Chapter Thirty-Four: Preparing to Sell Twenty ___ Knives in the South

Hearing the sound outside, Chen Yufeng and the others were happy. It turned out that a few people dodged the officers and soldiers and jumped out of the city wall, and went straight to the Yang family's business, seeing that the Yang family was very big, thinking that no one dared to do anything to his family, basically it was not defended, and several people jumped into the courtyard with their faces masked, and killed one of the sleeping people inside. And when he found a great deal of gold and silver in the tent, he could not take it, and he had to go up to the city wall when he returned to the city, so he had to carry a bag of gold on his back, and sprinkled the house with fire oil and set it light, and withdrew it. Chen Yufeng and the others entered the house, and the fire over there was also bigger. Chen Yufeng said to put the gold away quickly, as soon as the morning dawns, someone will come to check the hotel staff.

This time, the few people brought back nearly 1,000 taels of gold.

Sure enough, as soon as the morning dawned, someone came to the store to check the staff. Since this is a border gate, all the staff stationed in the store must be registered. The purpose of the check is to see if there are any people who were not in the city yesterday, because the crime occurred outside the city, and those who live in the city basically have nothing to do with it. How did they know that it was in the city that did it?

At noon the next day, the shopkeeper got the news that the Yang family, a total of more than 30 people, was wiped out, and the third child of the Yang family was also killed, probably a vendetta, and the gold and silver were not taken away, and they were burned all over the ground by the fire.

Zhang Zhimu asked Liu Yun to go back quickly, and pull back the rest of the goods that should be brought back tomorrow, Chen Yufeng felt uneasy, these goods were not as good as food, so they went back together.

In the afternoon, Zhang Zhimu and Yan Boju took a turn in the market again, and it was a little strange that there were fewer high-end items such as silk and satin here, and the quality and price were high. I was puzzled for a while, so I asked the store why I didn't see more silk satin. The young man said that he couldn't get the goods, and as soon as he bought some goods, he was bought by those rich Mongols. Zhang Zhimu and Yan Boju looked at each other and smiled, and they both knew in their hearts that the goods that came tomorrow would definitely be sold at a good price.

In the evening, the Liu shopkeeper of Shengchang Grain Store and the Chen shopkeeper of Xingsheng Grain Store were treated, Zhang Zhimu and Yan Boju went to the banquet together. Zhang and Yan were accompanied by two others, one surnamed Pan and the other surnamed Li, both of whom were engaged in the leather business, one was trafficking furs from Mongolia, and the other was specialized in processing furs. A few people turned it politely, but also after three rounds of wine and five flavors, Liu and Chen, the two shopkeepers, first lost money, the last grain business, did not do a good job, I hope to have the opportunity to get Zhang Zhimu back in the future, etc., in fact, Zhang Zhimu still wants to do business with him, because of the two of them, after all, it is a relatively large grain store. Zhang Zhimu also promised that if he brought grain in the future, he would definitely cooperate once. He also said that this year may still be a big drought, and he may go south to buy grain after he returns. The two grain merchants said that Zhang Dongjia must transport the grain back, there has been a drought for three consecutive years, and there is a great shortage of grain! Zhang Zhimu also said his confusion, this grain is large in quantity and light in money, and transporting goods of the same weight seems to make more money than transporting grain. Liu and Chen, the two shopkeepers, said that it is not right or wrong to say this, first, which line of business must be done, and second, although the profit may be thinner, but the amount is very large, this place can be said, how much comes, how much you want, because the Mongolian steppe in the north is too big, most Mongolians can not afford to eat grain, can only eat meat, only nobles eat grain, and good horses also eat grain. Even if the profit is thin, it is also a double benefit from Xiurong. When Zhang Zhimu wanted to go south to buy grain, he really didn't expect to ship it here, so his thinking could be broadened. The two didn't expect Zhang Zhimu to buy skins, and Zhang Zhimu didn't expect to meet two people who were doing leather business here. Of course, we are all very happy to meet and talk about it in detail. But if these words go down again, Zhang Zhimule will be happy. Those two came today because they were entrusted to discuss with Zhang Zhimu and wanted to buy his steel spring carriage. It turned out that a Mongolian merchant was their old customer, and he came to the door today and asked if he could help meet the merchant with a spring carriage. It was a Mongolian nobleman who happened to see a steel spring carriage and wanted to buy one. Although I haven't looked at it carefully, it has been concluded that on the steppe, with a few good horses, this carriage can run with the herd. Zhang Zhimu said that his goods have not been pulled yet, and he has not sold the car. Let's talk about it when it's time to leave. Hearing that he could contact the Mongolian nobles, Zhang Zhimu asked, the trade of copper and iron artifacts is not allowed in the horse market, but I have a few swords in my hand, which are extremely sharp and never rust, can you help ask, do they want to take a look. The two said of course they could. I asked some more about the horse market, and several people were not in the horse business, so they couldn't say the specifics, but they said that the horse market was basically monopolized by a few companies. The tea and horse trade with Mongolia was run by the government, and the horses that the housekeeper exchanged for tea directly let those few monopolies. If other merchants wanted to buy horses, they had to buy them from them. These companies often join forces to raise the price of horses. Even forced to buy and sell. Last night, the third child of the Yang family was killed, but he did too much evil and suffered retribution. Zhang Zhimu asked again: "If you want to buy a horse directly from the official, is there any way?"

The shopkeeper said, "Unless you know the guard." He was in charge of all the tea and horse trades. But knowing him doesn't necessarily mean it. Because he is also an official for a year, and these families, several generations have done this, and it is difficult to change the general garrison, and there are people in those families, I am afraid that he can't afford to provoke him. ”

Zhang Zhimu thought to himself, I don't know the garrison, but the garrison knows money. Just because he has only been an official for a year, some things are easy to do. Thousands of miles of officials are fed and clothed, and whoever gives great benefits is whose official he is.

Back at the inn, Zhang Zhimu brought the shopkeeper and asked the shopkeeper if he could introduce the guard. The shopkeeper said that it would be okay to introduce him. It depends on what you do when you see the guard? In addition, there are thousands of merchants who come and go here every day, and they don't want to see the guards.

Zhang Zhimu didn't want to tell him that he wanted to go directly to the garrison to buy horses, so he said: "Since you came to kill Hukou, I want to get to know the garrison, and I will come often in the future, prepare a little courtesy, and express my heart." As for the silver taels that need to be dotted up and down, naturally there will be no shortage of you. ”

The shopkeeper was naturally very happy, and if he told him that he wanted to buy a horse directly when he saw the guard, he really didn't dare to take this errand. Even if he takes it, he will be blocked by others. This garrison is an airborne foreign official, who will leave in a year, but the other assistant guards and other officials are here all the year round, and they have long been bought by those few families. They will try their best to prevent the garrison from contacting foreign merchants, and those few big families are outside, and they will also coerce or even get rid of those who want to directly contact the garrison to buy horses, so as to ensure their monopoly position. However, the death of Yang Zaixing, the third elder of the Yang family, was also a blow to them. If you die, no matter how rich and powerful you are, it's useless. People kill you all over the house, clean and neat, without money or property, without leaving a trace. This kind of mental intoxication is terrible. In fact, rich people have a common characteristic, that is, the richer they are, the more afraid they are of death. When they encounter something that money can't avoid, they are even more afraid. I know it's time to be more restrained. That's their weakness.

Chen Yufeng is really a caring person, this time, he brought all those silk and satin, half of the jewelry, and the rest of the goods. Leave Li Yunhe, Liu Chenghuang, and Fan Chengkun behind, because there is too much gold and silver there, and there must be competent people to watch.

In order not to show off their wealth, those silk satin and jewelry were sold in several silk shops and jewelry stores. For the rest of the goods, I talked to the two firms introduced by the shopkeeper Liu of Shengchang Grain Bank, and they were all contracted to them. Because in the past two days, Zhang Zhimu has also taken a look at the market, and thinks that the price given by others is about the same, and whoever does business must be profitable. In this way, there will be more and more friends in the future. Chen Yufeng arrived at night, and the next morning, the goods were processed, and he was very happy.

Zhang Zhimu was really amazed at the ability to digest the goods here, and even more amazed at the shops that received valuables, and they took out so much gold at once, and they were very happy. The heart said, you can't underestimate the small shops, there is really a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger. This time, the goods were sold for a total of 68,512 taels of silver, this amount made Zhang Zhimu startled, he didn't expect to have so much silver at once. Zhang Zhimu asked people to go to the money shop several times to exchange the silver for gold, which was easier to carry. The Ming Dynasty banknotes (Ming Dynasty banknotes) are now like waste paper, and they are resolutely not wanted.

In the afternoon, two fur merchants, Pan and Li, came and brought five Mongols into the city. Zhang Zhimu thought it was very strange, ordinary Mongolians were not allowed to enter and kill Hukou Castle. As soon as I was introduced, I learned that one of the Mongols who came was a prince of the Zaspur tribe, named Prince Toli. They came in only after the road was guided, and they had to go out of the city at night.

Prince Tuoli translated through Pan's shopkeeper: "Don't be in a hurry to see the knife, I want to see the steel spring carriage first." Zhang Zhimu said: "Then take a look!" As a result, a few of them had enough of the carriage. Zhang Zhimu thought that I hadn't looked at this carriage so carefully. Not only did he see it, but he also put on his horse and walked around the yard a few times, and the satisfaction was written on his face. After watching it for a long time, he reluctantly entered the house with Zhang Zhimu. Prince Tori said to Zhang Zhimu that no matter what, he would buy a carriage. Zhang Zhimu said that he didn't plan to sell the car yet, and he would think about it when he left. Zhang Zhimu said that the steel used in this steel spring carriage is specially made, otherwise, it will not be able to stand the long-distance bumps of the goods, it is difficult to manufacture, and I really don't want to sell it, and I have to pull the goods on the return trip. Prince Toli said that the goods returned can be carried by horses, and our Mongolian horses are not suitable for long-distance transportation of goods. In fact, Zhang Zhimu has long been tempted, and there are people who come to see the steel spring carriage every day, and even the inn is not harassed. There was no way for Zhang Zhimu to park a carriage in front of the inn and let everyone look at it casually. Zhang Zhimu thought to himself, this is advertising consciousness, but Zhang Zhimu still held back and said that he would consider this problem when he left.

In the living room, Zhang Zhimu asked people to take out a knife, the scabbard was very simple, but the knife pulled out was even more simple, the whole body was black, only the blade was white. Let people carry in a piece of log with a thick bowl mouth, and Prince Toli personally handled the knife, and the log was broken with a wave, and the blade and blade did not change at all. Prince Tori said that he wanted to bring the knife back to see if it could rust and send it back tomorrow, and asked if he could do it. Zhang Zhimu didn't hesitate, and said that there was no problem. A few people were not polite, wrapped knives in sheepskin and left. Yan Boju joked: "Zhimu, aren't you afraid that the Jurchens will break you away?" ”

Zhang Zhimu laughed and said, "His reputation as a prince is worth more than that knife." ”