My father-in-law is Kangxi

Chapter 1917 Exchange (rolling around asking for monthly tickets)

The Third Prince was talking to the Fourth Prince, begging him for help: "My wife is like a madman right now, she wants to turn our house into a pharmacy. Medicine is expensive in the capital, and the money spent on buying herbs has been flowing like water in the past few months. It is not easy to send people out of the capital to buy them. You will be accompanying me this time, passing through Hangzhou, please help the Third Brother and buy some herbs back..."

Hangzhou is a strategic intersection of waterways and has one of the largest medicinal materials markets in Jiangnan.

It's just a simple task and it doesn't take much effort.

The Fourth Prince agreed, but said, "After all, they are bodyguards, and they are traveling by water. The warehouses are fixed, and it would be inconvenient if there are too many."

Since he has gone to Jiangnan, he also needs to buy things here, which will take up space.

The Third Prince took out a leaflet and said, "It's not much, it's not enough, and it can't be eaten as a meal. After a few years, the medicinal effect will be gone. It's enough to store a few kilograms of each."

The Fourth Prince took the leaflet and was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

There are hundreds of medicinal materials, the most is ten kilograms, and the least is only two or three kilograms.

Is it worth buying such small quantities from thousands of miles away?
Even if there is a price difference between the north and the south, how much money can the difference be?
A few dozen taels of silver is the most he can offer. It's worth asking for it.

The Third Prince coughed lightly and said, "A little bit of everything makes a lot of money. The salary is fixed, but the expenses are the bulk. It's better to save as much as possible."

Since the Fourth Prince agreed to help, he didn't say anything more and took the leaflet.

After the Third Prince finished something, he left the Fourth Prince and ran to the Ninth Prince.

"Old Nine, Old Nine, please help Third Brother..."

He had a flattering look on his face and spoke straight to the point.

The Ninth Prince took a step back, looked at the Third Prince and shook his head, saying, "My brother is not capable enough, how can he help you? You should ask others for help!"

It's OK to help other brothers, and you can get a favor in return; but helping this brother requires money, and it's not easy to get the favor.

Third Prince: “…”

The Tenth Prince stood there motionless.

The other young princes had no intention of avoiding it either.

The Third Prince laughed and said, "I haven't even said anything about being helpful yet, Old Nine, you really are..."

The Ninth Prince had just seen the general situation of the conversation between the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince, and also saw the Third Prince taking out the folded leaflet.

I'm about to go out, and I'm asking for help at this time?

What else can I do besides helping to carry things?
Jiangnan is prosperous, and Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing along the way are all beautiful places with more complete products than the capital.

I have a lot of things to buy for my own home, and I don’t want to take on this.

The Ninth Prince said in a somewhat rogue manner: "I am lazy and useless, and I can't help much. Third Brother, you insist on ordering me around. That's just embarrassing me. You don't care about your brother..."

The Third Prince also heard it and shook his head, "Don't worry, I'm not ordering you around, I just wanted to tell you..."

At this point, he looked at his brothers who were watching the fun and could not continue. He pulled the Ninth Prince to the side a few steps and whispered, "I am in the Ministry of Rites now. The interpersonal relationships between colleagues in this government office are mostly elegant. I was thinking, can I tell you that for my birthday gift in February, can I get two boxes of Changhua stones, nothing else?"

His birthday is February 20th.

Even if the Ninth Prince is not in the capital, this gift must be complete and cannot be missing.

The Ninth Prince grinned when he heard this and said, "How dare you! You even want to give me a discount? If you want to use Changhua stones as a gift, just buy a few boxes."

The Third Prince looked at the Ninth Prince with resentment in his eyes and said, "The two shops selling Changhua stones in the capital are both yours. In the past five years, the price has increased tenfold. The 'Plum Blossom Blood' that used to cost tens or hundreds of coins now costs more than ten taels of silver!"

The Ninth Prince listened with a proud look on his face, and said, "Things are valuable because they are rare. Nowadays, only a few hundred Changhua stone seals are released in the capital every year, and the top-quality ones are even fewer. It's not a loss to buy them with a dozen taels of silver. The sooner you buy, the sooner you get them. In a few years, you may get dozens of taels! Besides, you want to use it as a gift. Can a gift of a few hundred coins be the same as a gift of a dozen taels of silver?"

The investment in this deal was not much, but the subsequent profits were very considerable.

Originally, the Ninth Prince planned to raise the price of Changhua stone over a period of three years to make some quick money.

Later, when he saw the price of Changhua stone rising, he couldn't bear to part with it, so he started to slow down the price. As a result, the price rose even faster and the profit was even greater.

According to his current selling method, the raw stones he has in stock can be sold for decades.

Don't underestimate these stones. The income from them alone is enough to equal that of several imperial farms.

In a few years, the annual income from Changhua stone will be enough to pay tribute to the palace.

The Ninth Prince did not indulge the Third Prince, and said, "You also know that a seal has risen to more than ten taels. Your box of two pieces must cost at least twenty pieces. A birthday gift is several hundred taels of silver. For a birthday, the standard birthday gift is only about a hundred taels..."

The Third Prince was very lucky and said, "Am I someone else? Why can't you use the selling price to calculate it instead of the cost?"

The Ninth Prince shook his head and said, "How do we calculate the cost? The price of the ore only accounts for a part of it. The transportation from Jiangnan to the capital, and the carving skills of the retired master craftsman from the Imperial Household Department, account for almost 80% of the selling price..."

The Third Prince laughed in anger and said, "Do you think I don't have a shop? Whose shop only adds 25% to the cost? The selling price five years ago is there. The price you paid for the ore is at most 20% or 30% of the selling price. Do you still need to calculate the cost?"

The Ninth Prince curled his lips and said, "You understand why I am not willing to break a Changhua stone as a birthday gift for you, right? I am obviously losing money. If I keep it and sell it in the shop, I can make a few hundred taels of silver. But if I give it to you, you are taking advantage of me and still acting ungrateful. If you calculate it based on the cost, you must be muttering in your heart that I am taking advantage of you by using a stone as a birthday gift!"

Third Prince: “…”

After all, we have been brothers for more than 20 years, who doesn’t know each other?
What Lao Jiu said really touched my heart.

The Third Prince knew that this plan would not work.

He reluctantly said, "Then I'll give two boxes to my brother according to the cost you mentioned..."

At this point, thinking about the fact that the price of Changhua stone seals has been rising every year, but the interpersonal relations in the officialdom are indispensable, and he also wants to stock up a few more, he changed his words and said, "Four boxes!"

The officials in the Ministry of Rites were all noble and elegant, and the things that could be given as gifts were just a few items from the study.

The material of the seal is small, and the one that costs more than ten taels of silver is considered top-quality. But if it is exchanged for an inkstone or something like that, the one at this price is a bit embarrassing.

Seeing the painful look on Third Prince's face, Ninth Prince laughed out loud.

But he also knew that it was not easy to take advantage of this.

The Third Prince is a nagging guy. If I take advantage of him once, he will keep complaining about it for three years.

Besides, it wouldn’t sound good if it were said out loud.

It was as if he didn't care about his relatives and was determined to make money from his brother's pocket.

But if the Ninth Prince were to give it directly, he would not be willing to suffer a loss.

The way Third Prince behaves, if he is allowed to take advantage once, he will do it again.

Besides, there are so many brothers and sisters. If this precedent is set, if he takes advantage of this today and another one takes advantage of other things tomorrow, then he will lose a lot.

A horse is given as a favor; in business, one should not spare a needle.

He said, "My family doesn't have a cloth shop or a silk shop, but my third brother's family has both. Why don't we just fold the cloth?"

Cloth and silk are also a big part of the expenses of the Beile Mansion.

From the master to the servants, everyone has to add clothes all year round.

The masters had their clothes tailored by needleworkers, while the servants received the cloth and silk directly.

After hearing this, the Third Prince's eyes lit up and he said, "Okay, okay, fold the cloth, fold the cloth..."

At this point, his eyes wandered a little as he said, "Then I will also calculate it at 80% of the selling price..."

The Ninth Prince said generously: "It's all up to you. Whatever is convenient for you, do it."

The Third Prince felt that he had gotten a good deal, and said with a smile: "Then brother, please change a few more boxes, so that we don't have to bother changing them later!"

The Ninth Prince thought about it and decided to set a limit. He said, "Now I will release 40 boxes every year, 20 boxes of which are ready-made materials and 20 boxes of white materials. If I give you too many, the shop won't have enough to sell. I will give you a maximum of five boxes of each..."

All literati have some elegant hobbies.

Some people like white material and carve it themselves.

After hearing this, the Third Prince thought about the rising price of his favorite "Plum Blossom Blood" in recent years, which has increased by several percent every year.

Lao Jiu holds a warehouse of ore, but is only willing to release these printing materials, in order to hoard the goods and make a profit.

If you want to change it next year, the price won’t be the same.

The Third Prince gritted his teeth and said, "Brother finally opened his mouth. Don't ask for five boxes of each item. Ten boxes, ten boxes of each item!"

The Ninth Prince looked at the Third Prince with some surprise, and said, "What's the point of using up thousands of taels of silver? You can still stay in the Ministry of Rites forever, maybe in two years it will be the turn of other ministries!"

The Third Prince said, "Not only the officials of the Ministry of Rites use this to pay respects, but also the Jinshi officials recognize it, elegant..."

The Ninth Prince was somewhat reluctant to listen and said, "That's too much. If you stock up a few more boxes, my brother will lose a few hundred taels of silver."

The Third Prince also felt that he had gotten a great deal, and said with a smile: "It's all settled, so stop nagging. I'm not going to keep changing with you..."

(End of this chapter)