Neglect was neglect, but the sale could be negotiated: the other party was very interested in the thousand stones of sugar he had shipped. Although he could not afford the large amount of cash, the terms of the exchange of rice were immediately agreed upon.
"Eight Spanish silver dollars per stone of sugar." The butler gave the price.
Chang Shide was furious, why do you think we are Kaizi? The lowest price on the market is obviously seven taels of silver per stone, and eight Spanish silver oceans per stone. It is not enough to synthesize cash silver... But... He quickly calculated
, "Only five taels!"
He quickly shook his head and said it was too low, much lower than the market price. Zhang Dascara muttered to the housekeeper for a while, and then the housekeeper smiled slightly and started to speak. Zhang Dascara translated:
"Only our master here can come up with the sufficient amount of rice and silver you need to buy your sugar in cash, otherwise you can sell it to the Ming merchants on the dock and come back to get the money this time next year. Maybe -" Zhang Dascara hesitated
It took a moment to translate, "You can wait for other more generous patrons on the pier, but the weather here is very hot..."
Chang Shide's blood surged, and he wanted to shoot the profiteer, but seeing that he looked confident and fearless, he had no choice but to suppress the anger in his heart, and suddenly read the Chinese textbook "I received three or five dollars more."
》Having personal experience, he said to Zhang Dascara: "Discuss with him, can we add another one or two dollars?" If it were increased to 10 silver dollars, it would still be seven taels, although it was not the best price.
, but it is still acceptable.
The profiteer shook his head repeatedly: "We can't add another dollar. In this way, the cost of transporting the rice to the dock will be borne by our Zhuangzi."
Chang Shide began to convince him that doing business with him would definitely be profitable, because he had all kinds of novel goods and could make a lot of money - he wished he could find a mirror somewhere to show him, hoping that he would stick to the long-term cooperation
According to the principle of raising the price appropriately, he was selling the "win-win" theory anyway. Unexpectedly, the profiteer butler actually showed an impatient look and said something loudly to Zhang Dasca, causing a big fuss.
Scarla also looked unhappy and had no choice but to say to him:
"He said he could make the deal according to the market price, or he wouldn't accompany him."
In the end, Chang Shide finally gave in, and a thousand stones of sugar were sold at eight silver dollars per stone. Wu Yujia paid him 1,200 Spanish silver dollars for the 8,000 yuan payment, and the other payments were converted into brown rice at five dollars per stone. Chang Shide
After a little calculation, he can get about 9,700 shi of rice! This translates to more than 900 tons - in comparison, the official salary of a Lingao County is less than 8,000 shi. The difference in agricultural productivity is also huge.
Got it!
Although he suffered a small loss, thinking about shipping it to Guangzhou and selling it, the British purchase price was only 30,000 yuan. No matter what, he made a lot of money. This is a little comfort. Besides, if this batch of rice is shipped to Leizhou,
According to the market price, it was 20,000 taels of silver. Once in and out, the profit was quite considerable. This reminded him of the days when he was playing Age of Discovery and reselling art and carpets between Athens and Istanbul.
Although the cargo capacity of the Great Whale is better than that of other ships, it can only carry 300 tons at full load, not to mention that Beikai has to go to Hongji Coal Mine. Therefore, a supply of grain is temporarily stored in the local grain warehouse for the next time.
It will be shipped when the ship arrives.
Bei Kai knew that this place was not far from Hongji. Maybe the big landowner knew where there was an open-pit coal mine, so he asked Zhang Dascara to ask if there was any coal exposed on the ground there.
After hearing this, the housekeeper nodded slowly and said, "I've heard that over there in Jinpu, it's just mountains."
Bei Kai became interested and asked quickly: "Where is Jin Pu?"
The housekeeper rolled his eyelids, probably thinking that this dark, thin, unattractive little man was not a Ming businessman, but a "traitor". With a look of disdain on his face, he said something to Zhang Dascara.
Zhang Dascara had a wry smile on his face and looked at Bei Kai sympathetically - thinking about it, it was not a good thing.
Finally, Chang Shide asked again, and the housekeeper answered:
"It's not far from here. Go south along the coast. If you take a boat, you can get there in one day." A strange look appeared on the steward's face, "What's so rare about this black stone? You need firewood or charcoal to make a fire.
They are all available in Zhuangzi. I dare not tell you, but if the shopkeeper wants one of one or two hundred dan, he will have it right away."
Chang Shide originally wanted to ask for details, or hire a guide, but when the housekeeper saw that they didn't want to buy charcoal, he stood up and went out, and the servants came to "see off" the guests.
Being kicked out like this.
The matter was completed and the profit was pretty good, but the whole thing felt awkward. Chang Shide, Bei Kai, and even Zhang Dascara felt very unhappy.
"From now on, I will be the governor of Beiqi who does all kinds of evil here and bullies men and women!" Bekai said through gritted teeth.
"When the time comes, destroy this family of traitors first!" Chang Shide usually hates calling people traitors, but at this moment, the nationalist sentiment exploded, "Those who are not of my race must have different hearts! Traitors!"
Zhang Dascara also scolded: "Wu Yuqing is so arrogant now! One of his slaves is so rude! When our gang came here, this old boy came to the pier to greet us. There is no shortage of wine, meat and women.
"You even gave me a woman as a gift!" He said, as if a hairless phoenix is worse than a chicken.
Chang Shide asked: "You guys have been to Vietnam?"
"I've been here and helped them fight. It's said that they were fighting a certain King of Guangnan named Ruan Huang. But the woman they sent was really good -" In Zhang Dascara's mind, these things were obviously not as memorable as women.
Back on the boat, everyone rested for a day and waited for people from the Wu family manor to unload the cargo before continuing to sail south.
Zhang Dascara is familiar with sea routes. Although he doesn’t know where Jin Pu is, he has been to the coast of Vietnam many times over the years. There are indeed many places along the coast of Xialong Bay where coal can be dug out in the open, but no one has ever been here.
Mining and trading. Since the Australian businessmen like this black stone so much, he just leads them to find it. After the thing is done, the reward is always indispensable.
After a night of silence, Chang Shide woke up early the next morning and felt that the ship had stopped. Looking out of the poop window, Chang Shide found himself in a dreamlike scene. Hundreds of shapes
Strange green hills covered the sea surface, and mist drifted between the birds flying in the sky and the islands.
"Damn, it's so beautiful!" Chang Shide knew that this must be in Halong Bay, and was about to go up to the deck to take a look when Axiu came in, carrying a washbasin, a cup and a mouthwash bowl.
"Master, please wash up."
"When did the boat stop?" Chang Shide asked.
"Master, the boat has been parked for a while." Axiu handed him the toothbrush filled with toothpaste and gave him a charming smile. These days, the master visited her far more often than Azi and Abi, which made her
Thinking that her business with this master was going up, the other two slave girls also became respectful towards her. This time they took her out specifically, and she felt that there was a greater possibility that she could go further. Of course, Axiu knew that she was
She couldn't be a hostess, but it was still possible to be a concubine. So she served Chang Shide even more carefully.
Chang Shide finished washing and walked to the deck. The sun had not risen yet. He looked at his watch and saw that it was not yet 6 o'clock in the morning. The air was slightly salty, and it was intoxicatingly fresh.
On the sea surface, far and near, there are some limestone hills, all of which are strange-shaped bluestone mountains, which are very similar to the stone mountains in Guilin and Yangshuo, Guangxi. These peaks protruding from the emerald blue sea have different images and various shapes.
, with dense vegetation on it, and birds rising and falling from time to time. There are protruding mountains on the sea, and the mountains are reflected on the sea. The almost transparent blue sky in the spring morning is reflected on the sea. Each mountain looks funny in the blue transparent sky.
In an infinite illusion, the sunlight casts on the rippling sea, ever-changing and colorful. In the distance, there are some fishing boats with ocher-colored double sails, sailing out from the mountain gorge, floating among the green mountains and blue sea. In the blink of an eye,
It disappeared into the shadow of the mountain again. It was confusing, like a dream.
"This is a good place," Chang Shide became more and more sure, because the scene in front of him was very similar to the tourist photos of Halong Bay he had seen. He had also had many thoughts about Vietnamese girls in the past, but now after seeing this beautiful scenery,
The idea of girls came out again. "I want to build a beach house here and let hundreds, not dozens, of Vietnamese girls strip naked and lie on the beach..."
While I was thinking wildly, I suddenly saw Bei Kai on the deck. Bei Kai had been learning Vietnamese with Zhang Dascara since he boarded the ship. Could it be that he was preparing to become a Vietnamese landlord here? Chang Shide was surprised by his enthusiasm for learning.
Zhang Dascara was wearing thick clothes and sitting next to the steering wheel, with a bulging body. He did not look like a heroic pirate at all, but more like a poor and lower-middle peasant who was thinking about his sorrows and sweet things.
Seeing Chang Shide coming up, Zhang Dascara introduced the coal place not far ahead. Once he landed, he could buy coal from the local villagers.
"If you buy coal, then no one will start mining?"
"Chang Dongjia, this black coal is not a rare thing. It can be bought in Guangdong. Anyone who is full and has nothing to do can come here to buy coal. Besides, except for blacksmiths, most people can't use up all the firewood, so why bother?
Use this dark and dirty thing."
It turns out that this is the case. Chang Shide thought that if there was no demand, there would be no development. It is a pity that there are 20 billion tons of high-quality anthracite coal here.
Under the guidance of Zhang Dascara, the ship anchored in a deserted harbor branch. The advantages of a shallow-draft ship were revealed. There was no need to put down the boat, and a springboard could be used to land.
Chang Shide and others put on Ming people's clothes and went ashore under the guidance of Zhang Dascara. This place is hilly, the ground is uneven, and the vegetation is not too dense. It is said that Zhang Dascara said that because the soil layer here is very thin,
The harvest from farming in the coal fields is not very good, and few people except fishermen have settled here.
Mr. Wen's instruction to Chang Shide was to "engage trade first, and then try to open up coal mines after opening up channels." However, the people here were unfamiliar, not even a living person could be found, and no one was interested in doing business.
I led people deep into the interior for several kilometers and saw few people. Sometimes when I saw a person, he would run away as fast as a monkey.
Bekai held a map and compass, constantly analyzing the surrounding scenery and terrain, and pointing the way forward.
What Bei Kai was looking for was a stone mountain called "Poem Mountain". It is located on a peninsula that juts into the sea and looks like a cat's ear. It is said that the so-called "Emperor Zhenzu" of Vietnam once wrote a poem on this mountain. Later, many Vietnamese
Many "celebrities" and "heroes" also wrote poems on the mountain, hence the name.
"What a poetry mountain, let's call it Mao'er Mountain. It's so vivid!" Chang Shide disagreed after hearing his explanation.
Mao'er Mountain was quickly found under the guidance of the compass and the map. It has an altitude of more than 400 meters and is very conspicuous among a bunch of hills. The Hongji Coal Mine Corporation in another time and space is surrounded by this mountain.
It was built at the foot of the seaside. When the French just retreated, the entire Hongji City was two kilometers long from east to west and had 30,000 residents. It was a large-scale mining city.
At this time, there is nothing here. Only the grass and trees are dancing in the sea breeze. Hongji has a natural port. This is the reason why it can become the location of the Coal Mine Corporation.
"It's too desolate." Chang Shide muttered. This place is convenient for coal mining, but if you are so poor, who will be a miner?
"Can coal be mined here?" Chang Shide said.
"Not yet," Bekai said, "There are three or four large open-pit mining areas. I don't know if this is the Jinpu mining area. This is the only open-pit mine near the sea."
"There should also be small open-pit mines."
"There should be." Bei Kai was not very confident. He was an exploration team member who became a monk halfway. "It's a pity that Captain Cui went to Tiandu to inspect, otherwise he would definitely be accurate."
Naturally, Bekai still followed the same old method - digging pits. The soldiers began to draw lines in this hilly area. I don't know whether it was because of the sea breeze blowing all year round or because the soil here was indeed barren. There were no big trees here.
There are only some low shrubs, but the inland Haiyang that they visited yesterday is completely different from the vibrant and spring scenery. This provides great convenience for their prospecting work.
According to the information, there are no mines where the headquarters of Hongji Coal Mining Company is located, so the test excavation site selected by Bekai is almost 2 kilometers deep inland and is completely on the hilly slopes.
Bekai chose a small hill as a standard point, and divided the hilly area of 1,500 meters around the hill according to the layout point of 15 meters. Then, three people formed a group, and in these 8 groups, they started to determine the location of 100 points. Work, the main content of the work is to dig exploration holes.
The requirement for exploring the pit is 3 meters deep. Hongji is famous for its large open-pit mines, and the coal mines are large and concentrated. However, there are only three or four open-pit mining areas exposed on the ground. Mao'er Mountain is not an open-pit area. Can you find small-scale mines? Open pit mines can only take a chance.