At Li Da's flour mill in Dafeng Town, Black Earth Province, many workers are busy producing, feeding bags of good wheat into the machine.
Along with the roar of the machine, white and soft flour came out at the exit. Bag after bag was quickly packed and then carried to the car. The car would send the flour to the train station and pass through.
The trains then transport them to the Bianzhen area further west, and are eventually sold to Europe.
"Thank you for your hard work. When you are done, I will give you mutton."
Li Da inspected his factory with a smile on his face. Originally, it was just because there was too much food at home and he couldn't sell it. Later, he changed to raising cattle, sheep and pigs.
In order to facilitate farming, this flour mill was set up to grind wheat into powder to feed pigs, cattle and sheep.
As a result, the breeding farm suffered a severe cold the winter before last, and a large number of livestock froze to death, causing heavy losses. However, the business of the flour mill has always been good.
The price of food here in Black Earth Province is very cheap, especially the price of wheat. Every household has a large amount of food stored in the warehouse that cannot be sold. If someone buys it, the price is easy to negotiate.
The price is cheap, but the quality of the wheat in Black Earth Province is very good. It is no worse than the wheat in Liaodong. It is one of the best quality wheat in Ming Dynasty.
Because Black Earth Province is close to Europe, there have been constant famines in Europe in the past two years, and grain exports have been booming. This has also made Li Da's flour mill business very good. When the machine is started, a steady stream of money flows into his pocket.
Recently, Li Da has received a huge order. Tianjin Ocean Trading Company has covered the output of Li Da's flour mill for half a year. In the next half year, no matter how much Li Da's flour mill produces, Tianjin Ocean Trading Company will provide it for free.
All collected here.
This is undoubtedly great news for Li Da. Production is running at full capacity, working day and night, in two shifts. A steady stream of wheat is turned into flour, and then shipped by train to the Tianjin Ocean Trading Company.
Place to go.
It is said that Tianjin Ocean Trading Company has placed similar orders with many flour mills and rice mills in Black Soil Province, and the quantities of grain requested are very large. It seems that all the grain is sold to Europe.
Of course, these are not things that Li Da needs to worry about now. All he needs to do now is to continue to produce more flour. The more he produces, the more money he makes.
The price offered by Tianjin Ocean Trading Company is very low, and the profit is very small, but it cannot support large quantities. As long as the quantity is large, the profits are still considerable.
"Li Da, do you still need wheat here?"
At this time, a group of people outside came over and asked with a smile.
"Yes, yes~"
When Li Day heard this, he nodded quickly and said, "Looking at them again, they are all residents of Dafeng Town. They are all acquaintances and know each other."
"Great, I was worried that you didn't want the wheat anymore, so I'll bring it over when I get back."
"Uncle Wang, let me tell you first that this money may not be paid to you until the beginning of next month, because the flour money was also paid to me at the beginning of next month."
"Okay, we are all acquaintances, so I can't trust you."
"That's right, Brother Li still can't believe it?"
"The next month's payment will be the next month's payment."
When other people heard this, they nodded and said there was no problem.
This year, Black Earth Province has had a bumper harvest of grain, and because of last year’s drought, everyone was worried about not having enough food. This year, a lot of land that had been on rotation was planted. This resulted in Black Earth Province’s grain output this year being almost twice as high as in previous normal years.
About times.
Every household has a large amount of grain piled up like a mountain, which cannot be sold. Now everyone has heard that Li Da's factory is harvesting grain on a large scale, so they came to ask.
If the grain is piled in the warehouse for a long time, it will rot, and the price of old grain will only be cheaper. If it can be sold, it will be more practical to sell it and exchange it for money.
"Okay, everyone brings the grain over and weighs it. I will write a note to everyone and I will notify everyone when the payment is due next month."
Seeing that everyone was easy to talk to, Li Da also said quickly.
There is no need to worry about the reputation of Tianjin Ocean Trading House. It has an excellent reputation. This is why Li Da is willing to do a deal. If it is another trading house, Li Da still has to think carefully or ask the other party to pay a certain deposit first.
Can.
It is impossible to say that the settlement will be done next month. When the machinery of this flour mill is started, the food consumed in a month is very huge, not a small number.
Carloads of grain are loaded onto cars, covered with tarpaulins, and taken directly to the train station in Dafeng Town. At the train station, there are now special trains specifically transporting grain, and they pass through Dafeng Town on a regular basis.
Through this grain train, trucks of flour and rice were also transported to the areas bordering Europe in Daming Heitu Province.
Houzhao City on the Baltic Sea Coast.
At this time, Houzhao City has entered the cold winter. The wind is biting, snowflakes are falling, and the land is vast.
However, south of Houzhao City, on the cement road leading to the nearest Principality of Lithuania, cars were driving south at high speed, and the cars were filled with food.
Inside the office building of the Black Tu Branch of Tianjin Ocean Trading Company in Houzhao City.
Theodore, the finance minister of the Holy Roman Empire, was discussing the purchase of grain with Xiong Shuwu, the head of the trading house here.
Charles V made a request to the Ming Empire, and the Ming Emperor expressed sympathy and support, and agreed to export grain on a large scale to the Spanish Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and Austria.
This was undoubtedly great news for the hungry Holy Roman Empire, so after receiving the reply, he immediately came to Houzhao City to discuss the purchase of grain with Tianjin Ocean Trading Company.
Tianjin Ocean Trading House is one of the few trading houses established by the Ming Dynasty to export grain to Europe, and it is also the most powerful trading house.
Grain trading is only the most common transaction of this huge trading house, and it accounts for a very small proportion.
"What?"
“It only costs 3 cents per pound, and it’s already ground flour and rice?”
Theodore was in disbelief, and even wondered whether he had heard wrongly, or whether the other party had underreported a zero.
Xiong Shuwu actually said that a pound of grain was only sold for 3 cents. This price was too low, too low, so low that it was unbelievable.
You must know that here in the Holy Roman Empire, even the price of wheat is more than 3 cents per pound, let alone the flour that has been shelled and ground into powder.
Now the people of Ming Dynasty are actually willing to sell grain to themselves at such a price, and they can get as much as they want. This is really unbelievable.
"Yes, Mr. Theodore, you heard it right, 3 cents per pound, but we only accept cash settlement."
"This is what our Emperor of the Ming Empire specifically asked and warned. Looking at the friendship between our Emperor of the Ming Empire and Emperor Charles V, we sympathize with the famine you are experiencing now and are willing to sell grain to you at the lowest price."
Xiong Shuwu smiled and nodded.
"There won't be any problem with this food, right?"
Theodore thought for a while and said, I really can't believe that there is such cheap food and such land prices. Theodore believes that the people of Ming Dynasty must not have made a penny.
Although Theodore had long heard that the Ming Dynasty's agriculture was extremely developed, with extensive use of mechanized farming techniques and models, the scale of cultivated land was huge, and the output was very large.
But no matter how large the output is, such a low price is unbelievable.
"Mr. Theodore, you are doubting the credibility and friendship of our Ming people. If there is a problem with food, you can come to me at any time!"
When Xiong Shuwu heard this, he immediately said angrily.
To be honest, this was the first time that Xiong Shuwu had received such an unprofitable business. He couldn't understand why his superiors had to do this. At the price of 3 cents, his firm really didn't make any money, or even
You might even have to pay some extra money.
But the above order is like this. Even if you think you may lose money, you still have to sell it.
However, the other party suspected that there was something wrong with the grain, which made Xiong Shuwu very angry. The gold-lettered signboard of Tianjin Ocean Trading Company was made of real money and silver, and its reputation was world-renowned. There had never been any reports of such a thing.
"I'm very sorry. I was just shocked by such a low price. I didn't doubt the friendship from the Ming Empire, nor did I doubt your firm."
Seeing that the other party was angry, Theodore also said quickly.
In my heart, I was thinking that I must check carefully when I go back and check the grains that came from the Ming Dynasty.
The business discussion was very pleasant, and Theodore soon left Houzhao City with cartloads of grain.
The people of the Ming Dynasty are very considerate in doing business. The people of the Ming Dynasty are willing to transport food to the border. The Holy Roman Empire only needs to organize its own manpower to transport food to the border.
"There is no problem. All these flours are fine flour. They are ground very finely and are of very good quality."
"There's nothing wrong with the rice, it's all good quality rice."
Back in the Holy Roman Empire, Theodore also inspected the grain shipped from the Ming Dynasty on a large scale out of doubt about the quality of the grain.
The result made Theodore even more different, because the grains sold by the Ming Dynasty people had no problems. The flour was ground very fine for you. It was all fine white flour without any impurities in it.
The rice is also good quality, every grain is intact and there are no impurities.
"The food of Ming people is too cheap!"
"Are they really so kind to help us?"
Theodore was a little dumbfounded. Even if he didn't believe it, he had to admit the fact that he had really bought good food at a very low price.
However, he always felt that the people of the Ming Dynasty would not be so foolish as to miss the opportunity to make a fortune. There is a famine in Europe now, and food is so valuable that you can make a lot of money casually.