"The foreigners wanted to sell a shipload of Western goods to the Qing Dynasty in exchange for raw silk, porcelain and other goods. But the throughput of sea ships was too large. A shipload of goods was calculated in terms of tens or even hundreds of tons. He It’s not that easy to sell. There are also very few merchants who can swallow all the goods in one go..."
"At this time they need two kinds of help. One is distribution. This requires a lot of contacts. The other is short-term loan services. After all, the cash on hand of merchants is always limited. If you want to do big business, you need it. Carry out lending.”
"Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Bank actually provide two kinds of services. And the scale is particularly large. No matter how much goods you have, even if you have a fleet, as long as the goods are good and profitable, you can get the services of foreign banks and banks. So Ryukyu That’s why they are so prosperous. So those maritime merchants would rather make less money and cooperate with Ryukyu..."
After some words, everyone suddenly realized. Someone once asked, "Does Your Majesty know how much Ryukyu's transaction volume will be at the end of the day? How much money can Rakuten & Co. lend out?"
Zai Chun shook his head, "That's their trade secret. Even if I were the emperor, they wouldn't tell me... But we can make a side estimate. A merchant ship from the West or North America. The average value is about 600,000 silver coins. There are still some. As for the number of merchant ships that Ryukyu Pier can handle every day. I once counted about 50 ships. Other ships will have to wait in line..."
"Calculating this, the value of Ryukyu's daily throughput of goods is about 30 million silver coins. And almost half of the funds need to be borrowed. In other words, Rakuten Bank and its cooperative banks must be prepared to issue 1,500-2,000 silver coins every day. A reserve of ten thousand silver coins..."
"Impossible." Feng Fu screamed so frightened that the oranges in the baskets of the two old ladies buying oranges next to him rolled to the ground.
"You are a wicked boy. You are so disrespectful to the elderly. You almost gave me a heart attack... Oops. You still have pigtails. No wonder. Boys raised by barbarians are just uneducated..."
Feng Fuqi's nose was almost crooked. He came out of the imperial examination in a dignified way. What I learned is the sage’s humble words and great righteousness. Today I was actually scolded for being uneducated. I wanted to retort but couldn't open my mouth.
Several other officials knew this was Ryukyu. This is not a Qing Dynasty that can be ruthless. Quickly ran over and picked up the oranges for the old lady. Then he kept apologizing.
The group of people quickly walked a few steps and turned to another, quieter neighborhood. There are teahouses and taverns next to each other here. It is actually a food street in Ryukyu.
Zai Chun took out his pocket watch and took a look. Just after eleven o'clock, he smiled and said to Master Weng, "I'm treating you today. Before it's dinner time, hurry up and grab a seat in the treasure chest..."
"No hurry, no rush. There is plenty of room in this street." Weng Tonghe said.
"Oh my good master. You don't know how rich Ryukyu is here. Don't look at this street. There are hundreds of restaurants and teahouses. And they are all two or three-story small buildings. But look at this point. I guess all the private rooms have already been booked..."
"Let's talk about something. We can't go to the hall. Hurry up..." Zai Chun finally met his mother's family today. There is no need for Da Sixi and others to serve him. He became the master's little errand boy.
The little emperor happily rushed into each restaurant. Then walked out disappointed. He shook his head, which meant there was no time left. Then find the next one. Shaking his head.
Time passed minute by minute. After asking more than a dozen people, I found that the passenger flow on the street had increased significantly. The lobbies of many restaurants are starting to fill up. It was only half past eleven and the table was already open.
The air is filled with the delicious smell of seafood. There is also the fragrance of fruit. Coupled with the sound of frying and frying. The combination directly arouses the greed in everyone's stomach.
On the sea. People have no appetite because of seasickness. No matter how good the chef is, the meal is tasteless. Now everyone is used to the discomfort of seasickness. And the feet are on solid ground. Only then did people remember that they had not had a decent meal for several days.
Zai Chun scratched his head and thought that I would lose face today. Even if I try my best to entertain the landlord, I can't even spend the money. In the end, he gritted his teeth and stamped his feet. He strode up to a pineapple vendor. Staring at him and yelling, "Go find me a private room. Make sure all my guests are settled..."
"Ouch... what do you mean, guest sir? I'm just a pineapple seller..."
"Shit. Why do you, a glass buyer, follow me all the time? You think I don't know you are from the Intelligence Bureau. I pretended not to know and you got into trouble. Go find me a seat quickly..."
The glass vendor's face turned red and white. With one last stamp of his feet he dropped the pineapple stand and ran away. Zai Chun picked some cut pineapples and skewered them on bamboo skewers to give to the teachers and officials.
"Actually, Master, you don't have to worry about my White Dragon Fish suit. The Prime Minister has actually always had an action team secretly protecting me. Ever since I was frightened in Osaka, I can clearly feel that the team's manpower has doubled..."
Feng Fu took a bite of the pineapple and said, "Protection. I think it's imprisonment. He, Xiao Letian, can still have good intentions..."
The efficiency of the Intelligence Bureau is indeed high. Soon a fat shopkeeper ran out of a restaurant with a Fujian residence on it. He rushed over with a smile on his face like a flower. Said in non-standard official language.
"A few old customers, please take a step forward. I've seen you all looking for a place to eat. I happened to have three tables reserved by distinguished guests but I couldn't come because I had something to do. But you can use this first..."
The boss turned his head and looked at Zai Chun. His eyes suddenly lit up and he knocked down a thousand words. "My lord, please take a step up. Please come this way."
Fujianju is a three-story small foreign-style building with red bricks and blue tiles. The style is a combination of Chinese and Western styles. In Xiao Letian's eyes, this style is somewhat nondescript. But in the minds of people at that time. This is a trendy style that couldn’t be more trendy.
The wooden stairs rattled. The mixed aroma of various dishes in the restaurant seduce the gluttons in people's stomachs. When they got to the third floor, people took a look. There were three tables in the entire spacious hall. The tables, chairs and benches were arranged exactly according to the number of people in their group.
Weng Tonghe opened the window. Only then did I discover that the food court is actually built on an upward hillside road. And this restaurant is at the highest point. Look down from here. A large swath of city scenery is unobstructed.
Streets, people flow, neatly planned neighborhoods. There is a bay of blue water in the distance. The exotic feeling comes to your face.
The boss doesn't need to give orders from customers. I know these people are not short of money. The specialty dishes are served up like water. People in coastal provinces naturally have unique skills in cooking seafood. Fujian is also very close to Ryukyu. The eating habits of both parties are almost the same.
"The dishes are here...Seven-star fish balls, Wuliuju, white snow chicken, Fujian fruit. Drunken pork ribs, red fermented fish steak...and Buddha jumping over the wall."
"Steamed grouper, shredded chicken bird's nest, fresh razor clams in minced sauce, pan-fried eel... Finally, I recommend the eight-treasure red sturgeon rice as the main dish. The taste is really beautiful."
