Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 76 Pi Dao Trade
Lin Hai was sitting in the side hall, drinking tea and waiting for the host to receive him.

This is a courtyard building on Pi Dao Island, with seven entrances in total. The courtyard is full of servants, the rooms are full of pretty maids, and there is even a group of domestic actors and actresses.As for the furnishings and decorations, they were very different from the rich families in the south of the Yangtze River such as the Wu family and the Shen family that Lin Hai had seen. They were extremely complicated and gorgeous, and there was an aura of nouveau riche everywhere.

Lin Hai held a colorful porcelain cup produced by Cheng Kiln in his hand, which contained Mingqian Longjing. He thought he would have to sit there for a long time, but he didn't expect that Shen Shikui would come out to meet the guests soon.

He had also heard of this name in later generations, because the last commander-in-chief of Dongjiang was Shen Shikui, but what he didn't know was that this man had been the trader of Pidao trade since the establishment of Dongjiang Town.Lin Hai heard about this from the guard of Yuncong Island.

Yuncong Island is to the east of Pi Island, far away from Houjin. The guards here basically have no military pressure. They are mainly responsible for contacting North Korean businessmen on weekdays. After all, the main participants in Pi Island trade are businessmen from China and North Korea.

"Haha... Shopkeeper Lin, nice to meet you." Shen Shikui's laughter came before he entered the door.

"I'm Lin Hai, I've met Shen Dusi." Lin Hai quickly stood up and bowed, taking a look at Shen Shikui who was walking towards him. He saw that this man was of medium height, lean and lean. He was wearing a colorful flower and a pair of Her wet bare feet were exposed from the hem, leaving a trail of water stains on the carpet.

Shen Shikui helped Lin Hai up and said with a hearty smile: "Shopkeeper Lin is too polite. I have so many brothers, but because General Mao thinks highly of me, I let my brother handle the business affairs, so I gave him a false title to facilitate his travels." Shopkeeper Lin, please don’t take it seriously.”

Lin Hai said from the bottom of his heart: "The first thing I want to do is to worship the Shangguan, and the second is to worship the Living Bodhisattva. Shen Dusi handles trade matters for Marshal Mao. The food, clothing and livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people on the Dongjiang Islands all depend on Dusi's hard work day and night. It can truly be said that Buddhas are born among thousands of families.”

"Shopkeeper Lin is overly praised. The prosperity of Dongjiang depends entirely on you, the righteous merchants who responded to the imperial court's call. Brothers, I am looking forward to you coming to Dongjiang to do business day and night. I didn't hear that Shopkeeper Lin is here. I forgot to put on my shoes in the middle of washing my feet. Laugh and laugh.”

As he spoke, Shen Shikui lifted up his loose hem, revealing a big hairy leg, and then said: "Shopkeeper Lin, please sit down quickly, please take a seat. Someone, please take out the Mingqian Longjing given by General Mao and give it to Shopkeeper Lin again." Make a pot of tea.”

Shen Zhixiang said from the side at the right time: "Uncle, what is brewing in this pot is Mingqian Longjing."

Before Shen Shikui came, he had heard Shen Zhixiang say that the reason why he came to do this was, firstly, to show how much he valued Lin Hai, and secondly, because he was afraid that if Lin Hai didn't know the goods, wouldn't it be like flirting with a blind man?
Lin Hai really didn't know what he was talking about. Hearing this, he quickly said: "It turns out that this is the tea given by Marshal Mao. How can I be so lucky?"

Shen Zhixiang interjected: "This Longjing tea is a specialty of General Mao's hometown. It grows on the edge of the West Lake. The tea that must be picked before the Qingming Festival is called Mingqian Longjing. Very little can be picked every year, and most of it must be given away." Go to the palace to make tributes. General Mao also used the method of weaving eunuchs in Suzhou and Hangzhou to get some."

Lin Hai had no choice but to stand up again, thanked Shen Shikui and said, "Master Dusi shows you such kindness, I don't dare to accept it, I don't dare to accept it."

Shen Shikui smiled and said: "Brother is a big boss, and he can't appreciate the beauty of this tea. It has always been used to entertain distinguished guests. Shopkeeper Lin is so polite. Please take a seat."

Lin Hai sat down as he was told and heard Shen Shikui ask: "I heard that shopkeeper Lin came from Japan, but I don't know what kind of goods he brought on the ship?" Lin Hai heard this and said: "There are one thousand tons of saltpeter on the ship. They are all of the highest quality from the Indian country in the West, and there are also three hundred dans of sulfur, which is produced by the Japanese country."

Shen Shikui didn't know much about Indian saltpeter, so he asked: "Is it thenardite or flame saltpeter?"

The so-called Glauber's salt is sodium sulfate decahydrate, which is mainly used for tanning leather and can also be used as traditional Chinese medicine.Flame salt is potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate, which is one of the main components of black gunpowder. Of course, it can also be used to tan leather, but that is a bit luxurious. It is not as cost-effective as using Glauber's salt or alum.

"Fire saltpeter, the saltpeter on the boat is all fire saltpetre." Lin Hai answered truthfully.

Shen Shikui had a smile on his face. The main commodities traded on Pidao were grain, cloth, saltpetre, ginseng, mink skins, and horses. Food basically flowed into the Dongjiang Islands from China and North Korea, and cloth and saltpeter came from the Ming Dynasty. Exported to North Korea, and the next three items were exported from North Korea to the Ming Dynasty.

Unless you are a businessman with a particularly strong background, these items are not allowed to be bought and sold freely. They can only be purchased and sold by someone else. Other commodities can be traded freely, and Dongjiang Town sets up a card to collect taxes.These are the trade rules formulated by Mr. Shen, and Marshal Mao follows them all.

Dongjiang Town's unified purchasing and marketing system was quite sophisticated. For example, it would sometimes issue red tickets to merchants, which would be cashed in after the imperial military pay was in place. This was the so-called business debt.

The businessman really can't find any reason for this matter. After all, the imperial court's arrears for the Dongjiang army's pay are real. If you want to ask Shen Shikui to argue, Mr. Shen can pick up Xiaoqiang from the ground on the spot and compare his misfortune with you in tears.

However, the heat here is quite difficult to control. Shen Shikui also watches what people order. Some give cash, some give red tickets. Some red tickets are cashed on time, and some red tickets are delayed.It is necessary to ensure that Marshal Mao can take advantage of it, but at the same time, it is necessary to prevent the Pidao trade from falling into depression.

In the three years since the town of Dongjiang was founded, the number of uncashed red tickets amounted to millions of taels. Mr. Shen made more money for Marshal Mao with nothing than the total amount of food and salary allocated by the court in the past four years. He was forced to go bankrupt and hang himself. There are also several merchants on Phi Island.

In this way, Pi Dao's trade is still booming, and businessmen from China and North Korea are still flocking to it. This cannot but be said to be Shen Shikui's ability.With such a capable assistant, Marshal Mao was not a fool, so how could he not entrust him with important responsibilities?
Shen Shikui laughed and said: "Nitrogen and yellow are military supplies. Normally, they cannot be sold to the Koreans. However, the emperor took pity on our Dongjiang soldiers who were isolated overseas, and specifically issued an order to allow the sale. But after all, saltpeter and yellow are different from other things and must be sold by We, Dongjiang Town, will purchase them uniformly and then sell them to designated North Korean businessmen to prevent them from being bought by lawless people."

Lin Hai had long expected that the Pi Dao trade would not be completely free. In order to prevent forced buying and selling, he transferred the two hundred loads of raw silk from the Ganfu to the Bowang in Da Qingdao. At this time, he was the only one on the ship. The saltpeter and sulfur I just mentioned.

Hearing what Shen Shikui said, Lin Hai quickly asked: "May I ask Master Dusi, what is the purchase price for saltpeter yellow? Don't let me lose money."

"Don't worry, Shopkeeper Lin. I, Shen, am very particular about fairness when doing business. The specific price can only be determined after inspecting the quality of the goods." Shen Shikui smiled with a smile on his face, but secretly thought in his heart, whether you will lose money or not depends on whether you are a fool. It's useful, if it doesn't work I can make you pay for it.

(End of this chapter)