Shipin Dalizheng

"Master Du, please come in. Don't be offended that this brother doesn't know you. It's all to keep the business secrets secret."

Mr. Du Sanye could understand this point. The recipe for making sugar was such a big secret that he had to keep a close eye on it.

He went in, and his two men were stopped. Wei Wu said, "Don't mind, Third Master. There will be losses if there are more people. These two brothers will stay."

Du Sanshi didn't say anything, waved his hand and asked them to wait.

Ten days had passed since the last time he came to Fuxinzhuang, and Mr. Du's mind was still stuck in that time. He thought he would see ragged, hunchbacked disabled old soldiers wandering in despair anytime and anywhere. However, when he passed by a sorghum field, he saw dozens of people working hard to cut sorghum. Some were cutting, some were carrying, and some were on their backs, and they were delivering it to the farmyard in an endless stream.

These people were also dirty, but it was not the dirt accumulated over the years, but the mud and grass debris from work. The despair on their faces faded, and everyone was glowing with hope.

Of course, this was not what shocked him the most. The most shocking thing was of course the cutting of sorghum.

His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "It's not ripe yet, are you cutting the sorghum?"

Wei Wu nodded with a smile.

Uncle Du suddenly realized, "Is sugar made from sorghum?"

Wei Wu didn't say anything, but he also agreed.

Mr. Du San rushed into the farmyard. They also had a sorghum field in the Duke's Mansion, so they could do the same.

When he entered, it was just time for lunch in the workshop. Several women carried wooden barrels to distribute rice. Each person had a bowl of rice with greasy vegetables on top. Although there was no meat, there was plenty of grease.

Zhou called out, "It's enough to fill you up. If you don't have enough, add more."

Just go into your own house.

Mr. Du wanted to go into the workshop to take a look, but this time, Wei Wu stopped him, saying, "Mr. Du, this is inappropriate."

Mr. Du was disappointed, but he thought he had discovered the biggest secret of sugar making: the raw materials.

"I'm hungry, can I have a bowl of rice?"

"This... Mr. Du, the workshop didn't prepare any meals for distinguished guests. Everything is like this, what do you think?"

"It's okay, I can eat anything."

Wei Wu smiled strangely, but said nothing. He personally served him a bowl. Master Du San took a few bites. Of course, it couldn't compare to the food he had in the Duke's Mansion, but he had seen military food before, so this was pretty good.

"Where is your prince? Why didn't he come today?"

"The prince has closed the shop. It's his own business, but he has no shop to display it. No one would feel comfortable, right?"

Yes, absolutely, Mr. Du Sanye agrees completely. Now that Jin Shizhao has fallen from power, it's only right to seize all the shops while he's still in the Ministry of Justice.

Mr. Du Sanye, who was eating, soon felt a cool breeze blowing on his back, and he wanted to lie down because of the comfort.

When I turned around suddenly, I saw a strange thing spinning in circles. There was someone behind it with wheels under his feet, and the wind was blowing from there.

He was like a country boy visiting the city for the first time, pointing at the thing in amazement, "What is this?"

"Third Master, this is a fan. They sell it at the Ministry of Industry. The price...it's hard to say. There are different grades. If you like it, go to the Ministry of Industry and ask."

After dinner, Mr. Du San reluctantly left the manor. As soon as he stepped off the small bridge, he ordered his men to return to the Duke's Mansion to report about the fan. He had a hunch that this thing could also make money.

When I went back to the packing room, the maids had just finished their meal. When I asked, I found out that there was meat in their meal and the rice was better.

"Third Master, have you eaten yet? The servants left some food for you."

Master Du: "..."

In the afternoon, Mr. Du San wanted to take a nap under the shade of a tree outside. He fell asleep unknowingly. When he woke up, he found that there were several cars parked at the door and people were moving things into the cars.

When he looked over, he saw that they were going to take away the sugar that they had harvested for most of the day. This made him furious, and he yelled for the manager to come out and explain to him.

Rong Dashan, who was in charge of shipping, was called over by Erya.

Rong Dashan bowed and said, "Master Du, we have to sell the candy. If we don't, how can we make money? How are you going to cash in your 10% stake?"

Mr. Du Sanye felt that this matter was a bit out of place. He had subconsciously determined that all the candies had to be sold through him, and after the sale, he would share the profits with Rong Tang. He never thought that there were other possibilities.

For example, if someone has a market, you can give him a share of the profits after the sale.

"There's been a misunderstanding, Manager Rong. We have a shop. We sell all the candy we can get. Don't worry, we keep our accounts clear and there's no deception. You can check the accounts anytime."

Several small local shopkeepers who came to pick up the goods were furious. "Manager Rong, you can't do this. We all have contracts. I've been out of stock for a few days, and we're customers who signed long-term contracts."

Rong Dashan tried to appease them, "Don't worry, gentlemen. This is the goods you ordered early this morning, and you will definitely be allowed to take it away. Master Du, let's talk about any misunderstandings. There's plenty of candy, and tomorrow there will be even more and better. No one can be without you. Let them go first, okay?"

When Mr. Du Sanye saw that they were all sesame candies and peanut candies, low-end goods, he stopped arguing and went into a small compartment with Rong Dashan.

Rong Dashan explained to him, "The quantities produced by Rongjia Village were small, and the prince felt that they couldn't sell them all. Coincidentally, these people were all customers of the wine, so we used it as a pretext to sign a wine sales contract and divided it among them. Those are only salable in small towns and counties. If the Duke's Mansion wants to sell them, they must be high-end goods. Otherwise, how can they be sold in the wealthy mansions in Shangjing? Is that right, Third Master?"

Mr. Du Sanye felt much more balanced.

"I remember Prince Rong gave me a lot of samples. When will they be available?"

"It's going to be quick. Don't make too many of one type at once. Let's get all the varieties ready first. I just happened to get a few new molds yesterday. They'll be out soon. Let Master San take a look."

Uncle Du Sanye calmed down and waited patiently when Rong Dashan strongly recommended the wine he was responsible for producing. Since the workers in Fuxinzhuang had already started to work on sugar production, the production of white wine had been suspended before it even started. Currently, the most popular product was sweet rice wine.

The honest man was forced into a corner and started boasting without hesitation. He praised the various benefits of sweet rice wine in an exaggerated way and even showed him several samples.

"Master Du, our prince is too busy to promote it. We, who are not good at speaking, don't dare to go before the noble and ask for a beating. If you think it's feasible, I will reserve a counter in your shop and sell it. I will give you a 10% commission. This wine is very popular in the south, but it hasn't become popular in the north yet..."

"Twenty percent."

Before Rong Dashan finished his speech, Uncle Du Sanye spoke up, "Well, I won't tell you how much rebate I'll give you. I see it's not easy for you to run a business. I'll make the first batch of goods, and you can give me 20% of the profit. If it sells well later, I'll continue to make more. If it doesn't, I have a big family and I can drink it all myself."

Rong Dashan was overjoyed and quickly wrote him a sales receipt in duplicate, signed with the Rong Jinji seal.

So, before Mr. Du Sanye got the sugar, he first brought in two large carts of sweet wine and had them loaded.

In the afternoon, all kinds of candies that Mr. Du had been dreaming about day and night came out for him. There were flower shapes, animal shapes, and dozens of color varieties. Mr. Du was so happy that he scratched his ears and cheeks.

These are lollipops. Rong Dashan charges him by the kilogram, 200 coins per kilogram. He can decide the retail price himself and the sugar factory does not interfere.

However, Rong Dashan still gave some sound advice, "Lollipops can be sold individually, or in boxes. It's best to investigate market demand and place orders in advance. Master Du, regarding the Shangjing candy, our prince said it's only for Master Du. If Master Du can't finish it all, we'll have to find another vendor."