These three hundred pieces of cotton cloth were already priced at four yuan a piece from the weaver, and the cloth shops in Beijing were selling them for more than six yuan.
She found someone to take her to Huai'an along the way, and also offered favors and extra money, as well as borrowing money from other places.
The boatman whom she had promised to help carry the cargo would have paid her thirty cents a day per boat, which was nearly one cent in three days.
Now the other party offers five yuan, and she can't even get back her hard-earned money.
Huo Xi shook his head.
Lu Shun glanced at her, stretched out a palm with one hand, and made a two-hand gesture with the other hand.
Huo Xi still shook his head, and then simply made a six sign to the other party and stretched out his palm.
Lu Shun laughed.
Whose child is this? How dare you let such an old child come out to discuss business? Look at this sophisticated look.
He smiled and shook his head at Huo Xi.
Huo Xi pursed her lips.
Collecting four cents, selling three hundred pieces of cloth for six cents and five cents, she could earn seventy-five taels. But the other party did not agree.
"Afraid of not being able to communicate well?"
Huo Xi shook his head.
With a grimace: "It was hard work for us to transport it all the way. Our ships were recruited along the way without any payment, and our cabins were dismantled, and we had to spend money to repair the cabins when we returned. We can fit a lot into one ship."
It’s not much, my family still has to ask for favors and money to find someone to help bring it over. After paying the grain, we still need to take the empty boat back.”
Lu Shun was silent. He sympathized with the plight of the fishermen, but he was a businessman and wanted to make money. Business is not charity.
"You can buy some goods from the north and bring them back to the south to sell them. Such as leather goods from the north, ginseng from Liaoning, preserved fruits, and local products from Huai'an."
"We don't have that much money."
Lu Shun choked.
Seeing the child wrapping up the cloth samples in a somewhat discouraged manner, she thought of her grandson again. She stopped her, turned her palms over and said, "At most, I'll give you this price."
Five cents and five cents? Three hundred pieces of cloth, so she can only earn forty-five taels.
Huo Xi was a little dissatisfied.
"If you go to Jiangnan to sell cloth, the price will be more than this if you add taxes. There are also tolls along the way."
Lu Shun raised his eyebrows, this kid still knows about tax rates?
He looked at her, thought again, and made the sign of six again.
Huo Xi frowned.
Lu said by the way: "You are right when you say that when I go to Jiangnan to sell cloth, there will be tax rates and disposal fees. But I want to collect cotton cloth at Huai'an Wharf at this price, and there is no shortage of cloth sources."
"I may not be the highest bidder, but I can eat up your cloth at once, saving you the trouble of selling it in batches. If you sell out the cloth earlier, you can get money to find some goods from the north to take back, and you can make more
Make a fortune."
Huo Xi gritted his teeth and glanced at him.
This man's features were pure and fair, so she was lucky to meet him as soon as she arrived. Otherwise, if she met those cunning people, she would have been more difficult to deal with, wasting more time and effort.
Then he nodded.
"Okay. That's the price. Can you pick it up on our ship? We don't have trucks to transport the goods."
Lu Shun smiled: "Okay, do you want me to go after dark?"
Huo Xi nodded happily: "Yes. If you can go after dark, I will be very grateful to you. I will always remember your kindness."
Although they are allowed to be brought in by fishermen, it is not good to make too much fanfare.
If the other party is willing to pick up the goods in person and can wait until dark, that would be great. He is simply a good person.
Lu Shun laughed loudly, it didn't matter whether he remembered him or not, this guy was really interesting.
After the two reached an agreement, Huo Xi informed him of her ship number and received a deposit of five taels from the other party.
The two broke up.
Lu Shun watched the boy named Huo Xi and his companions leave briskly, with smiles in his eyes.
This kid is only seven or eight years old, so he is so experienced in business. What was he doing when he was seven or eight years old?
Sure enough, a hero comes from a young age. He should not be underestimated. After clicking his tongue a few times, he went back with his hands behind his back to prepare a cart to transport goods.
"Huo Xi, did you sell all the cloth? How much did it cost? How much did you earn?" Qian Xiaoxia asked repeatedly.
Yang Fu patted him: "How much money have I made? Why should I tell you!"
"Ask what's wrong?"
"Then I ask how much money your family has, will you tell me?"
"Why don't you want to? My family..." After a pause, he frowned, "Why should I tell you?"
Yang Fu glanced at him sideways, "Even if you want to say it, you don't know the inside story. Can your mother tell you how much money your family has?"
Qian Xiaoxia choked.
Zou Sheng and Ma Xiang saw that they were quarreling all the way, and then they came together and whispered, shaking their heads and smiling.
"When I get the money and when we go back, I'll invite you to find a restaurant on the pier and have a good meal," Huo Xi said.
"Really?" Upon hearing this, Qian Xiaoxia hurried over to confirm.
"Really. Let's go see what good things there are and write them down for my family. I'll discuss them with my family when I go back and come over to buy them tomorrow."
"What if we finish delivering all the food tomorrow?"
"It's over once the exchange is over. Wouldn't it be easier?"
"Then they will also drive us away."
Huo Xi was stunned and shook his head: "No, I remember that during the previous dynasty, when the grain was transported to the destination, there was a rule that the time from arrival to departure could not exceed ten days. We may not be able to unload the grain tomorrow. We won't even have our feet on this trip.
We don’t have any money, so they can’t drive us away as soon as they unload the food.”
Nowadays, unloading grain relies solely on manpower. It requires porters to move bags one by one to the dock and inspect them, but it is not that fast.
"Did the escort officer tell you?" Qian Xiaoxia and others asked.
Huo Xi shook his head: "No, I forgot to ask. I'll ask again in the evening."
The five of us were relieved. We walked all the way and looked at the stalls selling goods. When we met people we didn't know, they were very interested and went up to check them out and inquire about prices.
Huo Xi sold out three hundred bolts of cotton cloth and settled a matter on his mind. But he still had fifty-three bolts of silk cloth in his bilge, which was the bulk.
If you want to sell it at a high price, you may not be able to. There are many people who know the goods.
But the goods are good. They cannot be rated as high-end, but they can still be rated as high-end or medium-high. The Huo Zhong family’s shop makes high-quality goods, and the dyeing colors are also very high-end. Someone will know the goods.
You need to find someone who knows the stuff.
Huo Xi took silk samples all the way to cloth merchants to sell them.
It was just that it was getting dark and he hadn't found his next home yet. Yang Fu couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
Huo Xi comforted him: "It's okay, we still have time. Let's go ashore early tomorrow and ask about the shops on the pier. Maybe we can meet some regular buyers there."
Seeing Huo Xi selling the three hundred pieces of cotton cloth at home easily, Yang Fu felt that he was useless and could not help.
Xi'er has been making money for the family, and he also wants to help the family.
It was getting dark soon, so Qian Xiaoxia asked her, "Aren't you going to go back and cook dinner for the escort officer?"
Huo Xi tilted her head and looked at him: "We have arrived at the dock, and they still eat the simple food made by my family?"
Yang Fu was dissatisfied when he heard this, "What's so shabby? There are chickens, ducks, vegetables, white rice, and river delicacies."
"Uncle, don't worry. They have all arrived at their destination. They will go ashore to live in the evening. There will be people to treat them with good food and drinks. There is no need to buy food from us."
"Really? You didn't ask them."
"I don't even need to ask, I just know."
No need to ask? How can a cat not be greedy for fish? It should have gone ashore long ago for a drink.