Chapter 34 The Prince is about to starve
Chapter 34 The Prince is about to starve
Emperor Jiajing was a man with a strong desire for control. He did not have the indifference and lofty spirit that a Taoist should have. He used the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot to the fullest extent, but the people he monitored were his own son and important court officials.
After leaving the capital, Emperor Jiajing lost interest and was unwilling to spend any more energy to understand things, because he felt that as long as he had the hearts of the people at the core in his control, wouldn't he be able to take whatever he wanted in the world?
But is this really good?
The subjects within the Ming Dynasty respect him as their emperor and father, but what about the people outside the Ming Dynasty?
Obviously, a crisis is brewing here.
But not everyone is qualified to worry about such things now.
For example, Zhu Zaigui now, when he wakes up early in the morning, apart from continuing to practice "Xiantian Gong" to strengthen his body, he doesn't worry about anything else.
After all, the finances of the palace are already in a precarious situation. If they don’t make money quickly, it will be embarrassing.
After Zhu Zaigui had practiced a big cycle and finished his exercise with a clear mind and a relaxed body, Meng Chong also came over happily.
Meng Chong said, "Your Majesty, I have prepared breakfast for you."
Zhu Zaiqi hummed, "I will go right after I wash up."
Meng Chong sighed, but still followed Zhu Zaigui, unable to hide the smile on his face. He wanted to ask but didn't dare.
Zhu Zaiqi turned around and asked, "Anything else?"
Meng Chong carefully glanced at the other people in the yard and whispered, "The treasures in the backyard have been divided up according to the prince's instructions last night."
Zhu Zaigui stopped and looked at Meng Chong's anxious expression, and immediately laughed.
Zhu Zaigui said, "Wait until I finish my breakfast."
When Meng Chong heard this, he suddenly became excited, as if he saw the silver waving to him.
Meng Chong rushed ahead of Zhu Zaigui and snatched the job of the eunuch who brought water to Zhu Zaigui for washing. He personally served by his side. After Zhu Zaigui finished washing, he diligently served Zhu Zaigui with breakfast.
Zhu Zaigui wanted to laugh when he saw how attentive Meng Chong was, but he didn't say anything to Meng Chong.
After all, Meng Chong is sincere about it for him, and to be honest, he is not a very good person either.
After Zhu Zaigui finished his meal, Meng Chong came in front of Zhu Zaigui again, waiting for his order.
Zhu Zaigui rinsed his mouth, then stood up and walked out to the yard, and Meng Chong hurriedly followed him into the yard.
Zhu Zaiqi said, "Have you divided them up? Each is packed in one or two pieces?"
Meng Chong was instantly excited when he heard this, and quickly replied: "Everything has been divided up, I haven't slept all night!"
Looking at the bloodshot in Meng Chong's eyes and his excited spirit, he felt really troubled.
Zhu Zaiqi asked, "How many portions were divided?"
Meng Chong quickly replied, "Seven hundred and fifty portions!"
Zhu Zaigui silently calculated that it could be divided into 750 portions. According to the conversion unit of the Ming Dynasty, one catty equals sixteen taels, which means that the loss of brown sugar from decolorization to white sugar is not very large, only about one catty.
Because before I found the right method, I wasted a kilogram or two in my experiments.
Therefore, Zhu Zaigui seemed quite satisfied with this result.
Zhu Zaigui asked, "How are you going to sell this sugar?"
After hearing this, Meng Chong became even more excited.
孟冲说道：“按照如今顺天府市面上的价格，一斤雪花糖的价格在600文左右，一两的价格在37文半，750份可以卖28125文，换算为白银是28两1钱2分5厘。”
"How much? Only 28 taels?"
Zhu Zaigui worked so hard all day and only earned 28 taels, and the taels did not deduct the cost of labor and raw materials. Zhu Zaigui was instantly upset. Didn't online novels say that sugar is very expensive? How could he only make so little money after working so hard for so long?
Meng Chong said, "Your Highness, twenty-eight taels is not a small amount. A first-rank official only earns one hundred and eighty-two taels a year, and an ordinary family in the capital only earns one to two taels a month."
Zhu Zai snorted, "Let's not talk about the common people. Is the annual income of a first-rank official only salary? But this price is indeed a bit too disappointing for this king."
Meng Chong also knew that Zhu Zaigui had never made or spent money, so he quickly explained, "Your Highness, the price of rice is only about 30 wen per pound now, and the price of snowflake candy is times that of rice! This is already very expensive."
After hearing this, Zhu Zaigui took another breath. Is this true?
Can there be such a big difference?
But Zhu Zaigui's next words made Meng Chong stunned again.
Zhu Zaigui asked, "How much money does our palace spend in a day?"
Meng Chong replied: "About thirty taels."
When Zhu Zaigui heard that the palace spent thirty taels a day, and that his hard work yesterday could not even cover the palace's daily expenses, how could he not be heartbroken?
Zhu Zaiqi continued to ask with a dark face: "What is the price of brown sugar?"
Meng Chong replied: "Brown sugar is cheap, 60 wen per pound, which is ten times cheaper than snowflake sugar."
It is precisely because of this tenfold price difference that Meng Chong is so happy.
However, although the ten-fold price difference was high, the psychological gap was still too great for Zhu Zaigui.
He originally thought that even if the sugar was sold at a low price, it could be sold for several hundred taels.
After all, before I traveled through time, I saw the protagonists of those online novels and they made money in this way.
Why is it so difficult when it comes to myself?
Something must be wrong.
Either the world I traveled to was wrong, or my cognition and common sense were maliciously distorted, causing me to believe that silver was easy to make in ancient times and the units were all large.
Zhu Zaigui calmed himself down and felt that this matter could not be so simple. If it were so simple, wouldn’t all his work be in vain?
Zhu Zaigui said, "Let me think about it for a while, and don't move."
Meng Chong looked at Zhu Zaigui thinking and his heart skipped a beat. He originally thought that this was a good thing, so why did it suddenly become like this?
It seems that the prince is not happy...
After thinking for a while, Zhu Zaigui looked at Meng Chong again, "Have you tried our white sugar? How does it compare to the snowflake candy out there?"
Meng Chong quickly replied: "Ours is sweeter."
After hearing Meng Chong's answer, Zhu Zaigui's eyes lit up instantly.
Sweeter? Doesn’t that mean the product is of better quality?
Since it is better, it certainly cannot be sold at the normal price of snowflake candy sold outside.
We must carry out differentiated marketing with them and target the dukes, ministers, officials of the six ministries and hundreds of officials in the capital as well as the merchants.
Otherwise how can you make money?
Zhu Zaigui ordered: "Go to Liulichang and order a batch of small and exquisite glass bottles. I want to repackage the sugar. Otherwise, I will lose a lot!"
When Meng Chong heard that Zhu Zaigui wanted him to go to Liulichang to customize glass bottles, he did not know where he was. The glass bottles at Liulichang were very expensive. An ordinary one cost several hundred coins. If he really wanted to order a batch of glass bottles, it would mean not only losing all the money he had earned, but also spending a lot of money.
The money in the palace is almost gone, and we can’t build it like this anymore.
Meng Chong quickly hugged Zhu Zaigui's thigh and said anxiously: "Your Highness, this cannot happen! If we really spend this money, we will be left with nothing."
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(End of this chapter)