Chapter 2: The Wind Rises from Zhongshan Mountain Chapter 51 I'm really stupid, really
Zhao Hao and Tang Youde got on the carriage and prepared to enter the city from Qingliang Gate.
"Sir, what price should we pay for the silk?"
In the carriage, Fatty Tang asked with a smirk on his face.
He could fully imagine what kind of mood and expression Liu Yuanwai, who had hoarded more than 100,000 kilograms of raw silk, would have at this moment.
"What does the contract say?" Zhao Hao asked back. He had been so busy accompanying his child to take the exam that he had forgotten all the details.
"September 18th ." Fatty Tang knew it by heart.
"Yes, this is the day I picked specially." Zhao Hao slapped his forehead and smiled suddenly: "There are still more than 20 days left, why rush?"
"That's right, why are you in such a hurry?" Fatty Tang agreed with him and nodded, saying with a smile, "We don't know how low the silk price will drop to in more than 20 days!"
"Anyway, we are not the ones who are anxious now." Zhao Hao said with a look of wanting a beating: "I guess Mr. Liu has been looking for us all over the city."
"Of course, he couldn't sit still until the silk price went up." Tang Youde agreed and said, "Why isn't he looking for us like crazy now?"
"I plan to go to Xiaocang Mountain to escape the summer heat. If he comes looking for you, you can push the matter onto me."
Zhao Hao looked at Xiaocang Mountain not far away and thought to himself that this was a really good place. It was so close to Qingliangmen and Jiangdong Wharf, and it was a good place for me to build a grand hall.
"If he comes to me, just say you don't know. Anyway, I won't show up before the deadline."
"All is up to you, sir." Tang Youde was naturally delighted as he saw that he was about to make a fortune again.
…
Some are happy while others are sad; some are laughing while others are crying.
Two days later, in the waterside pavilion of Suzhou Guild Hall, Mr. Liu had smashed everything that could be smashed.
After the rage, there is endless regret and pain.
Mr. Liu sat slumped in the armchair, staring blankly at the jagged rockery outside the water pavilion, wishing he could ram into it headfirst.
"I'm so stupid, really. Knowing that Lord Xu is the backer of those people, how could I believe that the price of silk would go up..."
"I'm so stupid, really. I knew that guy had bad intentions, so how could I agree to borrow silk and return it..."
He muttered to himself, and every time he spoke he slapped himself, leaving half of his face swollen.
All the court officials were silent, standing outside the pavilion with their heads down, and no one dared to speak out to persuade him...
The loss of the boss this time was too great. Hundreds of thousands of kilograms of silk were left in the warehouse and could not be sold. In just a few days, the loss was already 50,000 taels.
What’s even more frightening is that in the panic, all rationality and gentlemanly agreements no longer exist. All chambers of commerce are frantically selling, but no one is willing to take the order, and the silk price continues to fall.
If this continues, the loss will be as much as twenty or thirty thousand taels a day. Even if the boss is worth a million, he can't withstand this drop.
As for the fact that the boss lent out silk at the highest price and asked the owner to return the silk three months later, no one dared to mention it. This has become a big joke in Jinling's business community!
Liu Zhengqi, the president of Suzhou Chamber of Commerce and known for his shrewdness, was actually tricked so badly by a greenhorn from Huizhou!
As the saying goes, 'Dongting Lake is everywhere and Hui merchants are everywhere'. The merchants from Jiangsu and Huizhou are two major merchant groups that dislike each other. Moreover, the raw silk and silk business has always been controlled by the Dongting merchant group. If the Huizhou merchants get the chance, they will definitely exaggerate the matter to prove that they are better than the merchants from Jiangsu!
This would be a devastating blow to Mr. Liu's dream of becoming the next president of the Dongting Merchants Association.
After sitting there for a long time, Mr. Liu gritted his teeth and stood up, holding on to the crescent-shaped armrest , and ordered in a hoarse voice: "Prepare the car, go to the street outside the Drum Tower!"
The plummeting silk price was beyond his control, so he now had to do what he could control - make Tang Youde return the silk immediately, or return the money!
…
Tang’s Southern Goods Shop.
When the shopkeeper reported that Mr. Liu wanted to see him, Fatty Tang was taking inventory of goods in the warehouse with his son.
"Can't you see I'm busy? Just let him wait."
Fatty Tang said this and went back to his work.
He had to figure out something as soon as possible and let his son take over as soon as possible so that he could be free to take charge of the business in Xiaocangshan.
But this time Mr. Liu was determined to meet Fatty Tang.
He waited in the store for the entire afternoon. When it was dark and the shopkeeper was about to close the store, Mr. Liu still refused to leave.
There was no choice, Fatty Tang had to come out to meet him.
The two of them had been practicing Tai Chi for several days and there was no need to be polite.
"There are still more than 20 days left, why are you in such a hurry?" Tang Youde sat down in the main seat and said unhappily.
"What's the hurry?!" Mr. Liu jumped up and down when he heard this, and shouted loudly: "After more than 20 days, I don't know how low the silk price will drop!"
"It's useless to shout at the top of your lungs. We businessmen are based on trust and must act according to the contract." Tang Youde covered his ears a look of disgust. How could he still look like the young wife he was when he borrowed the silk?
"Don't try to play tricks on me!" Mr. Liu no longer cared about his image. He stepped on the official hat chair, pointed his spear at Fatty Tang and shouted, "How dare you talk about trustworthiness? You were deliberately deceiving people from the beginning. Where is your factory? Have you bought a loom? Have you hired a worker?"
"I hired, bought, and opened a business. It's just not in Nanjing." Tang Youde spread his hands and said dishonestly.
"Bullshit!" Veins on Mr. Liu's forehead throbbed. He rolled up his sleeves and said as if he was going to hit someone: "You sold it right away!"
Tang Youde was taller and fatter than Liu Yuanwai. He had practiced boxing when he was a merchant. Seeing this, he stood up, tucked the hem of his robe into his belt, and said with a cold smile: "I signed a silk loan contract with you. Do you care whether I sell or use it? If you don't believe me, take out the contract and look at it. There is a word on it that stipulates that I must open a workshop and cannot sell silk?"
"I don't care. Today you either pay back the money or the silk!" Mr. Liu pounced on Fatty Tang like a mad tiger and shouted, "Otherwise I'll fight you!"
"Come on, who's afraid of who?" Tang Youde also took up his stance, ready to practice with Liu Yuanwai.
Fortunately, the followers on both sides rushed up in time and separated the two bosses, thus avoiding a physical fight.
At this time, the Tangji shop assistants also rushed up and pushed Mr. Liu and his companions out of the store.
"Tang, just wait, I'm going to sue you in the county!" Mr. Liu was still jumping up and down, shouting, "You and that bastard, just wait for the lawsuit!"
"Who's afraid of who?" Tang Youde waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Close the store!"
…
Mr. Liu was kicked out of Tangji and in anger he immediately drove straight to Shangyuan County Government Office.
Although it was already dark and the government office had long been closed, Mr. Liu, the president of Suzhou Chamber of Commerce, vice president of Dongting Merchants, and a fifth-rank official, did not need to consider the time when he wanted to see a small magistrate of Shangyuan.
At this time, Mr. Zhang, the magistrate of Shangyuan, was having dinner with his two concubines.
Mr. Zhang's taboo name is Dongguan. He is from Sichuan and is an old scholar. He waited for more than ten years before he was promoted to the magistrate of Shangyuan County, who was neither human nor ghost. Of course, if the county city did not have a direct superior like Yingtian Prefecture, a full set of civil and military teams in Nanjing, seven or eight guard posts, a dozen military camps, and several noble residences, it would not be his turn as an old scholar to enjoy the pleasures of the glamorous world of Jinling City.
Magistrate Zhang is already over sixty years old, and has been widowed for many years and unable to remarry. But after serving as the magistrate of Shangyuan County for two years, he has already taken two concubines and is in the process of discussing a third one, both of whom are young and beautiful girls from Jiangnan...
This is Nanjing City after all. No matter how many mothers-in-law there are, as the county magistrate, as long as he is willing to endure the humiliation, he can still make a lot of money.
