Most of the goods shipped are rice and cloth. The value of salt is very low, and the demand is not as good as the first two. Zhang Yikun knows that most of this rice comes from Siam and the East Indies. Vietnam's rice supply status has been surpassed by the latter -
The melee between the Northern and Southern Dynasties drew away too many farmers, causing Vietnam's food production to decline. The Dutch took the opportunity to replace them. They brought ship after ship of rice from the East Indies in exchange for sugar and silk. Because the Australians were willing to do almost nothing.
Restricted imports of rice, the Dutch East India Company for the first time got rid of the predicament of a large amount of silver outflow in its trade with China, and achieved a rare trade balance. The price paid was nothing more than a large number of empty ships: the value of rice was extremely low, and it was necessary to
It took several shipments of rice to exchange for one shipment of sugar and silk. But achieving a balance of trade was a great success for the East India Company Board of Directors in Batavia. For this reason, the Dutch stepped up their efforts to plunder the entire East Indies through various means.
Rice to supply Australians - their appetite for rice is simply endless.
Thanks to our mastery of international trade in East Asia, otherwise this drama of currency reform would really not be able to go on. Lin Baiguang thought to himself.
The sight of a steady stream of brown rice being shipped to Dachang Wharf seemed to have a stabilizing effect on people's hearts. Although Dachang has not yet started the grain wholesale business, the price of grain in Guangzhou has stopped rising. Lin Baiguang knows what is happening in various grain stores and warehouses in Yahang.
Here, there will be no shortage of food - every year when there is a shortage of food, it is their opportunity to make a fortune.
"Chief, several grain merchants are already here..." his secretary behind him whispered.
"I'll come right away." Lin Baiguang said.
In a reception room in Dajijie, a dozen men with different looks and shabby or luxurious clothes gathered together. They were all invited by Zhu Fuyuan, the boss of Dachang Guangzhou branch. They all frequently travel between other provinces and Guangzhou.
among grain merchants.
Seeing him come in, the group of people immediately came over and greeted him noisily.
"No need to be polite, just sit down." Lin Baiguang waved his hand. Because there were many people invited, several benches were placed in the office, and Lin Baiguang sat in the middle for everyone to sit down.
This is the first time for all the grain merchants to be summoned by Australians - this is really unexpected. After Guangzhou changed hands, people in the Guangzhou business community were thinking of ways to exploit Australians, but so far there are no Australians.
It was already a great honor to see that even Gao Zhi, a big businessman with deep connections with Australians, only met Liu Fuyin for a cup of tea.
Unexpectedly, these grain merchants, who have been selling rice for a long distance and are trapped in the guild hall, would be summoned by the Australian - this man, according to Boss Zhu, is an authentic Guangzhou second house! It is really a great honor.
Unexpectedly, when they met, the other party did not act like a gentleman. He invited them to sit down together and asked for tea. This was really treated as a distinguished guest. Several merchants felt surprised and happy.
Zhu Fuyuan introduced the grain merchants present one by one. These grain merchants are so-called "travel merchants" and are engaged in the long-distance grain trade. Lin Baiguang said:
"I invite you all to come to my place today for no other reason than to discuss the grain business in Guangzhou." He said, lighting a cigar, "We are all grain merchants, so naturally there is no need for me to repeat how much grain there is.
It’s important. It’s a matter of great importance to people’s livelihood, and I hope everyone has something to say. Everyone knows everything they know, and they can’t stop talking about it.”
Wei Wei, one of the eldest among the grain merchants, stood up and said: "Master, if you have questions, you will naturally answer truthfully. We are the only merchants in the business of long-distance trafficking. This is the case in Guangzhou."
I know very little about the situation. If there are any mistakes, please forgive me."
Lin Baiguang nodded and smiled: "Of course. Don't worry. Since you are long-distance grain merchants, let's talk about your business first. Where does Guangzhou's grain come from, and how much does it sell every year?"
The old man was about to stand up again, but Lin Baiguang waved his hand and said: "Sit down, sit down. No need to be polite."
"Reporting to the Master: Most of the food in Guangzhou comes from Guangxi..."
Guangxi has been an important food supplier to Guangdong since the Ming Dynasty, and Guangdong's food consumption is mainly concentrated in the Pearl River Delta, the most prosperous and developed area. This area not only gathers the main population of Guangdong, but also has a large number of cash crops and fish ponds.
, food crops are far from meeting demand. Food shortages are particularly serious. Therefore, the so-called Guangxi-Guangdong grain trade is, in a sense, Guangxi-Pearl River Delta grain trade.
"Grains are all shipped from Wuzhou." The old man said, "The young people have a grain depot in Wuzhou. After purchasing the rice grains, they are transported here along the Xijiang River."
Part of the transported grain is unloaded in Foshan and redistributed to various places in the Pearl River Delta. Part of it is transported to Humen, and then exported from Humen to eastern Guangdong, Fujian and other places. The rest is shipped to Guangzhou for sale.
"How much grain do you transport to Guangdong every year, and how much does it transport to Guangzhou?"
"The amount of grain transported from Wuzhou is uncountable. It is always around one million dan." The old man said, "We people transport about 200,000 dan from Wuzhou to Guangzhou every year."
Lin Baiguang did some mental calculations and found that 200,000 shi is approximately 19,000 tons of grain. This number is quite impressive according to the standards of this time and space.
"This business is not small."
"The business is not small, otherwise who would be willing to endure this hardship!" The old man sighed, "From Wuzhou below, there are so many bandits on the Xijiang River, and the boatmen are unscrupulous. You need to spend money to be safe. Even so, sometimes you encounter
The wind and waves will blow away a boat, and you will really lose all your money!"
Another businessman in his thirties answered: "Even if we arrive in Guangzhou safely, we still don't know if we can make any money! We are foreign businessmen. From officialdom to city foxes and community rats, there is no way to burn incense and show filial piety to the gods!"
The gods have all received the incense, but the matter is not over yet: they still have to suffer the torture of tooth decay..."
The old man coughed, and the young man suddenly fell silent. Lin Baiguang summoned them with the intention of collecting information about Yaxing. It seemed that Yaxing was quite powerful here.
At that moment, he said cheerfully: "Why don't you say it? It must be because this tooth shop is not easy to deal with. Don't worry, I will restore Guangzhou in the Song Dynasty and have some reforms. If you have any grievances, please tell me. I, Guangzhou The city government will make the decision with you!"
After saying this, the merchants were still a little hesitant, and Lin Baiguang said again: "You must also know that our Senate is the most fair and trustworthy in everything we do, and I have heard about what Ya Xing did in the past. If you have anything to say, just say it - -The Senate in Guangzhou is engaged in commercial and military revolution. Even the relatives of the Ming Emperor are not worth a penny here, let alone a few teethers holding Ming Dynasty teeth?"
The young businessman was already eager to give it a try, but now he said loudly: "Shopkeeper Ding, Mr. Lin is right! No matter how proud he is, he still has the Ming Dynasty's teeth. Guangzhou is now the world of the Song Dynasty! What are you afraid of him doing? ?”
As soon as these words came out, all the grain merchants who had been silent seemed to have a sense of enlightenment and were eager to speak. Lin Baiguang smiled and said: "Don't be anxious, speak one by one." He looked at the young merchant and asked. , "What's your surname?"
The young businessman quickly stood up, bowed and said: "Reply to the master: Little He Gao."
"You go ahead and say it."
"Yes, I forgive you for being so crazy." He Gao said, "Sir, speaking of it, this system of tooth-to-mouth merchants is doing a lot of harm to the country and the people but not a single benefit! The so-called car and boat shop's legs and teeth are useless. Crime deserves to be killed, that’s extreme!”
As soon as these words came out, the faces of all the merchants turned pale. The Yashang system has been used by the government since the Tang Dynasty. Although it has many disadvantages, it has many "benefits", so it has been used in successive dynasties. No one knows this " What does the Song Dynasty plan to do in the future? It would be too bold to directly say "a hundred harms without any benefit".
Lin Baiguang said: "I also know a little bit about the bad reputation of the tooth people. Regardless of that, let's talk about your hardships."
He Gao shook his head and sighed: "This matter is not limited to us grain merchants. Almost all merchants who sell bulk goods over long distances are poisoned by the dental industry. We will make profit and go through all the hard work of trafficking. The goods arrived. This person was originally set up to facilitate our foreign trade. He acted as a mediator and introduced me. I made a profit by selling the goods, so I deserved to give him some helpers. Now, every purchase and sale has to be controlled by The tooth shop. Without going through the tooth shop, one cannot buy or sell goods. The owner of the tooth shop, relying on his official reputation, is just taking huge profits. He also bullies us foreign traders at will. He calls us grain merchants and goods merchants. As soon as we arrived in Guangzhou, we had to go into the warehouse of Yashi. We were not allowed to sell it privately. Since ancient times, we had no worries about selling grain. He would sell it to local grain merchants in bulk. After taking the payment, he would not give it to us, and would often keep it for several months. …”
"Since the goods have been sold, why do they have to withhold the payment? Aren't they asking for a dental commission?"
"I don't know something. As long as the payment is not made, the rice and grain will still be counted in his warehouse, and he will still charge the warehouse rent from us. Besides, if he gets the money, he can also transfer it first and make a profit. Some interest. But the expenses of being trapped in Guangzhou will naturally be borne by ourselves..."
"Wait a minute," Lin Baiguang asked, "How can the dental servant get the payment? The so-called dental servant should be the one who introduces and collects the dental commission. The transaction should be done with the local grain dealer."
"I don't know something about this. According to the elders, this was true in the early years. I don't know when it changed to the current bastard rules. They said they were Ya people, but they actually didn't recommend introducing merchants to us. In fact, they did.
They took the grain from our hands and sold it to the customers in batches. It's a pity that I and the others worked hard and went through many hardships to sell the grain to them in vain. They got the benefit of both ends! They took away most of the profit, so what's the point?
You need teething help! It’s even more difficult to get your money back.” (~^~)