20demayo Chapter 2 Bean Paper Tycoon
Chapter 2 Bean Paper Tycoon
Dou'er Paper Mill wasn't expensive, costing only a few dozen taels per mill, and the fat mill leaders quickly bought up several mills.
There aren't many paper shops that sell bean paper, and none of them have any powerful backers. A few meals of tea and wine are all it takes to settle things.
The trouble started with the peddler:
In Xuanbeifang, there were a dozen or so peddlers who mainly sold bean paper, and they supported a lama named Pang Si.
If they don't receive payment for the goods, they will ask Pang Si to come and collect it.
Now that Fei Duan is trying to cut off the peddlers' livelihood, Pang Si naturally has to stand up for them.
"You son of a bitch, that scoundrel with rotten pants, that unfilial son who recognizes a bastard as his father!"
Pang Si and his peddlers stood beside a sweet water well and shouted to the neighbors who came and went to fetch water:
"In the past, they forcibly collected money, and now they want to control the bean paper business and sell bean paper at the price of mulberry bark paper!"
"This beast who cuts off people's livelihood, I, Pang Si, will fight him to the very end!"
The peddlers were escorting a fat laborer when Pang Si grabbed him by the collar and shouted:
"Go back and tell that spineless bastard, if he's got the guts, come and kill his grandfather Pang!"
There were many families in Xuanbeifang who were very dissatisfied with the collection of fertilizer money.
Now that Pang Si is leading the resistance, these families have also mustered their courage and are joining forces to resist Fei Duan:
The workers at the fertilizer depot were beaten, and the fertilizer barrels and carts were smashed.
The hundreds of bundles of bean paper stored in the Feiduan General Warehouse were ruined by Pang Si and his peddlers rushing in and soaking them in sewage.
This is no longer just empty talk; we must strike hard!
Zhang Kun, his face ashen, sat at the head of the table and coldly addressed the Duan leaders:
What are your thoughts?
The group of idiots looked at each other, and the one who had initially agreed with Zhang Kun, named Deng Wenqi, smiled wryly:
"Sixty-sixth Master, that Pang Si is a worthless wretch, a notorious tough guy who won't listen to either soft or hard tactics."
Unfortunately, one of his cousins had been taken as a concubine by the head constable of the Wanping County yamen, and despite repeated trips to and from the county government office, she wouldn't budge. This was a real problem!
The Embroidered Uniform Guards could not take the initiative to handle cases, and Pang Si had committed minor crimes that were punishable by caning or less.
Even if such minor crimes were caught by the Embroidered Uniform Guard during their investigation, they would be transferred to Wanping County or Daxing County for sentencing.
"Even if it's difficult, we have to get rid of him!"
Zhang Kun was silent for a moment, then spoke expressionlessly:
"I have an idea..."
In the evening, Pang Si walked drunkenly down the street.
At the banquet just now, the peddler and the neighbors praised him as a hero from a storytelling performance, which made him so happy that he drank several large bowls of liquor.
A thin man hurried past, clutching a bundle tightly in his arms.
As they reached the entrance of a side alley, the thin man suddenly fell to the ground, his bundle spilling out onto the ground.
Several small, white ingots rolled out of it, each weighing ten taels!
Pang Si stared wide-eyed at the thin man who was hurriedly putting away the silver ingots, a wicked thought rising in his heart.
He drew the short knife from his waist and followed the thin man into the alley.
Just then, several masked men rushed out from the shadows and attacked Pang Si with their weapons!
They were all leather whips studded with iron spikes, which lashed Pang Si until his skin was torn and his flesh was ripped open, causing him to scream in agony.
Someone came over with a bucket of manure and splashed Pang Si with filth that reeked of foul stench.
Pang Si, whose eyes were so dirty he couldn't see anything, was thrown into a roadside ditch by someone using a halberd.
The masked men packed up their weapons and left.
After a while, Pang Si, still cursing, climbed out of the ditch.
As curfew approached, he found a nearby well with bitter water, washed himself, and hurried home.
That night, Pang Si developed a high fever, fell ill and was bedridden. He died a few days later.
At the same time that Pang Si fell ill, many unpleasant things happened in Xuanbei Ward:
In some households, the roof of the outhouse suddenly collapsed, or firecrackers were thrown into the pit by the latrine, causing explosions everywhere.
Some houses have their doors and windows covered in filth, or overturned garbage bins and carts blocking the way.
Some families...
Zhang Kun ignored all these matters and went to the fertilizer field outside the city to watch how the fertilizer workers composted the fertilizer.
He didn't know anything about farming, nor had he memorized any formulas for fertilizers, but he had studied physics, chemistry, and biology.
Since composting relies on microorganisms, some old compost should be left to mix with new compost to speed up the composting process.
The fertilizer worker didn't know if Zhang Kun's "hometown secret recipe" would work; he only knew that Zhang Kun was in charge, so he just did as he was told.
With Pang Si dead, most of the peddlers and neighbors lost their courage to resist, and those who remained could hardly amount to anything.
Zhang Kun instructed Deng Wenqi to take in the honest peddler as his dog, while he would grab the troublemakers, beat them up, and then send them away with a few taels of silver.
In just a few days, Zhang Kun, backed by his eunuch godfather, successfully monopolized the bean paper business for tens of thousands of people in Xuanbeifang.
How many public toilets are there in Xuanbeifang?
Zhang Kun sat at the head of the table, grabbed the teapot, took a big gulp, and asked the Duan Tou men.
Deng Wenqi bowed as he stood up and respectfully said to Zhang Kun, "Sixty-sixth Master, our Xuanbei Ward has..."
There are no major rivers around the capital, and the groundwater is constantly polluted by humans and animals, which will make it salty and undrinkable within one or two hundred years.
The capitals of the Liao, Jin, Mongol Yuan, and Ming dynasties, including Nanjing, Zhongdu, Dadu, and Dadu, were all moved a few miles to some extent.
Among them, the city centers of Nanjing in the Liao Dynasty and Zhongdu in the Jin Dynasty were both located in Xuanbei Ward, where many temples and monasteries remain.
In order to attract pilgrims, these temples and monasteries have public toilets that do not charge fees, which has seriously distorted the public toilet market in Xuanbeifang.
Damn bald monk!
Zhang Kun cursed inwardly and gave instructions to the gang leaders:
"If there are spare spaces at the main warehouse and various branch warehouses, use them to build public toilets. Don't charge for them; just sell paper towels at the entrance."
"The paper is cheaper than buying it door-to-door, after all, we save on labor costs."
......
With the support of Chen Jizong, the head of the Southwest Police Bureau, Zhang Kun's night market business was exceptionally successful.
The soldiers of the Beijing Garrison who were able to serve in the patrol battalion were not poor and could afford a few or ten coins for a late-night snack.
Those with hereditary titles or official positions were even more capable of producing dozens or even hundreds of coins.
On average, the income is about three to five taels per night.
Heated shops at the west gate of Liulichang.
A copper pot was placed on a brazier, and sweet water from Yuquan Mountain was boiling inside.
Two large plates, each weighing three pounds, are filled with the best cuts of freshly slaughtered lamb, such as cucumber strips.
Use chopsticks to pick them up and cook them in the pot, then dip them in sesame sauce made with fermented bean curd and chive blossoms. They are fragrant and tender.
Another copper pot was brought over, with lamb skewers grilling on it, sprinkled with fine salt, fennel seeds, and ground pepper.
The liqueur called Lanlingchun is made with sorghum liquor as a base, infused with the aroma of Yizhou yellow pears and Juzhou osmanthus, and then sweetened with white sugar.
After eating half a jin (250ml) of liquor, Chen Jizong, his face flushed, complained to Zhang Kun:
"The garrison in the capital, murdered by those thieves, is no place fit for a human being! Your brother here..."
During the Wanli era, the Beijing garrison had been reduced to a mere presence stationed in the capital, and its treatment was extremely poor.
Without going to war, there is no chance to earn military merit.
Without guarding the border, there is no "three years without fault for promotion" for border garrison officers, nor is there the lucrative "anti-corruption farmland" for border officials.
There are still a bunch of dukes, marquises, and earls occupying positions above them, leaving no room for advancement.
Zhang Kun understood Chen Jizong's implied meaning and responded with hums and haws.
If you want me to introduce you to your eunuch godfather, you should at least offer something in return, right?
After another half-pound, Chen Jizong patted Zhang Kun on the shoulder and said:
"Brother, I heard you're still staying at an inn? I have a two-courtyard house in Liuxiang Alley..."
"Oh dear, Brother Chen, this is absolutely not right..."
Zhang Kun feigned reluctance for a few moments, then promised Chen Jizong:
"Rest assured, Brother Chen, I will certainly recommend a man of your caliber to my godfather!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jizong was overjoyed, grabbed Zhang Kun's arms with both hands, and grinned from ear to ear.
......
Land prices in the southern part of the city are indeed not high.
Liuxiang'er Hutong, west of Liulichang, is a two-courtyard house with more than 600 square meters, costing less than 50 taels of silver.
In later generations, the property prices in this area exceeded 10 yuan per square meter.
Even without considering later generations, when the Manchus drove all civilians other than the Manchus to the southern part of the city, this courtyard would cost at least 200 taels.
Zhang Kun moved in openly with the attendants assigned to him by the Zhang family, unafraid of being discovered by his eunuch godfather.
Having received Zhang Kun's promise, Chen Jizong became even more attentive to his night market business.
The shopkeepers of the 45 shops in Xuanbei Ward became much more respectful after seeing that Zhang Kun was able to handle the head of the police station.
Those who handle cases involving encroachment on streets, illegal construction, fire hooks and water buckets will be promptly notified and a small share of the profits will be given.
There's an advantage to Zhang Kun not getting the lion's share of this money: he doesn't have to worry about managing it.
As the month drew to a close, Deng Wenqi arrived at the courtyard with the account books and dividends, and sincerely agreed with Zhang Kun:
"Uncle Kun, your idea of selling bean paper is absolutely brilliant!"
The accountant has calculated that our income this month is 40% higher than last month!
In fact, the total income did not increase by 40%; Deng Wenqi deliberately did not include the income from selling fertilizer.
The costs of acquiring Douer Paper Mill and dealing with resistance from peddlers and neighbors were not even factored in.
To make the accounts look better, the editors added a lot of extras.
Of course, Zhang Kun's idea did work; otherwise, the writers wouldn't have voluntarily paid out of their own pockets.
"I just offered an idea; you guys did all the work."
Zhang Kun waved his hand, picked up the account book and flipped through it, while asking Deng Wenqi:
"How do you sell fertilizer? Do you lend money at exorbitant interest rates?"