Section XXVI Trade Agreements

The workers came like a tide, not caring at all about Li Luoyou and his party, who were swaggering in the middle of the road. The steward hurriedly led the group to the side of the road and found a roadside tea stall to sit down first.

The stall owner and the steward knew each other, and they came over to say hello and pour tea.

"The tea doesn't have to be poured, let's rest and leave in a while." The steward said, "Don't be busy." ”

Seeing this group of filthy workers walking past him without paying attention. I was very unhappy.

He didn't speak, he just sat idle. After sitting for a while, there were fewer workers on the road. Li Luoyou was about to get up, but the steward suddenly ran out in a hurry. Came over for a moment and came back.

"The third master has set up a banquet in the merchant hall to catch the wind and wash the dust for you."

That night, Liu San and the personnel from the foreign affairs, commerce, and intelligence departments arranged a banquet in the Shangguan Restaurant to entertain the Li Da shopkeeper.

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

The banquet was attended mainly by the members of Liu's working group and the main responsible persons of the relevant departments, and Li Mei was also impressively listed - inviting her to come out was first related to her department, and secondly, when it came to the work of entertaining at the banquet, there was no more powerful existence than her in the five hundred people.

Because of attending formal occasions, the elders all changed into formal clothes and no longer used as training uniforms. It's just that this formal suit is not much better in Li Luoyou's eyes - it is simply indistinguishable from their wigs, but the material is slightly better and cleaner. No wonder Australians don't have a distinction between superior and inferior.

Li Luoyou couldn't help but say with a smile on his face: "Long Yang", looking at these monk-like men in short coats, he suddenly found that they were all young, and they all had smooth lips on their chins. I can't help but wonder, could it be that they are all "fathers-in-law"? If you think it's normal for them to speak, it shouldn't be.

Among the four people who were invited to the table were Li Luoyouquark and others, and Sweeping Ye and others were invited to another place to entertain. Gu Baocheng didn't dare to sit at the table, Li Luoyou saw that Australians didn't take the upper and lower levels very seriously, and he was afraid that he would be ridiculed if he insisted on the Ming Dynasty, so he asked him to sit at the table.

Compared to the lavish banquet hall, the banquet is very simple. The patriarchs unanimously agreed that although this was a quasi-state banquet, it should also be "frugal". So there were vegetables such as scrambled eggs with tomatoes and fried broccoli that had not been available in this time and space at this banquet, and the cooking was exquisite, which made Li Luoyou feel refreshed, and only Quark's gluttonous desire was not satisfied - he hardly ate meat.

Li Luoyoujian saw that the interior of the building of the merchant house was gorgeous and comfortable, but the banquet was extremely simple, not only the dishes were light and palatable, but there was no such thing as the chef offering two or three offerings on the table, and there were no kaki children singing songs and wine, thinking that they were not luxurious, but there was some admiration.

The waiters at the banquet were all young women, all dressed in crisp black tunic dresses with high necks, and white burqas with ruffles—only in the front, but only in the back, with only a pair of crossed straps. The skirt was so short that it showed the feet. The black shoes and socks were all seen, which made Gu Baocheng blush. The hair is not combed in any style, either short at the shoulders or tied in a ponytail at the back of the head with various colored ribbons. There was a shiny little silver medal on his chest, and Li Luoyou looked at it for a long time before he understood that the word "health care" was written on it.

The black and white dress looks clean and neat, and compared with the women of the Ming Dynasty, it has a different kind of beauty.

But these young women dress up beautifully, that is, they don't accompany the wine or sing songs, and only serve the food and deliver the wine, isn't it superfluous?

The drinks on the table were all Lanling wine and kvass, not the rum that Quark loved, and even the several famous wines sold by Zichengji in Guangzhou. Except for Liu San's toast at the beginning, there was no longer any persuasion.

The atmosphere at the banquet was relaxed, and the conversation was all gossip. Those sitting here can at least understand Li Luoyou's Cantonese vernacular, and the "Australian dialect" they speak, Li Luoyou can actually listen to it. It's not difficult to communicate. Li Mei is a master at the banquet, and she is very good at adjusting the atmosphere. The atmosphere soon became intimate and friendly. As the banquet progressed, Li Luoyou once again confirmed that the so-called Australian dialect spoke with a Liaodong military accent, which became more and more strange.

Li Luoyou is very knowledgeable among the natives of this time and space, and when he talks about going to India several times in the South Seas, everyone listens very carefully, and some people ask questions from time to time. It's just that when Li Luoyou mentioned Australia, the faces of several veterans present were not very lively.

Except for a little explanation in a captive manual, no one knows what Australia's so-called "homeland" looks like. Is it according to the 21st century or according to the 19th century?

Li Luoyou saw that their faces were hesitant, as if there was something unspeakable, and he became more and more settled on the rumor: this group of Australians failed in the struggle in the palace of the mother country, and they had to flee to Daming in an iron boat.

I also heard that most of the Australians who came to high school were single, and most of them were young men, so it is likely that the parents of this group of people failed to rebel and were about to be destroyed, so they were sent overseas to seek refuge and seek other jobs. The reason why I came to Daming is probably because of the "same text and the same species" - it has long been rumored that the Australians are the descendants of the 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 came single, there was a need to start a family. Li Luoyou doesn't believe much in the rumors that Australians are making trouble for women, in his opinion, if Australians just want to find a woman to warm the bed, laundry and cook, whether it is to buy it with money or to force it with knives and guns.

The so-called lack of women in Australians is just a lack of women who can match their status. Li Luoyou thought that many of these Australians must be the children of high-ranking officials and eunuchs in Australia, and even if they have high requirements for concubines. In such a poor and remote place as Delingao, how can the daughter of a small landowner in the countryside look at it.

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

After dinner, Liu San asked them to move to the lounge. This lounge is similar to the banquet room, just as tall and bright, with crystal glass chandeliers hanging from it. There are large paintings hanging on the surrounding walls -- they are not landscapes, flowers and birds, and the oil paintings of Westerners do not look like oil paintings. It seems to be a bit of both. The painting is either mountains and rivers, or proud cedar plums. One of the paintings facing the screen is full of weather; There is a big river rushing in the mountains covered by clouds and mountains, rolling into the sea, a round of red sun has just risen on the sea, the sun is shining, but the center of the light is a boat, look carefully, it is the big iron boat of the Australians. On the painting are four large characters with ink pen: "Splendid Mountains and Rivers".

The spirit of this painting is so great, Li Luoyou was suddenly alert.

There is a large Persian carpet on the ground of the green bricks, this carpet Li Luoyou felt distressed at a glance, this is the highest grade Persian goods, when buying and selling, it is not about the width but the size of the wheel. Now it's filthy, not to mention, there are still many scorched marks on it,

As for the seats, I don't know where they came from. Not only is it not a set, but it is also very strange. The decoration is in a semi-circular shape. Behind the table and chairs is a beautifully carved thirteen rosewood luodian filigree inlaid screens, which are very large. It stands to reason that such a large screen would have to be placed in a taller hall to be presentable. Putting it in a room like an Australian has the feeling of being shoehorned in.

In fact, this room was originally arranged by Dugu to imitate the layout of the Ziguang Pavilion in Zhongnanhai, but the room in the merchant building was not suitable for such a layout at all, so it made such a strange appearance. Although it was arranged according to the state guesthouse, there were no "state guests" at the beginning, and the cadres of the Dongmen City Management Office often used this room as a lounge and smoking room.

There is a name tag inserted on each chair, and everyone is seated, and there is less red tape for the remark.

Sitting down for a while, the maids sent a fine porcelain coffee set, which was a high-grade bone china burned by Xiao Bailangdu, and the Foshan porcelain workers recruited were screened with haode kaolin according to the process he gave, plus the ashes, Zuihou burned them out with a gas kiln at a very high temperature. The shapes and patterns are imitated according to modern time and space, and they are not bad.

This kind of bone china is currently fired very little, except for a small amount sent to Guangzhou to Ziminglou to use, looking for opportunities to open up the domestic high-grade porcelain market, the rest is left in Lingao for their own use.

The coffee is hand-roasted from the first batch of coffee beans collected in the tropical plantation of Wunanhai, and the smell is aromatic. Wu Nanhai named it "Golden South China Sea".

Quark and Leloyo had seen the drink from Arab and Indian merchants and were not surprised, but it was the porcelain that caught their eye. Quark couldn't put down this kind of porcelain, and Li Luoyou felt that this kind of porcelain didn't look like it was fired by Daming in terms of shape and texture. Could it be that Australians also burn porcelain? Thinking about it, since they are from the Yashan Song Dynasty, it is not surprising that there are several porcelain craftsmen in them.

After drinking coffee, the conversation between the two sides can be regarded as to the point.

Before the talks, Liu San had already determined several basic points of the negotiations at the working meeting of Liu's work, and reported them to the Executive Committee and the Standing Committee of the Senate for approval.

1. Li Luoyou transports and sells goods through the group.

2. Li Luoyou must assist the crossing group to open a local trade name, and if necessary, he can open a joint venture business name.

3. Li Luoyou procures the goods designated for the crossing group, and the price of the goods is negotiated once a year according to the bulk purchase, and Lingao has the right to choose to pay with goods or coins.

Fourth, Li Luo's semicolon in the mainland and overseas provides acceptance business for Delong bills.

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

Li Luoyou made no secret of his intentions, and after complimenting the crossing group's "strong ships and guns" and "rare in the world", he bluntly asked to purchase arms from the crossing group.

The amount of purchases is not large, and even the specific types are only as simple as artillery, muskets, and short muskets.

Liu San hesitated for a moment, he didn't expect that Li Luoyou's real purpose was this. Of course, he came to seek trade opportunities, but the object of trade was actually arms and weapons? This is no different from selling paper matches, arms not only consume a large amount of strategic materials, but also a high-consumption project in terms of industrial capacity.

Moreover, munitions are very sensitive strategic materials, which will greatly affect the liliang equilibrium on the mainland. It involves the foreign policy of the crossing group, and it is not something that Liu San and others can decide.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Li Luoyou came on the court, he raised a question beyond Liu San's authority. The elders present looked at each other one by one, not knowing what to do.

What kind of characters Li Luoyou was, seeing their embarrassed faces, he knew that this matter was difficult to do. However, he came to Lingao for more than half of this reason, and he was unwilling to end there, so he said:

"What's the difficulty, just come to me."

Liu San froze: "This matter is not within the scope of our authority, and we have to ask the above to make a decision." ”

Li Luoyou nodded in understanding: "How long will it take?" ”

"It will take three to five days to get results."

"Okay, if it's inconvenient to sell guns directly, can you run a gun factory?" Li Luoyou put forward the second request -- in fact, this is his real purpose: since the sale of weapons is a major matter, I am afraid that helping to make guns and cannons must also be decided "from above."

"I'll report your request to you." Liu San smiled bitterly, "This matter is a matter of military affairs, I hope that Li Dongzhu will forgive me." ”

"Save, save."

Then came Li Luoyou's claim for trade privileges. Lingao is a free trade area, with import taxes and exports partially exempt. It is not a problem for anyone to trade, Li Luoyou is not a small merchant who comes by boat, he has a large hand and strong strength, and what he asks for is trade privileges.

Specifically, it is the exclusive right to export "Australian goods". Mainly Australian glass mirrors. Li Luoyou is ready to be sold to Nanyang and India. And the latter, he is also ready to sell to Europe through this window of Goa.

The Venetian glass mirrors of Europe are world-famous. Not only is the price extremely high, but the production is limited. Lingao here sells Australian glass mirrors seem to be endless, the price is much cheaper than the Venetian glass mirror, especially Lingao has recently begun to sell cheap glass mirror powder cartridges of various materials on a large scale through the channel in Guangzhou, which is more lethal in price.

This compact is small in size and light in weight, and a sea vessel is able to transport a large amount of cargo, even if the cost of long-distance freight is added, shipping to Europe can make more than 100% profit.

This small, high-priced item doesn't even need to be shipped to Europe to make a good profit. Seagoing ships were able to exchange for other goods at various trading ports along their way to Europe. In fact, Li Luoyou did not even think of shipping them directly to Europe, his plan was to sell some of these Australian goods to Goa, and then to India, the Red Sea coast, and the Eastern Mediterranean region by Portuguese merchants, and some to Quark, so that he could ship them to Surat and resell them directly to local British merchants. Of course, this secret cannot be told.

"I am willing to underwrite 100,000 a year, including 50,000 porcelain, 30,000 lacquerware, and 20,000 others." Li Luoyou said, "The price is 50% off your retail price in Guangzhou. ”

"It's too cheap......" Li Mei shook her head directly. Of course, Li Mei can't agree -- at present, Zicheng Ji inflated the purchase price of the goods at 60% off the retail price. If Li Luo is given a 50% discount, he will be able to turn his hand into the domestic market and make the sale of the high price a failure. When Li Mei was doing business, what she hated and feared the most was "stringing goods", dealers took advantage of the regional price difference to dump goods, zuihou made the price sloppy, and no one could make money.

"Open up the channel in Europe, the price of 5% discount is not too much, and I want to ship it to Portugal, thousands of miles away, the turmoil 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, forget it, you have to save face. "As long as it is shipped to Goa or Surat, you can get rid of it."

Li Luoyou's smile was a little dull. There are almost no people in the Ming who know Goa or Surat. There are many maritime merchants in the Ming Dynasty, but they either go to Japan or go to the South Seas, they are very familiar with Manila and Batavia, but they don't know anything about Indian routes.

"And we already have a trade agreement on the route to Goa." Li Mei still remembers the Lingao-Goa route monopoly agreement signed with Li Huamei last year. The agreement is still a few months away, and the business sector is generally in favour of a free trade policy instead of a trade monopoly. But this monopoly can be used to raise its own price.

The two sides engaged in lengthy negotiations on this issue. Zuihou reached a trade agreement with Li Luoyou, under which Li Luoyou could ship all the products on the catalogue of goods allowed for export by the Transit Group to regions other than Nanzhili and Liangguang, including Liaodong; The discounts on these items are in line with the discounts given exaltedly.

"That way, my cost is much higher than it is to hold it up." Li Luoyou was dissatisfied with this condition, "I spent much more money on the road than him. ”

"If he wants to transport the goods to Liaodong or Jingshi to sell, he will have to pay the transportation costs. Your conditions are the same in this respect. Li Mei said, "Distance is profit, distance is price." You and all the merchants know it. ”

For goods sold to Surat and Goa, an additional 0.5 discount is given by the crossing group. This discount is based on a rebate model. That is, Li Luoyou pays the full price at the time of purchase, and then returns the discount to Li Luoyou at the end of a financial year.

For the export of goods from Surat and Goa, a trade agreement for the following year must be signed in November of the previous year, specifying the quantity and type of orders, and the group will give them a 10% floating quota. If the order amount exceeds the floating limit, the excess part of the rebate discount will be cancelled.

At the same time, it is stipulated that the domestic sale of goods, in accordance with the business customs of the Ming Dynasty, three sections of settlement. For export goods, cash settlement is adopted.