The next morning, Guo Song quickly returned to Qingxu Temple. He carried a heavy skin bag in his hand and walked all the way to his room. Gan Lei had already carefully soaked the tiger skin into a large wooden barrel.
When Gan Lei saw Guo Song come in, he quickly stepped forward and asked, "How much did it cost?"
Guo Song dumped the leather bag on the bed, and with a "crash!" dozens of silver ingots poured out.
"A total of four hundred taels. I went to four drug stores and sold them all."
Gan Lei's eyes widened and he exclaimed: "Hunting is actually so profitable?"
"It should be said that poaching makes money!"
Guo Song blinked and smiled: "The medicine shop owner said that no one has been selling tiger bones and tiger meat for many years, especially tiger bones, which are very expensive. Even hunters have a very difficult time encountering tigers. They can kill one tiger in their lifetime."
That’s incredible, so tiger meat and tiger bones have become very valuable in recent years.”
"What about the tiger skin?"
Gan Lei asked: "Is there any channel to sell it?"
Guo Song nodded, "I may have a channel. I'll go out later."
Guo Song pushed the money to Gan Lei and said, "Take this money back, quickly dispose of the shop, and then the family will come to the capital."
Gan Lei only took twenty ingots, and returned the rest to Guo Song, "Brothers must also settle the score, each of us will get half."
Guo Song burst out laughing, "Senior brother, why do you think we go hunting? I'm collecting money for you to buy a shop in the East Market, and you still give me the money."
"But......."
"Nothing but!"
Guo Song interrupted him, "Isn't it easy for me to get money? There are two white tigers and a black panther in Beiyuan! Maybe I will go to Neiyuan tonight and cut off a few pairs of deer antlers, the medicine shop owner said
Okay, give me fifty guan for a pair of deer antler, there must be at least several thousand deer in it!"
"Um...brother, I'm so embarrassed!"
"What are you embarrassed about, brother? Besides, Master has repeatedly told me to take care of you. I can't help you become an official, and it's not easy to help you make money?"
Gan Lei was moved in his heart. He had such a junior brother. How much incense had he burned in his previous life?
……….
Gan Lei rode a donkey back to Xinfeng County, and Guo Song also left the Taoist temple and came to Wubenfang.
Wubenfang was a place where the dignitaries of the imperial court gathered. There were countless wealthy and wealthy houses in it. It was difficult to see ordinary houses. There were also more than a dozen restaurants and shops along the streets in Wubenfang. The restaurants were mainly used for the business of the court officials.
Wubenfang is close to the Zhuque Gate of the Imperial City. At noon, all the officials go out to eat, and they usually come to Wubenfang. Therefore, the business of Wubenfang is very prosperous at noon every day. In the evening, the officials go to Pingkangfang.
and Xuanyangfang, but basically no longer eat at Wubenfang.
Some people may also wonder, didn’t the Tang Dynasty have two solar eclipses? Why did they still have to eat at noon?
In fact, two meals a day during a solar eclipse has always been for the people at the bottom. Before the Song Dynasty, food production was not high and food was not cheap. The people at the bottom could not afford three meals a day, so they could only eat two meals a day.
But rich people only eat two meals a day, three meals a day. Rich and powerful people eat more than three meals a day, and often have afternoon tea and midnight snacks.
It was not until the Northern Song Dynasty that Champa rice was introduced and popularized, agricultural science and technology advanced, grain output greatly increased, and food prices fell, and the people at the bottom gradually could afford to eat three meals a day, until today.
Guo Song came to a trading house that occupied a small area. A trading house generally refers to a trading caravan station. It has warehouses, accounting rooms, stewards, deacons, etc., and it mainly serves as a liaison.
Commercial banks generally occupy a small area, but their energy is not small. Many commercial banks have shops and warehouses in the East Market and West Market.
There is a sign on this trading house with the four characters "Li's Trading Company" written on it.
This is the residence of Huangshang. Li An usually lives here. Guo Song came here a few days ago, and Li An happened to be out, so he missed the opportunity.
There was a gatekeeper standing outside the gate. Guo Song walked to the steps and cupped his hands and said, "I'm looking for Uncle An. Please inform me."
"Master, do you have an appointment?"
"Uncle An asked me to come. My surname is Guo. He knows it."
"Master Guo, please wait a moment!"
The doorman went in to announce, and after a moment, Li An came out with a smile.
"Mr. Guo, I finally see you again."
Guo Song cupped his fists and said with a smile: "Uncle An, how is your health?"
"I'm in good health these days, come on! Please come into the house quickly."
Guo Song followed Li An into the business. The two of them sat down in the living room as guest and host, and a maid brought iced sour plum soup.
"The weather is too hot. Sir, please drink some iced drinks to cool off the heat."
Guo Song saw that the cup was full of small ice cubes, and he asked curiously: "Is this ice preserved in winter?"
"Exactly! Most wealthy families in Chang'an have ice cellars or ice wells, which are as indispensable as charcoal houses in winter. Look at my living room, doesn't it feel very cool?"
"It's true, I felt a cold breath when I came in."
Li An proudly knocked on the wall behind, "The middle of this wall is empty, and there is a layer of ice inside. The room is cool all day long, and so is my study, so I usually stay in the study."
"Uncle An knows how to enjoy it!"
"It's hard to talk about it, mainly because of this condition. You also know that once I go out, I will have to endure hardship."
Li An added: "I have received the letter you sent last time. I gave it to Mr. Jinyang. He is very grateful to you. With your letter, his report on the grassland will be complete."
"Young Master Jinyang must be His Royal Highness King Zhao!"
Li An chuckled, "At that time, you didn't know who the famous Jinyang Master in Chang'an was. I was also surprised. It's just that His Highness King Zhao didn't let me say more, so I didn't say it clearly, but at least you knew that he was from the royal family.
Right!"
Guo Song nodded. It didn't matter to him whether Li Jinyang summoned King Li Si, but if it was Li Shi, it might be different.
"Uncle An, do you have anything to do with me?"
"Actually, I just want to ask you, where do you live in Chang'an? What do you do for a living? Do you want me to do anything to help you? I don't like to owe others favors. Even if it is a big favor that is difficult to repay, I want to try my best to repay you."
"Uncle An, are you still collecting fur?" Guo Song pondered and asked.
Li An smiled slightly, "I'm not interested in ordinary sheepskin, but if it's White Wolf King skin, I'd be very interested."
"There is a white tiger skin. I got it from the warehouse of the Albus Department. It is a slab skin and has not been tanned yet. I am asking someone to tan it."
"White tiger skin is a rare thing! Mr. Guo really plans to sell it to me?"
Guo Song said with a smile: "It doesn't make sense to me. The main reason is that one of my senior brothers has encountered difficulties recently. I want to help him, so I want to sell the tiger skin."
Li An thought for a while and said: "I won't hide it from you. I resell these rare animal skins to the royal family. They are rich and like this kind of thing. But I don't make money from you. I help you sell them to them.
"
Guo Song was overjoyed and asked quickly: "How much can it probably be sold for?"
Li An laughed and said, "It depends on the condition. Generally, the price of a high-quality colorful tiger skin is around 1,000 guan. I have never sold a white tiger skin before. I estimate it to be much more expensive. Why don't you sell it first?"
Show me the tiger skin."
"It's still soaked in saltpeter!"
"It doesn't matter, I know the best tanner in Chang'an, let him handle it, the quality will be better."
Guo Song was right when he thought about it. Since ancient times, animal skins have been divided into three parts for skin and seven parts for tanning. Gan Lei was a wild man after all, so it would be better to find professional craftsmen to do it. Besides, Li An owed him a big favor, even if he saw it
He won't talk too much about anything.
Guo Song immediately agreed, "I'm going to transport it over now. It was soaked in saltpeter this morning."
He stood up to leave, but Li An quickly stopped him, "Don't worry, sir, I haven't finished saying anything yet!"
Guo Song sat down again and drank a few sips of sour plum juice. Li An smiled again and said, "Master, are you looking for something to do in Chang'an? I know a lot of people. Maybe I can help."
Guo Song was not polite and asked, "Can Uncle An get a shop in Dongshi?"
Li An smiled and said: "The imperial court only rents the shops in Dongshi, not for sale. You can't buy them. If you want to rent a shop, maybe I can find a way, but Dongshi is also divided into zones. What kind of business do you want to do, sir?"
"Actually, it doesn't matter, but it's best to have wine."
Li An thought for a moment and said: "If it's a fur shop, I know there is one that wants to be transferred, but I'm not familiar with wine, so I have to go and find out."
"Then please leave it to Uncle An. I'll go get the white tiger skin now."
Guo Song left in a hurry and hurried back to the Taoist temple. He stopped soaking the tiger skins in a bag and returned to the trading house.
In the yard, several boys helped unfold the tiger skin. Li An was startled. How could it be fresh tiger skin? He immediately understood that this was not brought back from the grassland. It was clearly hunted in Chang'an.
There is only one place with a white tiger in Chang'an. This boy is so bold!
Guo Song had a life-saving benevolence for Li An, and even if Li An saw it, he would not say anything. He looked carefully at the appearance, and there was not a single scar. It was perfect, as if he had been beaten to death with a stick.
Li An clicked his tongue and praised, "Good leather, this is the best appearance. Mr. Guo, let's do this! I will accept it at the price of four thousand guan first. If you lose, it will be mine. If there is more, I will replenish it for you."
"Can you sell it for four thousand guan?"
Li An laughed loudly, "Young master, you are telling me a joke. Thousands of dollars are like drizzle to the royal family. It is just the price of a piece of jewelry. I am the chief executive of the royal merchants. I don't know how much money they make?"
"How much does it cost to open a store in Dongshi?" Guo Song asked again.
"The rent is not expensive, but it also involves inventory, as well as purchasing and shipping channels. Without ten thousand dollars, you can't even think about the shops in the East Market and West Market."
Guo Song pondered for a moment and said, "I still have a black panther skin, will Uncle An take it?"