For those who had a problem with them, they would simply disappear. But since Hei Fu came in, Hei Fu did not take advantage of them. He accepted the apologies from Mai Hui and Shi Cong, but declined their gifts.
"Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, there is no need for you to say anything more. I just hope that my cousin Yan can share a piece of the honey and sugar market in the future."
The title of Heifu is the same as that of Mai Hui, but the power and authority are worlds apart. Mai Hui and Shi Cong are not stupid either. They know that they have offended the wrong people, and they recognized the situation quickly, and then they just took their leave and left...
After the two left, Heifu returned to the house, but U Thiyan did not leave, but continued to stay at the table.
But I saw that this man was in his thirties, and his clothes were no different from ordinary Qin people, but his physical appearance was slightly different: he had a high nose, high cheekbones, deep eye sockets, and a long face with a thick beard. At first glance, he did not look like Xia Zi, but looked like Xia Zi.
A Rong man.
Wushiyan is indeed a Rong people. A hundred years ago, the source of Jingshui River was the land of Rongdi outside the country. There was a Rong tribe called "Wushi" who submitted to Yiqu. Later, King Qin Huiwen defeated Yiqu and subdued the Rong.
In the thirty-sixth year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Yiqu was destroyed and Beidi County was established, and Wushi County was established in Jitoushan. The Wushi clan surrendered to Qin from then on.
Around the time when Qin Shihuang came to power, a merchant named Wushi Luo came out of Wushi County. He relied on the mules and horses he had raised for generations to carry goods and do resale trade. He first went south to Xianyang to buy silk, and then west to Zhuqiang, using
The silk was exchanged for the cattle and horses of the Rong king of the Qiang people, and then brought back to Guanzhong and sold to the Qin government. Every time they came back, they made a lot of profits.
When Qin Shihuang wanted to unify Liuhe, he needed a large number of cattle, horses and livestock, both for the unification war and for domestic farming. So the emperor asked the Shaofu to contact Wu Shiluo and let him serve as an official and businessman of the Qin State, specializing in foreign trade. For more than ten years,
Later, he exchanged a large number of horses and cattle for the Qin State, which not only ensured the smooth progress of the war, but also met the needs of Lishan Mausoleum and other projects. Since his contribution could be compared with military merit, Qin Shihuang gave him a title in the form of "bi".
As a result of your treatment, you can go to court with your ministers at four times of the year.
This edict was announced together with the conferring of a virgin title on Widow Qing. In terms of wealth, Wu Shiluo and Widow Qing were on par with each other, with a net worth of over 100 million yuan. However, in terms of status, Wushi Luo was even better.
A bargain!
The reason why Heifu reconciled with the Mai family and the Shi family was mainly to give face to the Wushi family. The Wushi family was equivalent to the foreign trade minister of Great Qin, and he could not afford to offend him.
At this moment, the disciples of the two richest men in the Qin Dynasty were sitting opposite each other, both looking at each other, half-smiling but not smiling. It was obvious that this was not the first time they had met.
When Heifu came in, he happened to hear Ba Zhong say: "Wu Jun is really well-informed, and he actually found this place."
Wu Shi Yanze said in a somewhat blunt Guanzhong dialect: "How dare you, I just didn't expect that Ba Jun and Zhonglang Hu Ling are old acquaintances, why didn't you introduce them to me? If so, this misunderstanding would never have happened."
"How did I know that Madam Mai and Madam Shi just let Wu Jun do whatever he wanted?" Ba Zhong glanced at Heifu, and there was something in his words.
When Wu Shiyan saw Hei Fu coming in, he stood up and explained to him: "Zhong Lang Hu Ling, the reason why I got acquainted with Mai and Shi is because the wild honey from Beidi County was shipped to Xianyang and was to be handed over to Shi's merchants.
For sale. In the outer areas, in addition to salt and cloth, candy can also be sold for a high price! Therefore, there is a connection with the two families."
"I heard recently that there is a novelty called brown sugar in Nan City. I was just about to come and take a look, but then I learned that there was a lawsuit. When I sent someone to inquire, I found out that the person selling brown sugar was the cousin of Zhonglang Huling.
There is a saying in the Central Plains that when it comes to merchants, peace will bring benefits to both sides, and disputes will bring disadvantages to both sides, so I took it upon myself to resolve this misunderstanding, and don't be surprised if I hope that my husband will win."
It turns out that in addition to the resale trade of silk, cattle and horses, Wu Shiluo also transported some Central Plains items needed overseas, such as salt, cloth, sugar, etc.
Heifu became interested: "Qiang people also eat malt candies?"
"Those who like caramel are Yuezhi people."
Wushi Yan had his own purpose and did not hide it. He said: "From Wushi County to the west six hundred miles to the source of the river, after crossing the river, it is the land of the Yuezhi in Hexi. The Yuezhi people are taught that their food, language and language are slightly different from those of the Qiang. It’s the same, but unlike the Qiang people who burn the land and cultivate it, the Yuezhi do not have a city to cultivate the fields all the time. They move around following water and grass, and they move along with their livestock, making mutton, meat, and cheese to satisfy their hunger and thirst.”
"The buttermilk must be marinated with salt or caramel to make it palatable. Therefore, the Rong King of Yuezhi used hundreds of cattle and horses every year to obtain thousands of kilograms of caramel from Guanzhong."
Heifu was fascinated by what he heard. He had heard about the Yuezhi, but he had never thought that the Yuezhi were still entrenched in the Hexi area, so close to the Qin State, and there was not much friction between the two sides.
The trade route opened by the Wushi brothers can be regarded as the earliest Silk Road, right?
Speaking of this, Wu Shi bluntly stated his purpose.
"I came here today. In addition to hoping that Mai and Shi can apologize to Zhonglang Huling and resolve their misunderstanding, I also hope that Zhonglang Huling can resell the brown sugar to Wushi in the future! Then Wushi will sell it to Zhuqiang. , Yuezhi goes!"
Wushi Yanwei's elder brother was based in Xianyang, purchasing goods needed by the Di and Qiang lands, and he had a vicious vision.
After he got the brown sugar, he was surprised to find that compared to semi-dried glutinous rice cakes that were difficult to preserve for a long time, those horseshoe-shaped brown sugars were dehydrated and very dry.
What's even better is that from the merchants in Nanjun who took out two thousand kilograms at a time to sell it, this product is not like honey and is difficult to mass-produce!
"If this thing can be sold to Qiang and Di lands, it will surely please the Rong kings! Brother, I can exchange it for more cattle and horses!"
Wu Shiyan was calculating profits in his mind, and Heifu was also calculating his own calculations.
“This is really a door-to-door business!”
Moreover, it was a foreign trade order sent by Wushi, the largest official businessman in the Qin State.
The Qin Dynasty suppressed small and medium-sized traders and strictly prohibited them from leaving the country. Only the Wushi government controlled the trade between Qin and the Qiang and Yuezhi, which was equivalent to the beginning of the Silk Road.
It is much more efficient to have our own products join this hugely profitable trade line and be directly wholesaled and sold by Ushi than to let a cousin who is unfamiliar with the place sell bulk brown sugar everywhere.
This is a short-term benefit. In the long term, if brown sugar travels farther and farther on the camel’s back and is sold to the Western Regions, or even to Greek countries and Rome, maybe this line will no longer be called the Silk Road in the future, but renamed sugar. Way to go!
If time goes by, sugar becomes the leading product of China's foreign trade. Who knows, two thousand years later, the British (assuming there is still Britain) will not call China "china", but "sweets!"
Although he was impatient in his heart, Hei Fu looked very calm on his face.
"Wu Jun should ask my cousin about this matter."
Heifu spread his hands, still pretending: "I am an official of the imperial court, how dare I violate the national law and do business rashly? However, I have heard that Nanjun did not produce much brown sugar this year, and only two thousand kilograms were shipped to Guanzhong. , most of them have been sold..."
"I hate you so much, I hate you so much!"
Wu Shiyan looked a little disappointed, but Hei Fu added: "But next year, the brown sugar shipped to Xianyang may double. If Wu Jun likes it, he can buy half of it."
Half of it is not bad, enough to exchange for hundreds of cattle and horses. Wu Shiyan smiled: "It's a deal!"
"I am just suggesting on behalf of my cousin that when Yan wakes up, I will ask him to visit and discuss the matter with Wu Jun in detail..."
Heifu said: "You may finalize the deed first."
Wu Shiyan happily high-fived Hei Fu and made an oath. Ba Zhong, who was standing by, heard this and couldn't help but regret it.
"What a shame, it's all my fault for being too hesitant and letting this guy take the lead!"
…
Ba Shi was also engaged in trade. In addition to cinnabar as his main business, he also ran well salt and Botong businesses, which had a certain influence in Bashu and Dongting Wuxi.
As a merchant, Ba Zhong has long noticed the trade value of brown sugar, which is dry and easy to carry. Although Bashu prefers ginger, pepper and other spicy things in terms of taste, whose child doesn't like eating sugar?
So after Wu Shiyan said goodbye, he no longer hesitated or tried to let Hei Fu owe him a favor first. He immediately bowed to Hei Fu and said, "Zhong Lang Hu Ling, I also have an unkind request!"
"Brother Ba and I, why are you so polite?"
Heifu smiled and said: "Are you going to be like Wu Shiyan, buying brown sugar from my cousin and selling it in Bashu?"
"Ba Zhong is more greedy!"
He raised his head and said with bright eyes: "To be honest with Lang Hu Ling, as early as January, when someone sold brown sugar to Ba County, my mother sent someone to Nan County to inquire about it. Although the specific method of making brown sugar is unknown, it is known that brown sugar is made of It was made by Gan Zhe, and the smoke was billowing from Yuanyuan's workshop, and someone kept bringing firewood into it, which was supposed to be the juice obtained by steaming it."
Heifu suppressed his smile. Although he knew that the method of making brown sugar was too simple to completely hide it, he didn't expect that Pap's information was so well-informed.
Ba Zhong said: "I have no other intentions. Although my mother is interested in the benefits of brown sugar, she is not willing to steal it privately, so she asked me to come to Xianyang in person and ask for the household order of Zhonglang."
"Asked me what?"
Heifu took another pot of wine and filled it for himself and Ba Zhong. He also threatened Mai Hui and Shi Gong, but if Ba Widow Qing tried to steal his business, he was helpless.
Ba Zhong bowed again and said: "Can you send craftsmen to open a workshop in the middle of Sichuan? There are many wild tadpoles in Neijiang in Shu County. My family can send Bo boys to burn the wasteland and plant them. The annual output should be far better than that of Anlu. Let's send the cavalry team again. Sell the brown sugar to Bashu and Wuxi areas, and the profit is more than one million! The money obtained is a huge profit, and Ba Shi is willing to share it with Zhonglang Huling, how about it?"
Are you here to give money again? Hei Fu was startled when he heard this. This is no less than the profit from selling wholesale brown sugar to the West. It is like sweet wine, attracting greedy mosquitoes and flies...