Chapter 152: Business

Guo Yi thought, What costs are there? The first batch of goods were all small commodities from Yiwu, taken from the Fengcheng’s cargo hold and containers. Later on, they would be things mass-produced by the Transmigration industry. The cost was almost negligible. The only thing he felt uncomfortable about was the slow return of capital. With this method of settlement, the goods sold during the New Year would not be paid for until May. Right now, their funds were all drawn from the two hundred thousand taels owed to them by Gao Ju. This money not only had to cover the start-up costs of the Guangzhou advance station but also had to continuously pay for the large quantities of materials purchased here. The slow return of funds was not favorable to them.

But there was no need to explain this to Shen Fan. He just nodded. “You are right. If we deal with so many clients at the same time, our capital will be stretched thin. So I have some other ideas.”

“Please instruct me, Master.”

“In the jewelry and curios trade in Guangzhou, do businesses exchange goods with each other?”

“That is natural.” Shen Fan thought this was a very common phenomenon. There were many rare treasures in the world, and it was impossible for every shop to have a complete stock. Even the largest shops had to find goods from the guilds.

“So, some goods, we can let our colleagues handle,” Guo Yi said. “When colleagues exchange goods, do they also settle accounts at the three festivals?”

“That’s not necessary. The local rule is three days. If you don’t change your mind after three days, you have to settle the account.” Manager Shen roughly understood his meaning. “Master’s meaning is—wholesale?”

“That’s right,” Guo Yi nodded.

“That’s good too. Although we earn less from exchanging goods, the real silver comes back quickly. But—” Shen Fan said with a hint of worry, “does the Purple Pearl Pavilion have that many goods to release? The Gao family is already wholesaling crystal mirrors in the market.”

“What are crystal mirrors?” Guo Yi’s tone was very relaxed. “If Gao Ju likes to sell them, let him. I have better things here.”

Manager Shen was startled. What are crystal mirrors? He knew that at the recent inter-trade meeting at the Fire God Temple, the most common black crystal mirrors released by the Gao family were already selling for one hundred taels, and the retail price in the market was as high as one hundred and eighty taels. Gao Ju could probably release five to ten such mirrors at a time, and they were in short supply. The master actually said lightly, “What are they?” and “I have better things.” What better things could there be?

“May I ask, Master, what kind of treasures is the Purple Pearl Pavilion planning to deal in?” Manager Shen, having been curious for a long time, finally couldn’t help but ask.

Guo Yi didn’t answer but pulled back the curtain behind him, revealing a huge display cabinet.

This cabinet made Manager Shen gasp. Except for the frame, the outer walls, doors, and shelves of the cabinet were all made of single panes of glass!

Glass… Shen Fan had seen plenty of it, but it was mostly various glass objects. He had never seen such a large, crystal-clear pane of glass that was almost invisible. To make such a large cabinet with so much glass… the grandeur, the skill… it made him feel a sense of admiration and awe.

“Ma-Master—” He even stuttered. “Is this, is this made of glass?”

“Of course.” Guo Yi was very satisfied with Shen Fan’s reaction. “Manager Shen, don’t just look at the container and ignore the contents. Aren’t you going to look at the items inside?”

“Yes! Yes!” Shen Fan excitedly moved closer. It was a sample display cabinet. There were four of them in total, all dismantled from the Fengcheng. Except for the new frames made of rosewood, the old glass had been re-polished with fine quartz sand and felt. By 21st-century standards, the transparency was actually quite average, but in this era, it was extraordinary.

What first caught his eye were the rows of pearl necklaces, bracelets, and rings. The pearls were not only large but also perfectly round, all of them rare top-quality pieces. There were even rare pink pearls. Shen Fan estimated that if these pearls were sold loose, the largest could sell for several hundred taels, and the smallest for three or four taels.

There were all sorts of small powder boxes, made of wood, carved bamboo, tortoiseshell, and inlaid with gold and silver—a variety of materials. This in itself was not rare, but each powder box had a small crystal mirror inlaid on the inside. Although small, it was still a crystal mirror.

There were rows of glassware, a dazzling array of glass cups, bowls, plates, wine vessels, and even tea sets, each piece crystal clear.

“Are these things enough?”

“Enough! Enough! More than enough.” Shen Fan was very clear in his mind. The Australian sea merchants’ treasures were all based on glass. Although glass was not a particularly rare item in Guangzhou, their things were countless times better than anyone else’s. Whether it was the red-haired barbarians’ or the Franks’ goods, the difference was like that between clouds and mud.

“Manager Shen, this is only a part of the items,” Guo Yi said, turning and pulling the curtain shut again. “There will naturally be new things in the future.” He then took out a white notepad. “Take a look at this.”

Shen Fan opened it. On the snow-white paper were black-lined drawings of some jewelry. The styles were extremely unique. He had been in the jewelry business for many years and had seen countless different styles of jewelry and met many master craftsmen, but he had never seen this style before. Looking closely, the styles were either simple and elegant, or gorgeous and lively, and extremely exquisite. They were not things that an ordinary craftsman could make.

“This is—” Shen Fan asked with an inquisitive look.

“This was drawn by Yan Maoda,” Guo Yi said. “We’re preparing to make a batch for Miss Pei Lixiu of the Purple Bright Pavilion. Do you have any craftsmen who can make these?”

“Yes,” Shen Fan answered without hesitation. Generally, the master craftsmen in the jewelry industry were exclusively employed by various shops and were not easily found outside. But he was well-informed and knew that a shop called Baohengxiang had just closed down before the New Year. The craftsmen and apprentices who had been let go were currently without work.

“Good. Then you will be responsible for recruiting all of them,” Guo Yi thought for a moment. “As for the apprentices, as long as they are of reliable character, we can also use them. Their wages will be based on their previous standards.”

“Master, right now our Purple Pearl Pavilion is just one shop, and we already have two young apprentices. Isn’t it too many to hire more people?”

“Not too many. I have other businesses to open in the future. We’ll just keep these people for now. It’s just a matter of feeding a few more mouths.” I have more businesses to start in the future, Guo Yi thought. If I don’t reserve these professionals now, I won’t have them when I need them. In ancient times, the flow of talent was not as fast as it is now. People with some skills would work in one shop for their entire lives unless there was a major change. Unless you’re recruiting apprentices or laborers, it’s hard to find available people at any time.

“Master has great foresight!”

“Tomorrow, find some masons and prepare to build a new house.”

“Master, building a house is easy, but what’s the use of it?” In Shen Fan’s opinion, the current building of the Purple Pearl Pavilion was already sufficient. Building another one was superfluous.

“I want to build a workshop,” Guo Yi said.

“Build a workshop?” A thought stirred in Shen Fan’s mind. He lowered his voice and asked, “Is the master planning to make crystal mirrors here?”

Before Guo Yi could speak, Shen Fan shook his head repeatedly. “Master, you can’t do that. If you open a crystal mirror workshop in Guangzhou, there are many powerful families here with connections to the government. And you are a foreigner. It’s not certain that someone won’t secretly frame you to get this secret formula. A man is innocent, but his possession of a treasure makes him guilty.”

Guo Yi nodded, touched by the simple honesty of the people of this era. “That won’t happen!” he said firmly to reassure him. “The method of making crystal mirrors is a secret even in my own country. How could I manufacture them?” He then told Shen Fan about the plan to ship the rough blanks here for local processing. “Is this feasible?”

“This is feasible.” Shen Fan was relieved. If they were only shipping the rough blanks of the crystal mirrors here to be framed, it was essentially no different from them being completely foreign-made, so it naturally wouldn’t cause any trouble.

“And the apprentices. There should still be many unemployed apprentices and craftsmen in the city. Go out and look for more. As long as they are honest and willing to come, we’ll take them.”

“This?” Shen Fan hesitated. “Master, as the saying goes, different trades are like different mountains. Apprentices are one thing, but what’s the use of hiring craftsmen we don’t need?”

“Manager Shen, do you think you’re just the manager of the Purple Pearl Pavilion?”

Shen Fan was puzzled. “Master—”

“We have traveled thousands of miles across the ocean from Australia, not just to sell a few pieces of jewelry and glassware,” Guo Yi said, trying his best to exude an air of “kingly dominance.” “You are the general manager of the Purple Enterprises Group! No! The chief manager!”

Shen Fan listened to his nonsense in a daze. Although he didn’t fully understand what a “corporate group” or “general manager” was, he understood the term “chief manager”—it seemed the master wanted to do other business as well.

“Well, Master, I only know the jewelry trade. If you want to open other businesses, you’ll have to hire other managers—different trades are like different mountains.”

“You are the chief manager. The specific matters will naturally be handled by other managers.” Guo Yi believed that Shen Fan was a suitable candidate. First, Shen Fan owed them a great debt, and malaria was a disease that was difficult to cure completely. Right now, only they had quinine. Second, Shen Fan was a local of Guangzhou, and the nature of the jewelry industry made him familiar with people from all walks of life, which was convenient for both gathering information and getting things done. Third, he had been in the jewelry industry his whole life, so his professional ethics were presumably not a problem.

“Thank you for your cultivation, Master.”

“For the next few days, first find some winemakers.”

“Are we opening a winery?” Manager Shen asked. “There’s no good water here—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Guo Yi thought. I don’t plan to brew wine from grain at all. “Are there shops in Guangzhou that sell local spirits?”

“Yes, there are some in the city, and many wineries in the countryside.”

“Go and negotiate the price. Prepare to purchase in large quantities.”

“Alright.” Now, Manager Shen would not be surprised by anything his master said. “Do we need to buy the winemaking equipment?”

“No need.” Guo Yi was very enthusiastic about the marketing plan for that famous white liquor. He had received a telegram: the key part of the “old wine in a new bottle” plan—the glass wine bottles—had been successfully trial-produced in Lingao.