Zhao Dagui once read the "Materials on the History of China's Modern Foreign Trade" compiled by Yao Hyun-ho, which included trade materials (i.e., "Letters to British Consuls in China") that were used as the basis for negotiations when Pu Ding Cha signed the Treaty of Nanjing, which recorded that "the average export volume of tea in recent years has been 350,000 quintals per Chinese New Year's Eve, with an average price of 22 taels or 27 yuan."

However, Master Yao soon noted in the note that "40 million pounds of tea were shipped to England and 10 million pounds to the United States and other places, and the average price per quintal was 20 taels, but it was a relatively low price, and perhaps 25 taels per quintal was close to the truth" to correct it.

Considering that tea is the largest export commodity in China, Pu Ding Cha took out this information to use it as a basis for reducing the export tax rate of tea, reducing the export tax on tea from 4.5 taels to 5 taels per quintal to 2.5 taels, and there is obviously a huge benefit in lowering the export price of tea, so it can be considered that Master Yao's correction is justified.

In fact, it is also mentioned in the "History of the Development of Chinese Capitalism" that "before the Opium War, the price of exported tea was very high, with black tea at 26 taels per load and green tea at 24 taels".

Therefore, it is obviously more reasonable to set the price of tea in Guangzhou during the trade period at about 25 taels per quintal.

To mention here more words, before the Opium War, China's annual tea exports reached about 8.58 million taels, and the profits from operating tea when the East India Company was still in existence were 3.5 million pounds a year, and the British government could also receive the same amount of taxes, and this revenue accounted for one-tenth of the British government's fiscal revenue, which should be the data of 1833, the last year before the collapse of the East India Company.

It can also be seen from here that after the Chinese tea is shipped to the UK, the price will rise by at least 200% after tax, which shows how big the profit is.

So, the export price of tea in Guangzhou is 25 taels per quintal, and the domestic price in the magic capital is about how much I have?

In 1852, the Englishman Faucin (also known as Fortune, a good name) wrote a book called "Travels in China's Tea Regions", which once said that tea leaves that cost four taels per load were transported to the port for sale, and the wholesaler would charge as much as one tael;

However, the average purchase price of the middle and upper grade tea in the magic capital is 18 taels per load, and the profit manipulated by the middlemen (tea houses) is four taels, that is, 25 percent of the cost or 22 percent of the selling price.

Some subsequent investigation data also showed that the loss of quantity, payment discounts, various fees, and bad rules of the tea entrusted by Qimen Black Tea to the Modu Tea Inn, accounted for about 20% of the tea price.

From this we can know that in the tea income of the tea house sold by the tea merchant in the tea area, the tea merchant can only get about eighty percent of the total price (after selling the tea in eighteen taels, he can only get about fourteen taels), and the tea house can get about two percent.

Another important information that can be obtained from here is that the tea leaves in the tea house with a price of eighteen taels are already considered to be middle-class and upper-class tea, even if they are brought to the United Kingdom, they are not inferior, and they can be obtained.

This is very important, among the many Western countries that consume tea, the British are the most picky about the quality of tea, at least above the middle grade of tea can be sold in the UK, relatively speaking, the United States and other countries are not so concerned about the quality of tea, slightly poorer, reasonable price is acceptable.

Zhao Dagui's conclusion here is that since the tea of eighteen taels is already regarded as middle- and upper-grade tea, the export price should be at least higher than the median average price of twenty-five taels.

Another point to note is that the tea exported from Guangzhou usually has to be stored in the warehouse of the Thirteen Lines for more than a year before it can be sent to foreign merchant ships, whether it is black tea or green tea.

Considering these circumstances, Zhao Dagui felt that it should be no problem to quote twenty-seven taels of tea for every eighteen taels, and there was still some room for bargaining.

Since this is the case, Zhao Dagui decided to increase the price of tea according to the price quoted by several tea houses, and then increase it by 50 to 60 percent, and provide it to Captain Catley to choose.

In accordance with this principle, Zhao Dagui formulated several quotations for medium and high-grade tea, including:

Xichun tea is 46 taels per quintal, Gongfu tea is 27.5 taels per quintal, Tunxi is 24.5 taels per quintal, 40.5 taels per quintal before the rain, and Xiaozhu is 46.5 taels per quintal.

(Note: This is actually a reference to the 1855 part of Elgin's report on the export price of tea in the 1845 Magic City in the General Council of British Merchants in the Magic City on Customs Tariffs and General Trade Relations (British Foreign Office Files).

Since then, the price of tea and the price of life and death have been declining, and in 1849, the export price of tea will become:

Xichun tea is 21.5 taels per quintal, Gongfu tea is 17.7 taels per quintal, Tunxi is 11.2 taels per quintal, 19.5 taels per quintal before the rain, and Xiaozhu is 27.5 taels per quintal.

In the following years, the price of tea rose, but it did not reach the high price in the early days of the port.

It is generally believed that the domestic price of Chinese tea and raw silk will not change much, which on the one hand means that the phenomenon of silver is very serious at this time, and tea merchants are willing to charge less silver taels and are willing to sell tea (they use copper coins to buy tea);

On the other hand, it also means that the export price in the early stage of the port is actually a lot inflated, and the profit is bound to be very high. ）

In order to pursue greater profits, Zhao Dagui chose all the high-quality teas that were close to the top grade, and none of the mid-grade and below the middle grade tea were chosen, after all, the higher the unit price of tea, the more beneficial it was for him.

Moreover, this method is also more in the interests of the British captain, the higher the grade and price of the tea, the easier it will be for him to get rid of it when he arrives in England, and the more profit he can make.

If one is interested in the changes in the price of goods since the opening of the city, you will find that the price of export goods such as tea and raw silk was the highest in the early days of the opening of the port, and then began to decline until it reached a low point around 1849, and then began to rise again, but in general it did not return to the highest price around 1844.

On the one hand, it stems from the phenomenon of silver being expensive and cheap after the Opium War, where tea merchants and tea farmers used copper coins to buy tea (small trade), and silver money was charged for selling tea (bulk trade), so that tea merchants were willing to accept less silver dollars to sell tea;

But more importantly, the price was inflated in the early days of the opening of the port, and the British merchants did not know much about the local tea price, and were accustomed to the monopoly tea price during the Thirteen Foreign Companies, and did not know the huge gap between the domestic price and the export price of silk tea, so they were willing to pay a high price to buy tea.

By 1849, when British merchants became familiar with the trade and mastered the skills and ability to bargain, they used various methods to lower the purchase price in order to make more profits, and by 1849 the gap between domestic and export prices had become very low.

After that, foreign trade tended to stabilize, and the export price fluctuated according to a certain proportion on the basis of the domestic sales price, reaching a temporary equilibrium.

According to Zhao Dagui's understanding, in a few years, the export price will be 20 to 30 percent higher than the domestic price, and in the early stage of the opening of the port, the export price will be 50 to 60 percent higher than the domestic price, which can be called a huge profit.

No matter from what point of view, the foreign trade in the early days of the opening of the magic capital can be called a huge outlet, the kind that the second senior brother can blow.

Finally, after the preparations before the negotiation were completely stopped, Zhao Dagui picked up the carefully selected samples and quotations and went to Captain Kellett.

Captain Kellett has been in the tea business between China and Britain for many years, and he is an expert in this area, and he has inspectors who specialize in checking the quality of tea, and he takes several senior crew members to analyze the tea samples and price lists brought by Zhao Dagui.

The captain carefully observed the color and appearance of several tea leaves, picked up some and put them in his mouth to chew, soaked them in hot water, carefully observed the color and clarity of the water, and then took a sip to taste, which was much more professional than Zhao Dagui at the beginning.

"What do you think of this tea, can it still be used?" Zhao Dagui asked cautiously.

The captain didn't speak for a while, picked up the quotation and looked through it carefully, and then said suspiciously: "These teas are all medium and high-quality teas, but is this price correct?"

"Oh, what do you think of the price?" Zhao Dagui chuckled in his heart, but still said as if nothing happened.