"Hey, silk merchants, you don't see that often!"
The officials who inspected the goods learned that Song Che and Tang Hulu were silk merchants and rubbed their hands excitedly.
"What? Silk merchants are special?" Song Che asked with a smile.
The official said: "Of course, things are rare and valuable. I can guarantee that when you arrive at the market, they will be robbed in less than half an hour."
Tang Hulu also rubbed his hands excitedly, his eyes flashing with gold: "Boss Song, am I right? The early bird catches the worm, and we are going to get rich this time!"
Song Che smiled and said nothing, but there is a saying that "the early worm is eaten by the bird". Silk is very expensive, and there are inevitably people who care about it. If it is a serious businessman, it will be okay, but what if it is the vicious horse? Bandits, the risk is great.
Of course, doing big business comes with risks.
"Two big bosses, the goods have been counted. Each car has a tax of twelve guan, plus two guan of teeth. As a gift, each of you should pay 15 guan." The official spread his hands, blinked his eyes, and signaled Pay money.
"What! Fifteen taels of silver!"
Tang Hulu exclaimed: "A piece of silk costs 500 guan. Our cart has 300 guan, which is 150 guan. If we charge a tax of 3%, it is only four and a half guan. How can we calculate 12 guan?" I don’t care anymore, what’s the point of always giving money?”
The official explained slowly:
"Two bosses, are you talking about the purchase price for five hundred pieces of silk? In our place, a piece of silk is calculated as one thousand pieces, and three hundred pieces is three hundred pieces;
Furthermore, you silk merchants charge a tax of 5%, which is fifteen guan in total. I only charge you 12 guan. That’s because you are too hard to travel a long distance. Also, the money is given to the escort caravan. It’s not that we are collecting them randomly from the army. "
Tang Hulu was not convinced:
"We are all merchants. Why should those who sell silk have to charge two cents more than those who sell other goods? Also, isn't it the duty of the military to protect our own merchants? This is too unfair!"
The official said with a straight face: "Those who sell silk have to charge two cents more. This is the rule of Xiliang Mansion. If you are not convinced, you can go to the government office to protest;
Horse bandits have been so rampant recently. We have sent more troops to escort you to the foraging field. Shouldn't we charge you some hard work fees?
Besides, we are protecting our own businessmen. You, a blue-eyed, curly-haired Persian, are not a citizen of Daliang. You don’t want my guidance without paying for it, scoff! "
"you you--"
"Hey, okay, okay, it's just a few more coins, it's harmless."
Song Che offered words of advice.
As the saying goes, merchants do not fight with officials, and Xiliang Mansion monopolizes power. Its rules are really rules.
Song Che took twenty taels of silver, handed it to the official and said, "I will pay an extra five taels for Boss Tang, and Boss Tang will make up the ten taels."
Tang Hulu groaned and reluctantly made up ten taels.
"Look, our local businessmen are still good at it... Those two big bosses, please wait here. When other businessmen have arrived, you can leave the city together!"
The officials opened the way, handed it over to Song Che and the others, gave a few brief explanations, and left happily with the money in their pockets.
Tang Hulu pulled Song Che aside and said in a slightly complaining tone: "Boss Song, why don't you reveal your identity? Maybe we won't have to pay taxes!"
Song Che rolled his eyes secretly. Damn it, even if I reveal my identity, I won't pay taxes. Does it have to do with you? You old Persian fox, you still dare to complain about me? Who paid five taels of silver for you?
"When you are away from home, your money and identity are not easily exposed. Paying taxes is a national policy. How can you use your identity to engage in fraud for personal gain?"
"But Boss Song, have you ever thought about it. Just three hundred pieces of silk will be taxed twelve guans. If we have tens of thousands of pieces of silk, we can't pay more than 1,000 guan?"
Tang Hulu was indignant: "I can finally understand why some businessmen are willing to take risks and engage in smuggling. Your officials in Daliang are too shady!"
"Boss Tang, there's no point in talking here. We are a wealthy businessman with status. A little money is nothing. When we get to the market later, can't we just find a way to sell it back?"
"I want to price at least two thousand coins a horse!"
"As long as you can sell it, five thousand coins per horse will do."
About half an hour later.
All the other merchants had arrived, and Xiliang sent 300 soldiers from the north gate to the market for trading.
Silk, porcelain, tea, lacquerware, paper, jewelry... they are all mid- to high-end and rare goods.
Most of the merchants were brought from Chang'an and Longdi, and most of them were middlemen like Tang Hulu. To use modern vocabulary, they are called "dealers". They took the goods from the place of origin and then transported them to the market. , sold at a high price.
"Boss Song, your accent sounds like a southerner, right? Oh, you are really amazing. You came to the northwest at such a young age."
"Looking at Boss Song's temperament, he must be doing a lot of business, right?"
"Hehehe, Song is just a humble businessman, and the business he does is only enough for the family to eat and drink, hehehe..."
Song Che is indeed the youngest in the caravan and one of the few southerners. Everyone's conversation is willing to revolve around him.
"Hey, by the way, bosses, have you ever considered going to the Western Regions for a walk?"
The market is a market, and the Western Region is the Western Region. The opportunities are very different.
The businessmen said:
"Any businessman who can get here doesn't want to go to the Western Regions to make a fortune. Unfortunately, there are too many horse bandits in the Hexi Corridor, so they don't dare to go."
"Yes, although Liang and Hu have reached a mutual trade agreement and reopened the Silk Road, these Hu people are themselves bandits. How do they know how to govern the Western Regions? There are no longer wars at the border, but the horse bandits they breed are even more deadly. !”
"Well, it would be great if we in Daliang could regain the lost territory. Then it would be much safer for us to go to the Western Regions... When I was young, I went to the Western Regions. If nothing else, it was Boss Song, your cart of silk. , it won’t be a problem to exchange them for two crimson agates!”
"Daliang regained the Western Regions? I don't know what year or month, we got what we hoped for!"
When talking about the Western Regions, the merchants were very excited, especially the gems and jade produced there. If they were cut and carved from the Eastern soil, they could be sold for very high prices.
In ancient times, the Western Region was the Tarim Basin area of Xinjiang. Unfortunately, Song Che had never been to Xinjiang.
I wish I could experience the customs and customs of the Western Regions in ancient times a thousand years ago.
