Hangzhou Prefecture.
In the backyard of Lu's grain store, the owner Lu Yubao, who was in his early twenties, was moving the abacus and calculating the accounts.
The shopkeepers Wang He, Chai Qiu, Huang Yan and others stood with their hands hanging, and several clerks walked in and out, delivering the account books to the table one by one.
Lu Yubao calculated for a long time. After finishing the last account book, he took back his fingers, looked at the abacus, raised his head and said: "Last year, the silk shop under the supervision of Wang He was the most prosperous, with a net profit of 2,250. More than eighteen taels. The restaurant business in charge of Chai Qiu is also good. Putting aside the accounts of unpaid credit by officials, there is still a net profit of 1,800 taels. However, the old shopkeeper of Huangyan, the grain shop made a profit of more than 500 taels. This is very wrong. Ah, isn’t the gain too much?”
Huang Yan quickly explained: "Master Shao, the reason why the grain store made a lot of profits last year is because Suzhou Prefecture was hit by a disaster. We sent a lot of grain here, and the Suzhou Prefecture government accepted it at a high price. This is how we made a profit."
Lu Yubao thought about it and nodded: "The old man said that in the Lu family's business, the grain store can only lose money, but cannot make money. All grains are sold at a flat price, and no increase in price is allowed to hurt the people. This year, there was an extra five hundred taels of net profit. The old man will be furious when he finds out. Let's use these five hundred taels of silver to purchase a batch of grain and set up a porridge shed outside the south gate."
When doing business, the Lu family attaches great importance to people's support and reputation.
Gains must be given to the people.
This is also the secret for the Lu family to gain a foothold in Hangzhou.
A waiter hurriedly walked in. After saluting, he handed over a piece of paper: "Young master, look at it."
Lu Yubao took the piece of paper and was stunned after taking a look at it.
The shopkeeper Huang Yan stepped forward to take a look, and couldn't help being surprised. He said, "I have goods from the south. Do you have money and food? What, what is this?"
Lu Yubao also looked at the guy.
The clerk quickly said: "Not long ago, someone was stuffing pieces of paper like this into stores. It seems that all the shops on this street have received this piece of paper."
Lu Yubao stared at the piece of paper, turned it over, pinched the paper again, frowned and said: "This paper is light yellow in color and hard in texture. It is raw bamboo paper. It is not wrong to say it comes from the south. But It’s unbelievable that such a flamboyant overseas product is..."
Huang Yan nodded: "Indeed, the imperial court has banned the sea for many years, and sea goods rarely appear on the market. Even if there are sea goods, they can only be obtained from overseas envoys in Jinling and the place where the Shipping Department is located. . Then there are Annan, Siam and other places that secretly transported it overland to the Ming Dynasty and sold it carefully without making any announcement."
Wang He was puzzled: "But this person acts so openly, isn't he afraid that the government will cause trouble for him?"
Chai Qiu thought for a while and said to Lu Yubao: "Young master, let alone the identity of this person, we just need to ask if he has any overseas goods in his hands!"
Lu Yubao held the piece of paper, nodded heavily, said a few words, and left in a hurry, returned to the Lu family, found his grandfather Lu Qin, and handed the piece of paper over.
Lu Qin was already in his sixties, but fortunately he was still in good health, but the wrinkles on his face could not hide the ravages of time.
"Sea goods?"
Lu Qin frowned slightly, thought for a while, and said to Lu Yubao, "What do you think?"
Lu Yubao said sternly: "Grandpa, on my way back, I saw Wang, Zhang, Chen, Li, Qian and others sending their guys to verify the news. Once the news is confirmed, they will probably take action. Sea goods are in short supply, which has been rare in recent years. , if a batch of sea goods really appears in Hangzhou, then we should take action."
Lu Qin stared at the piece of paper and said in a deep voice: "You care about the overseas goods, but I care more about who this person is. With such a big fight, it is impossible for the government to not hear the news. Once it is found out that the overseas goods are privately If they come to the sea, then this group of people will be guilty of a serious crime, and at the very least they will be sent to the army."
Lu Yubao also has this worry: "Even so, we only ask for the goods, not where they came from. Besides, you can't miss such an opportunity. If nothing else, let's just talk about our mutton. Can you still eat it if it's so smelly? My grandfather and father used to do it. But I like to eat mutton the most, but in the past few years..."
Lu Qin sighed secretly.
Without spices, many ingredients cannot produce the flavor at all. Not to mention mutton, even pork is not strong enough.
During the Yuan Dynasty, there was constant exchange of merchants from all over the world. Although spices were expensive, the Lu family could still afford them. But now, the Lu family can't buy goods even if they have money.
The imperial court did not allow people to go to sea, and those shipping offices became places dedicated to receiving envoys, and merchant ships were not allowed to go.
Lu Qin thought about it and nodded: "Pay attention to the news. If it is true, then go and take a look, but you need to find out his identity first to ensure that the source of the goods is okay. My child, goods without asking where they come from are not The goods are the goods, but the disaster is the disaster. Everything must not be just for profit, but also must be justified and have a clear conscience."
Lu Yubao saluted and left.
Qian family.
The wealthy businessman Qian Shao patted his belly and said to the shopkeeper Qian An: "Did you find out clearly?"
Qian An nodded heavily: "My boss, let's find out. The person who handed out the note has been found. According to him, on the 11th, that is, tomorrow, there will be eight ships docking at Qiantang Pier in Hangzhou Bay. There are not only spices on board. , as well as ebony, agarwood, gems, coral, ivory..."
"How many ships?"
Qian Shao stood up, suspecting that he had heard wrongly.
"Eight ships!"
"Eight boats? Could they be small grasshopper boats?"
"This is not clear yet."
Qian Shao walked a few steps in the room, turned around and asked, "Who are they? Have you found out their identities?"
Qian An shook his head: "I don't know his identity, but he said he came from Quanzhou Prefecture."
"Quanzhou Prefecture?"
Qian Shao frowned and asked uncertainly: "The Quanzhou Prefecture you are talking about?"
Qian An was speechless.
Could it be that there was a second Quanzhou Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty?
Qian Shao couldn't figure out why.
Gu Zhengchen is somewhat famous in Hangzhou Prefecture. The first time I heard this name was not because Gu Zhengchen went on a killing spree in Quanzhou Prefecture, but because Jurong's textile industry was getting bigger and bigger, and it was faintly stealing the limelight of Suzhou Prefecture.
The Qian family is engaged in the cotton cloth business and has been purchasing goods from Suzhou over the years. But later I heard that the price of Jurong cotton was even lower. After Qian Shaopai visited the shopkeeper, he found an additional supply source.
If the Jurong Textile Compound can place large orders, the Qian family will definitely change the source of goods to Jurong. It was a pity that the Jurong Textile Compound could not place many orders, and the Qian family only received a purchase contract of 4,000 pieces of cotton cloth a year.
Qian Shao knew that the man behind Jurong Textile's success in just two years was Gu Zhengchen, the magistrate of Jurong County at the time! Later, Gu Zhengchen was transferred to Quanzhou as the magistrate. He acted violently and killed more than a hundred people at a time. I heard that he almost killed all the officials in Quanzhou...
"Do you think these people are businessmen who escaped from Quanzhou Prefecture?"
Qian Shao thought of Gu Zhengchen's strength, and the businessmen there were probably afraid.
Qian An shook his head: "Master, merchants don't dare to go to sea..."
Qian Shao suddenly realized.
Yes, businessmen run for their lives, not for their lives.
Going all the way north from Quanzhou Prefecture to Hangzhou Bay, I don't know how many naval inquiries I will encounter. If they were businessmen, they would have been caught before they even got here.
"Go and have a look tomorrow!"
Qian Shao couldn't figure it out and simply stopped worrying.
The next morning, Qiantang Pier.
There were many people, many businessmen, shopkeepers and clerks came over early, eagerly waiting for the arrival of the sea cargo ship.
Lu Yubao saw Qian Shao, Li Ming, Chen Shu, Zhang Xingshun and others. Many large households and wealthy businessmen from Hangzhou Prefecture came, and some small households also joined in the fun.
The sun came out, but there were no ships coming.
Everyone waited for another hour, but no boat came. Some people cursed and said that this was a trick to deceive half of Hangzhou with a piece of paper.
But scolding was enough, and not many people left.
Just when the sun was high and Chen Yubao felt hungry, someone suddenly shouted: "Look, what is that?"
In the distance, a ship came slowly.
It was not a grasshopper boat or a awning boat at all, but an astonishing fortune boat!
"Isn't that the navy's ship?"
Lu Yubao's face looked a little ugly.
Shopkeeper Wang He whispered: "Could it be that the navy heard the commotion and came to arrest people? Shao Dong's family, do we want to go back?"
Lu Yubao shook his head: "It's okay to stand on the pier and enjoy the scenery. If you arrest anyone, they won't be able to catch us."
The appearance of the navy ship shocked many people, and they didn't understand why this group of people appeared here.
As the ship got closer and closer, everyone on the dock couldn't help but move back.
Looking closely at the Dafu Ship, it still looks a bit impressive.
Although Dafu Ship is a sea-going ship, the water at Qianjiang Pier is relatively deep, and the river is wide and it is a main waterway, so there is no problem in taking sea-going ships.
The great fortune ship dropped its sails and anchored.
Gu Zhengchen stood on the side of the ship and looked at the crowded crowd. He smiled and said to Zhang He, Xiao Cheng and others: "Look, it is impossible for merchants to be indifferent to sea goods. There are many benefits here."
Zhang He hesitated and asked, "Will there be any trouble if we sell overseas goods here?"
Xiao Cheng grinned: "Trouble has come."
Zhang He followed Xiao Cheng's gaze and saw a group of government officials pushing away the crowd and walking to the dock. The leader was in his forties, thin and majestic. His appearance was not important. What was important was that he was wearing an official uniform, and the patch on the official uniform was actually a cloud goose!
"Liu Wen, the prefect of Hangzhou, may I ask who is here?"
Liu Wen’s voice was loud and clear.
Zhang He, Chu Xing and others retreated, leaving only Gu Zhengchen standing on the side of the ship looking at Liu Wen. Gu Zhengchen stretched out his hand, flipping a copper coin in his hand, and responded: "Prefect Liu came just in time, but We also brought people from the General Tax Department. Hangzhou government can pay a lot of commercial taxes today. Instead of paying 1 in 30 tax, we will pay 1 in 15 tax. How about that?"
Liu Wen looked gloomy and shouted: "Are you going to sell seafood in Hangzhou?"
"Yes, it's me."
Gu Zhengchen admitted frankly.
Liu Wen stared and gritted his teeth and said: "As a navy man, how dare you openly sell sea goods? I think you are pretending to be a public servant for your own benefit! Why, the pirates have been wiped out, and the imperial court allows you to go to sea to buy goods? If you don't tell me today, Clearly, Zhang will write to the court to punish you and others!"
Gu Zhengchen scratched his chin, looked down at Liu Wen, then looked at the merchants, and shouted: "I have seafood, you have money and food, are you ready to do business?"
