1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 173 Sales Skills

As a foreign trade management organization in ancient China, the Shibo Department was established from the Tang Dynasty to the end of the Ming Dynasty, witnessing the history of China's foreign trade for hundreds of years.The Shibo Department of the Ming Dynasty also basically followed the setup of the previous dynasty. One chief officer was promoted from the fifth rank, and two were promoted from the sixth rank.The candidates for the promotion are generally concurrently served by the procuratorate or the promotion department of the salt class.In the Ming Dynasty, the Shibo Department was prospered and then abolished. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, although there was still the establishment of the Shibo Department, it had been changed to a fixed-amount bonded system.

According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", the Department of Maritime Ships had the task of collecting taxes from the outside world. The foreign ships that came to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty were taxed at a rate of [-]% on the goods they carried.However, in the late Ming Dynasty, due to the implementation of the fixed quota tax system, the collection of city ship tax was started by private dental agencies.And Yahang, which has the right to operate foreign trade, cheated up and down as a representative of a ship merchant. The so-called market ship tax mostly went into private pockets.

If the place of delivery for the trade between the Crossing Group and "Furuifeng" is set in Guangzhou, then the cargo ships sent by the Crossing Group to Guangzhou will undoubtedly be treated as "Fanbang Maritime Merchants" and a [-]% tax rate will be charged, just for this money It has already exceeded the freight cost between the two places. For merchants like Schneider and Li Nai, they are definitely unwilling to let this extra money be added to their operating costs for no reason.

Of course, this is not to say that local maritime merchants in Guangzhou like "Fu Ruifeng" do not need to pay taxes to the Shibo Department. It can be divided into water rate, land rate and increased rate.

Water rate is an export tax based on the volume of cargo ships engaged in maritime trade. In practice, the tax is generally collected directly according to the width of the ship.For example, the width of a boat is one foot and six feet, and the tax standard is five taels of silver per foot. A ship is a trade tax of 80 taels of silver.The larger the ship, the higher the tax rate, which is added up at five taels per foot. For example, a ship with a width of two feet and six feet is taxed at the standard of ten taels of silver per foot. A ship is at least 260 taels of silver.Moreover, the tax system is different depending on the place where they go. The tax rate for merchant ships going to the East is [-]% lower than that of going to the South China Sea.

In addition, there is an import tax such as land rate, and maritime merchants like "Fu Ruifeng" who ship goods back from overseas are the targets of this tax.However, due to the wide variety and variety of imported goods, it is difficult to unify the tax system.Some goods are taxed according to weight and quantity, while others are calculated according to the quality or actual value of the goods. As for charging more and less, there is a lot of room for manipulation by the specific people who handle it.

The increased rate is an additional tax on imported goods, which is borne by the ship owner.This is because after many maritime merchants went to Luzon and other places to trade, they only returned to China with Mexican silver dollars. In this way, there was no taxable goods on board, which was unprofitable for the government that taxed according to land rates.In order to reduce the loss of business tax, a new tax category of increasing rates was established to fill the loopholes in the tax system.

From the perspective of "Fu Ruifeng", whether it is export or import, if Haihan people are allowed to undertake the freight process between Shengli Port and Guangzhou, the operating cost of the goods will be greatly increased due to the taxation relationship.The cost of setting the delivery location at Victory Port is almost zero, and it is a processing method that both parties are willing to accept.

So Li Nai proposed that if there is no accident in the future, the delivery location can be placed in Victory Port.Tao Donglai and Schneider immediately agreed to the proposal. Leaving aside the operating costs of the goods, the shipping capacity alone helped the Transit Group solve a big problem.

At present, the Crossing Group has eight cargo ships that can be put into the Black Soil Port-Victory Port route, and two of them are still parked in Shengli Port. They need to complete ship maintenance and personnel adjustments before they can be put into operation.In addition, the remaining poor capacity can only run the route between Yazhou and Shengli Port, transporting immigrants and various materials back and forth.The voyage between Guangzhou and Shengli Port is about a third longer than that of Heitu Port. To ensure the smooth operation of this route, the Crossing Group must have at least a few large ships. This is obviously not possible in a short time. things that can be done.

Li Nai already knew a thing or two about the capacity difficulties faced by his partners before coming to Shengli Port.If not, how could the Haihan people entrust "Fu Ruifeng" to buy ships and recruit crews in Guangzhou?Therefore, after confirming the delivery location, Li Nai said happily that the fleet of "Fu Ruifeng" will take on the cargo task between the two places.

"Furuifeng" is of course not an insurance company. To do so also needs to add the cost of transportation to the goods brought to Shengli Port. In addition, Li Nai also got Li Jifeng's advice before departure-since the goods of the Haihan people cannot be transported temporarily. , that is a good opportunity for "Furuifeng" to monopolize the source of goods, and you can take advantage of this period to make a lot of money first.When the Haihan people are able to transport the goods to Guangzhou by themselves in the future, the source of the goods will soon be exposed to the market. For "Fu Ruifeng", it means that they will face more competitors. It is still safer to spend more shipping capacity to transport the goods to Victory Port for transactions.

After confirming the transaction volume and transaction method, the second large order can be regarded as a deal.At this time, the transaction amount between the two parties has exceeded 5000 taels, and the glass products that Li Nai's real trade target has not even entered the stage of seeing goods.If this trend continues, Li Nai believes that it is only a matter of time before the total transaction amount exceeds 2 taels of silver.

After lunch, the delegation returned to Victory Port from the salt field by boat.In the meeting room of Base No. [-], Li Nai saw two new products that Schneider showed him.One is a small square yellow brick, and the other is a small paper box containing some small sticks-this is the latest research and development result of the chemical department, soap and matches.However, it is not very accurate to call it soap, because the sample used for this display is made according to the standard of soap, and a little refined essence is added in it.

Naturally, Li Nai couldn't understand what these two things were, but he knew that Schneider showed them to him in a serious manner, and it was definitely not for a joke.Li Nai didn't rush to ask questions, and waited quietly for Schneider to explain to him.

Schneider first picked up the piece of soap and introduced it to Li Nai: "This is our latest soap. It is used in the same way as soap, and it also has the effect of decontamination. Of course, its ingredients and production method are completely different from soap. of."

Soap has been widely used among the people since the Song Dynasty, and it became a very popular daily necessities in the Ming Dynasty. "Compendium of Materia Medica" has a method of making soap balls.However, the soap used in China is made by boiling and smashing the seeds of the acacia tree and then adding other things. It is not made by saponification of oil, and its appearance is quite different from the products displayed by Schneider.

Li Nai took it over and looked at it, then sniffed it in front of his nose, and asked puzzledly: "The production method is second. Besides decontamination, does this thing have other functions?"

Says Schneider: "After washing your face or taking a shower with this soap, the fragrance lingers on your body."

Li Nai frowned and said, "Soap with a little fragrance can also have this effect. It's unlikely that this product is cheaper than the soap used by the people, right?"

"Not only will it not be cheaper than soap, but it will be much more expensive than soap." Schneider pointed to the piece of soap in Li Nai's hand and said, "You need fifty cents for this piece of soap in your hand."

"That's five hundred coins?" Li Nai was already familiar with the exchange rate of circulation coupons at this time, and immediately reacted when he heard it: "But soap is usually only a few tens of coins a piece, and the best is only about a hundred coins. Who will buy five hundred Wen?"

Schneider shook his head and said: "The way of doing business can't be so rigid. According to Mr. Li, glassware has the same functions as ceramic ones, but why is the price of glassware several times more expensive than ceramics? Use glass bowls Does it taste better when you eat it?"

Li Nai's eyes lit up and he said, "Mr. Shi, you mean to find a way from this selling technique?"

Schneider nodded and said: "First of all, you must convince your customers that this is a good thing, and this good thing cannot be bought with money. Only those who have status, status, and certain financial strength are worthy It’s a good product to use. And it’s easy to tell anyone who has used this soap before.”

"Oh? I would like to hear more about it." Li Nai really wanted to know how to let others know whether he had washed his face with this soap.

"Smell the smell carefully, and think about whether you have smelled a similar fragrance before." Schneider pointed out.

According to Li Nai's words, he sniffed it carefully again, and then handed it over to He Qiang. The two thought about it for a long time, and finally shook their heads.Schneider secretly smiled in his heart, thinking that this is the fragrance formula that the chemical department spent more than ten days mixing up. There is no such fragrance in nature. Of course, you can't think of a similar fragrance.

"This fragrance is our Haihan's secret formula. There is no other place in the world that can make this fragrance. For those who are lucky enough to use this soap, this fragrance means unique! Unique! Noble!" Schneider tapped the table lightly with his finger: "What we sell is not only products, but more importantly, this unique sense of superiority. Do you understand the sense of superiority? Just like a royal tribute, only a very few people have the opportunity enjoy."

At this time, someone brought a basin of warm water and clean towels according to the prior arrangement.Schneider encouraged: "If something is good, you will know if you try it yourself, please!"

(End of this chapter)