Zhu Fuyuan reported the current situation to Yan Maoda. Dachang didn't need to be a good shopkeeper to run his business in the area: every month, Wu Yujia's steward would bring rice, timber and coal with the slaves and peasants on the estate. Remove all kinds of sugar products and groceries from the warehouse. There is a lot of trading volume on both sides.

"Wu Yujia made a fortune because of this business." Zhu Fuyuan was a little envious, "He made a lot of money on our sugar goods." ”

Wu Yujia bought it from Dachang at the price of 8 Spanish silver oceans per stone of crude brown sugar, and sold it to Laos, Siam and the Dutch, and sold it for 10~18 Spanish silver oceans per stone. As for white sugar and rock sugar, the profits are even higher. As for other goods shipped from Leizhou: including "Australian goods" manufactured from Lingao and various daily groceries purchased from the mainland. It's all local sought-after goods.

Zhu Fuyuan saw that his goods were bought by Wu Yujia and he could make a lot of money by changing hands, and his heart was unbalanced. It was proposed that more merchants and sales channels should be expanded, preferably to retail channels, lest the benefits be taken up by the samurai family.

"It's not busy." Yan Maoda said, "How is the arrival of rice? ”

"When I arrived, the rice from last year was delivered." Zhu Fuyuan said busily, "It's Wu Yujia's steward who wants to raise the price again." ”

Hearing that Wu Yujia once again asked for a price increase in rice, Yan Maoda couldn't help frowning. In the past six months, Wu Yujia asked for a price increase for rice. Rice is a strategic commodity in Lingao, and Vietnam is currently the main supplier of rice to Lingao, so the price increase not only pays for more exchange goods, but also means that there may be some problems in the supply channel.

"Weishenme is going to increase the price again? There's always a reason. Yan Maoda said, "Could it be that the steward is making trouble?" ”

"He doesn't dare—the business between us and Wu Yujia is a big deal, and the person in charge doesn't have the courage to mess around." Zhu Fuyuan said, "The steward said that because the Zheng clan was going south to crusade against the Ruan clan, they were recruiting troops and grain everywhere. Of course, Wu Yujia also got a large amount of food. It is said that in order to get enough rice, the peasants in Wu Yujia's manor were dying of starvation -- they ate gruel last spring, but they will eat bran this spring. Zhu Fuyuan said, "I heard that some peasants can't get over it anymore and are ready to leave the manor to flee the famine." ”

The war Zhu Fuyuan mentioned was the post-civil war of the Later Li Dynasty, which began in 1627 and lasted for almost a hundred years. Between 1627~1672, seven large-scale battles broke out between Truong and Nguyen. It was the Second Great War in 1630~1633 that the patriarchs encountered. The Nguyen clan made full use of the turtle stream strategy, and the fortress group built under the guidance of the Portuguese inflicted heavy losses on the Trung army heading south. A strategic stalemate was formed.

In the medieval agrarian society, peasants were the most important productive forces, and farmland cultivated without labor could not produce enough food.

"It's terrible." Yan Maoda thought to himself, it seems that it is difficult to expect Wu Yujia to supply large quantities of grain for a long time. If they did not interfere in the Civil War of the Later Li Dynasty, it would have to be fought for at least 50 years according to the historical trajectory.

"When there is a war, it will be difficult to get food." Zhu Fuyuan said nervously. He has been working for Australians here for more than a year, and he knows that the main purpose of Australians in Hai Duong is to buy food. If food is too expensive and difficult to buy, it may not continue to open warehouses here. The good job that I finally got is going to be in vain.

"The price of rice depends on him." Yan Maoda thought twice and said, "How much grain can he send every month now?" Is there any sign of abating? ”

"No rice has been brought in for the last month. said that the government requisitioned a lot. There was not enough rice stored on the estate. Zhu Fuyuan said, "And the next three months will be the spring famine." Grain that has survived the spring famine should be available normally. ”

Zhu Fuyuan said again: "Chief, have we slowed down the speed of transporting sugar, and now there are more than 10,000 stone sugar in the warehouse......

"It doesn't matter," Yan Maoda said, "You go to Wu Yujia's steward tomorrow and say that there is no rice, let him transport more coal in exchange."

"Coal exchange?" Zhu Fuyuan was taken aback, in his opinion, this was a very insignificant matter. Although the price of coal is very low, it is really difficult for him to understand that the Australian people are buying dirty and smelly fire materials in boats - whether it is Guangdong or Vietnam, firewood is a cheap and abundant thing, and rich families can also use haode hard charcoal. I really can't figure out how the Australian weishenme wants to buy so much black coal.

"Yes, since he doesn't have enough rice there for a while, he exchanges the sugar in his stock for coal and wood." Yan Maoda waved his hand, "Don't be greasy and crooked, do it right away"

Zhu Fuyuan responded a few "yes" in a row, and seeing that Yan Maoda was speechless, he immediately submitted the account book of the warehouse again. Yan Maoda accepted it first - the audit is a Cheka business, but as a superior supervisor, it is also necessary for him to do a good job of self-examination, and he is going to look at the account books on the way to Hongji.

"This is Bekai." Yan Maoda introduced Bei Kai to Zhu Fuyuan, "He will be the commercial representative in Vietnam in the future." If you have anything to report directly to him"

Pei Kai is based in Hongji, but as a veteran business representative, he will normally have leadership over the trading stations and warehouses in Hai Duong and the future coastal areas of Vietnam.

Zhu Fuyuan glanced at this little black man - he looked similar to those Vietnamese, how could he also be the chief? But he has been a partner for many years, and he has long understood the principle of saying less and implementing more in the personnel arrangements of the owner.

"How was the last time I took care of you? Is there any specific following? Yan Maoda asked.

The last time Yan Maoda came to Haiyang, he specially told Zhu Fuyuan: It is necessary to investigate the ownership of the land in Hongji: does it belong to a certain manor owner, or does it belong to the official land of the Li Dynasty, or is it an ownerless official land?

"The villain went to inquire about it, Hongji, and the Jinpu mentioned by the chief are all terra nullius. There are either mountains or tidal flats, you can't farm, and no one cares about it. ”

"What should I do if I buy land from the government here?"

Zhu Fuyuan smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid it's difficult." The merchants of the Ming Dynasty are big fat here, and it takes a lot of effort to buy a piece of land to build a warehouse. Spending money is secondary. He paused, "If the chief must buy it, he must first draw out the boundary to draw a map, and then the villain will go and run around, but I am afraid it will cost a lot of money......"

"No need. We'll talk about it when we get back. Yan Maoda doesn't necessarily need to spend money to buy it, use force as a backing, and mine it on the spot, and the Northern Li Dynasty is afraid that he doesn't have the heart to mobilize an army to deal with him at the moment.

Yan Maoda and his entourage did not stay in Haiyang for long, after checking the warehouse and understanding the basic situation of the local area, the Zhennan unloaded the goods locally and sailed south to Hongji again.

Haiyang is about 60 kilometers away from Hongji, and the Zhennan can be reached in about 10 hours, because it is sailing along the coastline, and Hongji is in Yalong Bay, where there are many islands and reefs.

The Zhennan set sail early in the morning, and Zhang Dascara made a decent observation with a theodolite, and then drew the route on the chart. It's a pity that his arithmetic skills are too poor, and after pushing and moving a sailing slide rule around for a long time, Zuihou dropped and scolded "bird" and returned to the back of the stern to see the compass and carry the needle.

Fortunately, this area is the route he often takes, and it is the so-called place where he can sail with his eyes closed. Under his command, the Zhennan began to sail south.

The Zhennan sailed smoothly under the command of Zhang Dascarla, and the Chinese-style hard sail fully demonstrated its superiority in adapting to the "wind from all directions" when sailing in the coastal areas with complex wind directions. Although the speed of the boat is sometimes fast and slow, there is never a moment of pause.

From the stern, looking out over the beautiful coastal landscape, Pei Kai felt that it was worth learning Vietnamese for more than half a year - the land was so tempting. If only he could become the governor of North Vietnam in the future...... Pei Kai's heart couldn't help but fly to the slender Vietnamese women he saw in Hai Duong yesterday.

Beckai was a not-so-proud soy sauce veteran in the Senate, and his past occupation led him to eventually join the Postal Transportation Commission, but he knew nothing about transportation, and the postal system in Lingao had not yet been formally established - and even if it was formed immediately, he, a postal employee who had been advertising in the post office, had little research on the postal business.

He was not a well-spoken person, and he did not want to get involved in politics. So in the Senate belongs to the marginal figures. However, the expansion of the group itself and the scarcity of the number of elders make the soy sauce elders have enough opportunities to come out.

While he was thinking about the Vietnamese woman's condition, the ship's bell suddenly struck rapidly, and Bekai was startled to see the sailors and sailors pouring out from under the deck. Some were holding Navy Type 29 machetes, others were holding short-barreled Mini rifles. Several sailors rushed up to the stern and quickly took off the cover of the tung tarpaulin, revealing the black typewriter inside, and someone quickly opened a nearby iron box and took out the black spare bullet plate inside.

"What's going on?" Bei Kai was taken aback, and saw that the armor of the 6 Caron guns on the deck was all taken off, is this Jiashi who is going to fight

"Report: Ships fighting in the direction of 7 o'clock. Let's go into the alert first. Zhang Dasa rushed to the stern tower and explained.

"Pirates?"

"It should be." Zhang Da Scara was not nervous, "Don't worry, chief, this kind of thing often happens in this area." The fishermen and pirates here are indistinguishable. Our ship was big and guarded, and they didn't dare to use their brains. ”。