This Liu Zhiqiang is a wonderful person. Fat and smiling, you can tell at a glance that he is a good hand at doing dirty work. This Kwai Yuan Building itself is a place where the three religions and nine streams are mixed, and if you want to find out some news, it is estimated that there is no big problem. Now Xu Xingxia, looking at people, is becoming more and more snobbish. Who might be useful to himself and who might not be useful to himself, he had begun to learn to distinguish slowly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please!"

Liu Zhiqiang personally brought them into the No. 3 room of Tianzi.

Tianzi No. 1 and No. 2 rooms are not open to the public. With Xu Xingxia's current status, he is not qualified to enter rooms 1 and 2 for the time being. The rumors in the rivers and lakes were all reserved for the governor of Ningxia and the chief military officer of Ningxia, but the rumors have not been confirmed.

"You may be seated, you may be seated."

Liu Zhiqiang greeted him attentively and smiled.

He didn't need everyone to order, he took matters into his own hands and delivered the best dishes. Under the personal supervision of the big boss, all kinds of dishes will be delivered on the assembly line soon. The finest wines are also poured into luminous glasses, and the table is filled with an enticing aroma.

Xu Xingxia held the luminous cup and suddenly asked, "Boss Liu, why don't you use a glass?" ”

Liu Zhiqiang's face suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and then disappeared in a flash, and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, Xu Qianhu, the glasses in this building have been borrowed by King Qing's Mansion and have not been returned." This is a good glass cup, please understand Xu Qianhu. ”

Xu Xingxia was actually just asking casually. He was under the impression that the glasses used to drink wine in later generations were made of glass. No matter how delicate the glass cup is, the transparency is always inferior to the glass. He is a person who has traveled back in the future, holding a glass cup, and he always feels a little weird. Seeing Liu Zhiqiang's reaction, Xu Xingxia realized that he had asked the wrong question. He used the eyes of later generations to measure the things of the Ming Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty, glass was still imported and was quite precious. At that time, the only people in the world who mastered the glass-making process were Italians. In order to preserve the technology of glass manufacturing, the Italians specially set up the glass factory on an isolated island, which was forbidden to outsiders. The people inside are also not allowed to come out. It is indeed very difficult for outsiders to spy on the manufacturing technology of glass. Relying on the glass business, Italians make a lot of profits every year.

Due to the limited production of glass in Italy, which could not fully meet the needs of European royal elites, the amount of glass sold to other places was already very small. After long-distance sea transportation across two oceans, the number of glass that came to the land of the Ming Dynasty was even rarer. In Yuegang, Fujian, the number of glass products received every month is only a handful. As soon as the goods arrived, they were sold out immediately.

Moreover, in order to reduce as much as possible the damage to the glass caused by the ship during the long-distance bumpy voyage, the glass products transported to the East are basically primitive glass pieces, the largest, estimated to be two feet square. These glasses, after reaching the East, are usually divided and then painted with mercury on the back to be used as glass mirrors.

For example, glasses and the like are inherently difficult to manufacture, difficult to encapsulate, and easy to break, so they are rarely sold. And even if there were, it was some very powerful maritime trading bloc. After the glass arrived in Yuegang, Fujian, the price was also astronomical, even the average rich and noble family may not be able to afford it. In later generations, glass was much more precious than glass. However, in the Ming Dynasty, it was glass that was much more precious than glass.

Xu Xingxia nodded thoughtfully, feeling as if he had made a fortune. The manufacturing technology of glass is common knowledge for many people in later generations. You only need to know the general manufacturing process and explore it yourself, and it is easy to make it. He asked casually, "Boss Liu, where did you buy your glass?" How much does it cost? Do you know the price of glass in Yuegang, Fujian? ”

Liu Zhiqiang said with a little embarrassment: "Don't hide it from Xu Qianhu, the ten sets of glass cups in Kwai Yuan Building were actually bought from other people's hands. The price of each set is three hundred and thirty taels, and one tael cannot be less. I sent someone to Yuegang, Fujian Province to investigate. If you buy it directly from the Portuguese, the price is about 130 taels per set. It's a pity that we don't have a way, and even if we have money, we can't buy it. ”

Xu Xingxia couldn't help but be a little shocked, and a little uncontrollable. Damn, isn't it just a set of glasses? The price is so outrageous? In Fujian Yuegang, you need a set of 130 taels of silver? Those damn Italians and Portuguese are really going to cheat our Ming Dynasty people's money! Paralyzed, no, Lao Tzu must drum out the glass, turn the glass importer into an exporter, and earn foreigners' silver taels!

Liu Zhiqiang noticed that Xu Xingxia's expression was different, and thought that Xu Xingxia didn't like his explanation. Come to think of it, for ordinary people, glasses are indeed rare and rare. Xu Xingxia wants to see and understand, which is also human nature. If the glass was in hand, he would definitely take it out without hesitation. But, damn it, the ten sets of glasses were indeed borrowed by the people of Qingwangfu, and they haven't been returned for the time being. He hurriedly said: "Xu Qianhu, the villain will immediately send someone to King Qing's Mansion to bring back the glass......

Xu Xingxia shook his head and said, "Hehe, no need, just a glass cup." ”

Liu Zhiqiang thought he was deliberately covering up, so he said with a smile: "Xu Qianhu is the guard of Qingwangfu, if Qingwangfu knows that Xu Qianhu is here, he will definitely be accommodating......"

Xu Xingxia smiled, stretched out his hand to stop Liu Zhiqiang's movements, shook his head and said, "Boss Liu, don't get me wrong, I really don't need a glass." However, I would like to know, if I have a batch of glass in my hand, I wonder if Boss Liu will buy it? ”

Liu Zhiqiang was obviously stunned, and subconsciously said: "Xu Qianhu has glass in his hand? ”

Xu Xingxia thought about it and felt that the possible surname of the glass drum was still relatively large. The main materials used in the manufacture of glass are quartz sand, soda ash, feldspar and limestone. In this, the only thing that is a little technically difficult is soda ash. However, there are many alternatives to soda ash. In the northwest of the Ming Dynasty, there were many salt water lakes, and there was trona in these salt water lakes. As for the high temperature required to melt raw materials, the general porcelain kiln can meet it.

Limited to the problem of manufacturing process, the quality of glass may not be very good at the beginning, but compared with glass cups, in terms of transparency, it is definitely a lot better. Moreover, the craftsmanship of these imported glasses may not be much better. Purely in terms of craftsmanship, Xu Xingxia absolutely believed in the Ming Dynasty's own craftsmen. The manufacturing cost of glass is actually very low, and even if you fight a price war with Italy, you don't have to be afraid at all.

After a moment of silence, Xu Xingxia said quietly: "So to speak! ”

Liu Zhiqiang suddenly became eager, his eyes were obviously expanded, and his eyes kept flashing. If someone else had spoken like that, he wouldn't have believed it. Who doesn't know the preciousness of glass? How can a small thousand households have glass in their hands? However, this thousand households is Xu Xingxia, so he has to think carefully. Xu Xingxia will definitely not talk nonsense. The only thing he was worried about was whether Xu Xingxia would confuse glass with glass.

The people around Wu Haiming turned out to be a little resistant to Xu Xingxia, and they were always trying to find a way to attack Xu Xingxia to show their existence. It's just that I was shocked by Xu Xingxia's archery skills just now, and I didn't dare to cause trouble again for a while. Since they entered the Kwai Yuan Building, they have all been safe and well-behaved, and they dare not make trouble again. However, when they heard that Xu Xingxia had glass in his hand, they couldn't help but turn their minds again. A conductor said intentionally or unintentionally: "Xu Qianhu, what you have in your hand is only afraid that it is Liuli, right?" ”

Liu Zhiqiang nodded casually and said with a smile: "If Xu Qianhu has a sample, you might as well take a look." If it was glass, I bought it on the spot. If it's Liuli, I'm willing to offer a reasonable price. I don't know what Xu Qianhu wants? ”

Xu Xingxia said slowly: "I don't have the goods in my hand for the time being, and it may take a few months." When the time comes, I will have the goods in my hands, and I will naturally come to Boss Liu. I can guarantee in the name of my Xu Xingxia that it is definitely glass, not glass. In addition, the amount of glass I can get is probably quite large, and you can't digest it alone. ”

Liu Zhiqiang noticed that he was so determined, and he couldn't help but be suspicious in his heart. Could it be that he really has a way to get real glass? Or real glass in large quantities? If that's the case, I don't want to continue to run the restaurant, and I just need to do the business of changing glass. It seems that in Yuegang, Fujian, people who do glass transfer business don't have to do anything, they just need to sit and move their mouths, and a hundred or dozens of taels of silver will be in their hands.

can become the boss of Kwai Yuan Building, Liu Zhiqiang is also a very decisive figure, the windfall is in front of him, how could he not seize it? After a slight groan, he said decisively: "Xu Qianhu, as long as you have real glass in your hand, no matter how much there is, I, Liu Zhiqiang, will eat it all!" How about the price, which is twice the price of glass in Fujian Yuegang? ”

At that time, all the glass was docked in Yuegang, Fujian. Under normal circumstances, they were all bought by wealthy and powerful families on the southeast coast. Some of the glasses were not even opened and sent directly to the capital. The royal relatives and meritorious nobles in the capital, if they don't have a few glass products at home, they are not embarrassed to come out to meet people. There are many monks and few porridges, and there are very few glass products that can be transported to the interior and even the northwest region.

(To be continued)