Chapter 82 Pawnshops and Poaching

Chapter 82 Pawnshops and Poaching

Chapter 82 Pawnshops and Poaching

On the second day after returning home, Zhu Shenzhui went out alone after breakfast and went to the place where Ma Shizhou and others were accommodated the day before.

This is a new shop not far from Hengtong Salt Shop. This shop was bought by Kang Youfu some time ago in the name of Hengtong.

Due to the downfall of the Liu family in Pingyang, the salt quota that originally belonged to the Liu family was quickly divided up. Among them, a large part of the channels in Pingyang Prefecture and the surrounding areas fell into Zhu Shenzhu's hands. In addition, the problem of surplus salt in Jiezhou was solved, and he already had a private salt sales channel. With the steady growth of imports and exports in the past few months, he made a lot of profit.

Zhu Shenzui has a good vision. Kang Youfu is a natural businessman and is very good at doing business.

After becoming the manager of Hengtong, it didn't take him long to figure out how the salt shop operated. With his intelligence, he quickly understood the situation of this industry.

In addition, Kang Youfu has a guy named Zhang Xijun by his side. Although Zhang Xijun has never done business, he is not a simple person. Kang Youfu may not be able to compare with him in terms of intelligence, but he is not as good as Kang Youfu in doing business.

The cooperation between the two people has achieved an effect far greater than one plus one equals two. In addition, with Wang Rong in charge of Wangjia Village, Xia Dong, Wang Jinwu and others are responsible for the purchase of surplus salt and private salt channels in Jiezhou, Yangtou Mountain has also stabilized. In just a few months, the salt business has flourished and the wealth has increased.

Not long ago, Kang Youfu approached Zhang Xijun to discuss the matter and suggested that a salt shop alone was not suitable for running a business. Since Zhu Shenzhu had gone to the grassland, he would inevitably bring back a large amount of goods when he returned from the grassland, and the subsequent sales channels for these goods must be resolved in advance.

Although after returning from the grassland trade, the goods brought can be directly sold to other businesses to make a profit. However, if this is done, the sales channel will not be in your hands, and the profit will be much less accordingly. In addition, this trip to the grassland Zhu Shenzhui is just to explore the way. In the future, it is very likely to develop into a long-term and stable trade. If you want to meet the long-term needs in the future, it is also necessary for you to solve these problems.

Kang Youfu suggested that even if these were not taken into consideration, relying solely on the salt shop's business would limit the company's development, and that they must strike while the iron is hot to expand their business. In addition to the current salt shops and private salt sales, more appropriate preparations must be made.

In other words, it is to diversify operations and not put all your eggs in one basket. This idea was approved by Zhang Xijun, who thought Kang Youfu's suggestion was good, but he did not have the right to decide, and Zhu Shenzhu was not there, so he could only tell Xia Dong about this when Xia Dong brought people to Pingyang Prefecture again, wrote a letter with detailed explanations, and asked Xia Dong to go back and report to Wang Rong.

Not long after, Xia Dong returned to Pingyang City and told Kang Youfu and Zhang Xijun that Wang Rong thought this thing could be done and they could give it a try. In this way, Kang Youfu found another shopfront nearby and planned to open a pawnshop there after taking it over.

The function of a pawnshop is to pawn items, buy low and sell high to earn the difference in interest, while also taking into account the sales channels. Therefore, opening a pawnshop is the most suitable choice for Hengtong now. Once this pawnshop is opened, it will form the two pillars of the business company together with the salt shop, which will be enough to support the entire Hengtong.

Now the pawnshop has been bought, but the actual opening has not yet taken place. After all, Zhu Shenzhui has not returned yet. They are just the shopkeepers, and the final decision still has to be made by the owner.

So when Zhu Shencui and his party returned to Pingyang from the grassland and originally planned to settle people in the salt shop, Kang Youfu told Zhu Shencui about the pawnshop. After listening to Kang Youfu's explanation, Zhu Shencui did not blame him for making decisions on his own. Since Zhu Shencui had handed over the Hengtong business to Kang Youfu, it showed enough trust. As long as it was beneficial to Hengtong in business, Kang Youfu could make certain decisions.

Moreover, Kang Youfu did not make the decision on his own on this matter. He had discussed it with Zhang Xijun in advance according to Zhu Shenzhu's instructions before he left, and then sought Wang Rong's opinion. He made the decision only after obtaining their unanimous agreement.

In this way, since there was such a pawnshop that had not yet opened, Ma Shizhou and others did not need to squeeze in the salt shop, so they were directly placed there. Compared with the salt shop, the pawnshop was not small, and there was a special warehouse, which was more suitable for accommodation or storage than the salt shop.

"Sixth Master!"

He walked to the store, walked straight in and went to the backyard. The people who were busy sorting the goods in the yard heard the noise and looked up. They saw that it was Zhu Shenzhui and greeted him hurriedly.

"You guys go about your business. Have Shopkeeper Kang and Shopkeeper Zhang arrived yet?" Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and told them to go about their own business. They brought a lot of things from the grassland this time, most of which were furs and other things. Although these furs were all good goods, the Mongolian craftsmanship was still a bit rough. They needed to be carefully selected after being brought back, and most of the furs needed to be nitrated again. What they were doing now was the work of selecting and sorting.

"The two shopkeepers have arrived and are waiting for you in the main room." said a waiter.

Zhu Shenzhu nodded and continued to walk towards the main house. When he walked into the house, Kang Youfu and Zhang Xijun, who were sitting and chatting, stood up quickly when they saw him and called out "Sixth Master" in unison.

"Sit down." Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and sat down directly in the main seat. As he sat down, the two of them sat down on his left and right respectively.

Kang Youfu first poured a cup of tea for Zhu Shenzhui, and then reported on the business situation in the past few days.

I just came back yesterday, and I mainly settled people and goods. I didn't have time to report other things. When we met today, we naturally had to talk about business first. Drinking tea and listening attentively to Kang Youfu's report, Zhu Shenzhu nodded slightly in his heart. He was still very satisfied with Hengtong's operation in these days. It can even be said that Hengtong's operation under Kang Youfu and Zhang Xijun has exceeded Zhu Shenzhu's original expectations.

Of the two, Kang Youfu, as the chief manager, was mainly responsible for the main reports, while Zhang Xijun was responsible for some minor and supplementary matters.

This conversation lasted for more than an hour, during which Zhu Shenzhui carefully looked through the account books brought by Kang Youfu and asked a few questions of concern.

In response, the two men answered fluently and spoke their mind. After listening, Zhu Shenzhu was very happy. He praised them in person and promised to give them rewards.

"Thank you, Sixth Master. This is what we should do." Kang Youfu's face was beaming. He was no longer the eldest son of the Kang family who was busy greeting customers in the tofu workshop. He had developed the bearing of a big shopkeeper because of the management of Hengtong Salt Shop these days. As for Zhang Xijun, it goes without saying that he looked calm and composed, sitting there steadily, smiling and saying nothing.

"Rewards will be given for merits and punishments will be given for faults. This has always been my rule. As long as you do a good job, I will not treat anyone unfairly!" Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile. The two of them agreed repeatedly, and Kang Youfu's face showed an irrepressible joy.

"By the way, how is the matter I mentioned to you yesterday going?" Zhu Shenzhui asked after finishing talking about the salt shop.

"Sixth Master, it's not hard to find ordinary assistants. We have already found a few. However, it is not easy to find leather makers with reliable skills. There are not many in Pingyang Prefecture, and they all have employers. Please give me some more time, I will try to talk to them privately or look for them somewhere else." Kang Youfu replied with a bow.

"We need to hurry up and do this. Salary is not a problem. As long as the craftsmanship is good, it doesn't matter if we spend some money to recruit people. Hengtong Company will have long-term exchanges with the grasslands. The furs from Mongolia are a big source of income. If we don't have a good tanner, we will suffer a lot of losses in terms of price."

"Sixth Master, you are right. Don't worry about this matter. I will do my best." Kang Youfu understood what Zhu Shenzhui meant. The craftsmanship of the craftsman is very important when it comes to fur (leather). For example, the value of a piece of cowhide is ultimately determined by the quality of the tanning craftsmanship. Most of the cowhide and sheepskin traded from the grassland are only preliminarily processed. When they arrive in the Ming Dynasty, they have to be finely processed, or even directly processed into production costs. In this way, their value will be greatly increased.

This is how business works, maximizing profits is a must, and as a businessman, Kang Youfu naturally understands this.

"Sixth Master, I have a suggestion on this matter." At this time, Zhang Xijun spoke.

"You said."

"It might be difficult to poach people from other businesses, and even if you can poach them, it won't be easy. What's more, what you need, Sixth Master, are experts in this industry. Who wouldn't regard such experts as treasures in other businesses?" Zhang Xijun smiled slightly, opened the folding fan in his hand and waved it gently.

The weather wasn't even hot yet, but he was already using a folding fan, looking like a scholar. But then again, he was originally a scholar, so this was in line with his status as a scholar. However, Zhang Xijun had lost his scholar status a long time ago, and had become the second shopkeeper of Hengtong. He was dressed like a businessman, which made him look a little awkward.

"you mean……?"

With a snap, Zhang Xijun closed his folding fan and said with a smile, "This is easy. Why not start with the artisans, especially those in the garrisons? As far as I know, there are many artisans with good skills inherited from their ancestors in the garrisons. If we can recruit them, the current problem will not be a problem."

"However, it may be difficult for the company to recruit people from the garrison. It would be difficult for others to do the same. But I think that with your status, it should not be difficult to do this, so I suggest that you start from here. As long as the captain and commander of the garrison nod, it will be easy."

"Hahaha!" Zhu Shenzhui burst into laughter. He had to say that Zhang Xijun had a good angle to consider the problem. This was indeed a good idea.

"How is it?" Zhu Shenzhui asked Kang Youfu with a smile.

Kang Youfu bowed his hands and said admiringly: "Mr. Zhang is right. This matter can indeed be done. Thank you for troubling Master Liu..."

"Okay, it's settled. You go and inquire carefully first, and let me know when you're sure. I'll find someone to take care of the rest." Zhu Shenzhui agreed immediately. This was not a difficult task for him. As a member of the royal family, it was not difficult for him to use his connections to poach a few craftsmen from the garrison. It was just a matter of opening up some connections.

Besides, Zhu Shenzhu didn't need to do this himself. He could just let Zhu Minyu, Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Qiuqi, his uncle and nephew, do it. The three of them were the best candidates. They had proved their abilities when they messed with the Liu family last time. Moreover, the three of them were Zhu Shenzhu's same clan and were trustworthy. It would be more appropriate for them to do it than for him to do it directly.

(End of this chapter)