Laifu Inn.
Businessman Lu Cong sat in the lobby and waited patiently.
The current situation is that all the big businessmen in Yangzhou know that the founder of the snowflake white salt craft is in Yangzhou, and they all want to meet him.
But he was the only one who knew where Li Xiaoyao was, which made him somewhat complacent.
With this relationship, he will definitely be the first to reap the benefits and have the opportunity to compete for the position of future family patriarch.
After waiting for almost an hour, I saw Li Xiao and others walking into the inn from outside.
"Mr. Xiao, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Lu Cong stood up with a gift in his hand, which was a valuable bronze incense burner from the Tang Dynasty.
"Come here and bring any gifts."
Li Xiao said politely and already took the gift with his hand.
"Please come to the room and have a talk."
Li Xiao took Lu Cong to the room. The room he booked was large and suitable for business discussions.
After a few people sat down, Lu Cong greeted him and said: "The name of Young Master Xiao has spread throughout Yangzhou, and he is a very popular person now. I, Lu, am lucky enough to meet him in advance, and I am flattered."
Lu Cong is a smart man. He knows that since the young man in front of him can let the news out, he will never do business with him alone.
But it is definitely beneficial for him to be the first to meet Li Xiao.
Then he gave an expensive incense burner to build relationships.
"Not worth mentioning, just a little trick to make Brother Lu laugh."
Li Xiao was also very polite, and then placed a dozen small green mandarin oranges on the table, opened one of them, and started making tea.
"This is."
Lu Cong was very curious when he saw the beautifully packaged balls in front of the table.
Guess this should be the business to be discussed.
Later, as Li Xiao opened the package, a scent filled the air, making Lu Cong's eyes light up.
This tea is indeed extraordinary. Just when you smell it, you can feel that there are many kinds of fragrance mixed in it, including mint, citrus, and tea.
"This tea is called Xiaoqinggan. It is fried using a secret method passed down from our ancestors. It is small and exquisite, easy to carry, and wrapped in green tangerine for easy storage. The longer it is stored and the older it is, the more fragrant and pure the tea taste will be."
Li Xiao was making tea and talking nonsense.
In fact, after a few years of tea, the essence and flavor must have evaporated long ago, but it doesn't matter, as long as the tea is sold, what happens next is out of his control.
In the Ming Dynasty, tea was tea.
It is used to make tea and drink, no one will store the tea leaves.
But in later generations, Pu'er tea was sold on the concept that the older it gets, the more fragrant and more valuable it becomes. It also had financial attributes, so it was sold at sky-high prices.
Only things that can be preserved can be used for frying.
In fact, it's all a big lie.
"The older it gets, the more fragrant it becomes?"
Hearing this, Lu Cong's heart moved and he had already begun to think about this business.
After thinking about it for a while, I felt that there was a lot to be done!
Lu Cong asked in surprise. "Young Master Xiao, are you saying that this tea is like wine, getting more fragrant with age?"
Li Xiao nodded: "Look, does the pot of tea I'm brewing now smell good?"
Lu Cong nodded like he was pounding garlic: "It's so fragrant. Lu has never seen such fragrant tea. When I saw it today, it was an eye-opener."
"That's it."
Li Xiao deceived and said: "There is no such secret tea on the market because I have stored this batch of tea for fifteen years! Now I can finally sell it for a good price. If it weren't for the lack of money, I would have planned to Keep it for thirty years, it will taste better and the price will be higher!"
hiss!
Lu Cong took a breath.
It turns out there is such good tea!
He already believed most of it.
Otherwise, how can we explain such a strong aroma?
Zhu Gaoxu, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and thought, brother-in-law, you are really a big liar. The god has been saving it for fifteen years, but it was obviously created in three days.
Lu Cong confirmed again: "Master Xiao, you mean that this tea has been stored for fifteen years before it has such a fragrance?"
Li Xiao nodded: "That's right."
Now, Lu Cong felt even more that this business could be done.
You can sell a batch yourself and store a batch to buy later.
Just like fine wine, the more you save, the more valuable it becomes! ! !
"No matter how much you talk, it's useless. Come and taste it. If it doesn't taste good, it's all in vain!"
Li Xiao smiled and said while pouring tea: "Look, if you want to drink strong tea, brew it from the top. If you want to drink weak tea, brew it from the side."
After brewing, Li Xiao handed over a cup of tea.
"Okay, Lu, you're welcome."
Lu Cong picked up the tea bowl with both hands, blew on the tea, and then took a sip.
Immediately, his eyes lit up!
It’s so fragrant and delicious!
Tea smells! Fruity!
There is also an inexplicable aroma mixed together!
It's slightly sweet in the mouth, and a strange compound flavor explodes in your mouth!
This tea not only gets more fragrant as it ages, it tastes so good now
This, this, this.
Don’t worry about selling this at all!
Li Xiao smiled and asked: "How?"
Lu Cong smashed his mouth and said in shock: "Lu has never tasted such delicious tea. It is like a god! Comparing it like this, the tea that Lu drank before was all rubbish!"
Li Xiao smiled lightly.
Lu Cong looked at the ball on the table, his hands trembling slightly.
It was as if business opportunities were beckoning to me.
Picked it up and looked at it carefully.
If tea like this can come in, there will be no need to worry about selling it! !
If the salt business is not easy to do in the future, why not just do the tea business?
"Master Xiao, how do you purchase this tea?"
Lu Cong decided in his mind and started to ask about the price, "We are the first to encounter it, so we must give some discounts."
Li Xiao nodded: "That's natural, I'll give you the best price."
Lu Cong's heart was pounding and he asked excitedly: "What's the price?"
Li Xiao asked: "Brother Lu usually drinks good tea, what's the price?"
Lu Cong replied: "On weekdays, the family drinks many types of tea. Tianmu tea from Zhejiang costs 6 taels of silver per pound, Tianchi Huqiu tea costs 4 taels of silver, Anhui Usnea tea costs 8 taels of silver, Fujian black tea costs 9 taels of silver, and Gongfu tea costs 9 taels of silver. Fine teas such as Souchong, Pekoe, and Zihao can be sold for more than ten taels of silver per catty, but these teas are produced in small quantities and are not easy to buy."
Li Xiao asked Zhu Gaosui to inquire about this price before. This is the price of high-end tea on the market.
My Pu'er is actually not particularly high-end, and the selling price is about one tael of silver per catty.
But it’s different now. It’s not called Pu’er tea now, it’s called Xiaoqinggan!
Li Xiao smiled and said: "What do you think is the appropriate price for a pound of these small green mandarin oranges?"
Lu Cong thought about it in his mind and said: "I think it's okay to sell it for seventeen or eighty taels. If you want to sell it easily, fifteen taels of silver per pound is the most suitable price."
"Twelve pounds per catty." Li Xiao said.
Lu Cong said: "Is this the price Xiao Gongzi gave me?"
Although the Pu'er tea did not cost a dime, Li Xiao still lied: "I have made this secret Pu'er tea for another fifteen years to achieve this quality. The cost of labor, materials, time, etc. are all seven or eight taels per catty." Okay, ten taels per catty, that’s the price I’ll give you.”
Ten taels per catty, selling fifteen taels per catty, one catty can earn five taels of silver, this is a good business. Lu Cong thought to himself: This business can be done! There’s no need to worry about selling this flavor!
Lu Cong held up his hands and said, "Thank you, Mr. Xiao. But you said you would give me ten taels per catty. Is it more expensive to give it to others?"
Li Xiaodao: "Yes, this price is not free. I need your help to promote this tea in the Yangzhou business circle. This is a secret recipe passed down from ancestors. It is a small green tangerine that has been stored for fifteen years."
Lu Cong patted his chest and said, "No need to publicize, I, Lu Cong, want them all!"
Li Xiao was stunned: "Are you sure? I have 50,000 jins. If you swallow them all, it will be 500,000 taels!"
Hearing this, Lu Cong frowned and waved his hand: "There are actually so many?"
Li Xiao smiled and said, "Are you kidding? This tea is difficult to make."
Lu Cong thought for a while: "I can't swallow so much."
Li Xiao said: "How much you can swallow depends on your ability. I will take out the rest. How much do you want?"
Lu Cong felt that he could not miss this opportunity, gritted his teeth and said: "In this case, I want ten thousand catties!"
"make a deal!"
Li Xiao stood up and shook hands with him: "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you. I'll charge you a deposit of 10,000 taels. You have to help me promote this little green tangerine to get this price. I will hold an investment meeting in six days to sell the remaining tangerines." Green Tangerine Auction.”
"Do not worry."
Lu Cong readily took out a 10,000-tael silver note and handed it to Li Xiao.
Li Xiao pointed to the small green tangerines on the table, "I'll give these to Brother Lu for you to use for publicity."
"okay."
Lu Cong was ecstatic, and then said: "Master Xiao, if there is still such a business in the future, remember to be the first to come to me, I will definitely lead the way!"
"no problem."
Li Xiao nodded. He would indeed need this guy in the future. Then there would be MSG, Fengyoujing, safflower oil and other good things.
That's it.
The following days.
Lu Cong took Xiaoqinggan and started promoting it in the circle.
As a businessman, he has his own circle, and he plays things that ordinary people cannot play. At parties, he takes out some green mandarin oranges and drinks them.
As soon as the fragrance was sprayed, it immediately attracted the attention of countless people.
Soon, businessmen in Yangzhou all knew that the founder of Xuehua Baiyan was selling a very special thing, a very high-end tea named Xiaoqinggan.
Xiaoqinggan has become a talking point among businessmen when socializing.
It’s hard to find a mandarin orange, and everyone wants to buy it.
Li Xiao's reputation immediately became popular. Many tea merchants couldn't find Li Xiao, so they approached Lu Cong one after another and gave Lu Cong a lot of benefits.
Lu Cong happily received the benefits, claiming that he would reveal it immediately, but in fact, this was his mission.
On the second day.
Ten thousand kilograms of small green mandarin oranges were made overnight and handed over to Lu Cong.
Li Xiao got one hundred thousand taels of silver.
Lu Cong got the small green mandarin oranges and started selling them directly, selling them for seventeen or eighty taels per catty!
I have to say, this little green mandarin orange is really easy to sell.
Rich people buy items weighing more than ten kilograms each, or dozens of kilograms each.
On all major occasions, whoever drinks Xiaoqinggan is a sign of dignity.
Giving small green tangerines as gifts to officials will make things much easier.
For a time, people everywhere in Yangzhou City were showing off their good tea.
The fragrance of tea fills Yangzhou
Seeing Xiao Qinggan's momentum getting stronger and stronger.
Li Xiao decided to strike while the iron was hot and drive out all Xiao Qinggan before the investment meeting was held.
Even after working overtime, Li Xiao ended up doing it himself.
Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaosui and others also became workers and processed the tangerines together.
The two had no complaints.
After all, if it is sold, it will be nothing but money, and they will also get a share.
On the fifth day, all 50,000 kilograms of tea leaves were completed!
It is worth mentioning that the original 50,000 kilograms of small green mandarin oranges became 60,000 kilograms due to the addition of orange peels.
In other words, ten thousand kilograms of orange peels were sold for a high price of twelve kilograms.
"Brother-in-law, it's exactly what you said. The same rope is tied to the crab, and the price of the crab is sold."
Zhu Gaoxu now admires Li Xiao with all his heart.
"I never dreamed that we would sell these broken orange peels for ten taels per catty." Zhu Gaosui also smacked his lips.
However, he did not write a letter to report this matter to Zhu Di.
Because Zhu Gaosui also benefited from it, Li Xiao promised to give him 20% of the profits. He was afraid that Zhu Di would find out and ask him for money.
Sixty thousand catties of small green oranges, even if sold for ten taels of silver per catty, would be six hundred thousand taels.
According to the previous distribution, Li Xiao and Zhu Ningyun got 60%, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui got 40%, and Zhu Gaosui got 20%, which was 120,000 taels of silver.
This caused Zhu Gaosui to be so excited that he couldn't sleep these past few nights.
The same is true for Zhu Gaoxu.
The six days are up.
And tomorrow is the day when the investment fair will be held.
Li Xiao specially told everyone to have a good rest tonight and have a big fight tomorrow!
That night, everyone slept soundly.
In Yangzhou City, high-end hotels are overcrowded.
After five days of fermentation, tea merchants who sensed business opportunities, in addition to tea merchants in Yangzhou, and from surrounding Nanjing, Suzhou, Huai'an and other places, rushed towards Yangzhou City non-stop.
The venue for the Xiaoqinggan Investment Promotion Fair was borrowed from a large courtyard with four entrances owned by Lu Cong in Yangzhou.
This yard is very large, enough to accommodate the holding of investment fairs.
The next morning.
When Li Xiao and others arrived at the other courtyard, they found that the place was already overcrowded and blocked.
The entrance to the courtyard was full of carriages, and even the road was full of people.
"Give way, give way."
Li Xiao pushed aside the crowd and squeezed inside.
"Who are you? Don't you understand the principle of first come, first served? How did you jump in line?"
A businessman was very dissatisfied and spoke with an accent from Songjiang Prefecture, South Zhili, which is Shanghainese.
Just as Li Xiao was about to explain, someone recognized Li Xiao.
"Isn't this the man who won the eight shovels in Zuixian Tower last time?"
A wealthy businessman said: "Sir, do you want to sell your Dongpo Pork recipe?"
Immediately, people who recognized Li Xiao surrounded him.
Li Xiao was puzzled, why couldn't he even get in?
Fortunately, Lu Cong came out at this time and asked people to disperse the crowd: "Everyone, give way. This is Mr. Li Xiaoyao. Please don't crowd."
At this time, the noise became even louder.
"It turns out it's him! It's amazing, he is the founder of Snowflake White Salt."
"No wonder he can beat the Eight Big Shovels, it's so awesome."
"I want to buy some tangerines, can you sell them to me?"
Li Xiao held Zhu Ningyun's hand, found a gap and got in, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Cong apologized: "I'm sorry, Mr. Xiao. I didn't expect so many people to come today, and many of them are tea merchants from other places."
After speaking, Lu Cong rubbed his hands and said, "Well, I want to buy another 10,000 catties. Can you sell it to me first?"
During this period, Lu Cong found that Xiao Qinggan had no worries about selling, and some funds had been withdrawn, so he wanted to buy more goods.
Li Xiao smiled and shook his head: "In business, you have to follow the rules. Are you not satisfied after swallowing ten thousand catties? There are so many people outside who can't get the goods today. I'm afraid I won't be able to get out of this door."
"Yes, yes, I was abrupt."
Lu Cong thought for a while and felt that he had earned enough, so he should give others some soup, so he invited Li Xiao in: "Come in quickly, the venue has been decorated."
The venue was arranged according to Li Xiao's requirements.
There are a hundred stools placed in the open space of the courtyard, but today it seems that these stools are not enough.
After Li Xiao sat down, Lu Cong invited everyone inside and outside the courtyard into the courtyard.
Good guy, the crowd is coming, the venue is full of people, many people have no stools and can only stand.
With so many businessmen gathered together, the scene seemed a bit chaotic and noisy.
"Everyone, be quiet! Anyone who makes any more noise will be disqualified from purchasing goods!"
At this time, Zhu Gaoxu came in handy. As soon as he shouted with a loud voice, everything fell silent immediately.
Li Xiao cleared his throat, stood up, looked at the businessmen, and began to tell a story:
"It's Xiao's honor for you all to come from afar."
"Before the investment fair is held, Xiao will come and tell everyone about the origin of this little green tangerine."
"Things have to start a hundred years ago. My father, even my grandfather, and my great-grandfather learned from the Lu Yu branch and studied tea ceremony all their lives."
"They spent a hundred years and finally developed a strange tea! It's Xiaoqinggan."
"Xiaoqinggan uses a unique secret method to prevent it from rotting, and the older it gets, the more fragrant it becomes."
"As time has settled, fifteen years have passed, and the first batch of small green tangerines has finally been released, but my father is no longer in the world."
"This is the spirit of a century-old craftsman! Pay tribute to my father! Without his persistence, there would be no Xiaoqinggan today!!!"
Li Xiao, bala bala, told Xiao Qinggan a story.
The end of the story is a little touching. It is said that Li Xiao's father spent his whole life developing this tea, but he never saw the results until his death.
With the blessing of this story, all the businessmen present were inspired.
"In other words, this batch of small green oranges is the only one left in the world, and there will never be any again! Even if there is, it will have to wait until the next fifteen years!"
For the sake of excitement, Li Xiao added another sentence.
Anyway, I only do this job, and I will stop after this job is done.
This sentence makes businessmen crazy about it. Things are rare and expensive, so you must buy them!
"Now, let me introduce our first Xiaoqinggan today, the ration version of Xiaoqinggan!"
Li Xiao picked up the small green tangerine in his hand and said: "This one is the one you drink in the market, fifteen years old! The limit is 30,000 catties, and the price is thirteen taels of silver per catty. "
That's right, Li Xiao divided Xiao Qinggan into three versions.
They are the ration version, the high-end version, and the fairy grass version.
The packaging of the three versions is different and recognizable, and the grass jelly version has the most exquisite packaging.
In fact, there is no difference, but the latter two flavors are heavier, which is in line with the concept of getting more fragrant with age.
"I want a thousand pounds!"
"I want two thousand!"
"I want two thousand five hundred pounds!"
The atmosphere was already in place, and the merchants stretched their heads over, rushing to sell leeks one by one, waiting for Li Xiaoga's leeks.
In just a dozen breaths, 30,000 kilograms of ration version of Xiaoqinggan were snatched away!
Moreover, you have to pay the money first. As for the goods, Li Xiao has already moved into the yard, and they can take them away later, and both the goods and the people will be paid.
Many merchants just hesitate and their goods are gone, and they start to regret.
Lu Cong smacked his tongue. Fortunately, he bought it early. It cost ten taels of silver per catty, but in the blink of an eye it had increased to thirteen taels per catty!
He regretted why he didn't buy more at first. Even if he resold it to these merchants, he would have made a lot of money directly!
"What I'm selling now is a high-end version of small green mandarin oranges, priced at seventeen taels of silver per catty! This has been accumulated over twenty years, and the fragrance is even stronger!"
Li Xiao waved his hand and asked his servants to make a few pots of tea, and handed them to the businessmen below for each person to taste a cup.
This drink really made a difference!
"This little green tangerine really gets more fragrant with age!"
A businessman shouted in surprise.
Another smart egg merchant also shouted: "Oh my god, if the ration money I just bought is not sold and stored in the warehouse, won't it become a high-end version in five years? Isn't this four taels of silver earned in vain? One pound?”
Li Xiao pointed at the businessman and said loudly: "This brother is right. This high-end version can be turned into a fairy grass version after five years of storage. I said it, the older it gets, the better it gets!"
hiss!
Everyone took a breath after understanding this truth.
In this way, this business will not lose money at all.
Even if you can't sell it, it will become more valuable if you keep it for a long time!
This is a perfect financial product!
Many merchants who had not bought it just now regretted it even more, thinking that they would grab it no matter what!
"Okay, now we are selling the high-end version of small green mandarin oranges. There are 15,000 kilograms in total, and the price is seventeen taels per kilogram. Start grabbing the goods!"
As Li Xiao's voice fell.
The businessmen in the audience raised their hands without hesitation at all.
"I want a thousand pounds."
"I also want a thousand pounds!"
"I want two thousand catties!"
"I want ten thousand catties!"
"Ten thousand jins is not enough, you should leave some for everyone, I want two thousand jins!"
The moment he asked for 10,000 jins, he was criticized by other businessmen, and in the end he only asked for 2,000 jins.
In the blink of an eye, the high-end version of Xiaoqinggan was also sold out!
Li Xiao felt happy and said loudly:
"The last one is our fairy grass version of small green mandarin oranges, totaling 5,000 kilograms. This is the first version and the best version. The price is twenty taels per kilogram."
Li Xiao didn't finish speaking.
The merchants outside the venue have already begun to rush for goods.
In the blink of an eye, all five thousand kilograms of small green mandarin oranges were sold out.
Li Xiao never thought that these small green mandarin oranges would be so easy to sell. After thinking about it carefully, it may be related to the concept of selling them. The older they get, the more fragrant they become.
Zhu Ningyun, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui were completely dumbfounded.
Is this money so easy to make?
All in all, 50,000 kilograms of small green mandarin oranges were sold for 745,000 taels of silver today! ! !
Including the 10,000 jin sold by Lu Cong last time, we made a total of 845,000 taels of silver! !
This is more profitable than tea and horse smuggling!
And their cost is almost zero, that is, they spent 400 taels on oranges and less than 100 taels on labor.
As for the tea leaves, they were picked up.
In other words, they made eight hundred and forty-five thousand taels for no reason!
It was all done by Li Xiao.
Outrageous, really outrageous!
At this moment, the three Zhu family siblings once again witnessed Li Xiao's business ability!
The investment fair was over after less than half an hour.
The merchant who received the goods was very proud, while the merchant who missed the opportunity was begging other merchants to give him a little bit.
The next time is to distribute the goods and collect money.
After working hard until night, when more than 700,000 taels of silver notes came together, Li Xiao became a little excited.
People with huge sums of money are afraid to walk around on the road for fear of being robbed!
Once back at the inn,
Zhu Gaoxu couldn't wait and looked at Li Xiao with a hungry expression.
"Brother-in-law, it's time to divide the money."
"Brother-in-law, it's time to divide the money."
Also talking was the repeater Zhu Gaosui.
(End of chapter)
