"Then is this person trustworthy?" Tuo Huan asked.
"There's nothing wrong with her." Guo Kang pointed out: "The businessmen are not all in the same group. Rather, they are probably just waiting to see the Venetian make a fool of himself."
"That's it." Tuohuan thought for a moment and nodded, indicating that he was fine.
"Li Xuanying told me that her family is a small aristocrat, but I think it is quite rich. Maybe the big and small people value power and status rather than wealth." Guo Kang said: "I have always been fascinated by their Biqi. The family has no impression, maybe it’s really not that famous.”
"They shouldn't be called 'Beach Family'." A monk reminded him.
"Ah?" Guo Kang didn't react.
"If her father's name is Giovanni di Bicchi, that means her grandfather's name was Bicchi." The monk said, "Similarly, her name should be Joanna di Giovanni. Not Joanna Bicchi." .”
"It turns out they are the same as Nordic people and Arabs." Guo Kang understood: "I saw a middle word in the name, so I thought they were French."
"Didn't she sign when she donated the money?" Tuohuan began to suspect that he was too careless: "You don't even remember the name of the donor, do you?"
"She signed her name as Joanna. I don't know what her last name is." Guo Kang also expressed helplessness.
"In many places in Europe, people do not have clear surnames like the Romans and Seris. Including some nobles." The monk explained: "Moreover, there is not only one surname. If it is a celebrity, he will usually choose A fixed word, or several words used on different occasions. As for other people, it’s much more casual. Even if you ask them themselves, they probably can’t tell.”
"If her family is a small noble who started a business, then this situation is normal. This is indeed the custom in Italy."
"Ah, then there is no other way." Tuohuan had no choice but to give up: "My knowledge of Italy is based on my grandfather's notes."
"When he was on an expedition to Italy, he teased the local nobles there every day. He also wrote down all their funny performances and made fun of them." He said with a smile: "Although he only interfered in Naples at that time, the whole of Italy , all the respectable nobles rushed to contact him."
"The nobles who support him basically want to use his intimidation to gain power; the nobles who oppose him also use resistance to Rome as a banner to expand their family power, while secretly contacting him to see when they can surrender. most."
"I had a lot of fun watching it, so I should still be clear about the surnames of those nobles." He told Guo Kang: "Those who didn't appear at that time, even if they were nobles, were still emerging upstarts, or small roles that they had never heard of. .So don’t worry about her.”
"Okay." Guo Kang thought it made sense, thought for a moment, and said, "Then we won't worry about her last name anymore. Let's call her Joanna Giovanni from now on. It's pretty easy to remember..."
Tuo Huan has no objection to this.
"When she made the donation, did she say what kind of reward she wanted? Did she also hope that she could sell our glass in the future?"
"I didn't say it clearly at the time, but she did come to see me once in the past few days." Guo Kang said: "Everyone knew about the visit of the Mamluks, so she came to ask me if she could come too."
"Why is she going to Egypt? Why is everyone going there?" Tuohuan expressed confusion.
"I don't know." Guo Kang shook his head: "It's probably a business, right? For example, selling mummy powder?"
"Then arrange them into the subsequent business groups. Why do these people want to join the front line? Is the battlefield a fun place? It's really troublesome for everyone." Tuohuan said helplessly.
"Then I'll deal with it like this next time." Guo Kang agreed.
"Let's continue to look at this workshop. I have a feeling that this may be the foundation of the entire monastery." Tuohuan urged: "We can't just make mirrors."
"Mirrors are the best and simplest luxury goods currently known." Guo Kang said: "I haven't thought of other solutions for the time being, so I just researched this one."
"I'm afraid the profit from selling luxury mirrors to the east is unstable. I can only sell a few to the upper class to keep them fresh, but it won't make a stable profit." Tuohuan looks like he has really studied it.
"Their metal mirror technology is very mature. After proper maintenance, there is actually no visual difference from our glass mirrors. The advantage of glass mirrors is that they have an extra coating, which can better prevent rust and darkening."
"Isn't this advantage enough?" Guo Kang was a little surprised: "Bronze mirrors have to be serviced frequently, and this kind of mirror is much more convenient and can save a lot of effort. My mother and sister like it very much."
"No, no. Think about it carefully, who is the target customer of your luxury mirror?" Tuo Huan shook his head and asked him.
"They are nobles and ladies from the upper class, right?" Guo Kang said.
"Do the upper-class nobles polish their own mirrors every day?" Tuo Huan asked.
"ah……"
"Do upper-class ladies give priority to 'convenience' and 'saving time'?" Tuo Huan asked again.
Guo Kang was speechless this time.
"Your mother and your sister are both very busy and go out to fight with people every day. How can they represent ordinary ladies?" Tuo Huan said.
"It's normal that you don't like to deal with those people, and I don't like them either. But in the past two years, I have been forced by my mother to attend various gatherings, and I have met a lot of them."
"Compared to my sister, my mother is already very good." He said helplessly: "Hey, I don't blame you. I would rather drink with those Mamluks than hang out with those pretentious ladies. Together."
"But since we want to do this business, we have to study the mentality of our customers."
"So, I think if you sell luxury mirrors, the focus is not just on the mirror itself, but on the theme of 'Great Qin'. Do oriental ladies lack mirrors? There is definitely no shortage. But what attracts them is not the mirror. , but the 'exotic feeling' brought by the mirror."
"So, we should make a mirror stand and package it and sell it together." Tuo Huan gestured: "Make some mosaic patterns, some church-style paintings, and then add amber or something."
"Aren't there people from the Ming Dynasty here? Ask them what style they like, and then use our techniques and craftsmanship to express it. In this way, it will be pleasing to the eye and have a special style."
"These people just eat and drink all day long and have nothing to do. People like this kind of thing."
"And, even so, this thing is not a stable income." He pointed out: "The luxury goods purchased by the richest people may seem expensive, but the total amount is actually very limited. The biggest effect is actually the publicity effect .”
"Look at Ming Dynasty and Javanese, they sell things by the whole ship. This is the main part of the profit." He warned Guo Kang: "I think you should focus on how to increase production and reduce costs. When these mirrors can be afforded by the middle- and upper-class families of the Ming Dynasty, even after accounting for shipping costs and damage, we will have a product that can compete with iron pots and porcelain."
"Okay, I understand." Guo Kang thought for a moment and nodded.
(End of chapter)
