I was chased by my sickly junior brother who had two lives

In Qing, Chen Jia and Chen Jue have made their mark in many fields with their outstanding business acumen and unremitting spirit of innovation, and their business territory has continued to expand. Now, as the maritime trade plan progresses, they have gathered with franchisees from all walks of life to discuss in depth the key issues related to business development - the use of currency and the expansion of the silk business.

On this day, sunlight shone through the carved windows into the spacious meeting room of the Chen Mansion. Chen Jia and Chen Jue sat in the main seats, and below them sat franchisees from all over the country. The atmosphere was warm and solemn.

Chen Jue spoke first, looking around at everyone, and said, "Everyone, with the development of our maritime trade, the frequent exchange of goods has made the use of currency a top priority. Silver and copper coins are mainly circulated in the market now, but in large-scale trade, both have their advantages and disadvantages. I wonder what your opinions are on this?"

A franchisee from the north, wearing a thick brocade robe, stood up first and said with a bow, "Duke Chen, to be honest, in my opinion, silver is valuable and relatively convenient to carry. It is more convenient to settle in large transactions. Goods such as silk and porcelain that we are preparing this time are very valuable. If we use copper coins to pay, we have to carry a lot of them, which is very inconvenient. For example, last time I traded a batch of porcelain with a big merchant, which was worth thousands of taels of silver. If we use copper coins, it would take a lot of manpower and material resources just to move the copper coins, and it would take up a lot of space. But if we use silver, we can do it with a few boxes."

Chen Jia nodded slightly, his eyes full of thought, and said, "What this brother said makes sense. Silver does have obvious advantages in large-scale transactions. But don't forget that although copper coins are of low value, they can be widely used in private transactions, and are more practical in some remote areas or small-scale transactions. Our trade involves a wide range of areas, and the role of copper coins cannot be ignored. For example, in some small ports overseas, we trade some special seafood with local fishermen. They may be more accustomed to trading with copper coins. They can buy some fresh seafood with a few coins, which is convenient and affordable."

At this time, a southern franchisee, dressed in an exquisite silk gown, stood up and said, "Mrs. Chen, what you said makes sense. However, when we go out to sea to trade with overseas countries, currency exchange is a problem. I heard that some overseas countries do not recognize our copper coins, but only prefer silver. What should we do? Take the island countries in the South China Sea as an example. They only recognize silver, and their own currency is a shell currency made of shells, which has a very complicated exchange ratio with our silver and copper coins. If we go with copper coins, we can't trade at all, but we are afraid that it will be unsafe on the road if we carry too much silver."

Chen Jue frowned slightly, tapped the table with his fingers, and said, "This is indeed a tricky problem. We need to understand the currency situation of each country in advance, establish cooperation with local merchants or money houses, and ensure smooth currency exchange during transactions. At the same time, in overseas trade, we may be able to focus on silver, but we must also prepare some local currencies in case of emergency. For example, if we want to trade in the Western Regions, there are many kinds of currencies in various countries, including gold coins and silver coins minted by themselves. Moreover, the gold and silver content of currencies in different countries are different, and the exchange rate may fluctuate every day. If we don't do our homework in advance, we will definitely suffer a big loss when trading."

Everyone nodded in approval of Chen Jue's proposal.

A franchisee who specializes in porcelain business touched his chin and said thoughtfully: "Duke Chen, Madam Chen, in addition to the currency issue, our silk business has broad prospects for overseas trade this time. I wonder what you two think about expanding the silk business?"

Chen Jia smiled slightly and said with a firm look, "Silk has always been a treasure of our Qing country and is very popular overseas. To expand the silk business, we must first ensure the quality of silk. We must strengthen cooperation with weavers in silk producing areas, provide high-quality silkworm species and advanced weaving technology, and ensure that the texture, color, and pattern of silk can be taken to a higher level. For example, we can introduce a new type of silkworm species cultivated in the south, which produces fine and bright silk. The silk woven with this kind of silk will feel softer and have a better gloss, which will definitely be more competitive in the overseas market."

Chen Jue went on to say, "Madam, what you said is very true. In addition, we need to enrich the types and styles of silk. In addition to traditional silk, we can develop some novel silk products, such as silk screens, silk pillows, etc., to meet the needs of different customers. In terms of design, we can incorporate cultural elements from various countries to make silk more attractive. Just like we know that people in the Western Regions like styles with bright colors and complex patterns, we can design some silk products with Western-style patterns to cater to their preferences."

A franchisee from the silk producing area of ​​Jiangnan said excitedly: "Duke Chen, Madam Chen, your ideas are really great! Silk weaving has a long history in our Jiangnan area and there are many weavers. If we can follow your ideas, strengthen cooperation, improve quality, and develop new products, why worry about the prosperity of silk business? However, the funds and manpower required to expand production are not small. To increase the supply of silkworm seeds, more mulberry fields are needed to plant mulberry trees, which requires a lot of money to buy land. In addition, recruiting new weavers requires time to train them to master new weaving techniques, which is not a small challenge."

Chen Jia looked at the franchisee and said with a smile: "Don't worry about this. We can invest together and jointly contribute to expand the scale of production. As for manpower, on the one hand, we can recruit more weavers, and on the other hand, we can train the existing weavers to improve their weaving skills and ensure production efficiency and product quality. For example, we can invite the most famous weaving masters in Jiangnan to open special training classes to teach weavers the latest weaving techniques so that they can master the new technology."

At this time, a young franchisee asked with some concern: "Mrs. Chen, developing new silk products can certainly attract more customers, but we have no idea how the market will react. What if we invest a lot of manpower and material resources but fail to gain market recognition? After all, we have always focused on the production and sales of traditional silk. We are really not sure whether consumers will buy these new silk products."

Chen Jue smiled and said, "My dear brother, doing business is inherently risky, but we cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater. Before developing new products, we can first conduct market research to understand the preferences and needs of consumers in various countries. At the same time, when launching new products, we can first conduct small-scale trial sales and make timely adjustments based on market feedback. As long as we manage it carefully and grasp the market trends, we will surely succeed. For example, we can first open special stores in the bustling areas of some big cities to display and sell our new silk products, see the reactions of consumers, collect their opinions and suggestions, and then improve the products."

Everyone also had a detailed discussion on the expansion of the silk business, conducting in-depth analysis and planning on every link from raw material procurement, production technology, product design to market promotion.

"Mrs. Chen, I think we can work hard on the packaging of silk, designing exquisite and unique packaging to improve the grade of silk. We can use exquisite wooden boxes, lined with soft satin, carefully place the silk products in them, and then add some small accessories with Qing characteristics, so that customers will feel high-end at first glance." A franchisee suggested.

Chen Jia nodded and praised: "This is a good idea. Good packaging can leave a deep first impression on people and attract more customers to buy."

"Duke Chen, we can also hold silk exhibitions overseas to allow more people to have an intuitive understanding of our silk products. We can invite local nobles, wealthy businessmen, fashionable people, etc. to participate and display our various exquisite silk products. At the same time, we can arrange professional commentators to introduce the production process and cultural connotations of silk." said another franchisee.

Chen Jue smiled and responded: "This is a great idea. Through the trade fair, we can not only showcase our silk products, but also establish more direct contact with overseas merchants and expand sales channels."

After a whole day of heated discussions, everyone reached a lot of consensus on the use of currency and the expansion of the silk business.

As the sky gradually darkened, candles were lit in the meeting room. Chen Jia looked at the franchisees present and said sincerely: "Today's discussion with you has benefited me a lot. Our maritime trade route is full of challenges, but it also contains unlimited opportunities. I hope that we can work together to find the best solution in the use of currency, achieve fruitful results in expanding the silk business, and jointly create more brilliant achievements."

Chen Jue also stood up, raised his glass, and said, "Everyone, let's drink to a better future!"

Everyone stood up and toasted to celebrate, with laughter echoing in the meeting room. Under the leadership of Chen Jia and Chen Jue, the franchisees were full of confidence and marched towards a new journey of maritime trade together, looking forward to the silk business blooming more brilliantly overseas.