Chapter Seventy-Four: The First Great Port in the East

As soon as you go ashore from Guangchang, you will be taxed on the card. It is not possible to show proof that the tax has been paid in Jingdezhen. There is no way, and it is heavily taxed again. After passing the checkpoint, Chen Yufeng said: "The dart flag has been picked up." You didn't hear the Fujian merchant say that the tax on this road is enough for us to choke. If it doesn't work, we'll have to figure out something. ”

So Li Jing opened the way in front, and when she encountered a checkpoint, she came back to inform the caravan. The caravan stopped and did not leave. At night, Li Jing led people up quietly, knocked out the people guarding the checkpoint, and then notified the caravan to pass quietly, and the hired guides and horsemen didn't know what was going on, so they quietly followed anyway. In this way, I passed several levels along the way. Anyway, the officers and soldiers guarding the card didn't know that a caravan had passed, only that they had been knocked unconscious, and they didn't dare to report it. So along the way, I saved a lot of taxes.

This Quanzhou is worthy of being the starting point of the Silk Road and the largest port in the East. Everywhere there are large ships moored at home and abroad. Zhang Zhimu knew that this Quanzhou was even more prosperous in the Tang and Song dynasties, and the Ming Dynasty's ban on the sea was no longer as good as before, otherwise it would be more prosperous.

When the fleet approached the dock, they really saw ships unloading grain. Seeing that Lu Chengxiang and they were very anxious, Zhang Zhimu said: "Don't worry, let's understand the situation first." Also learn about the tea, imported beads, spices, precious stones, and tortoiseshell. ”

Lu Chengxiang waited for the ship to dock and went to contact the inn. Zhang Zhimu looked at the big sea ships like hills on the dock, and thought to himself that one day I would build a sailboat, and then I would cross the ocean and cross the sea, just like walking on the ground.

After two days of understanding. I know that there are three large ships of 15,000 materials, one of 10,000 materials, four ships of 5,000 materials are loaded with Annamite rice, and one ship of 10,000 materials is unloading rice. In addition, in Zhangzhou, there are two large ships of 10,000 materials and two large ships of 5,000 materials, both of which are loaded with rice. All these shipowners are looking for buyers. Zhang Zhimu decided to buy them all, on the condition that the whole ship should be transported to Huai'an, and we could pay for the freight. After further negotiations, Zhang Zhimu learned that the owner of the ship and the owner of the cargo were not the same family, and the owner of the ship was of course happy when he heard that he could earn freight, but he proposed that the cargo must be unloaded immediately when he arrived in Huai'an, because he could not delay the ship to go to sea. The price negotiated was simply beyond everyone's surprise, and the price of rice during the stable years of the Ming Dynasty was the same, or even lower, and finally counted the freight to Huai'an, one or two silver and two stones. Zhang Zhimu asked the inn to help hire a fast boat, and Lu Chengxiang and Li Jing rushed to Zhangzhou, ready to buy the rice from the two ships. Zhang Zhimu said: "If it can be settled, let them transfer the ship to Quanzhou, and we can set off together." ”

Zhang Zhimu went to the wharf and discussed with the grain merchant who was unloading the ship, preparing to buy the grain he had already bought. and give him a penny for each stone. Of course, the grain merchant was happy, and he made money on the spot without moving a place at the wharf. After discussing with the shipowner, the unloading workers were asked to load the unloaded grain onto the ship. The dock workers are even happier, where to find this job, and then load it after unloading.

Lu Chengxiang came back soon, and it had been agreed that the two ships would arrive in Quanzhou immediately. I signed a document with the ship's grain merchant and the shipowner, paid the deposit, and agreed to leave in two days, because several ships were still unloading other goods.

After setting these, Zhang Zhimu said: "There are many tea boats coming down from Xixi, and we have to bring some tea back." Lu Chengxiang came over and asked: "Those grain merchants asked, do you want to transport grain in the future." Zhang Zhimu said: "Yes." I'm just going to talk to you about it. The porcelain and silk we brought with us didn't let everyone sell it, I have an idea. Are we also sending people to overseas Sulu and other places to break through? "Lu Chengxiang said that this is a good idea, we sell things and pull back the goods directly, and if it doesn't work, we will transport back the rice, anyway, we don't have to worry about sales. Chen Yufeng said: "The key is who to send? ”

Lu Chengxiang thought for a while and said, "No, don't let my nephew Lu Qi stay in Yangzhou." I see him doing it, he is young and has a lively brain, and he has been doing business with me for a few years. Send him more people, it should be fine. Zhang Zhimu said: "As long as Mr. Lu is willing, Lu Qi agrees." I think it's okay, I'm matching Fan Song to him, and let them pick ten people. Lu Chengxiang said: "Lu Qi doesn't need to ask, he knows that he wants him to do such a big thing, and he jumps up unhappily." Li Zhi said: "Don't leave my person to Li Mao in Yangzhou, just give it to Lu Qi." Zhang Zhimu said: "This is very risky. Their salaries have tripled. Others will be discussed depending on the situation. We gave them a hundred thousand taels of silver, paid the freight to Sulu, and brought another thousand taels of silver. I've seen enough, what exactly do you want to buy, Mr. Lu will arrange it well. It seems that we are still short of people and talents. Chen Yufeng said: "I have to hire two more who have been to Sulu." There are a lot of people who have been here, and there are still a lot of people in Sulu who have been there. ”

The team for going abroad was set, and since all the people who went this time were young people, the people who were selected were very happy. Zhang Zhimu had an in-depth conversation with them, doing ideological work, which is a strong point that he learned in his previous life. From the future of the country to the company, to the future of the individual, everything is talked about. Cheer up a bunch of little brothers. In the end, Zao told Lu Qi: "Money is something outside the body, and people are the most important." When you fish outside, you can endure it, and show less edge. The most important thing is to get the rubber back, not afraid to spend a little more money, and tell the locals that we will buy rubber for a long time in the future. It is best to transplant the rubber, not to Hainan Island. Zhang Zhimu handed over the method of spiral rubber tapping to Lu Qi and others. It seems that there are still endless instructions, so I want them to break in.

After loading all the goods onto the sea ship, Zhang Zhimu and everyone went south on the sea ship. Lu Qi's ship will have to wait a few days before it leaves.

Before getting on the boat, Zhang Zhimu asked everyone to stick a piece of ginger on their navels, telling everyone that seasickness at sea was very bad. But many people didn't believe it, so Zhang Zhimu forced him to stick the ginger on.

It was the southeast monsoon, and the ship at anchor was sailing south. The big ship looks big from the shore, and when it reaches the sea, it looks like a leaf. Before they reached the main channel, they had just left the dock for a while, and those young men who usually disagreed with seven and eight were dissatisfied vomited into a mess.

Some people are born without seasickness, and Lu Chengxiang is. He happily, took the account book, and came to Zhang Zhimu. Zhang Zhimu is not too dizzy now, because he had the experience of seasickness in his previous life and is trying to control it. said to Lu Chengxiang: "Mr. Lu, let's talk about big numbers!" ”

Lu Chengxiang said: "We left Yangzhou with 230,000 taels of cash and spent 30,000 taels on the purchase of Nanjing. After leaving Yangzhou, we sold another 460,000 taels. Give Lu Qi 10,000 taels and buy 30,000 taels in Nanjing. bought 60,000 taels of porcelain, 10,000 taels of silk, and 20,000 taels of tea in Jingdezhen; It cost 50,000 taels to buy goods in Huizhou. This is the goods taken away by Liu Chenghuang, a total of 190,000 taels, so there are 430,000 left. We bought 50,000 taels of porcelain and 50,000 taels of silk to bring to Quanzhou. To Quanzhou, we still have 330,000 taels of silver. The total amount of grain we have packed is 115,000 stones, and we are to use 57,500 denarii of silver. The tea I bought in Quanzhou was 50,000 taels, and I bought 40,000 taels of pearls, spices, bird's nests, etc. So the silver we can move is 170,000 taels. Zhang Zhimu said: "It's good to turn them into goods." Back to the north, at least double. ”

According to the plan, Zhang Zhimu and others changed to a small boat in Hangzhou Bay and went to Hangzhou. Liu Yun and Li Jing followed the big boat to Huai'an, and the big boat went to the mouth of the Yangtze River, Li Jing and the other three unloaded three horses, and took the dry road to take the dry road, and took the waterway if there was no dry road, and rushed to Yangzhou as soon as possible, and asked Li Mao to go to Huai'an to help arrange the unloading of grain.

Seasick and dizzy, Zhang Zhimu and others barely persevered and came to an inn. The group fell asleep for almost a day except Lu Chengxiang, and then they eased up one by one. Seeing that Zhang Zhimu was a little energetic, Lu Chengxiang asked the guy to pour a cup of tea, and Zhang Zhimu took it and smelled the strong fragrance of Longjing tea, this Longjing tea was his favorite in his previous life. After drinking some tea, Zhang Zhimu was more energetic. This is Yang Yulin coming in and saying, "I won't take a sea boat in the future." Zhang Zhimu Yile said: "If you sit too much, you won't get dizzy." You didn't look at the crew, didn't you have anything? ”

I originally wanted to take a good stroll around Hangzhou and see how it was different from my previous life, but time didn't allow it. Let Lu Chengxiang take people to bring in some silk fabrics, embroidery and green tea. Zhang Zhimu took time to go to West Lake. At this time, Zhang Zhimu felt that the West Lake was more beautiful and broader than that of his previous life. The women on the shore of West Lake are more beautiful, which really makes people stop and don't want to leave. It's a pity that I can't play more, so I have to come back when I have the opportunity to come back later.

After buying in Hangzhou, and taking a boat along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal through Taihu Lake to Suzhou, Zhang Zhimu knew that Suzhou embroidery was a must in the world, and when Lu Chengxiang went to buy silk embroidery, Zhang Zhimu also followed the embroidery workshop and weaving workshop to see. When Zhang Zhimu was looking at it, he thought that he must make weaving and embroidery in the future, so that the efficiency will be greatly improved.

Zhang Zhimu didn't forget to buy clothes and all kinds of food for Huang Yukun and the children.

After purchasing the goods, in a hurry, Zhang Zhimu and his entourage left this paradise in a hurry. Take a boat along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to the north, Changzhou to Zhenjiang, and cross the Yangtze River to Yangzhou.

When the ship docked at the Yangzhou wharf, Lu Chengxiang sent someone to the Yangzhou branch to find someone and inform them to come to the wharf to help. What Zhang Zhimu didn't expect was that Li Mao came over. He was followed by several women. Especially a woman, dressed in white clothes, white pants and white skirt. Walking like the wind swinging lotus leaves, demeanor in all directions. Zhang suddenly remembered that this should be the actor, Xiao Hongyu. I thought it was no wonder that the son of the Huang family couldn't let it go when he saw it, and the man didn't want to take a few more glances when he saw it, he originally wanted Li Mao to say hello and go to talk to Xiao Hongyu, but when he saw Yang Yulin's eyes behind him, Zhang Zhimu still stopped. I thought that if Yang Yulin came from behind, it would be a big joke. Hurriedly asked Li Mao: "You haven't arrived in Huai'an?" ”

Li Mao said: "I'll wait for you when I come back from Huai'an." The ships on the Huai'an side have arrived, and the cargo yard has been arranged at the wharf, and now they are unloading the cargo. You can rest assured over there. Liu Chenghuang's goods didn't stop, so I asked them to go directly to Huai'an. I've underestimated some rice here, it's cheap but far away, and it will arrive in these two days. I see your goods, don't thank you. Directly to Huai'an. Wait for these rice to arrive and go to Huai'an. All the goods are concentrated in Huai'an. The ship is there to marshall. Lu Chengxiang and Yan Boju heard the two talking, Lu Chengxiang said: "Mr. Zhang, Uncle Chen, and Miss Yang are waiting in Yangzhou, let's take the ship to Huai'an first, if these ships can wait a few days to go north with us, there is no need to unload, we can't wait to talk about it." "Leave ten people for Zhang Zhimu. Yan Boju and Lu Chengxiang had some food on the dock and set off again.

Li Mao said: "I even repaired the house, and I left a total of 20,000 yuan. The rest is all rice. Who knew that rice in Quanzhou was so cheap. I took a lot of effort to get the rice from a distance, and it was still two taels of silver and one stone. A total of more than 70,000 stones were bought. One more thing do you think you can do? The eldest young master of the Huang family, the person who sent it, has been circling around us. The people of the troupe live in our store and dare not go out. I don't think you can take them away. That little red jade has been looking forward to you, a great benefactor. It's just on the dock, why don't you ignore her. I don't think that's the kind of person I think is a good brother. Zhang Zhimu smiled bitterly and said in his ear: "Don't you look at Miss Yang, do you have a grudge against all women?" If I have something inconsiderate, Miss Yang flies out with a whip. It's lively. Li Mao said: "It seems that the virtuous brother is in a lot of trouble." Ha ha! I've said everything about the troupe, and you'll follow you at all times. Zhang Zhimu thought about it now, he was not short of money or food, so he brought it. I also want to grasp material civilization and spiritual civilization at the same time.

Seeing the head of the troupe, Zhang Zhimu asked you all such musicians, is acting enough? Liu said: "No matter how many people there are, they can't afford to raise them." "Can you find more good musicians, then give some silver, please." It is better to have a repertoire that can be choreographed. We can hire with a high salary. And come and go freely. "Liu said that there is no shortage of musicians in Yangzhou, and there are as many as they want. Zhang Zhimu said: "It's really good, you can help me find twenty or thirty, and the variety of musical instruments should be complete." What instruments are missing. If you bring it up yourself, you can buy it when you need to, and it's okay to buy more. It's not easy to buy in the north. You manage all the people you recruit. When you arrive in Shanxi, I will give you the treatment of our company's middle-level managers. Little Ruby is treated the same as you. We treat the rest differently according to the level. In short, let everyone engage in art without worries. Create a masterpiece. "Class Master Liu and Xiao Hongyu are very excited when they hear it, and they don't have to worry about eating in the future. There is silver every month and every year, and there is a bonus for doing a good job. With such an amiable hero in his hands, there is no need to be frightened anymore. In the house, Zhang Zhimu was talking to Liu Banzhu. Someone came to the dock again and said that the goods had arrived. Li Mao said: "Rice is not so fast. ”