Chapter 38 Land (III)
Xu Youlin complained first, which made Huo Chong very unhappy. But it was useless for the two of them to just get angry here. Huo Chong went out and took out the things he had made for more than two months and put them on the table. Xu Youlin just picked it up and looked at it for a while, without any surprise on his face.
Xu Youlin asked, not seeming to be impressed by the merchandise at all, "Is that all?"
Although it was indeed irritating that his products were looked down upon, Huo Chong also knew that his products were not worth raising prices. He had personally seen the exhibits at the Qing Dynasty porcelain exhibition, and those exquisite and perfect porcelains were extremely well made. Huo Chong's products could not be compared with those in terms of appearance and shape.
But now that he only had these in his hand, Huo Chong could only answer decisively: "Only these."
Xu Youlin sighed, "Ah... you did your best. What price do you want to sell it for?"
"It can't be cheaper than the pottery bowl." Huo Chong stated his bottom line.
"Ha!" Xu Youlin laughed out loud. "They want to buy this with the price of a pottery bowl, but I don't want to!"
Huo Chong stated his asking price, "This thing is not as good as porcelain, but it can't be lower than that glazed pottery bowl."
Xu Youlin was stunned for a moment, staring at Huo Chong for a moment before responding, "Of course."
"Brother Xu, if you sell at this price, what price are you prepared to buy at?"
Xu Youlin hesitated and changed the subject, "How many do you have?"
"We have made more than a hundred now. If you wait a few days, we can give you a few hundred more."
After stroking his chin for a while, Xu Youlin said, "I'll give you fifteen taels for one thousand colored glass cups."
According to Huo Chong's gradually accumulated experience, this price, converted into modern currency, is roughly the level of a two-dollar store. However, the quality of his stuff is indeed far inferior to that of a two-dollar store, so he can only accept it.
After talking about glassware, let's talk about wine. Xu Youlin took a sip, and his expression was still painful. But this time, there was actually a sense of approval in his pain.
After eating some noodles served by Huo Chong to calm down the alcohol, Xu Youlin sighed, "This wine is stronger than last time."
Huo Chong was about to raise the price when Xu Youlin said, "Three taels for one hundred kilograms. Give me one thousand kilograms first."
Xu Youlin was so straightforward, it seemed that he had found a market. Huo Chong sighed in his heart, but he didn't ask any more questions, just agreed.
I calculated the total price in my mind. I could earn 15 taels of silver by working overtime to produce glass cups these days. Zhu Erniu also had about 1,000 jin of wine, which was another 30 taels of silver. After a few months, I earned 45 taels of silver. It was hard to say whether this was a lot or a little.
After giving the money to Zhu Erniu, Huo Chong only earned a little over thirty-five taels...
"Brother Huo, I've been looking at this thing hanging around your neck for a long time. What is it?" Xu Youlin asked.
Huo Chong then noticed that the sunglasses were still hanging around his neck. He took them off and handed them to Xu Youlin, who put them on and tried them on, then ran out the door and looked up at the scorching sun.
After looking at it for a while, Xu Youlin returned to the house and asked, "How much is this?"
"This is not cheap." Huo Chong spent a lot of effort making the smoked lenses and didn't want to sell them at all.
Xu Youlin answered readily: "I know it's not cheap. Name a price."
"What do you want this for?" Huo Chong was surprised.
"We were walking on the river all day and it made us blind. This thing is useful."
Oh. As expected, there is a market only when there is demand. Huo Chong was happy. He had never been on a boat and had no impression of the reflection on the water. Although Huo Chong understood it immediately after Xu Youlin mentioned it, if Xu Youlin hadn't said it, Huo Chong would never have remembered such a use.
Considering the labor cost and the chance of firing relatively transparent colored glaze, Huo Chong said, "Two hundred coins."
"Brother Huo, you're not good at making shelves." Xu Youlin pointed out Huo Chong's problem directly.
Even though he knew what the other person said was right, Huo Chong was still very unhappy. Then he heard Xu Youlin continue to say: "Just sell me the lenses. A pair of lenses is 100 coins."
The price was indeed not high, but it was much higher than Huo Chong's other products. Huo Chong thought about it and finally gritted his teeth and agreed.
However, the lens reminded Huo Chong of something else. He went back and got an iron tray, and put a piece of solid alcohol on it.
Xu Youlin looked left and right, and even picked it up and smelled it, but he still couldn't figure out what it was. It wasn't until Huo Chong ignited the solid alcohol that Xu Youlin finally showed a look of surprise. Although he had seen things made by Huo Chong before, and had also been surprised, this was the first time that the Cao Gang leader was really shocked.
Watching the solid alcohol burning for a long time, Xu Youlin asked in surprise: "This thing won't go out?"
"How can it not be inextinguishable? It's just a little more resistant to burning." Huo Chong answered in a tone that was as unpretentious as possible, and he finally felt a little refreshed. The Qing Dynasty was indeed backward compared to industrial countries, but it was obviously not backward to the point of barbarism.
Solid alcohol is indeed a product that is ahead of its time, while other products are not shocking in this era. In fact, if you think about it, you can understand that if the Qing Dynasty was really extremely backward, there would be no similar handmade products that could compete with industrial products. The British would not be forced to use opium to make money from the Qing Dynasty.
Whether it was liquor, glassware, or even glasses, if they wanted to sell them, they could only rely on Huo Chong to find a market. Not having these things would not make life more difficult for people in 1717. But for people of this era, spending money to make their lives more convenient was something they had to think about carefully and repeatedly.
If we have to make a comparison, Japan's low-desire society is probably a bit similar to the Qing Dynasty in 1717.
When the solid alcohol was burned to only a few lumps, Xu Youlin asked, "How do you sell it?"
"Isn't one pound and one ounce too expensive?" Huo Chong asked.
"Haha!" Xu Youlin laughed, "One ounce and five pounds. How much do you have?"
"There is still a small piece left, about one or two taels." Huo Chong said with a smile.
Xu Youlin answered decisively: "I will buy ten kilograms first. I'll leave the silver to you. I'll come back to get it in a few days."
Perhaps because he was in a hurry to ship the goods, Xu Youlin only took the wine and more than a hundred wine cups, and led his men through Zhujia Village and walked back along the main road.
Zhu Erniu eagerly sent Xu Youlin away, and rubbed his hands to get close to Huo Chong. Without Zhu Erniu saying anything, Huo Chong immediately began to divide the money. Zhu Erniu was not greedy, and after taking five taels of silver, he happily praised Huo Chong for being straightforward and righteous.
Huo Chong also thought the price was worth it, so he talked to Zhu Erniu about the recent changes in the village. Zhu Erniu immediately boasted about how good his wine was and how he was highly regarded by people in the village. He even got more excited while boasting, and slapped the money bag on the table, "Whoever dares to look down on me, I will slap this money in his face. Have those people ever had five taels of silver in their lives! Ah!"
Seeing Zhu Erniu's expression, Huo Chong also felt very happy. A happy partner means that the next cooperation will be smoother. However, looking at Zhu Erniu's expression, Huo Chong was a little worried that he would be too happy and end up in sorrow. So he said, "Second brother. I want to ask you, didn't you make vinegar before?"
"Ah... yes." Zhu Erniu lost his arrogance immediately. It seemed that his experience of making vinegar was not satisfactory. But Zhu Erniu straightened his chest and said, "Brother Huo, my vinegar is a little sour."
"Really? Then second brother, brew me 20 kilograms of the sourest kind first."
"Are you making fun of me?" Zhu Erniu was angry.
"Brother, we have worked together so many times, and I have never joked about this before. I just want the sourest vinegar, the best is to be so sour that you can't drink it."
Zhu Erniu was stunned. It was obvious that he didn't understand what Huo Chong wanted to do, but he knew that Huo Chong was not joking.
Huo Chong finally convinced Zhu Erniu to do it, and then he went home. When he arrived at the entrance of the village, he saw someone running towards the village. From the back, he saw that it was Liu Laowu's people. When Huo Chong got home, he took out the account book and the IOUs inside.
I have counted it before, and now I am looking at the list. Before Uncle Liu ran away, he really tried his best to raise money, and he raised two sums of money. Looking at the date, Huo Chong guessed that the first sum was the one that caused the death of the former senior brother Li Xiunian. The money that time was an unsecured loan. Uncle Liu directly borrowed money from more than a dozen people in three villages, namely Liujia Village, Zhujia Village, and Lijia Village. The total amount was fifty-six taels.
The second payment should be after the accident. No one knows what Uncle Liu's purpose is. He mortgaged more than ten acres of contiguous land and more than ten acres of scattered land. He borrowed another thirty taels from the rich families in Liujia Village at the price of one tael per acre.
Liu Laowu did not disappoint Huo Chong. He had just taken out these things and looked at them again when the door was slammed loudly. Huo Chong called his fellow apprentices to open the door. Liu Laowu did not dare to move forward this time. When the young man who knocked on the door saw Huo Chong coming out, he immediately ran back to the crowd.
"Huo Chong, I see you sold some things again. It's time to pay back the money!" Liu Laowu shouted at the top of his voice.
Huo Chong originally thought that Liu Laowu was very hateful, but today, when he saw that Zhu Erniu, who had always been quite depressed, got five taels of silver and dared to make a fuss and slap the silver on the face of the person who looked down on him, Huo Chong seemed to think that Liu Laowu was not just being unreasonable.
Everyone is not a fool, and Uncle Liu did use a little trick to get out of this. But didn't Liu Laowu and other people who lent money to Uncle Liu have any suspicion? Huo Chong didn't quite believe it.
Seeing Liu Laowu still jumping, Huo Chong turned to Tie Niu and said, "Old Third, move a table out."
Soon, the table was placed at the door. Huo Chong shouted to Liu Laowu, "Did you get the receipt?"
Liu Laowu was stunned, probably because he didn't expect Huo Chong to be so straightforward. After hesitating for a moment, he shouted, "You really want to pay back the money?"
"If you don't pay me back, why am I asking this?" Huo Chong continued to scold Liu Laowu. Unexpectedly, Liu Laowu immediately turned around and sent someone away after hearing this. Then, he approached the table under the protection of everyone.
"Are you trying to rob me?" Huo Chong said as he touched the short stick at his waist.
Although Liu Laowu showed fear, he asked his men to stand back and then shouted, "You ask your men to stand back too!"
So, Huo Chong, Liu Laowu and the gangster sat on both sides of the table to discuss something.
