Chapter 21 How to Make Money
A merchant ship was sailing on the river from afar. The figure standing on the bow looked like Wang Han. Su Luo hurriedly asked Zhou Chongwen to notify Bao Zixing and ask him to find someone to prepare to unload the ship.
Zhou Chongwen did not move and insisted: "If there is a real spring drought in Shandong, you can't make money from it. Aren't you afraid of being punished by God?"
Su Luo was dancing with joy to celebrate the official start of his gold rush, so he could not listen to this. Not only did he not listen, he also laughed at him, "God's punishment? Which of those who transported and sold grain was punished by God? It is common sense to buy low and sell high. I only have a small amount of one thousand taels, which is not enough to fill the gaps in God's teeth. Does he have to punish me?"
Zhou Chongwen still didn't move. Su Luo suddenly felt that this guy and Miss Xie Liting were a perfect match. During the last poisoned bird's nest incident, Xie Liting also looked heartbroken and angry.
Su Luo was in no mood to argue with him, so he jumped off the pile of goods and ran to find Bao Zixing. Bao Zixing was also extremely excited. Although he was only responsible for introducing jobs in this matter and did not take any commission, it was related to his brother's future development, so he really did his best. He closed the bun shop immediately and ran to the dock to find the foreman he had contacted earlier.
The grain ship soon docked, and Wang Han jumped off the ship, looking high-spirited, completely different from his previous decadence. Because of the presence of Bao Zixing, a familiar figure, both parties avoided the formalities of small talk. Su Luo was in a hurry to unload the ship, but Wang Han stopped her and said, "Miss Su, I did something on my own initiative. If you think it's okay, then unload the ship immediately. If you disagree, I will turn around and get another ship to wait for the rice."
Su Luo was a little confused. "Didn't I buy top-quality rice?"
"Miss Su's 1,200 dan of high-quality rice was exchanged by me on my own initiative for 1,500 dan of medium-quality rice, and I only brought in 500 dan at first."
Bao Zixing, who was standing by, was getting anxious and was about to lose his temper, but Su Luo stopped him and asked Wang Han in confusion, "Why did you do this?"
Wang Han's square face still showed the word "loyalty", but his eyes were shrewd. He smiled faintly, "The reason why high-quality rice is more expensive is that it is whiter and more beautiful. The taste is only slightly better than medium-quality rice. On weekdays, ordinary people eat medium and low-quality rice. Isn't it a pity to sell high-quality rice to the disaster area?"
Su Luo's eyes lit up and he asked in surprise: "How did you know..."
Wang Han was still calm and composed, with a smile on his face. "Since the beginning of spring, Beijing has had surprisingly little rain, and the signs of spring drought have already appeared. If there is no rain this summer , the drought will certainly spread southward. The people in the capital don't have to worry about it, but the court may not be able to respond to places outside Northern Zhili in the first place. I admire you for your foresight."
Su Luo smiled to show that she accepted his admiration, but she was actually feeling timid. She had read all this in books, unlike Wang Han who had deduced it himself. Bao Zixing then understood the purpose of Su Luo's purchase of grain. He was surprised at first, and then worried. "If there are signs of drought, the big grain merchants in Jiangnan will surely not know about it. How can we, with our small grain supply, fight against them?"
"What are we fighting against?" Su Luo scratched his chin. "Isn't it easy to sell 1,500 dan of grain? When the drought started, all the major grain merchants came. They also have competition. The bigger the merchants, the more they want to fight to the death. What we have to do is to survive in the cracks, follow behind them, and while they are testing each other, find a safe price to sell the grain and leave. It's a one-time deal, so there's no need to worry about offending anyone."
Wang Han listened to her theory and thought for a long time before he continued, "Doing business is like gambling. This year, there is little water in northern Zhili, and there is a lot of rain in southern Zhili. No one can guarantee that there will be a drought this year. All the grain merchants in Jiangnan are waiting and watching, and are unwilling to act easily. If the girl wins the bet and can seize the opportunity, even if we are small and have little grain, we can still make a lot of money."
Su Luo was very proud. Wang Han pointed at the grain ship and said, "Because of my previous failure, the grain store was afraid that I could not pay the rest of the balance and refused to let me buy on credit. I don't have much money, so I used Brother Bao's ancestral property to deliver the first batch of goods. For the rest, you have to accompany me to Jiangnan to deliver it in person to ensure your peace of mind."
This was said clearly, and he did not hide his previous failure at all, which made Su Luo more . A person's temperament determines his pattern. With such a broad mind, his future development is limitless. Su Luo immediately returned to the two-story house newly purchased by the Su family in the town and took out eight hundred taels to give to Wang Han, and said that she would not go. After all, with Bao Zixing around, it was equivalent to having an extra guarantor. She would not waste time going back and forth. She had to start planning to transport grain to Shandong immediately. In addition, this move was also to show her magnanimity of "trusting people when employing them" so as to gain Wang Han's favor. Maybe in the near future, she would be able to successfully recruit him and realize her beautiful dream of returning to ancient times to recruit younger brothers.
Wang Han was indeed deeply moved, and before leaving, he said to Su Luo: "According to my inference, the young lady placed her bet on Shandong, betting that there will be a severe drought in Shandong this year. Is that correct?"
Su Luo really admired this unremarkable Wang Han. Combining the weather and speculation, she knew what her purpose was. Her intuition told her that Wang Han wanted to give her some advice, so she hurriedly asked for advice. Wang Han was not polite and talked about the climate of the north and south and the geographical conditions. Finally, he said: "There is a small town in the mountains in the western suburbs of Shen County, Dongchang Prefecture. Due to the terrain, it is difficult to transport goods. Therefore, large businesses do not take this place seriously, and small businesses are unwilling to spend time and effort. Therefore, every time there is a natural disaster, the people in the town will inevitably flee the famine. The girl only has this batch of grain to sell, so she does not need to worry about the source of goods or continuous transportation. You can transport the grain here in advance. With the grain stored, the people in the town will definitely not leave. With so many people and little food, as long as you seize the right opportunity, the rice will be snapped up."
This is undoubtedly a very important business opportunity for Su Luo. She was just thinking about where to sell grain these days, and the sales information came out of nowhere. What does this mean? It means that time travelers still have privileges in ancient times.
This Wang Han is really a treasure. Su Luo thanked him repeatedly and imagined with starry eyes that his one thousand taels would turn into two thousand taels or three thousand taels.
Wang Han smiled and said, "Miss, you are new to the business world. Although you have foresight, you lack determination. If you succeed in stockpiling grain this time, the profit you get will be more than two or three times. As long as you don't sell the grain, after the drought lasts for two months, it will be easy to sell it at twenty times the price."
Su Luo's jaw dropped. Twenty times, one thousand becomes twenty thousand, is that possible? Zhou Chongwen on the side couldn't stand it anymore. He glared at Su Luo coldly with a pale face, and drew a clear line and avoided her as if he would be tainted with the bad smell of a black-hearted profiteer if he got close to her.
Su Luo was actually also scared. Although he could make a lot of money by storing food for two months during a drought, it was a bit too unfair.
