open sea

Chapter 790 Mason
Xu Luan stared intently at the table case, and slowly picked up the weirdly shaped mask on the table with two rough hands. There was only one candle in the dark room, so he took the mask and looked at the fire.

He was a stonemason of Chen Mu's family. As early as the Jiajing period, he was an apprentice of a master jade craftsman in Suzhou. He was ordered by the imperial court to serve as a corvee for his teacher and went to Xuanfu to do the drudgery of cutting mountains and stones.

When Chen Mu, who was the general of Zhenshuo at the time, recruited generals, he applied as a stonemason. He wanted to make some money. After all, the generals at that time mainly recruited iron, wood, stone, porcelain, and jewelers. He didn't even mention it at all, but he didn't expect that since the establishment of the Xuanfu Military Weapons Bureau, General Zhenshuo would be promoted steadily, and all of them were incomprehensible official positions.

The status of these family generals has risen, so they are unwilling to leave.

Traveling all over the years, the precious artifacts in his hands are no less than his teacher. Who can see the magnificent scene of inspecting three dendrobium pearls in one day in Sulu, and sending a thousand catties of gems to Weidao, the military mansion, from the Lion Kingdom?
That's really going to sea.

In the corner of the dark room, the candlelight reflected Chen Mu, who was crossing his arms and chest. He asked, "Xu Carpenter, is this kind of jade available in China?"

"Oh, the second master was joking." Chen Mu's serious sentence was interpreted as a joke by the middle-aged jeweler. Xu Lu'an's eyes were still fixed on the mask, and he wrote lightly: "What is there in Guochao?"

The mask held by the craftsman is made of jade. Since the opening of the No. [-] store in Agang, the survival needs of the people in the port have made them more dependent on silver. The business of the No. [-] store is booming day by day. I didn't know how to set the price, so I sent the stone to Chen Mu.

Chen Mu was choked by Xu Lu'an's words, but he couldn't afford to argue with a well-informed craftsman in ancient times, nodded and asked: "The seed is a good one. The mask is made with a high nose bridge and round lips. It looks like the craftsman made it When wearing the visor, the cutting tool was short in the hand, and the craftmanship is mostly based on grinding, so that the appearance is rough, if it really ruins these dozen pieces of large materials."

"Yu Guan polished the grain, and the finished product should be tens or even hundreds of years old. In terms of price alone, this item is sold to the south of the Yangtze River, and it is worth between 20 taels and 23 taels."

Chen Mu narrowed his eyes, and said, "Xu Carpenter, you mean that Mr. Chen lost his hand this time, and the No. [-] shop spent two taels of silver to collect this thing, which is not ten times the profit?"

"Second Master, don't worry, let me explain in detail." Speaking of his own unique field, Xu Lu'an carefully put the mask back on the table, turned sideways and said to Chen Mu: "This mask is only worth two pounds. Half of the material, the price is far more than 20 taels of silver."

"But first of all, it is not a whole piece, it is a combination of 29 pieces, and each piece is not small when taken out alone, especially the dozen or so big pieces of nose, cheeks, and forehead, which are worth three or four taels when taken out individually. "Secondly, there are dense wear marks, which can still be seen even after treatment, which hurts the bone; thirdly, if you carve a horse or a tiger, even if it is wishful, you can sell it for a high price."

Chen Mu felt that the third point was the most important. He frowned and said, "You mean that the people of the country can't appreciate it, so it's worthless?"

"That's right! That's what it means." Xu Lu'an pointed to the sapphire mask on the table and said, "If the second master wants to sell it at a high price, I have two ideas - dismantle it and sell it as jade. It's worth 30 taels, which is ten times the profit."

"But the second master has collected a lot of jades this time, and there must be more in the future. As soon as the first batch of jade materials comes out, merchants from middle schools will come to hear the news next year. I'm afraid that the jade materials from middle schools will be even cheaper again. Three points."

This craftsman has a good understanding of the relationship between supply and demand in the market. Before Chen Mu opened his mouth, Xu Luan explained: "The second master transported millions of beads into Jiangnan, and the price of Jiangnan pearls plummeted. It is also the same, now the second master is going to sell jade in the middle school, it can be imagined."

Chen Mu chuckled when he heard the words: "Carpenter Xu knows a lot."

He has arranged for merchants to be very restrained in shipments, but what can be done?

The Sulu Three Kings lost the pearls they had accumulated for generations, and the Lion King lost the gems they had accumulated for decades, but they reaped a stable environment for decades or even hundreds of years in the future. The scale poured into its domestic market.

The relationship between supply and demand has been changed, how can there be no short-term shocks in prices.

"Second master, don't underestimate our stonemason. The young master has read Mr. Wumen Shizhou's "A Picture of Rising the River during Qingming Festival"."

Mr. Shizhou is talking about Qiu Ying. His "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is also called Qiuben. The painting is not Bianliang City in the Northern Song Dynasty but Suzhou City in the Ming Dynasty.
Craftsmen dare not say anything else, especially the jewelers in Suzhou City, who are well-informed and well-informed, so they are bound to occupy them.

"To understand jewels, the origin of artifacts is the soul. The second way for this object is not to dismantle it, but to dig deep -- the small one is just saying that, whether it will be completed or not is unknown. "

Seeing Chen Mu nodding his head, Xu Lu'an relaxed, raised his two fingers and said, "There are hundreds of pieces of Asian jade in the small port alone, all of which are decades old. In ancient times, jade wares must have been popular in this country. The material is not available to the princes and nobles, and now it is a jade article, worth 30 taels."

"Dig out the ins and outs, it is an antique, worth 300 taels."

"If its past owner is like King Lanling, it will become a treasure, worth 3000 taels."

"Treasures with a market price of 3000 taels can be sold for 3 taels if they are sold in Yangzhou."

Hey, you are a fucking talent!

It is not surprising that Chen Mu can think of these things, but it is more amazing that a jeweler under him can think of these things. He raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "You used to be a jeweler, and your business is neither rich nor short of money. You have this ability , why did you come to me to be a house craftsman?"

This made him wonder if the craftsman was kidnapped by his soldiers!

Craftsmen are divided into different types of work, and their wages vary. Jewelers are the highest among them.

It's not worth running to be a home craftsman.

"What kind of skill is the little one, but the second master has great skills. Even if you don't talk about the second master, the little teacher is also a great skill. He often said that you can see the big picture from the small, and you can know the whole picture, just like in the "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival". The prosperity of the Song Dynasty also explains why the Song Dynasty collapsed."

Chen Mu raised his chin and signaled him to continue, Xu Luan said: "On the map of Song Dynasty, there is no guard on the gate of Bianliang, and there is no value at the bottom. The entrance is a tax office, and foreign merchants can enter the city without inspection; There are guards above the urn city and below the city of Suzhou, and there are yamen servants guarding the city when entering the city."

Xu Lu'an said: "Bianliang City is not fortified."

"The second master said that the young man has some insignificant skills in engraving seals and seals, which can support the family, but not the ability to make a name for future generations; the second master has it, and the young one wants to be famous. This matter can be followed by the second master."

"Dead for a hundred years, so that future generations will know. I, Xu Lu'an, have also been here."

Chen Mu nodded.

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)