Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 581 Trade Agreements
The workers came pouring in like a tide, not paying any attention to Li Luoyou and his party who were swaying in the middle of the road.The manager hurriedly led the group to the side of the road, and sat down at a roadside tea stall.

The stall owner and the steward knew each other well, hurried over to say hello and ask for tea.

"There's no need to pour the tea. Let's take a rest and leave in a while." The manager said, "Don't be busy."

Seeing this group of dirty workers walk past him indifferently.I was very unhappy.

He didn't speak with a wooden face, just sat idle.After sitting for a while, the number of workers on the road gradually decreased.Li Luoyou was about to get up when the manager suddenly ran out in a hurry.Came here for a while and came back.

"The third master has already set up a banquet in the business hall to clean up the dust for you, master."

That night, Liu San and the personnel from the foreign affairs, business, and intelligence departments arranged a banquet in the restaurant of the commercial hall together with the shopkeeper Li Da.

Before entering the table, Liu San introduced Li Luoyou one by one.

The people who attended the banquet were mainly members of Liu's working group and the principals in charge of relevant departments, and Li Mei was also on the list. Inviting her to participate was firstly related to her department, and secondly, it was about the entertainment at the banquet. Five hundred people There is no existence stronger than her in here.

All the elders changed into formal clothes because they attended formal occasions, and they were no longer used as training uniforms.It's just that this formal dress is not much better in Li Luoyou's opinion - it is almost indistinguishable from their fake hair, but the material is better and cleaner.No wonder there is no distinction between high and low in Australia.

With a smile on his face, Li Luoyou couldn't help saying: "Long-awaited", looking at these monk-like men in short coats, he suddenly realized that they were all young, and all of them had smooth chins and lips.I couldn't help but wonder, could it be that all the "father-in-laws" came?Thinking about it, it's normal for them to speak, it shouldn't be.

Four people including Li Luoyou and Quark were invited to the table, and Sao Ye and others were invited to another place for entertainment.Gu Baocheng didn't dare to attend the table, Li Luoyou saw that Australians don't pay much attention to superiority and inferiority, and if he insisted on Da Ming's way, he might be ridiculed, so he asked him to attend too.

Compared with the luxurious banquet hall, the banquet is very simple.The elders agreed that although this has the nature of a quasi-state banquet, it should be "thrifty".Therefore, vegetables such as scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried broccoli, etc. that did not exist in this time and space appeared in this banquet. They were exquisitely cooked, which made Li Luoyou feel refreshed. to meat.

Li Luoyou saw that the interior decoration of the commercial building was gorgeous and comfortable, but the banquet was extremely simple. Not only were the dishes mainly light and delicious, but there was no such thing as a chef offering two offerings and three offerings for rewards. Qu Youjiu thought they were not extravagant, but he admired them a bit.

The waiters at the banquet were all young women, all wearing starched black dresses with a waist and a high collar, and a white burqa with ruffles—only the front was covered, and there was only a pair of crossed suspenders at the back.The skirt was so short that the feet were exposed.All black shoes and socks were seen, which made Gu Baocheng blush immediately after seeing it.The hair is not combed in any hairstyle, either with short shoulders, or in a ponytail behind the head and tied with ribbons of various colors.There was a small shiny silver medal on his chest, and it took Li Luoyou a long time to understand that the word "Health Care" was written on it.

Dressed in black and white, it looks clean and tidy, and compared to the women of Ming Dynasty, it has a different sense of beauty.

But these young women are well-dressed, they don't accompany the wine or sing, they just serve food and wine, isn't it superfluous?
The drinks on the table are all Lanling wine and kvass, not counting the rum that Quark loves, not even the several famous wines that Zichengji sells in Guangzhou.Except for Liu San's speech and toast at the beginning, there was no more persuasion to drink.

The atmosphere at the banquet was relaxed, and the conversation was all gossip.Those present can at least understand Li Luoyou's Cantonese vernacular, and Li Luoyou can actually understand the "Australian dialect" they speak.It's not difficult to communicate.Li Mei is a master at banquets and is very good at adjusting the atmosphere.The atmosphere quickly became intimate and friendly.As the banquet progressed, Li Luoyou confirmed again: the so-called Australian dialect spoken by this group had an accent of the Liaodong Army dialect, which made it even more strange.

Li Luoyou was quite knowledgeable among the aborigines in this time and space. Everyone listened carefully when he talked about going to India in Nanyang several times, and someone would ask questions from time to time.It's just that when Li Luoyou mentioned Australia, the faces of the elders present were not very lively.

Except for some explanations in a captured manual, no one knows what the so-called "homeland" of Australia is like.Is it according to the 21st century or according to the 19th century?

Seeing their hesitation, Li Luoyou seemed to have something to say, and he became more and more convinced of the rumors: this group of Australians failed in the struggle in the mother country's palace, and had no choice but to escape to Daming on an iron boat.

I also heard that most of the Australians in Laingao are single, and most of them are young men. It is likely that the fathers of this group failed in the rebellion, and when they were about to be destroyed, they sent them overseas to seek refuge and find other jobs.The reason why I came to Daming is probably because of "same language, same race" - it has long been rumored outside that Australians are descendants of Yashan Song people.

Thinking of this, I reminded myself not to ask more about Australia, so as not to embarrass them, and to avoid arousing their sadness.But since many of these men come here alone, there is a need to start a family.Li Luoyou didn't really believe the rumors that Australians rose up to cause trouble for women. In his opinion, if Australians just wanted to find a woman to warm the bed, wash clothes and cook, it would not be difficult to do it, whether it was bought with money or forced with knives and guns.

The so-called lack of women in Australia is just a lack of women worthy of their status.Li Luoyou thought that many of these Australians must be the children of high-ranking officials in Australia, and they probably have high requirements for concubines.In such a poor and remote place as Lingao, how could the daughter of a small rural landowner look up to her.

Thinking of this, he was already thinking about how to do what he wanted in this regard.

After dinner, Liu San asked them to move to the lounge.This lounge is similar to the banquet place, as tall and bright, with crystal glass chandeliers hanging on it.There are large-scale paintings hanging on the surrounding walls-it is said that they are landscape flowers and birds, but they are not landscape flowers and birds, and it is said that the oil paintings of Westerners are not like oil paintings.It seems to be a bit of both.The paintings are either mountains, rivers or rivers, or proud snows and pine plums.The one facing the screen in the center has a myriad of scenes; a big river rushes through the mountains covered in clouds and mist, rolling into the sea, and a red sun has just risen on the sea, and the sun is shining brightly. In the center of the sun is a boat. If you look carefully, it is the Australian boat. A big iron boat.On the painting are inscribed four large Chinese characters: "Splendid Mountains and Rivers".

This painting is so bold!Li Luoyou suddenly became alert.

A large Persian carpet was laid on the blue brick floor. Li Luoyou felt distressed after seeing this carpet. This is the most high-end Persian product. When buying and selling, the price is not measured by width but by wheel size.Not to mention it is filthy now, there are still many spots of burnt marks on it,

As for the seat, I don't know where it came from.Not only is it not a complete set, but it is also placed very strangely.It is arranged in a semicircle.Behind the tables and chairs is a beautifully carved thirteen rosewood, mother-of-pearl and filigree inlaid screens, which are very large.It stands to reason that such a large-sized screen should be placed in a taller hall to be decent.In a room like the Aussies, it feels like being forced in.

In fact, this room was originally arranged by Dugu Proposal according to the layout of Ziguang Pavilion in Zhongnanhai. It's just that the rooms in the commercial building are not suitable for such a layout at all, so it has such a strange appearance.Although it was arranged as a state guesthouse, there were no "state guests" at the time. The staff of the Dongmen City Management Office often used this room as a lounge and smoking room, and a good Persian carpet was ruined.

There is a name tag inserted on each chair, and everyone sits down with a name tag, without a lot of red tape to resign.

After they were seated, the maids presented fine porcelain coffee sets. This was high-grade bone china made by Governor Xiao Bailang. Put the ashes on, and finally use a gas kiln to burn them out at extremely high temperatures.The shapes and patterns are all imitated according to modern time and space, and they are not bad at all.

This kind of bone china is rarely fired at present, except for a small amount sent to Guangzhou for use in Ziminglou, looking for opportunities to open up the domestic high-grade porcelain market, and the rest are kept in Lingao for personal use.

The coffee is hand-roasted from the first batch of coffee beans collected in Wu Nanhai's tropical crop garden, with a fragrant smell.Wu Nanhai named it "Golden South China Sea".

Quark and Li Luoyu had seen this drink from Arab and Indian merchants before, and they were not surprised, but the porcelain caught their attention.Quark couldn't put it down, and Li Luoyou felt that this kind of porcelain didn't look like it was made in Ming Dynasty in terms of shape and texture.Could it be that Australians also burn porcelain?Considering that they are from Yashan Song Dynasty, it is not surprising that there are a few porcelain craftsmen among them.

After drinking coffee, the conversation between the two parties can be considered to be on point.

Before the negotiation, Liu San had already determined several basic points of the negotiation at the working meeting of Liu Gongou, and reported it to the Executive Committee and the Standing Committee of the Senate for approval.

[-]. Li Luoyou transported and sold commodities for the Time Travel Group.

[-]. Li Luoyou must assist the Traveling Group to open a local store, and if necessary, can open a joint store.

[-]. Li Luoyou purchases various goods designated for the Transit Group. The price of the goods is negotiated once a year according to the bulk purchase. Lingao has the right to choose to use goods or coins to pay.

[-]. Li Luoyou provides acceptance services for Delong bills of exchange through its semicolons in the mainland and overseas.

But before making a request, everyone wants to hear what the big shopkeeper has for Lingao.

Li Luoyou made no secret of his intentions for coming here. After complimenting the time-traveling group for its "strong boats and powerful guns" and "rare in the world", he straightforwardly asked the time-traveling group to purchase arms.

The quantity purchased is not large, and even the specific types are as simple as three types: artillery, muskets and short muskets.

Liu San hesitated for a moment, he didn't expect that Li Luoyou's real purpose of becoming Lingao was this.Of course he came here to seek trade opportunities, but the object of the trade was arms and weapons?This is not like selling paper matches. Arms not only consume a large amount of strategic materials, but are also a high-consumption item in terms of industrial production capacity.

Moreover, arms are very sensitive strategic materials, which will greatly affect the balance of power on the mainland.It is not for Liu San and others to decide on the issue of the foreign policy of the Traveling Group.

Unexpectedly, Li Luoyou asked a question beyond Liu San's authority as soon as he came on stage.The elders present looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing what to do.

What kind of person is Li Luoyou, seeing the embarrassment on their faces, he knows that this matter is difficult to handle.But he came to Lingao more than half of the time for this reason, unwilling to let it go, he said:

"If there is any embarrassment, just tell me."

Liu San made up his mind: "This matter is not within our scope of authority, and we can only make a decision after consulting the higher authorities."

Li Luoyou nodded to express his understanding: "How long will it take?"

"There will be results in three to five days."

"Okay, if it's inconvenient to sell guns directly, can you arrange for a gun factory?" Li Luoyou raised the second request—in fact, this is his real purpose: since selling weapons is a big deal, help build guns I'm afraid it has to be decided by "above".

"I will report your request together." Liu San smiled wryly, "This is a matter of military and national importance. I hope Dongzhu Li will forgive me."

"Save it, save it."

Then came Li Luoyou's request for trade privileges.Lingao is a free trade area. Currently, import taxes are completely exempted, while exports are partially exempt.It is not a problem for anyone to come to trade. Li Luoyou is not a small businessman who came by boat. He has a lot of money and strength, and he is asking for trading privileges.

Specifically, it is the exclusive right to export "Australian goods".Primarily Australian glass mirrors.Li Luoyou is going to sell them in Southeast Asia and India.As for the latter, he is also planning to sell to Europe through the window of Goa.

The Venetian glass mirrors in Europe are famous all over the world.Not only the price is extremely high but also the output is limited.There seems to be an endless supply of Australian glass mirrors sold here in Lingao, and the price is much cheaper than that of Venetian glass mirrors. In particular, Lingao has recently begun to sell large-scale cheap glass mirror powder boxes of various materials through Guangzhou channels. More lethal in price.

This kind of powder box is small in size and light in weight, and a sea ship can transport a large amount of goods. Even if the cost of long-distance freight is added, the profit of more than 100% can be obtained when it is shipped to Europe for sale.

This small, high-priced item doesn't even need to be shipped to Europe to turn a huge profit.Sea ships can be exchanged for other commodities at various trading ports along the way to Europe.In fact, Li Luoyou never thought of shipping directly to Europe. His plan was to sell some of these Australian goods to Goa, and then the Portuguese merchants would sell them to India, the Red Sea coast, and the Eastern Mediterranean region, and some of them would be handed over to Quark. , let him transport it to Surat, and resell it directly to the local British businessman.Of course, this secret cannot be revealed.

"I am willing to underwrite [-] pieces per year, including [-] pieces of porcelain, [-] pieces of lacquerware, and [-] pieces of others." Li Luoyou said, "The price is [-]% off your retail price in Guangzhou."

"It's too cheap..." Li Mei shook her head directly.Of course, Li Mei couldn't agree - at present, the purchase price that Zichengji is holding high is [-]% off the retail price.If Li Luoyou was given a [-]% discount, he would be able to completely defeat the high-handed business by throwing it into the domestic market.What Li Mei hates and fears the most when doing business is "cross-selling". Distributors take advantage of regional price differences to sell goods, and finally make the prices so bad that no one can make money.

"It's not an exaggeration to open up the European channel, and the [-]% discount price is not too much. Besides, I want to ship it to Portugal, which is thousands of miles away, and the wind is dangerous."

"Your ship doesn't need to go to Europe," Li Mei almost said, "Actually, you haven't been to Portugal at all", but after thinking about it, let it go and save face. "As long as it's shipped to Goa or Surat, it can be sold."

Li Luoyou's smile was a little dull.There are almost no people in Daming who know Goa or Surat.There are many maritime merchants in Ming Dynasty, but they either go to Japan or go to Southeast Asia. They are familiar with places like Manila and Batavia, but they know nothing about the Indian route.

"Furthermore, we already have a trade agreement on the Goa route." Li Mei still remembers the Lingao-Goa route monopoly agreement signed with Li Huamei last year.The agreement expires in a few months, and the general opinion of the commercial sector is to no longer grant trade monopoly rights, but to adopt a free trade policy.But this claim of monopoly power can be used to raise its own price tag.

The two sides engaged in lengthy negotiations on the issue.In the end, a trade agreement with Li Luoyou was reached. Li Luoyou can ship and sell all the products listed in the catalog of goods that the Transit Group allows to export to regions other than Nanzhili and Guangdong and Guangxi, including Liaodong; The discounts are the same.

"In this case, my cost will be much higher than Gao Ju." Li Luoyou was dissatisfied with this condition, "I spent much more on the road than him."

"If he wants to transport the goods to Liaodong or the capital to sell, he will have to pay the transportation cost. In this regard, your conditions are the same." Li Mei said, "distance is profit, and distance is price. You and all merchants know that .”

For goods sold to Surat and Goa, Transit Group gives an additional 0.5 discount.This discount adopts the rebate model.That is, Li Luoyou pays the full price at the time of purchase, and returns the discount to Li Luoyou after the end of a financial year. As for the use of goods, cash or negotiable coupons, it is up to you.

For the export of goods to Surat and Goa, a trade agreement for the second year must be signed in November of the previous year, specifying the quantity and type of orders, and the Transit Group will give it a 10% fluctuation quota.If the order amount exceeds the floating amount, the rebate discount for the excess part will be cancelled.

At the same time, it is stipulated that domestic sales of goods should be settled in three quarters in accordance with Daming's business practices.For export goods, cash settlement is adopted.

(End of this chapter)