one possible approach.
So this is what it means when they say "many hands make light work".
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