I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 52: Do a good job!
Zhu Houxuan quickly put Liu Hao's matter behind him. He thought that this matter had no impact on him, so he just let it go.

But what he didn't expect was that he would be involved in this matter again a few days later.

"Your Highness, yesterday a wealthy female merchant named Chen came to me to buy cloth. She had the intention of purchasing fine cloth for a long time, and she also asked me if I could increase production as she wanted to buy more," Hou Sen reported to Zhu Houxuan.

"A wealthy female merchant with the surname Chen?" Zhu Houxun suddenly remembered that the wealthy female merchant who supported Liu Hao also had the surname Chen.

"Just as Your Highness thought, when the wealthy female merchant came to see me, the palace guard Liu Hao was also with her." Although Hou Sen has not been in the palace recently, he still knows everything that happens there.

"Is it so?!" Zhu Houxuan exclaimed.

"That wealthy female merchant spoke highly of Your Highness and said that if it weren't for the restrictions of the feudal laws, she would definitely visit Your Highness."

"Do you know the origin of that wealthy female merchant?" Zhu Houxuan became more and more curious about this person.

"I also privately asked the shopkeeper Qian who introduced the female merchant about this matter. Qian said that Mrs. Chen was the head of the Chen family in Fujian, and the Chen family was a well-known wealthy family in the local area."

"Fujian? Then what kind of business is the Chen family doing? How can they consume so much cloth?" Zhu Houxuan vaguely realized something.

"I heard from Shopkeeper Qian that the Chen family is involved in a wide range of businesses. They mainly deal in porcelain, cloth, silk, and spices. The largest of these is the spice business, which accounts for a large share of the spice business in the Ming Dynasty."

Spices? Fujian?
Porcelain! Cloth! Silk!

Zhu Houxuan suddenly realized something.

It is obvious that the Chen family is a maritime merchant family.

Porcelain, cloth and silk were obviously major commodities for export overseas and were also the Ming Dynasty's flagship products.

The spices must have been brought back from Southeast Asia. Fujian could not have so much supply of spices.

Many thoughts flashed through Zhu Houxuan's mind in an instant, "Why would the Chen family in Fujian let a woman manage the family business?"

"At this time, I also asked the shopkeeper Qian. He said that Madam Chen was from the eldest branch of the Chen family. Her father was in poor health, so he let the eldest daughter, Madam Chen, come out to take over the family business early on?"

"Then is the Chen family willing to let Madam Chen take charge of the family business?" Zhu Houxuan knew too well the power of the clan at that time.

"That's because Madam Chen is a strong person, ruthless, shrewd and capable, and manages the family business in an orderly manner. Madam Chen also has a younger brother who is said to be only three years old."

This makes sense. The Chen family's main branch still has male heirs, so the family will not be wiped out by other members of the clan.

"Moreover, Mrs. Chen married a scholar a long time ago, but the scholar died early, and Mrs. Chen was unable to give birth to a son or daughter, so..." Hou Sen tactfully did not say anything further.

Zhu Houxuan couldn't help but mourn for Liu Hao in his heart for a second, wondering whether meeting such a rich woman was a blessing or a curse for him.

Zhu Houxuan fell into deep thought, tapping his fingers unconsciously on the table.

Hou Sen waited patiently on the side.

"If we want to increase production, will there be any difficulties?" Zhu Houxuan asked slowly.

"The weaving mill was previously designed to produce 15,000 pieces of broad cloth per month, but now it has not reached the planned capacity and can only produce 8,000 pieces of broad cloth per month."

"There are three main issues that affect the increase in production capacity: first, the shuttle looms cannot be put in place in time; second, the problem of personnel training. Many female workers cannot adapt to collective life after coming to the factory; third, the problem of cotton sources."

“How do you plan to solve these three problems?”

"First, I am recruiting more craftsmen to increase the production capacity of the machines. Second, I plan to increase the intensity and time of training and let female workers from the same clan and village live together. Third, Qizhou is located on the main route of the Yangtze River. There is a lot of cotton shipped to Songjiang upstream. We can buy it at a higher price halfway." Hou Sen said without hesitation. Zhu Houxuan nodded secretly in his heart. Hou Sen has only been in charge for a few months, and he has made such great progress.

"Okay! How much cloth does Madam Chen want to buy?"

"Mrs. Chen said that as long as the quality of the cloth remains stable, she will buy whatever is produced. She can buy up to one million pieces."

Even though he was mentally prepared, Zhu Houxuan was still shocked by this number. This was a big merchant!

Mrs. Chen's importance in his heart increased a little bit.

"Accept her request first. Don't rush to increase production capacity, but don't be slow. Increase it step by step. Don't be limited by the originally planned production capacity. At the same time, management capabilities must keep up. We must do a good job in building a talent echelon. If there are capable female workers, promote them. The factory is getting bigger and bigger. You and the few people you brought with you can't manage it alone."

"I will follow your highness's teachings!" Hou Sen said respectfully.

"Hou Banban, you must work hard. Today's scene is just the beginning!" Zhu Houxuan patted Hou Sen's shoulder gently.

"I know, I will do my best!"

"Also, you have to maintain a good relationship with Liu Hao. Find out who his family is and send some rewards to him in my name." Zhu Houxuan added.

"Well, I'll do it right away!"

"Also, go to Cunxin Hall to get a few picture albums and send them to Liu Hao. Tell him to learn more of the techniques in them," Zhu Houxun suddenly lowered his voice.

"Yes!" Hou Sen was a little confused, but still agreed and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Zhu Houxuan suddenly thought of something, "I saw some tiger whip wine in the treasure house last time, go get two bottles and send them to Liu Hao."

"Tell Liu Hao that I have high hopes for him and he should work hard!" Zhu Houxuan put emphasis on the last word.

Hou Sen was even more confused, but still nodded stupidly.

Zhu Houxuan then realized that Hou Sen was just a young eunuch of fifteen or sixteen years old, and could not understand the meaning of his words at all. But it was not easy to explain further, so he let him do his job.

After Hou Sen left, Zhu Houxuan fell into deep thought.

The reason why he attached so much importance to Madam Chen was because he needed this channel of Madam Chen so much.

Don’t think that as long as the product is good, it will naturally sell well all over the country. In this era, the most important thing for doing business is the channel.

Even in modern times, channels are very important.

Just like a far-leading mobile phone is good enough, but if it loses the channels of JD.com and Taobao, its sales will be greatly reduced.

This is even more so in the current Ming Dynasty. Local protectionism is extremely serious. No matter how good the things you produce are, as long as they are not irreplaceable, they will still not be sold.

If he cannot use his technological advantages to continuously reap sufficient profits from the market, this path will simply not work.

As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Besides, he, the King of Jing, is not a strong dragon at all. He has basically no influence outside Qizhou.

That's why he attaches so much importance to Mrs. Chen as a channel.

Thinking about it this way, Liu Hao is really a lucky man!

But Mrs. Chen is at the age of thirty, like a wolf, forty, like a tiger, I hope Liu Hao can hold on.
(End of this chapter)