Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 306 Coming up with ideas

Wang Zheng clearly didn't say anything just now, so Xia Ziqiao doesn't know what advice he could give his father.

Xie Chengrang said, "The fact that Wang Zheng could argue with us over a woman shows that he was not warned by his elders about this matter in Daming Prefecture before he left home."

"Having been warned beforehand, given the nature of the Wang family members, they certainly wouldn't dare to speak carelessly."

"If the Wang family still wants to use this case to implicate more officials, they will definitely make proper arrangements, just like before when they closed their doors to visitors. They cannot afford to make any mistakes and will not give anyone a chance to criticize them."

"Releasing Wang Zheng out of his house now, letting him wander freely around the city, is sending a message that the tense period is over, and the Wang family's time is up."

"Perhaps this is also the government's intention."

Xia Ziqiao stared wide-eyed, genuinely unable to understand how Xie Chengrang could have come up with these ideas.

Xie Chengrang paused for a moment: "Of course, this is just our guess. If your father receives the same information in court, it will be confirmed."

Whether it's real or fake, a comparison will tell.

"Furthermore, we should also keep an eye on that female merchant in Daming Prefecture," Xie Chengrang said, looking at Xia Ziqiao and lowering his voice. "If you know anyone in the porcelain business, have them gather information carefully during this period. It's good to be on guard so that we don't lose money because of this."

Xia Ziqiao's mother, Li, had relatives in the porcelain trade.

Merchants in this dynasty are not allowed to hold official positions, and officials naturally cannot openly engage in business. However, they will sell their connections to relatives and friends. On the surface, the buying and selling have nothing to do with them, but in reality, they profit from it.

Xia Ziqiao naturally understood Xie Chengrang's meaning, but still felt that Xie Chengrang was worrying too much.

Xia Ziqiao said, "He's just a small merchant, why worry so much?"

Xie Chengrang said, "It is precisely because they are small merchants that they should care."

Xia Ziqiao didn't understand.

Xie Chengrang said, "No one in this world can accomplish something easily. Since that woman is not a member of the Wang family and has no one else behind her, we should find out more clearly how she did it. She could not have done it on her own. Either she intentionally took advantage of the situation, or she just happened to comply with the imperial court's decree."

Xia Ziqiao felt a surge of excitement, thinking that he would learn something from Xie Chengrang again. He refused to let Xie Chengrang leave and instead took him back to his study in the Xia family.

The two sat down to drink tea, and Xia Ziqiao asked, "I still don't understand what happened to that woman. Please enlighten me, Erlang."

Xie Chengrang said with a smile, "We were just chatting, Wulang, please don't be like that, otherwise I wouldn't dare to say anything."

Xia Ziqiao then smiled and said, "I'll do whatever you say."

Xie Chengrang nodded and continued, "I think it's probably a combination of both. Taking advantage of the situation was due to the opportunity presented by He Tan and Wang Yan's investigation. As for complying with the imperial decree, it just so happened that the imperial court opened up the market in Daming Prefecture."

Xia Ziqiao said, "Then... what does this have to do with us? No matter what, she's only in Daming Prefecture. How many merchants are there in Daliang? Even if she's made money these past few years, she might lose it all at any time."

He wouldn't even bother to deal with someone like that.

Xie Chengrang shook his head and said, "What I mean is, what she can do, we can do too. If a woman can go with the flow, why can't we?"

"Don't underestimate the situation; a change in the overall situation is an opportunity. That's what I meant when I told Wulang to remind relatives and friends about the porcelain trade. Why is Madam Xie so eager to take the porcelain to the market? Because for her, it's a big deal."

“She used coal instead of firewood to fire the kiln, so the ceramics produced were bound to be cheaper. She could sell such things to the vassal people for double or triple the price and that would be enough for her to make a profit.” “The cheap ceramics were sold to ordinary households of the vassal people, so you can imagine how many they could sell.”

“Opening up the border markets will provide a legitimate sales channel, eliminating the risk of smuggling goods and reducing the need for bribery. It will also eliminate the need to select expensive and exquisite goods for sale. The goods sold to the vassal states will inevitably change, and adapting to this situation will allow you to earn more.”

Xia Ziqiao understood: "You mean, instead of focusing on expensive porcelain, we can make some porcelain that ordinary people can afford and take it over to sell."

Xie Chengrang said, "Firstly, it can earn some money. Secondly, it prevents her from becoming too powerful. If she makes a name for herself in the market, it will be difficult for others to interfere."

Xia Ziqiao pondered Xie Chengrang's words and found them increasingly reasonable.

"Furthermore," Xie Chengrang said, "If Daming Prefecture can produce tabloids, Bianjing can certainly do the same. Bianjing is also a place where talents gather, so as long as we put in more effort, we will surely be able to do it well."

Xia Ziqiao became even more interested.

“However, I do not recommend that Wulang do it,” Xie Chengrang said. “There are many academies in Bianjing, and it is hard to guarantee that there will be fighting. Wulang just needs to talk to a few more people about this matter, and find someone to push things along, and it will naturally succeed.”

"Those who write articles for the Daming Prefecture tabloids are about to go to the capital for the imperial examinations. Why not ask them? Perhaps some of them also want to run a tabloid in Bianjing. After all, no matter how good the Daming Prefecture tabloids are, they are still printed by merchants. Now that we have the opportunity to break free from the merchants and make our mark in Bianjing, why not?"

The Xia family doesn't need to make arrangements themselves. They can find a suitable person to manage the matter. If it's done well, the Xia family will naturally get some credit; if it's not done well, they can shift the blame to someone else.

Having finished speaking, Xie Chengrang rose to take his leave.

Xia Ziqiao wanted him to stay at his home, but Xie Chengrang smiled and said, "My father and brother asked me to deliver birthday gifts, and I must go home to report back."

Xia Ziqiao frowned when this was mentioned. Both families were clearly interested in a marriage alliance. If things went well, Xie Chengxin, the eldest son of the Xie family, would be his brother-in-law. However, his mother was about to celebrate her birthday, but he wasn't the one who sent gifts. He was already putting on airs. What would happen if his younger sister married into the family?

The eldest sister passed away in her husband's family less than a year after her marriage. The mother was filled with remorse and doted on her younger sister even more, and was determined to find her a good marriage.

Now it seems that Xie Chengxin may not be a good match.

After watching Xie Chengrang leave, Xia Ziqiao returned home. Before he could go to the backyard to see his mother, his mother, Li, sent someone to call him over.

When the Xie family arrived, there was naturally a steward watching over them. Hearing Xia Ziqiao and Xie Chengrang talking, he immediately reported it to Madam Li.

Originally, Li wanted to find out the Xie family's attitude towards the marriage, but she unexpectedly learned something else.

Xia Ziqiao strode into Li's house and glanced around; sure enough, his younger sister was there too.

Xia Erniang was sitting next to Li Shi, who was instructing her on needlework. The two of them looked up when they heard the noise.

Li called her son over: "I just made some stuffed dumplings in the kitchen, and I saved a bowl for you. Eat them first, then we'll talk."

Xia Ziqiao, however, couldn't care less and said, "Mother, quickly have someone call the Ge family over. The porcelain deal might change, so we need to make arrangements in advance."

Li remained calm and said, "Just eat yours. I already sent someone over."

Xia Ziqiao was taken aback, but after a moment he guessed that it was the steward who had delivered the message, so he said, "Mother also thinks that Xie Erlang is right, right?"

Madam Li nodded in agreement, but after a moment she sighed, "What a pity, he's an illegitimate son."

I woke up to a flood of birthday wishes! Thank you everyone! I'm so happy!
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