At some point, Ma Sanbao also learned to flatter.
But after a few flattering remarks, Zhu Yunwen became quite smug. No wonder there's a saying that flattery will get you everywhere.
Although he listened to the flattery, he still had to explain the matter. So Zhu Yunwen told Ma Sanbao that he must bring back a large quantity of chili peppers and rubber trees on this voyage.
Especially with rubber, it would be better to hire local people to harvest the rubber from their local rubber trees. Then, process it and bring the processed rubber back.
Knowing that he was shouldering a heavy responsibility once again, Ma Sanbao solemnly said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Your subject will certainly not fail in your mission."
Zhu Yunwen nodded in satisfaction and told Ma Sanbao to leave first. After Ma Sanbao left, he went back to rest and prepared to go out to sea again.
Only then did Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yuanzhang begin a formal discussion of the affairs of the court.
After finishing his business, Zhu Yunwen summoned the Minister of Works to the Eastern Palace and instructed him to mass-produce bicycles and tricycles and put them into the market.
The price cannot be too high. Zhu Yunwen calculated the cost and found that the production cost of a bicycle was about one hundred coins, and that of a tricycle was two hundred coins.
Thus, Zhu Yunwen set the price of a bicycle at 500 wen, and a tricycle at 1,000 wen, which is one tael of silver.
The tricycle can seat three people, one person riding and two people sitting in the back. Of course, more seats can be added according to needs, such as five or seven people, but the price varies depending on the version.
After the price was set, the Ministry of Works was responsible for production, and Zhao Qingzhu was in charge of sales management.
Although Zhao Qingzhu manages all the bicycle shops in the entire Ming Dynasty, the money from the sales goes to the national treasury.
The period costs were given to the Ministry of Revenue, and the small amount was treated as management fees by Zhao Qingzhu.
Thus, the Ming Dynasty gained another state-owned asset and industry: the manufacture and sale of bicycles.
The previous floral water had already brought a large amount of revenue to the Ming Dynasty, tens of millions of taels of silver, which could be considered half a year's worth of taxes for the Ming Dynasty.
Now that this bicycle is sold, it will undoubtedly add a considerable amount of revenue to the Ming Dynasty's national treasury.
Especially these bicycles, which were promoted by civil and military officials, who rode them to and from get off work every day.
With the Ministry of Works starting mass production of bicycles and tricycles, they were soon put on sale in the capital.
During this period, the people saw the officials riding bicycles, and they had long been extremely curious and fascinated by this.
Nowadays, these bicycles ridden by government officials have started appearing on the market, naturally attracting the attention of ordinary people.
After finding out the price, the people felt it was acceptable, after all, it was only 500 coins, which was generally considered to be about a week's wages in the capital.
Aside from these ordinary people, most of the residents in the capital were wealthy people or high-ranking officials, and a mere five hundred coins was nothing to them.
So everyone rushed to the store to buy them, and when they did, the sales staff explained very clearly the differences between the two models.
Bicycles require some skill, but they are faster, easier to ride, and allow you to go anywhere more smoothly.
It can only seat one person at a time, with a maximum of one more person in the back.
To put it simply, this bicycle is mainly about personalization, convenience, and handling.
It's suitable for young people who value speed and are skilled at maneuvering.
As for tricycles, they are positioned differently because they are easy to ride, stable, and comfortable.
Therefore, there are significant differences between the two.
In response, almost all the older people who came to buy the tricycles chose them without hesitation, while the vast majority of the young people chose bicycles.
As a result, in just one day, hundreds of bicycles and hundreds of tricycles were sold out.
When the people in the manor came to report this situation to Zhao Qingzhu, Zhao Qingzhu was completely shocked.
It's worth noting that bicycles and tricycles were relatively new things, but no one expected them to be accepted by the public so quickly.
Moreover, they are willing to spend money to buy it.
This isn't floral water. Everyone can immediately tell what floral water is and what it's used for. You don't need to learn how to use it; just spray it on yourself. It's also cheap.
However, these tricycles and bicycles are already considered the most luxurious of all.
However, the fact that purchasing power remains so enormous is astonishing.
That's not all; many people who couldn't buy bicycles or tricycles pre-ordered them by paying in advance.
Zhao Qingzhu was so shocked that she didn't know what to say.
If this situation continues, the market demand for bicycles costing five million each and tricycles costing one thousand each has reached a level more alarming than any other industry.
If sales continue as they are now, the fiscal revenue that could bring to the Ming Dynasty would be unimaginable.
Zhao Qingzhu immediately informed Zhu Yunwen of this news. Upon hearing that hundreds of bicycles and tricycles had been snapped up in a short time, Zhu Yunwen realized that the market was even better than he had imagined.
A decision was made immediately, and an order was issued to the Ministry of Industry to directly establish factories for bicycles and tricycles.
After the repairs were completed, a large number of workers were hired for mass production, and in order to increase the speed, the factory's production process was turned into an assembly line.
Different workshops are responsible for producing different parts, and they are constantly improving the production process and technology.
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