Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Qianye workshop (1)

Translator: 549690339

“It’s not expensive, but it’s hard for us to come up with three hundred thousand taels in a short time. ” Tang Wen said. “Of course it’s not expensive. If it was two years ago, it would have cost at least five hundred thousand taels of silver to buy qianye workshop. It was because the workshop was located in a good location, close to the bustling Jingluo Street of Yanling. The boss’s surname was Li, Li Dawang. In addition to qianye workshop, they have also opened many shops in Yanling. ” Bu Feng said with a nod. “The Li family’s shop’s business is probably not that good, right?” Tang Wen said. “Old master is still the best, you guessed it right. That’s right, the Li family’s business in tea leaves and other small things was indeed not very good. The main reason was that other shops also had these, and the competition was very fierce. Moreover, the things in the Li’s shop were not special. Recently, he had actually been reselling mirror perfume from Li Chun ‘er of the wafting fragrance brothel. However, that thing was expensive to begin with. A mirror cost one tael of gold, and after being resold by the Li family’s shop, a mirror would cost two taels of gold. It’s too expensive, so naturally, not many people can afford it. ” Bu Feng said. “Two taels? how dare he raise the price so high?” Tang Wen was stunned. “That’s right. It’s doubled. Who would buy it?” Bu Feng said with a nod. “No! You’re wrong. ” Tang Wen shook his head. “Wrong? where did I go wrong?” Bu Feng asked. “Although it’s not easy to sell that thing if the price is raised, I think we can still sell a part of it. I’m thinking that he probably doesn’t have any. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to raise the price so high. ” Tang Wen said. “Could it be that Li Chun ‘er raised the price on her own?” Bu Feng said, startled. “It’s possible! For example, if li Dawang took goods from Li Chun ‘er and a mirror cost one tael and five maces of gold, he had to raise it to two taels a mirror. ” Tang Wen nodded. “This Li Chun ‘er is too gutsy. How dare she lie to you, Lord Jue. We don’t have to give her the next batch of goods.” Bu Feng’s killing intent instantly surged. “Of course, we still have to find out more about this. How about this, I’m not busy these two days. Let’s set off for Yanling County now and take a look at qianye workshop on the way. ” Tang Wen said. Therefore, Qiao Xiao picked a few guards to accompany Tang Wen to Yanling city. After arriving at Yanling, GE Zi Yun and bu Feng sent Tang Wen out to gather information. Although bu Feng was good, he did not know many words and was not as well – versed as GE Zi Yun. Tang Wen was considering sending GE Ziyun to Yanling. However, GE Ziyun needed to manage the accounts on SuMei Island, so he couldn’t leave for the time being. In the evening, Tang Wen brought Qiao Xiao to the wafting fragrance restaurant. Seeing Tang Wen, Li Chun ‘er personally welcomed him to the backyard, which was her territory. It was an independent small courtyard. Of course, it was not very big. Including the empty space outside the courtyard, it was about a hundred square meters. “Not bad, you’re rich, aren’t you? Otherwise, why would the brothel Madame be willing to give you a small courtyard?” Tang Wen said with a smile as he walked. “She dared not to give it to me. Otherwise, I won’t give her any more.” Li Chun ‘er smiled smugly. “Even the brothel keeper has to beg you. Hehe, Li Chun ‘er, with such a quick – witted brain, it’ll be a pity if you don’t go into business.” Tang Wen joked. “This is her territory, after all. I have to give her some of the money I earn. For example, I have to use her underlings. Otherwise, it won’t work. Of course, this is all given to us by you, young master Tang. Chun ‘er is extremely grateful. ” Li Chun ‘er bowed and said. “So, you have no choice but to increase the price of the goods? For example, the mirror is sold for one tael and five coins?” Tang Wen suddenly pulled a long face and looked at Li Chun ‘er. “I didn ‘t, Lord Jue. How would I dare to mess around with the things you’ve instructed me to do? Aren’t you going to skin this servant alive?” Li Chun ‘er’s face turned pale and she knelt down. “No, I heard that li Dawang from qianye workshop raised the price of a mirror to two taels of gold. Although he could earn more this way, it would be disadvantageous in the long run. If you ruin my business, do you know your crime?” Tang Wen looked at Li Chun ‘er coldly and said. “I really don’t have a Lord. I understand what you’re saying now. Li Dawang didn’t take the goods from me, but from another sister. My sisters saw that mirror lipsticks could make money, so they all asked me for goods. They then changed hands, and a mirror became one or two taels. And Li Dawang might have sold it a second or third time, so the price was getting higher and higher. Even so, the goods you gave me have been sold out. I was just about to send someone to somi Island to inform you and ask Lord Jue to come and settle the bill. ” Li Chun ‘er said. “It’s finished so quickly. The second batch of goods is quite a lot. Can Yanling city eat so many goods?” Tang Wen didn’t believe it at all. “Not in Yanling city. Some time ago, I met the old master’s employer, Shen Xihe. This man is quite famous in Jiangzhou, the provincial capital. He has more than a hundred shops selling antiques and Jade. Every time he came to Yanling, he would come to me to book the night. When he found the mirror, lipstick, and perfume in the room, he was immediately curious. After that, he took a small batch back to the provincial capital. In the end, they were all robbed in just a few days. Therefore, I quickly came to Yanling. Just a few days ago, he came and took away all the goods in my hands. Therefore, Yanling city is out of stock. ” Li Chun ‘er said. She opened the cabinet, took out the accounts and gold, and said,”this batch of goods was sold for a total of seven hundred and eighty – five taels of gold. Please take a look, Lord Jue.” “Yes, I want to know more about you. If you dare to lie to me, I won’t give you the next batch of goods. ” Tang Wen nodded and gave her the silver notes, which were worth thousands of taels of silver. “Lord Jue, you are Chun ‘er’s benefactor, and Chun’ er has also earned quite a bit, so how would I dare to deceive you? If Chun ‘er lies, my entire family will die, and I will have no descendants. ” Li Chun ‘er knelt down and swore. Recently, he had earned more than a thousand taels of silver from Tang Wen, which was more than what he had earned from receiving customers. After all, in the famine year, Li Chun ‘er’s night fee was 15 or 16 taels, so there were naturally fewer customers. The money she earned from receiving customers was not even as much as Tang Wen’s Commission. Therefore, in Li Chun ‘er’s eyes, Tang Wen was a God of Fortune. If the next batch of goods wasn’t given to her, the duck that was already in her mouth would fly away. Li Chun ‘er had already tasted the sweetness of it, so she was naturally scared. “Alright, I’ll decide whether to continue supplying you after I understand it clearly.” Tang Wen nodded and stood up. “Master, Chun ‘er is dirty and doesn’t dare to serve you. However, I still need to quickly understand it. ” Li Chun ‘er said. The next morning, Tang Wen and Qiao Xiao went to the qianye workshop accompanied by bu Feng. The person in charge of receiving Tang Wen was the Li family’s second Butler, Wu Nong. Qiao Xiao suddenly frowned, but he didn’t say anything. Tang Wen found that the thousand leaves workshop was indeed big. In addition to the dilapidated work shed, there was also a house that occupied three acres. It was a two – story building made of brick and wood, but it was quite old. There were also rows of dilapidated bungalows on the side, and the ground was covered with thick straw. There were also some tattered bamboo mats on the straw, probably for the workers to live in. There were no less than three hundred rooms. “Steward Wu, you used to have a lot of laborers here, right?” Tang Wen asked. “Of course, we don’t just weave here, we also dye. There were also other workshops, such as weaving straw mats and bamboo mats. In fact, there were even workshops for smelting ironware. At their peak, they had more than 800 craftsmen, and at that time, they could produce many rolls of cloth a day. Thousand leaves workshop’s cloth is not only used sparingly, but also sold to the neighboring provinces. ” Wu Nong replied. “Where are the workers now?” Tang Wen’s heart skipped a beat and he asked. “They stopped work more than ten days ago. Furthermore, they dispersed after cleaning up the cloth and so on.” Wu Nong said. “Let’s go. I heard that your boss still owes them a lot of money? Don’t they want it?” Tang Wen asked. “Of course, it’s impossible for them to not want it. However, the owner doesn’t have any money now. Therefore, he was in a hurry to sell the workshop to them for money. However, the amount was a little too large, and it was difficult to sell it at the moment. Otherwise, the owner wouldn’t have sold it for three hundred thousand taels. ” Wu Nong said. “Hehe, I’ve heard that those craftsmen even caused trouble and surrounded your boss’s residence. In the end, your boss gave everyone a bucket of rice before the matter settled down. ” GE Zi Yun said with a smile. “It’s all the Tang Army’s doing! That unruly man almost angered the boss to death. However, now that he’s been caught and thrown into prison, it’s really satisfying. ” Wu Nong cursed. “How much money do you owe the workers?” Tang Wen asked. “Tens of thousands of taels.” Wu Nong said. “How many workers are there now?” Tang Wen asked. “More than 500 points.” Wu Nong replied. “How about this, I want to see your boss tomorrow and have a detailed chat.” Tang Wen said. “Alright, I’ll go back and report to my boss.” Wu Nong nodded. After he came out, Qiao Xiao leaned over and said in a low voice,”old master, there seems to be a problem.” “What’s the problem?” Tang Wen asked.