Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 210

Chapter 210 Noble Lord Chang’an
After a while, Qin Mubai and the others stood in front of a large shop.

“Yongye Salt Square, your name is not bad.” Qin Mubai said.

“Master, this disciple has inquired clearly.” Pang Fei whispered, “This Yongye Salt Square is the official salt shop in Xiangzhou City. This shop is their main shop. In addition, they also have semicolons in other counties and towns under Xiangzhou City.”

Qin Mubai nodded and turned to look at another big shop across the street from Yongye Salt Square. He couldn’t help but laugh and say, “Zhengchang Grain Store, looks like it should be an official grain shop. These two big shops are sitting opposite each other. It’s quite interesting.”

Pang Fei said, “This street specializes in selling firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea. There are also vegetable markets, cloth shops, garments bureaus, and all sorts of goods from the north and south. I didn’t expect that Xiangzhou, a small city, would be so prosperous and wealthy.”

“You’ve stayed in Chang’an a lot, so you’re used to underestimating the local prefectures and counties!” Qin Mubai smiled and waved his hand at the crowd. “Let’s go inside and take a look at the Zhengchang Grain. Remember not to show off. We are businessmen now.”

“Yes, General!”

“Huh?”

“Yes, master!”

…

Zhengchang Liang Hao was a rather large business, like a manor house. First, it was a large open pavilion, and there were many carriages parked around it. There were many people coming in and out, some were ordinary residents who came to buy rice, and some were businessmen who came to discuss business. Several other carriages had already been towed to the entrance of the large warehouse on the left, and there were many laborers loading food into the carriage.

Qin Mubai looked around first, then walked to the side of the grain carriage. He picked up a few grains of white rice scattered on the carriage’s shaft and crushed them in his hand. He licked them in his mouth and said to himself, “This rice looks good!”

Someone immediately came up to talk to him. A man in his forties had Yin Qing and shrewdness written on his face. He cupped his hands and smiled, “This husband is an expert businessman!”

“Heh, experts can’t be said to be experts. They travel all over the place and try to do whatever business they want.” Qin Mubai smiled and replied, “This is the first time I’ve come to Xiangzhou. Seeing that there’s a lot of business here, I went to the city to take a stroll. When I saw the rations, I came to take a look.”

The man looked at Qin Mubai up and down-a noble young master in luxurious clothes and good manners; Looking at the group of people behind him, the calm, capable, respectful, and obedient servant Sanwu, his expression became even more enthusiastic, and he said, “Then would you like to enter the shop and talk to our shopkeeper? It is the beginning of spring when the price of grain is soaring, and it is time for us to use it!”

“That’s good too.” Qin Mubai replied straightforwardly, “May I know how you address me?”

“I don’t dare. Just call me wang San’er. The youngest one is from this ration. Please!” Wang San enthusiastically led Qin Mubai and the others into the main hall of the grain number.

The main hall was quite big. There was a long counter and a few merchants were conversing there. A striking wooden sign was placed in the middle, with a few large black ink characters written on it-“Nine Dou Rice Coins”.

“Indeed, the price of grain has risen. We just arrived in Xiangzhou from Chang’an. The white rice in the western city only sells for ten buckets of rice.” Qin Mubai said casually, “The land of Xiang Province has also been sold for nine dollars.”

Wang San nodded and bowed with a smile, “Lang Jun is really a big shot who has seen the world. He dares to specialize in big business.” Our store is naturally no match for the big shops in West Chang’an. What kind of place is that in Chang’an? The luxury and luxury of goods is peerless in the world. The white rice in the small shop is sold for nine bucks of rice. The silver bank in the western city must have already sold for more than fifteen bucks of rice. Lang Jun, please sit down and have some tea. Wait for the little one to invite a shopkeeper to talk to you. ”

“Alright, I’ll have to trouble you.” Qin Mubai swaggered down.

Pang Fei and the others behind him began to laugh. A guard whispered, “General Pang, why do you think that Second Brother is here to discuss big business, not just to watch the show or buy three to five kilograms of rice?”

‘”Wang San’er is a businessman, and his eyes are made to earn coins for his patrons. What does our general look like? He looks like a big patron of a traveling merchant at a glance. Of course, he wants to pull a business.” Pang Fei laughed.

Qin Mubai smiled and said, “Don’t even mention it. We’ll buy three to five kilograms of rice and leave soon. I’d like to see the shopkeeper’s expression.”

“Haha!”

“Boss, wang San’er is back.”

Qin Mubai turned around and saw that there was also a middle-aged man in his fifties with Wang San’er. He had a ball-shaped face and a few fine strands of beard. His facial features seemed to be squeezed together. He smiled kindly and bowed to Qin Mubai, “Seventh Brother Duan, nice to meet you. May I know what you should call him?”

“Lang Jun, this is one of the shopkeepers of our Zhengchang Grain Number in Xiangyang City. They call him the Seventh Shopkeeper,” Wang San’er said.

“Zhengchang Grain is really a big store. The shopkeeper is already ranked seventh.” Qin Mubai stood up and teased with ease. He cupped his hands and returned the greeting, “I am Wu Yuanqing of Chang’an. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.”

Behind Qin Mubai, Pang Fei and the others couldn’t help but laugh-they actually pretended to be their brother-in-law!

“Oh, so Lang Jun is the noble lord from Chang’an. How disrespectful!” Old Seventh Duan respectfully cupped his hands and said, “Mr. Wu, are you interested in having tea with me in the back hall?”

“Respect is better than obedience. Seventh Shopkeeper, please!” Qin Mubai replied straightforwardly.

“Please!” Duan Lao Qi revealed a happy expression as Yin Qing personally led the way.

The merchants from Chang’an were all extraordinary. They must be doing big business. If a deal could be negotiated, then the profits were needless to say; Even if we can’t talk about it, the business can’t be done with benevolence and righteousness. It’s not bad to be able to make one or two friends in Chang’an.

Businessmen were always like this. For Zhengchang Grain Company to be able to achieve such a large store, they were very clear about this kind of business philosophy.

Qin Mubai and the others followed Duan Lao Qi to a clean room in the back hall. In the middle of the room was a portrait of Fan Li. Old Seventh Duan lit up the incense in front of the portrait and bowed to Qin Mubai before sharing the tea with the guests.

After sitting down, Qin Mubai used his right hand to hold the teacup. The lid of the cup gently sliced the tea noodles, took three light sips, and placed it on his left side. Old Seventh Duan looked carefully and laughed after reading it, “Lang Jun Wu is indeed an expert of the North-South Traveling Merchants. He does a lot of business. It has been a long time since I saw the owner of the right-hand tea!”

Qin Mubai smiled and said, “I’m just used to it. Shopkeeper Qi doesn’t have to worry about it. In Chang’an, when businessmen deal with big business, they are used to this kind of opening. They drink three mouthfuls of tea in their right hand to show their sincerity and respect.”

“Lang Jun is truly magnanimous. This humble one is disrespectful!” Old Seventh Duan also lifted the cup of tea like Qin Mubai. He slowly drank the entire cup of tea and put it down. He laughed loudly and said, “Alright, we can talk about business openly now!”

Pang Fei and the others could be considered to have opened their eyes. Qin Mubai, a general who had never done business before, was actually familiar with these things. He did not show any signs of sparseness or unfamiliarity, and they all secretly marveled in their hearts. This was as far away as the mountains, and it wasn’t something that could be disguised as anything he wanted to be.

Fortunately, Qin Mubai had spent a lot of time with Wu Meiniang and had learned a lot from her. Otherwise, without the diamond, would he dare to randomly take on porcelain work?

“Seventh Shopkeeper, to tell you the truth, I came down south this time to purchase a batch of grain for sale in Beijing.” Qin Mubai said, “Jiangnan is a rice-producing area. Rice has always been cheap and excellent in quality.” Originally, I was going to go to Huyang to pick rice and some lake silk, but I was in a hurry, so I landed in Xiangyang. Xiangyang is a good place. Since the grain and salt of the north and south are transported here, there must be a good price, right? “In this way, I don’t have to worry about running to the Huyang area.”

“Lang Jun is really shrewd. If you come to Xiangyang to collect goods, then you are really right!” Upon hearing this, Old Seventh Duan’s eyes shone with excitement. He said as if he knew a lot of treasures, “To tell you the truth, rice in Xiangyang is not more expensive than the rice in Huyang area!” First of all, our Jingxiang land originally produces its own rice, the quality is not bad; Secondly, the south and north of the official rice grain are in xiangyang port transfer, this rice, the price is naturally down. “But … our rice is not sold to anyone who wants to sell it to. I’m sure Mr. Wu knows about this rule.”

“Naturally.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “Since I dare to enter your Zhengchang grain store to discuss business, I must be able to do this business. To tell you the truth, I have some business dealings with the Zheng family in Chang’an. I entrusted them to take care of me and gave me a grain store to operate in Xianyang County in the capital.”

“Ah, the Zheng Clan of Chang’an?” Old Seventh Duan cried out in alarm, “Is Lang Jun Wu talking about Chang’an Zheng Fengchi?”

“That’s right.” Qin Mubai smiled.

Old Seventh Duan inadvertently sucked in a breath of cold air, and his eyes widened. He said in surprise, “The Zheng Clan in Chang’an … is that the imperial court’s unloading merchant! They are the ones who control more than half of the grain and salt business in this world. It would be difficult not to make a slight connection with them!”

“Haha!” Qin Mubai smiled casually and said, “Even so … but the Zheng Clan is a wealthy clan after all. We peddlers will not starve to death if we follow them, but it is extremely difficult for us to make a fortune.” Because what we earn is a little bit of loose silver that they don’t want to earn anymore. Take my rations in Xianyang for example. When the rations were distributed, the Zheng Clan had first deducted a layer. How much money can I earn? ”

Old Seventh Duan was an old ashes that had rolled in the business for decades. Hearing Qin Mubai’s words, his heart immediately jolted. He understood what he meant. He thought to himself, “This Wu Yuanqing dares to think that the food given by the Zheng Clan is too expensive, so he secretly picked a batch of food to buy and earn some surplus prices.” This was a very good idea. First, the Zheng Clan had granted them the right to manage grain. Second, they had their own canals, reducing costs and increasing profits!

“Haha … Mr. Wu, what a shrewd businessman!” Old Seventh Duan smiled comprehensively. “But aren’t you afraid of offending the Zheng Clan by doing this?”

“It’s fine.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “I am a close friend of the Zheng Clan’s Young Master, Zheng Anshun. Actually, I obtained his approval for this trip. Actually … if I can get Big Brown’s low-priced official rations, their Zheng Clan would be happy to do so.”

Duan Lao Qi Yi was shocked and hurriedly said, “Lang Jun … I don’t quite understand what he said.”

“Heh, Shopkeeper Qi is a smart person. Why should I make things clear?” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “Businessman, who doesn’t want the goods at a lower price?”

“This … is reasonable!” Old Seventh Duan nodded thoughtfully. He blinked his eyes a few times and asked, “Then how much food does Lang Master Wu intend to ask for this time?”

Qin Mubai smiled and stretched out a palm, “I want all the good Lake Yang White Rice!”

“Five hundred stones?” Old Seventh Duan said happily.

Normally, the amount of grain purchased in a good month would be around three to four hundred stones for a county-level grain. The Great Tang was based on agriculture, and most of the people were self-sufficient in growing food. Official rations were mainly used for the payment of official salaries, for the military or for national storage, and for food purchased by real urban dwellers, the proportion was not very heavy.

Qin Mubai smiled and shook his head.

“Don’t tell me you want … five thousand stones?” Old Seventh Duan was a little surprised.

Qin Mubai shook his head and smiled without saying a word.

“Fifty thousand?!” Old Seventh Duan was shocked.

“Haha!” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “Shopkeeper Qi, stop laughing. This one is at least a Beijing merchant. Will I make a trip to Xiangzhou for a mere tens of thousands of stones of grain?-500,000 stones of lakes of white rice!”

“500,000!!!” Old Seventh Duan was greatly shocked. He thought to himself, “This, this … we have never encountered such a big customer before!”

“You didn’t hear wrongly. It’s 500,000 yuan.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “To tell you the truth, my own store really can’t eat such big brown food. You understand what I mean.”

A layer of cold sweat oozed out from Duan Lao Qi’s forehead and he suddenly nodded.

Qin Mubai understood what he said. The implication behind his words was that he was helping the Zheng Clan “smuggle”!

The number one merchant in the Tang Empire wanted to “smuggle”, which sounded a bit shocking, but it wasn’t surprising to the merchants.

Everyone said that there was no adultery or business, and all businessmen understood one thing, that was, Ma Wuye’s grass was not fat. Those who were truly honest did not dare to exceed the Lightning Pool by half a step. In the end, they either lived a mediocre life for free or lost their lives.

Do business without speculation, without backtracking, without hoarding, with smuggling, how do you make your fortune? Didn’t Zheng Fengchi rely on political speculation to curry favor with Li Yuan and become the wealthiest merchant in the world? He even dared to speculate on the national destiny. What was so strange about smuggling a few bags of rice?

Old Seventh Duan was a businessman. He understood this reasoning, or rather, the rules of the trade.

Under the right of grain management given by the Great Tang Dynasty, while collecting the official grain from the government for sale, they secretly collected cheap grain to replenish their stock and sold it at the genuine market price. The profit margin would be revealed. Speaking of which … how many grain and salt families are there in this world, aren’t they going to do this? This had almost become the unspoken rule of the Grain and Salt Realm.

Seeing that Old Seventh Duan was stunned and silent for a long time, Qin Mubai smiled and said, “Could it be that Seventh Shopkeeper is unable to make the decision?”

Old Seventh Duan took a deep breath and said, “To tell you the truth, I really can’t handle such a big brown business privately. Why don’t I invite the big boss over and talk to him in detail?”

“Another day!” Qin Mubai frowned in displeasure.

After saying that, he got up and was about to leave.

“Hold on, husband!” Old Seventh Duan hurriedly stood up and said, “Lang Jun, please forgive me. I don’t know Lang Jun’s true face. How careless! I should have directly invited our big boss to negotiate with Lang Jun.”

“I don’t blame you.” Qin Mubai put on a bit of airs and said indifferently, “I’m still busy with mundane matters. If you dare to come back and discuss it with me, please!”

“Lang Jun insists on leaving … why don’t you leave an address? When our big boss returns, he will definitely pay him a visit!” Old Seventh Duan hurriedly asked.

Qin Mubai stopped and frowned in embarrassment, “I will come and find you again. Please don’t disturb me. Thank you!”

After saying that, he lifted his foot and left. Pang Fei and the others followed closely.

Old Seventh Duan gulped down a few mouthfuls of saliva and hastily called over a few servants to instruct, “Follow this group of people and make sure to find out where they live!”

Half an hour later.

These servants all came back with ashes on their faces, saying that they had lost someone. Old Seventh Duan was so anxious that he wanted to cry but not cry. He really wanted to roar towards the sky. Now that there was no other way, he could only wait for this “Lord’s Big Owner” to take the initiative to come again.

Inside the inn, Qin Mubai, Pang Fei, and the others laughed as they changed their clothes and makeup. Qin Mubai tore off the fake beard on his mouth and smiled, “That Duan Lao Qi must be in an incomparable dilemma right now. We’ll leave him alone for three days. We’ll see what happens in three days.”

Pang Fei smiled and said, “Master, you dressed up as a merchant! Even an old man like Duan Lao Qi can’t see any flaws. Right now, his appetite must be hanging by the wrist. I’m just waiting for you to come. I wonder why you didn’t agree to meet his big boss on the spot.”

“This is called hard-to-capture. It’s a common trick in business.” Qin Mubai said, “The more Big Brown trades, the more cautious they should be, and they shouldn’t be in a hurry.” When you are anxious, people will know that you are eager to ask for goods, so that you can lower the price. Moreover, if he wasn’t careful in dealing with such a big palm, it would appear to be fake. Moreover, we are talking about illegal business, so we must be more careful. “This is the first time we’ve met and decided to cooperate with someone else. It’s either waiting to be slaughtered or being suspected.”

“That’s why!” Pang Fei chuckled, “This disciple has learned something new!”

One of the guards smiled and said, “The general is indeed an outstanding figure. He just pretended to be that merchant. Even those around us have to believe that you are a true patron of Chang’an. Also, Old Seventh Duan actually sent someone to follow us … Haha! What a joke! Someone actually wants to follow Baiji!”

“Haha!” The whole room burst into laughter.

“What are you laughing at? Are you so happy?” Chen Yan walked in and smiled.

“You’re awake?” Qin Mubai stepped forward and smiled, “Is your injury better?”

“Alright.” Chen Yan nodded and smiled. She looked at the clothes they had thrown aside and smiled. “Did you dare to visit me privately again?”

“Not really, and this visit was quite enjoyable.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “We still have to go to the Eight Ghosts Crossing for a military parade later. Are you interested in visiting?”

“No. That kind of occasion isn’t suitable for me.” Chen Yan said, “I’m here to say goodbye to you. I’m going to Tanzhou.”

“What? Are you leaving again?” Qin Mubai knitted his brows and said, “Your injuries are not light. You should be cured before leaving. Besides, the military registration file I set up for you hasn’t been delivered yet!”

“No.” Chen Yan smiled and said, “Every time I meet you, I have to give you a lot of trouble. I’d better hurry up and leave.”

“No.” Qin Mubai glared at her tyrannically, “This time, you must listen to me. Stay in Xiang Zhou and take good care of your injuries. You are not allowed to go anywhere.” If you want to retire from Jianghu and return to your hometown to be a good woman, I won’t stop you. But I can’t let you go now. Didn’t you say that since you are a friend, you should do everything for the sake of the other party’s good, for the sake of the other party? Don’t worry, you won’t cause me any trouble. This time is different from the past. It’s not that I’m boasting. What kind of trouble can I have in this place like Xiangzhou? And I still have some things that I might need your help with! ”

“Haha!” Chen Yan smiled. “It’s rare to see you so nervous and lengthy.”

“That proves that I treat you as a good friend. I care about you, don’t I?” Qin Mubai smiled.

Pang Fei hurriedly waved his hand and led a group of people out of the corner.

Chen Yan turned her head to look at Pang Fei and the others and couldn’t help but laugh, “If you do this … it will make people misunderstand.”

“Misunderstanding what?” Qin Mubai smiled indifferently. “You taught me peaches, and I repaid you for them. Isn’t it normal for me to treat you the way you treat me? Alright, there’s no need to say anything else. You can stay here and recover from your injuries. I’ll have Pang Fei send someone to rent a mansion for you to rest in later. It’ll be a bit more peaceful and peaceful than living in an inn.”

“Or do you know me?” Chen Yan smiled gratefully and said, “I’m used to coming alone. However … this will cause you a lot of trouble.”

“Don’t keep saying that.” Qin Mubai said, “What’s the trouble? There are so many people under me who are idle all day. I just want to dig into the ground and find something for them to do!”

“Haha!” Chen Yan smiled. She stared at Qin Mubai and whispered, “Thank you, Mubai …”

“If you really want to thank me, just rest assured and recover. There will be a time for you to help me.” Qin Mubai smiled.

“Alright.” Chen Yan smiled and nodded.