Kai Fu Han

Chapter 196: Meat for food
Zong Laimao arranged for people to send the agreement back to his home, but he stayed behind to watch the Han League people dissecting the big fish. The whole process was very bloody, but also shocking.

The corpse of a large fish nearly ten feet long and two feet high lay on the beach, and the blood stained the sea near the sea red. Such a huge beast in the sea could not resist the slaughter of human beings. Zong Laimao couldn't help but lament the greatness of human power.

……

The next few days were spent safely. I don't know if it was because there was no Zong family organization, so no Japanese pirates came to attack the Xinghan League's fleet staying at Tuimanan Port.

On August [-], Liu Xinqi arranged for Cui Wu to go to the mansion and hire two thousand men from the Zong family. To hire these men, not only the men themselves would be paid, but also the Zong family would be paid.

The price given to the young men was to provide food and shelter, five kilograms of large fish and ten copper coins per day, and to the Zong family, two thousand young men were given five taels of silver per day.

With the addition of these two thousand men, the construction progress of Tuima Nangang was greatly accelerated. Because Liu Xinqi was familiar with all the technologies developed by the Xinghan League, and with the help of cement, the construction of Tuima Nangang was soon completed. Tapered.

The progress of construction accelerated, and money was spent quickly. Most of the money earned from Goryeo was paid to the Zong family to purchase various tools, materials, livestock, and food. Finally, they even began to barter, and fine steel products and glass products were exchanged. To Zongjia.

The Zong family was also very fast. On August [-]th, the ship that set out for Shanyang Road to sell goods had already returned. From Zong Laimao, who came over to take a leisurely stroll, he learned that he should have made a lot of money, although he said He only made a little bit, but the joy he couldn't hide on his face gave him away. Liu Xinqi estimated that the Zong family made at least twice as much.

On August 25, whaling stopped because there was so much whale meat that there was no place to store it.

"Why are there no new big fish caught today? Didn't you encounter it?" Zong Laimao, who comes to "inspect" Jiumana Port every now and then, asked Liu Xinqi.

"Don't you have anything serious to do every day? You're always running here." Now that we've gotten to know each other better, Liu Xinqi has become more relaxed when talking to him.

"If I have something serious to do, there are only two possibilities: either there is a big chaos at home, or my father can't take charge. Unfortunately, this may not happen now, so my main business now is to come here to see what you have. I didn't do anything that crossed the line." Zong Laimao was not polite.

Liu Xinqi rolled his eyes and replied: "If we cross the line, you can still let you pass the news back."

"If I didn't go back, it would be 'news'." Zong Laimao said with a smile.

"Then your family is really willing to spend money to let the heir come over and do such a cannon fodder thing." Liu Xinqi said: "Let's eat corn porridge tonight."

After hearing Liu Xinqi's trump card, Zong Laimao immediately regained his foodie nature.

"No, you have so many good dishes here. If you eat corn porridge, wouldn't it be a waste of your cooking skills?"

"I see you come here every day just to eat. You are so righteous." Liu Xinqi exposed Zong Laimao's "face".

Zong Laimao was not angry, because what Liu Xinqi said was basically right. He asked a servant to bring a game caught on the island: "Can you do this? Let's try it tonight."

Tuima Island covers an area of ​​[-] square kilometers and is rich in wild resources. Moreover, Liu Xinqi came to Tuima Island for the first time in his life and did not know what kind of animal this game was.

"what is this?"

"This is 'Reed Duck'."

Liu Xinqi still doesn't understand, but it is probably a kind of wild duck.

"Let the cook roast it. Let's have roast duck tonight." Liu Xinqi arranged for a subordinate who was following him.

The men took the wild duck to find the chef, and Zong Laimao asked the question again.

"There is too much fish meat to store. It would be too wasteful to hunt big fish and only extract the oil, so we will stop for a while." Zong Laimao's eyes immediately lit up: "Can you sell it to me?"

As expected of a business family, they have a really keen sense of business.

"What's your price?" Liu Xinqi asked.

Zong Laimao thought for a while and replied: "This big fish is actually not delicious, but it is meat after all, and there is still a market on the island. The current price of food on the island is five cents per catty, I can bid for the big fish Three cents per catty."

Liu Xinqi understood that the "literary money" Zong Laimao was talking about was the copper coins made by Zhao State. In the Japanese market, copper coins from East Asian continental countries had always been hard currency.

However, Zong Laimao's bid is too low. The fishing industry is not developed in this era, so the price of fish is higher than that of food.

"Too low." Liu Xinqi replied.

"We also want profits, and the expenses such as freight and labor are not small. If we don't make money, no one will do it. Besides, you can't digest it yourself, and it would be a waste not to sell it to me." Zong Laimao replied .

"I don't want your money. I'll exchange a pound of meat for a pound of grain. If you agree, then trade. If you don't, forget it." Liu Xinqi suggested.

Zong Laimao calculated that five cents was the retail price of grain, so there was still some money to be made from such an exchange.

"Okay, I will bring the grain over tomorrow to trade."

Liu Xinqi was happy after hearing this, and pulled Zong Laimao towards his room: "Come on, since you are so grand, I will let you have a long experience today and have a taste of our Xinghan League's 'magic brew'"

"'Xianjiang', is it wine?" Zong Laimao asked.

"Of course, the wine can only be drunk by gods." Liu Xinqi boasted.

……

Since August 25th, Zong Laimao has been obsessed with "immortal wine" since he got drunk, and Liu Xinqi couldn't stand it, so he had to take a whaling boat to escape.

Today is already August [-]th. According to previous estimates, if the journey goes smoothly, the ships of the second fleet should arrive at Tuima Island.

After more than half a month of whaling, all the people involved in whaling have become familiar with it. With the help of Dabai and Xiaobai, there is basically no time to waste time, and there is harvest every day.

It was the same day. Liu Xinqi just stood on the deck of the ship and watched. Li Cang organized his men to hunt three big fish in two hours, and the five whaling ships began to return.

It's not that we can't catch more, because if we catch more, there won't be enough manpower to handle it, and the Zong family's trade volume has reached its limit.

When the fleet was returning, Liu Xinqi suddenly discovered that the sea breeze was not strong, but the waves were unusually high, which was very similar to the "celestial phenomenon" before the last hurricane.

When the ship docked, Liu Xinqi was stopped by Cui Wu and his guide as soon as he got off the ship.

"There should be another hurricane coming." The guide's first words confirmed Liu Xinqi's guess.

After hearing the guide's confirmation, Liu Xinqi's heart couldn't help but sink.I don’t know where the ships of the second fleet have sailed, and whether they can avoid this hurricane. If they are to meet the hurricane on the vast sea, they will probably not survive.

(End of this chapter)