Chapter 173 Sales Skills

As a foreign trade management agency in ancient China, the Shipping Department was established from the Tang Dynasty to the end of the Ming Dynasty, witnessing the history of China's foreign trade over hundreds of years. The Shipping Department of the Ming Dynasty also basically followed the setup of the previous dynasty.

, the chief officer is promoted by one person from the fifth rank, and two people are promoted from the deputy of the sixth rank. The candidates for promotion are generally promoted by the inspector general or the salt class promotion department. There were several municipal shipping departments in the Ming Dynasty.

After several ups and downs, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, although there was still a municipal shipping department, it had been changed to a fixed quota bonded system.

According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", the Municipal Shipping Department has the task of collecting taxes from foreign countries. The goods carried by foreign ships that came to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty were taxed at a rate of 20%. However, in the late Ming Dynasty, due to the fixed tax package system

Since then, the collection of market shipping tax has been carried out by private shipping companies. The shipping companies that have mastered the foreign trade rights have engaged in fraud in their capacity as representatives of shipping merchants. Most of the so-called shipping tax has gone into private pockets.

If the delivery point for the trade between Chuanchuan Group and "Furuifeng" is set in Guangzhou, then the cargo ship sent by Chuanchuan Group to Guangzhou will undoubtedly be treated as a "Fanbang maritime merchant" and a 20% tax rate will be levied.

It already exceeds the freight costs between the two places. Merchants like Schneider and Li Nai are definitely not willing to spend this extra money on their operating costs for no reason.

Of course, this does not mean that local Guangzhou maritime merchants like "Fu Ruifeng" do not need to pay taxes to the Municipal Shipping Department. In fact, the Ming Dynasty had various tax systems for maritime trade with inconsistent tax rates. Generally speaking,

It can be divided into water rates, land rates and increased rates.

Rates are an export tax based on the volume of cargo ships engaged in maritime trade. In practice, the tax is generally collected directly according to the width of the ship. For example, if the ship is 1 foot or 6 feet wide, the tax standard is 5 taels per foot.

Silver, a ship is a trade tax of 80 taels of silver. The larger the ship, the higher the tax rate. It is accumulated at 5 taels of silver per foot. For example, if the ship is more than 2 feet to 6 feet wide, the tax rate is 10 taels of silver per foot.

According to the standard tax, a ship is worth at least 260 taels of silver. Moreover, the tax system is different in different places. The tax rate for merchant ships traveling to the East is 30% lower than that of merchant ships traveling to the South China Sea.

In addition, there are also import taxes such as land rates. Maritime merchants like "Furuifeng" who ship goods back from overseas are the targets of this tax. However, because the imported goods are so diverse and diverse, the tax system is also

It is difficult to unify. For some goods, the tax rate is calculated based on weight and quantity, while for other goods, the tax rate is calculated based on the quality or actual value of the goods. As for charging more and charging less, it leaves a lot of room for manipulation by the people who deal with it.

The increased rate is a kind of additional tax on imported goods, which is borne by the ship owner. This is because many maritime merchants go to Luzon and other places for transactions, and then return to the country with only Mexican silver dollars. In this way, there is nothing on the ship to tax.

The goods are unprofitable for the government that is taxed according to land rates. In order to reduce the loss of commercial taxes, a new tax category of increased rates was established to fill the loopholes in the tax system.

From the perspective of "Furuifeng", whether it is export or import, if Haihan people are allowed to bear the freight process between Victory Port and Guangzhou, the operating cost of goods will be greatly increased due to taxation. And

By setting the delivery location in Victory Port, the cost is almost zero, which is a method that both parties are happy to accept.

So Li Nai proposed that if there is no accident in the future, the delivery locations can be placed in Victory Port. Tao Donglai and Schneider immediately agreed to this proposal. Putting aside the operating costs of the goods, the shipping capacity of the sea alone

It helped the Cross-Travel Group solve a big problem.

There are currently eight cargo ships that Cross Group can put into the Black Soil Port-Victory Port route. Two of them are still parked in Victory Port and need to be completed before they can be put into operation after ship maintenance and personnel adjustments. In addition, the remaining

With its poor transportation capacity, it can only run the route between Yazhou and Shengli Port to transport immigrants and various supplies back and forth. The voyage between Guangzhou and Shengli Port is one-third further than that to Heitu Port.

To ensure the smooth operation of this route, the crossing group needs at least a few large ships. This is obviously not something that can be accomplished in a short time.

Li Nai already knew a thing or two about the shipping capacity difficulties faced by his partners before coming to Victory Port. If not, how could the Haihan people entrust "Furuifeng" to buy ships and recruit crews in Guangzhou? Therefore, after confirming

After confirming the delivery location, Li Nai happily stated that the fleet of "Furuifeng" would be responsible for the freight transportation between the two places.

Of course, "Fu Ruifeng" is not a good person. Doing this also requires adding the transportation cost to the goods shipped to Victory Port. In addition, Li Nai also received Li Jifeng's advice before setting off - since the Haihan people's goods cannot be shipped out temporarily

, that is a good opportunity for "Furuifeng" to monopolize the supply of goods, and it can make a lot of money during this period. When Haihan people are able to transport goods to Guangzhou by themselves in the future, then the supply of goods will be very

It will soon be exposed on the market, which means that "Furuifeng" will face more competitors. In comparison, it is safer to spend more transportation capacity to transport goods to Victory Port for trading now.

After determining the transaction volume and transaction method, the second large order was concluded. At this time, the transaction amount between the two parties had exceeded fifteen thousand taels, and Li Nai's real trade target, glass products, had even returned.

It has not entered the stage of viewing the goods. If this trend continues, Li Nai believes that it will only be a matter of time before the total transaction volume exceeds 20,000 taels of silver.

After lunch, the inspection team returned to Victory Port by boat from the salt field. In the conference room of Base No. 1, Li Nai saw two new products shown to him by Schneider. One was a small, boxy yellow product.

Bricks, and the other is a small paper box containing some small wooden sticks - these are the latest research and development results of the chemical industry department, soap and matches. However, it is not accurate to call this soap, because the sample used for display is

It is made according to the standards of soap, with a little refined essence added.

Li Nai naturally couldn't understand what these two things were, but he knew that Schneider took them out to show him seriously and it was definitely not a joke. Li Nai did not rush to ask questions and waited for Schneider to explain to him.

Schneider first picked up the soap and introduced it to Li Nai: "This is our latest soap. It can be used just like soap, and it also has the effect of removing stains. Of course, its ingredients and production methods are completely different from soap.

of."

Soap has been widely used among the people since the Song Dynasty, and became a very popular daily necessities in the Ming Dynasty. The method of making soap balls is listed in the "Compendium of Materia Medica". However, the soap used in China is all made from the seeds of the honey locust tree.

It is made by boiling and pounding it and then adding some other things. It is not made by saponification of fats and oils, and its appearance is also very different from the products displayed by Schneider.

Li Nai took it over and looked at it, then brought it up to his nose and smelled it, and asked puzzledly: "The production method is secondary. In addition to removing stains, does this product have other functions?"

Schneider said: "After using this soap to wash your face or take a bath, the fragrance will remain on your body."

Li Nai frowned and said: "Soap with a little fragrance can also have this effect. This product is unlikely to be cheaper than the soap used by the public, right?"

"Not only will it not be cheaper than soap, but it will be much more expensive than soap." Schneider pointed to the soap in Li Nai's hand and said, "The soap you hold in your hand costs fifty cents."

"That's five hundred cents?" Li Nai was already familiar with the exchange rate of circulation coupons at this time, and he immediately reacted when he heard it: "But soap usually only costs tens of cents a piece, and the best ones are only about a hundred cents. This

Who would buy five hundred coins?"

Schneider shook his head and said: "The idea of ​​​​doing business cannot be so rigid. If you follow Mr. Li's wishes, then the functions of glassware and ceramics can also be fulfilled, but why are the prices of glassware several times more expensive than those made of ceramics? Use a glass bowl

Will the food taste better?"

Li Nai's eyes lit up and he said: "Mr. Shi, do you mean to find a solution based on this sales technique?"

Schneider nodded and said: "First of all, you have to convince your customers that this is a good thing, and this good thing cannot be bought with money. Only those who have identity, status, and certain financial strength are qualified.

You deserve to use such a good product. And anyone who has used this soap will easily be able to tell it apart.”

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details." Li Nai really wanted to know how to let others know whether she had washed her face with this soap.

"Smell this smell carefully and think about whether you have smelled a similar fragrance before." Schneider pointed out.

Li Nai smelled it carefully again, and then handed it to He Qiang to also smell it. The two thought for a long time, and finally shook their heads. Schneider smiled secretly in his heart, thinking that the chemical industry department spent more than ten days to adjust this.

The fragrance formula that comes out does not exist in nature at all. Of course you can't think of a similar fragrance.

"This fragrance is our Haihan's secret formula. There is no other place in the world that can prepare this fragrance. For those who are lucky enough to use this soap, this fragrance means unique! Unique! Noble!"

Schneider tapped his finger lightly on the table: "What we sell is not just a product, but more importantly, this unique sense of superiority. Do you understand the sense of superiority? Just like a royal tribute, only a very few people have the opportunity.

Enjoy it.”

At this time, someone brought a basin of warm water and a clean towel as planned. Schneider encouraged: "You will know if something is good or not by trying it yourself, please!"
Chapter completed!