in2ebook Chapter 154 Printing and Papermaking?
Chapter 154 Printing and Papermaking?
With a monthly income of 30,000 taels of silver, even considering the high price of silk, after deducting the initial investment, the cost would still be at least 20,000 taels.
Mr. Deng sighed softly, somewhat regretfully: "According to the princess's calculations, there are indeed 30,000 taels of silver, but this situation can only last for about a month, and it won't be able to continue after that."
"Why?"
"Your Highness, you may not know this, but the method of making these velvet flowers is actually not too difficult. With a little effort, anyone can learn it quickly. Currently, no one in Qin Capital has tried to imitate it, all because of Princess Huizhen. People are afraid of being the first to do so and being punished by Princess Huizhen."
"It's a pity that Princess Huizhen can keep order for a while, but not forever. We estimate that it will only last about a month. By then, some fearless vendors will probably start to make their move. When there are too many people, Princess Huizhen won't be able to handle it, and it's not good for her to argue with so many people."
"What a pity. If we had known about this earlier, we could have made preparations earlier, stockpiled a batch of goods, and sold them during this period. Even if we didn't make 100,000 taels, it would have been possible to make 70,000 or 80,000 taels of silver."
Qin Yi was truly shocked. Fang Shixin had indeed stockpiled a large amount of goods. Although she knew that Fang Shixin had earned a lot in her previous life, she did not know that she had earned this much.
Moreover, it should be known that Fang Shixin sells velvet flowers for about three times the price that Ya Chun Ge sells them for now. So it seems that she can earn at least 200,000 taels of silver this month.
Two hundred thousand taels of silver! Even the national treasury's annual tax revenue is only one million taels of silver!
Qin Yizhen's hand trembled slightly: "What will happen after a month?"
Mr. Deng said, "A month from now, there will probably be quite a few people selling velvet flowers. However, if Ya Chun Ge makes them exquisite and beautiful, and the price is reasonable, they can sell well. Even without a thousand taels of silver, you can still earn three to five hundred. In another three to five months, the price will probably be even lower."
Qin Yizhen frowned upon hearing this, but Mr. Deng advised her, "Princess, you don't need to worry about this. Earning 20,000 to 30,000 a month is already quite good. In the future, earning a few thousand to 10,000 a month would be excellent. The Pingxi Marquis's mansion can do a lot with this amount of money."
Mr. Deng was also optimistic. Even if the business of making velvet flowers had been figured out by others and more people were selling them, even if these flowers were no longer available, those who wanted to buy them would have already bought them, and there would be far fewer people buying them.
Qin Yizhen thought about it and agreed. This was an unexpected windfall, and it was already a stroke of luck to have received so much. So she asked Mr. Deng, "What should we do when fewer and fewer people buy velvet flowers after a long time, and we can't earn much anymore?"
"Princess, rest assured. I have already hired quite a few craftsmen. Ya Chun Pavilion also sells other gold, silver, pearl, and gemstone jewelry. In the future, we can just operate Ya Chun Pavilion as a jewelry store."
Qin Yizhen calculated the income of the silver shops. Shops like Baochai Shop only earn about two or three thousand a year, which adds up to twenty or thirty thousand a year, which seems pretty good.
"That's fine then. However, I don't need this money in a hurry, and you don't need to pay me back right away. Wait another month or two until you have more money, then I'll pay you back."
“Princess, please don’t refuse.” Mr. Deng couldn’t help but smile. “The Marquis instructed me beforehand that if I received the money, I should return it to the princess first and not delay. Otherwise, he would not be able to hold his head up in front of the princess.”
Will Cheng Yan be unable to hold his head up?
Qin Yizhen almost laughed when she thought of this, but since he minded, she naturally didn't object: "In that case, I will accept it. If you have any difficulties, just tell me."
"Thank you princess."
"By the way, what does Mr. Deng think about the study we mentioned earlier?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Deng said, "Song Nian did indeed discuss this matter with me, but I am still hesitant."
Why the hesitation?
"In Qin capital, there are many study rooms that sell a wide variety of things: first, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones; second, poetry collections, calligraphy and paintings; third, books about the imperial examinations; and fourth, storybooks."
"How's business?"
"If you operate all four types of businesses at the same time, the business will be quite good, and you can earn a lot in a month. However, if you only sell storybooks, the business will probably be just so-so."
Storybooks are considered leisure reading, not necessities, so they can't be sold at too high a price. Moreover, each book requires paper and people to copy it, which costs money, so the profit isn't much.
Of course, it would be possible if storybooks were as sought after as velvet flowers, but that's just a thought. Mr. Deng has specifically checked the sales of the best-selling storybooks these days, and that's exactly what they are.
If it's placed in a study and operated like any other business, it can certainly be profitable. However, it's not worthwhile to open a separate study to sell storybooks.
Mr. Deng shared these concerns with Qin Yizhen.
Qin Yizhen frowned, about to say something, when she suddenly remembered that Fang Shixin had also sold storybooks later, and in order to reduce costs, he had come up with a brilliant idea called 'movable type printing'.
The process involves carving the characters onto wood, each only the size of a little finger. When printing, the small pieces of wood are arranged according to the characters, then ink is applied, paper is placed on top, and the characters appear on the paper.
This would eliminate the need for a copyist and greatly reduce the amount of paper used.
Upon hearing Qin Yizhen's explanation, Mr. Deng's hand, which was touching his beard, trembled involuntarily, and he actually plucked out three hairs.
Qin Yizhen patted her forehead: "It's my fault, I actually forgot about these things."
According to her idea, the cost of selling storybooks didn't need to be too high, and the woodblock prints could be reused. All she needed to do was find a few literate people to type them.
Mr. Deng realized what was happening and slapped his thigh: "Princess, this method is brilliant! If it is so, many books can be printed, and then many people in the world may be able to read."
Mr. Deng came from a poor family, so he naturally knew the hardships that ordinary people faced in pursuing education. Books were especially expensive, and even if the whole family tightened their belts, they might not be able to afford them if they didn't have some wealth.
Mr. Deng was a very talented person in his youth and even passed the imperial examination to become a scholar. However, due to his poor family background, he had to give up his studies.
"It would be even better if there were more paper available."
"Paper?" Qin Yizhen frowned and thought carefully, recalling whether Fang Shixin had ever made such a thing in her previous life. In the end, she couldn't figure it out and could only shake her head, "I don't know about that."
She wondered if she should try to find an opportunity to get information out of Fang Shixin and see if he had any better papermaking techniques.
Printing technology is indeed excellent, but without paper, even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice. Only when both are available can it truly benefit all people.
"Let's put this matter aside for now and think of a solution."