Next, Sanniang told Zhou Zhong about the financial situation of the Chamber of Commerce in detail. In fact, Zhou Zhong had also expected it beforehand. Zhou Hai had even borrowed money from his family, so it was impossible for the Chamber of Commerce not to be in debt.

In fact, this is indeed the case. When Zhou Hai went to sea for the last time, the fleet he mobilized was quite large and carried a lot of goods. Many of the goods were mortgaged with the reputation of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, and the payment was not paid to the owner of the goods.

As a result, after Zhou Hai's accident, the cargo owners came to ask for debts one after another. Fortunately, Sanniang and the others tried their best to raise money, and the three of them took out all their personal money, and finally were able to pay off some of the urgent debts.

, the rest were some old customers from the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, and because of past friendship, they didn’t rush too much.

"The Chamber of Commerce is still burdened with a debt of nearly 20,000 taels. In the past, Uncle Tuo, Sun Tong, and I each shared some. With the current situation of the Chamber of Commerce, it may be difficult to pay off these debts in a short period of time." Sanniang

Finally, she added that she not only managed the chamber of commerce's shipyard, but also was in charge of the chamber's finances.

Zhou Zhong couldn't help but feel a headache when he heard this. If the soap making method belonged to him completely, then he would still be sure to pay off the debt in a short time. But now that the soap making method has been cooperated with the Xie family, he only has two shares.

I am afraid it will not be easy to make up 20,000 taels of silver from this business.

"Sanniang, what are the main profit points of the Chamber of Commerce now?" Zhou Zhong felt that if he wanted to pay off the debts of the Chamber of Commerce, he still had to rely on the profits generated by the Chamber of Commerce, so he wanted to hear about the operation methods of the Chamber of Commerce and see if there was any

Where you can improve.

"To my young master, the Chamber of Commerce now has three incomes. The first is the profit from smuggling. However, with the death of the master, most of the Chamber of Commerce's fleet has also been lost, leaving only the small fleet in Sun Tong's hands. Normally,

I can only run some odd jobs, and there is also a shipyard. Originally, this shipyard was mainly used to repair the ships of the Chamber of Commerce, and it also built some small boats. However, with the decline of the Chamber of Commerce's fleet, the shipyard's business has also been greatly affected."

When she said this, Sanniang couldn't help showing a somewhat lonely look on her face, but then she cheered up and said: "The last major income is the port. This is also the most profitable industry of the Chamber of Commerce at present. The entire Beigang is three points

One of the ports is controlled by our Nanyang Chamber of Commerce. Not only does it charge fees for the ships coming and going, but also the water and other supplies for these ships need to be purchased from our Chamber of Commerce. Every year, there is at least an income of tens of thousands of taels of silver.

."

When Zhou Zhong heard about the last port income, his frown finally relaxed a little, but he quickly thought that although the port income was rich, this income was almost dead, and there was very little room for growth, unless he had

We have the strength to take back the other two-thirds of the ports, but this is obviously impossible.

In addition to the port, there is no need to worry about the shipyard. This factory originally relied on the Chamber of Commerce. Now that the Chamber of Commerce has no ships and no money, the shipyard naturally has no business. Of course, it can also take work from outside, but it is difficult to see it in a short time.

Results. So Zhou Zhong thought about it and finally felt that if he wanted to repay the debt he had, he had to resort to smuggling.

However, when Zhou Zhong was thinking about how to make money, he saw a look of hesitation on the face of Sanniang next to him. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "My young master, Sanniang has a few words that you don't know whether to say or not?"

After hearing this, Zhou Chong raised his head in surprise, but then he smiled and said: "Sanniang, you're welcome. If you have anything to say, just say it. Also, Sanniang, you are my elder. Don't always call me Young Master's family in the future. It sounds awkward."

, you can just call me by my name Zhou Chong, or call me Wenda."

Hearing what Zhou Zhong said, Sanniang also smiled happily and said: "Okay, Sanniang, I will call you Wenda." After saying this, Sanniang paused for a moment, and then her face turned a little bit.

He said solemnly, "Wenda, you have already been admitted as a scholar at a young age. It can be said that you have a bright future. In contrast, maritime smuggling is very risky. If you are not careful, the owner may die. Your father is a living example.

So in my opinion, Wenda, you'd better stop meddling with the Chamber of Commerce's affairs, go back and study hard, and wait until you get a gold medal in a few years, that's what your father wants to see most!"

Sanniang had wanted to say these words to Zhou Zhong for a long time, but after a quick meeting the day before yesterday, she raided the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce last night. Although they were on the same boat at that time, because there was an outsider like Xie Lingyun, she also

It’s hard to say much, but now I finally have the opportunity to speak out.

After Zhou Zhong took over the Chamber of Commerce, the power in the hands of Sanniang and Uncle Tuo became smaller, so Sanniang's words to persuade Zhou Zhong to leave could easily cause misunderstandings by others. Fortunately, Zhou Zhong had known about Sanniang's relationship with his father.

Zhou Hai's relationship is extraordinary, and she also sincerely cares about him. This kind of care is similar to that of Aunt Wang, without any utilitarian overtones.

After hearing this, Zhou Chong smiled at Sanniang, then stood up and poured her a cup of tea himself, and then said: "Sanniang, I know you are doing it for my own good. As a junior, today I

Just tell you a few words from my heart!"

After Zhou Zhong said this, he sat back in his seat and sipped tea: "In the eyes of the world, the imperial examination is indeed a proper way to advance, but have you ever thought about it, Sanniang, that the imperial examination is held every three years?

There are hundreds of thousands of students participating, but the number of people who can best be named on the gold list is only two or three hundred. It is no exaggeration to say that the imperial examination is like thousands of troops trying to squeeze a single-plank bridge."

"But……"

Sanniang had already heard the meaning of Zhou Zhong's words and was about to refute, but was interrupted by Zhou Zhong: "I know what you want, Sanniang. It's just that I have little talent and passed the exam at a young age.

Are you a scholar?"

Hearing Zhou Zhong express his thoughts, Sanniang had no choice but to shut up and nodded.

But Zhou Zhong smiled and shook his head and said: "Sanniang, you think too simply. The officialdom is far darker than our smuggling. Talent and learning alone are not enough. For example, there are two talented celebrities in Suzhou.

One is Tang Yin and Tang Jieyuan. He was very high-spirited when he took part in the imperial examination and became Jieyuan in the provincial examination. However, due to a fight in the officialdom, he was innocently involved and his whole life was ruined. The second is Tang Jieyuan's good friend Mr. Zhishan, who is also a talented man.

He was younger than me when he passed the scholar examination, but what's the use? I'm almost 50 years old since I was young, and I'm still just a scholar, staying at home and feeling depressed."

Sanniang is from Ningbo, which is not far from Suzhou, so she has heard of the names of Tang Bohu and Zhu Zhishan. When Zhou Zhong used them as examples, she was speechless for a while, but in the end she still defended herself: "Tang Jieyuan

Mr. He Zhishan is just unlucky. Maybe Wenda, you will take the first place in the imperial examination next time."

Seeing that Sanniang still refused to give up, Zhou Zhong had no choice but to say again: "Sanniang, you have to admit that the imperial examination also involves luck. Moreover, Mr. Tang Jieyuan and Mr. Zhishan have bad luck, but who can be sure that my luck will be better than mine?"

How good are they? Moreover, in terms of talent and learning, I think I am far from the two of them, so naturally I have less confidence in the imperial examination."

"But...but..." Although Sanniang felt that what Zhou Zhong said was reasonable, she still felt a little unwilling.

At this time, Zhou Zhong had no choice but to take out his last trump card and said: "Okay, Sanniang, you don't have to worry too much. I have to stay in mourning for three years, so if I want to participate in the imperial examination, I have to wait at least five years.

I will try my best to put the business of the Chamber of Commerce on the right track in a while, and it will not be too late to study hard at that time."

Hearing what Zhou Zhong said, Sanniang could only nod. At this time, Zhou Zhong also hurriedly changed the topic and asked how the chamber of commerce's smuggling business was carried out. He wanted to understand the process and then think about it.

Wondering if there is a way to speed up profiting from smuggling.

Although Sanniang was not in charge of the smuggling fleet, she was in charge of the financial power of the Chamber of Commerce, so she was very clear about the smuggling process. After her detailed explanation, Zhou Zhong finally understood how smuggling was carried out in the Ming Dynasty.

Speaking of which, smuggling in the Ming Dynasty originated in the early Ming Dynasty. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang banned the sea, and even fishermen were prohibited from fishing in the sea. In the end, the lives of the people along the coast were miserable, and many uprisings even broke out. However, they were all soon destroyed.

The suppression went down.

Although the uprising was suppressed, the poverty of the coastal people still could not be solved. In the end, many coastal people had to brave the ban and go to the sea, driving small boats carrying some simple goods, and interacting with the Japanese who came to the coast of the Ming Dynasty.

Nanyang people and other people traded in exchange for some money. Later, as the imperial court relaxed its maritime ban policy, the scale of smuggling became larger and larger. It was not until the early years of Zhengde that this kind of smuggling finally reached a peak.

Although smuggling along the coast of Ming Dynasty has developed over the years, the mode of smuggling has not changed much. First of all, some merchants along the coast of Ming Dynasty have a large amount of commodities in their hands. These commodities cannot be digested by Ming Dynasty alone, so these people

Will contact smuggling merchants like the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and sell goods to them.

After the smuggling merchants agree on the price of the goods with the land-based merchants, they will send a fleet to pick up the goods at the place designated by the seller. The merchants will not pay the money to the other party until the goods are on the ship, and then the goods will be completely

It belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and has nothing to do with the original owner of the goods. All risks are borne by the smugglers themselves. The smugglers will then use their own fleets to transport the goods to places such as Nanyang, Japan, and North Korea to make huge profits.

It is the general process of smuggling.

But generally speaking, a smuggler will collect a lot of goods, and these goods cannot be sold at once. This requires a place to store the goods. In addition, the smuggler's fleet also needs a place to station and repair, so Shuangyu

Smuggling bases like Hong Kong also appeared.

It is also due to the emergence of smuggling bases that smuggling has become more and more diversified. For example, some land-based businessmen will directly organize their own small fleets and then transport the goods to Shuangyu Port for sale, so that the price will be higher than on land.

A lot. And this also provides convenience for some overseas smugglers, such as Japanese and Koreans. They do not have the network of contacts like the smugglers of the Ming Dynasty. It was difficult to receive goods before, but now some people take the initiative to sell goods. They

In other words, they can be bought directly and shipped to the country to make huge profits, which also attracts more Japanese and Koreans to take risks and participate in smuggling.

Originally, this smuggling model had been going on for many years without any problems. However, after Zhou Zhong carefully considered this model several times and compared it with the sales models he knew in later generations, he suddenly had an idea.
Chapter completed!