After Fu Youde arrived in Gaoyou, he changed to a waterway passenger ship and returned to Jiangdu in January of the 14th year of Zhizheng.
On this day, before the sun set, the passenger ship finally arrived outside Jiangdu City. Looking up, I saw a dense number of ships on the river lining up to pass through the water gate.
After staying in Pizhou for a long time, Fu Youde suddenly felt relieved when he suddenly saw this noisy scene.
As he continued to approach the city wall, he suddenly noticed that the city wall had become taller again. The already majestic fortified city had been fortified several feet higher.
After passing through the water gate, you will find the bustling city waterway. Follow the waterway all the way south, and soon the passenger ship will arrive at the pier in the center of the city.
The dock is more lively than the city gate. Five or six cargo ships are docked at the shore to unload their cargo. On a cold day in January, there are many shirtless men walking back and forth on the dock carrying sacks.
After the passenger ship docked at the pier, the crew anchored, the owner put down the planks, and the passengers began to disembark.
Fu Youde led the horse off the ship and was about to go to the Governor's Mansion when he suddenly saw several carriages coming down the street and stopping at the dock.
The people in the car also got off the car and stood in a row, looking forward to it, as if they were welcoming someone important.
Curious, Fu Youde did not leave, but stopped near the group of people to watch.
I swept my eyes away from those people and saw that they were all brightly dressed and distinguished. They were expected to be wealthy gentry and wealthy businessmen in the city.
Then the person they are waiting for must be a person of great status.
While he was looking curiously at the water, a young gentleman suddenly walked towards him, politely cupped his hands and said: "My Cai Heng, I have met the general."
Fu Youde said: "Brother, I have admitted the wrong person. I am just a passerby, not a general."
Cai Hengdao: "General Fu seems to have forgotten me."
Fu Youde frowned and said: "You are..."
Cai Heng blinked and said, "When General Fu and Mr. Du went to the racecourse that day, we met on the road."
Fu Youde was stunned. In order to retrieve the dark horse, he had indeed gone to the racecourse that day, and he seemed to have met a few young people on the road.
However, the two sides passed each other, and he didn't even look at the other person's face. He didn't expect that one of those people actually remembered him!
"Then how do you know my name?" Fu Youde asked suspiciously.
Cai Heng smiled slightly and said: "I heard that a general named Fu recently joined our army from Liu Futong's army and was appointed Qianhu by the general manager. Thinking about the meeting that day, I guess that General Fu is you.
!"
Fu Youde looked at Cai Heng for a long time, then he raised his hands and said with a smile: "Brother, you are very smart. I hope you will become an official in the General Manager's Office!"
Cai Heng waved his hand and said: "General Fu is overrated, I'm just a businessman."
Fu Youde nodded. He had heard that there were three wealthy businessmen in Jiangdu: Shen, Cai, and Bian. He expected that this person was from the Cai family, so he asked: "Who are you waiting for here?"
Cai Heng smiled and said: "That man is also a famous businessman like me."
Fu Youde's heart moved: "Could it be Shen Wansan you are waiting for?"
Cai Heng's eyes flashed lightly and he said with a smile: "I didn't expect the general to have heard of Shen Wansan, but it's not him we are waiting for, but a businessman named Zeng Sihai."
Fu Youde said "Oh" and didn't ask any more questions.
Cai Heng was interested in making friends with him, but when he saw that he lost interest, he quickly added: "Does General Fu know about the Tongzhou Shipping Department?"
Fu Youde shook his head: "I just came to Jiangdu not long ago and I haven't heard of it."
Cai Hengdao: "At the beginning of last month, among the merchants in Jiangdu, ten of them obtained the qualification of passing through the Municipal Ship Bureau. To be honest, our Cai family was also among them. However, after a month, only one of our ten merchants obtained the qualification. Success."
Fu Youde thought: "I guess Zeng Sihai is the one who succeeded, right?"
Cai Heng nodded and said: "This man is originally from Qingyuan, and he is engaged in medicinal materials business. Because Qingyuan also has a shipping company, he often does business with Japanese people and is proficient in Japanese language."
Fu Youde asked curiously: "Then why did he come to Jiangdu?"
Cai Hengdao: "It was not because Fang Guozhen conquered Qingyuan that Qingyuan merchants were all afraid. Zeng Sihai also moved to Jiangdu after that and continued his medicinal business."
Fu Youde nodded: "That's right."
Cai Heng sighed: "He has extensive experience and is very familiar with the changes of monsoons. A few days ago, he used several thousand kilograms of medicinal materials and half a ship of silk to exchange for two shiploads of iron ore, half a shipload of sulfur, and half a shipload of alluvial gold from the Japanese country. !"
Although Fu Youde didn't understand business, he couldn't help but said: "Wouldn't that make a lot of money?"
Cai Heng sighed: "This time, he made at least five times the profit!"
Fu Youde was surprised and said: "So many?"
Cai Heng was also a little envious and said: "It is said that after Qingyuan was captured by Fang Guozhen, there were no merchant ships to go to the Japanese country. The demand for silk and medicinal materials in the Japanese country has been very high, causing the prices to skyrocket. Zeng Sihai just caught up with the good time!" < /p>
Fu Youde suddenly said: "I heard that there are many pirates near Tongzhou. Aren't you afraid of being robbed by pirates?"
Cai Hengdao: "Only the pirates in Chongming Prefecture have not been wiped out in the offshore area. Moreover, the Tongzhou Navy takes good care of us. Whenever a merchant ship goes to sea, a warship will be sent to protect it!"
Fu Youde nodded and said: "So you are waiting here to ask Zeng Sihai for advice?"
Cai Heng smiled and said: "Everyone else should have this goal."
"Aren't you?"
Cai Heng looked at the river and said leisurely: "I don't think Zeng Sihai would tell others how to make money."
"Then why are you here?"
Cai Hengshi said casually: "Zeng Sihai just came to Jiangdu not long ago and his foundation is not deep. I believe he is also very worried about handling those goods. I am here just to solve his worries!"
Fu Youde suddenly felt that Cai Heng was a wonderful man and said with a smile: "Are you sure he will sell it to you?"
Cai Heng blinked: "If he opens his own shop and sells it, of course he can sell it at a higher price, but it will waste a lot of time. I believe he must want to process this batch of goods as soon as possible, and then prepare for the second pass!"
Fu Youde nodded: "That makes sense."
At this moment, there was a noise in the distance, and four large cargo ships were seen in a straight line, slowly approaching, with three people standing on the first ship.
Cai Heng looked at the three people, his expression suddenly changed, and he lost his voice: "Shen Wansan!"
Fu Youde was stunned and thought to himself: "Isn't it Zeng Sihai you are waiting for? How did you become Shen Wansan?" Looking at the three people, he found that they were two men and one woman.
Cai Heng took a deep breath and said: "I didn't expect that Shen Wansan also came to Jiangdu! Brother Fu, let's stop talking today. I will treat you to a drink another day when I have the opportunity." After saying that, he hurriedly left.
Fu Youde also understood at this time that the two men standing at the bow of the boat should be Zeng Sihai and Shen Wansan.
Although Shen Wansan was well-known, he was a businessman after all. Fu Youde was not very interested, so he left the dock and headed towards the Governor's Mansion.
The dock is not far from the Governor's Mansion. After a while, Fu Youde came to the door of the mansion, took out his waistband, and was about to make a report when he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind him.
Turning around, I saw a luxurious and spacious carriage driving over and stopping ten feet away from the Governor's Mansion.
The three people who got off the carriage were surprisingly the two men and one woman whom we had just seen on the bow of the boat.
The three people passed by Fu Youde and went straight to the door. The woman stepped forward and handed over a token, and the guard let the three people in.
Fu Youde secretly marveled that even his Thousand Household Token could only be used for notification but not for direct entry. Who is that woman?
He stepped forward and handed over his waist badge. After waiting at the door for a short time, the guard came back and took him into the General Manager's Mansion and walked along the corridor towards Zhang Yangquan's study.
Fu Youde suddenly found that he was quite destined to those three people. When he came outside the study, he met three people again.
There are two benches in the corridor outside the study. There are five people sitting on the benches at this time. In addition to the three people, there are two other officials in official uniforms sitting opposite the three people.
The two officials were Wang Meng and Luo Guanzhong, and those three were the Shen brothers and sisters and Zeng Sihai.
Zeng Sihai is about fifty years old, with a lean body, except for his particularly big head and wide and bright forehead.
Shen Wansan is actually older than him, but he is good at taking care of himself and is naturally energetic, so he looks younger. His hair is meticulously combed, and his eyes are bright and lively.
When Fu Youde came over, the five of them were chatting affectionately.
When a guard at the door saw Fu Youde's arrival, he stepped forward and said, "Fu Qianhu, the manager has given orders. When you come, you can go in directly without waiting."
The five people who were talking were all startled and looked at him in unison.
Fu Youde perked up, straightened his sleeves and collar, and followed the guards in.