Chapter 247 Solving the Sales Problem
Wang Bushang, dressed in brand-new brocade robes and a glossy black sable cloak, arrived in Huaizhou by carriage. As soon as he stepped into Huaizhou, he smelled the strong earthy and dry grassy scent in the cold wind, a unique aroma of late autumn and early spring. He was momentarily lost in a daze.
After passing through Wen County, he had a better understanding of the situation and had some guesses about the business deal that Meng Qing wanted to cooperate with him on.
Upon arriving in Hanoi County, Wang Bushang went to the governor's mansion as if he knew the way well, but he didn't see anyone. Meng Qing and Du Li had gone to inspect the fortifications, and it was Yin Caiwei who received him.
“Uncle Wang, please have some tea here. Don’t be anxious. My second sister-in-law and second brother have gone out to inspect the fortifications and won’t be back for a while. Even if I send people to look for them, they may not be able to find them,” Yin Caiwei said.
"I'm not in a hurry, and Madam, please don't send anyone to look for her. Don't delay the Lady's important business," Wang Bushang said understandingly.
“Your business is also important.” Yin Caiwei corrected him, explaining, “My second sister-in-law is very busy these days, and it’s not easy for her to spare a whole day to inspect the fortifications. If we interrupt her, she might overlook something amiss in her haste, and that would be a big mistake.”
"I understand. There are priorities and urgency in everything." Wang Bushang didn't take offense. Seeing that Madam Yin treated him kindly, he felt even more at ease.
There was a knock on the door, and Wang Sima's wife walked in. She glanced at Wang the cloth merchant and hesitated before saying, "Madam Yin, do we have a guest? I'll come back later?"
"You two talk business, I'm going out for a walk," Wang Bushang said, getting up.
“It’s alright, Uncle Wang, please wait a moment, it’s quite cold outside.” Yin Caiwei persuaded her to stay, explaining, “This is my second sister-in-law’s guest, and also Lord Meng’s father-in-law, not an outsider, so please speak.”
“Since we’re all relatives, we’re certainly not outsiders. It’s nothing important here, so there’s no need to avoid us.” Wang Sima’s wife also spoke up to persuade her to stay. She looked at Yin Caiwei and said, “There’s an inn in Wude County that’s up for sale. The new owner plans to use it as a tea house. They don’t want the bedding, buckets, basins, or other miscellaneous old items. The old owner sent someone to inquire whether our charity would like them. He wants to sell them at a low price.”
"Low price? How low?" Yin Caiwei asked.
"They didn't say, they're probably waiting for us to make an offer. Should we send someone to check?"
"Okay, but I won't accept anything over ten strings of cash."
Wang Sima's wife agreed, but stopped before leaving. "Let's forget it. I don't think we can buy it for ten strings of cash. We shouldn't let them make a wasted trip. I'll go talk to Magistrate Gu and see if he's willing to buy it and distribute it to the laborers. We can take over after the construction is finished."
“Alright,” Yin Caiwei readily agreed.
Wang Bushang observed the two men's expressions. For a moment, he thought this was all an act for him, but judging from their demeanor, it didn't seem so. Once only the two of them were left in the room, he asked, "The construction is finished, can those old things still be used?"
Yin Caiwei looked up at him and said, "It's not for us to use, it's for the poor people to use."
“I know. I’ve heard it from my youngest daughter. She admires your righteousness and said she wants to come and help you,” Wang Bushang said.
“I’m short-handed here, so if she’s willing to help, she can give it a try.” Yin Caiwei didn’t refuse. “As for the old items left after the construction is finished, such as wooden buckets, basins, and bed frames, as long as they’re in good condition, people in the countryside are willing to take them. Before I got into this business, I couldn’t imagine that some families could use a single laundry basin for decades, and that a woman’s dowry could last until her son got married and had children. Many people don’t even have their own basin. Wooden buckets and basins are quite sought after in the countryside, and bed frames are even more so. As for mattresses, the covers can be taken off and used as shoe uppers or diapers for babies. Poor families will replace the covers with new cattail fluff as blankets.”
Wang Bushang nodded. "I overheard your conversation with that lady; it seems you don't have much money left in your accounts?"
Yin Caiwei looked embarrassed. "Our charity is self-sufficient. The government refuses to help us. The money in our account comes from donations from kind-hearted people. We have to be careful with how we use it."
“I will also donate some money. It seems that donating to you would be more virtuous than donating to the temple. I would like to trouble you, madam, to do this good deed on my behalf,” said Wang the cloth merchant. “I will donate five thousand strings of cash every year and send someone to deliver it every winter month.”
Yin Caiwei was pleasantly surprised, but also intimidated by his generous offer and dared not accept it.
"Why is Madam in such a difficult position?" Wang Bushang asked.
“You’ve been too generous,” Yin Caiwei decided. “The charity has received your donations and keeps a record of every expenditure. Every winter, I will send someone to deliver a copy of the ledger to you.”
“No need, I won’t care once the money is donated,” Wang Bushang refused.
“If you don’t want to see it, you can give it to your manager, or you can offer it to Buddha so that your good deeds have a place to go,” Yin Caiwei insisted. “If you are willing to show it off, you might be able to bring us a few more kind-hearted donors.”
“Alright,” Wang Bushang agreed.
Meng Qing's voice came from outside, and Yin Caiwei quickly led Wang Bushang out, "Second sister-in-law, Uncle Wang is here."
"Uncle Wang, thank you for making this trip." Meng Qing glanced at Chief Secretary Sun following behind him and said, "Wait a moment."
Sun Changshi nodded in acknowledgment, greeted Wang Bushang, and went straight back to his office.
Wang Bushang was envious. If his grandson had such a spirit thirty years from now, he would laugh so hard that his grave would collapse.
"Uncle Wang, please." Yin Caiwei said solicitously.
Meng Qing looked at her in surprise.
Yin Caiwei smiled and walked into the public house that used to belong to Du Min. She said impatiently, "Second sister-in-law, Uncle Wang promised to donate five thousand strings of cash to my charity every year."
Meng Qing immediately understood Yin Caiwei's eagerness and said with a smile, "When your charity becomes well-known in the future, remember to send Uncle Wang a plaque."
“I’m waiting for the plaque from the lady,” Wang Bushang replied.
Yin Caiwei became even happier, "I'll try my best to make this plaque valuable."
Seeing this, Wang Bushang concluded that she did not imply that he wanted to donate money, so he added another two thousand strings of cash: "In order to make this day come sooner, I will add another two thousand strings of cash."
Yin Caiwei looked at Meng Qing, who said, "Quickly set up the feast, the Money-Giving Boy is here."
"Okay! I'm going right now." Yin Caiwei walked away quickly.
Wang Bushang was both impressed and envious. Not only had a golden phoenix flown out of the home of an ordinary farmer in Dujiawan, but two luan birds had also been attracted. With these three capable people in the family, their future looked incredibly bright.
“I shouldn’t have moved my ancestral graves to Beiman Mountain. They should have been buried in the same place as Governor Du’s ancestors,” Wang Bushang joked.
“Then you’ll have a long way to go. The grave that worked is nowhere to be found. It’s definitely not one of the ones in the village. He’s the only one in the whole village who brought honor to his ancestors,” Meng Qing joked.
Wang Bushang laughed heartily.
Meng Qing sat down opposite Wang Bu Shang. "I invited Uncle Wang here today because I have something to ask of you."
"Let me guess, do you want me to get involved in the vegetable market business?" Wang Bu asked. "If so, it's not a favor, I should thank you for making me money again."
Meng Qing nodded, "It seems that Uncle Wang already knows what's going on in Huai Prefecture. Next year, Huai Prefecture will definitely have a bumper harvest of leeks and ginger. All five counties are growing them, and ordinary vegetable vendors can't handle such a large quantity. If they are sold in small quantities, there are many people involved, and the price can be manipulated, which could easily lead to shady dealings. So I'm thinking of finding a wealthy merchant to buy up all the goods at once, and then the government can collect the money and distribute it directly to the farmers."
“The Lady of the County is right,” Wang Bushang nodded.
"Not only leeks and ginger, but also mountain products such as sheep, pigs, chickens, eggs, peaches, pears, vine pears, dates, and walnuts, Huai Prefecture's output will surely be abundant in the future. You have your own merchant ships, and after the goods are loaded onto the ships, you can go to Bianzhou, Zhengzhou, Ruzhou and other places." Meng Qing continued, "Huai Prefecture plans to rebuild the waterways. If the waterways are opened up, the products can be transported out by water, and it will only take two days to reach Luoyang."
"How long will it take to open up the waterway?" Wang Bushang asked.
"This has been going on for a long time, and the waterway was built for long-term development," Meng Qing said. "In recent years, the Yellow River waterway has not been of great use. However, the Qinshui River is connected to the Tongji Canal. The journey is a bit longer, but the goods will not be damaged during transport."
Wang Bushang nodded.
Meng Qing remained silent, waiting for his answer.
"Chives are fine in spring and winter, but they rot easily in summer, as are peaches," Wang Bushang said hesitantly.
"It was my oversight; I forgot to mention that. The chives are mainly grown to make chive blossom sauce, which is sold alongside live sheep. As for the chives themselves, they are mostly sold locally. I will arrange for people to try more ways to prepare chives. Also, any unsold chives will be used as fodder to feed pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, and ducks. The same goes for peaches," Meng Qing replied.
“Alright, then I’ll take on this task.” Wang the cloth merchant agreed. “I’ll make arrangements when I get back. Next winter, I’ll arrange for people to come by boat to pick up the goods.”
Meng Qing breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you so much, Wang Boken, for helping me get rid of this worry."
"I'll come back to thank you when I make money," Wang Bushang said.
“If you want to thank me based on whether it makes money or not, you can thank me right now. With Uncle Wang’s business acumen, he won’t fail to make money,” Meng Qing flattered. “It’s just that I know in my heart that this business has a low profit margin and is not as profitable as the fabric business.”
“I won’t thank you. I’ll have my son and grandson thank me later. My family is large and prosperous. When I die, there won’t be enough property to go around. Someone will eventually run out of money. You’ve found another way for them to make money,” Wang Bushang said with a smile.
"Let's stop flattering each other." Meng Qing shook his head. "It's almost lunchtime. I'll send someone to invite my parents. You're both from the same hometown and in-laws, so you should have a good chat."
Wang Bushang got up and went with her to the government office in the backyard.
Upon arriving in the backyard, Meng Qing smelled the aroma of wine. It was Du Li warming the wine, and it was her favorite pear blossom white wine.
"Uncle Wang, I'll have a few drinks with you tonight." Meng Qing suddenly felt like drinking. The entire process, from crop planting to cargo transportation and trade, had been completed. As long as things proceeded according to her plan, she would have impressive achievements to show for herself, and she wanted to celebrate.
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