After the first day of the Lunar New Year, people start exchanging New Year's greetings, and the importance of sweaters becomes even more apparent.
"Master, it's gotten colder today. Would you like to put on another layer of clothing?"
"No need. The clothes His Majesty bestowed upon me look thin, but they are exceptionally warm. I was sweating while walking in them yesterday, so I don't need to wear any more clothes."
The lady was somewhat surprised upon hearing this: "Sir, are those clothes really that warm?"
"Of course. Today I will go to my colleagues who work in the Imperial Household Department to ask where these clothes came from. If possible, I will buy a few more sets."
"That works too."
The sweaters were warm to wear underneath, and many families who received the gifts wore them and thought they were nice. They went to the Imperial Household Department to inquire about them. The Imperial Household Department had already been ordered to promote Youqing's shop, and sure enough, within two days, Youqing's shop was bustling with customers.
The Imperial Household Department sent another large batch of wool yarn, which Youqing accepted without hesitation. She immediately hired people to build several large workshops, installed underfloor heating, and began knitting sweaters.
The clothes also changed from being conventional to having all sorts of patterns. Youqing didn't need to teach them; the creative ability of a clever woman is extraordinary.
“Master, in the past two days alone, we have sold nearly a thousand sets of sweaters, as well as some gloves, socks and scarves. The profit is already several thousand taels.”
The yarn was purchased from the Imperial Household Department. With Emperor Kangxi in charge and Liang Jiugong acting as intermediary, the price wasn't high. As for the labor cost, Youqing gave a fair price, but the sweaters were still expensive. A regular sweater cost two or three taels of silver, while patterned sweaters naturally had different prices depending on the pattern. In short, they were expensive.
As for socks, they're alright, there aren't many styles to choose from when worn on the feet, but gloves and scarves offer a lot more variety when worn on the hands and neck.
Moreover, although these two items are small, their price may not be cheaper than a sweater. The ladies and young women of wealthy families are not short of money, so they naturally prefer pretty things. The more pretty things there are, the more they buy, which creates a booming scene.
"It's normal for business to be good at the beginning, but it will probably come down after a while. It's cold today, so I'm knitting thick sweaters. In a few months when it's not so cold, I'll knit some thin sweaters, which is also good."
With Emperor Kangxi's generous reward and the shop's name mentioned by the Imperial Household Department, it was bound to be a lively affair for a while.
“You’re right, Master. By the way, I have something to tell you.”
"you say."
“My lady, this sweater is not difficult to knit. As for finding wool yarn, it’s not that difficult. I’m afraid that after a while, the shop will realize that business is not good. Also, I have discovered that someone is selling sweaters knitted with cotton yarn. That person is a woman in the workshop. I’m not going to punish her for not using wool yarn.”
"That's normal. There are many people in the capital. Even if someone is willing to buy wool yarn to knit their own, it doesn't matter. There are not as many styles as here, so there's no worry about business. As for the women in the workshops knitting sweaters with cotton yarn to sell, that's fine. It's just that they must work four hours a day. You don't have to worry too much about what they do the rest of the time."
She never intended to run this shop as a long-term business. Her main goal was to promote wool yarn. If people in the palace liked it, then high-ranking officials outside the palace would also admire it, and eventually ordinary people would also find ways to make money from it, since knitting sweaters is done by hand.
Make a profit this year, and by next winter, some shrewd businessmen will probably notice this opportunity. The Qing Dynasty has a vast territory, and the northern cities are extremely cold in winter. There is a considerable market for these wool sweaters, which will also provide an additional source of income for women who are usually idle at home.
Whether a country is prosperous or not depends on two factors: its national treasury and the wealth of its people. If everyone has a job and can earn a wage, and over time, wealth is accumulated among the people, then this is true national prosperity and peace.
The increased production of new fertilizers previously solved the problem of food and clothing for ordinary people to a great extent. Now, the workshop that Youqing has set up can also solve some of the labor problems and increase the income of ordinary people.
Although this winter in Beijing is cold, the people of Beijing are living more comfortably than in previous years.
There's more grain than in previous years. Even if it's only an increase of one mu (unit of land area), that's still several hundred jin (unit of weight) of grain, which means we can have a good year.
After the New Year, a sudden heavy snow fell in the capital.
Upon waking up in the morning, before he could even get dressed, Emperor Kangxi asked Liang Jiugong, "Has the snow stopped yet?"
While carefully attending to Emperor Kangxi, Liang Jiugong cautiously said, "Not yet, the snow has been falling heavier and heavier all night."
Emperor Kangxi sighed. If it snows for a few more days, there will inevitably be a snow disaster. Everything was fine before the New Year, so why is it so unsettled after the New Year?
After getting dressed, Kangxi ordered people to check the area around the capital without even having breakfast. Most of the ordinary people lived in thatched huts, and with the continuous heavy snow, houses were collapsing, and human lives were at stake.
The guard returned in the afternoon and reported to Kangxi: "Your Majesty, the situation inside the city is alright. The houses are still relatively sturdy. Some old thatched houses in the villages outside the city have collapsed. No one has died, but some people have been injured."
"Arrange some young imperial physicians to be on duty there to treat the disaster victims, allocate grain from nearby areas, prepare and send them items to keep them warm, and arrange for nearby government offices to be responsible for building relief houses... to ensure the safety of the people affected by the disaster."
“Zha”
Emperor Kangxi made some arrangements, hoping the snow would stop soon. A good snowfall is a sign of a good harvest, but too much snow would mean a year of disaster.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Two more days passed, and the snow still hadn't stopped. Emperor Kangxi kept sending people to provide disaster relief, but the situation was becoming increasingly dire. Things were relatively better near the capital, but in areas a little further away, the disaster relief efforts were not as timely.
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