gnovel Chapter 129 Unexpected Wealth
Chapter 129 Unexpected Wealth
Several horse-drawn carriages were parked on the dock.
Shao Shuyi, who had been waiting there, darted out, startling two martial arts masters beside a carriage who immediately drew their swords. After seeing who it was, they sheathed their swords in annoyance.
The martial arts instructors were a father and son, both surnamed Nie. The elder was named Nie Shi, and the younger was named Nie Xu. They were from Xinyang, Runing Prefecture, and were genuine martial arts practitioners from Huaixi. The father and son had met Shao Shuyi more than once and already recognized him.
Upon seeing them again, Nie Xu exclaimed, "Shao She, don't scare people! The son-in-law and his wife are in the carriage. It wouldn't be good if they bumped into each other."
Nie Shi didn't say anything, but he stared intently at Shao Shuyi and the three men behind him, Tie Niu, Liang Tai, and Wei Erdi, and felt that something was different about them, and their temperaments had changed.
"Indeed, I was being presumptuous." Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "I saw Madam Shen's carriage from afar and thought I would come over to pay my respects."
As they spoke, the carriage curtain was lifted, and Lu Zhonghe stepped out of the carriage, quietly looking at Shao Shuyi.
Shao Shuyi greeted him with a smile.
Lu Zhonghe returned the greeting, then stood beside the car, hands behind his back, eyes gazing at the sky.
Shao Shuyi observed him openly and noticed that Lu Zhonghe seemed to have gotten darker. Had he been mining recently? According to Lao Mo, Lu Zhonghe went to Guangde Road to deal with local tea merchants and officials in charge of tea administration, which was considered as contributing to the Shen family's business empire.
It seems the young heartthrob has really suffered; he's gotten so tanned. We just don't know how well he's doing.
Not long after Lu Zhonghe got out of the carriage, Madam Shen got out of the carriage with the help of her maid.
Shao Shuyi quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Madam."
Madam Shen returned the greeting and asked, "Has Mr. Shao come today to receive the boat?"
"Exactly," Shao Shuyi replied.
"Are you all alone?" Madam Shen asked.
"There's another official from the Zheng family," Shao Shuyi said, turning his head to look at a small oxcart slowly approaching. "Zisheng Gong from the Zheng family has also arrived."
Madam Shen hummed in agreement, not paying much attention.
She didn't know who "Zisheng Gong" was, and she didn't care to know. Anyway, after the fleet returned to port and the money was settled with Zheng, the matter was considered over—and there was probably no next time.
Shao Shuyi watched the oxcart getting closer and closer, utterly speechless.
Good grief, you're late. You're really putting on airs.
The oxcart slowly came to a stop about ten paces away.
Zheng Sheng, who was over thirty years old, got out of the car and first surveyed the surroundings with an air of authority. When he saw Madam Shen, his eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace to walk over, saying with a smile, "I was just telling people yesterday that Madam is beautiful and intelligent."
"Greetings, Mr. Zheng." Madam Shen bowed and interrupted Zheng Sheng, saying, "The Maritime Trade Office completed its allocation of cargo to the Chongjia ship yesterday, and unloading has begun. If you have time, you may go there to make your plans."
Zheng Sheng reluctantly withdrew his gaze from Madam Shen and smiled, "It is time to plan."
After speaking, he looked at Shao Shuyi and said, "Accountant Shao."
"Alright." Shao Shuyi didn't waste any words and went to the Shen family's warehouse with Manager Mo, the representative of the Shen family.
Lu Zhonghe looked at Zheng Sheng with displeasure, and was about to say something when Shen Niangzi took his arm and pulled him away.
In the distance, small boats ply the docks and the anchorage of the Ye family's fleet, laden with all sorts of goods.
The boatmen were all smiles.
On the way back from unloading, they would encounter familiar fellow traders and even greet them warmly. By this time, they were no longer competitors, because there was so much cargo that everyone could get a large share. Of all the months in the year, the summer and autumn were the most profitable; at other times, business was slow and there wasn't much profit to be made.
"Here we come, watch out!" The first small boat pulled alongside the embankment, and the boatman shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Li Da, whose boat is this?" the drivers waiting on the shore asked with a smile.
"The Ye family of Chongming pays promptly." Li Da's face was ruddy, and he seemed three times stronger than before. He laughed and said, "Be careful, this is a large jar."
"Oh, I know," the coachman laughed. "I spotted it immediately: crystal, glass bottle, coral tree. Wow, the Ye family really knows their stuff; they always buy the finest items."
Undoubtedly, these are valuable items, so they were transported by oxcart, with concerns that people might damage them by carrying them on their backs and shoulders, leading to regret. "There are also some less valuable items," Li Da said. "Just now I saw people moving white rattan, water rattan, lac ore (secretions of lac insects), sappanwood (from which red dye can be extracted), and even Siamese rice—all for ballast."
Merchant ships engaged in maritime trade generally require some heavy ballast; otherwise, the ship will be unstable, affecting navigation safety.
This kind of cargo includes all sorts of things, such as timber, grain, and rattan, and is frequently seen.
"I'm not going to say anything more, I'm going to start moving the goods." Seeing several servants of the Shen family walking over from not far away, the coachman immediately told the laborers to start moving the goods.
Li Da also stepped forward to help, carefully handing some precious items ashore.
Behind them, on the turbid river, the real culprits were the boats laden with agarwood, borneol, frankincense, sandalwood, pepper, myrrh, long pepper, nutmeg, and cardamom.
Sailors, boatmen, laborers, and cart drivers worked together to transport goods ashore, where they were then stored in the Shen family's warehouse under the supervision and guidance of the servants.
Inside the warehouse, Shao Shuyi, Manager Mo, and others began their busy work.
Every now and then someone would run in and loudly report what goods had been put into storage, the quantity, and even the quality.
Shao Shuyi's writing flowed like dragons and snakes; the more he wrote, the more satisfied and excited he became.
"Shao She." During a break from recording, Mo Bei picked up his teacup and asked with a smile, "I heard that you argued forcefully and managed to salvage a ten percent of the profits for the Zheng family. Is that true?"
Shao Shuyi put down his pen and laughed, "I didn't expect this matter to reach Master Mo's ears. It is true. At that time, I was young and impetuous. Fortunately, Madam Shen and Master Rongfu were magnanimous and did not hold it against me. They even gave Zheng a 10% profit."
Mo Bei clicked his tongue in amazement: "Do you know how much that 10% profit is?"
Suppressing his excitement, Shao Shuyi calmly asked, "How much?"
Mo Bei seemed to be deliberately whetting his appetite, picking up his teacup and taking a light sip.
Shao Shuyi smiled gently and waited quietly.
Mo Bei slowly put down his teacup and said, "The blueware from the Chongjia ship was transported to Srivijaya. After deducting the items damaged along the way and those given to local princes, a total of more than 10,000 ingots (converted) were sold, and all of them were bought by Arab merchants."
After General Manager Ye and his men landed, they carefully selected goods and haggled repeatedly for several months. Upon their return, I estimate they could sell over 30,000 ingots.
However, the Maritime Trade Office has been taking a rather heavy cut this year; perhaps the court is short of funds. If we don't rush to sell the remaining goods at a low price and carefully look for buyers, we should be able to get over 25,000 ingots. The 10% profit you secured is over 1,000 ingots!
Even though he was mentally prepared, Shao Shuyi still gasped.
No wonder the Yang family of Chepu donated 6,000 mu of land to Chongning Temple; those who are in the maritime trade are just that extravagant.
Compared to that, the profit margin for smuggled salt was really too thin, not to mention other businesses.
Shao Shuyi even suspected that the profits from robbery might not be as high as those from maritime trade, because "risk-free business" is not truly risk-free. Equipment, personnel, food and water, medicine, compensation, and even bribing the government all have costs, and they are not low.
More than a thousand ingots! Hey, Shao Shuyi felt a surge of pride when he thought of that number.
"Shao She, how did Zheng reward you for winning back this extra ten percent? If it's inconvenient to say, then forget it; I'm just curious," Mo Bei asked. "Master Mo is an elder who has always been kind to me, so there's nothing to hide," Shao Shuyi said. "San She promised that I would receive three-tenths of this extra ten percent. But..."
"But what?" Mo Bei pressed.
"That happened a year ago. Now that time has passed, I can't say for sure what really happened," Shao Shuyi said honestly.
Mo Bei pondered for a moment, then said, "The Zheng family still needs you, so they shouldn't go back on their word. However..."
This time it was Shao Shuyi's turn to press further: "But what?"
"If you have time, you can go to the Zheng family's old residence to 'report the good news' to Zheng Sanshe. If he makes the promise again in front of everyone, there's no reason for him to go back on his word." Mo Bei lowered his voice and instructed, "You were involved in this matter last year, and you're here to pick up the boat again this year. It's perfectly reasonable for you to go to Yantietang to report to Zheng Sanshe. If anyone tries to stop you, ignore them."
Shao Shuyi nodded slightly.
Faced with a reward worth hundreds of ingots, who would dare to stop him? It would be an act of treachery against him, and he couldn't even imagine what he would do. Even if Zheng Sanshe went back on his word, it wouldn't matter; he was willing to risk everything to disgust him.
Of course, this is only the worst-case scenario. In fact, while several hundred ingots are not a small amount for the Zheng family, it is not worth risking their family reputation and the failure of their porcelain trade.
Zheng Guozhen should already have a pretty good idea of what kind of person he is.
"Mr. Mo, what will happen to these goods?" Shao Shuyi asked. "Will you divide them into ten portions and give six to the Zheng family, or will you sell them all, deduct expenses, and give the Zheng family 60% of the profits?"
"Can the Zheng family sell it themselves?" Mo Bei asked.
Shao Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "It's a bit difficult."
In business, having goods doesn't guarantee you can sell them, because you lack sales channels.
Even if you manage to sell it, you might not get a good price because you're a newcomer to the industry, and others might take the opportunity to lower the price.
Furthermore, sales also have costs.
For example, after the Maritime Trade Office takes its share, the goods on Chongjia's ship are still worth 25,000 ingots. This does not mean that the Zheng family can get 15,000 (60%). You still have to deduct sales expenses, transportation expenses, bribery expenses and other miscellaneous expenses. If the Zheng family chooses to take 60% of the goods, they will definitely not be able to sell them for 15,000 ingots. They would be lucky to get 12,000, or even less.
Therefore, selling his share to the Shen family was the wisest and most worry-free solution, even though it might allow them to gain some advantage. Seeing Shao Shuyi deep in thought, Mo Bei smiled slightly.
The message has been delivered; the Zheng family's choice is their business. The Shen family isn't lacking in these things, so let them have their way.
In the Jiangnan region, no one can compare with the Shen family when it comes to doing business.