Tianliangyuan

Chapter 86 The Business War Begins

This year is a cold winter. Jiang Ning remembers that there was a snow disaster in his previous life. So as long as he hoards a lot of food, even if he doesn't expect to make money from it, it can solve a big problem for the Loyal King.

Jiang Ning had mentioned it before, but at the time everyone was focused on the iron mine, so only he remembered the matter of stockpiling grain, which is why he brought it up again now.

After all, King Zhong has his own personal guards and some private soldiers who cannot show their faces, so food is essential for them.

The Loyal King was slightly dissatisfied: "How much money can you make by hoarding grain?"

The advisor's eyes showed a hint of disappointment, but he still dutifully reminded him, "Your Highness, we can't just think about making money from this grain. Even if we don't make money, we still have to stockpile it. If Miss Jiang's prediction comes true in the future, we can gain a good reputation and also make Your Highness more valued in the Emperor's court."

Only then did the Loyal King's mind clear.

Right!

He's a prince!

He wanted more than just money; he wanted fame.

Since the crown prince has not yet been established, as long as he manages things carefully and holds the title of the eldest son, he still has a chance.

In reality, Daxing clearly distinguished between legitimate and illegitimate sons. As long as there was a legitimate son, it was almost impossible for an illegitimate son to inherit the throne.

For example, in the Anxin Marquis's mansion, Xu Han had three legitimate sons, so it was reasonable and logical for him to make the eldest legitimate son the heir apparent, and no one could find fault with it.

However, if Xu Han has no legitimate son and only illegitimate sons, then unless they are registered under the legitimate mother's name and become legitimate sons, illegitimate sons are not eligible to inherit the title.

This is the Daxing Dynasty, which clearly distinguishes between legitimate and illegitimate sons. It is precisely because of this that, even though Prince Zhong is the eldest son, he has never had the opportunity to appear before the emperor.

The Empress had three sons. Unless all three sons died or were crippled, Prince Zhong would have no chance.

Jiang Ning's prophecy was simply because she had been given a second chance at life, so she wanted to make arrangements in advance.

Xu Zhaozhao didn't expect to profit from the national crisis, but she couldn't just stand by and watch Jiang Ning and the Prince of Zhong gain a good reputation.

"Reporting to my master, the items have been made according to your drawings. I have also found two skilled weavers to test the fabric. The fabric they produced is smooth and flawless, and the output is more than four times that of the previous weaving."

"Very well, then let the women of our village weave the cloth. Keep these patterns safe, after all, the carpenter is one of our own."

"Reporting to Master, they are all our own people." Gao Da Kui was meticulous in his work, having considered all the possibilities of leaks.

“Very good. Tell them to speed up the weaving. Also, whether it’s cotton, ramie, or linen, we should buy all the raw materials that can be woven, and buy them in large quantities. Don’t be afraid to spend money.”

As soon as Xu Zhaozhao finished speaking, she raised her hand, and Dingxiang came over and handed her a few coins.

"There is plenty of money here; you may use it as you see fit. The wages paid to the weavers on the estate should not be too low; it is the right way to ensure that they can truly earn money through their own abilities."

"Yes, our master is kind-hearted; it is their blessing."

"How many cloth shops do we own now?"

"Your Majesty, you own only one cloth shop, but the Marquis's mansion and his wife own three cloth shops. However, two of these three shops only sell silk and brocade."

Xu Zhaozhao nodded, meaning that there were only two cloth shops catering to ordinary people.

"This year will be a harsh winter. In addition to fabric, we also need to stockpile grain and charcoal. Don't skimp on money for these. If you run out, just come to me."

"Yes, Miss is kind. If it were any other owner, they would probably only raise prices significantly when the common people can no longer afford to live."

Gao Da Kui genuinely felt that his master was kind-hearted; when disaster struck his hometown, the wealthy gentlemen all did the same thing.

The fact that these people could inflate the price of grain from a few coins to tens of coins shows how unscrupulous they are.

However, their master's order to buy these in large quantities was clearly not intended to raise prices. On the contrary, the master was worried that unscrupulous merchants would make huge profits, so he chose to strike first.

"It is understandable for merchants to value profit, but if they only see profit, they will lose their humanity. We have limited money at hand, so if we hoard grain, we should focus on coarse grains."

"Yes, Miss, I understand."

Xu Zhaozhao ordered a fireplace to be built in her house, and also built one for Xu Han's study.

When the fireplace was being repaired, the weather wasn't cold yet, so they didn't try it out much, and the others didn't think much about whether it was any good or not.

By the end of October, the temperature had plummeted overnight.

Xu Zhaozhao felt a bit cold in the middle of the night, so she called someone to light the fireplace.

In the morning, Xu Zhaozhao walked into the yard wearing a hand warmer, and estimated that the temperature was around zero degrees Celsius.

It's only the end of October. According to previous years, the coldest time of winter is in the twelfth lunar month, which is still more than a month away. At that time, the temperature in Beijing is expected to drop to minus ten or even twenty degrees Celsius.

Xu Zhaozhao sighed. "A person's ability is limited. Let's do as much as we can."

Moreover, she did all this not just for the sake of the common people, but also to take this opportunity to stop Jiang Ning and the Prince of Zhong!

Jiang Ning's two cloth shops are currently stockpiling large quantities of various cotton cloths, but the output is very small. This is because she is deliberately setting the price higher, with each foot of cloth costing two copper coins more than her competitors. This has led many people to choose goods from other cloth shops.

The shopkeeper still felt this was inappropriate, because if they accumulated too much cloth and couldn't sell it before winter, it would be even harder to sell it when spring came.

Jiang Ning was not in a hurry. He simply instructed people to sell the cotton as is and also arranged for people to buy up large quantities of cotton cloth.

Xu Zhaozhao's men learned that Jiang Ning had bought up almost all the cotton cloth from small cloth shops within a hundred miles of the capital, intending to take this opportunity to raise prices and make a fortune.

The price of ordinary fine linen cloth is around 150 wen. A bolt of cloth is 40 feet long, which is equivalent to a little over 1 wen per foot. Cloth shops usually sell it for 2 wen per foot. They only charge a little less for lengths of more than 3 feet, since cloth shops also have employees to support and need to eat.

Ordinary cloth shops sell coarse cotton cloth for three coins per foot. Anything more expensive would be unaffordable for ordinary people, who could only buy linen or hemp cloth.

Nowadays, Jiang Ning's two cloth shops only sell cotton cloth, and they sell it for six coins per foot, so naturally few people are interested.

Xu Zhaozhao, on the other hand, ordered people to buy up large quantities of various ordinary fabrics, while also importing famous Shu brocade and other precious textiles into the Hou Mansion and Wang Ruolan's two high-end fabric shops. Prices rose again and again, and she made a fortune.

Using one's own money to subsidize the common people is something only a saint would do.

Xu Zhaozhao doesn't consider herself a saint, so she has to use other people's money to earn a reputation for herself, yet somehow people can't say anything bad about her!