Wang Xiaoxi brought a porter and pushed a large cart of honeycomb coal to the next village to continue his sales work.
After he left, another guy came to Hujiatun to sell second-hand cotton clothes.
"Our boss is in the Dahuaishu Market. Those of you in your village who have been to the Dahuaishu Market should know that there is a second-hand cotton clothing store in the market. Yes, yes, the one at the end of the alley. I am the clerk there."
"These are second-hand cotton-padded jackets, cheap. I left a slit so you can see the cotton inside. Look, the cotton inside has all been refurbished, honest to the owner. These cotton-padded jackets are in great condition in every way, except they're not new."
"There are children's cotton clothes. This one is only ten cents. Don't worry, it's all washed and dried in the sun."
"This one is large and made of plenty of material. It'll cost fifty coins. Okay, okay, if you really want it, I'll give you forty-five coins."
…
The people selling cotton clothes left, and Hujiatun welcomed people buying cloth.
Cotton and linen are both commonly used cloths by the people.
The same cotton and linen feel better and more comfortable to touch than those sold in other shops.
"Not expensive, not expensive at all. A penny cheaper than the cloth shop."
"Young and old people have no limit to their lives, so I dare not deceive my fellow villagers."
"It's so cheap because the fabric is produced by the Sihai Weaving Workshop. They use water over there, and once the water is flushed, the looms start spinning very quickly. Next year, when the volume is even greater, the fabric will be even cheaper."
"Before the New Year, no one else will come here to sell cloth. Your place is too remote, and it's not easy to come here. The next time, you have to wait until after the Lantern Festival. If you miss this time, you have to wait a month. Hurry and buy it."
"...your village is bustling with activity today. I didn't expect that people selling coal briquettes and cotton clothes had already arrived before me. The reason we work so hard, even in the middle of winter, is because we have year-end bonuses and want to achieve high performance. The boss is counting on us to sell more goods, and we're also counting on him to give us more bonuses so we can celebrate the New Year."
"...I'm not actually a clerk at Sihai Trading Company, but our boss and Sihai Trading Company are partners. My sources of goods are all first-hand, directly from the Sihai Textile Workshop."
"We went from village to village selling goods, naturally we learned it from the guys at Sihai Trading Company."
"You are the third village I have visited today. The two villages before me have bought seven or eight bolts of cotton and linen cloth. Your village is richer than theirs. Everyone is rich, and we will be even richer next year."
…
One leaves, another comes.
This twelfth month, Hujiatun is more lively than ever before.
People selling food, beaded headdresses, needlework and fabrics, and even oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, all pushed carts and went from village to village selling their goods.
The villagers of Hujiatun went from being confused and surprised at first to being calm and used to it later.
This winter, the shop assistants are full of energy, not afraid of the cold or hardship, and are busy outside every day.
This trend first started at the Sihai Coal Plant.
Who would have thought that the vast rural areas, which are often looked down upon, have such amazing consumption power.
Wang Xiaoxi delivered 120 coal stoves throughout the twelfth lunar month and sold over 10,000 honeycomb coals, earning a commission of nearly one tael of silver.
Back then, he worked tirelessly at the construction site for three months, doing heavy physical labor every day, but still couldn't earn that much money.
His income is almost catching up with that of a second-level craftsman.
Wang Xiaoxi had a very comfortable New Year.
This is the first time in my life that I have been valued at home.
Is business really so good in the vast rural areas of the Gyeonggi region?
Do those villagers really have money to buy goods?
Isn’t it all hard work?
When the months are lean, don’t we even have enough to eat?
How come it feels like in the blink of an eye, the farmers in the Gyeonggi region, even in the most remote areas in the mountains, have developed purchasing power.
Many merchants who did not catch up with the first wave of selling goods from village to village are confused.
So everyone pooled their money and treated us to a banquet.
Invite the first and second merchants to take the plunge and have a drink and learn from them.
The first merchant to follow Sihai in trying out the new product had an inscrutable and condescending look on his face. "You guys all have old-fashioned ideas. Do you think those country bumpkins are still the same country bumpkins from a few years ago?"
"Isn't it?"
"Of course not. A few years ago, Chen Erzhuang, the manager of Sihai Trading Company, personally led his men from village to village. Everyone knows about this, right?"
The merchants nodded repeatedly.
"Do you know that throughout the entire capital region, the people in the government office don't know the situation of every village as well as Manager Chen? Sihai Meat and Vegetable Shop has thrived by visiting village after village. All the unsold agricultural products from previous years—poultry, vegetables, and dried goods—are now sold to Sihai Meat and Vegetable Shop. After years of accumulation, do you think those villagers are rich or poor?"
boom!
"Really rich?"
"Of course!"
"The Sihai Trading Company has been operating in every village for several years, but this winter, it suddenly started to boom. Employees from various trading companies flocked to those villages. Did you know that the Zhu family's cloth shop buys goods directly from the Sihai Textile Workshop and then has employees go down to the countryside to sell them? In just two days, they sold as much as the cloth shop does in a month."
boom!
This news shocked all the merchants beyond words.
"Boss Li, can you sell a month's worth of cloth in just two days?"
"How could I do that? I'm not as wealthy as the Zhu family, who hired fifty employees at once. I only have ten employees running around. Everyone gets a piece of the pie. The Gyeonggi region is so big, with so many people, and most people have some spare money. This business is hard, but you can make some money."
What Boss Li said is not entirely true.
It's more than just making a little money, it's a lot of money.
Ten shop assistants work daily, and after a month, their shipments almost match the total for the first half of the year. Although commissions for the shop assistants have reduced profits, with such a large shipment volume, small gains add up to a lot, and Boss Li's cloth shop will have a prosperous year.
Of course, he would not treat his men badly.
These guys are all treasures. Once he fires them, they can find new jobs in minutes.
All the merchants who did not benefit from this wave of dividends are jealous.
"I never thought that those who were poor in the past could afford these things."
"That's right! Things are completely different now. The boss of Sihai is truly formidable. After years of planning, she not only created Xinmin County, but also brought prosperity to the villagers in the capital region. They all have money on hand. I heard from the people in Sihai that they will promote sweet potato planting and poultry farming in all villages in the capital region next year. By the end of next year, those farmers will be even richer."
The three words "richer" have stimulated the eyes of various merchants to become more and more red.
There is a lot of room for development in the vast rural areas.
With such a large population and such a big market, the key is that the farmers have worked hard all year and have money on hand.
Even the most stingy person has to spend some money to buy food, clothes and daily necessities for his family at the end of the year.
"Many of those villagers have never left their mountain villages in their entire lives. Most are too timid to enter the city. We send our shop assistants to the villages to sell goods. The prices are fair, sometimes even cheaper than in the shops. This actually makes things more convenient for those villagers. Think about it, isn't that the truth?"
"Boss Li is absolutely right. A village is lucky to have three or two knowledgeable people. Most villagers have never traveled far and have no knowledge. Many have never been to the city in their entire lives. Even if they have money, they don't know how to spend it. We should send our men to the countryside to provide benefits to the villagers."
"That's exactly what's going on. If everyone is willing and works hard next year, we can have a prosperous year. But let me be frank: if anyone dares to pass off inferior goods as good ones, inflate prices, and deceive the villagers, Sihai Trading Company will not let him off."
"Sihai Trading Company has spent several years, expending a great deal of manpower and resources to revitalize the rural markets in the capital region. We will not sit idly by and allow any merchant to destroy this market. Anyone who dares to act recklessly should think carefully. Once Sihai Trading Company speaks out, there will be no place for you in the capital."
"Boss Li is absolutely right. We certainly won't do anything like selling inferior goods as good ones or inflating prices. In this business, we must emulate Sihai Trading Company."
"How about this, we would like to ask Sihai Trading Company to come forward and formulate some rules."
"Yes, yes, that's a good idea."
"For the sake of the villagers, we should indeed formulate some rules. Since everyone is interested, I will be a representative and tell Sihai about everyone's ideas."
"Thank you for your hard work, Boss Li."
"Boss Li is thoughtful."
Boss Li's vanity was greatly satisfied, but he did not forget his business.
The next day, he found Deng Cunli and told him the wishes of the merchants truthfully.
Deng Cunli thought for a moment and said, "We should establish some rules. Anyone who goes to the countryside to sell goods should abide by them. If we all work together, the market will grow bigger and bigger. People say that Jiangnan is prosperous. Once the trade in the capital becomes active, the capital will be even more prosperous than Jiangnan."
"Wait until the steward says so."
Deng Cunli now held the title of general manager, so everyone changed their way of addressing him and called him General Manager Deng.
Deng Cunli said, "As for how the rules of the trade should be formulated, let's invite everyone from all over the world to Xianrenju for a drink someday. Let's all sit down and discuss it together."
Boss Li was pleasantly surprised. "I never thought that in my lifetime, someone of my status would have the opportunity to go to Xianrenju for a drink."
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
I received a sudden notice from the editor that my work had been recommended and an additional chapter would be added.
The only chapter I had saved was gone just like that.
Where are my Spring Festival manuscripts?
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