No one in the Li family knew about the decision to leave for Lingao except a few close friends. Li Luoyou estimated that the court would launch troops against Lingao sooner or later, so the less people knew about it, the better. Except for Quark, he only brought
Gu Baocheng, his personal servant swept leaves and several capable family members followed him.
Although the matter was settled, it was already the end of the year. The New Year for the third year of Chongzhen was coming in a blink of an eye. The affairs of the new year were cumbersome and there were many social events. All official and private matters were taken care of. In the blink of an eye, the day when the second dragon raised its head in February passed.
Luo You finally had time to make arrangements for his trip to Lingao.
The most convenient way to go to Lingao is of course to take a boat from Gaoguang Shipping Company in Guangzhou. Although this boat mainly carries cargo, it also takes passengers, and the fare is very cheap. However, the environment is noisy, and it is very uncomfortable to live with people and goods mixed together; if you use your own
The special boat was too ostentatious, and the sea was not very peaceful. It would be difficult if any of the heroes on the sea found out and kidnapped the ticket. While thinking about it, Saoye reminded him that Yang Runkaitang and Lingao from Foshan
If you have business dealings, why not take their route?
"Master, do you still remember? The last time Mr. Lin from Foshan invited Mr. Lin to have a drink, there was Mr. Liu from Lingao at the table. He said he was the shopkeeper of a medicine shop in Lingao. His family seems to be related to Mr. Yang who opened the restaurant in Yang Run.
If you take this route, you’ll be safe and have people taking care of you, isn’t it the best of both worlds?”
After Saoye said this, Li Luoyou also thought about it. He immediately called his diary. He has the habit of writing diaries in detail. Of course, his diary does not mean that he is in a bad mood today, so-and-so is a person.
Bastard, which concubine owes you discipline and other trivial matters in life, but it is about business matters, what business you did that day, who you met, what things you talked about, what new ideas you have.
He learned this habit from the local Portuguese merchants when he was doing business in Macau. He felt that this method would make it easier to forget things, so he developed this habit. No matter how busy he is every day, he should write it down before going to bed.
I looked through the diary and found more details than what Sao Ye said. In this way, Runshitang Pharmacy in Lingao is a channel that can be used.
At that moment, he called Master Feng, who was in charge of him, and asked him if there was a branch of Runshitang in the local area?
"Runshitang doesn't have a branch in Guangdong," Mr. Feng Bowen remembered clearly. Anyone who had done business with Liaohai Company knew all the shops and people he had contact with. "But they have one in Foshan."
The accounting room is responsible for communicating with Yang Run and buying and selling drugs. The person in charge is Liu Benshan."
"If you want to go to Lingao, you can ask Mr. Yang Shiyi to help you." Master Feng said, "Runshitang in Lingao and Yangrunkaitang in Foshan are the same branch. The owners of the two families are direct cousins."
Although going to Lingao is a confidential matter, and the fewer people who know about it, the better, Yang Shiyi does not need to be taboo - this person is reselling Liaodong goods with him, and is also connected with Lingao, so he will never dare to talk nonsense outside.
At that moment, I made up my mind and asked another boy nearby who specialized in handling confidential matters to go to Foshan to handle this matter.
Li Luoyou was going to Lingao, so Yang Shiyi certainly did not dare to neglect this "God of Wealth" and immediately contacted Liu Benshan. Within a few days, the boy came back from Foshan and said that the matter had been settled.
Because it was a matter of confidentiality, when Li Luoyou left Guangzhou, he only announced that he was going to Foshan for inspection - he was a well-established businessman in Guangzhou, and people came to visit him every day. It was impossible for him to disappear secretly for ten and a half months. After arriving in Foshan,
Then Liu Benshan arranged to go to Lingao.
Yang Shiyi flattered the God of Wealth and chartered a two-masted fortune ship - it was originally a two-masted ship that traveled to Lingao. The boss of the ship was familiar with it. He also carefully arranged the cabin and sent some of the things he needed in his house.
The family members came to wait on the boat, but Li Luoyou declined - he didn't want to make too much noise. Yang Shiyi had no choice but to send a lot of food and wine that he had picked up on the way.
The boat was silent all the way. It was a sunny and windy day. Li Luoyou left the cabin to take some fresh air on the deck. He saw that the sea here was extremely narrow, with green hills, trees, cottages and farms all in sight. He felt strange and asked:
"Where is this?"
"We have arrived at the Qiongzhou Strait, where is Leigong Island." The boss of the ship looked very relaxed and pointed to a small offshore island in the sea to the left of the ship.
"This is the junction of Lingao and Chengmai. After Leigong Island, you will reach the coast of Lingao County. It will take less than two hours to reach Bobu Port."
Li Luoyou nodded. He had never been to Qiongzhou and had no idea about this big island. His industries were all over Guangdong, but he had never set foot in Qiongzhou Prefecture. This place was sparsely populated and had poor products, except for wood, coconuts, betel nuts, and red betel nuts.
White vines and other native products are not exported in large quantities, and nothing can be sold either.
What did the Australians rely on to make a small, desolate and remote county prosper? Li Luoyou was very interested in this.
Quark also emerged from the cabin. He was dressed like a Ming Dynasty man, only wearing a black square turban to cover up his hair. However, his blue eyes still revealed his identity.
The boss of the ship also saw foreigners on weekdays and was not surprised by this.
"God, what a beautiful scenery." Quark said. He breathed the fresh sea air a little greedily - he had been afraid to show his face in the past few days, and now he came out.
"The captain said we will reach Lingao in a few hours."
"Really?" Quark said excitedly, "I really want to see the legendary big iron ship."
As he was talking, he saw a dhow sailing through the waves on the coast. Li Luoyou immediately realized: this was not a Chinese ship - it could be seen from the ship shape and sails - but rather a Western sailing ship.
.
"What kind of ship is this?" he instructed Quark.
"This is a triangular schooner!" Quark was no less surprised than Lee Luoyu. This was a typical triangular schooner, and it looked exactly like the one he saw on the seaside of his hometown in England. But he had never seen anything like this in Asia.
Ship - This kind of ship generally only sails along the coast and does not engage in long-distance trade.
"This is an Australian patrol boat." The boat boss interjected, "From here to Lingao, it is Australian territory."
"Australians are patrolling here?" Li Luoyou was a little surprised, he was so upright! "The Navy doesn't care either?"
"The navy also has to see if it has the ability to take care of it, right? The navy will ask for money. I saw a few pirates running faster than rabbits! How dare you meddle in the Australians' business?" The words of the ship boss were full of contempt for the officers and soldiers.
, "The Australians patrol here every day, destroy pirates when they encounter them, and are willing to rescue ships when they are in trouble. This is unequivocal - since the patrol boats have been patrolled, the strait has become much peaceful - the pirates do not
Dare to enter the strait.
"This boat is sailing so beautifully!" Quark shouted, "Sail with the wind! God!" He screamed again, and it turned out that the boat was tilted to a point that made people think it was going to capsize.
"Australians are really first-class sailors!" Quark took out a big handkerchief and wiped his sweat. "Even in my hometown, they are just like this."
"They can sail across the vast oceans in a big iron ship, so they are naturally better than boats." Li Luoyou paid attention to the movement of the triangular boat. It was fast and flexible. If the imperial navy's heavy and old ships did not have cannons,
I'm afraid it will be difficult to even protect myself.
The patrol boat slowly approached, so close that he could already see the sailors running back and forth on the deck to furl the sails. On the sloping and bumpy deck, the sailors in blue cloth jackets could still run quickly to do their jobs.
Live. Pieces of fishing nets are hung from the mast to both sides of the deck. I don’t know what they are used for. Everything on the deck is in order, and the most eye-catching thing is the long tubular object wrapped in oilcloth on the fore and aft decks. It is probably an Australian
of cannon.
"Hurry up and hang the flag!" the boss of the boat ordered the crew. After a while, a pennant fluttered on the mast. The dhow seemed to be satisfied, and the bow moved outward and left.
"What does this mean?" Li Luoyou was very interested.
"My ship is registered in Bopu," the ship owner said, "so if you hang it with a flag, you can sail directly to Lingao without inspection. If the ship is not registered, you may be asked to stop the ship and wait for inspection."
"Interesting." Li Luoyou thought to himself that Australians are very organized in their management. They don't behave like businessmen, but more like officials.
"What if we don't stop the ship?" Quark suddenly asked.
"What do you, the red-haired gentleman, say?" said the ship's boss, "Don't stop the ship? Not to mention that the gods can't handle the cannons above. Even if you are given a row of blunderbuss, it will be enough. Besides, I won't ask you for inspection.
Money and goods, why bother with this?"
The boss of the ship added: "The Australians in Lingao are very nice. The errands are very polite and don't ask for money randomly. Recently, ships don't pump water when entering or leaving the port, and everyone doing business agrees."
"Import and export are tax-free, which is attracting businessmen to trade there." Quark was very excited. From this point of view, Australians welcome businessmen to trade. There is a high possibility of success in setting up a business office there!
Although Macau is good, it is the territory of Catholics after all. If he had not been protected by Li Luoyou, he would have been deported by the fanatic believers long ago. If he did not make trouble, his life would be at risk. His compatriots were killed when they were smuggling black slaves in the Americas.
Quark knew exactly what would happen if the Spaniards caught him. As for Guangdong, he could only stay in the Li family's mansion and try not to go out. His life was quite comfortable, but it was a bit too boring.
If you can set up a warehouse in Lingao, you can do business with the mainland through this stronghold, purchase silk, sugar and porcelain. After storing it in Lingao, you can then choose an opportunity to take a boat back to Surat for resale, and wait until you have more.
If you have enough money, you can simply buy a ship for trafficking. If you are stronger, you can negotiate with the Australians and ask them to allow the establishment of a British business office. If more British businessmen come to high trade, you can act as a business office agent.
identity activities, the benefits are immeasurable...
The businessman John Quark's heart was beating violently, as if there were countless gold flashing in front of his eyes. He was simply impatient.
Quark couldn't help but swallowed his saliva and asked, "Are many people going to Lingao to do business?"
"It wasn't much in the beginning, but it's become more and more in the past six months." The boss of the boat smoked a cigarette. "Almost everything can be sold. Besides, I can bring back a lot of good-selling Lingao goods on the return trip. I don't have to leave empty-handed every time I come back. I make a lot of money."
Would anyone be willing to pay double the money?"
"I see."
"You two are also going to Lingao to do business, right?"
"How can you see it?" Li Luoyou asked.
"If you don't do business, who would go to that place?" The boat owner laughed and said, "Besides, there is this red-haired man. Red-haired people can't afford to get up late if they can't afford it. As long as there is money to be made, they will go through it all.
, the money in the frying pan must also be fished out.”
Quark Qiong laughed loudly and said that he was right. Mercantilism was popular in Europe at that time. To the Chinese, these words sounded derogatory, but to him, an Englishman, they sounded like a compliment.
Li Luoyou found it interesting and chatted with the captain of the ship for a long time. He went back to the cabin when he saw that the storm on the sea was getting stronger.
"Pack up all the things, we'll be here soon." Li Luoyou ordered Sweeping Ye, frowning, "Where's Bao Cheng?"
"As for the master," Saoye said cautiously, "he is still seasick today and can't get up in the cabin."
"How delicate!" Because of his seasickness, he was asked to rest in the cabin when he boarded the ship. Li Luoyou thought to himself that it had been five or six days, and seasickness was not bad. This child was about to get married, and he was still so weak.
I wonder if the only bloodline of the wife clan has the ability to reorganize the family business? Thinking of this, I can’t help but feel worried secretly.
Of course, I am doing my best for him while I am alive, but my health is getting worse and worse. If there are any shortcomings, it will be difficult for Baocheng to find a stable position in the Li family, let alone to be able to stand on his own and revive the family. Li Luoyou
He knew that there were quite a few close relatives in his clan who were annoyed with him for taking such good care of and promoting a person with a foreign surname.
There were constant requests from tribesmen to come to his father or other elders in the tribe, and they wanted to put their nephews under his hands, saying that they would "learn some skills." Gu Baocheng's presence made him unwilling to get close to the tribesmen many times.
evidence.
"Humph, I'm not good at doing things, but I'm pretty good at being greedy for money." In the past few years, there have been quite a dozen people from the clan who have defected to Guangzhou. Except for a few, most of them are planning to rely on the benefits of an ancestor.
Enjoying the blessings. This is not bad. What's more terrible is that he is extremely arrogant and wants to "serve" him, so that he can get a "shopkeeper" who handles a lot of money and "manage things".
"If you can't write two characters "Li" in one stroke, if your nephew doesn't take care of your uncle's affairs, who else will?"
Li Luoyou almost vomited when he heard these words. Facts have proved that people of the same race are more unreliable than hired guys with different surnames - they are even more confident when it comes to making money: It's all the Li family's money, why can't I?
Li Luoyou was helpless with this group of people and couldn't drive them away. So he had to arrange a job to feed them with good food and drink to avoid any trouble.
Li Luoyou felt bored when he thought about the people in these clans. In order to relieve his boredom, he took out a book and read it. This was "Nine Chapters of the Book of Numbers", which was written by Qin Jiushao of the Song Dynasty.