In ancient times, pearl divers were called "Tan people", also known as "egg people", and they wandered and settled on the water all year round.

Pearls are taken from clams, which in turn grow on the ocean floor, so they have to be salvaged.

The ancients had very limited mining equipment, all of which had to rely on manual labor, and there was no oxygen cylinder, so they could only rely on water, dive with breath, and go to the sea to fish.

There are many islands and reefs in the coastal area, all named after "Zhou", and most of the Tan people who make their fortune by seafood are entrenched there. He Xianglian, who met her earlier by the West Lake, once said that her mother was a pearl diver on "Meizizhou".

If you want to buy pearls, you have to take a boat to the continent.

Song Che set off in the morning and first went to major jewelry stores to do market research to find out the basic price and procurement channels of pearls——

Due to the great difficulty of mining, the price of pearls is naturally high, a round and bright, moderately sized pearl, can often be sold for 300 wen a piece, if you buy a string of pearl necklaces, at least two to three copper coins.

As for agate and coral, often born in the deep sea, no matter how good the water is, people can not withstand the pressure of the seawater, mining coral agate must use large boats, cast iron nets and iron hooks, the harvest is slim and not to mention, the seabed is extremely destructive, and because of this, the price of agate corals is ridiculously high, even if it is a large jewelry store, there are only a few pieces.

Pearls and jade are the main products in Hangzhou's jewelry industry.

An empty shell shop, it is almost impossible to re-do the jewelry business, Song Che thought about lower-end products, and if the quality is not good, the quantity will be gone-

Pearls pay attention to the word "round", if the shape is strange, the color is dull, will be greatly depreciated.

Bad pearls are like chicken ribs, and it is a pity for the eaters to discard them without taste, so the people came up with a way to sell the best pearls to jewelers, and the inferior pearls to pharmacies and rouge shops.

Pharmacies and rouge shops will grind the purchased low-quality pearls into powder, which can be used in medicine or cosmetics, which is very effective in whitening and nourishing the skin.

After doing a market survey of jewelry stores, Song Che visited several pharmacies and rouge shops, and found that there was a common feature between them - although pearl powder was sold, the amount was not high, often a dime of pearl powder could be sold for three or five months, and pearl powder was ground out of pearls again, and the price was much higher than that of ordinary medicinal materials.

From this, it can be concluded that there is an oversupply of inferior pearls in Hangzhou, and if you can "turn waste into treasure", you will definitely be able to make a lot of money.

Pearl powder is Song Che's next business.

During the visit to the pharmacy, Song Che also identified the medicine residue collected from the Zhou family's dining room the night before to Lang Zhong, and the result was not surprising, this was not a fever medicine at all, but a tonic to increase qi and blood and activate the meridians.

"Doctor Huang, let me ask more, if a person with a fever takes this medicine, what will be the result?"

"But you must not give this patch to people with fever, it will burn out the brain, and at worst, the blood will surge, and you will die!" Lang Zhong said and added: "This tonic can't be matched by our small shop, and half of the eighteen medicines in it are precious medicinal materials, which are very valuable." ”

"Oh? So where do I go? Song Che asked.

Lang Zhong said: "Naturally, I went to the largest 'Qian's Pharmacy' in Hangzhou. ”

Chin's?

Song Che secretly wrote down the name, and then ordered atractylodes, angelica, baiji, baiji, baiji, white poria, white peony, wolfberry, seven medicinal materials each ten catties in the pharmacy, and agreed to come to pick up the goods in the evening.

In the afternoon, Song Che came to the dock, rented a small boat, and prepared to go to Meizizhou to find out.

Islands and reefs like Meizizhou are not far away, and you can see them from the wharf, and there are some green plants at the head of the island, but more of them are haphazardly built shantytowns.

When he got closer, Song Che found that the head of the continent was not big, and there were fishing boats around the continent, and the fishing boats were connected in chains, forming a "new continent".

"Uncle, have these Tan people lived in this ship city for generations?" Song Che asked the boatman.

The boatman said, "Yes, don't look at them as miserable, but they can make a fortune." ”

"How about talking to the late students?" Song Che asked again.

"Childe is too polite," said the boatman, "these people are all capable people with good water nature, and they can dive several feet deep in one breath, and if they are lucky, they can pick a few pearls of good quality, and they can ferry me for a month in one day, and if they accumulate virtue and pick a big pearl, they will completely get rid of poverty." ”

"This big pearl is not easy to pick, right?" Song Che asked again.

The boatman said: "That's nature, if you want the pearl to be big, you must have a deep draft, not to mention that you can't go down, even if you can go down, there is a probability that there is no one in ten thousand." Anyway, every year during the pearl diving season, a lot of people who want to make a fortune are drowned. ”

It is not uncommon for people to die for money, and birds die for food.

"Tell me the truth, I'm here to buy pearls, and my uncle ferries at sea all year round, can you show me the way?" Song Che asked again.

The boatman smiled: "I know the purpose of your visit when I see Gongzi dressed, where you still have to find it, as long as you go to the head of the continent, where to stop, the Tan people will soon bring pearls to buy, but you have to be careful, there is a person named 'Niu Er' on Meizizhou, and the transactions of the Tan people in this sea area are managed by him." ”

Niu Er? Isn't it the bully who killed He Xianglian's mother?

During the chat, the ferry docked, and before Song Che could get down-to-earth, a group of Tan people rowed over.

The Tan people are very dark and very bold, the men have only one trouser and the women have an extra belly pocket, their skin is dark and shiny, and their muscles are quite athletic.

The Tan people carried a small cloth bag around their waists, and they walked "lalala", which was full of pearls.

Song Che asked the boatman to come to the shore, and he sat at the head of the boat, holding a scale, waiting for the seller to come to the door.

"Childe, but I'm here to buy pearls, you see, this is the goods I just bought in the morning."

"I have it here, buy mine!"

The Tan people rushed to pour out the pearls first, and the color was very inferior, and it was almost impossible to find a full one.

Good pearls are based on particles, and poor pearls are counted in pounds.

"You have met a noble person today, I never look at the quality of pearls, a hundred pounds, how many you want." Song Che said loudly.

"A hundred wen? It's too low, Childe, will you raise it a little more? ”

If it is sold to a medicinal herb dealer, it will be one hundred and twenty wen a catty, but looking at their appearance of being unable to sell a big bag one by one, if the price is lowered, they will definitely make a move.

Song Che shook his head resolutely: "A hundred wen is a hundred wen, and I won't charge one penny more, but the amount is full, I want as much as I want, not bad money!" ”

"Alas...... That's it! It's rare to meet a bad bead, son, you wait, I still have a good tank of miles at home! ”

The bad beads were reluctant to throw away, so they naturally had to be put up, and the Tan people went home to get them.

"Everyone line up in a line, don't worry about coming one by one, if anyone cuts the line to make trouble, I won't accept his pearls." Song Che said loudly.

Soon the Tan people formed a long queue.

Song Che asked the boatman to help weigh him, and he was responsible for exchanging silver taels, and these Tan people really hoarded a lot of goods, and every household started at least one catty.

"Childe, he only has one pound and nine taels here."

"Count it by two catties, do big business, and don't be informal!"

The extra fraction was calculated, and almost given it, Song Che's generous behavior won a good reputation among the Tan people.

Gradually, there were more and more people queuing.