July 20, 1650, Baoan Township, Ping'an County. An unexpected light snow brought a festive atmosphere to this thriving border trading town, and today is the fifth day of the East Coast New Year's Eve, and some hard-working merchants have opened their shops early to start business, much to the relief of many Brazilians who come to trade. God, if these pagans don't open their doors again, some of them will probably starve.

Now the Brazilians of the "hills" (as the people of the East coast are commonly called, are actually the highlands) were accustomed to this kind of border trade with the people of the East coast - of course the location was strictly limited to the territory of the village of Baoan - and they had four or five towns in the mountains, and there were more than 10,000 gentlemen (whites) and white men of mixed race, in addition to a greater number of guarani servants. Most of these whites were merchants or craftsmen who specialized in East Coast business.

They produce sewing needles, buttons, belts, pins, fish hooks, iron candlesticks, barrels, furniture, pottery, wooden components, ready-to-wear, glasses, and other gadgets used in daily life, which are then transported by merchants to Heian Township at the foot of the mountain and sold to the people of the East Coast. In fact, these craftsmen from Portugal, Britain, Italy, and Germany worked hard to provide for the daily necessities of the East Coast, which was desperately short of manpower. Of course, they also made a lot of money from this process, as can be seen from the Portuguese shops on both sides of the busiest crossroads in Baoan Township, which are very profitable.

As early as February and March at the beginning of 1648, the monthly border trade volume of Baoan Township had exceeded 6,000 yuan, and then it increased all the way. At its peak, the monthly border trade volume climbed to a peak of 28,000 yuan. Now it's down though. However, with the growth of the population on the east coast and the expansion of market demand, the quota of this border trade is still maintained at more than 20,000 yuan all year round. In addition to selling handmade products, Brazilians occasionally bring some cowhides, goatskins, animal fat, tropical dried fruits, spices, cane sugar, tobacco, feathers, and light goods such as tea (coarse tea brought by the Portuguese East India Company from Macao, but it has been somewhat unsalable in recent years due to its poor quality), and the sales are not bad.

And they imported a lot less from the east coast, because the mountain roads were not easy to transport, and the bulk trade between the east coast and Brazil was often transported by sea boats, so these land border trade bought more light goods. Or the materials necessary for the production and life of the Brazilian settlements in the mountains, such as: wheat (flour), cotton cloth, dyed leather goods, agricultural tools, hardware tools, medicines, soap, soda ash, steel bars, etc. The amount of purchases is not particularly large, and in general, the border trade market in Baoan Township is probably the only place in the foreign trade of the East Coast Republic, and the silver dollars that flow into Brazil from this place every year are as much as 40,000 yuan, and the acceptance bills issued by the Northwest Reclamation Bank are also 5,000 or 6,000 yuan, and the Brazilians make a lot of money.

Blanco. Morality. Sosa. For the first time in many years, Almeida entered the territory of the Republic of the East Coast through the Gérard Mountains, and saw the lively trading scene in front of him: on both sides of the wide, straight road, there were buildings of various styles, including Portuguese, Eastern, and even Oriental Ming styles. Coupled with the signboards of various fonts, it makes people feel quite dazzled.

"Last year, all kinds of coarse tea were unsalable. Tea sold by the East India Company for 50 riyals per pound was not sold much. I have to say that the taste of the people on the east coast is getting higher and higher, and I will try to import Wuyi tea, a medium-to-high-quality green tea, from Macau in the future, instead of these coarse teas. To be honest, I don't think the Tatars will buy any of these coarse teas, it's really bad. Walking down the gravel streets, Blanco's servant Silva said to him.

"In the future, even if you want to buy high-quality green tea, it will be impossible." Hearing this, Blanco immediately said in a depressed tone, "Since the Tatars occupied the southern part of the Ming Kingdom, most of the sources of goods such as tea, raw silk, and porcelain have been cut off. The tea business was small, but the shortage of raw silk and porcelain made every European merchant complain. They now desperately hope that the situation in the Ming Kingdom will be quickly calmed down so that trade can continue. But this seems difficult, and even if the newly occupied Tatar rulers were willing to trade, it would not be possible to do so in a short time. You know, because of the war, the order of raw silk and porcelain production has been very chaotic over the years, and now even the Tatars themselves have difficulty obtaining enough of these goods, let alone selling them in surplus. ”

"In that case, let's stop this business when this batch of tea is slowly sold." Silva, who was in charge of the Almeida family's business in the area, immediately understood.

The two of them walked on, and the road was lined with merchants, peddlers, and servants of all faces, the yellow-skinned ones were naturally Easterners, and the whites were hard to distinguish, maybe Easterners, maybe not. Some of them stood in front of the shop to solicit business, speaking a rather strange Portuguese accent - perhaps only the locals or the Portuguese who regularly do business with them would be able to understand it, and for first-time visitors like Blanco, listening to this "Portuguese" would feel like listening to Chinese.

There are quite a few strange foods on the roadside food stalls, most of which are from the Eastern Ming Kingdom, a small part from other countries, and some are obviously mixed with local styles, which makes people look appetizing. Some merchants or hawkers argue on the side of the road, communicating in a language that is difficult to understand each other. Blanco took a look and saw that the men seemed to be haggling.

"The people of the East Coast are very stubborn in their dealings, and they often stick to their own prices and even bargain with you for two or three days if necessary." Noticing that his master was looking at the bargaining merchants, Silva immediately sneered in an exaggerated tone: "But as soon as they feel that you will not budge, and that the business will obviously be profitable for him, the price position he insists on will melt away as quickly as a dam washed away by a flood, and then the business will be finalized in a minute, and it will often be confusing and stunned to pay for it and deliver it in the other." ”

Blanco laughed, apparently having had such an experience himself.

There are some vendors squatting on the side of the road in front of them, carrying flat poles and selling vegetables. This time, without the introduction of his own servants, Blanco also knew that these vendors were actually farmers from nearby villages, and they had set aside a special plot in their own land to grow all kinds of vegetables. Due to the abundant sunshine, precipitation, warm climate and fertile soil, the vegetable seeds planted here are often very profitable. Especially in Baoan Township, a town with a strong commercial atmosphere, the vegetables harvested in autumn are stored in the dry underground vegetable cellars, and in the winter, they are picked up and sold at the market, and they are often sold out without waiting until noon. Whether it's an East Coaster or a Portuguese, there's no skimping on treating yourself to a delicious vegetable feast at noon.

"The people of the East Coast have unified this and some towns in the south under the administration of Ping'an County, and I have heard that this county has the most prosperous commerce in the entire East Coast area, and the second most populous ......," Blanco said as he walked, "Then our shop here will be well managed, and the family has decided to start growing tobacco in the second half of the year, and maybe by next year, we will be able to sell what we produce on our estate." In addition, the bean cakes of the East Coast people are good things, and the tobacco plantations need them, order more to ship back. Well, it's not your job, I'll arrange someone else. By the way, if you can get soybean seeds from the East Coast, you know I'm not talking about the bad seeds, but the good seeds that they've newly cultivated. Yes, it is 'Mandihuang', 'Mancang Huang', and 'Mancang Gold', and the yield of these improved varieties far exceeds that of ordinary seeds. I don't care what means you use, you have to get me a batch back in a short time, and this batch of seeds will be planted in the plantation of St. Paul in the spring, and there will not be much time for you to squander. ”

"In addition, I heard that the people of the East Coast have recently bred some new breeds of goats and sheep, and they are trying to buy some to bring back. If you can't buy it, you can find a way to find a way in private, and the bighorn goats they bred in the past are very good, with a high meat yield and tender meat. The new Wujiang sheep must be very good this time, and the family's ranch needs them. After thinking about it, Blanco commanded his servant again. Since tasting the sweetness of bighorn goats, Blanco is now more and more interested in being a biological spy, and is increasingly interested in the various new varieties of plants and animals that have been cultivated in the breeding stations of the East Coasters.

Silva's instructions to Blanco naturally did not dare to slack off, although it was very risky to do such a thing, but the benefits after success were also very huge. Blanco's family owns extensive pastures and plantations in São Paulo, and is able to amplify the benefits of these fine varieties very effectively.

"Well, with all that said, it's time to treat our gut to a treat. Erik, do you have any recommended restaurants? You know, it's my first time here, and you've been here for 18 months. Dusting off the few snowflakes on his clothes, Blanco turned to look around at the various shops—some of which were restaurants, and of course, Chinese—and greeted his faithful servant, Eric. Silva consulted.

"I think we can try the dumplings." After a moment's thought, Silva immediately gave the answer. (To be continued......)