The setting sun is sprinkled on the river, the boat is full of rivers, and the white sails are plated with a layer of golden light in the afterglow.

Time flows. It has been three or four months since I last left Hankow. At this time, Nonglu, Han Zhinan, and Qin Yuhe were walking by the Han River.

Nonglu pointed to the wooden boats on the river and said: "Historically, the first piece of tea in Russia was introduced from China, and it was not easy to open up the Sino-Russian tea road, and tea merchants played a key role. ”

Han Zhinan said with deep understanding: "At the beginning, our Jin merchants started by going to the west exit and selling tea!" ”

Nong Lu and Qin Yuhe nodded.

In 1567, tea was introduced to Russia from China and was favored by the upper nobility.

In 1638, Vasily Starkov, the emissary of the Moscow Tsar, was ordered to send an envoy to Oirat Mongol Arden Khan, returning home with 200 bags of tea, which was the first time that Chinese tea appeared publicly in the Russian capital.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Chinese envoys in Russia presented tea as a gift to the Russian emperor. The signing of the Treaty of Nebuchu in 1689 marked the beginning of a long period of trade between China and Russia. Since then, from Zhangjiakou to Russia through Mongolia and Siberia, the Russian caravans that trafficked tea and silk as the main commodities have become increasingly active, and the export of tea has been increasing, and tea has rapidly spread to all classes in Russia.

Qin Yuhe looked at the foreign merchant ships anchored on the river and said: "I have read some information, around 1727, China and Russia signed the "Kyakhta Mutual Market Treaty", and began to barter tea on the Sino-Russian border. ”

Nong Lu said: "Brother Qin is a person with a heart. ”

In 1857, Marx said in "Russian Trade with China": "In Kyakhta, the main commodity supplied by the Chinese is tea. The Russians offered cotton fabrics and furs. Previously, tea sold to Russians in Kyakhta averaged no more than 1 million boxes per year, but in 1852 it reached 1,750,000 boxes, and the total value of the goods bought and sold amounted to $15 million......"

According to historical records, in the 17th and 18th centuries, Chinese tea cultivated a fixed and huge consumer base in Russia and even the whole of Europe, especially the nomadic people in Siberia who fed on meat and milk, to the point that "it is better to go without food for a day than without tea for a day".

"The point is that after the mid-19th century, Russian tea merchants directly entered the hinterland of China, especially in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and they not only directly purchased tea, but also built factories to make tea," he said. ”

Everyone agrees.

Qin Yuhe continued: "Later, I did some research, and the exact date was April 21, 1891, when the Russian Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich visited Hankou, and said that the Wanli Tea Road was the great Sino-Russian tea road, and Hankou was the great Oriental tea port. ”

Nonglu confidently said that the "Sanjitang Tea Shop" is at the right time.

Qin Yuhe and Han Zhinan nodded yes. Afterwards, they went back to the store to rest.

By chance, Qin Yuhe was introduced by a foreign comprador to meet the Russian tea merchant Eugens, and learned a lot of information about the tea market from his mouth, and learned about the tea drinking habits of the Russians. Soon after, tea trade negotiations were held with Eugenes and a preliminary trade intention was reached.

According to the preference of the Russian market for the taste of tea, Qin Yuhe immediately discussed with Nonglu to change the tea-making process, set up a special tea workshop and tea warehouse, and refined and processed loose tea into black tea and brick tea, so as to facilitate long-distance transportation and use tea to open the money bags of Siberians.

Prior to this, Nonglu discussed with other shareholders of the tea shop and decided to launch the "Yi Black Tea" brand, which took the "Yi" of Nanyi County and used it as the name of black tea, and at the same time played a new variety of "Sanjitang Tea Shop" for export. Therefore, Nonglu soon launched the mid-to-high-end "Yi Black Tea" brand. Through nearly a year of sales, "Yi Black Tea" has been well reflected in the market, won word of mouth, and seized a part of the high-end customers and market share.

Nonglu made a special trip to Hankou this time to negotiate the trade of "Yi black tea" with Russian tea merchants.

This morning, Qin Yuhe led the farm to Eugenes's office building on Zhongshan Avenue, after entering the door, Eugenes neither greeted nor spoke, but a shallow smile floated on his lips, which was particularly meaningful, looking at the middle-aged tea merchant in front of him: a long cloth shirt with a diagonal placket, tight cloth shoes with a white bottom of the green gang, and under the brim of the soft satin hat, there was a pair of bright eyes, and the smile revealed a trace of the mystery and solemnity of the imperceptible Oriental.

Nonglu stood in front of Eugens, when Qin Yuhe brought him in just now, according to etiquette, Nonglu gave Eugens a bow, Eugens sat on the chair like a hill, motionless, but leaned his head slightly forward, and nodded symbolically. Eugens seems to be deliberately putting up a shelf there to give the farm a dismount.

Although Qin Yuhe had told Nonglu in advance that there was only one chair in Eukins's office room, and no matter who entered his room, he would always stand, which was nothing more than a show of his business prestige.

At this time, Nonglu was standing in front of Eugenes, there was still an unbearable discomfort in his heart, and Nonglu was also looking at the other party - this big tea merchant who dominated Asia and Europe, thinking about the first transaction conversation that was about to begin, as a seller, he should first introduce his goods to the buyer, without boasting or dodging.

Qin Yuhe has privately revealed to Nonglu that Eugene has expressed a strong interest in "Yi Black Tea", so there is no need to beat around the bush in the next negotiations, it should be straight to the point, according to the quality of the price, he believes that with the quality of "Yi Black Tea", this first transaction will be a good start.

Eugenes began to speak, of course, talking about tea. However, Eugene is not talking about "Yi black tea", but about going around the bend, saying a lot of things: Darjeeling, Assam in India, Uwo in Ceylon, and so on, especially about the color of their soups: what amber, gold leaf, what agate, Sri Lankan red diamonds, and so on.

After listening to these high-minded talks, the farm house seemed to be in the clouds. Qin Yuhe was also sweating on the side, he sometimes looked at the farm house and sweated for him; Sometimes I look at Eugenes, and I only play the drums in my heart.

Eukins took out his "signature dish" and constantly used and changed adjectives: one moment to talk about fragrance, the other time to use a series of chemical and nutritional terms, especially to talk about the scientific composition and nutritional value of various teas, such as inorganic minerals, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron, copper, zinc, selenium and other chemical elements, and then such as organic compounds, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids, alkaloids, tea polyphenols, organic acids, vitamins and so on.

These new gadgets are like listening to a book from heaven to the farm. Qin Yuhe looked helplessly at Eukins's clever mouth, constantly flipping up and down, and those words seemed to have a tendency to flow thousands of miles.

Nonglu stood upright, smiling, and listening patiently, and then, Nonglu's clear and bright eyes swept over a cloud of suspicion, giving rise to alertness. Despite this, he remained calm, sorted out his emotions, and tried to maintain a calm mind.

At this time, Eugenes did not mean to stop, all he swallowed was foreign brands and chemical and nutritional terms, and his sharp mouth kept going down......