Chapter 22: A Big Bucket of Gold

  It's just that Lin Han and his group came with a condescending attitude towards the Rich Inn, thinking it was beneath them. The Lin family is not a well-known merchant in Chang'an, but they do business under the emperor's feet and have many connections. To be honest, they didn't think much of the small Rich Inn. If they hadn't come to Jianzhou to buy autumn tea and ended up empty-handed, they would have returned home with nothing. However, after hearing that the Rich Inn in Jian'an had a kind of magical powder that made meat stews and soups incredibly delicious, they decided to try their luck and see if they could buy some to sell back in Chang'an, so as not to return empty-handed. They also brought Lin Xuan along, hoping to use his younger brother Lin Ming's influence as the head accountant in Jian'an to negotiate a lower price. Before coming, he had already inquired about the price of the powder and found out that it was not cheap - one catty cost five coins, which is even more expensive than a dou of rice. Although they knew the powder was probably something like mung bean starch, no matter how hard they tried to gather information, the Rich Inn seemed to have anticipated this and had taken precautions. The garden where the powder was produced was surrounded by high walls, with fierce dogs patrolling outside, making it impossible for them to get close. Even the guards around the perimeter had been bribed, but they still couldn't find a way to sneak into the garden and see what was being grown inside.

  Now, after being stirred up by Wang Kuang, their mentality has undergone a subtle change. Observing them, Sun Mingqian is polite to him, but clearly doesn't take the business that's being offered on a silver platter seriously. It seems that this business isn't even as important to Sun Mingqian as that little scoundrel Wang Kuang. As soon as Wang Kuang makes a move, Sun Mingqian's attention is completely drawn to him. What exactly is it about Wang Kuang that makes Sun Mingqian so fond of him? Lin Han couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought. Just by looking at the attitude of the people in the inn towards Wang Kuang, you can tell that his status in the inn is not ordinary. It seems that winning over Wang Kuang is key; if we can gain his favor, then the business will naturally be easy to discuss.

  It's said that no business can be done without deceit, and Lin Han has also been rolling around in the business world for over a decade. After some careful consideration, he had an idea. He decided to first improve his relationship with Wang Kuang before discussing business. However, this time he accidentally stumbled upon something. To say that during this period of time at Fuchai Inn, as long as it wasn't related to the matter of Sun Mingqian's injury, Wang Kuang could directly take charge. But this was a secret agreement between only Sun Zhu and Sun Mingqian, unknown to outsiders.

  Lin Han had an idea in his mind, so he turned his head and whispered a few words to Gou 19. After listening, Gou 19's face was full of surprise and uncertainty: Why did the master also value this Wang Kuang so much? Could it be that he admired his kung fu skills? But after all, he was just an eleven or twelve-year-old boy. He didn't dare say anything out loud, but instead beckoned a guard to come over and gave him some instructions. The guard then rushed out the door.

  Now that things have come to this, Lin Han is no longer in a hurry to explain his intentions to Sun Mingqian. He just chatted with Sun Mingqian about some trivial matters they had seen and heard on the way from Chang'an. As for Sun Mingqian, he was actually very clever and had already guessed Lin Han's intentions, but since Lin Han didn't mention it, he didn't say anything either. Besides, what Lin Han was saying was exactly what Wang Kuang liked to hear, so let him continue talking. On the other hand, the young lady of the Lin family was still puzzled, wondering how Wang Kuang had broken his chopsticks.

  It wasn't long before the guard brought back a package and handed it to Gu Shi Jiu, who then passed it on to Lin Han. Only then did Lin Han take up the topic and say to Sun Ming: "I came from Chang'an with nothing much, only bringing some xuan paper, originally prepared for my nephew, but he can't use that many, so I'll just give some to you as a gift for Wang Jia's young master's entry into school. It's not a worthy gift, please accept it with a smile."

  This gift is not light, a piece of Xuan paper now in Jian'an can sell for more than ten cents, which is equivalent to the monthly rice money of an ordinary family. Even in later generations, Xuan paper was not cheap. Wang Kuang still remembered that when he left home to attend junior high school in the county town, his monthly living expenses were only ten yuan, and at that time, a piece of Xuan paper would sell for one yuan. The price of Xuan paper did not decrease until the 1990s relative to ordinary people's income. At that time, Wang Kuang occasionally bought whole sheets of Xuan paper when he encountered art classes, cut them into small pieces and sold them to his classmates to make some extra money. For this, his class teacher even wrote a letter to inform his parents, saying that he was exploiting his classmates. In the 1980s, the term "exploitation" was still very sensitive, as a result, Wang Kuang was ridiculed by his classmates for several months. Now thinking about it, Wang Kuang is still angry, and his business mind was strangled in its infancy. The Xuan paper given by Lin Han now, that's one hundred sheets, which is equivalent to one yuan. Moreover, in Jian'an, Xuan paper is not something you can buy just because you have money, usually, you need to go to Huainan to buy it, so this gift is indeed not light.

  Wang Juan wanted to decline, but thinking about it, according to Mr. Liu, Wang Qian has already started writing some small articles, which is exactly when paper is needed, and sometimes when encountering good books, a copy needs to be copied, books in Jian'an are still scarce, according to Wang Juan's guess, the total number of existing books in Jian'an may not even reach 100 volumes, far less than the amount of books that can be easily collected by an ordinary family in later generations.

  Sun Mingqian naturally had to take charge himself, and since the gift had already been sent, he couldn't pretend anymore. He thanked him and said: "So thank you for that. If I'm not mistaken, Lin Daren has come this time for the sake of friendship powder?"

  It's indeed a good move, this gift is sent to achieve immediate results. A knife paper in Chang'an is still a bit embarrassing as a gift, but in Jian'an, look, once it's sent out, Sun San won't bother himself with trivial matters anymore. It's still an uncivilized place. Lin Han was delighted, it seems he found the right person. This time, no matter what, he must make some extra money, and if the friend powder he bought back can be sold at a good price, then there will be another way to make money in the future. Tea is not easy to do, and the Lin family in Chang'an is not a powerful family, it's impossible to compete with those few families. Since Sun Mingqian no longer hides from himself, he can speak directly now.

  "It's just for this, I heard that now this friend powder is only available in the Guizhou shop, and it hasn't been seen in Xiangnan and Guanzhong areas yet. Someone wants to buy some back to Chang'an to see if they can open up a sales route."

  "Since that's the case..." Sun Ming hesitated for a moment, then turned to Wang Kuang who was standing on one side and said: "Big Brother, this gift is given to you. You've accepted someone else's gift, so now it's up to you to come up with an idea."

  If they can take this opportunity to get in touch with the Lin family, it will also be a great help to Wang Kuang's future prospects. Sun Mingqian understood this point and Lin Han's gift of rice paper gave him an excuse to push Wang Kuang to the forefront, making everything seem legitimate and avoiding any mistakes. Whether the Sun family can further prosper in the future depends on Wang Kuang now.

  Seeing Sun Mingqian push the matter to Wang Kuang, Lin Han was even more convinced of his judgment. This Wang Kuang was indeed an important figure, and for a small favor, he could entrust him with the decision-making power of an important business deal. It seemed that Sun Mingqian had intentionally cultivated him. This child must have something extraordinary about him; otherwise, Sun Mingqian would not have neglected his own son to cultivate Wang Kuang.

  Wang Kuang did not decline, and from all the details that had just occurred, he found that Lin Ming, the chief clerk of Jian'an, was still very capable, and the Lin family in Chang'an must not be a big family, otherwise Lin Ming would not have come to Jian'an as a small clerk. Now that he lacked a powerful backer, if he could establish a connection with the Lin family this time, he could use his own experience to help Lin Ming out and gain more political achievements, cultivating him into his own powerful backer, which was also a viable path. In this way, there would be at least ten or eight years of time to slowly cultivate Wang Xian, and only when Wang Xian had grown up would he be the most reliable backer. Before that, if Lin's help allowed the Lin family to grow, this ally who grew together was still reliable.

  "With this thought in mind, he had an idea and said: 'First of all, I would like to thank Lin Langjun for his generous gift. I don't know if the Lin family is buying this friend powder as a regular purchase or if they want to go further?'"

  "Oh, what's going on?" Lin Han was quite puzzled. Since the days of Shang Zhou, weren't all merchants just buying goods in one place and selling them in another? What's this "furthermore" about? If there really is something further, it would be the Lin family producing the powder themselves, but that's impossible. Would the Rich Guest House give up the goose that lays golden eggs?

  "It's like this, apart from the usual purchasing, we can also exclusively buy out the sales rights for a particular region. In other words, in the future, apart from Lin's family, we will no longer supply goods to anyone else in that place. Moreover, I think Mr. Lin must also know that although the price of Youfen is high, it's still incomparable to tea leaves and other goods. The transportation cost for one kilogram of Youfen from Jian'an to Chang'an is probably not cheap either."

  "Exclusive sale? This idea is not bad. As for the freight, it's also a difficult problem. From Jian'an to Chang'an, the journey is thousands of miles away, and the freight for one kilogram would be five or six cents. If we encounter bad weather, it might cost more than ten cents." Lin Han was somewhat puzzled, "What does this have to do with the freight? Even if the freight is high, I can just sell it at a higher price. Since it's an exclusive sale, as long as your friend powder is truly good, there's no need to worry." This statement also makes sense. Take ordinary salt for example, in coastal areas where salt is produced, one kilogram of salt only costs three to five cents, but in Chang'an, it would cost more than ten cents. And salt is afraid of moisture, unlike this friend powder, which I've heard is not very afraid of moisture. If it gets damp, just drying it in time won't have any impact."

  "So the little one can rest assured, but if it's exclusive sales, the price of Youpin might be even higher." Wang Kuang's words made Sun Ming jump in fright: Little ancestor, you're still raising prices? What a waste of such a good opportunity. He secretly sighed, got it, no deal, this business that was delivered to their doorstep is probably going to fall through.

  Lin Han's face also darkened, and he wondered if his knife had been given away for nothing. He had never seen a situation where the more you buy, the higher the price, and he couldn't help but ask what kind of business this was. Just as he was about to speak up, Wang Kuang explained: "Since it's an exclusive sale, for example, if Lin Langjun takes down the exclusive sales rights in Chang'an, then from now on, even our Fuli Inn can't sell there anymore. The selling price is naturally determined by you, and we Fuli will lose a sales channel, so the price must be higher. But if Lin Langjun doesn't take down the exclusive sales rights, then we Fuli can still open a store in Chang'an and supply goods to other merchants. If you take down the exclusive sales rights, our Fuli Inn will only sell at retail prices from now on, which is naturally much higher than the wholesale price. This way, Lin Langjun doesn't have to worry about merchants buying at retail and reselling in Chang'an." The implication was that if Lin Langjun didn't pay a high price for the exclusive sales rights, then Fuli would go to Chang'an and compete with him, and he wouldn't be able to win. Although he had ideas of cultivating his relationship with the Lin family, he didn't want to fawn over them intentionally, or else he would always be at a disadvantage in future dealings. Allies should have an equal relationship, and besides, even close brothers were clear about their accounts. He and the Lin family hadn't reached an agreement yet, so there was no need to go easy on them - if he needed to make a ruthless move, he still had to do it.

  "Wow, Sun Sanlang, this nephew of yours is really a good hand at doing business!" Lin Han almost didn't need to think about it, Wang Kuang just said it and he understood the pros and cons, secretly admiring him in his heart. He gave Wang Kuang a thumbs up and turned to say to Sun Ming:

  "So, how did he get the exclusive sales rights for Chang'an City and the two provinces of Jing and Ji? Was it just a matter of price?"

  "This Lin Langjun rest assured, we currently sell to other merchants at a price of five cents per catty, from now on, we only retail, the price will not be lower than eight cents. The exclusive selling price for you is six cents per catty, how about that?" Six cents and eight cents, the difference in price between these two, can at least guarantee that the Lin family will make a profit without losing money in Chang'an. Can others who buy at eight cents per catty sell it in Chang'an? Can they compete with the cost of six cents per catty?

  "That's very good, then it's settled. However, I don't plan to buy too much this time, we need to test the market first. Let's start with 500 catties for now. If they sell well, I'll immediately send someone to make a large purchase."

  "Heh heh, let me tell you the truth, Lin Lang Jun. If you want to buy more this year, I'm afraid we won't be able to provide it. This friend powder only started being produced two years ago, and last year we only managed to produce less than a thousand catties. If you need a large quantity, you might have to wait until next year. Next year's production should be around several thousand catties, right, Uncle?"

  "Yes, yes, yes, next year will definitely be a sufficient supply." Sun Ming understood that Wang Kuang was hinting that he would have to increase the amount of sweet potatoes planted again next year. It seemed that he had to hurry up and buy some land, take advantage of the current winter slack season, quickly surround them all, and also add more manpower. Fortunately, there were still enough laborers on his own farm outside the city, who were all reliable people who had followed the Sun family for several generations.

  During the Tang Dynasty, businessmen relied on verbal agreements when discussing business. Most merchants also attached great importance to keeping promises. If this promise is not kept, who will dare to do business with you in the future? After finishing their conversation, Lin Han sat for a while before standing up and bidding farewell. The matter of purchasing would naturally be handled by Gu Tianjiu tomorrow. Lin's younger sister was still deep in thought, mechanically walking away with her older brother until they were about to reach the door when she suddenly came back to herself, turned around, and shouted at Wang Kuang: "I know! I know! You're using your fingers, right? Right?"

  Wang Kuang's eyes were full of praise and he nodded his head.

  Division -

  This typing is not hard work, the hard work is thinking and arranging the plot, sometimes it takes half a day to come up with something, I admire those gods who can write tens of thousands of words a day.

  It is still recommended to collect and support, your support is the motivation of gray sparrow.