Chapter 45 The Birth of a New Industry

Chapter 45 The Birth of a New Industry

Chapter 45 The Birth of a New Industry
Emperor Jiajing, who was listening to Huang Jin's report in the Western Garden, suddenly laughed.

"You mean San'er can make money now?"

Emperor Jiajing turned around and asked Huang Jin with a smile, completely forgetting that this was the time for him to meditate.

Huang Jin replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. The Yiran candy that Prince Yu sent over last time was actually made by Prince Yu himself. A few days ago, he asked me to ask someone to join the palace's silver bureau. I didn't think much about it at the time and just did it. Later, with the report from the spy, I realized that Prince Yu had actually played such a big show without realizing it."

After hearing this, Emperor Jiajing laughed again and said, "This San'er is like a little monkey now, let him be and see what he can do. From now on, you should go to San'er's Yiran Tang to buy some candies every once in a while. I also like the taste of this. It really makes people happy."

Emperor Jiajing asked Huang Jin to support Zhu Zaigui's business every once in a while, which was actually a kind of care.

Although the father and son cannot meet, caring for each other in this indirect way can also be considered a form of interaction.

Huang Jin happily replied: "Yes, I will remember it."

Emperor Jiajing nodded, then collected his thoughts and began to meditate again.

Huang Jin immediately stopped talking and stood guard beside Emperor Jiajing without moving.

Inside the Hanlin Academy.

After a few days of fermentation, Yiran sugar naturally spread to the Hanlin Academy, where many nobles gathered.

When colleagues in the Hanlin Academy saw the small bottle of Yiran sugar on Gao Gong's desk, their eyes were filled with envy.

During this period, the price of Yiran sugar on the black market was driven up to a high price of fifteen taels. A small can of sugar became a price that countless ordinary families could never reach in their lifetime.

Some people in the Hanlin Academy couldn't help but criticize the extravagant lifestyle brought about by Yiran Tang.

It is believed that Yiran candy will corrupt morals and make people compete with each other.

Gao Gong looked coldly at this group of colleagues who were only good at talking about nonsense, morality in the left hand and righteousness in the right hand. His face was full of indignation, and he was about to slam the table and glare at them.

In Gao Gong's opinion, although Yiran candy had indeed sparked a trend of comparison in the capital, those who could afford it were all wealthy and idle people.

Moreover, due to the popularity of Yiran candy, a profession of "purchasing agent" was born in the capital, which provided a number of unemployed lazy people with a job opportunity and no longer posed a threat to the capital's public security.

In Gao Gong's view, this is consistent with what he said when he was teaching Prince Yu in Prince Yu's Mansion, "creating jobs."

At that time, Gao Gong believed that it was not easy to create a new industry to support a group of people, and most of them would cause the court to bleed and ultimately could not be sustained.

Although the popularity of Yiran Sugar has only led to the employment of dozens or hundreds of "agent purchasing" people every day, this is already a remarkable progress. If the scale can be further expanded and this "agent purchasing" model becomes the norm in the industry, then the unemployed lazy people in the capital can be mobilized, and thus they can be transformed from a burden to the court.

After all, when a new industry is created, the court will try to standardize the industry norms and collect certain management fees. Therefore, when Gao Gong heard that these people who only know how to point fingers in their study and do not understand the difficulties of the court and the people are standing on the moral high ground to point fingers, he could not help but feel angry and wanted to personally go down to argue.

Zhang Juzheng, who had been observing Gao Gong for a long time, felt that this was an opportunity when he saw Gao Gong on the verge of exploding.

Zhang Juzheng stood up and came over with a copy of the Yongle Encyclopedia. He said politely to Gao Gong, "Mr. Gao, I am Zhang Juzheng."

When Gao Gong heard Zhang Juzheng's voice, his anger was instantly interrupted.

Gao Gong looked at Zhang Juzheng and was also surprised and said, "It's Uncle Da, sit over here."

Zhang Juzheng bowed politely to Gao Gong again, and then sat on the chair next to Gao Gong.

Zhang Juzheng said, "When I was copying the Yongle Encyclopedia recently, I found that many lost arts of the Ming Dynasty were recorded in it. I wonder what Mr. Gao thinks of this?"

When Gao Gong heard Zhang Juzheng's question, he couldn't help but stroke his beard.

Gao Gong said: "There are only two reasons why skills are lost. One is that the skills may have become outdated and no longer suitable for today's society. The other is that the inheritors are selfish and worried that the apprentices will starve to death, which leads to the loss of some skills."

"The Yongle Encyclopedia was compiled by the great scholar Jie Wenyi during the reign of Emperor Chengzu, with the whole country working together to compile it. It is very comprehensive and it is normal for some lost skills to appear in the book. If you are interested, you can study it carefully and maybe you can compile some useful tools for the country."

Zhang Juzheng also laughed when he heard this, "Master Gao, you are making fun of me. I have no long-term plans except for writing. I am not as knowledgeable as Master Gao, and now I am the prince's tutor."

When Gao Gong heard Zhang Juzheng talking about Prince Yu, a smug smile appeared on his face.

Gao Gong said: "Prince Yu is intelligent and kind to others. It is a blessing from heaven that I can be the tutor of Prince Yu."

Zhang Juzheng chuckled, and then his eyes shifted to the Yiran candy on the high arched table, "This Yiran candy should be the gift from Prince Yu, right? I was lucky enough to taste a spoonful yesterday, and this candy really has the effect of making me happy. Unfortunately, I am just a poor editor in the Hanlin Academy, and I can't always enjoy the pleasure of this candy."

Gao Gong also laughed and said, "Not only is Uncle like this, I am also like this. If it weren't for the kindness of Prince Yu, I would not have been able to taste such good candy. I really don't know how this candy is made. Maybe it is really like the legend of Yiran Candy itself, that it is a secret that Master Zhang got in the 'Utopia'."

Zhang Juzheng said: "If this is true, this Yiran candy can be regarded as a divine thing in the world. But even if it is not, it is still unique with its unique sweet taste."

Gao Gong nodded in agreement, and then asked, "Uncle, don't you think the price of this candy is too expensive? There is a saying in the market that one ounce of Yiran is worth one ounce of gold."

Zhang Juzheng laughed and said, "How can one ounce of gold be as valuable as one ounce of Yiran? One ounce of gold can be exchanged for six or seven ounces of silver, but one ounce of Yiran sugar costs ten ounces of silver, and the supply is still in short supply. It is said that the price on the black market has been raised to fifteen ounces of silver. This shows that one ounce of gold is not as valuable as one ounce of Yiran. The owner of this shop is really a god who can sell sugar for a price higher than gold!"

Gao Gong said: "He is indeed a god. If I have the chance to meet him and talk to him about the secrets, I might be able to gain a lot of knowledge."

(End of this chapter)