It wasn't until the day Huo Wuniang left that Yang made Huo Wuniang brown sugar water and asked Huo Erhuai to take it to the medical clinic that she had an idea and a way to treat Wu Youcai.
If she doesn't trade raw silk, she will trade it with Wu Youcai for cane sugar!
Sucrose costs more than 30 kilograms per kilogram, and Wu Youcai may have collected it for less. But a hundred stones of flame saltpeter can be exchanged for at most fifty shi of sucrose. If you sell it on the market, you won't be able to make much money from the price difference.
But Huo Xi remembered that in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, someone used sucrose to create white sugar.
Until the late Ming Dynasty, sugar, which was already at a bargain price, was still being competed for by foreign countries at the price of luxury goods and shipped thousands of miles back to China.
The method of practicing white sugar is actually very simple, that is, the "sugar drenching method with yellow mud water", which is introduced in "Tiangong Kaiwu".
That is to put the boiled sucrose into a clay funnel to form agglomerates, then pour the yellow mud water into the funnel to allow it to react, so that white sugar can be obtained.
This operation first appeared in Fujian, which is also a large sugar cane-producing area. It later spread throughout the Ming Dynasty and became a milestone in the history of world sugar production.
Low-cost and simple technology, supplemented by new sugar-making equipment such as the Ming Dynasty's "sugar cart", once expensive and scarce white sugar, was quickly produced.
Even in the late Ming Dynasty, white sugar had become popular in the Ming Dynasty and was already cheap, but it was still sold as a luxury product to Europe and other countries in the East and West. Tens of thousands of shi were sent to Japan every year.
Huo Xi's heart was beating violently.
Thinking about the possibility of deceiving Wu Youcai with flames and saltpeter and exchanging sucrose with him.
Thinking about how to operate it to avoid Wu Youcai's eyes and ears without exposing himself. And I'm afraid it's not enough to only burn one kind of goods.
Huo Xi carefully considered the operability of this. After practicing it on paper several times, she clapped her hands and decided to do it.
When I told Shen Qianzhong and Yang Fu about this plan, they were so shocked that their jaws almost hit the ground.
Yang Fu accepted it well and quickly came to his senses, determined to stand behind Huo Xi. But Shen Qianzhong, a merchant, felt weak when he heard that he was going to deceive the officials of the Shipping Department.
Civil Fighter? Are you too bold? You want to twist your thigh with your thin arms? Can you handle it?
And, why?
"I have a grudge against that Wu Youcai, and I must avenge it. If Shopkeeper Shen is afraid, just pretend that he doesn't know. I will inform you in advance, because I am afraid that I will take the saltpeter from the warehouse and you will ask where it went.
"
Huo Xi didn't want to explain too much. She had thought about this and must do it.
"But what's the benefit of this? Just to get a few hundred taels of silver?" Moreover, it would take a long time to sell dozens of stones of sugar, and I'm afraid that if it melts, I might not be able to get a few hundred taels of silver.
It is quite easy for Guangfeng Water to make a few hundred taels now. Is it worth taking risks?
"One is for revenge, the other is to get rid of the flames and salt in the warehouse, and the third is, of course, to make money. But I can't tell you yet, everything has to wait for experiments."
A few hundred taels of silver was not worth the risk she took. If Wu Youcai was recorded, she would not be able to appear in the capital. The gain outweighed the loss.
Shen Qianzhong was filled with doubts and had a thousand reasons why, but he could only follow the decision made by his boss.
Next, Huo Xi asked him to buy some Japanese knives from the market at a high price.
At this time, the Japanese knives were of excellent workmanship and were shipped to the Wei Dynasty because of their excellent workmanship. They were sought after by the nobles of the major aristocratic families. They were very popular. They could not be bought on the market, so they had to charge one or two from others at a high price.
There are also Japanese fans. These are easy to buy.
Huo Xi also only bought a few as models, purchased various materials for making Japanese fans, and personally sent them to Qionghua Lane. She also found a dozen women and girls who had been working with her family for a long time, were reliable and well-spoken, and made them They imitated the Japanese style fans.
No one knows how to deal with high imitations. To deal with Wu Youcai, just use high imitations.
After making two hundred Japanese fans, shopkeeper Shen received two Japanese knives at a high price of fifty taels each. Everything was ready, and Huo Xi was ready to take action.
I went to Wanxiang Tower in person, found a harp to convey the message on my behalf, and met Ping Niang. She asked Ping Niang to help make an appointment with Wu Youcai, saying that there was a businessman from Japan who wanted to discuss business with him.
Then he found the mail that his uncle Tianwai sent him a few days ago.
Zhu Ji was originally in charge of the general affairs of his grandfather's family. He was away from home all year round. It is estimated that not many people in the capital knew him. He was very loyal to his grandfather.
This time his uncle came for him, but Huo Xi only asked him to go outside with the boat to receive the goods, but he hadn't put them in the shop yet. He was a good candidate to pretend to be a Japanese merchant.
Huo Xi told him that he was very serious about deceiving Wu Youcai.
Why is it that his young lady, Ku Xixi, didn’t even leave any flesh and bones, but your sister who was your concubine ended up picking the peaches?
No. I have to vent my anger for the sake of his young lady.
Huo Xi had a good discussion with him and it went on for several days.
Finally, Pingniang came and informed her of the time to meet.
Huo Xi dressed Zhu Ji up properly as a Japanese merchant. There was not much difference in appearance between the Japanese merchants and the people from the Wei Dynasty. Dressing up was just different in the form of clothing, so it was not difficult.
Fortunately, not all men in the Japanese country shaved their heads. Otherwise, Zhu Ji would have wanted to die if he had shaved a patch in the middle of his head.
Huo Xi spoke English fluently, but she did not know the Japanese language. She only knew a few simple sentences and taught them to Zhu Ji.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Ji was gifted with languages. He could speak a few simple Japanese and English sentences better than her, which impressed her.
After everything was ready, the two of them went to Wanxiang Tower with a bunch of gifts in their hands.
In the elegant room, Ping Niang had prepared all the drinks, cakes, melons and fruits. The room was quiet and elegant.
Huo Xi followed Zhu Ji holding several boxes. When he saw Wu Youcai, Zhu Ji greeted him in Japanese. Wu Youcai nodded with a smile and looked him up and down.
Huo Xi introduced her role. She only said that she was from Thirty-Six Lines and helped build a bridge between the two parties.
The Thirty-Six Coastal Banks, also known as Yahang in maritime trade, are the middlemen. They help bring together domestic and foreign businessmen, facilitate their transactions, and draw commissions from them.
These thirty-six lines are said to have a court background and were approved by the court.
So Wu Youcai looked at Huo Xi and didn't understand why he sent a boy with no hair at all. Huo Xi calmed him down with fluent words.
I bet this kid has something in his belly.
Not only was Wu Youcai dumbfounded, but Ping Niang's hand in pouring the tea stopped, and the tea almost spilled onto the table.
"These are given to you by my noble lord."
Huo Xi gave Pingniang two Japanese fans and a set of jewelry from the Wei Dynasty, and gave Wu Youcai two boxes: "This is a small gift prepared by your master for Lord Wu."
They are two beautifully crafted Japanese knives and several Japanese fans.
Wu Youcai had just entered the Shishi Shipping Department and had received a lot of gifts from domestic merchants. This was the first time he received gifts from foreign merchants. He picked up the Japanese knives and Japanese fans to play with with great interest.
Wu Youcai was very satisfied, put down his things, glanced at Huo Xi, and looked at Zhu Ji: "Where is your agreement?"
There will be another chapter in the afternoon. Thank you all for your tips, votes, and all kinds of support. Thank you very much.
