Chapter 162 Rurik's deal with the Merchant of Meralen, the Merchant of Uppsala
Five businessmen entered Klavasen's somewhat crude blacksmith shop and entered its inner room.
They saw the Klavasen family's advanced furnace that could smelt sponge iron without having to dismantle it, and they also saw a crude manual press for pressing glassware.
They lacked an in-depth understanding of production and production, so they basically turned a blind eye when they saw such items, saying that getting too close would stain their beautiful fox fur coats.
After the hustle and bustle of the afternoon, Klavasen and Rurik had not yet had time to divide up the nearly thirty kilograms of silver, and now there was a new business opportunity.
Seize the opportunity and make more money. Because money is not just some precious metals, it can also achieve greater power.
Rurik's mind was a little tired, and his body was quite weak, not yet as capable as those adults who could paddle continuously for more than ten hours.
He endured his sleepiness and decided to have a good chat with these five customers with the help of Klavasen.
Customers, their purpose is very simple!
When they were outdoors, they stretched out their necks, smiled, and bowed to Rurik, who looked like a "little kid but a big kid."
Negotiating business? Come on!
The meeting took place at Clavarson's home.
Is the venue simple? It is really simple. It is so simple that the cup for drinking water is made of clay. Only Klavasen himself enjoys the high-end green and harmless potash-lime glass made by himself.
Rurik sat cross-legged on the leather cushion. He gave these well-dressed old guys the feeling that he didn't look like a child.
Rurik's voice was childish, but his demeanor was quite calm, and he talked like an adult.
"You want to do bigger business with me? Come on, I welcome you on behalf of our Ross tribe."
Rurik said some polite words and quickly livened up the atmosphere.
An old fur trader wore a fur hat made of the finest velvet hat of a young white fox. He gently covered his heart with his right hand through his clothes and bowed slightly to show his sincerity.
"My little master, I admire the furs of your Ross tribe. When I was old enough to row alone from Mellaren to your Ross, I began to live here as a guest. Because of you, I became rich."
Another polite greeting, which made Rurik feel happy.
Rurik first gave a business-like smile and continued to be polite: "So, do you think you can become richer by cooperating with me?"
"Of course!" The merchant suddenly lifted up his long robe and sat upright: "My little master, the five of us are here today to discuss it with you. I hope you can trust us, just like the ancient man from the Angkras tribe.
Just like Germany, trust us. We hope that we can..."
"It's like a piece of roasted meat with fat. How about sharing it with you?" Rurik asked knowingly.
"Yes. We are sincerely willing to cooperate."
After this person said this, the other four people agreed one after another.
In fact, for Rurik, after he learned the clear identity of the Melalen tribe, he naturally considered the possibility of opening the market.
Because Gould is, after all, a member of the Oncras tribe, and the goods he imports from him will theoretically be sold in the Oncras market to a large extent. Although Gould also made it clear that his dumping market is mainly in May.
In the great market of the Laren people.
Eggs cannot be put in the same basket, and there cannot be only one customer.
Rurik closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then began to ask clearly about the exact place of origin of these five businessmen, because before that, Rurik himself only had a very rough understanding of their identity, that is, "guest merchants".
They introduced themselves, three were from the Melalen tribe and two were from the Uppsala tribe.
"Uppsala? I know such a name." Rurik's small waist suddenly sat upright.
"Do you know us well?" an old businessman wearing a black bearskin and a strange braided beard asked respectfully.
Rurik said proudly: "You are from Uppsala, and I know you very well. Our tribe has some precious wooden boards, and our long-lived high priest has recorded our ancient history. We, the Rus tribe, were once with you.
Neighbor."
"Huh? Is this really happening?!" The merchant wearing a bearskin hat really didn't know about this, but he felt that Rurik's words were a sign of goodwill.
"Of course." Rurik affirmed: "Our ancestors chased furs and fish to the far north, and came to where we are now."
Because this is what is recorded on the wooden board of Vilia, and the real history is also shrouded in mystery.
The tribal name of Uppsala will continue forever, as will the name of Mälaren.
All the people living in the Svealand Plain are Germanic immigrants from ancient Denmark.
At the end of the Roman Empire, some members of the Aros tribe in the central Jutland Peninsula began to participate in the great movement of expansion across the sea to the north.
Immigrants from the Aros tribe entered the Svealand Plain, and many immigrants lived here, naturally forming a new tribal alliance.
But they have left Denmark. Over hundreds of years, Denmark and Svealand, the two tribal alliance groups, have gradually become incompatible and their disputes have intensified. The Aros people, who live northeast of Jutland, call themselves
"Aros of the East", that is, "Ostraros".
But they had long since become different from their relatives in Jutland. The article "East" was removed, and they became Rus.
Rurik was not aware of these events, but the ancestors of Rus had a close geographical and blood relationship with the Uppsala people, the Onkras people, and even the Melalen people.
The merchants wanted to get close to Rurik, and so did Rurik.
Since everyone doing this already has a close ancestral relationship.
Rurik said: "Then let's talk about what you want to buy and the right price."
"We want to buy your crystal cup. Oh, no, it's a glass cup." said the man in the white fox hat.
"Continue to buy? Welcome."
"That's right, we hope for a better price. But we will definitely buy more."
Rurik held his chin and thought for a moment, "Discount? I can consider it. Tell me first, how much do you plan to buy?"
The five of them looked at each other, and the man in the white fox hat said: "Two, just twenty. There are five of us, and each of us will buy twenty from you. We plan to go south after we get the goods, and see if we can
Sell it well.”
The five people just purchased a hundred glasses. In fact, making these glasses does not require too complicated techniques. Even the so-called most troublesome step is actually when the blacksmith goes into the mountains to look for ore. After all, making glasses is much easier than forging steel swords.
Rurik did not reply immediately, but continued to ask: "Let's talk about the price first. From what you heard, you think the previous price of two hundred silver coins was too high. You hope I can give you a discount."
"Yes. Today, you sold a cup to your tribe for only sixty silver coins. We can all understand, but I hope that when we purchase it, the price will be at least as low as... twice as low."
"How can this be done!" Klavason suddenly spoke up, and he became more excited, "Listen, except for the steel sword and glass I have here, you may be able to buy them elsewhere, and you will only pay more.
Money. Do you know Gould's glass bottle? That thing costs three hundred silver coins! We sold you two hundred silver coins, which is already a discount."
These five merchants also respect Klavasen quite a lot, all because the blacksmiths in Ross have now begun to forge magical steel swords.
The businessmen sitting here also have their own demand for steel swords.
Rurik had a small face and gently raised his right hand to signal Klavasen not to say anything.
Seeing this, the strong Klavasen hurriedly shut up.
Rurik thought of something, but without explaining it, he said: "Twenty is too many, I can only sell ten to each of you. Also, I can give you a discount on the price." As he said,
Rurik deliberately put on a bad face of "losing money": "You think the preferential price of two hundred silver coins given to you is not good enough. So good! One hundred and fifty silver coins, I can't lower the price anymore. This is the final
Do you accept the price?"
"Accept! Accept!" The old guy with the white fox hat felt that he had really taken advantage of the price, and nodded respectfully.
But some people also asked why they only planned to sell fifty units in total.
Klavasen lightly touched Rurik's arm a few times, then leaned close to the child's ear: "Rurik, we can definitely produce more. If they want a hundred in total, then give it to them. I don't think so.
tired."
Rurik still stared intently, ignoring Klavasen's suggestion.
Seeing this, Klavason sat upright and didn't have anything to say.
Rurik continued: "If you are all willing, we will make a contract. We will make fifty ordinary glasses. As for the price, it is undoubtedly one hundred and fifty silver coins. If you have gold coins in your hands, that is
Fifteen gold coins. Listen, I actually prefer gold coins."
Yes, Rurik still prefers gold coins to silver coins.
It’s not just because of gold’s shiny and beautiful appearance, it’s also thought to be rarer. As for gold, its natural currency properties are something Rurik highly agrees with. It’s also easier to carry than silver.
Both silver and gold are good things.
Even if there is no paper, the contract still needs to be scratched on the wooden board with the tip of a knife, and then smeared with ink to confirm the contract. As a businessman, the contract is very important.
The five businessmen were so moved that they almost cried. Because Rurik wanted to make a written contract to ensure that neither party would turn their backs on each other.
The wooden board recording the contract is also a proof of the close business relationship between them in the future.
The five of them felt that they finally got a piece of the pie from the extremely wealthy Gould. Maybe they couldn't sell soap on a large scale, but they should be able to make a lot of money selling glasses.
The carving of the wooden plank contract was completed. The contract stipulated that Rurik should make all the glasses within five days. This matter is indeed not difficult, but Klavasen needs to go to the mountains and rivers to select suitable ores and river sand.
.
It was finally getting late now, and as the summer solstice was approaching, the days in Roseburg were getting longer and longer.
Another contract order of up to seventy-five pounds of silver was confirmed. Klavasen was already gearing up. He thanked Rurik in his heart and was about to stand up and start production.
However, business transactions will continue.
Of course, the financial resources of these five businessmen are not as good as Gould's. However, their skills as second-rate dealers are not small.
They also hired guards to protect themselves. Purely based on their ability to buy and sell, each of them could earn at least a thousand silver coins a year.
The most ordinary Russian fishermen probably only spend three silver coins on food per month.
In this society, the gap between the rich and the poor is so extreme, which objectively stimulates fishermen to turn into warriors, plundering the houses of hostile wealthy families, and possessing the wealthy family's life savings.
The five of them buy all kinds of Russian fur goods and other things every year, and then sell them to the tribes in the south at high prices, and even secretly sell them to the Danes to make even greater wealth.
For ten glasses and two years of net profit, they had already made a calculation for themselves. This was certainly more cost-effective than buying and selling.
In fact, even if it is still two hundred silver coins each, it is still cost-effective.
After all, that old guy Gould is a shrewd man. Three hundred silver coins for a glass bottle is the market price in the south.
So there was already a price difference of one hundred silver coins. Thanks to the favor of the future leader of the Ross tribe, the profit from the price difference soared to one hundred and fifty.
What kind of concept is this? If it is sold safely, one sales action this year will be worth the last two years!
Of course, with such precious property in their possession, they also knew that there would be people on the sea who would kill them and take away their property. Even so, taking risks was still a highly profitable action.
The five businessmen decided to take the gamble at all costs. They took their respective wooden contracts and realized that if they don't succeed, they will be successful.
Transactions are still going on.
This time, the target became Klavasen.
The man in the white fox fur hat from the Melalen tribe said: "We all plan to buy steel swords from you. But we are different from your tribe. We have always had a lot of wealth, so naturally we want to get the most.
A good sword."
"Hehehe." Klavason, who was in a good mood, smiled and said, "Okay, what kind of sword do you need?"
The five of them each began to explain their needs. The most core requirements were that the length of the sword should be 2/3 stika (about 65 centimeters), that the sword should have a bleeding groove, and that the groove should be inlaid with gold. They all requested that the sword handle should not only be hard
The oak wood should also be inlaid with some silver.
The most critical thing is the end of the hilt, where a large piece of amber must be placed.
They also had some personalized requests, which Klavasen wrote one by one on a long-used wooden board with a piece of charcoal. This was a memorandum.
"Then let's talk about the price!" Nowadays, the iron smelting industry is still a seller's market that controls the price, and Klavason has a fixed price; "A steel sword is five hundred silver coins."
"Ah?! So expensive." The white fox hat merchant was shocked, and so were the others.
Even Rurik was equally shocked.
But Klavasen claimed that such a high price was reasonable: "Do you think it is expensive? Don't ignore it. I am a blacksmith and a gemstone craftsman. What are your requirements? Processing of hardwood, inlaying of gemstones, etc.
Plate the sword with gold and silver. Remember, if you leave our Ross tribe, even if you explore to the end of the world, you will not find another craftsman with such skills!"
Rurik was secretly impressed after hearing this. After all, he was capable and spoke tough.
When they thought of owning a divine sword that was not inferior to Otto, the leader of the Ross tribe, and spending half a year's income to buy it, the five of them had an ideological struggle and expressed their approval.
It takes time to craft a sword.
In the face of these wealthy people, Klavason, in line with his professional ethics, had no intention of pretending to be "fifty steelmaking" as "twenty steelmaking" when making Hundred Steelmaking. Klawason knew that he also had to consider Liuli.
If Rurik's attitude disappoints the businessmen, it will affect Rurik's interests and cause endless harm.
An agreement on a special steel sword was also signed. It was completely different from the former. The delivery date of this agreement was postponed to the autumnal equinox, which is the day when day and night appear in the second half of the year.
For merchants, that is, they take all kinds of goods to the south and sell them all, and when they return with other goods, they can get their own magical steel swords.
They first paid a deposit of one hundred silver coins for this purpose.
They were all merchants, and Rurik did not forget the opportunity to continue trading.
Merchants want to expand the transaction volume as much as possible in the warm summer to make profits. They only earn a share of goods from Rossburg by transporting them to the south. The Ross people have also needed some southern goods since ancient times. For a long time,
The demand of the Russians is not large. Among them, the most critical imported goods are flax!
Rurik made another verbal promise to them: "You try your best to buy daily necessities in the south, especially grain and flax! You buy wheat during the harvest season in the south and ship it to us, and I will pay you twice the price.
acquisition.”
As the future leader, Rurik confirmed that he was not joking, but he did not make another written contract.
Because wheat can be grown on the Svealand Plain, but Rossburg does not have such conditions. Since oats and rye during the harvest season have not been dried, and farmers lack excellent storage technology, they are all concentrated at this time.
Section sells wheat.
But the price of wheat is stable in normal years, and its value is not high. Selling wheat is actually not as fast as making money by trading some special commodities.
For example, merchants resell the plundered foreign population. Because more labor force means strength!
Since Rurik used his own honor as a bargaining chip, the merchants were willing to do so! The double purchase price proposed by Rurik made the wheat trade really profitable even in normal years.
However, how could the merchants or even Klavasen know what Rurik had in mind.
Especially Klavason, he was waiting for the merchants to go to his house to sleep so that he could have a good talk with Rurik. He could obviously make more glasses and make a lot of money, but why was he forcibly restrained by Rurik?!