Chapter 41 Expansion

With the nourishment of whale meat, when the ship arrived in Hangzhou, all the people on board were rosy and radiant, which made the officials who received the ship doubt Zheng Jin. Are you sure that these people are really the disaster victims that the maritime merchant bought from Haizhou?

"Indeed!" Zheng Jin took out the identity deed with the official seal of Haizhou.

"It seems that the disaster in Haizhou is not serious." The official muttered and glanced at the group of people, roughly summed up the number, and asked Ling Qingyu to make arrangements on his own, and quickly make room for the second batch of food to be loaded.

"Do we have room for so many people?" Ling Qingyu asked Cai Jingfang who followed the officials.

"Two days ago, I saw that there was a weaving workshop and a dyeing workshop for sale, and the price was cheap, so I bought it on my own initiative. These people can live there first, but the place is a bit far away. I'm afraid it will take some time to walk there." Cai Jingfang said. With so many people, if they ran away along the way, it would be hard to chase them.

"Just run away, we only want those who are willing not to run away." Knowing what Cai Jingfang meant, Ling Qingyu said flatly.

"The head of the house, the yard by the West Lake, I have already asked someone to clean up a small yard, but I haven't had time to make so many furniture, and the rest are already being customized." Cai Jingfang looked at the people on the boat, and said: "The head of the house will also rest for a few days."

"Alright." Ling Qingyu nodded. This route is close to the coastline, and Ding Dong can handle it by himself. Her cabin was requisitioned by the officials. She is really uncomfortable on the ship these days.

"Master Zheng, when will the food be packed?" Ling Qingyu walked up to Zheng Jin and asked.

"It's estimated to take two days." Zheng Jingang confronted the officer who picked up the ship, and he also wanted to go back to rest and didn't want to set sail immediately.

"That's good. I want to send a few people to take these people to the workshop below. I won't be with the boat this time. I have already told them to follow the orders of the adults." Ling Qingyu made a bow and said with a smile.

"That's right, it's time for Master Ling to take a break. I just received a notice that it rained a little in the past two days, and the water level in the canal has recovered a bit. I have already traveled through the canal. I guess we can make two more trips." Zheng Jin said.

Let a few sailors take the five hundred people and the villagers to Longjing Mountain, while Ling Qingyu and Yan Sanyexi took the children to the Wujin compound by the West Lake.

It was only after arriving at the courtyard that Ling Qingyu understood what Cai Jingfang meant when he said five thousand taels was cheap.

There are not only five entrances, but two entrances from the south and five entrances from the north. The layout of the front yard is grand and open, the layout of the back yard is exquisite and elegant, and the winding corridors are deep and deep. However, it seems that no one has lived in it for a long time, and the doors and windows are all dilapidated. There are gardens between each yard, and the gardens are overgrown with weeds.

"This courtyard and garden covers an area of ​​about 30 mu, with a total of fifty-six buildings and eighty-eight bungalows." Cai Jingfang said proudly. This courtyard was originally the other courtyard of a high-ranking official in Beijing, but now that the family is in decline and no one lives here, the descendants of the high-ranking official wanted to sell this place, and because they were in a hurry to get money, he took it down at a low price.

Cai Jingfang took Ling Qingyu to a yard by the lake. This yard was already tidy, not as dilapidated and desolate as other yards, but it seemed that because of the tight schedule, there were still few furnishings in the house.

"Eleven, you take them to clean up your house." Ling Qingyu said to Ye Shiyi who was looking around curiously: "Let's get some sleep and see if there is anything to add tomorrow."

"Master, do you think you want to buy some more maids?" Cai Jingfang asked, Ling Qingyu is already so rich, if he still does everything by himself, it really doesn't fit his status.

"Don't be in a hurry, let's see how many of those people can reach Zhifang." Ling Qingyu only brought the children he bought, and the orphans that Yan San liked, and the other children went with the main force. Ling Qingyu also told the sailors who led the way to untie all their ropes. If someone wants to run on the road, there is no need to chase them, it just depends on how many people can be left behind.

"Xiaocai, you just bought the weaving workshop and the dyeing workshop?" Ling Qingyu found a chair and sat down, rubbed his neck, and asked. When she left, she left 50,000 taels for Cai Jingfang.

"Is my Xiaocai such an incompetent person?" Cai Jingfang patted his chest, took out his sandalwood abacus and account books, and said, "Look, there is a bookstore near Lin'an, the price has been negotiated, and the transfer of ownership will be completed in two days. The family needs cash, so I want to transfer it, but the price is relatively expensive, 30,000 taels of silver, which is up to you to decide. There is also a shop in the West Market. I think it is good for a silk shop. We already have a weaving workshop, and a silk shop can also do some local business."

Ling Qingyu nodded unconsciously. This Cai Jingfang is really a genius in business, with keen eyesight, precise judgment, ruthless execution, and excellent calculations. Before she left, she just gave him a general idea, so he could make a judgment based on it. Silk, porcelain, and books are the most popular in Fanwai. Most of the goods brought back from Fanwai are spices and medicinal materials, and restaurants have been the fastest place for news circulation since ancient times. Now that the family has a weaving workshop, a dyeing workshop, and a bookstore, the supply of goods to Fanwai can be guaranteed to a certain extent. Well, we should build a wine shop, which also makes money in Fanwai, which is a pity.

"I wanted to find a winery, but unfortunately the wine here in Hangzhou is very weak, not as strong as the ones in the north, and the brewers have their own secret recipes, so they won't bring it out. There are also fields. I have been looking for them these days, but Hangzhou is rich, and most of the fields for sale are one or two acres, which are too scattered. I have to wait. You gave 50,000 taels, and the money for this yard, spice shop, medicinal material shop, and a few scattered shops has already been paid. Near the weaving workshop and the dyeing workshop A total of 3,800 taels for 300 acres of mulberry forest, 1,000 taels for the bookstore, including the water source and river reeds next to it, and 58 taels for the renovation of the spice shop and medicine shop. The small courtyard we entered, totaled 800 taels. The total is 6,858 taels." Cai Jingfang snapped his abacus and said. When he was on board, Ling Qingyu gave him Arabic numerals and modern accounting methods, which made him more determined to follow her. What's more, Ling Qingyu also gave him 10% of the business and stores he was in charge of.

Looking at Cai Jingfang's abacus and bookkeeping, Ling Qingyu couldn't help feeling, sure enough, there are always geniuses! Cai Jingfang, who dared to go to sea with a tael or two, was really talented in arithmetic. Not only did he accept Arabic numerals and bookkeeping methods, he even had his own method for calculating sales profits. With such a person around, she can let him lay the foundation in Hangzhou, and take the boat out to sea by herself.

"If some of those people can be useful, weaving workshops and dyeing workshops can be opened as soon as possible, restaurants can be taken down, and silk shops can also be opened first. Xiaocai, so many shops open at the same time, you have a heavy burden." Ling Qingyu looked at Cai Jingfang and smiled.

"Don't be afraid, it's just the owner. The medicine shop and the spice shop are okay. We have our own goods here, and the profit is high, but the other shops, especially the restaurant, I'm afraid they can keep their losses for a while. They can't make much money." Cai Jingfang said with a slight frown. I can try to keep the original one, but it turned out that the restaurant belonged to a big family in Hangzhou, but the owner of the restaurant was promoted to the capital and took the whole family to Bianliang. Many guests of the restaurant went for the fame of the owner of the restaurant, and this is not easy to recover.

"The shop just opened, it was sold in the first half of the year, so don't worry about it. What's wrong with the restaurant?" Seeing Cai Jingfang's expression, Ling Qingyu asked.

Cai Jingfang pondered for a while, and then told the specific situation of the restaurant. Ling Qingyu understood immediately. Da Zhou Shangwen, romantic and talented people are even more respected. The beautiful scenery on the edge of the West Lake is the place that pays attention to celebrities and gentlemen. So the owner must be a celebrity, regardless of what kind of official he is. After all, it is a celebrity effect. This is indeed a bit difficult. Literati always look down on merchants, let alone female households. If it is said that this restaurant is opened by her, I'm afraid she won't come because of the reputation. No wonder Cai Jingfang was uncertain.

"Don't worry about this, take it down first, there is always a way." Ling Qingyu thought for a while and said. There aren't many restaurants with good locations, so it's better to occupy the latrine first. As for attracting customers, there is always a way.

"Well. The location is really good, surrounded by lakes, and the official road directly leads to the city, not too far away." Cai Jingfang nodded and said, he also thinks that if such a place is occupied, even if he doesn't open a restaurant in the future, and build a small study building for himself, it will be a treasure.

"Surrounded by lakes, building outside the building?" Ling Qingyu asked unconsciously. No way? Could it be the famous Louwailou, called Huaji's delicious Louwailou?

"Lou Wai Lou, that's a good name. Why don't we just use this name?" Cai Jingfang's eyes lit up. Although the restaurant's original name was elegant, it was very hard to remember. If you use Lou Wai Lou, the name is easy to remember, and it can also target some mid-level customers. Once he figured it out, Cai Jingfang said again with a smile on his face: "In this way, plus the remaining 29,000 taels in the restaurant, there are still 12,142 taels left."

"Well, you keep it for working capital. If you have some larger fields, you still need to buy some. Among the people brought back from Haizhou this time, there are quite a few literate and some teenagers," Ling Qingyu smiled wryly. Zheng Jin thought that those were going to be sold to the small mansion. They were looking for some handsome and beautiful teenagers, but they were all innocent. It's your own confidant."