Daming kill

Chapter 116 Trading
Although Zuo Liangyu's reward was generous, Li Ping's consumption was even greater. It was obviously not enough to sit and eat, so he had to think of other ways to gather wealth.

Therefore, even if Song Baolai "has no time", he can still get Zhuangzi to do big business.

To the south of Xiangyang City, across the long and narrow Xianshan Mountain, to the southeast of Xianshan Mountain, on the opposite bank of Lumen Mountain, and beside the Han River.

Although there is no need to make any detours or climb mountains to get here from Wanshan, the road is not close.

But Song Baolai had to go to such trouble.

Because almost no merchant ships are willing to cross the city to the dangerous west of Xiangyang City to approach Wanshan, and the area inside the big bend of the Han River in the east of Xiangyang City is too crowded and eye-catching.

If you want to do big business during the war, you must find a remote place, away from the bustling and noisy.

Therefore, we can only choose the lower reaches of the Han River, the farther the better, but not too far.

Fortunately, those who dare to walk in the chaos of war are large merchant ships, and they often have enough goods in their hands.

When Song Baolai arrived at this uninhabited river, there were already two large sailboats waiting here.

However, these two galleons were still some distance away from the shore, and there was only one small boat leaning against the shore. The four men with knives on the small boat were watching the chariot and horse team led by Song Baolai vigilantly.

After Song Baolai's caravan stopped more than a hundred meters away from the shore, a rider came to the side of the boat and said a few words, and then the four men escorted a middle-aged, thin, managerial-looking man off the boat and headed for the caravan. Come here.

Song Baolai, who was riding on a horse, kept looking at each other and the two sailboats nervously.He didn't get off his horse, but let a steward on his side talk to the other side.

The hundreds of officers and soldiers transferred from the army around the carriage and horse team all maintained their vigilance as if they were facing an enemy. Ma Lan, who was also standing on the horse beside Song Baolai, kept scanning everything around him with his eyes.

After lifting the cover of a carriage, choosing seven or eight out of dozens of medium-sized earthen jars to open, and personally tasting the fine noodles in each earthen jar, the skinny steward who got off the boat was always tense. The stern face finally relaxed.

As for the other car, the thin steward did not inspect it.

After the thin steward nodded, a man next to the thin steward ran to the bank and shouted at the big boats in the river. Soon one of the big boats landed on the small simple pier on the shore, but the other one remained unchanged.

These days, many soldiers, bandits, and merchants are not separated, and there is nothing to believe, so everyone is very careful.

There are many such dilapidated and simple small piers along the Han River in the lower reaches of Xiangyang, and they are scattered for dozens of miles along the river.During the prosperous years of the Ming Dynasty, there was an endless stream of fleets at these small piers, and it was hard to find one.

It's just that there are few people left for miles.

The already small fleet would not easily come here to dock, but basically all gathered in the east of Fancheng near the edge of the city.
However, it also facilitates those transactions that do not want to attract attention.

When the big ship was stable, about [-] people with swords and spears got off the ship, and then a load of cargo began to be unloaded.

Seeing that the goods on the other side had been unloaded, Song Baolai waved his hand, and the steward on his side also ran to the small pier to inspect the goods.

After the steward waved his hand to indicate that there was no problem, Song Baolai turned his head and said to Ma Lan, "Get off the horse and bring ten good men with me, and the others stay here."

In Ma Lan's astonishment, Song Baolai said helplessly: "Go and gather people. If this is the only deal, why should I come? See if you put up a battle!"

"But it's too dangerous!" Malan still hesitated.

"What, are you afraid? Or do you think you can't protect me?" Song Baolai said sarcastically.

Ma Lan's face turned red from the stimulation, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'll make arrangements right away, Mr. Song, please wait a moment."

When Song Baolai brought people to the shore to look at the goods in person, the thin steward on the small boat immediately whispered to the steward on Song Baolai's side, and then a man beside him jumped onto the big sailboat on the pier.

Song Baolai had never seen this skinny manager, and the skinny manager probably didn't know him either.

Soon, a middle-aged and wealthy man got off the big sailboat with its sails up all the time.

As soon as he saw Song Baolai's face, he bowed his head and said, "So it's Mr. Song, I'm sorry."

Song Baolai waited for the steward on his side to bite his ears, and then imitated bowing and bowing: "Oh! It turned out to be Yuanwai Xu, sorry for your disrespect."

After some humility, the two who met for the first time burst out laughing.

Song Baolai used Yuanwailai to call this businessman with obvious respect. After all, Song Baolai was an officer, and it was impossible to call a businessman with more respectful words like "big official", let alone call him a brother.

It is very polite to use the neutral status of Yuanwai and the identity that most landlords and wealthy businessmen like to donate at this time.

"Take away all the weapons! Mr. Song is here, so there is nothing to worry about." The businessman surnamed Xu suddenly said with a smile to the surroundings.

As soon as his low-pitched voice fell, the more than 20 men with swords and spears on his side on the pier immediately put away their weapons.

The identity of the businessman surnamed Xu as the master is obviously not fake.

Of course, the businessman surnamed Xu dared to do this because of his rich experience, and he wouldn't be fooled by Song Bao, who was thinner and more tender than most of the people here.

The leader of the officers and soldiers had already come to the side of the boat in person without fear of danger, and his sincerity was enough. If he didn't take kind actions, it would appear that there was a ghost on their side.

There was less overt vigilance, and the atmosphere was more relaxed.

At this time, Song Baolai's steward began to inspect the goods one by one, and the steward of the businessman surnamed Xu also took people to the convoy to inspect the cans one by one.

Although the price has been negotiated in advance and the total quantity of the goods has been clarified, the two parties still have to go through the same order today to ensure that the quality of the samples and the real goods are consistent, and the quantity is not adulterated.

When it comes to large transactions for the first time, both parties need to be cautious.

"Master Song has so much fine salt in his hand, why does he want so much coarse salt?" Member Xu asked curiously.

"Why do military men eat fine salt? Coarse salt is good. It is fundamental to change more food." Song Baolai said carelessly.

"Hehe, that's true." The businessman surnamed Xu said with a smile.

The material Song Baolai used to barter is refined salt, but at this time people call it fine salt.

In general, there was no shortage of salt in the Ming Dynasty, but the problem of salt administration made it more troublesome to obtain salt.Moreover, most of the salt in the Ming Dynasty was coarse salt, that is, granular salt.

Refined salt, that is, fine salt, is also available, and it cannot be said to be rare, but the quantity is still very small in general, because there is no effective fine salt processing technology in the Ming Dynasty, which naturally leads to the high price of refined salt.

However, the demand for refined salt was huge. The development of the commodity economy in the Ming Dynasty and the polarization of the social gap between the rich and the poor created a huge group of rich and noble people, especially in the south of the Yangtze River.

The diet of this class not only requires a large amount of refined salt, but also many living habits, such as brushing teeth.

At this time, there was no toothpaste, and the rich often used salt when brushing their teeth. Of course, this salt could not be coarse salt.

Therefore, an important method for the peasant army in the Northwest to raise military pay and supplies was to use fine salt for a large number of underground transactions, because the land salt-producing areas they controlled could naturally produce fine salt, but of course the amount was not large.

And there are always many military leaders and big businessmen who have no principles for the sake of profit in this world.

It was difficult for the ancients to make refined salt, but it was not very complicated for Li Ping, especially since he had Song Baolai, a guy who knew how to tinker, and more importantly, he had a hidden and independent place.

Therefore, it has become a good way to buy a large amount of coarse salt and then process it into fine salt to resell.

"If there is fine salt, can Yuanwai Xu still eat it?" Song Baolai asked casually while watching the steward inspect the goods.

The businessman surnamed Xu was taken aback when he heard the words, then stared at Song Baolai and said, "Why, Mr. Song still has the goods?"

"Not now, but we may get another batch later." Song Baolai replied flatly.

"Oh, Mr. Song, you have a way!" The businessman surnamed Xu said suddenly.

"It's okay! Do you want more?" Song Baolai replied ambiguously.

"Yes, of course. Your salt is rare and high-quality. I want as much as I have. However, I don't have much grain, cotton, and coarse cloth. Can I trade with satin, silk, and porcelain? , I still have some excellent Song brocade and Yun brocade.”

The businessman surnamed Xu did not continue to inquire.Don't ask what shouldn't be asked, especially Lai Lu Mowen, he still understands these rules, he just needs to confirm that Song Baolai will still have the goods.

"No hurry, it will take a while, and the quantity should be more than this time. See if you can exchange some goods with other stores or think of other ways. I don't want satin, porcelain, etc., I only need grain and cotton And rough cloth, of course, if you have iron in your hand, it will do." Song Baolai said seriously.

The businessman surnamed Xu said happily: "Master Song, as long as you have the goods, I can find a solution. The price will still be as we have negotiated this time? Let your people keep in touch with my manager, and the place of contact will remain the same. "

"Then it's settled." Song Baolai also said readily.

After talking about the next time, both parties are in a better mood.

Taking advantage of the enthusiasm, Song Baolai greeted again: "Mr. Song, I got some good things here. Take a look and give me an estimate. If it's suitable, I can get some more."

Saying that, Song Baolai took out the perfume and lipstick from his pocket...

After the goods of both parties were inspected and loaded onto their respective boats and carriages, in the middle area, Song Baolai and Xu Yuanwai were saying goodbye cordially. The smooth transaction obviously greatly increased mutual trust.

After finishing arching, the businessman surnamed Xu did not put his hand down, but hesitated and asked: "The army is frequently transferred. I wonder if Mr. Song can tell which general to do business for? It's also cheap. I will contact you in the future."

"Guerrilla Li Ping." Song Baolai simply told the truth after handing over his hands.

"I've heard of it, young hero. Master Song, thank you." The businessman surnamed Xu smiled and bowed again, another stone was put down in his heart.

After finally concluding such a big deal, Song Baolai walked back in a happy mood seeing several carts full of supplies.

In fact, such a big deal is very difficult to contact, let alone finalized.Both sides are afraid of black people, and this is too often.

To be honest, it was the first time for Song Baolai and the others on such a large scale, but only such a big deal can solve substantive problems.

Relying on small fights will never make a fortune.

That's why Song Baolai decided to come here in person regardless of the danger, to be the first to dispel the other party's concerns, and to see if he could finalize a long-term cooperation with the other party, so that both parties would have peace of mind.

Looking at it now, the effect is not bad.

Most of the big businessmen in ancient times were very trustworthy, which is also the basis for their business to grow bigger, stronger and last longer. Song Baolai hoped that he would not encounter any aliens.

Of course, the possibility of encountering aliens among big businessmen is also the lowest, because only once, the reputation of these big businessmen is gone, and there is no need to do business again.

On the way, Song Baolai asked Malan, "Don't follow today's example in the business you lead the team tomorrow. You should be more careful. They are no better than this group of businessmen who specialize in this kind of food."

"Don't worry, sir. Fang Guoan's gang of trash, they dare to use tricks, I will prevent them from seeing the sun of tomorrow." Malan said with a look of disdain.

(End of this chapter)