After another half an hour, the spacious main hall of Hushan Manor finally quieted down, and Zhu Daolin changed into new tea and began to brew, serving mellow hot tea to the guests who had calmed down.

"God! What kind of tea is this? Aznar, a retired Spanish naval captain, exclaimed again, and the other Francos remembered the fragrance of tea that they had been vaguely smelling just now, and they all picked up the exquisite purple sand teacups in front of them, smelled and looked, and then tasted them carefully.

Zhu Daolin smiled slightly, calmly explained: "This is a new tea produced by the ancient production method, the name is Tieguanyin, we are now drinking this grade is extremely rare, because the tea trees grow on the cliffs, the number is not much, it is very difficult to pick, coupled with strict selection and production, the total annual output does not exceed 50 catties, and it is never sold to the outside world." ”

"My old friend gave me two small cans, adding up to less than 1 catty, and I can only wait until next year to drink it, just now you have seen the five carved beautiful wooden boxes, which contain this kind of tea, but the grade is slightly lower, but it is also a very good Tieguanyin first-class tea."

Sayid smiled: "I have seen it all, and what surprised me the most was that the two tin cans with very exquisite carving technology and patterns were filled with the most rare fermented black tea, which was too luxurious!" I think the price will certainly not be low. ”

The guests who all wanted to buy special black tea immediately looked at Zhu Daolin, Zhu Daolin also looked at the guests, observed each other for a moment, Zhu Daolin smiled:

"There is also black tea that is not packaged in tin cans, the price is much lower, but it is carefully packaged in bamboo tubes or wood carved tea boxes, like that, a can is only sold for one or two silver."

"If you want to trade with us, I think the first thing you need to solve is not the price, but the common standard that is acceptable to both sides and strictly enforced, such as weight standards, length standards, and so on. In our Ming words, it is weights and measures! ”

The guests realized that the problem mentioned by Zhu Daolin was indeed very important, and that in the perennial trade with merchants on the southeast coast of China, they all encountered problems caused by the inconsistency of weights and measures, and that the countries of Europe also had their own standards.

Therefore, for hundreds of years, it has been traded in the way that Ming merchants customarily agreed. The deviation in understanding between the two sides and the opportunistic tactics of some businessmen often cause contradictions, which makes this kind of convention very unstable, resulting in constant disputes and quarrels, and there is still no good solution.

But now it is different, Zhu Daolin put forward the idea of unifying the weights and measures of both sides before he was involved in trade, which is not only beneficial to everyone, but also shows his mind and sincerity. Let the guests be convinced.

Sa Yide, who was already accustomed to the trading methods of Ming merchants, was the first to ask, "What kind of weights and measures does Mr. Zhu plan to use?" ”

Zhu Daolin asked everyone to wait, and instructed Yuhu to go to the inner room to take out the two rectangular aluminum alloy toolboxes, move the tea set on the coffee table to make space, and wait for Yuhu to take out the two toolboxes, Zhu Daolin took one of them and put it on the coffee table, turned the front of the box to the guests and opened the lid of the box, and a group of guests immediately surrounded it, and soon let out a sound of exclamation.

Zhu Daolin's introduction was very detailed: "Everyone, please take a look. The weights neatly arranged in the boxes are 1 gram, 2 grams, 5 grams, 10 grams, 50 grams, 100 grams, 500 grams and 1000 grams, the same as the current measurements in France, the largest country in Europe. 1000 grams = 1 kilogram, which is about 2.205 pounds in the United Kingdom and about 1.68 pounds in the Ming Dynasty. ”

"Please look at the measuring tool placed on the lid of the box, the round one is a leather tape measure, and the length is 20 meters. Pull the copper ring to see that there are two scales of meters and centimeters, and the white stainless steel ruler is 60 centimeters, 50 centimeters and 30 centimeters, each ruler has a clear standard scale, and all the units of measurement are the same as those in France, that is, 1 meter = 100 centimeters = 1000 millimeters. You can take it out and take a look. ”

The guests picked up weights and rulers to watch, Ying Changpei also came over, Zhu Daolin handed Ying Changpei another box that was exactly the same, and then picked up the teacup and waited patiently.

Zhu Daolin's doing so was after repeated considerations and trade-offs, and before that, Zhu Daolin had already made up his mind to implement the decimal metric system of weights and measures, and all the workshops under his name would be mandatory in the near future, and could no longer continue according to the original chaotic standards of weights and measures.

Zhu Daolin is very clear about this truth: the development of science and technology must be based on a unified standard of weights and measures!

Taking the shipbuilding workshop that has not yet officially started construction as an example, the so-called calculation method of how many stones, how many materials and how many feet is called by the craftsmen is a typical example of the current chaotic measurement method, which is absolutely unacceptable to the ambitious Zhu Daolin!

The guests carefully observed, compared one by one, and had a heated discussion at the same time, and finally did not have the objection that Zhu Daolin feared, but put forward Zhu Daolin's expected request: we need to obtain such a set of standard tools for weights and measures.

Zhu Daolin had been prepared for this, although he brought back as many as 100 sets, but he was unwilling to give such accurate and advanced weights and measures tools to outsiders, originally there was an accurate vernier caliper, a spiral micrometer, a set of stainless steel protractors and compasses in the box, but Zhu Daolin put it away in advance.

Therefore, Zhu Daolin said the words he had prepared: "Please forgive me, gentlemen, these two sets of standard weights and measures tools are not easy to come by, and they need to stay in my workshop for the time being, and my craftsmen will make a large number of identical weights and measures tools with special marks in strict accordance with the same standards, using brass, refined leather, tough wood, or hard-wearing bamboo, and I can send several sets to you when the time comes." ”

"If we start trading with each other, I guess you will be able to get a few sets for free at the next delivery."

Although the guests felt extremely regretful, they could all accept Zhu Daolin's opinion, and Sanchez, the director of the Spanish East India Company, could not bear the strong temptation brought by many beautiful porcelain and gemstone jewelry, and preemptively asked Zhu Daolin to purchase the goods.

Where would Saïd and Moleno, the shareholder of the Portuguese East India Company, let him get his wish, and successively opened his mouth to stop Sanchez's behavior in disregard of the overall situation, and then asked Zhu Daolin to issue a price list for all the goods samples in the court.

Zhu Daolin looked at each guest sincerely: "Gentlemen, thank you very much for your sincerity, I am very willing to establish long-term trade relations with you, and I can make a promise to you now: in addition to the settlement of trade between us in gold and silver, I am willing to buy steel, copper ingots, tin ingots, cotton, plush fabrics, high-grade wood, refined leather, European or Arab horses, and even warships, muskets and artillery, etc., which are familiar to the gentlemen and very good at, and how much you can ship. I can buy as much as I want! ”

"But before that, I hope that the two parties to the transaction can sign a written contract to clarify the content of each other's transaction, the quality of the goods, the method of acceptance, the payment method, the principle of dispute resolution, the determination of liability for losses and the standard of compensation, as well as the rights and obligations and responsibilities that each party has.

"Gentlemen, honesty and responsibility are the virtues that every businessman should have, this is the soul of the spirit of contract, and I will continue to practice it throughout my life!"

The guests were moved by Zhu Daolin's sincere words, and couldn't help but stand up and applaud warmly.

Zhu Daolin also stood up, following the example of a certain big man, he crossed his left palm to his chest and lowered it slightly, and the fingertips of his right palm moved forward, gently landing on his naturally open left palm, nodding with a sincere smile on his face.

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PS: This chapter is a big update for the new Dharma protector "Jin Mu Canchen"! Thank you for your generosity! There's another chapter to celebrate! Please also continue to subscribe, tip, and support monthly passes! (To be continued......)