Since the opening of Takeshi's two stores in the capital, by the middle of July of this year, the number of physical "Takeshi" stores in the vicinity of Bianliang had reached five. For many businessmen doing business in the capital, this was a speed of expansion that was difficult to reach. But as far as Ning Yi was concerned, the expansion in the first half of the year was steady and not very fast.
In a certain direction, the main force that Ning Yi was really controlling and expanding was not the five physical stores of Takeshi, but the batches of "salesmen" that were constantly sent to various states and counties. In February, Ning Yi took five disciples to Muyuan County as the starting point. Later, Ning Yi went to Jiangning, and then returned to the capital from Jiangning. The whole layout was constantly developing and operating.
In the first month or so, these salesmen did not bring too much outstanding performance. At most, they explored the surrounding areas. During the period of time that Ning Yi was in Jiangning, he recruited more than ten young people related to the Su family to train, and then led them to the capital. For Su Tan'er, she was not very clear about what her husband was doing. But after returning to the capital, everything began to expand rapidly.
In the research and development compound outside Bianliang, some of the small goods that Ning Yi had previously guided to produce were already mature. Perfume, soap, mosquito-repellent incense, toilet water, and other things began to appear one after another on the goods counters of Takeshi. And the "salesmen" who had only made mediocre results at the beginning suddenly had a large number of gains in just over ten days. The reason was that Ning Yi began to summarize a large number of goods needs, the government's policy bias, and other information for his subordinates to use.
Although the Wu dynasty in this era could be said to be the most economically developed period, generally speaking, it was still an agricultural society with closed information. Apart from some big cities and big families who had a large amount of information resources, many landlords in small and medium-sized places had a significantly lower sensitivity to information. For example, if a family just hoarded their grain at home, even if they wanted to sell it, they wouldn't be able to find a reliable buyer. A certain family planted cotton and supplied it to a certain merchant for a long period of time. The price basically did not change. One day, the merchant went bankrupt or died, and the cotton was sold to no one. There were also times when two parties doing business in a small place were haggling. One party didn't know the market price outside, and either bid too high or too low. In the end, they realized that they were stupid or had made a loss.
The adjustment effect of the so-called market economy in the future was based on the comparison of a large number of buyers and sellers. The adjustment effect now might exist, but it was not obvious. This was also the source of the huge gap between the rich and the poor in society. Of course, the idea of being an official was actually a kind of disguised buffer for the huge gap between the rich and the poor. When money reached a certain level, the significance was not that great. A landlord in a small place might save up for a lifetime, but the enjoyment and sense of superiority that he received were often not as much as if he had cultivated a scholar.
When Ning Yi first trained this batch of salesmen, he focused on how to make his words sound grand. At this time, he added more content. What goods were lacking in the capital recently, what were the prices in the vicinity, who was collecting them, if you wanted to sell something, where was the most affordable, how to transport the goods, how to collect taxes at the nearby checkpoints, how to get through the joints, which officials were honest, which ones needed money … and so on and so forth.
These information were given by Ning Yi in a targeted manner. His subordinates did not need to say too much. Just a little bit of information could more or less move the hearts of some rich people in the countryside. They might not believe it immediately, but after hearing this kind of information, it was reasonable for them to buy one or two bottles of exquisitely packaged perfume and make two sets of clothes from the Su family's cloth shop.
In May, the salesmen who were outside finally made their first intermediary business. One of the salesmen made a connection between a merchant and a landlord who was not far away, and thus settled a business deal. However, this was the first time he did this kind of thing, so he did not receive any commission. It was just that the two merchants bought a lot of his goods. Ning Yi actually gave him a reward for this.
At this time, in big cities such as Bianliang and Jiangning, there were actually people doing similar intermediary business. Most of them were idle people with many friends, helping to make connections and get a commission, but after all, they were not professionals. And part of Ning Yi's idea from the beginning was aimed at this.
In a few months, some other things also expanded and developed together with Takeshi. They complemented each other, extending horizontally and vertically like a spider web.
First, the elm cannon that stood out in February near Siping Hill had already been given by Ning Yi to Qin Siyuan. Although the safety performance was still worrying, and the manual production, operation, and firing all required experience and training, so the price-performance ratio was not high, but it could already be considered a good weapon. On the battlefield, it could at least play a role as a surprise weapon. Qin Siyuan transferred this firearm to the military manufacturing bureau for further research. At the same time, Ning Yi also maintained the legitimacy of privately improving the elm cannon.
Second, while managing the team that was sent out, Takeshi's business in the capital was also constantly expanding at an astonishing speed. For Ning Yi, the reason why it was considered stable development was that there was no lack of help from the Right Minister's residence, Qin Siyuan, Yao Zunian, Ji Kun, and others. In this originally society where relationships determined most things, these people more or less helped, plus the appearance of strange items such as coal stoves and perfume, and the introduction of exquisitely packaged fruit juices and canned quail eggs on the table, as well as Ning Yi's packaging methods, poems, and reputation. If the business did not do well, and the reputation was not big enough, then Ning Yi basically did not have to do anything.
Third, during the process of Takeshi's expansion, a portion of the Liangshan bandits that were originally imprisoned near Dulonggang had already completed their "training". After screening, they became Takeshi's employees and were integrated into the entire system. These people did not lack martial arts skills and ruthlessness, but at this time, they were completely different from when they were captured last year. Most of them were quiet, modest, respectful, and extremely concerned about the system and rules. Some of them even exuded the aura of an ascetic monk.
When Ning Yi decided to use them, he actually more or less made some precautions. During the daily break, he still let them gather together, either to exercise, or to arrange for people to give them lessons. They would also organize groups to help others, do good deeds, and supervise each other.
There were five Takeshi families inside and outside Bianliang. Some of these people were arranged to stay in the courtyard outside the city. Some of the people who were sent out were also arranged. Later, when they prepared to use carriages to transport Takeshi's goods around, the usual members were a salesman, a worker from the Su Family's cloth shop, a storyteller, and a worker who sold miscellaneous items to the poor, accompanied by two bodyguards.
The salesman was mainly responsible for visiting the rich families, and the worker from the cloth shop would follow them, ready to measure the other party's figure when selling clothes. The storyteller told stories in the village to attract the poor and children, and the worker who sold groceries would sell some cheap snacks, or cheap cloth, needles, and other things that each family needed. If someone needed it, naturally, there would also be things like toilet water and mosquito repellent incense for sale. The poor could not afford expensive things, and if they bought perfume and soap, most of them were for weddings. Such a combination subsequently became the standard.
Fourthly, when the disaster in the north and south began to worsen, Ning Yi controlled the expansion of Takeshi while participating in the Office of Secret Investigations' disaster relief plan. Although he was busy, basically, there were no delays on either side.
In terms of the overall situation, if it weren't for Ning Yi's contribution to the disaster relief plan and his ability to arrange personnel in an orderly manner, Qin Siyuan and the others might not have lent their influence to Ning Yi so easily. On the other hand, on Ning Yi's side, at least in Su Tan 'er's opinion, her husband was simply running on an iron chain that was constantly tightening. As a businessman, the rapid expansion of Takeshi was simply a pleasing art. But on the other hand, this kind of rapid expansion directly to the limit often made people feel worried.
In fact, before Ning Yi returned to Bianliang, Takeshi's third, fourth, and fifth stores had already been planned for Takeshi's third, fourth, and fifth stores. As the renovation of the third store began, the results of the courtyard outside the city were launched, and several specialized small workshops had also quickly taken shape. At the same time, Ning Yi summarized all kinds of information, commanded his subordinates in the field to do things, and quickly released the second batch of salesmen, and at the same time entered the third and fourth batch of training. During this period, there were other projects in the courtyard, and the summons of the Prime Minister's Residence for disaster relief.
In a few months, Ning Yi seemed to be simply like a machine of information induction and processing without limits. Su Tan 'er was a little confused as to why her husband still seemed to be doing it with ease.
The business that blossomed everywhere first absorbed a huge amount of funds. But just when the money invested by Ning Yi was about to reach the bottom, the trend of capital recovery had been constantly increasing, and the returned income was quickly invested into the expanding business. In a few months, everything turned into a madly expanding whirlpool.
Due to the unstable foundation, the original manpower reserve had begun to reach the bottom, and the recruitment and joining of new people often caused the system to become more unstable. If it were Su Tan 'er, she would most likely stop and take a look first. But it seemed that at least in this month, Ning Yi became more and more relaxed. He seemed to be enjoying the pleasure of walking on a tightrope, and he had no intention of stopping at all.
Li Pin did not know much about the rapid development of Takeshi. For her, what she knew was some rumors that spread out along with Takeshi's cart, and some news that spread in the forest after asking around. The conflict with Liangshan, the determination to kill the people of Liangshan, the name of the inner demon, and so on. That afternoon, under the guidance of the shopkeeper Takeshi, he met Ning Yi. When he walked into the courtyard of the Ning Family, some of the scenes he saw made him more worried.
Of course, when talking about the old days with Ning Yi, Li Pin still put away these thoughts in her mind. She smiled and talked to Ning Yi about her more than two years of experience as an official, and asked about the conflict between the Su family and Liangshan. Ning Yi was quite appreciative of Li Pin, and this meeting was considered a pleasant one. Soon, a name mentioned by Li Pin caught his attention.
"… When I went to Nanhewei County, I had the chance to meet Master Zong Rulin. Later, we exchanged letters and learned a lot … Master's knowledge and breadth of mind are beyond my reach. Unfortunately, he retired at the end of last year and returned to his hometown … He also offended someone. At that time, I'm afraid he was a little disheartened …"
"Zong Rulin … Master Zong Ze?"
"Yes, Liheng has also heard of his name, right?"
"I've heard of him, but I don't know the details."
"It's good that you don't know." Li Pin shook her head. "There are always some messy things …"
Perhaps thinking that this matter had little to do with Ning Yi, Li Pin didn't say more. After dinner together, Ning Yi saw Li Pin out. When they walked under the eaves, Li Pin sighed. "Liheng, do you know … the people are not living well."
He had been an official for nearly three years, and at this time, his sigh was quite heavy. After hearing this, Ning Yi didn't think much about it. After a moment, he nodded with a smile. Soon, the two made an appointment to meet at the Prime Minister's Mansion tomorrow, and Li Pin left with the servant and the advisor.
On the way back to Takeshi's room, the advisor named Judge Chen, who followed him, temporarily stayed and chatted with Li Pin for a while. Judge Chen was curious, so Li Pin more or less told him about the time when she met Ning Yi in Jiangning. After a moment, he also sighed.
"… At that time, I was quite impressed with Liheng's knowledge and insight. Although his sword is a bit unconventional, I, a scholar, can always stay on the right side … But in a flash, I haven't seen him for three years, and his path is far from what I expected … Alas, perhaps I was wrong, but what I saw today …"
At this point, he was somewhat embarrassed and didn't continue. That Judge Chen said, "According to what I saw today, this Takeshi and the Ning Mansion seem to have the air of a rich family … After all, he has the support of the Prime Minister's Mansion behind him, and he also keeps a lot of servants …"
"In fact, being a merchant is a small path. He originally married into a merchant family, and I think he wouldn't touch these things. But I didn't expect it to be like this … Although he avenged his family in the Jianghu disputes of Liangshan, later on, when things escalated to this point, I'm afraid his involvement with these people is getting deeper and deeper. Brother Chen is right. Walking the path of a merchant, chasing after false profits, climbing the ranks of officials, making friends with people, and keeping private servants, these are the actions of a rich family. With Liheng's ability, I'm not surprised that he could do these things. But rumor has it that Takeshi is still secretly collecting grain … Recently, with these natural and man-made disasters, he still took the opportunity to do such things. I really don't understand … "
That Judge Chen thought for a moment and couldn't help but say, "Boss, this kind of thing … it's better to stay out of it."
"How can that be?" Li Pin smiled and shook her head. "Perhaps I was wrong. These days, I have to see more clearly. As a gentleman, what we seek is to be open and aboveboard, with a clear conscience. If he has really gone astray, I must also advise him. With Liheng's talent, he really shouldn't waste his time on this kind of thing … Brother Chen, you know my character. You don't need to say more. Even if this matter offends someone, I should do it. "
Ning Yi and Qin Siyuan had a close relationship. Ning Yi had helped him to get what he wanted. If he really offended him, it was hard to say whether there would be trouble in the officialdom. But as a friend, Li Pin still decided to do his best to advise him. Of course, he also left room for himself to be wrong. He decided to wait and see in the next few days.
The next day, Li Pin first went to the Ministry of Personnel to report, and then went to the Prime Minister's Mansion to visit Qin Siyuan, still thinking about this matter. However, not long after, a piece of news somewhat diluted the mood brought about by this matter. Not long after Ning Yi came, Li Pin and he met Qin Siyuan. After a few words, an old man named Yao Zunian came in laughing, holding a report in his hand. He said excitedly, "Good news! Prime Minister! Liheng! Great news, hahahaha … "
Not long after, the entire Prime Minister's Mansion, the entire Bianliang City, and even the entire Wu dynasty shared this good news from the north. In comparison, everything else seemed insignificant.
In the north, the battle between Guo Yaoshi and Xiao Gan came to an end. Guo Yaoshi, who had planned before taking action, defeated Xiao Gan at Yaoshi Shop. After that, he pursued the victorious Lulong Ridge and killed more than half of the Great Xi Kingdom's army. This pursuit lasted for several days. Xiao Gan was intercepted by Guo Yaoshi's subordinates during his escape and was beheaded by a sword. On the stage of this era, another important star general fell. Guo Yaoshi finally completed the first real victory in the Wu dynasty's northern expedition.
When the news came, Xiao Gan's head was already on its way to the capital, and the Ever-Victorious Army was still on its way, expanding its victory.
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