Chapter 102: The Management of Maritime Merchants (Part 3)
Huo Chong had originally planned to stay in Jinan for two or three days before leaving, but unexpectedly, Boss Zhang of Hongshengzhai insisted on keeping him for five days. There were several merchants in Jinan who were very interested in Huo Chong's candy, and it was already troublesome enough to discuss business with these people. Boss Zhang even asked Huo Chong to stay for two more days, as some merchants from other places would probably come here, and they would be more interested in Huo Chong's candy.
Huo Chong had no choice but to stay for two more days. When the foreign merchants with Shanxi accents arrived here, Huo Chong was a little surprised. Shanxi merchants can travel from Beijing to Shanxi via the roads of the Eight Jings of Taihang Mountains, and it is not uncommon to see Shanxi people in Beijing.
But Huo Chong's candies were actually sold in Shanxi, which was unusual. I don't know what price these Shanxi merchants should sell their candies at to cover their costs.
Unlike the merchants of this era, Huo Chong did not like to be mysterious. So during the conversation, Huo Chong directly asked the Shanxi-accented merchant where he wanted to sell the candy. The Shanxi merchants immediately looked unhappy, and the younger one asked Huo Chong what he meant.
Huo Chong told the other party about his considerations on transportation costs, and when the other party understood, Huo Chong frankly expressed his curiosity. Shanxi local noodles are very good, and no matter how good Huo Chong's candy is, if the price is too high, it is afraid that it will not sell well in the local market.
Hearing Huo Chong's words, the young Shanxi merchant looked even more unhappy. But the older Shanxi merchant was able to keep his composure. He asked, "Master Huo, are you looking down on us?"
"It's not that I look down on you. I'm just timid, and I think if you guys can't make money, I won't have a good life either. In that case, I might as well say it directly. I think the best way to do business is to let everyone make money."
The Shanxi businessman was stunned. After a moment, the older Shanxi businessman suddenly smiled and said, "Mr. Huo is really a... down-to-earth person. He even thinks about them. But it's hard work, Mr. Huo."
Huo Chong was so angry that he could only laugh dryly. He lost confidence in these Shanxi merchants.
Boss Zhang of Hongshengzhai quickly tried to smooth things over, "Mr. Huo also has good intentions..."
"Shopkeeper Zhang, I've never seen Mr. Huo speak like this before, and I was just frightened for a moment. Mr. Huo didn't mean any harm by saying this." The Shanxi merchant comforted Boss Zhang, and then turned to Huo Chong, "Mr. Huo, I'm just selling this candy to the capital. Mr. Huo happened to be here, so I wanted to ask, this candy is so sour, will it make people sick if eaten?"
Huo Chong looked at Boss Zhang, and recalled the same question Boss Zhang had asked before. What kind of person did these people sell to? They were so cautious. However, Huo Chong cared about his life very much, and answered decisively: "If you eat too much of anything, it will cause trouble. If you eat one pill every two days, it won't cause any trouble. Even if you have a bad stomach, just don't eat it. I don't know why you guys ask this?"
The Shanxi merchants looked at each other for a moment, and it seemed that they were also considering whether they should tell the truth. Finally, the oldest one spoke up, "I won't hide it from Master Huo. Some people in the palace like to eat Master Huo's sour candies. I bought some. I heard some imperial doctors say something unpleasant. They said that Master Huo's candies are too cold in nature, and eating too much is not good."
Huo Chong finally understood what was going on. In theory, this sweet and sour candy does suit the taste of many people, but if it is too sour, it will increase the concentration of stomach acid, which may cause some discomfort. Since this group of people said so, Huo Chong replied: "If you are worried, why not not sell it to the palace?"
The merchants were silent for a moment, and finally sighed: "The palace must buy it, and we can't say we don't have it. To be honest with Master Huo, when we are thirsty after walking a long way, we will also hold a piece of Master Huo's sour candy in our mouths, which can quench our thirst and stimulate our saliva. We are just afraid of something going wrong. If something goes wrong, we can't afford it."
Huo Chong had considered this possibility a long time ago, and suddenly felt that modern life was great. If it were modern life, the content of various ingredients in candy would be regulated. If something went wrong, there would be a testing department responsible for testing. However, there was no such "authoritative agency" in this era. As long as something went wrong in the palace, they could find excuses everywhere. It was really difficult to deal with.
A group of businessmen including Huo Chong were unable to come to any conclusion in the end. Everyone knew that they were just small businessmen. If they were really powerful, who would come to do business? Since there was no result, everyone could only choose to continue doing business.
The merchants who sold candy to the capital bargained with Huo Chong, and after some negotiation, they proposed a purchase quantity. Even Huo Chong was surprised by the total quantity of 50,000 kilograms.
In fact, 50,000 catties is not a lot. The population of Beijing at that time was at least several hundred thousand, and with the floating population, it should be around one million. Even if one person only bought half a catty, it would be 500,000 catties. Candy is not something that can be stored for a long time. At the price , it is not uncommon for Beijing to consume 100,000 catties a year.
However, in this era, with 50,000 kilograms of candy a year, the sales amount was also calculated in thousands of taels of silver. Huo Chong had gained control of another source of income. Could such sales really have a good result? Huo Chong became even less confident.
But Huo Chong had to make some money, so he reached an agreement with the businessmen. After settling all these matters, Huo Chong returned to the Zibo County headquarters. Just as he arranged the production tasks, he received news from Mouping County. There was harassment again. Some people started to sabotage and even attacked Huo Chong's employees.
The person in charge of Mouping County has reported to the police, hoping to take the initiative and gain an advantage in future conflicts. The local person in charge has put more effort into investigating who did it. The main target is undoubtedly Li Daoqiong, the Sea Dragon King of Mouping County.
Although the decision to kill Li Daoqiong was not made directly, the emotions of the person in charge there were also quite intense. He requested Huo Chong to send skilled personnel to Muping County to "solve the problem."
Huo Chong actually intended to severely punish the Dragon King of the Sea, Li Daoqiong. But he was a white man after all, and if he was more ruthless than the underworld, it would be bad if he was caught. More importantly, Huo Chong himself had not had time to build a strong department.
For so long, the platform has been very careful in selecting people. The young people who joined Huo Chong were not bad boys, but good boys from decent families. If they were to let these people kill people, there must be a reason to do so.
If Li Daoqiong was caught by Huo Chong's men, he would be beaten up and forced to swear that he would never do anything to Huo Chong again. This was inevitable. But Huo Chong's men would not kill people. It was one thing to shout about killing people in anger, and it was also possible to kill people on impulse. But among Huo Chong's men, there was no one who regarded killing as a means.
When Huo Chong was thinking about establishing such a force, he was also a little nervous. This kind of people are like beasts, and once they are trained, they may not be able to avoid backlash.
Finally, Huo Chong sent a message to Mouping County. Continue to use legitimate means to catch the troublemakers. Huo Chong is taking care of the future.
After sending the message, Huo Chong even began to consider whether he should attend the "Maritime Merchants Conference" that Feng Yukuan mentioned. Those people are real gangsters. At least they have gangster characteristics. It may be necessary to see what the real gangsters are like.
