in2ebook Chapter 440: Win-win cooperation is the way to go.
Chapter 440: Win-win cooperation is the way to go.
On the fourth day, which was also the day of the military supplies suppliers' conference, Shen Zhiqiu had to cross the Thousand Steps Bridge again.
He did not come alone today, he also brought his wife, daughter and son.
However, Shen Youyou, Li Jingshu, and Shen Luming went directly to Guangyuan Tower, while Shen Zhiqiu went to the Ministry of Revenue by himself.
In the conference hall prepared by the Ministry of Revenue, Lord Mao was not present. The meeting was chaired by Lord Wei, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Seeing Shen Zhiqiu coming in, Lord Wei personally stood up to receive Shen Zhiqiu, making even the little scholar Shen Zhiqiu feel flattered.
Not only him, but other military suppliers who had arrived also looked at each other in bewilderment. Although no one asked aloud, they were all muttering in their hearts: "Who is this person? He is so arrogant. Not only did he come late, but he was also received by the Minister himself?"
This minister, who was also the father of the baby-faced Wei Yichen, knew that the minister was going to meet Shen Zhiqiu in person, so he also went home and sighed at the dinner table: "It's not about where a hero comes from!"
Then he heard his youngest son say: "Father, Mr. Shen is a very talented person. Before..."
Wei Yichen kept praising Shen Zhiqiu, and Lord Wei liked Shen Zhiqiu even better.
Therefore, among all the veteran military suppliers, Shen Zhiqiu's seat was arranged at the front, on the left. On the right was a veteran military supplier named Shen.
It is said that this military supply merchant provided a large number of military uniforms, blankets, and boots. He had several thousand tailors under him, and he had chambers of commerce in several provincial capitals.
To what extent did this save the court trouble? For example, if the court was short of military supplies, this merchant's own caravan could deliver them to the designated warehouse as quickly as possible.
After listening to Lord Wei's introduction, Shen Zhiqiu had two reactions.
First of all, we can't compare with them. To be honest, for now we can only be a small-scale operation, and even the machines and workshops are purchased with the help of the court. We are just like a makeshift team.
However, he is confident that he, along with his nine clansmen and the young and old villagers of Tangjia Village, will not always be part of such a makeshift team.
Second, this person is definitely a talent. After the modern government bidding, it is nothing more than this, not to mention this era of all hand-sewing.
The other party doesn't have a daughter like his own, so he certainly can't develop more advanced tools, which shows that he has hard power.
As a result, Shen Zhiqiu became more and more embarrassed as he listened to Lord Wei's introduction.
It seems that among all the service providers here today, even if there are some differences, the differences are not too big. The only big gap is myself.
But Master Wei, the last person to be introduced was Shen Zhiqiu, who spoke up for the master:
"I believe that many people have heard some news by now. This person is Shen Zhiqiu, who has recently developed plastic soles, plastic cloth, and plastic cotton.
From now on, you will still need to provide military boots for half a year as usual, and we will re-supply you with the required quantity after half a year. Of course, if Shen Zhiqiu and his men can keep up with the demand, then maybe you won’t need to provide military boots in the future.”
This was said quite straightforwardly. In Lord Wei's view, although he was a minister, he had a father who was in the cabinet. Lord Mao was polite to him, not to mention when facing these military suppliers.
But when these words fell into the ears of the military suppliers, they were like a stone that caused a thousand ripples.
Even a military supplier couldn't help but ask, "Sir, how many military boots does the army need each year? In previous years, we all shared the burden, but now he alone can supply the entire army. What a joke."
Lord Wei said expressionlessly, "I never joke. Shen Zhiqiu will provide the army with 60,000 pairs of boots a month. The order has been signed.
But you should be patient. I am not calling you here just to cut down your business.
Shen Zhiqiu also made plastic cotton, which you will distribute to other people and make into cotton-padded clothes and quilts for the army."
After saying that, without giving anyone a chance to speak, he waved his hand and several managers brought up the plastic sponge that Shen Zhiqiu had brought with him last time.
The military suppliers, who had not yet recovered from the order of 60,000 pairs in a month, were stunned by this thing in front of them, which looked not much different from cotton, but when you touch it, it is definitely not cotton.
Shen Zhiqiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If he hadn't felt that Lord Wei had great goodwill towards him, he would have almost thought that this person was trying to set him up.
At this time, the military suppliers saw a ball of plastic cotton distributed on their tables. They touched it with their hands and found it very soft and resilient. Although it was not as warm as real cotton, it was not much different.
At the moment, they were not in the mood to pay attention to the military boots. Their attention was focused on this new type of cotton.
Lord Wei spoke again: "Although you may not be needed to provide military boots in half a year, you still need to provide cotton socks in addition to cotton clothes and quilts. These cotton socks are for wearing with the sports boots made by Shen Zhiqiu and others..."
After Lord Wei's explanation, the military suppliers were relieved. If the army used cotton-padded clothes, quilts and socks in the future, they should make a lot of profit compared to before.
As a result, Lord Wei saw that the time was right and asked Shen Zhiqiu, "What is the price you can give for your plastic cotton? Have you figured it out?
Also, if I make a hundred of those cotton machines for you, how much cotton can you provide in a month?"
Seeing the question, Shen Zhiqiu opened his mouth and said, "After our experiments in recent days, our cotton machine can produce 50 kilograms of plastic cotton if it works for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. A hundred cotton machines can produce 150,000 kilograms a month.
If you are making quilts weighing four pounds each, you can make 37,500 quilts.
As for the lowest price, after deducting costs and labor, the lowest price we can offer is thirty cents."
Lord Wei looked very satisfied. As the rumors said, Shen Zhiqiu was a man of great talent. He could do such complicated calculations with his mouth without using counting rods.
The military suppliers were stunned by the price of plastic cotton given by Shen Zhiqiu. You know, the current price of cotton on the market is about 150 wen, while Shen Zhiqiu's price of cotton was only 30 wen.
Shen Zhiqiu raised the corner of his mouth and continued, "Everyone, plastic cotton can also be used to weave defensive cloth. Judging from the characteristics of plastic cotton today, the cloth made from it is stronger, more wear-resistant, and more lustrous, and should be cooler to wear. I hope everyone here can put this kind of cloth on the market soon!"
These words were heard not only by the military supply dealer, but also by Lord Wei and several other officials present.
"Shen Zhiqiu, why do you say that?"
Shen Zhiqiu stood up, picked up the plastic cotton and walked towards Lord Wei, pulling out a piece of plastic cotton for him to see: "Lord, please take a look.
This cotton thread itself is more shiny than real cotton and feels smoother. Although the plastic cloth we made into pieces is not breathable, it has a better warmth retention effect.
However, if this kind of silk thread is used to weave cloth, it will not have the characteristic of being non-breathable. Therefore, I guess that this kind of plastic cotton, which has a slightly worse thermal insulation effect than cotton, should be more suitable for summer wear than today's cotton cloth when used to weave cloth.
However, the details are still for everyone present to study. "
"Why don't you try weaving your own cloth?"
Shen Zhiqiu spread his hands and said, "I don't have the conditions. Let's not talk about how busy we will be. Besides, our Daqing weaving technology is quite mature.
Whether it is cotton, linen, or various silks, we have them all. I believe that everyone here can think of using this kind of plastic cotton cloth without me saying anything, so there is no need for me to make it myself.
Moreover, if our court wants to be better, we all need to work together, and win-win cooperation is the kingly way.”