Soon, Hu Yi followed Yao Yun's previous instructions and read out the auction rules.
"The base price of one stone of snowflake salt is one tael of gold. The one with the highest price will get it. Each increase in price will not be less than one hundred dollars. Once the price is quoted, there will be no regrets..."
When the merchants heard this, their faces showed solemn expressions.
Gold in this world is also very expensive and rare. One tael of gold can be converted into sword coins in Xidu for about a thousand sword coins (different regions have different gold and sword coins, and the final exchange amount will also fluctuate.)
Here I have to mention the currency of Zhuxia. Metal currency has completely replaced natural shell coins. In Zhuxia dynasty, there were copper shells, knife coins, shovel coins, etc.
In the Xia Dynasty and the surrounding vassal states of Xi Kingdom, sword coins were most widely used. The sword coins include large sword coins, medium sword coins, and small sword coins. 1 large sword coin = 2 medium sword coins; 1 medium sword coin = 5 small sword coins.
The purchasing power of Dao coins is very strong. Under normal circumstances, one stone of grain only costs about ten Dao coins, which means that a large Dao can buy more than ten kilograms of grain.
One tael of gold = one thousand broadsword, which can buy one hundred stones of grain, which is about 10,000 kilograms of grain, enough to feed a family for a year or two!
It can be said that the base price of one stone of snowflake refined salt and one tael of gold is not low. One stone of ordinary coarse salt only costs a hundred dollars. This base price is directly ten times that of ordinary coarse salt!
However, although the faces of the merchants were heavy, no one had any objections. Last autumn, they bought refined snowflake salt for twenty times the price of ordinary coarse salt, but no matter what, not all of them made a fortune.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Hu Yi shouted: "Start bidding!"
"We, the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, will offer one tael of gold and five hundred dollars!" Someone shouted loudly, holding a wooden sign.
"Han Jiaren, you are too petty, I will give you two taels of gold!"
When Hu Yi heard that the price suddenly exceeded last year's selling price, his face suddenly lit up and he pointed at a bearded man and said: "This brother bids two taels of gold, is there anything higher?"
Han Jia, that is, the businessman surnamed Han, blushed when he heard this. He was about to make a bid, but the bidding sounds came one after another behind him.
"The horse caravan offers two taels of gold and two hundred knives!"
"The Yue caravan offered two taels of gold and three hundred knives!"
...
The Han Jia people trembled all over and shouted loudly again: "I, the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, will bid three taels of gold!"
Suddenly the quotation was as high as 30 taels of gold, and many caravan leaders were stunned. Last year, a stone of snowflake salt was only 2 taels of gold, but now it suddenly rose to 30 taels of gold.
Of course, this hesitation only lasted for a moment, because the benefits they reaped, the price of three taels of gold in front of them was nothing.
Brother Dao from the Izumo Caravan had never quoted a price. At this time, he broke the brief tranquility.
"Izumo caravan, four taels of gold!"
When Hu Yi heard this, he trembled all over. The price increase was one tael of gold. His whole body was not worth the price.
"Forty taels of gold. The Izumo caravan offered four taels. Is there any higher price? This is snowflake salt. It is sold in limited quantities. There is no such store after this village. If you want to buy it, you have to wait until next month. Hehe, next month
Months are never that cheap!”
Huyi was so excited that he was sweating all over, and he couldn't help but recited the lines that the king taught him.
When the merchants heard this, their hearts trembled. They also understood this truth. With their sharp eyes, they had already seen the business opportunities of snowflake salt. Now is the best time to stock up on snowflake salt. If you miss it, you will have no chance.
"The Sihai Chamber of Commerce offers fifty taels of gold!"
"I'll give you five taels of gold and three hundred knives!"
...
The huge hall was full of noise, the sound of bidding was endless, and there was a lot of hustle and bustle, as if you were in a busy city.
The bald dragon in the side room smacked his lips. He is a dragon. Although he has no concept of money, he still understands the value of gold. When he heard that the price was directly quoted in gold, and the prices were more and more crazy, he was still filled with emotion:
"Are these merchants crazy? When did gold become so worthless? Your Majesty, the price now is probably fifty times that of ordinary coarse salt. It's so crazy!"
Yao Yun laughed when he heard this. The price of salt in this world is high. Because the salt produced in Xidu is sold to the people of Xidu at a low price, it doesn't matter. But when it is sold to foreign businessmen, it is different. It is ordinary coarse salt.
The price is ten times that of food.
After being transported and changed hands by merchants, the price of salt was often dozens of times higher than the price of grain in other places. This was because the local kings paid for it at par.
"Uncle Long, the price of salt has always been high. For ordinary people, coarse salt is very expensive. This snowflake salt is for the nobles. What's so strange about this price? Just wait and see, the price is still good."
It can go up!”
The bald dragon stopped arguing with Yao Yun and said arrogantly: "This snowflake salt is quite profitable. Your Majesty, you have finally done something reliable."
Yao Yun understood the bald dragon's arrogant temper. When he said it was pretty good, that meant it was very good. Yao Yun had automatically filtered the bald dragon's arrogant words into "kneeling and licking" praise.
Sure enough, not long after Yao Yun said that the quotation could go up, an astonishing figure was already heard in the main room!
"The Izumo caravan offers seven taels of gold! There is no higher price yet!"
"Gold comes seven ounces a time!"
"Gold seven or two times!"
"Gold seven or two or three times! The sale was completed. Congratulations to the Izumo caravan for the first stone of snowflake salt. Hahaha, congratulations, brother, you've made a fortune!"
Seven taels of gold!
The bald dragon and Wu Tong looked at each other, and both of them had incredible looks in their eyes. This snowflake salt is simply worth the price of gold!
No, this is clearly golden gold!
Wu Tong's whole body trembled with joy, and his gray beard floated: "Your Majesty, seven taels of gold and seven thousand knives, which is seventy times the price of ordinary coarse salt. God bless Xiguo, this is a sign of great prosperity!"
Compared to the excitement of Wu Tong and Bald Long, Yao Yun seemed very calm. It was too far-fetched to say that God would bless Xiguo and be a sign of great prosperity.
And Yao Yun is not satisfied with the price.
"Oh, only seven taels of gold!"
Wu Tong and Bald Dragon's smiles suddenly stopped.
"Your Majesty, you are not satisfied with seven taels of gold. These are seven gold cakes. One gold cake is enough to feed a family for a year or two. How many more do you want to sell?"
Yao Yun stretched out his hands and said: "At least we have to count them with two hands!"
The bald dragon shook his head: "Impossible, others are not fools, ten taels of gold and one stone of salt, you are probably going crazy because of poverty!"
Yao Yun chuckled: "The merchants are evil-minded. In some places, they can sell a stone of coarse salt for one tael of gold. This is sold to the common people. This snowflake salt is sold to the nobles."
Bald Dragon: "Can it really be sold for ten taels of gold?"
Yao Yun ignored the bald dragon and said to himself: "This is the first portion. We are just testing the water. In the future, the snowflake salt will become less and less. The merchants will definitely not be able to sit still. Maybe we can really reach the golden ten taels!"