Daming Yinghua

Chapter 166 Negotiations

It was already the end of the twelfth lunar month when Yan Siqi and his aunt and nephew Zheng finished their round-the-island inspection and returned to the Yan family's territory in Dayuangang, Tainan.

She got her wish and found that the Gu couple's Taiwan parent-child trip and self-recharging trip was very successful.

The two lived with their baby and nanny in Yan Siqi's tile-roofed mansion not far from the Mazu Temple.

Enjoy 180-degree unobstructed sea views from the terrace in the morning.

In the morning, visit the Songjiang technicians to teach the weaving skills.

In the afternoon, follow Wen Akun to visit Baodao's characteristic black tea rolling workshop and deerskin processing factory.

In the evening, in the warm evening breeze of the South China Sea, while eating a feast of fresh seafood and drinking pure natural coconut juice without additives, while watching the babysitter running and playing barefoot on the beach with the baby.

The warm atmosphere of the open and closed islands cannot be given by the graceful and exquisite Jiangnan, which makes Gu Shouqian and Han Ximeng feel fresh and happy.

If there is any episode with a slightly discordant sound, it is that after Yan Siqi and Zheng Haizhu came back, when the two couples sat down with Zheng's aunt and nephew to discuss business, Gu Shouqian didn't show too much sense of participation, but only spoke softly. He said to Han Ximeng, "You can figure it out."

Han Ximeng whispered to Zheng Haizhu in private that her husband was a little absent-minded, whether he still looked down on the way of doing business after all.

Zheng Haizhu remembers that the Gu family in history soon fell into disrepair in the late Ming Dynasty, and finally relied on the great-granddaughter who inherited Han Yuan's embroidery craftsmanship to come forward and set up accounts to recruit apprentices and support their livelihood.

The men of the aristocratic family may not be able to explode from generation to generation. What's more, women can break through the world by themselves, so why bother to force men to keep pace with each other.

Zheng Haizhu explained to Han Ximeng: "Confucius said, don't do to others what you don't want. I think I should add that don't do to others what you want. Think about it, those grandmas and ladies in Songjiang enjoyed their leisurely days. Don't you just snort it? So, our hearts are full of thoughts, if the young master loses his mood, it is normal, and the young lady must not be jealous. Besides, I see that the young master has painted many buildings, views of the sea, and doors facing each other this time. The picture of the galleon was handed over to the younger brother of the Wen family to engrave it on the tin can of black tea, and he also asked Brother Yan about the timing of the artillery on the ship. .”

Han Ximeng did not refute.

No matter how critical a wife is to her husband, she will not refute a third party's praise of her husband.

And Zheng Haizhu understands a truth better, whether it is a sister, a close friend, or extending to all acquaintances, when a woman complains about her husband, the listener should never add fuel to the fire.

Seeing that Han Ximeng seemed to be chewing his own words carefully, Zheng Haizhu continued: "Miss will do business with us, take advantage of the east wind of Songjiang's opening and closing next year, and make a good plan for the sea traffic from South Zhili to Taiwan, so that the Han family and The Gu family’s business is all going overseas, of course it’s your courage, miss. But if you only love Danqing calligraphy or firearms techniques, young master, you can cultivate this way. In the future, your juniors will do business, learn literature, and appreciate calligraphy and painting like Dong Gong , like Sun Yuanhua and Master Sun who drills into Western skills, will walk out of a bright world."

Han Ximeng was relieved a lot, so he thought about business again, and said to Zheng Haizhu: "Songjiang cloth, Weitang yarn, Suzhou embroidery, Huzhou silk, Hangzhou brocade, there are too many of these things in the south of the Yangtze River. Brother Yan is because of your kindness." Let Haoming Trading Company only ask my second uncle to collect cotton cloth, which is a great help to our Han family. Then we must not be ignorant, Ah Zhu, look, should we invest money in Haoming Trading Company, or just ask Yan Big brother buys local products from Taiwan and sells them back to Songjiang?"

Zheng Haizhu had already prepared for this answer.

Han Ximeng has been kind to her, and she is repaying the favor, but at present, she does not want to introduce the Gu family as the original shareholders of Haoming Trading Company, and Haoming Trading Company should not dilute the equity so quickly.

"Miss, the risk of dividends is greater than the risk of resale. It's better to buy directly. The copper that Brother Yan took over from Japan is the best seller in Daming, but I have to order a lot of firearms workshops, otherwise I can't make cannons. Miss Don’t rob me. Taiwan’s native black tea is mainly sold to the Dutch. In the future, it may be able to go to Liaodong and sell it to the Tartars. In places like Jiangnan who are used to drinking green tea, it is not easy to sell it for the time being, and there is no need to sell it. Songjiang is cold in autumn and winter. , Taiwan's buckskin should be easy to sell. There is one more thing that the lady must buy, and it is sucrose."

When Han Ximeng heard this, he smiled and said, "Sucrose is also what I have been looking at these two days. Ah Zhu, your fellow countryman is really good. You have occupied Taiwan, and you have spent all your money. It has only been two years, right? You have grown so much sugar cane. "

Zheng Haizhu nodded: "Sugar cane can only be grown well in hot places, and Taiwan is very suitable. I also asked Wen Akun yesterday, and she said that this year's sucrose was produced in the twelfth lunar month. It is estimated that it is less than [-] catties." .I’m going to take some to Xiamen for an errand in a few days, and you and Brother Yan can discuss the rest and see how much you can buy.”

……

On the second day of the Lunar New Year in the 47th year of Wanli, Zheng Haizhu and Zheng Shoukuan went to Xiamen to visit Xu Xinsu, escorted by his sworn brother Yang Tiansheng appointed by Yan Siqi, on a sailboat carrying [-] tons of sucrose.

Yang Tiansheng is also from Fujian. In his early years, he smuggled across the sea to Hirado, met Yan Siqi, and their friendship gradually deepened. After hearing that Yan Siqi was in Taiwan, he brought his two sea ships and more than thirty men to join him.

Yang Tiansheng had heard the rumors about Zheng Haizhu more or less, and at the beginning he was a little fanciful, but when he saw him this time, his gestures were so ostentatious that it was almost impossible for people to realize that she was a woman. He respects her even more than Yan Siqi, and treats her with her husband on the same boat, so Yang Tiansheng treats Zheng Haizhu's aunt and nephew with extra courtesy.

Earlier, when Yan Siqi went to visit the top of the mountain with Yu Zigao, the general soldier of Fujian, he was accompanied by Yang Tiansheng.During the voyage from Tainan to Xiamen, Zheng Haizhu kept asking Yang Tiansheng about the current situation of coastal defense in this water area, as well as the details of Yu Zigao and Xu Xinsu's appearances.

As early as the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the general Zhou Dexing to set up Yongning Guard in Fujian, under the jurisdiction of Xiamen Zhongzuo and Jinmen.During the Wanli period, "You Bing" was set up in Penghu.Although the rangers were not fixed guards stationed on the island, it at least showed that the Ming court still attached great importance to the coastal defense of Fujian and Taiwan.

When the boat passed Penghu Island and approached Kinmen Island, a ship of the Fujian Navy approached. Yang Tiansheng ordered the sailors to raise the "Yan" flag quickly, for fear that the other party would fire recklessly. Sure enough, after the flag was raised, the water The division's ship turned around slowly and headed back to Jinmen Port.

"Brother Yang, Yu Zongbing's subordinates are quite diligent, and they don't forget to patrol the sea when they celebrate the New Year."

Yang Tiansheng curled his lips: "It's not that I'm afraid of letting the smuggling boat go, and I have less oil and water in my bowl. But, Miss Zheng, look, the gunboats at the Golden Gate Institute are indeed neat.

Zheng Haizhu took the telescope handed over by Yang Tiansheng, looked at it and asked, "Is that large area in front of the Golden Gate Institute called Liuluowan?"

Yang Tiansheng was slightly surprised: "Miss, have you ever been to Jinmen?"

"I've never been here before, but I heard about it from an official. I've seen it now, it's really spectacular, it can park a lot of warships, it can be the gateway to Xiamen Island."

Yang Tiansheng nodded: "That's right, Kinmen Liuluowan, Penghu Island, Taiwan...these places are good places for Daming. It will be difficult for Japanese pirates and foreign barbarians to attack Daming."

Zheng Haizhu thought, that's not necessarily the case, the key depends on whether these military key points can be kept under control.Historically, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch began to covet Penghu Island and Taiwan, from coveting to occupying them, and finally fought the Liaoluo Bay naval battle with the Zheng Zhilong Navy representing the Ming court.

After sailing like this for another hour, before landing at a private port in the southeast of Xiamen, Yang Tian ordered the sailors to put down a firewood boat and said to Aunt Zheng Haizhu, "I'll go ashore first and report to the Xu family. Please don't worry about etiquette, girl, with these two hundred tans of cane sugar for New Year's greetings, and several thousand taels of silver, Xu Xinsu will not neglect her."

Zheng Haizhu watched Yang Tiansheng and his two relatives go ashore, and talked to the guard who appeared, and the guard really led him to a house behind the port.

Zheng Haizhu turned to his nephew Zheng Shoukuan and said, "Go and change into your robe, and then put on the scarf you bought from the Nanjing Imperial College."

Not long after, Yang Tiansheng returned to the shore, waved his arms, and let the big boat dock.

Zheng Haizhu gradually saw clearly that the tall, thin man standing beside Yang Tiansheng was also dressed as a scribe.

"I'm Xu Xinsu. Ms. Zheng has worked hard all the way. Xu has made a mistake and welcomes her. Plead guilty, plead guilty."

"Mr. Xu, you are being polite. The two sides of the strait are one family, so you should go around frequently during the New Year's Eve. I brought some Taiwanese folk rituals, please accept them."

Yang Tiansheng, who was on the side, was secretly funny when he heard Zheng Haizhu say "Mr."

This guy surnamed Xu is a shitty gentleman. When I was in Hirado, like Lao Yang and I, I could barely read Chinese characters or Japanese.

(End of this chapter)