Even though the store fronting the street is not very big, there is a cave behind it. Two large courtyards are connected to each other. They are surrounded by warehouses. The warehouses are filled with various products.
During the chat, Liu Xin learned that the shop owner's name was Tubulo, who was originally from Qiuci. He had been doing business in Shanshan since his father's generation, and his business was getting bigger and bigger. The shops facing the street all belonged to their family, but in recent years, with the Dahan's civil war business is much bleaker than in the past. Many shops have to be sublet and there is a large backlog of goods in the warehouse.
Tubulo has been doing business with his father since he was a child. He is a very shrewd man. He is talking about how much Zhongping Tongbao Liu Xin has. He wants all the gold and silver. If there is not enough, he will exchange it for goods. In fact, he wants to get all the goods accumulated in his warehouse. Change it into cash, but now he is facing Liu Xin, a guy who is even smarter than him. Naturally, this trick will not succeed.
Although Liu Xin had already said that he did not bring so many copper coins, Tuburo was a very professional businessman. He was not discouraged at all and still enthusiastically took Liu Xin and his party to visit his warehouse [
Liu Xin looked at the warehouses in the first yard, which contained some extremely ordinary goods, including various farm equipment, pottery bowls, pots, and even some needlework, and couldn't help but laugh: "You don't have many valuable things in here. "
Tubulo sighed and said: "I don't know what the guest said. A few years ago, I couldn't sell two or three carpets in a month like the one hanging outside. Now, the one hanging outside has not been sold for two years. Now I rely on these daily necessities to support my family.”
The higher the quality, the more profit there will be. There is a saying that if you don’t open for three years, you can eat for three years, but there are also risks. For example, if the carpet in Tubulo has been hung in the store for two years and people have been paying attention to it, it will be exposed to wind and sun, and its appearance will naturally be inferior to it. If you sell new ones at a discount, you will definitely lose money. But for those items that are used daily, although the cost is small and the profit is small, the income is stable.
Of course Liu Xin understood this truth and nodded: "It's normal that the trade routes are blocked, the price is too high, and things that are not very necessary are naturally difficult to sell."
Although the business is bleak, Tublo is a cheerful person. He was sighing just now. Suddenly he laughed and said in high spirits: "Businessmen like you who came from Han Dynasty have rarely seen the things here recently. Of course you don't like the things here, but there are still things in the back yard." There are a lot of valuable goods that you might be interested in.”
Liu Xin waved her hand and said: "No, there is what I want here. There are ten farm tools in the warehouse for me. But you have to teach my people how to use these farm tools."
There are similarities and differences between these farm tools and the farm tools used by Dahan. Liu Xin bought these farm tools to send them to the research institute for further study, and they might be helpful in improving the level of farming.
Such a burly businessman who seemed to be very wealthy actually did not buy the carpet hanging outside but bought a lot of farm tools. This made Tuburo somewhat disappointed. The large pile of farm tools was not worth a lot of money, but at least it was done. Although the business was far from Toubro's expectations, he did not show any impatience but said seriously: "To tell you the truth, I only started selling these things in recent years. I don't know how to use them." People who don’t know how to buy these things don’t need me to teach them, but you don’t have to worry. There is a human market further west. There are many slaves who can use these farm tools skillfully and the prices are very cheap. You can pick a few.”
Liu Xin nodded and turned to Jia Xu and said, "Wen He will write down all these and arrange for someone to do it later."
Jia Xu repeatedly promised
When Tublo saw Jia Xu's respectful look, he suddenly felt that Liu Xin did not look like an ordinary businessman. He turned back and glanced at the more than ten followers following him. All of them had strong figures and sharp eyes. He couldn't help but feel happy in his heart. This was a businessman. A big shot would definitely not just buy a few farm tools. Tublo hurriedly pointed to the backyard and said, "Guys, please come in. There are many good things there."
However, Liu Xin did not move but looked at a locked warehouse next to her and asked: "What's in there?"
Tuburo shook his head and said: "The goods that were originally piled up in that room were all the goods from you guys. They were all sold out last year and no more goods have been received, so the room is always empty and there is nothing in it."
Liu Xin said "Oh" and said: "Don't worry about this. The trade route from Yumen Pass to here will be restored soon. Then you don't have to worry about whether you can get in or not. I don't know what kind of goods you originally sold." "
Selling goods shipped from the Han Dynasty to Western merchants, and then selling Western goods to Han merchants, is Tuburo's way of doing business. To Liu Xin's question, he blurted out without thinking: "Of course it's best to have everything." All we sell is silk.”
Hearing this, Liu Xin was suddenly shocked. He had always been committed to restoring and ensuring the smooth flow of the Silk Road, so he took it for granted that silk, white porcelain, and tea were included in the official exclusive products. Through a chat with Tublo Liu Xin suddenly realized that the reason why this trade road was called the Silk Road was because the most important commodity was silk. If the government monopolized the silk trade, he was competing with the people for profit. Without silk, the most profitable commodity, what would happen? Which private caravan is willing to take the initiative to re-take this trade route?
Seeing the uncertainty on Liu Xin's face, Tublo quickly said: "Actually, I still have something from the Han Dynasty here. I heard that even if the Han people wanted to get one, they would have to spend a lot of effort. The one in my hand is worth a thousand taels of silver." I won’t even give up on people who want to buy it from me. If you are interested..."
Liu Xin waved her hand and said: "The thing in your hand is porcelain, right? Listen to my advice and get rid of it quickly, otherwise you will regret it. No need to look at it here. Take me to the back to see what other good things you have here."
The layout of the courtyard at the back is almost the same as that at the front. There is a large courtyard in the middle surrounded by warehouses. Tuburo directly took Liu Xin to the innermost warehouse. The goods in the warehouse were different from the ones in the front. The goods in the front warehouse were scattered randomly. There are rows of wooden cabinets stacked here. When the cabinet doors are opened, they are filled with all kinds of exquisite gold and silver wine sets and tableware.[
These gold and silver utensils are very beautifully made. Liu Xin once saw a similar set in Dong Zhuo's palace. He must have bought them from the Western Regions. However, Liu Xin was not very interested in these. After looking at them for a while, he turned around and asked. : "Do you have anything better here?"
Seeing that none of these things could tempt Liu Xin, Tubulo couldn't help but said with a grimace: "This is the best thing in the shop. Usually, when the Han caravans pass by, they buy a lot and take them back. Isn't there something that the guest officials here like?"
While talking, Liu Xin had already walked out of the warehouse with her hands behind her back, pointed to a warehouse on the right and said, "Take me there to have a look."
Tublo hesitated and said: "There are really no good things there, just some murder weapons."
"The murder weapon," Liu Xin frowned and said, "Then let's take a look at the murder weapon."
Liu Xin couldn't help but take a breath as the warehouse door opened slightly. The whole warehouse was filled with all kinds of weapons and armor, and it wasn't the broadswords and spears he usually saw, but sharp axes and heavy swords.
These sharp axes are different from the big axes used by Xu Huang. The ax handles are not that long and they are edged on both sides. That is, the double-edged ax is quite heavy in the hand and does not have enough strength to use this kind of weapon. However, although those heavy swords It is not as heavy as a double-edged axe, but it is still much heavier than the Han people's sword, and the blade is very wide, which is obviously more suitable for battlefield fighting. And more importantly, these axes and heavy swords are very sharp, although the materials used are still very sharp. It is not as good as the Ba Dao, but it is much stronger than the Huanshou Dao originally equipped by the Han army, and the weight of these weapons can completely make up for the material gap.
Liu Xin picked up a helmet and said to Wei Yan: "Chang Wen, try it on, how do you feel?"
Wei Yan stepped forward and took the helmet from Liu Xin's hand and put it on. Except for his two eyes exposed, other parts including the neck were very tightly protected. Wei Yan moved a bit, took off the helmet and handed it over, saying, "My lord, although this helmet is well protected, But it’s not as strong as the helmets used in our military.”
"Having said that, we must also learn to make up for our weaknesses and improve our helmets." Liu Xin nodded and turned to Tublo and said, "Those who can use these weapons must be tall and strong people. I don't know where you got these weapons." Bought”
But Tuburo asked: "You must not be ordinary businessmen."
Liu Xin was eager to find out the origin of these weapons and no longer hid it from him. He nodded and said: "Yesterday, a large Han army came to the city. Did you know?"
Tuburo nodded and said: "Of course I know. I even went to the street to see it. Sure enough, Wei Feng heard that even the horse bandit Black Whirlwind was wiped out by them. Are you..."
Liu Xin said with a smile: "Yes, that army is what I brought. Not only will all the horse bandits in the Western Region be wiped out after the black whirlwind, but the big man's caravans will also come here in an endless stream. Your good days will be here again." Now you can tell me where these weapons and armor come from."
"It turns out you are that big Han official. Thank God, I hope what you said is true." Tublo suddenly raised his head and bowed to the sky twice before sighing and saying, "I didn't buy these things. A merchant from the Qin Dynasty gave it to me to pay off his debt. I saw that these weapons were made of good iron, so I agreed because I was looking for cheap. I planned to melt these weapons to make some farm tools and earn a little money. But the blacksmiths couldn't melt these weapons and put them away. Once it was put in the warehouse, it was sold for two or three years and it couldn't be sold. It still occupies such a large area. This business is a big loss for me."