As for porcelain, it is actually more attractive to Westerners than silk, and it was originally a mysterious object in the West, because it is very similar to shells, and for a long time it was thought to be a product containing shells.

According to Shen Mo's previous knowledge from Western merchants, Chinese porcelain is not only a vessel in the West, but also a work of art...... The reason why I say China is because from the Tang Dynasty to the Song and Yuan dynasties for six or seven hundred years, porcelain has been the favorite of the European upper class, and it has become fashionable among the common people.

Because porcelain on the one hand represents a kind of indifferent and elegant noble mood, on the other hand, the exquisite surface paintings, Chinese mountains and rivers, houses, people and even myths and legends, all of which make Westerners yearn for Oriental culture infinitely, and add the added value of 'culture' to the already valuable porcelain.

It was the royal family and aristocrats of Europa who used the possession of fine Chinese porcelain as a means to boast of their wealth.

In addition to the value of porcelain itself, among China's three pillars of foreign trade commodities 'silk, tea and porcelain', it is the best ballast cargo for ocean-going sailing ships.

Therefore, fine porcelain, even more pleasing to Western merchants than silk, this exhibition can be said to be very successful.

After sending off the guests, Shen Mo personally came back to give out red envelopes to Leban, praising them for their performance today, as for Su Xue, of course, she had to wrap the biggest...... The veiled woman playing the piano on the stage was her, and the reason why she was masked was not because she was shy, but because she said silently: "You can't let them see your face, or who will look at my silk." ”

Maybe he didn't mean to say it, but Su Xue felt like she had eaten honey, and she was still very happy, and asked rarely: "My lord, you said that these Westerners should also be veterans in business, why haven't they seen the market so much?" ”

"What's so strange about that?" Silent smile: "After the Ming Dynasty banned the sea, smuggling became the only purchase channel for those foreign businessmen, and the maritime merchants of Fujian and Zhejiang who controlled the shipment were really not the sons of man. He said with a smile: "Westerners are not stupid, they buy my Ming exquisite goods at a high price, and they don't buy shoddy things, so the sales have shrunk a little." ”

"But what about Fujian and Zhejiang maritime merchants doing this kind of thing of killing chickens and taking eggs?" Su Xue asked curiously: "People are fooled and suffer losses only once, who will buy more?" ”

"They're helpless too." He smiled silently: "The trouble is getting worse and worse, and the gentry of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian are suffering deeply, and they are gradually drifting away from those maritime merchants who help the abuse, and the government has also ruthlessly banned it...... Take porcelain as an example, the maritime merchants have been unable to buy from the highest level of official kilns, even if the magic power is vast and can be purchased, but the price is very expensive, and they have to give up. I had to go to the private kiln to buy goods, and even open the kiln to fire myself, so how to maintain the quality? This is also the reason why Wang Zhizhi went straight to the pole and was in a hurry to open the sea ban.

"It turns out that those ......people are still making trouble" Su Xue understood, gritted her silver teeth and said, "They really deserve to go to hell!" ”

Shen Mo looked at the sweat on her forehead, and couldn't help but worry: "Is it starting again?" ”

Su Xue nodded, covered her heart and whispered, "My lord, the folk girl is retiring......"

"Hey, you've been offended," Shen Mo waved his hand with a solemn face, "Help the Su family to rest next door......

There is a famous saying that there are no two people the same, and no two businessmen are different. There is no difference between the merchant and the foreign, the yellow and the white.

Although those foreign businessmen shouted loudly, this one wants to buy 100,000 horses, and that one wants to buy 80,000 horses, as if you don't charge me money, I will be in a hurry with you, but when you really sit down to talk, I want them to pay for it, just like I want to play them, all of them hold their pockets tightly, lest they be touched.

Of course, it is not the problem of the goods themselves, whether it is silk or porcelain, they all shocked those Western merchants, only to know that the maritime merchants of Fujian and Zhejiang sold them are obviously inferior goods. There is a saying that the counteroffer is the buyer, or in other words, when it is really time to buy the goods, he will start to think about the counteroffer.

The price given by Shen Mo was divided into three grades, five hundred taels for the top grade, three hundred and one for the middle grade, and two hundred and one for the third grade...... Because the size of porcelain is different, so the price is varied, but in short, it is cheaper than the selling price of Fujian and Zhejiang maritime merchants, and the quality is more than three percent. This price was set after his research, which gave the other party a lot of room for profit, and anyone who said it was very kind.

This is the first time to open up sales, and it is difficult to say what the price will be in the future.

But that's it, those foreigners are all complaining there, saying that they have lost too much money over the years, and they can't take out so much money at all, and they can't pay the full amount, so they ask to pay a part of the deposit first, and then pay the full amount when the goods are sold.

Of course, Shen Mo will not be the boss of this wrong, he knows that his goods are worth a lot, for businessmen who see money, as long as the temptation is strong enough, there is nothing they dare not do, so if you give them credit, you have to accept the blow of the other party's return.

Therefore, he resolutely refused to agree, and the payment must be paid in two.

The attitude of the Western and Persian merchants was also very tough, and the negotiations reached an impasse, but there were more silent ideas, and he put the Saimoto, Ryukyu and Korean merchants who had been excluded until now into the negotiation center, although these people bought a relatively small amount, but the advantage was not to bargain...... Because the officials of the Ming Dynasty have always given the impression of these states that they have always been strong and generous, they didn't dare for a while, or they didn't think of it, to bargain.

The successive deals finally stimulated the Western businessmen, who decided to compromise...... But the methods were different, and the Western merchants, led by Chamas, begged for silence and sold them the third-class Suzhou embroidery at a reduced price, and were willing to pay the full amount to buy it within the scope of their affordability. Obviously, a friend from Europa is still more sincere.

And those Persian merchants, because the Ottomans and Arabs, who had good relations with the Ottomans and Arabs who controlled the two trade routes directly to Europe, did not need to detour the African continent, and this competitive advantage greatly reduced their transportation costs and risks; Moreover, in this era, together with the Arabs, they possessed the world's leading navigation and shipbuilding technology, so they were much richer than those Western merchants.

But they were even more difficult, and the first one named Balawi was a fat Persian man with messy hair, but with a pair of small eyes that sparkled, he was obviously not a difficult fellow. He proposed to use half of his goods to pay half of the account, and the rest to pay cash.

Shen Mo asked him what goods he had.

Balawi said confidently: "Spices, precious stones and carpets are the favorites of the Ming nobles. ”

He is not wrong at all, just as the European aristocracy is obsessed with Chinese porcelain and silk; China's dignitaries and nobles are also not stingy with Persian luxury, and spend a lot of money! Among them, the best-selling is the Persian carpet, a large hall with a good color and material, which can be bought for 2,000 taels of silver, which is not inferior to the goods of the Ming Dynasty.

So Shen Mo felt that this request was reasonable, so he agreed to Balawi and eat his goods to offset part of the payment. And for those poor Western merchants, Shen Mo discounted the selling price by eight, one hundred and eighty-one horses...... However, they are all third-class products, and as for the above two grades, I'm sorry, I don't bargain.

This forces those Westerners to go out and be slaughtered next time, otherwise the middle and high-end markets will be occupied by Persian merchants, and what future is there?

This batch of goods of the city has a total of 300,000 pieces of silk, 300,000 pieces of porcelain, and 80,000 catties of tea...... Among them, the silk is from Huang Jin's manufacturing bureau, and the latter two are from Tang Ruji's tea and horse division, and the two of them are in charge of production, and Shen Mo is in charge of exporting them.

It's been October and there is no sales, Huang Jin and Tang Ruji are both so anxious that their mouths are full of foams, and Huang Jin is silent like a fart all day long...... According to him, he served the emperor back then, and he never followed him so closely.

Even Tang Ruji, the prefect of Hangzhou and the Jiangnan Tea and Horse Division, also left the stall in Hangzhou City and went to Suzhou to supervise...... According to him, there are many small Bodhisattvas in Hangzhou City, and it doesn't matter if there is one less of them, it is important to concentrate on completing the tasks of the Tea and Horse Bureau.

Shen Mo couldn't help but think: 'It seems that the emperor has also given them Yin' expectations, 'Ah......' Actually, why is he not in a hurry? The year is over in two months, and nearly half of the indicators are still missing. Although I have already made up my mind, I misappropriated it if I really couldn't do it; But silver is a radish and a pit, how can there be so much spare money for him to dispose of? Pumping where to tighten, maybe it will cause a chain reaction, so he will not take this step unless he has to.

In essence, the three of them are difficult brothers!

Now that the deal has finally been negotiated, the three of them specially set up a table of celebratory wine in the evening to celebrate that the year has finally passed.

Huang Jin's face was red when he drank, and he counted with his fingers how much silver he could earn this time; After a while, he said that if he handed over the Jingshi, there would be 288,000 taels left; After a while, he said that there were only 188,000 taels left, and he said with a smile: "But in any case, there is a balance that is a certain ......."

Tang Ruji and Shen Mo are the two champions, they will not be as superficial as him...... Of course, the main reason is that they already know the numbers. As Huang Jin said, there will be a surplus no matter what.

"This year, I can have a good year." Tang Zhuangyuan raised his glass and said: "This is all thanks to Brother Humble Yan, I respect you." ”

Shen Zhuangyuan raised his glass and touched him and said: "Those who help others will help them, if it wasn't for Brother Siji secretly helping me to solve the food crisis, now my brother and I have been dismissed and gone home, even if I want to help you, I can't help." ”

Touting each other will undoubtedly make both parties feel happy, and after drinking a lot of wine, Tang Ruji smiled and said: "I have gone to inspect the goods these days, if there is no problem, I will take the money back, it will take too long to come out, for fear of causing discussion." ”

Shen Mo nodded and smiled: "As long as there is no problem with those goods, I will eat them all, you take the money, and I will sell them slowly." ”

As soon as he heard this, Huang Jin immediately said, "Then what's so embarrassing?" I only need 60% cash, and the rest will be discounted with goods. ”

Tang Ruji also reacted and said, "Then I'm ...... too"

Silent said in his heart: 'Don't go, pull backwards, whatever.' Actually, he said it on purpose. After pretending to think for a while, he said, "Okay, let's take a look when the goods arrive." ”

"That's right, share the blessings and the difficulties!" Tang Ruji smiled: "I respect you!" ”

"Yes, that's right!" Huang Jin's chubby little hand held the cup and said, "I also respect you!" ”

Three days later, Balawi arrived, loaded with thirty small boats. After seeing the silence, he began to complain: "The water level of the river is too low, our sea boats can't drive in at all, so we have to spend money to hire a small boat ......" said and blinked his small eyes: "This cost was not considered in advance, my lord, do you see if it is a reduction or something...... "He is a China expert, he has been in East Asia for more than ten years, and his Chinese is very good.

Shen Mo glanced at him and said, "You said earlier, I'll go to Shanghai to buy your goods." "Shanghai was originally a town, in the 32nd year of Jiajing, in order to protect the Japanese, built the city of Shanghai, until now it has only been four years, it is said that the city has not been built.

"Next time, next time." Bharavi was overjoyed.

"But if you want to buy my goods, you have to come here." Shen Mo said with a wicked taste.

Balawi's face suddenly fell, and he said, "So the adults are playing tricks on me." ”

Shen Mo smiled faintly: "It can only be said that it is half a catty and eight taels." ”

The nonsense is over, and the inspection begins. Shen Mo is not an insider after all, in order to avoid being cheated, he specially invited several jewelers, carpet merchants and spice merchants in the city, and ordered them to carefully inspect the goods to avoid mistakes.

After two full days of inspection, the 'experts' gave their opinion: 'Thirty cargoes have found no major problems, which is completely acceptable. Shen Mo has not been idle for the past two days, and has been humbly asking for advice, but other professionals have said that there is no problem, and he, a 'half-hanger', naturally can't see the problem.

Then there was another negotiation, and it was finally decided that the balance would be 5 into 3, and the remaining 4 into 7, to be paid immediately by the Balawi side in cash...... In fact, it was originally said that it was five to five, but no matter how thick and dark he was, he was also a literati in his bones, and he was still far from being able to compare with Balawi and his ilk in terms of bargaining. And after negotiating for so long, he was also a little annoyed, so he compromised again.

After compromising, he said silently, 'There will be no more moths this time, right?' ’

Who knew that Balawi was really turtle hair, and there was a question to be raised...... Shen Mo also knew that people were serious, but he just felt turtle hair...... I only listened to Balawi: "Porcelain is all good, but only one is bad, that is, it is fragile, long journeys, bumps on the sea, it is inevitable that it will be seriously damaged......"

"You can rest assured about this," Tang Ruji said: "The porcelain exported by my Ming Dynasty is all tied tightly with straw and packed in bamboo baskets, and is not afraid of bumps." ”

"That's great!" "But according to the usual practice, we still have to sign a memorandum, and if it is still badly broken at the destination, resulting in insufficient delivery quantity, you will have to compensate." ”

Shen Mo asked the people around him, and there was indeed this custom, so he nodded and said, "Yes, but we will send someone to follow, and only make up the difference for you the next time you come." ”

"Praise be to Allah." Balawi finally signed the deed.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and said in their hearts that it was over.

Na Balavi blinked his eyes and smiled, "My lord, I still want to buy something from you." ”

"What's that?" Shen Mo was a little afraid of him, this guy was so good at grinding that people didn't have a sense of accomplishment when they talked about business.

"How much does a woman who plays the piano cost? You make an offer. Balawi smiled and said, "Of course, if you want, I can exchange ten stunning orchids for her." ”

Shen Medden's face changed, and he stared coldly at Nabalavi, making him tremble all of a sudden...... Only then did I suddenly remember that the officials of the Ming Dynasty were good at stubble, and they couldn't think that he was easy to bully because the other party was easy-going, so he hurriedly said: "Don't get me wrong, sir, I just talk about it casually, and forget it if I don't sell it......"

"You remember for me," Shen Mo said coldly: "I have a lot of land and resources in the Ming Dynasty, silk, tea, porcelain, how much you want," he said, stretched out a finger and said, "But there is one thing, we don't sell it...... That's their own compatriots! ”

Balawi's fat face twitched a few times, and he actually looked respectful, got up and saluted Shen Mo: "I'm sorry sir, I have no intention of offending the noble lord and the great Ming, please forgive me for being a fool who doesn't know anything." ”

Shen Mo didn't look for him if he really knew that he was wrong, or he was afraid that he would punish him and admit his mistake first, but for the sake of the amount of real money he contributed to Daming, he still had to reveal this page.

Then he heard Shen Mo and said lightly: "Those who don't know are not guilty, so this time you will be given the right to write it down, and if you commit it again, the punishment will be doubled." ”

"Master Xie." Balavi gave a deep bow and stood up.

(To be continued)