What Yin Feng did immediately was to sell goods to Uncle Mai and buy his little pearl.
At this time, because Yin Feng had saved his whole family, Uncle Mai disclosed all the secrets to him. These pearls were secretly collected by their gang in Danggang half a year ago and sold to Boss Li of Yazhou Haozi Trading Company - that is
That fat man Li who bought Yin Feng's silverware. Stealing the imperial pearl pool was a serious crime, beheading one's head and ransacking one's family. Naturally, the people kept silent until Wang An, an official who was ordered to supervise the mining of pearl pools all over Guangdong, suddenly arrived.
At that time, pearls were naturally raised, and the pearl production cycle was as long as 10 years. Originally, the imperial court only harvested them once every ten years. The best large egg pearl pond in Yazhou was only harvested half a year ago.
They had no choice but to perform a pearl fishing performance. Everyone went into the water desperately, expecting a miracle to happen or the pearl fishing officer to show his kindness. The miracle did not happen, but an accident happened. A Portuguese ship from Macau suddenly appeared, making the officer Wang An find an excuse to escape.
, the matter of pearl fishing was over.
Uncle Mai told Yin Feng that Boss Li was actually an in-law of Master Zeng, the state magistrate, and a brother of Zeng’s father-in-law. The Zeng family was the local representative of Fujian merchants in Hainan. In recent years, villagers have secretly harvested small pearls more than once.
, they were all sold to the Li family's Haozi business. As for how Fatty Li sold those small pearls, Uncle Mai didn't know. Yin Feng thought of Zeng Yue once saying to him at that time, "You have to continue to collect even if you are dead." Now,
He understood: the Zeng family was also deeply involved in this matter. In order to preserve his family's business and official position, and even his life and property, Zeng Yue had to watch the gangsters take risks in the water.
As for Boss Li's purchase price of pearls, the 200 taels of pearls. Maibo's family and Danhu only received 10 taels of silver, which were all used to repair the fishing boats destroyed during the typhoon season.
Yin Feng used his 24 taels of silver to buy the remaining 80 taels of pearls from Uncle Mai's family. Uncle Mai refused in every possible way and refused to accept them. Finally, his son Mai Xiaohai suggested returning ten cents to Yin Feng in accordance with the rules of the dental shop at that time.
One of the "tooth hugs", Yin Feng had no choice but to accept.
Yahang, also known as Yaren, was an intermediary for various transactions in history at that time. It played the role of intermediary and wholesale. Its main function was to contact buyers and sellers, facilitate transactions between them, and collect dental commissions from them. Its business method was very flexible.
, or sell on behalf of the seller, buy on behalf of the buyer, or purchase and sell on behalf of the buyer. Yin Feng may have unintentionally become the first "private tooth" in the history of Yazhou to trade directly with Western merchants; of course, according to the Ming Dynasty's policy
According to the rules, except for the Guangzhou Shipping Department and Haichengyue Port, merchants from any other place are not allowed to trade directly with foreign merchants. The trade that Yin Feng is doing now is actually illegal smuggling.
Whether these pearls are sold to Beijing, Luzon, or Malacca, they are estimated to be sold at several times the price.
New Christian Bernardo was very satisfied with the batch of pearls and offered a price of 80 taels of silver. Yin Feng hesitated for a moment, but Bernardo immediately raised the price to 100 taels and handed an order to Yin Feng, hoping to
Purchase some goods locally in Yazhou. Of course the Portuguese knew the regulations of the Ming Dynasty emperor, but they didn't care, because smuggling was the job that the Portuguese were most willing to engage in after coming to the coast of China.
Yin Feng looked at the shopping list, was startled, and looked at Bernardo with confusion: "According to the captain, when you set sail from Macau, you set out with a full load?"
"Raw silk is basically raw silk and silk. And this damn storm caused water leakage in the hull and damaged the sail. In addition to the silk silk that was unpacked to piece together the sail, my raw silk was also damaged a lot due to seawater soaking.
.This disaster destroyed nearly half of my goods."
The lanky Bernardo said with a sad face: "I hope to raise some goods locally to make up for our losses. Of course, I will buy it in cash. The key is whether the supply is available and what the price is."
Yin Feng looked at the cargo list, which listed: small pearls, raw silk, silk, porcelain, tin, lead, mercury, alum, pewter, iron pots, iron nails, sugar and some agricultural products. Yin Feng was a little dizzy, except for the small
Apart from pearls and iron products, he had no idea what Hainan Island was producing at that time.
He scratched his head and made up his mind to make this deal happen. It was impossible for him who was less than a month old in this era. The only way he could think of at the moment was to go to Zeng Yue.
When Yin Feng arrived at the Zeng family's residence, his servants informed him that Zeng Yue had just gone to Boss Li's place. Yin Feng turned around and rushed to Haozhao Trading Company. In the past few days, Yin Feng rushed between Yazhou Fuya and Dadangang, handling
He had almost explored this small city. In order to hurry up, he turned into an alley and wanted to take a shortcut. It was already noon, the sun was shining fiercely on the whole city, and there was no one in the secluded and cool alleys. Yin Feng rushed
As he turned around an intersection, he heard footsteps behind him, and then someone grabbed him around the waist.
Yin Feng was already alert when he heard the sound of footsteps. He once covered a land acquisition dispute, and was beaten by a real estate agent. After that, whenever he walked alone in a strange place, he became particularly wary of the noise behind him.
As soon as someone hugged his waist, Yin Feng already bent down and lowered his body's center of gravity. The instinctive reaction cultivated by long-term judo training in his youth made him quickly move his kick back between the legs of the person hugging his waist, and forcefully separated the opponent's right arm with both hands.
Relying on his strength and strength, he held the opponent's right arm, twisted his waist and hips, and raised his hands. The person holding the waist suddenly flew over Yin Feng's head and flew forward.
"Ouch!!" "Ah!" screamed twice. It turned out that a short man in black was flashing out of the alley in front, rushing towards him with a stick in his hand. He was originally going to give Yin Feng a head-on blow, but
At this moment, the man holding his waist flew out of the air and hit him just in time. The two of them rolled in a heap on the ground, screaming in agony.
Yin Feng heard the rapid footsteps behind him and in the alleys to the left and right. He didn't dare to stop, and he didn't have time to identify who was plotting against him. He ran forward wildly. The footsteps behind him didn't seem to intend to catch up, and slowly disappeared.
Already.
Rushing to the door of Haozhao Trading Company in one breath, Yin Feng gasped for air, wondering in his heart: He came to Yazhou---no, he has only been in this era for less than a month, who would treat him like this?
?Did you admit the wrong person?
It is Yin Feng's principle to put down anything you don't understand. He shook his head, straightened his clothes, and was about to walk into the shop.
"Brother Yin, why are you so angry?" Zeng Yue happened to appear at the door and saluted him.
Yin Feng calmed down, bowed his hands and handed over the shopping list: "That group of Folangji people want to buy goods locally, in large quantities."
Zeng Yue was beaming with joy for a moment, and then quickly put on a look of determination: "I hope Brother Yin can translate these foreign languages."
Looking at Yin Feng's crooked calligraphy, Zeng Yue couldn't laugh or cry. Yin Feng also blushed a little. He put down his pen and said, "I was born overseas and have never studied calligraphy since I was a child. It's better for me to read it and let Brother Zeng write it."
Zeng Yue nodded to express his understanding. According to his opinion, it is already remarkable that an overseas refugee like Yin Feng can read and write.
After a while, Zeng Yue was in a daze while looking at the list under his pen. Fatty Li on the side had his eyes bright and said eagerly: "It's a good thing, so many goods are comparable to the shipment volume this spring."
Zeng Yue nodded: "Not only that, the key is that we can trade directly with the Folangji people. This is thanks to Brother Yin. Fatty Li suddenly asked as if he had an idea: "How did Young Master Yin think of giving this business to our company?
Do?"
Yin Feng smiled, looked at Zeng Yue and looked at him with questioning eyes, and said with a cupped hand: "First, I don't have that much funds; second, the key is the supply of goods, I don't control the supply channels; third, self-exile
Yazhou, Mr. Shuo and his family have been of great help to me, I believe in you."
Zeng and Li looked at each other and laughed together.
Yin Feng continued: "Right now, the Fo Lang engine ship has begun to be repaired, and it can go to sea in less than half a month. According to the owner of the ship, at least 5,000 taels of silver must be replenished this time, and the best ones are pearls, silk, ironware, etc.
.”
"Half a month is really too tight. And if the ship is docked for too long, Master Zhizhou may be in trouble... Time is too tight!" Zeng Yue stood up, walked up, and frowned.
He looked so old-fashioned. Yin Feng couldn't help but feel a little funny: This seemingly calm and old-fashioned young man was only in his early 20s.
That night, businessmen from all the local business halls gathered at Haozhao Trading Company, about 10 people there. Yin Feng found that they were basically businessmen from Quanzhou and Xiamen, and there were not many powerful local businesses. But it was not the autumn season yet.
In the winter season, there are several shops where only the clerks are present and the shopkeepers are not.
In front of everyone, Yin Feng was directly appointed by Zeng Yue as the second shopkeeper of Haohao. All the businessmen were very respectful to the young man and congratulated him and Yin Feng. Of course, everyone knew that the person standing behind Zeng Yue was Honshu.
Zeng Qi, a state magistrate who was born as a prison student in Fujian, was also the de facto leader of local Fujian merchants. In Yin Feng's view, this was a typical example of the combination of government and business, but in the eyes of businessmen at the time, it was too late to envy this form.
Zeng Yue introduced the situation straight to the point, and explained that the time was tight, the price was favorable, and he guaranteed that everyone could make money.
Everyone started a heated discussion, and most of the shopkeepers were willing to provide their remaining inventory in the first half of the year. Some people asked about the quantity of ironware needed and were willing to supply all the iron pots they sell; some merchants asked, next year
In the season of overseas trade, can these French foreigners come again?
In the past, Hainan Island's export trade, except for the short-distance Champa-Annan line, other trade routes such as Macau and Luzon, were basically monopolized by maritime merchants in the Chaozhou and Zhangzhou areas. Every year, merchants from Fujian and Zhejiang come to Hainan to purchase goods and then resell them.
They were given to maritime merchants in the Zhangchao area, and then resold to Macau or Luzon respectively. Although the Zeng family came from Quanzhou, they were not ranked among the local big merchants. In terms of overseas trade, the Zeng family's most fatal shortcoming was "
"There is no ship." If you do long-distance trafficking in the mainland, the risks are too great, there are too many checkpoints, the cost is too high, and there is a lack of strong bureaucratic backing; for overseas trade, you don't have your own ship, and you can only become the most junior supplier, with low prices and sales.
Subject to others.
Now, the Zeng family has an opportunity to trade directly with foreign businessmen, and it is possible to become a wholesaler in Hainan Island that takes charge of the supply of goods. The realization of all this is inseparable from the fact that the only person in Hainan Island who can speak the language of Macao Franji is
Yin Feng.
While the merchants were haggling enthusiastically, Yin Feng, the second shopkeeper of our firm, was a little distracted, and his mind was completely distracted from the topics in the conference center. The merchants here are all citizens of the Ming Dynasty, but the topic currently being discussed is the smuggling trade, including
Ironware is a material that is prohibited from export by the imperial court. Yin Feng, who had read some books on the history of Sino-foreign exchanges, looked at the group of businessmen in front of him and unconsciously became a journalist again. He could not help but think about the problem from the perspective of a third party: These Ming Dynasty
How do the merchants view the country and the imperial court? Do they know that most of the ironware exported to the Portuguese will be re-exported to Japan, and Japan is in urgent need of Chinese ironware to make firecrackers; at the same time,
It seems that China and Japan are still at war in North Korea, right?
Yin Feng was not a businessman in his previous life, and now he only does business with the Portuguese to ensure his own safety and live a good life for a few days, so he has never been able to understand what these Ming Dynasty businessmen were thinking about besides making money.
The merchants discussed and calculated all night long. When it was dim, a supply list was placed in front of Yin Feng, who was dozing off. Zeng Yue yawned with red eyes, shook Yin Feng awake, and sat in front of him.
Taking a sip of tea, he said: "Except for silk, tin and lead, all other goods can be supplied. The remaining part can be sent to farmers from several surrounding counties to go pearl hunting."
"Are there any pearls left?" Yin Feng was a little surprised: "According to Uncle Mai, the pearl ponds in Yazhou have been basically exhausted."
"So I have to go to Sanya Port or Le'an to collect goods. There are also pearl ponds in Wanzhou, but time is tight. You are closer to the villagers, so I'll leave this matter to you! All the commission will be yours.
Bar."
In a temporary tent on the beach, Captain Barreto was wearing the clothes sent by Yazhou, sitting on a box and writing a logbook. New Christian Bernardo was frowning and writing something. Seeing Yin Feng coming in, the two of them
Everyone stood up together. The captain generously gave Yin Feng a bear hug, laughed and said, "God bless you, Mr. Yin. You always bring us good luck, what good news do you have for us now?"
Yin Feng smiled and took out the list and said to Bernardo: "All your goods are here."
Bernardo was shocked and made the sign of the cross on his chest: "Really, that's great. Because of this serious disaster, I was worried about how to explain it to my family just now!"
The captain is also very happy. According to the rules, if the cargo owner can buy a good price, his income will increase accordingly.
"Actually, this business is not important. I hope we will have better cooperation in the future."
"How to cooperate?" Bernardo's eyes lit up.
"How did you buy pearls before?"
"There will be Chinese businessmen supplying goods in Macau or some islands along the coast."
"In the future, you can get first-hand supply here, and the price is the cheapest in China." Yin Feng said confidently.
That night, Yin Feng spent the night at the Portuguese temporary camp. The captain opened all the wine on the ship and got drunk with Yin Feng. Since this time, Yin Feng's Portuguese level has improved by leaps and bounds, and he can already communicate with him.
The crew was joking.
"Mr. Yin, why does your Portuguese sound like the Coimbra area?" Barreto Jr., the second officer of the merchant ship, suddenly asked.
Yin Feng immediately woke up and was mostly drunk.
During his college career before time travel, the Portuguese that Yin Feng studied was modern Portuguese, which was developed based on the dialect of the Coimbra region of Portugal. But now, at the end of the 16th century, Portuguese is still based on the dialect of the Lisbon region.
Mainly standard.
Fortunately, Yin Feng pretended to be drunk and claimed that he learned Portuguese in Mozambique, East Africa, with a Portuguese mercenary. He didn't know where he was from. He immediately praised the Portuguese governor of East Africa, who had jurisdiction over Somalia.
Francesco Barreto's great achievements in Farah, Mozambique and other "conquered areas". While chatting with Bernardo, Yin Feng heard that Captain Barreto was a member of the family of the Governor of East Africa.
So, in the midst of the joyful carnival, this question was forgotten by everyone.
In early October of the 27th year of Wanli, legends spread in towns and villages across Hainan about the name of Yin Feng, the God of Wealth, who had returned from overseas. When the 1,000-ton merchant ship Tomar of the Kingdom of Portugal left the Big Egg Port, it was fully loaded with various goods.
The total purchase price of the pearls was nearly 1,000 taels of silver. At the same time, Yin Feng also signed a supply contract with Bernardo for the coming year.
At the same time, Yin Feng earned nearly 800 taels of silver for Haozhao Trading Company, which was equivalent to Haozhao's annual trading profits throughout Hainan in previous years. Of course, Yin Feng also accumulated nearly 300 taels of silver personally, and could buy 60 acres of high-quality goods locally.
land and become a moderate landowner.
The situation of Uncle Mai's family has also become better. In addition to building an additional house, they also added a fishing boat that can "go out to the sea".
Yin Feng's life has been very busy and fulfilling in the past few months. Various business houses are vying to invite him to banquets, or come to ask for advice on overseas trade. In fact, it is just a prelude to inviting guests to dinner. Some even want to do it for him.
She acted as a matchmaker and wanted to arrange a marriage for him, but he was so frightened that he sternly refused.
The only shadow in his life was the sneak attack in the alley that day. This kept Yin Feng alert all the time when he went out. Moreover, he moved his home to a good business store in the city, and Fatty Li gave him a separate yard.
.
The days are approaching the end of the New Year, and the fresh and moist seaside air makes Yin Feng energetic every day. It seems that Yin Feng will spend the first New Year in this era in peace and joy. In fact, the second shopkeeper does not have much to do
However, Zeng Yue and Fatty Li---Li Gong are busy with the specific matters for next year's overseas trade. Yin Feng has been writing his overseas travels these days. This is the overseas travel record he promised Lord Zhizhou to write.
Records of experiences and things like that.
Because of Yin Feng's meritorious service in receiving and handling the drifting ships, Zheng Zhizhou had approved the treatment of "guanli robes" for him, that is, he could wear the robes of Confucian scholars, but did not have the honorary treatment of the corresponding privileges of scholars. At the same time, he was also
Appointed as the leader of the state's minzhuang, Du Chang - the leader of the local militia.
This position is unpaid, and you have to pay for some official yamen leaders to entertain the inspection officers of the Qianhu Station. You also have to participate in the training of the Minzhuang in name. Although, the local Minzhuang is only in name.
Thousands of people, nominally one month of training per year, actually not even one day of training.
Therefore, no one is willing to do this thankless and costly job. Now the Japanese pirates have disappeared for more than ten years, and the rebellion of the Li people on the island--the Li Rebellion has not happened for decades. Therefore, the local
The minzhuang existed purely on paper as a formality. On the day when the Portuguese ships appeared, the minzhuang who were driven to the tower like ducks were a complete mob.
Zheng Zhizhou handed over the position of chief to Yin Feng purely for the purpose of rewarding and commending him. Because the monetary reward was too vulgar, Yin Feng was not short of money; at the same time, in the Ming Dynasty, "those who did not take the imperial examination were not allowed to
"With an official", it was impossible for Lord Zhizhou to give Yin Feng an official position, so the position that sounded like an official and somewhat reflected some status was given to Yin Feng.
Of course, no one, Zheng Zhizhou, his master, or the state magistrate Zeng Qi, told Yin Feng that there is still a fee allocated to Minzhuang every year, which is allocated by Qiongzhou Prefecture as a training fee.
.However, in the past few years, this fee has never fallen into the hands of the mayor of Minzhuang.