Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 129 Emblem Merchants
In Wuyang Thousand Households Institute, a white-clothed scholar with fluttering long sleeves was sitting upright in the living room drinking tea. Behind him stood a few tall men in plain clothes with thick calluses and well-developed muscles. With fierce eyes, it was obviously his bodyguard.This white-clothed scribe was about thirty years old, fair-looking, with a smell of books between his brows, and the unique smell of copper on a businessman did not leave any traces on his body, which made people feel good, if he hadn't let go The generous gift on the table really regarded him as a visiting scholar.

"The fragrance is fragrant and refreshing. Even before I drink it, my mouth is full of saliva and my whole body feels comfortable. Good tea, really good tea." The scribe in white finished drinking a cup of tea, reluctantly put the cup down, and clicked his tongue, "It's really not good. To think that there is such a wonderful person who is proficient in tea ceremony in this small place, I was mistaken."

There were hurried and fast footsteps outside. You didn't need to look, you could tell who was coming just by hearing the footsteps.That's right, it's Yang Menglong. This guy always walks in a hurry, especially when he encounters important things, he seems to be rushing to reincarnate. Whoever gets in front of him will definitely knock him over.The white-clothed scribe straightened his face and stood up. Yang Menglong walked into the living room, his gaze fell on him casually, with a look of surprise on his face, as if he didn't expect such a frail scholar to find him for business.The scribe in white saw that Yang Menglong was surprisingly young, his face was tanned and red, and he was also surprised, and secretly said: "I have heard for a long time that the young hero of the Thousand Households in Wuyang's Thousand Households fought fiercely with the Tartars in Dingxing at a young age. Seeing you today, it’s really worth it!" He cupped his hands and saluted: "This must be Mr. Yang Qianhu, who is well-known in Wuyang County, right? Huizhou Cheng Ji is very polite."

Yang Menglong said with a smile: "You're welcome, you're welcome. I am Yang Menglong, the head of Wuyang Qianhu Office, and the future commander of Wuyang Guards. Brother Cheng, you are the first businessman who came to visit me when I moved into Qianhu!"

Cheng Ji smiled and said, "I am honored to do so." He pushed the boss's gift box on the table in front of Yang Menglong, "This is my first visit. It's a small thing, not a sign of respect. I hope you will accept it."

Yang Menglong was so happy that he gave gifts from ear to ear, before even talking about things, it's too good!He said politely, asked the old servant to accept the gift, and sat down across from Cheng Ji.Xiao Yufang made another cup of tea, and Liu Ziyan's personal maid served a plate of walnut cakes dipped in honey. This kind of greeting, by the standards of a big businessman, could be called shabby, but it made people feel uncomfortable. I feel very comfortable and comfortable.Yang Menglong picked up a walnut cake and threw it into his mouth, chewed it for a while, and then gulped down three cups of tea in one go. His behavior was really unrestrained, and Cheng Ji wanted to laugh.After drinking three cups of tea, Yang Menglong finally got down to business: "Mr. Cheng is from Huizhou?"

Cheng Ji said: "Exactly, I am a native of Qimen, Huizhou. I have been doing business for generations, mainly selling grain, and also involved in pawnshops, salt and other industries, but I am not well-known."

Xiao Yufang, who was sitting next to Yang Menglong, said crisply, "It turns out that Mister came from a family of Huizhou merchants, so I'm sorry."

Huizhou merchants have a long history.As early as the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Huizhou's business began to rise. In the Tang Dynasty, Huizhou merchants gradually became popular. In the Ming Dynasty, Huizhou merchants reached their peak. Even Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang once borrowed a large sum of money from Huizhou merchants as military expenses. Jiang Yuan paid 10 taels of silver at a time, which shows the strength of Huizhou merchants.From the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of Qianlong, Huizhou merchants were in the golden age of development, with footprints all over the country, and even extended their business scope to Southeast Asia.Huizhou merchants pay attention to both righteousness and profit, advocate treating people with sincerity and trust, and will vigorously repay their hometown when they are developed. They are relatively ethical, so their reputation has always been good.However, doing business seems to be beautiful, but it is also very hard. It is common for Huizhou merchants not to return home for three years, and the newlyweds are separated. They are known for their diligence and hard work.This year's severe drought caused a general failure of wheat harvests in Henan. Grain merchants were caught in a shortage of supplies and had to make great efforts to find new sources of grain, no matter how small they were. However, the wheat harvest in Juntian County, Wuyang County was not bad. Naturally, they would not be ignorant, and before Yang Menglong let out the news, someone came to the door.

Cheng Ji said modestly: "Although the Cheng family has been in business for generations, their business has not grown, so they can't be regarded as a family of Huizhou merchants." He cupped his hands at Yang Menglong and said, "Master Qianhu, I specialize in grain business, and this year grain is common in Henan. Harvest is poor, only Mr. Qianhu's military field has a good harvest, so I would like to ask Mr. Qianhu for permission to sell the remaining grain to me, and I will definitely give you a fair price."

Yang Menglong was puzzled: "It's true that the grain harvest in Henan is generally poor, but there are still many places with good harvests. It's really not good. There is still rice in Huguang. Why do you like the little grain in my field?"

Cheng Ji smiled wryly: "Your Excellency Qianhu doesn't know something. The business of selling grain is very particular. Every grain merchant has its own source of grain. If you rashly go to other people's land to buy grain, you will cause public outrage."

Yang Menglong slapped his head and said, "I understand when you say this. Nanyang is your food source, right?"

Cheng Ji still smiled wryly: "My capital is meager, how can I have the ability to control such a large grain source? My grain source is nothing more than the three counties of Wuyang, Biyang, and Ye County. I have to negotiate with several grain merchants for this small area. Competition." In fact, his territory is much smaller than this, the master Tian who specially sang against Yang Menglong, but made Yang Menglong scream and kill him is his most important source of food, and he buys from him every year. Wanshi wheat is trafficked to Hebei and Shanxi for profit.But this year, due to drought and pests, Mr. Tian's field has lost a large area of ​​harvest, and he is no longer able to provide him with so much food. However, the military field of Wuyang Qianhusuo, who is a neighbor of Mr. Tian, ​​has a good harvest. The mentality of trying it out came to him, and when he bought surplus grain, he had to find a way to make up the gap, otherwise he would lose money.

Yang Menglong asked Xiao Yufang: "Have you figured it out? How much surplus grain can we sell?"

Xiao Yufang didn't even think about it, and a string of numbers jumped out quickly: "We have a total of [-] mu of military land, and a total of [-] mu of wheat. Due to drought and insect damage, at least [-] mu of wheat has died in pieces. , had to replant alfalfa, milk vetch, and sweet potato midway, so the harvestable wheat is less than [-] mu. Of the [-] mu of wheat, [-] mu are under the name of military households, my lord The one under his name has [-] mu, and he can harvest wheat for one stone, five buckets to two stones per mu... Excluding the grain tax and military rations that should be paid, there is still [-] shi of surplus grain that can be sold.”

Cheng Ji tapped lightly on the table with his fingers.With [-] shi of grain remaining, there is still a surplus to make up the gap. According to the current grain price, this will bring him a profit of nearly [-] taels of silver.

Yang Menglong said: "There are not so many. We must keep four thousand stones as a reserve, and we can only sell nine thousand stones."

Cheng Ji frowned and asked, "My lord, why is this?"

Yang Menglong said angrily: "The weather is so bad now, who knows what bad things will happen next year? The price of food has been rising, one price a day, and there is no market for it. !”

Cheng Ji said: "With the ability of adults, next year's grain harvest will only be bumper..."

Yang Meng shook his head like a rattle: "No one can say for sure. After the wheat is harvested, I have to hire a large number of people to vigorously reclaim the military fields in Wuyang and Biyang. It is not a small amount for so many people to have a bowl for each person. Nearly [-] full-time soldiers, all of whom are big-bellied men, can eat up a mountain in one meal, and it’s impossible not to leave a little more food. Nine thousand shi, no more, you can make a price.”

Cheng Ji wanted to persuade him again, but seeing that Yang Menglong was so determined, he had no choice but to give up.What is important in doing business is to make money with harmony, and people keep the surplus food for other purposes, so why bother if they can't come?He pondered for a moment, and said, "I am willing to pay seven qian and one stone."

Yang Menglong cursed inwardly, your grandma only received seven renminbi a stone when she took it, but when I went to the grain shop to buy it, I asked for two or three taels of silver a stone and it was short of a catty and mixed with sand. You are too wicked, aren't you?The Three-Character Classic had already reached her lips, and Xiao Yufang said in time: "Mr. Cheng, your price is too much. Now the wheat has risen to more than two taels of silver per stone, but you want to buy it for seven coins per stone... ..."

Cheng Ji's gentle smile made Yang Menglong so angry that he couldn't vent his anger: "Excessive asking price, pay back the money when you land, if the adults and young ladies are not satisfied, we can negotiate the price slowly."

Xiao Yufang said: "One liang of silver for one shi, and nine thousand shi for the rest of the grain. How about selling it all to Mr.?"

Cheng Ji shook his head resolutely: "This price is unacceptable to Cheng. The purchase price of one tael and one stone, plus the costs of transportation, sales and other links, Cheng does not dare to say that he is losing money, but he does not have much profit. No, no. .”

Xiao Yufang said: "If the husband doesn't want to, forget it. Now that the price of food is soaring, there is no market for it. The little girl doesn't believe that no one wants this batch of surplus food." Price, with a large amount of surplus grain in hand, are you afraid that no grain dealer will come to you automatically?
Cheng Ji was not surprised by Xiao Yufang's toughness. It's hard to find fools these days. If you want to make money, you have to pay a corresponding price.He smiled and said: "Miss, Youdao is asking for a lot of money, and you can pay back the money when you land. We can talk slowly!"

Xiao Yufang said calmly: "If Mr. is not sincere, I don't think it's necessary to take it lightly. There are other merchants waiting to talk to us about purchasing surplus grain!"

Yang Menglong simply kept his mouth shut and asked Xiao Yufang to bargain with Cheng Ji.I can't see that she can still do business, but someone will help him take care of his finances in the future, Mr. Accountant for free, hehe.

Xiao Yufang still doesn't know that after being a free school teacher for this bastard, she also has to be a free accountant for him. She is mobilizing all her wisdom to confront Cheng Ji tit-for-tat, not giving in to each other, you come and go, One raises the price and the other bargains.Bargaining is one of women's natural hobbies. This is true for those modern girls who take their boyfriends to the clothing store when they have a little time, and take the clothes with the boss to come and I will bargain for half an hour without drinking water. It is vividly reflected.As it was related to Yang Menglong's vital interests, Xiao Yufang had to put aside her aloofness and strive for every possible copper coin for him...

(End of this chapter)