Xiao Zishan and his entourage hurriedly stood up and agreed to return the gift. The original suspicion of people from different time and space was much lessened - they are just like us, they are also living people. Especially Gao Gao's achievements in these trades made them feel that this person is quite powerful.
Faith is worth keeping in contact with, and it will definitely be of great help after traveling through time in the future.
After some polite greetings, let’s get down to business. With the help of the newly purchased hydraulic trolley, we dragged a total of four warehouse pallets and more than a hundred boxes of goods.
Xiao Zishan’s promotional items are no longer available. The goods for this transaction were wholesaled from the market. Many mirrors of different sizes, disposable lighters, and various frosted and spray-painted glassware were purchased. Wen Desi checked
After reading a lot of information, I found that pearls were very valuable in the late Ming Dynasty, so I went to buy many cultured pearls, both large and small.
At that moment, the steward took apart the samples of the goods and showed them to Mr. Gao one by one. Every time an Australian maritime trader comes, there will be strange goods. Mr. Gao has been mentally prepared for this, but every time he takes out a new thing, he is still secretly surprised.
Especially the disposable lighter, he couldn't put it down. The convenience of making fire with this thing was unmatched by any fire and sickle.
Mr. Gao looked at the Wenzhou lighter in his hand - now the translucent plastic could no longer arouse his surprise - he lit it several times, stared at it for a while and praised: "The method of making fire with this thing is incomparable to that of fire, sickle and flint."
The difference is that oil is used instead of tinder, and the wheel is turned to strike the fire. There is nothing rare in it, but the craftsmen in your place can combine their ingenuity to make such exquisite and convenient objects. It is really unparalleled."
Wen Desi and the others secretly nodded, who said the ancients were ignorant? Master Gao understood the principle of this lighter as soon as he got it. Of course, the gasoline inside was not something that the ancients could make, but he also realized that the liquid inside was oil.
"But this kind of lighter cannot be refilled with fuel," Wen Desi explained, "it is useless after use."
"That's it. It's a pity." Mr. Gao stopped lighting the fire and said, "Why can't you add more oil? Wouldn't it be a pity to waste such a delicate and practical thing."
How did Wen Desi want to explain the concept of disposable commodities? Wouldn't it scare him to tell him that we have a disposable life in this time and space? So he vaguely said that the craftsmen are making improvements.
After the goods were delivered, a total of more than 30,000 taels of silver were sold. Among them were several full-length mirrors, which made Master Gao's eyes almost fall off. Even if this thing entered the palace, Long live the Lord would be dumbfounded.
The pearls he brought also won the favor of Gao Zu. Since the chaos in Liaodong, tribute pearls from the Northeast have been cut off, and the harvest of pearls from the South China Sea has not been much. There is a severe shortage in the market.
Mr. Gao knew that they liked gold, so he exchanged one thousand taels of gold for it, and ordered people to take out the porcelain from the warehouse, put as much porcelain as they could on the warehouse board, and tied them up with straw ropes. To be honest, he didn't know these three people.
How do they transport more and more goods at a time? Although I don't dare to ask, I wonder if these people know some kind of transportation magic.
Xiao Zishan felt a little dizzy when he saw the boxes of gold and silver in the hall. Fortunately, he bought a hydraulic trailer, otherwise how could he move nearly a ton of gold and silver... He was thinking wildly when Wen Desi asked
Entrusted with the purchase of a house.
Gao Zhang pondered for a moment and said: "This matter is not difficult to handle. It's just that several of the waiters are overseas merchants. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they cannot buy houses and live here. It turns out that you are all Chinese Miao people, and your speech and appearance are also Chinese.
, it’s not difficult to live quietly if you change your clothes. It’s just that these rare items have been on the market recently, and my place has attracted quite a lot of attention..."
At this point, they understood that this was a big tree attracting the wind. Thinking about the sudden appearance of many unprecedented things in Guangzhou city, they didn't know how many eyes and ears were paying attention to this place.
However, the original plan to set up a stronghold in Guangzhou City came to nothing. According to a key link in the overall strategic plan of crossing: Guangzhou will serve as the mainland trade gateway of the base area, exporting modern industrial products manufactured in the Hainan base area, and importing various materials.
Personnel. It is also a window to observe the trends of the Ming Dynasty.
Seeing the disappointment on the faces of Wen Desi and his entourage, Gao Ji finally revealed his plan. He had thought about this plan for a long time. When Mr. Gao thought about it, the reason why Australian maritime merchants wanted to buy houses was simply because they wanted to trade for a long time.
The need to have a stable place to stay and house people was the same as the intention of the Folangji people to bribe the officials and rent Haojing Ao, but they just didn't have such a big appetite.
"However, I have another idea..." Holding a few sparse beards high, he looked at the crowd inquiringly.
"Master Gao, please make it clear."
"What the distinguished guests want is nothing more than to have a place to stay in the city. I have a place in the city. If the distinguished guests don't mind it, you can use it."
At that moment, he raised his head to repel the maid, and two servants followed him, holding the keys in their sleeves to lead the way. The group of people passed through the hustle and bustle until they reached the backyard. There was the smell of mule and horse urine in the air, and they knew they had arrived at the mule and horse courtyard.
The master did not go in, but went around the corner. At the bottom of the corridor was a small house. There was an old servant sitting at the door. When he saw the master coming, he hurriedly stood up.
"Open the door." Gao Zhi ordered.
The old servant took out a set of keys from under his clothes and led them into the house. Another small door covered with iron was opened on the wall of the inner room. He locked and bolted it and went out to see that they were already outside the mansion. This was a road.
The extremely secluded gravel path extends along the base of the city wall. On one side is the wasteland under the wall foundation, and on the other side is the high wall in the backyard of a wealthy family. There is no one around, and the roadside is overgrown with weeds. Along the way, you can occasionally see
Forked alley.
"The alley leads to Qianmen Road, and there are wooden gates at the entrance. They are usually locked. Although this road is public land, ordinary people cannot enter."
After walking several hundred meters, I came to a back wall that was extremely tattered and peeled off by wind and rain. I unlocked the door and went in. It turned out to be a small bluestone backyard. There were some banana flowers and plants planted, and it was very quiet. Going further.
Walking inside is a small courtyard with three entrances, which is very clean and has all the furniture and supplies.
"This is my foreign residence. It was originally intended for use but not in use."
It turns out that this is Mr. Gao's secret house. He has many such houses outside Guangzhou. This one is used as a temporary escape in case of any disaster.
The front door of the house does not face the street. What faces the street is a grocery store. On the surface, it is an ordinary oil and salt store, doing business for the big families on the street. In fact, it was arranged by Mr. Gao. Next to the shop
There is an inconspicuous small door on the side, which is directly connected to the house through a corridor, making it easy to enter and exit.
There were also servants taking care of the house. Seeing that the master had brought people, he hurriedly boiled water and brought tea.
"We who trade in foreign countries have to be very cautious!" Mr. Gao sighed, "It's not easy to make a living."
In the smuggling business, all the people you deal with are not good people. All kinds of water bandits, pirates, and mountain bandits are all people who are motivated by wealth. Things like robbing people, extorting people, killing people and buying goods are not news in this industry.
Although they had backers in the government, the province and the two capitals, the officials were tyrannical and often demanded blackmail. Moreover, the imperial court itself had doubts about the opening of the sea, and there were frequent discussions to ban the Francois from trading in Guangzhou.
Local officials often use this to threaten merchants in order to report the news.
"These are more or less manageable! However, pirates have been everywhere recently, and many foreign and foreign ships have suffered a lot. Our livelihood has also become difficult."
Xiao Zishan thought this was a good opportunity to inquire about the current situation of pirates along the coast of Guangdong and Fujian, so he deliberately said:
"I've been sailing all the way from Australia, and the road has been quiet."
"This is the destiny of the distinguished guests." Mr. Gao smiled bitterly, "But compared to Fujian and Zhejiang, it is relatively peaceful here. Haicheng has been ruined now."
Since the second year of the Apocalypse, the pirates in the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangzhou have recruited disciples to form gangs and claim themselves as kings and countries. Among them, Yang Liu, Cai San, Zhong Liu, etc. are the strongest. In the sixth year of the Apocalypse, Fujian general Yu Zigao and the Guangdong Navy will suppress it
, recruited Yang Liu, Cai San, and Zhong Liu to flee, which somewhat curbed the arrogance of the pirates.
However, not long after, Zheng Zhilong, Zhong Lingxiu, Li Kuiqi and other pirates raided the coasts of Fujian and Zhejiang. The coast of Fujian was the most severely affected. Yuegang in Haicheng County, China's largest export trade port since the opening of Longqing, was in dilapidated condition.
The number of ships was greatly reduced because they were afraid of being plundered by pirates.
"Here in Guangzhou, Commander Yu of Fujian Province and the navy of this province have been relatively quiet since last year's campaign. The Fo Langji people are also cruising at the mouth of the river because of Hao Jing'ao's interests."
In this way, during this period, the focus of pirate activities was along the coast of Fujian. This situation greatly enhanced their confidence - at least they would not face boss-level figures like Zheng Zhilong and Li Kuiqi at the beginning.
"However, it's better to be careful." Gao Ju said, reminding them that although there are no giant pirates along the coast of Guangdong, there are many small groups of pirates and bandits. They have come from afar and are unfamiliar with the people, so they must be especially careful when berthing and getting off the boat.