The seventh year of the Apocalypse, 1627 AD. [No pop-up novel website]
This month, Hou Jin attacked North Korea and forced North Korea to surrender. The Haidong vassal of the Ming Dynasty fell into the hands of the Jurchens.
In May, Huang Taiji attacked Ningyuan and Jinzhou, but was repelled by the Ming army. It was called the Ningjin Victory at the time. Huang Taiji therefore changed his strategy and decided to bypass the Ningjin-Shanhaiguan defense line and directly invade and plunder. In the following seventeen years of Chongzhen's reign, he entered the customs five times, and all life in the Central Plains was devastated. The already precarious Ming Dynasty was even worse.
In July, Emperor Tianqi became seriously ill, and the nine-thousand-year-old man who was so powerful came to an end. In November of this year, Wei Zhongxian committed suicide. The demise of the eunuch party brought a moment of hope to the political sky of the late Ming Dynasty, and then disappeared like a shooting star. Cutting off a sore will not bring the patient who has already been covered in ulcers back to life. The Ming Dynasty, the last Central Plains dynasty of the Han people, was no longer able to recover and embarked on the road to destruction.
The three people who had traveled through time were speechless for a moment, and the atmosphere was somewhat solemn.
Mr. Gao coughed slightly, twirled his beard, and asked slowly: "The distinguished guest is a maritime merchant. Do you have goods to sell?"
Wen Desi and Xiao Zishan looked at each other - getting to the point. This look was keenly caught by Mr. Gao.
"We do have some goods that we want to sell, but we just arrived here and don't know the way..." Wen De was embarrassed.
"Haha, that's easy to say," Mr. Gao said with a smile, "I have been doing business in Guangzhou for many years. If you are trustworthy, I can help you with this matter."
"Then there is Master Lao Gao." Wen Desi was overjoyed.
"This is our sample." Xiao Zishan said softly, taking out the items one by one from his backpack.
After seeing the powder box, Mr. Gao became very interested in these people's goods. First there was the powder box he had seen, but this one was a greasy light green, and then there was a completely transparent glass with some nice patterns on it. Although the transparency of this cup was much higher than any cup Mr. Gao had ever seen. , but it was not beyond his scope of knowledge, so he was a little disappointed. Then there were several porcelains of various kinds. The appearance and glaze color were not outstanding. When I picked it up, I felt it was very light. It didn't feel as cold as porcelain, so I knew it was not the same thing as porcelain. Just when I was thinking that this thing was not very valuable, Xiao Zishan As if knowing his thoughts, he pushed several bowls and cups to the ground. Mr. Gao was startled, but saw that these things did not fall to pieces on his square tile floor, but only spun around a few times without any damage.
The servants on the side quickly picked up the things. Master Gao snatched them away and looked at them carefully for a long time. There were no cracks or cracks at all. He thought that these people's things were really weird.
Then there are some transparent boxes, some square and some round, all with lids that can be closed tightly. Although they are very similar to the glassware that Mr. Gao bought from the Francois, they are much lighter and not afraid of falling.
There are also some shiny knives, a hooded cloak made of a material that looks a bit like glass but is as impermeable as oilcloth... these are all weird things. Looking up at this dazzling table of things, he was surprised and happy. He was so happy that the goods he took out were all rare and rare items, and they could be sold for a good price when they changed hands. He was afraid that this group of people were acting sneaky and did not know the details. clear. After pondering for a moment, the desire to make a lot of money overcame his worries. In a blink of an eye, he thought, he was just doing this business of smuggling foreign goods, so what did it matter if he was a Frenchman or an Australian. Since these people are in his house, there is no reason to push out the windfall.
"I wonder how much money you want to sell these rare items for?" After calming down, Master Gao asked cautiously.
Wen Desi pointed to the rare item commonly used in time travel novels: glass cups, and said: "This cup costs one thousand taels each."
According to the thinking of these three people, this fair and clean Ming Dynasty man should buy this rare treasure without hesitation. Unexpectedly, he saw his face full of surprise, looking at them as if he was seeing a few madmen.
"This is really expensive." Mr. Gao shook his head repeatedly, "The Folangji people in Hao Jing'ao also sell this kind of glassware. The large glass bowls and bottles are only three or two. The small ones are only one or two. This cup..." He shook his head repeatedly as he spoke, and the implication was only a few words at most.
These few people suddenly looked at each other like ice water on their heads. It turns out that the must-have product in time travel-glass is not worth it...
Xiao Zishan saw that the business was going to be dead, and he thought that his estimate was wrong, so he handed over his hand and said: "I have lived overseas for a long time, and I don't know the market situation in your place. Please give me some advice, Master Gao."
Gao Ji thought that I had to set the price myself. He thought for a moment and gave the price:
Compact boxes, each worth ten taels of silver.
Glasses, one or two each.
Melamine dishes cost five cents for large ones, two cents for small ones, and one cent for spoons and the like.
Plastic lunch boxes, three taels each.
Plastic raincoats, one yuan each.
Knives, five cents each.
The glass, the traditional time travel profiteering artifact, failed miserably! One thousand taels turned into one tael. The gap was too great. Diamonds turned into glass.
It was the inconspicuous small plastic powder box that caught the appetite of businessmen in the Ming Dynasty. This shows that nothing can be taken for granted when doing business. Xiao Zishan then asked about the sea trade in Guangzhou, and asked the other party what he thought of his products.
It turns out that the overseas trade in Guangzhou City is monopolized by the Folangji people. No matter where the foreign businessmen come from, their ships can be moored at Hao Jing'ao, where they can wait for measurements and taxes before they can sell their goods. Only Folangji merchants could enter Guangzhou City for trade. There are thirty-six companies in the city that specialize in exports. They do business with them and order large quantities of porcelain, raw silk, sugar and other various goods every year.
However, Mr. Gao and the merchants on Haopan Street were in another way. Although Mr. Gao did not explain this way, Xiao Zishan also read about it in later generations' documents.
What Mr. Gao is most interested in is the mirror in the powder box. He said that this thing is occasionally sold by Folangji people. A large mirror can cost hundreds of taels. Although their small mirror is a bit smaller, it is better than Taixi's. The mirror is much clearer and translucent. If there is a larger size, the price will be better. As for the "soft porcelain" - melamine dishes, there is nothing surprising in terms of texture, feel and pattern, but the good thing is that they are light and do not break. "Soft glass bowls" are plastic lunch boxes. Although they are not broken, they are not as crystal clear as glass bowls. As for the plastic raincoat and knife, in Mr. Gao's opinion, they are just playthings.
Everyone is ashamed: Even if we are proud to have hundreds of years of experience, we may not be able to defeat others.
During the conversation, Mr. Gao also tried many things and asked about the customs and customs of Australia. Xiao Zishan was just perfunctory, saying that his country is still blue, that there are many skilled craftsmen and ingenious goods in the country, and that the country is built on industry and commerce. The Chinese people are fond of empty talk, and they set up their own party in the name of advocating opinions. However, the chaos will disappear after a while. When asked who the leader of the country is, Naiyun has a leader named "Bachi". He is a powerful minister and is in charge of military affairs and people's affairs. He is named "Xiaomi". Regardless of whether he is high or low in the country, everyone worships the god's envoy, whose name is "Ah." Rice" person. Mr. Gao was amazed when he heard this.
Along the way, the three of them had completely forgotten their warning not to drink tea. When they stood up to say goodbye, they even drank all the tea juice. This made Mr. Gao Zhi Gao despise them in his heart. The deal was negotiated before departure, and the "Australian maritime merchants" supplied the first batch of goods three days later, and promised to bring more novelties.
But the departure of the three people made Mr. Gao feel very worried: these three people refused to go out through the gate, and had to go to a secluded place in the backyard, and everyone had to leave. Master Gao was worried and sent a bold and careful servant to watch from a distance: he saw three people looking around furtively for a while, and suddenly turned to a corner behind the wall. When the servant caught up to check, they had disappeared. .
Note: The price of glassware comes from "Fengzhou Miscellaneous Collection" by Wang Shizhen. The original price unit is Guan. This is the price in the Jiajing period, but I can't find the price in the 17th century, so I will use it instead for the time being. You don't need to go into details. If anyone knows, please let me know.
