Zheng Haizhu, as a traverser who is firm but has not forgotten the word humility, knows that he did not come to the first port of the Ming Dynasty to walk the catwalk.

So after only opening a sentence in English, she showed a somewhat surprised look, and said to Liu Gonggong, who was also surprised: "The preachers of Haizhu and Songjiang have learned a little bit of fur language, and no more." ”

Unexpectedly, Liu Shimin quickly accepted the different colors, and happily said proudly with a group of officials, including Haicheng Zhi County: "How else to say that the Jiangnan people are outstanding and spiritual, you little fellows, who have been mixed in the Susong territory for a year, all know that the Hongyi people have opened an East India trading company on the sea." ”

This time, it was Zheng Haizhu's turn to be taken aback.

Liu Shimin also understands English?

And also know that you are talking to the Dutch merchant about the East India Company?

It is nothing more than that there was no word "company" in Chinese at this time, so Liu Gonggong equated "pany" with "trading company".

Seeing Zheng Haizhu's instantaneous reaction, Liu Shimin pursed his lips and said: "Little girl, our Suzhou Mansion is closer to Nanjing than your Songjiang Mansion, and there are more Taixi missionaries. Our family sells silk goods to the people of Banzai, and if we don't learn a little language, isn't it like General Ma leading his troops to the battlefield, but he can't recognize new firearms? ”

When Zheng Haizhu heard this, he couldn't help but sigh, and said that the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty had the highest level of education in all dynasties, and that was indeed the case.

And this Liu Shimin, as recorded in historical records, is a scholar among scholars, and it is rare that he is the same as Xu Guangqi, who does not reject Western studies and foreign languages.

Ma Xianglin on the side also smiled appropriately, and naturally understood in his heart the real reason why Gonggong Liu was familiar with the overseas situation.

Liu Shimin today, he also planned to use a little insight to suppress the Hongyi people who had just begun to occupy territory on the southeast coast, and when he saw that Zheng Haizhu put an arrow for him, he stopped in moderation, patted the tooth line translation with "Do you still need villains" written on his face, and said kindly: "Old brother, our family is also the same as this girl, and I don't know much Saxon and Francis, so I still have to work for you." ”

As he spoke, Liu Shimin made a gesture, and Zheng Haizhu and Fan Poyu immediately followed the officials and mothers-in-law of the Weaving Bureau to quickly open the camphor wood boxes engraved with the word "E" and take out all kinds of silk cloth goods.

Toothy white, neatly wound raw silk.

Colorful brocade, forging, silk, and silk.

A cotton cloth with a delicate layer of velvet that feels like a baby's cheek.

The size of the palm, but it can show the Suzhou embroidered silk handkerchief full of spring in the garden.

The fabric is silent, but with the pure color, the soft luster, the beautiful picture and the excellent feel, it vividly tells the world how skillful and delicate the hands of the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty.

All of a sudden, the courtyard full of sunshine is better than the flowers in the world, like the fairy flowers in the heavenly realm.

The leader of the Dutch businessmen who came to see Gonggong Liu today through the Yuegang Yaxing is called Gullit.

With the strong support of the domestic elite and the overseas East India Company, Gullit, like other Dutch merchants, had sailed their flat-bottomed galleons in previous years, with a cross in one hand and a sword in the other, and had traveled all over Malacca, Anti-Timor (present-day Indonesia), Champa (present-day Vietnam), Chenla (present-day Cambodia), Siam (present-day Thailand), Borneo (present-day Wenlai), Luzon (present-day Philippines), and Hirado (present-day Ben).

The Dutch were convinced that Portugal and Spain had waned after digging their first few pots of gold in the Age of Discovery, and that the Britons seemed to have only woken up and might not have the strength to get a piece of the pie right away.

Therefore, after the ambitious sea coachmen of the Netherlands completed the occupation of the small countries in the South Seas and the infiltration of Japan, the next thing to do was to aim at the Ming Dynasty, a huge but heavily guarded Eastern Empire, and strive to kick out the Portuguese and Spaniards in the shortest possible time and monopolize the maritime trade with the Ming Dynasty.

In the autumn of last year, Gullitt had already infiltrated Macao, where the Ming Dynasty had allowed the Portuguese to do business, by bribing the magistrates of Xiangjiang, and quickly settled on the coast, selling linen, leather shoes and hats, sugar, metal utensils, cheese products, and dried herring, and buying back a whole shipload of porcelain, tea, Shu brocade, and Cantonese embroidery.

At that time, Gullitt and his subordinates were stunned by the Shu brocade and Guangxiu embroidery, which were far above the level of Japanese fabrics, and they all sighed, no wonder Governor Cohen told them that the Ming Empire was a huge treasure house of the East.

Unexpectedly, this time his luck became better and better, not only was he able to squeeze into the team of merchants in Yuegang, but also conquered an old tooth shop with gold coins, and was able to do business directly with the officials of the Ming Dynasty.

What is even more impressive to the Dutch is that these silk and cotton fabrics, which are said to have been transported from the richest places in the Ming Dynasty, are more magnificent or softer than the silk goods they have seen in Macao.

Gullit's eyes lit up, and he directly picked up two strands of raw silk and asked how much it was.

At the beginning of the inquiry, the magistrates of Yuegang, under the leadership of the magistrate, announced their resignations to Liu Gong with interest.

After only the people from the Weaving Bureau and the Dutch merchants were left in the courtyard, Liu Shimin quoted unhurriedly: "Two hundred taels of silver a load, how much we want from the Ming Dynasty." Well, a load is a hundred catties, which is about the same as one law of the Francis. ”

Then he pointed to another box and said, "The silk over there is two hundred and thirty taels of silver a load." This official has visited, and the raw silk that the Dongying people bought for the Franky people in Haojing will never be lower than the price of our colored silk. ”

Zheng Haizhu, who listened from the side, was once again refreshed by Liu Shimin's performance.

She thought that it was the officials of the Weaving Bureau who came out to discuss the details with the Dutch, but who knew that Liu Shimin actually went into battle in person, like a skilled Fujian businessman, and listening to this meaning, Liu Gonggong was going to engage in dumping.

At this time, Japan has indeed raised a large number of silkworm babies, but the quality and quantity of raw silk, then our Ming can still crush it.

The Dutchman Gullit's blue eyes really flashed.

But the composure in the businessman's bones and the pursuit of maximizing profits made him still shake his head, and asked the interpreter of the tooth shop to tell Liu Gonggong: The price of raw silk is indeed the market price, but the color silk is too expensive. Since the Netherlands were freed from Francian rule, dye plants have been cultivated in large quantities on their land, and in just a few years they have paid so much success that even the Saxons have transported wool and woolen wool to the Dutch lands by boat to dye them.

The implication of the Dutch is very clear, since we can dye it ourselves, why buy such expensive colored silk, unless the price is lowered.

After hearing this, Gonggong Liu smiled lightly, turned his head to Zheng Haizhu and said, "Miss Zheng, this red-haired fan sits on the ground to pay back, you also know how to dye, come, you talk to him." ”

The sudden command is to test whether this girl has a sharp mind and an aggressive will.

Zheng Haizhu was always listening attentively, this was the first time she had experienced the empire's higher-level maritime trade negotiations since she crossed over, what a rare opportunity to fight, so she followed every sentence of the translation, simulating a response in her mind.

Listening to Liu Shimin's call at this moment, Zheng Haizhu was like a soldier ready to attack when he saw the flag and immediately entered the state of attack.

She walked to the box containing colored silk, checked it slightly, selected three or four red colored silks, and went to another box to take out the silk cotton scarf blended by the Han family weaving workshop, walked up to Gullit, and politely gestured: "I advocate red in the Ming Dynasty, and I am the best at dyeing red." But some of them are used as dye plants or minerals, which can only be produced in the land of my Ming Dynasty. ”

Gullitt perked up: "May I ask this knowledgeable lady, what kind of plant or mineral is it?" ”

Zheng Haizhu said in his heart, there are more, knotweed, big-leaf ficus, madder, daiochre, and Xiapu grass in the Zhangquan area, but if you are stupid, I will tell you their names directly.

Then Yanran smiled and said: "It's useless to just find these plants and ores, there are many exclusive recipes and processes in the dyeing process, which we call intangible culture in the Ming Dynasty." These are not important, but the important thing is that I believe that what Mr. Gullitt saw was believing, and he knew in his heart whether our beautiful silks, satins, and cotton cloths were of the same color as the wool and wool dyed in your country. ”

That month, the interpreter of the Hong Kong Dental Bank, when he heard the words "non-material culture", was confused, and said this in his heart...... I don't even know what this word means in Chinese, how to translate it into Hongyi. When I heard the words "these are not important" again, I was immediately relieved, Miss Zheng was so right, I don't have to talk nonsense with Hongyi, tell him, you can't dye such a beautiful one, just do it.

Gullit, a fighter in a foreign businessman, will disarm in the first round.

He still put on a seemingly respectful, but actually suppressed smile, asked Zheng Haizhu for the silk and cotton blended handkerchief, rubbed the red velvet and bright sunrise part on his head for a while, and shrugged his shoulders disapprerovingly: "For example, this color is indeed very red, but outside your country, it is not impossible to dye it." ”

As he spoke, he took out a cloth bag containing tobacco shreds, pulled it flat, and showed it to the proud Ming people in front of him.

"Look, the bishop's red clothes on the bag are the same as the red of your country's scarf, right?"

Liu Shimin looked at it fixedly, and had to admit that the embroidery of the foreign monk on the cigarette pouch was really a collapse and I couldn't see it, but the thread of the embroidered robe was indeed bright and dazzling.

Gonggong Liu has been in the palace for many years, and knows that whether it is porcelain or weaving, craftsmen have the reaction of "talking about red change", because the most beautiful red, whether it is fired or dyed, is a test of kung fu, and sometimes it depends on a bit of luck.

It was Zheng Haizhu who picked red goods and called the Dutch to the plate, and Liu Shimin praised it.

Unexpectedly, the red-haired fan also has a killer feature.

Zheng Haizhu glanced at Liu Shimin's slightly frowning brows, and pretended to be cautious and asked, "Father-in-law, this Hongyi is cheating." Can Ah Zhu say something heavier? If Hongyi's face is broken, and they walk away, will the father-in-law blame? ”