Yu San didn't have a name, or rather, his name was Yu San.
He was sold to the Yu Residence as a servant at a young age. At first, he only did odd jobs such as cleaning buckets and pouring night incense. Later, because he was quick-witted, he caught the eye of a steward and was allowed to leave the residence. He became a shop assistant in the family's shop and his days were much more comfortable than before.
A few days ago, due to his outstanding performance, he was promoted from a shop assistant to the shopkeeper of the shop. It could be said that he stood at the highest point of his life.
The Yu Family had been in the paper shop business for decades. The paper produced by the family could be used to supply the imperial court and the common people. It was quite popular throughout the Jing Kingdom. Therefore, the Yu Family's shop in the capital was usually filled with customers. Most of the time, he was busy from morning to night.
Yu San looked up and saw someone walking in. He immediately walked out and said with a smile, "Shopkeeper Ma, business has been good recently. I just ordered a batch yesterday and you're here to order again today?"
Shopkeeper Ma was in the picture book business and had always used the Yu Family's paper. Occasionally, they would give him a few wonderful picture books to comfort him on lonely nights.
Shopkeeper Ma revealed an awkward expression and said, "To tell you the truth, I'm here today to return the goods."
"Return goods?" Yu San looked at him in surprise and asked, "Is there something wrong with the quality of the goods? Shopkeeper Ma, don't worry. If that's the case, we can still exchange the goods after we verify it."
"No, it's …" Shopkeeper Ma looked awkward and stammered for a while before saying, "There are a few new paper shops in the city. The quality of the paper is of high quality and the price is less than ten percent of the same quality here. That's why I'm here today …"
Businessmen weren't fools. If they could buy better quality goods at a lower price, there was no need to think about what to choose.
"New paper shops?" Yu San was startled at first, thinking that it was a malicious scheme by one of his competitors. But before he could question it, footsteps came from outside the door again.
A moment later, Yu San looked at the people standing in front of him with a vigilant expression, "Are you all here to return the goods?"
…
Just as Yu San rushed out of the shop and ran madly toward the Yu Family, Yu Dingfeng's expression changed drastically in the Yu Mansion.
"What did you say?" The Yu Family's Patriarch, who was discussing important matters with someone from the Cui Family, suddenly stood up and grabbed the servant's collar, asking, "You mean, there's someone selling paper outside that's of better quality than the Yu Family's, and the price is less than a tenth of ours?"
The servant's voice trembled, "Reporting to Patriarch … there are several shops in the capital that have returned goods and there are a long queue …"
Yu Dingfeng let go of his collar and forced himself to calm down. He asked, "Have you found out who the people behind these shops are? And what kind of paper is that?"
If this was just a competitor's malicious suppression, then it would be fine. However, he knew better than anyone how high the cost of papermaking was. The higher the quality, the higher the cost. If he sold it at a low price, he wouldn't even be able to recoup the cost. Naturally, it wouldn't last long.
If it was just a malicious suppression by a competitor, it would be fine. He knew better than anyone else how high the cost of making paper was. The higher the quality, the higher the cost. If they sold it at a low price, they wouldn't be able to recover the cost. Naturally, they wouldn't be able to last long.
What's more, in order to let the Academy buy more paper at a high price so that they could profit from it, the Yu family … had invested all their money and hoarded a large amount of goods. If, and only if, there was a cheap and high-quality paper on the market, causing no one to be willing to buy the Yu family's paper, then the Yu family would really be at the end of their rope.
"I can't find out their background …" The servant looked at Yu Dingfeng and whispered, "I've sent someone to check the quality of the paper. It's indeed of high quality and has never appeared on the market before."
Before the servant finished speaking, the voice of the man surnamed Cui came over.
"Brother Yu, Brother Yu, what's wrong with you … Brother Yu, Brother Yu, wake up!"
After Yu Dingfeng's philtrum was pinched by the man surnamed Cui, he slowly regained consciousness. Only then did he feel a chill on his back, his countenance was even paler. "Go, send someone to the Princess Mansion," he said, "No, no, prepare the carriage, quickly prepare the carriage, I will go personally!"
Although the Eldest Princess had always lived deep in the palace, the princes and princesses could open a mansion outside the palace after they came of age. This time, the Academy's supply of paper had always been communicated with the Yu family by the people of the Princess's Mansion.
Yu Dingfeng urged the coachman all the way. He didn't care if the imperial censor would see him driving the carriage around in the capital. He hurriedly got off the carriage when they arrived in front of the Princess's Mansion.
After being brought into the Princess's Mansion, he waited in a side hall.
He was nervous. He didn't know how many times he had brewed a cup of tea. He didn't see a female official slowly walk in until it was tasteless.
Yu Dingfeng hurriedly got up and said directly, "I'm here today to supply paper to the Academy …"
The female official looked at him and smiled. "There are a few new paper shops in the capital. Do you know about them?"
Yu Dingfeng's legs went soft and he fell heavily back on the chair.
…
"How could this be, how could this be …" Chen Qing paced in the hall, occasionally glancing at Chen Chong who was sitting there drinking tea. He said, "It's only been a few days since that night. In other words, before that, someone had already been plotting against the Yu family?"
"Isn't this normal?" Chen Chong looked up at him and asked, "What did the Cui family say?"
"Cui Qingze flipped the table on the spot. This is no longer just a matter of not stopping the establishment of the Academy." Chen Qing said irritably, "This time, the Yu family has done their best to bring down the Eldest Princess. And it is because of this that there will be no more Yu family in the future."
Chen Chong shook his head and said, "Yu Dingfeng is too greedy. After the incident with the foreign merchants, the Cui family was greatly weakened. Now that there is no more Yu family, it is like the Cui family has lost an arm. And this arm was deliberately cut off."
"Someone purposely cut it off?" Chen Qing's brows furrowed. He was suddenly shocked and asked, "You mean, he has already begun to plot … Impossible, impossible. He only has a personal grudge with the King of Shu. He has never been close to any of the princes. Prince Jin is too young, and His Majesty has so many princes who have grown up. It can't be Prince Jin. This doesn't make sense, and it is not in accordance with the law. The only person he is close to is the Eldest Princess. Could it be that he wants to help the Eldest Princess ascend the throne?"
"This is naturally impossible." Chen Chong shook his head and said, "But I feel that this is only the beginning. Let's just wait and see …"
He stood up and looked at Chen Qing. He said slowly, "Perhaps, it is time for our Chen family to consider this carefully …"
At the Qin family banquet.
Qin Yan sighed and said, "This time, the Yu family completely has no chance of making a comeback. After this, the large clans that rely on the paper market will at least be greatly weakened. If they stake everything on one throw like the Yu family, even the entire clan will be implicated."
He said a few words and saw Qin He, who was playing with a seven year old urchin. Qin Yan couldn't help but frown and say, "Old Fifth, can you not fool around like this? Can't you do something serious?"
"Ah, Fifth Uncle is an elder. You should respect your elders and not fight with me …" The Fifth Master of the Qin family was playing with the child of Qin Yan's concubine. When he heard this, he raised his head and had a stunned expression. "Big Brother, I'm doing something serious every day …"
"Watching a play and listening to music, this is what you mean by serious business?"
Fifth Master Qin was at a loss. "Could it be … that this doesn't count?"
…
"Everything is being arranged according to what you said. In the future, the price of paper will definitely plummet. The situation like the Yu family, where one family dominates the market will no longer appear. Of course, even if it does, it will be us dominating the market …"
As Li Xuan spoke lazily, he suddenly thought of something. He sat up and asked in confusion, "Now, can you tell me what the second type of paper is used for?"
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