Boss, are we really going to Liuzhou?"

A large four-masted nine-masted sailboat is slowly approaching the dock of Liuzhou. It is particularly conspicuous in the now desolate Liuzhou waterway.

"There's no way..." On the deck, a dark-skinned, muscular man stood on the bow of the ship, looking in the direction of Liuzhou with helplessness in his eyes: "Do you think we are Baiye, prospering those big business houses? There are so many

Channel? There is no way to follow their example of selling goods from other states. With the current situation of goods being squeezed, we will be cut off by at least 30% of the price!"

"Not to mention that the other two docks are now piled up, and the officers and soldiers deliberately jammed the ships. Boss Su next door spent 4,000 taels of silver to take care of it, and he could only enter the port two days in advance. For those of us who don't pay, we don't know where to go.

How long do you have to float on this river!"

The man who was called the boss had a gloomy face: "Don't forget, the interest from Master Rong will not be less!"

As soon as these words came out, several businessmen dressed in different shapes behind them all looked bitter.

They are a new small business group, one of those groups where dozens of merchants come together to buy their own ships and engage in maritime business. It is said that everything is difficult at the beginning, but how can it be so easy to start your own business and become your own boss?

The newly purchased ship cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. In addition, there was no purchasing channel from a large commercial bank, so the price of purchasing goods was much more expensive than that of a large commercial bank. I didn't have much initial capital, so I borrowed it from the boss of Qianzhuang Rong.

loan.

All businessmen have a gambling habit, and the risk of huge profits is what they eat. The boss of the bank has a good understanding of people's hearts, and he is willing to kill the marrow.

Carrying this kind of interest is just running against time. Fortunately, the ship is full of experienced sailors. This sailing is quite smooth. The incoming goods are expected to be able to repay the original cost. We are not looking for big profits.

If you earn back the money from the ship, you won't need to borrow money next time you go to sea.

Who would have expected that the boat would have arrived at my doorstep, and what happened in Liuzhou would really cost me my life.

After two days of wandering, the interest rate is increasing day by day, and everyone is as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

"If we continue like this, I'm afraid we will really lose money!" The man gritted his teeth: "We have been wandering in the sea for so many years, and the Dragon King has never killed us. What kind of bullshit monster are we afraid of?"

The others hesitated for a while, and finally nodded: "The boss is right!"

"The boss is right, we pirates dare to kill, and we are so strong in yang energy. How dare any life-threatening dirty thing dare to catch our attention?"

As everyone responded, it seemed that the impact of entering Liuzhou on the group was minimized.

But among the large business group, there are a few strange and cold eyes, hiding in the dark with sneers.

A middle-aged man who seemed to be very close to the leader approached and said, "Boss, what about the water ghost?"

"Shhh!!" The other party glared at him and cursed in a low voice: "Your brain is flooded? Why are you bringing this up at this time?"

Although he was scolding, there was a trace of worry in his eyes when he looked at the other crew members in the ship who were already busy taking orders.

Unlike the people in the Central Plains who work hard at home and farm the land, those who run boats and do business will encounter something more or less over time. They were very unlucky this time, but they happened to encounter it.

Water ghosts are a kind of dirty thing that appears most often in maritime legends. These things often appear in foggy days. They board the ship in the foggy weather, kill some crew members who are less vigilant, and then skin and bones are turned into

The crew members continued to stay on the ship, looking for opportunities to attack other living people.

The leader of the merchant ship was a man named Huo Bei. He had practiced martial arts as a bodyguard in the past. He was spotted by the boss of a certain trading house and paid a high price to hire him to escort the merchant ship. In addition to preventing pirates, the most important thing to watch out for was this kind of water.

ghost!

In a large caravan, everyone is familiar with each other. In fact, it is easy to recognize the water ghost after being around for a long time. However, in a small caravan like theirs, the cooperating members are from all over the world. If they are not very familiar with each other, it is easy to take advantage of troubled waters.

.

A few days ago, based on my experience, I discovered one. The brothers got angry and hacked it to death. The water ghost burst open its human skin in panic, and it turned out to be an extremely ugly mermaid.

After killing the monster, he announced that it had been cleared away to reassure everyone, but in fact he knew in his heart that this kind of thing was like a cockroach at home. When one was found, there were often many hidden in the house.

This is also the reason why he dared not go to Liuzhou to dock when he heard the news about Liuzhou.

Not only because there are scary monsters in Liuzhou City, but also because of the water ghosts lurking in the boats!

These things have a very strong smell and cannot be detected at sea. However, they are easily discovered when there are many people in the city. This kind of monster does not have many special abilities except that it is stronger and can disguise itself as a human race with human skin.

, once discovered, the officers and soldiers would swarm him and chop him to death with a few swords!

Therefore, if you are often close to a busy port, these monsters will find opportunities to escape in advance.

But if you disembark at a small port and enter some less lively cities, where the guards are lax, these monsters will be bold enough to continue to mingle among the crowds.

He will also ask where his home is, go back in the skin of a crew member, and eat his wife and children!

He has been running a boat for many years and has seen this kind of thing no less than ten times!

The wife and children who were looking forward to the return of their husbands were expecting a demon to come and skin and bones the whole family, even the infant children!

Everyone doing business together at sea was a kind of fate in Gu Bei's opinion. Even if he couldn't protect him at sea, at least he couldn't let these ghosts harm his friend's family.

But now... there is really no way!

Gu Bei gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "When we enter the city, we will keep a closer eye. If you see anyone who likes to inquire about your family background, remember it for me!"

The younger brother next to him nodded in agreement, but he knew in his heart that the boss was just saying this to reassure himself. After entering the city, everyone was busy selling goods, so how could they care about others?

If there really is a water ghost hanging around in the team, something like that will happen in all likelihood.

But the boss has nothing to do. Interest rates keep rising day by day. If the goods are not sold, people will die.

"Boss, is it true that Liuzhou does not collect business taxes?"

"It's most likely true!" Gu Bei felt a little better when he mentioned this: "The news came from the Yamen of Nanming Mansion. I heard that many shopkeepers of big merchants were attracted to Liuzhou to receive goods. In order to restore Liuzhou, the imperial court

, but I thought of a good idea."

"That would be great if that's the case..."

Another man next to him smiled: "If there is no tax, the goods we buy this time should be able to recover our cost, and there is a high probability that we can make some profit."

The others nodded after hearing this.

Unlike the previous dynasty, the Jin Dynasty believed in the nonsense of those scholars and did not compete with the people for profit. It collected commercial taxes, and the taxes were extremely heavy. If it were tax-free, the profits would be conservatively 30% higher!

"Boss, look ahead!"

Just as he was talking, a shirtless man pointed forward excitedly. Gu Bei quickly looked around and immediately saw the familiar Liuzhou Pier.

At this time, the fog has not dispersed, but several ship fires can be faintly seen, all of which are ships of large trading houses!

"Boss, this is the ship of prosperity!"

"Okay, okay!!" Gu Bei clapped his hands and laughed.

It seems that the rumors are true. A shopkeeper from a big commercial bank really came to Liuzhou to receive the goods. This time the sales have been successful!

Fur goods and horses in the north are all hard currency that big trading houses sell generously, and some Western gems can be sold to the districts and counties for a rare price. No matter how you think about it, you shouldn't lose money.

"Boss, look, there are really few officers and soldiers on the dock, just a few of them."

Gu Bei nodded: "It seems that the rumor that the Liuzhou navy was transferred away is true."

"Then how about we talk to Wansheng's shopkeeper in private..."

"Fart!" Gu Bei suddenly opened his eyes and shouted angrily: "If you want to die, don't drag us with you!"

When the younger brother heard this, he immediately shrank his head and did not dare to speak any more.

Seeing this, some other old merchants on the ship shook their heads in amusement, sighing secretly: Young people are bold and don't know how high the sky is.

The imperial court will never tolerate smuggling. Once it is discovered, it will be a matter of losing your head. If a large trading firm is involved in this matter, it will have to peel off its skin. If an official wants to punish you, he will immediately seal your firm!

In this kind of business, where the risks outweigh the rewards, big trading houses would not be so stupid. They strictly require shopkeepers from all over the country not to smuggle anything.

Just as he was talking, the ship docked, and the hired sailors came forward one by one to anchor the ship. The young merchant did not wait for the sailors to help, and began to unload the cargo in a hurry.

"Hey, Gu Erlang?"

After getting off the boat, a familiar voice came. Gu Bei looked quickly and a smile suddenly appeared on his face: "Shopkeeper He!"

The person who came looked like he was in his early forties, with a big belly and a round waist, and skin as delicate as a woman's. At first glance, he looked like a rich man who lived an elegant life.

"It looks like we have a good harvest this time." Shopkeeper He looked at the steady flow of goods on Gu Bei's ship and said with a smile.

"Where, where, small business!" Gu Bei chuckled and said, "Shopkeeper He is here. It seems that the rumors are true. How is Liuzhou City doing now?"

"It's desolate..." Shopkeeper He shook his head: "It's like a ghost town with so few people. The guys almost couldn't find a restaurant to eat. Hey, I think Liuzhou used to be so prosperous. It's only been half a month..."

"Yeah..." Gu Bei responded and quickly asked the question he was most concerned about: "Is the tax-free rumor true or false?"

"If it's a lie, what am I doing here?" Shopkeeper He said with a smile.

"Is it really tax-free?" The waiter next to him asked in surprise: "What is this government trying to do? Isn't the new prefect's brain broken?"

"What the hell do you know?" Gu Bei rolled his eyes at the waiter next to him.

Shopkeeper He also shook his head in amusement.

"But there is one thing to say, this new prefect is quite a courageous person." Shopkeeper He said in a low voice: "It is said that he is still a new scholar, but his handling methods are more sophisticated and extraordinary than those who have been in officialdom for a long time."

Gu Bei also nodded. With the current situation in Liuzhou, if you want business to return, you have to use some extraordinary means, but such a big move as tax exemption really requires courage.

"Is Shopkeeper He busy now? If not, why don't you collect my goods first?"

"Haha, okay!" Shopkeeper He nodded: "Let's go, let's go into the city!"

"Okay!" Gu Bei immediately beamed and shouted to the back: "Brothers, unload the goods quickly and enter the city!"

"Okay boss!"
To be continued...