Chapter 193 Zhao Ergou's New Idea
Xia Hua's handkerchief embroidery was only average, and the materials used were not top-notch.
After examining them, the embroidery shopkeeper quoted four coins for each handkerchief, and a total of fifteen handkerchiefs for a total price of sixty coins.
This was beyond Xia Hua's imagination. Holding the sixty copper coins, she was so happy that she didn't know what to say.
She suppressed her excitement and said, "Brother Er Gou, wait for me a little longer, I want to buy some needles and thread."
Zhao Ergou nodded and looked around the embroidery shop.
He saw the silk fabric, which cost several hundred coins per foot. Some of the silk had subtle patterns, auspicious clouds, or floral designs, which could double the price.
His first thought when doing business was to make his mother wear gold hairpins and silk.
Having over twenty taels of silver in hand now, buying a dozen feet of silk cloth shouldn't be too extravagant, right?
Just as he was about to ask about the price, he heard the whispering of several women nearby.
"The coarse cloth here is too expensive, it costs three coins per foot, but I remember the village headman saying it was two coins?"
"The village head said that coarse cloth in Ping'an Town costs two coins. We still have to walk for more than half an hour to get to Ping'an Town. Let's go."
"The embroidery shops in Hekou Town are really overcharging."
“It’s even more expensive in Baiyun Town. Coarse cloth costs four coins a foot, linen cloth costs six coins, and fine linen cloth costs ten coins. Hekou Town is considered good.”
The women walked away, talking slowly.
Zhao Ergou's mind suddenly became active. He knew that more than a dozen villages in Ping'an County grew castor beans and ramie in large quantities, and all the women in the villages participated in the production of linen. Therefore, linen in Ping'an County has always been cheap. He only knew that the cloth in Ping'an County was cheap, but he never thought about how expensive the cloth was in other counties and towns.
If he were to shuffle things around, wouldn't he be able to make a fortune for free?
"Brother Er Gou, let's go!"
Xia Hua called out a few times before Zhao Ergou came to his senses.
He said, "Xia Hua, if you're not in a hurry to go back, then come with me to Baiyun Town."
Xia Hua didn't have anything important to do when she got back; she just needed to clean the yard and do some embroidery. These things could be done at night. She nodded and followed Zhao Ergou to Baiyun Town.
Zhao Ergou went to Baiyun Town and then went to Ping'an Town on his way back, visiting almost all the embroidery workshops.
Xia Hua couldn't understand what he was doing, but her mother had told her not to ask her uncle's family anything, so she kept quiet and didn't ask anything. However, when she went into the embroidery shop with Zhao Ergou, she would quietly look at the patterns of other people's flowers and then memorize them.
Zhao Ergou didn't return until the sun was almost setting in the afternoon.
Seeing that he had returned unharmed, Cheng Wanwan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that the boy would be caught and beaten up by the people from Yihonglou.
"Hurry up and wash your hands before you eat."
Zhao Ergou washed his hands and face, then sat down at the dining table.
There's no rule about not talking while eating in their family; everyone chats during meals, making it the liveliest time of the day.
"Mother, today I visited all the embroidery workshops in the nearby counties and towns, mainly to inquire about the prices of coarse cloth, linen, and fine linen." Zhao Ergou, having eaten about half his fill, began to recount his day's experiences. "These three types of cloth are the cheapest in Ping'an County. For example, coarse cloth is two copper coins per foot, while Baiyun Town is the most expensive, charging four copper coins. A bolt of cloth is forty feet long. If you buy a hundred bolts of cloth from Ping'an Town and sell them in Baiyun Town, you can make a net profit of eight taels of silver."
Zhao Sanniu forgot all about eating, his bull-like eyes glaring at his elder brother: "Second brother, are you sure you can sell the hundred bolts of cloth you got?"
Zhao Ergou nodded: "I asked around. Business is booming at this time of year. Even the cloth shops in the corners have a lot of customers. The villagers have just had a good harvest and have some extra money. Besides, the weather is getting cooler, and every household needs to make new clothes for their children. Even if a farming family has six people, they need to buy at least forty or fifty feet of cloth each time. Some wealthy families also make clothes for their servants at this time of year. If I calculate it roughly, a hundred bolts of cloth are not enough to sell."
Cheng Wanwan listened carefully. She could sense that the second brother really wanted to do this business, otherwise he wouldn't have found out so many details.
She asked, "First you were involved in the braised food business, and now you want to get into the fabric business. Tell me your plans in detail."
“The braised food business is on the right track now. San Niu can handle the deliveries, so I don’t have to do anything. I want to find more ways to make money and save up more. Ideally, I can buy a shop within a month. After that, our family can sell braised food ourselves.” Zhao Ergou grinned. “I’ve asked around. A two-story shop of similar size to Zuixianlou in Ping’an County costs around eight hundred taels of silver. Our family will be able to buy a shop soon.”
Cheng Wanwan looked at her son with admiration in her eyes.
She always sought stability in everything she did, and because she was a time traveler, she was even more cautious, afraid that others would notice something was amiss.
She certainly has a stable mindset, but she's taken much slower steps forward.
She was getting old and wanted a stable life, but her children were only teenagers, the kind of children who were daring and adventurous, and she couldn't let them down.
She said, "Ergou, if you want to do it, then do it. Your mother is your strongest support."
Zhao Sanniu patted his chest: "Second Brother, leave the braised food business to me. You can go ahead and do your new business with confidence."
Shen Zheng twitched the corner of his lips and said, "I really didn't realize you were so capable, Er Gou."
Zhao Ergou straightened his chest.
He felt he wasn't capable enough; the braised food business relied on his mother's unique recipe, and anyone could have run it well.
But only if he succeeds in dealing with fabrics can he prove that he is truly capable.
Seeing that the young man was getting a bit cocky, Cheng Wanwan reminded him, "When doing this kind of business, you must remember not to take too big a step. Take it one step at a time, because how much you earn is affected by the market. So you must spend time every day understanding the price of fabric, and you must also find out the depth of the market to prevent buying too much fabric and getting stuck with it..."
Zhao Ergou nodded: "I understand, Mother, don't worry."
He applied to use the twenty-odd taels of silver he received today from the braised food business as capital, and will start operating the new business tomorrow.
Shen Zheng also wanted to go along; he was the type to love joining in the fun. However, Cheng Zhao grabbed him by the back of his collar and said, "Study hard and don't be distracted."
Shen Zheng wanted to cry but had no tears.
At home, his father wasn't this strict, and his grandmother spoiled him.
Once here, with Cheng Zhao in charge and Aunt Zhao watching over them, they couldn't even go out to play.
Zhao Sidan walked over with the book and said in a serious tone, "Brother Zheng, there's a sentence in the book that I don't understand. Can you help me figure out what it means?"
Shen Zheng said angrily, "Go ask your older cousin."
“It’s a waste of my talent to have my older cousin answer this kind of question.” Zhao Sidan blinked. “Brother Zheng, you don’t actually know anything about this, do you? The imperial examination is coming up soon, and you don’t even understand such a simple sentence. You’ll definitely fail to pass the exam.”
"Who says I don't understand!" Shen Zheng snatched the book away. "It's so simple, how could I not understand? Come here, I'll explain it to you in detail."
Cheng Wanwan laughed.
Si Dan has been focusing on his studies lately, having finished reading the Three Hundred Classics and the Thousand Character Classic. Now he's starting to study the Four Books and Five Classics. At this rate, he should be able to go to school in town next year.
She didn't expect her son to pursue a career in politics; she just wanted him to study more. She believed that studying only had benefits and no drawbacks, and as long as her son was willing to study, the family would continue to support him.
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