Chapter 38, New Ports

The boat went down the river and did not stop after Qinglong Town. Now the trading house has moved to a new port, and it is no longer the port of Qinglong Town.

Autumn is the time when the sea ships go to sea to the South Seas, and when Li Shucheng and Jiang Mingyue arrived, several big sea ships were stopping at the port to load goods, and the crowds on the dock came and went, a busy scene.

The boat stopped at the small pier on the side, and the two got off the boat and walked along the road: "I didn't expect them to be very fast! The new dock that was only built last year is not small now, and it is not much smaller than that of Qinglong Town." ”

"They did their best. Jiang Mingyue also nodded, agreeing with Li Shucheng's words. In just over a year, the wharf was built, the houses were built, and the whole port was full of people coming and going, and it was on the right track.

As soon as he walked into the magnificent door of the trading house, a fellow shouted happily: "Young master, the big shopkeeper! The shopkeeper, the young master and the big shopkeeper are here!" Li Shucheng and Jiang Mingyue came last year, and many guys in the firm have seen the two of them, and this guy is one of them.

The shopkeeper was busy with his head down, listened to the man's words, and looked up to see that it was really Li Shucheng and Jiang Mingyue. Hurriedly put down the work in his hand, walked out quickly with a look of surprise, and said, "Young master, the big shopkeeper, if you want to come, don't notify me, I'll send someone to pick you up!"

"It's a busy time for the comptoir, how can you spare someone to pick us up. Li Shucheng said with a smile, "Although we haven't been to this new port, we also know that we can get there by going straight down the Wusong River, so why bother you?"

The shopkeeper led the two into the living room and instructed the guys: "Little third son, go make tea." By the way, please ask Liu to come over. ”

Entering the living room, the shopkeeper first congratulated Li Shucheng on his successful examination, Li Shucheng smiled and said: "You all already know about this?

"Isn't the Fulai Commercial Bank specially offering brocade here, the news must be delivered quickly!" the shopkeeper smiled. Suzhou is rich in brocade, and Fulai Commercial Bank is the largest commercial house in Suzhou to supply to the Four Seas Commercial Bank, and it is its own business, so of course it will pass on news to each other.

Having said this, Li Shucheng got down to business: "When I planned to expand the wharf last year, it was just to understand the urgent need. I really didn't expect that in just over a year, you would build this place on such a large scale! ”

The shopkeeper smiled: "Actually, this is not done by one of our firms. We came here to build a wharf, and the trading houses that did business with us followed. Most of this large number of houses were built by these trading houses themselves, and we only planned it a little. If we had built it all ourselves, we wouldn't have been able to reach half of it even if we tried our best. ”

Then the shopkeeper began to explain that the wharf now not only has a supply and purchase of goods, a commercial house, but also a restaurant inn, etc., has formed a complete port town.

The two of them were listening attentively, and Liu Shan, that is, the second egg, came in.

After the shopkeeper finished explaining, Li Shucheng said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Lin, I am excited when you say it." I just took a few random glances when I came here just now, and now I'm going out for a walk. After speaking, he left Shopkeeper Lin to continue to deal with the affairs of the firm, and took Liu Shan to the street.

There were people coming and going along the way, although almost all of them were workers, dressed in simple clothes or even shabby, but they were full of energy. The town is not as prosperous as Suzhou, but it has a thriving atmosphere.

"It's really good!" Li Shucheng exclaimed, "You guys have worked hard!"

"It's also the shopkeepers who work hard, but Zhang Chu and I haven't done much, and it's not even as big as a young man. Liu Shan said.

"Each has its own contribution. Li Shucheng said with a smile, "They are running a commercial firm, and you are protecting a commercial firm." No matter how big the firm is, without the protection of force, a group of bandits and robbers will come to the door, and the firm will be finished. ”

As I walked, I came to a high-rise building, and when I looked up, it turned out to be a restaurant. Li Shucheng, who had just gotten off the boat just now, saw this building at a glance and was very curious about what this building was for.

"Let's go in and try this restaurant. Li Shucheng said and took a step.

"I've been here a few times, and the food and drinks taste very good, but it's too expensive! It's twice as expensive as our Fulai Building. Liu Shan said.

"Is it?" Li Shucheng asked strangely, and he figured it out with a turn of his mind, "There is this good restaurant in the town, which specializes in entertaining the owners and shopkeepers of commercial houses, and it is sea trade here, and the bosses and shopkeepers are rich people, of course they can afford to eat." "Besides, the restaurant is a place to get closer, and there is no need for the shopkeeper to pay for it himself, which is how Liu Shan ate in the restaurant.

Entering the restaurant, without waiting for the guy to talk, Li Shucheng said: "The private room by the river on the third floor, a few more signature dishes, and a jar of good wine." ”

The man repeated in a loud voice, and then led the three of them into the private room: "Guest officer, please wait a moment, the wine and food will be here soon." ”

"You go first, you don't need to serve here. Li Shucheng said.

After the man left, Li Shucheng stood by the window, with a panoramic view of the dock, and the crowd was busy and orderly transporting goods to the ship.

"Being able to do this shows that they have done their best, and this time we have to reward everyone!" Li Shucheng said.

Jiang Mingyue nodded. If the two of them really had to preside over it themselves, it wouldn't be better than that.

Soon the wine and food came up, and after touching a glass, Li Shucheng asked about the soap workshop: "How is the soap workshop now?"

"It's ok. Liu Shan said modestly, "There are hundreds of people working in the workshop now. Originally, the workshop could have been expanded, but although there were many fishermen, it was still not enough. "When the fishermen come back from fishing, they pickle the fish and sell it to the workshops with offal.

"Ordinary fish, not much oil. Li Shucheng said, "If only there were a big boat, it would be good to go to sea to kill whales." "But the fishermen don't have the money, so they can't afford to buy big boats.

"Is it the kind of whale you said before?" asked Liu Shan. In the past, when they were all young, Li Shucheng told them about whales. It is also said that the kun mentioned by Zhuangzi may be a whale.

"That's it. Li Shucheng said, "Whales are huge and have a lot of oil, which is suitable for providing oil to the workshop." ”

"Why don't we get a few boats to hunt whales?" asked Liu Shan. He stayed in the business house and had nothing to do, trying to find something to do.

"Shall we go by ourselves?" Li Shucheng thought for a moment and said, "Yes, let's get two boats to go to sea first, and first find out how to hunt whales." After all, fishermen are ordinary people, and it is very dangerous to catch such a big guy. ”

Whaling is easy to say, but, after all, whales are big guys, and it is impossible to shoot with a bow and arrow, or stab with a spear. However, there are also ways to use a bed crossbow.

The bed crossbow has a large power and long range, which is perfect for whaling. Li Shucheng doesn't have it in his hands, but Lu Chengfeng has it in his hands! As the leader of the Taihu Lake water bandits, he can make the army dare not attack easily, how can he not have some countermeasures, this kind of killing weapon in the army has long been imitated by him.

Leaving the restaurant, I went to the workshop to have a look and talked to Zhang Chu. With such an opportunity to expand the workshop, of course he was willing, and he also wanted to take the fleet himself.

"Don't think about it! you have to watch the workshop, of course I'm going to go. Liu Shan said with a smile.

"This time he goes, next time you go. Li Shucheng said with a smile, "It doesn't take a few days every time I go out." ”

"Yes. According to my estimate, I will be back in three or four days. Liu Shan said.

"Liu Shan, you go and prepare two or three boats, new and old, as long as you can go to sea. Li Shucheng said, "I'll go find a bed crossbow." ”

"Whale hunting with bed crossbows? Liu Shan said, "No matter how much money they pay, they may not dare to sell it." ”

"I'm not going to look for the army, but to Guiyunzhuang. Li Shucheng said, "They have bed crossbows in their hands. ”

The next day, Li Shucheng left alone. Jiang Mingyue listened to the report of the shopkeeper at the firm, and then inspected it accompanied by the deacon of the firm.

After asking a few workers, Jiang Mingyue said: "The wages given by the commercial bank are okay. They all know that the more work they do, the more they will be paid, and they will not be deliberately lazy. ”

"Where are they eating?" then Jiang Mingyue asked.

The deacon stretched out his hand and said, "It's over there." However, most of them are from nearby villages, which are too expensive, so they bring them from their own homes or their families to deliver food. ”

"Too expensive?" Jiang Mingyue wondered.

"These canteens are not opened by our trading firm, and when people open restaurants, they also have to make money, of course, it is more expensive than making their own. The deacon explained.

"This matter needs to be settled. Jiang Mingyue said, "In the future, the wharf here will get bigger and bigger, and there will be more and more people, and there will be no one to deliver food to outsiders." ”

"How can this be solved, even if our firm opens its own restaurant, the price is not much lower. The deacon said.

"When the fleet comes back from going to sea, they should all pretend to be dissatisfied, right?" Jiang Mingyue asked.

"It's less than half full. The deacon said, "There are too many ships that go to sea in the Great Song Dynasty, and there are not many products there, and the ones that come back are all precious sandalwood, ivory, spices, and precious stones from the Great Song Dynasty." He wondered why the shopkeeper would ask this.

"It is said that a large part of the rice planted in the Great Song Dynasty was introduced and promoted by Emperor Renzong. At that time, it was introduced from the South Seas. The climate of the South Seas is hot and humid, and rice can produce three crops a year. The price of rice over there should be very low, and you should inform the fleet that if it is cheap, you can decorate it with more rice on the way back. Jiang Mingyue said, "It should be more cost-effective to bring rice back from Nanyang." In this way, a rice shop can be opened in the town, which will provide these workers with low-cost rice and sell it to restaurants here, so that they can live a better life. ”

"The big shopkeeper thinks about them so much, which is really a blessing that they have cultivated for several lifetimes. The deacon listened to Jiang Mingyue's words and exclaimed.

"Not only for them, but also for the merchants. Jiang Mingyue said, "Only when they are well fed can they have more strength to do things." ”