Santaro looked at the group of people outside the door, a little nervous, and a little excited.

What happened on the dock this morning, he witnessed it with his own eyes.

His Royal Highness the King of Chu of the Tang Dynasty came down, and the news also spread throughout the ports of the Wa Kingdom in the shortest possible time.

This is an opportunity!

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Without waiting for Li Kuan and his party to enter the shop, he took the initiative to greet him, "This nobleman, what do you want to buy?" ”

Li Kuan glanced at the furnishings in the shop, "Let's see what you have here." ”

"Noble, when you arrive at Nambatsu, it's right for you to come to my Santaro's shop. It's not that I'm boasting, the goods are more complete than mine, and the price is not as good as mine; The price is better than mine, and the quality is not as good as my home. You see, for example, this abalone is produced in the northern Ezo region, and there is absolutely no one better than this. ”

"Santaro? You speak well in Chinese, who did you learn from? ”

Regarding this Santaro's self-selling and boasting behavior, Li Kuan was noncommittal.

However, abalone is the best near Hokkaido, which is now Ezo, and this information is consistent with what Li Kuan understands, which invisibly raises the credibility of Santaro's words by a level.

"Back to the nobles, I learned this Chinese language from a high-ranking monk who crossed to the east to Nanbojin. You look northwest from the pier, and there is a hillside where Prince Shotoku built Shitennoji Temple, and that high monk is Shitennoji. ”

"You still sell ginseng?"

"Yes, there are businessmen from Baekje who come over occasionally, and I have some regular cooperation with them."

"I didn't expect you to know how to do trade business, your shop is quite big? Why don't you see porcelain for sale? Li Kuan took a turn in the shop and probably had a preliminary understanding of Santaro's strength.

"So that the nobles know that such valuable items as porcelain are often the favorite of the nobles of Nara, and they will not be sold for a good price in Nambatatsu." Santaro suddenly had an idea as he spoke, "Nobleman, if you have porcelain, I will buy it here." ”

"Santaro, if there is porcelain, how do you buy it?" Wang Xuance asked on the side.

"This depends on the specific situation of the porcelain, but if it is a good porcelain, I will definitely buy it at a high price."

When Santaro saw that there was a play, he was excited and wanted to jump.

"Yang Qiwa, you go back and get a few porcelain."

In total, it was not far from the dock, and Wang Xuance simply asked Yang Qiwa to run back to get samples; This Yang Qiwa, as a lookout on the flying scissor boat, is familiar with many people, so Wang Xuance let him follow him.

"What's the most traded thing in Nambatsu?"

Taking advantage of the gap between Yang Qiwa's return to things, Li Kuan continued to learn some about the situation in the Wa Kingdom.

"Returning to the ...... of the nobles"

"Don't be a noble person, this king has come to the Wa Kingdom, and you must know it soon."

Wang Xuance: "This is His Royal Highness the King of Chu of the Tang Dynasty!" ”

"Back to His Royal Highness the King of Chu, this is Nambojin, and the most traded is rice." Santaro hurriedly changed his words, and at the same time clenched his fists, feeling that his opportunity had really come, as long as he hugged the thigh of His Royal Highness the King of Chu of the Tang Dynasty, he would definitely be the biggest businessman in Namba in the future.

"Rice?"

This answer is not quite the same as Li Kuan imagined.

"Yes, His Royal Highness the King of Chu."

"Why rice?"

"In Nambatsu, most of the transactions are settled using rice. For example, if the abalone in the villain's store is bought by locals, the price is 100 catties of rice for 1 catty of abalone. ”

Santaro quickly explained the reason.

"Don't you use copper coins?"

"Uh......" Santaro Jue was a little unsure of how to answer, "It's true that it's not used, but the noble person must be curious why we don't use it." I have received a few pieces of Kaiyuan Tongbao from Shangguo, this Kaiyuan Tongbao is beautifully made, and the weight of each text is a penny, which is very fixed; But in the Wa Kingdom, no one has been able to mint such a beautiful copper coin, and I have even heard that some feudal kingdoms themselves have imitated and minted copper coins, but the copper coins shatter when they are pinched, and the picture is very blurry......

Listening to Santaro's explanation, Li Kuan figured it out.

In terms of the current industrial level of the Wa Kingdom, it is estimated that it is not as good as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period; The entire Wa Kingdom was still in the period of transition from a slave society to a feudal society, and it is no wonder that in history, they would continue to send envoys to the Tang Dynasty in the next few hundred years, in order to learn the advanced political system, culture, and technology of the Central Plains.

In later generations, the kimono, tea ceremony and other things that everyone saw in the Wa Kingdom all originated in the Tang Dynasty.

"If rice is used as currency, it means that Nambatsu has a large stock of rice?"

Li Kuan suddenly felt that if he had nothing to bring when he went back, he could also consider bringing a boatload of rice; In the future, it is even possible to consider increasing the trade in Japanese rice.

"Nambatsu is the largest port in the country, and the storage and flow of rice should be second only to Nara. If His Royal Highness the King of Chu needs rice, the villain can also help prepare it. ”

"What, you want to do business with this king?" At this time, if Li Kuan couldn't see Santaro's plan anymore, it would be too embarrassing for the traverser.

"Willing to serve His Royal Highness the King of Chu, the villain is very familiar with the situation of the whole Nambatsu, which family's things are good, which family wants to buy something, the villain knows it, if the prince is willing to give him a bite of food, he will definitely not regret it."

Santaro kowtowed and knelt in front of Li Kuan.

"Xuan Ce, the East China Sea fishery needs to have a base in Nambatsu in the future, and the contact of this Santaro will be arranged by you."

In later generations, there were all kinds of compradors who worked for foreigners, and now that Li Kuan has come to the Japanese country, he also needs Japanese people who are familiar with the local situation to do things for him.

As long as Datang has been strong, it is impossible for Santaro, a small businessman, to have the courage to pit himself.

"Steward Wang, bring the porcelain." At this time, Yang Qiwa also came back with a package.

"Santaro, oh, this is the porcelain of the Tang Dynasty, do you see the price?"

Wang Xuance took out two pieces of porcelain from the package and gently placed them on the counter of the shop.

These porcelains were temporarily purchased from the Dengzhou Prefecture, and the quality is not very good, nor is it much bad; In Datang, the little rich can afford it.

"White as jade, bright as a mirror, sound like chime." Santaro carefully picked up a porcelain vase and looked at it, "This porcelain is in Nambatsu, and I don't see it a few times a year." ”

At this time, the Tang Dynasty had no trade with the Wa Kingdom, and there was almost no trade with Goguryeo and Silla Baekje, so porcelain was still a very scarce thing in the Wa Kingdom.

"Just tell me how much you're willing to pay for it." Li Kuan didn't want to waste time there for two ordinary porcelain.

"His Royal Highness the King of Chu, the villain is willing to exchange the same weight of silver!"

"What?" Li Kuan frowned, and he heard it wrong in the future.

"Lord Wang, this ...... This is a very generous price for the same weight of silver, and the villain definitely does not take advantage of you. ”

Li Kuan: ......

Wang Xuance: ......