boyutpedia Chapter 268 No comment
Chapter 268 No comment
Chapter 268 No Comment
November 20th, that day—
Xia Family Cloth Shop opens for business.
In the capital, it's common for new stores to open and old stores to close. When a new store opens, people might be curious about what it sells, but few really care. They just hurry past the Xia Family Cloth Shop.
Xiajia Cloth Shop moved the cloth intended for display to the steps at the shop entrance and had the shop assistant stand aside and shout loudly.
"A bolt of cloth costs three hundred coins..."
As soon as the shout was uttered, passersby and roadside vendors fell silent and all turned to look at Xia Family Cloth Shop.
"What did I just hear? How much was a bolt of cloth again?!"
"A piece of cloth costs three hundred cents..."
The guy who shouted suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he was stared at by so many eyes, and he shrank back nervously.
"Really, three hundred coins for a bolt of cloth?!"
"This kind of cloth is 10% cotton and 90% hemp, and it costs 300 cash per bolt," the shop assistant said, catching his breath nervously as he pointed to the fabrics displayed on the shelf next to him.
"The fabric is neat and finely woven. Three hundred cash a bolt, I'll take it!"
Before Xia Family Cloth Shop opened, the cheapest fine linen in the capital cost 500 coins a bolt!
When the Xia family's cloth shop opened, a bolt of fine linen cloth, made of 100% cotton, was only three hundred coins!
"Buy it! We absolutely have to buy it!"
A group of people rushed in and swarmed into the Xia family's cloth shop.
In no time, they found the area with the most goods, priced at 300 coins per bolt.
Some took one horse, some took two, some took three, and they didn't think it was too much.
When ordinary people buy cloth for daily life, they are particular about the patterns and designs, but the main requirements are that it be cheap, sturdy, and durable. The cloth that Xia Family Cloth Shop is offering for 300 coins a bolt meets all these requirements!
"Why does it cost four hundred coins per bolt?"
Soon, it was observed that the fabric was 30% cotton and 70% linen.
"This makes my skin smoother and more supple when I apply it!"
"This is 30% cotton and 70% linen."
When a customer speaks, a staff member immediately responds.
Soon, customers also inquired about the fact that Xia Family Cloth Shop had been selected by the palace.
"Oh my god, oh my god, if I wear this cloth, is it the same as what the ladies in the palace wear?" an excited guest immediately asked.
“The cloth used for imperial tribute is different from what we sell in the shop,” a shop assistant immediately replied.
The two must be distinguished; otherwise, it is considered taboo.
"I see..."
The customer was a little disappointed, but still made the purchase.
The 100,000 bolts of cloth prepared by Xia Family Cloth Shop were sold out in one day. On that day, the people of the capital were all talking about Xia Family Cloth Shop.
You can hear it on the street corner—
"If Xia's Cloth Shop can keep offering these prices, then every year during the New Year, my family will be able to get a new set of clothes made."
"Don't get too excited yet. Maybe the price will go back up in a couple of days?"
"No, I've heard that the Xia family's cloth shops in other states are 100 coins cheaper than those in the capital!"
"What does Xia Family Cloth Shop mean? It's 100 coins cheaper elsewhere, but 100 coins more expensive in the capital?!"
“If you think it’s too expensive, you can drive your own carriage to other prefectures and cities to buy it! Don’t you think about the prices in the capital?”
"..."
Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.
I thought the Xia Family Cloth Shop would raise its prices, but to my surprise, ten days have passed and the prices of cloth at the Xia Family Cloth Shop have not increased.
People who were worried that prices would rise and they wouldn't be able to buy cheap cloth were reassured when they saw that the price of cloth from Xia Family Cloth Shop wouldn't increase, and they stopped buying blindly.
Even so, Xia Family Cloth Shop can still sell tens of thousands of bolts of cloth a day.
The cheap and high-quality cloth from Xia Family Cloth Shop has shaken the business of other cloth shops in the capital.
* * *
Inside Huangfu Qian's villa—
When President Zhu of the Cloth Merchants Guild appeared outside the gate of the capital, he naturally knew whose courtyard it was, which is why he was so nervous.
The Xia family resides in the Jiang King's villa, which shows that the Xia family has long since pledged allegiance to the Jiang King. They are not to be trifled with, and even their powerful backers would not dare to offend the Jiang King lightly.
It was the doorman who discovered Chairman Zhu and notified Brother Xia.
Brother Xia had already anticipated the arrival of the cloth shopkeeper from the capital.
In the front yard living room—
Brother Xia showed Chairman Zhu several different fabrics.
“This is the imperial tribute cloth, nine parts cotton and one part hemp,” Brother Xia paused and said, “Of course, that one part hemp is different from what’s sold in stores.”
"The cloth used by the nobles is made from the best parts of the hemp. Only a few bags of hemp can be produced from an acre of land. If you put it together with cotton, you can't even weave many bolts of cloth," Brother Xia said eloquently.
"This is the most expensive fabric in our store, a thousand cash a bolt. Look at the dyeing process; it doesn't fade easily even when placed in hot water..."
"This kind costs eight hundred coins a bolt..."
Brother Xia introduced everyone to Chairman Zhu one by one.
Chairman Zhu didn't understand why Brother Xia was saying these things.
"What I just mentioned was the selling price. If Chairman Zhu and your group purchase goods from me, this kind will cost 800 coins, this kind 600 coins, and this kind..."
Brother Xia revealed his ultimate goal.
Chairman Zhu understood, and his heart skipped a beat. He realized that Xia Family Cloth Shop might be so successful that it would control the entire cloth business in the capital!
"President Zhu can think about it and give me an answer in a few days," Brother Xia said, serving tea to see the guest out.
Chairman Zhu stood up and gave a wry smile.
He understood. The Xia family had made up their minds. Unless they could find cloth cheaper than the Xia family's, the only option was to get their cloth from the Xia family's cloth shop!
How could they possibly give up without even a struggle?!
* * *
Inside the Imperial Study—
The old emperor had a white eunuch read a memorial to him. When he heard that the Xia family's cloth shop was squeezing out the business of cloth merchants in the capital and driving down the value of pure cotton cloth to as low as 800 coins per bolt, he frowned.
"Why is this Xia Family Cloth Shop surnamed Xia?!" The old emperor had already figured out who the Xia Family Cloth Shop belonged to.
"This servant has inquired and learned that the Xia family's cloth shop grows rice that yields 600 catties per mu," the eunuch Bai answered truthfully.
"boom--"
The old emperor slammed the memorial in his hand heavily on the imperial desk, and said impatiently, "It's that family again! Sure enough, their ambition is too obvious!"
Bai Taiting sensed the old emperor's dislike for the Xia family, but he wouldn't speak up for them.
The eunuch Bai said, "This servant has had someone inquire. The Xia family has developed a water-powered automatic spinning machine and a water-powered automatic spinning wheel, which can save a lot of labor costs in weaving."
The old emperor immediately said, "Look, look! The ambition of the Xia family is written all over their faces!"
The eunuch Bai didn't care what the old emperor thought of the Xia family. He replied truthfully, "The Xia family also taught many people how to grow hemp in several poor villages on the border. That's how the Xia family was able to buy cheap hemp."
The old emperor's heart pounded violently as he angrily exclaimed, "This is clearly something that benefits the country and its people, but in the end, it's all been used for self-serving calculations!"
The white-haired eunuch lowered his eyes, concealing the fleeting sarcasm in them, and remained silent on the old emperor's biased assessment.