Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 444: Dredging Boat

Zhao Zhen looked at the weather and really didn't want to go to Boleji Township, so he asked Lu Zhuocheng, "How many horses does he have for sale?"

Lu Zhuocheng said: "300 horses that can be used as war horses and 600 horses for riding."

Zhao Zhen asked, "How much does it cost to ride a horse?"

Lu Zhuocheng stretched out his hand and gestured, "Fifteen strings of cash."

Zhao Zhen said, "I can eat this horse, but I've been at home with Qingwan these days and I'm too lazy to go back and forth. If Mr. Sun is willing to wait for more than ten days and send the horse to Bailiu Village, how about the deal then?"

Lu Zhuocheng said, "I think he is willing. I will go to Boleji Township and finalize this matter."

Zhao Zhen nodded and asked Ji Qingwan to bring 4000 strings of silver notes as a deposit.

Lu Zhuocheng took it and was about to leave. He just stood up and sat down again, saying, "Oh, there is one more thing. I saw that the Geng cakes in the shop in front are also sold in limited quantities, but the harvest this year is not enough?"

"Ok?"

"Hey, I know a friend who works as a private dentist. He had a customer who wanted candied fruit, so he came to your house to buy some. He wanted to buy more but had no way to get it, so he asked a familiar dentist and found me."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said, "This Geng cake is not less than last year, but my wife wants to promote the sale of other items, so the daily quota is limited. There are also many candied fruits on the market. Where is this customer from? He wants so many."

Lu Zhuocheng said, "A guest from Huainan East Road, named Du, ate your Geng cake and couldn't forget it. He came three times and wanted to buy more. Madam Xuan didn't agree. She knew that I had some relationship with you, so she didn't let me say anything."

Zhao Zhen heard this and asked, "Does this shopkeeper Du have any rare goods that can be exchanged?"

"They are all the yarn, silk, ramie cloth, wax, dendrobium and other things that are unique to Huainan."

When Zhao Zhen heard this, he realized that these were not items he needed urgently, so it was no wonder that Ji Xuan was unwilling to sell more.

Zhao Zhen said, "They are not what I need. For your sake, I will ask Lady Xuan to take out 500 kilograms and we will do the normal transaction."

After hearing this, Lu Zhuocheng smiled and said, "Brother, you are still reliable. I will tell Shopkeeper Du and Sun Erlang to come over to trade. Brother, you can also meet these two and listen to what they have to say about the scenery of Huainan. It may be useful in the future."

"Yes, there is no competition. It would be best if we could keep some friendship. I'm just afraid that his appetite is too big." Zhao Zhen said.

"I'm going to negotiate this matter. I can't give him an advantage. Not only will I not get any favor, but I'll also create resentment."

Zhao Zhen said: "This is not urgent today. I have something else to ask you. Has anyone come to sell tea recently?"

After hearing this, Lu Zhuocheng asked in surprise: "You want to buy tea?"

Zhao Zhen nodded. "I also have a way to purchase war horses in the fantasy world. It's best to trade with tea. The tea doesn't need to be very good. Rough tea is acceptable. The more the better."

This was also what Zhao Zhen had thought of. Although there were various obstacles in buying horses from the fantasy world, the price was the lowest.

According to Zhao Zhen's idea, it would be best if he could invite a part of the Khitan tribe. Whether they could serve as soldiers or herd cattle and sheep, it would be a good choice.

Lu Zhuocheng listened and said, "I haven't heard of anyone selling tea recently. If you want it, I can go to Yi Country and purchase it in Laoshan Mountain."

Zhao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Okay, you decide. If we set a date, I'll ask my wife to prepare the money."

Lu Zhuocheng was very excited. If he were to say that the person who helped him the most in his business as a pimp was not his own father, but this classmate and friend. The next day, Lu Zhuocheng brought his private pimp Sun Erlang and Shopkeeper Du to work. After some polite conversation, Shopkeeper Du bowed and said, "Mr. Zhao, I heard from Mr. Lu that you have a great business in the fantasy world. Do you need shipbuilding blueprints?"

Zhao Zhen heard this and glanced at Lu Zhuocheng who was shaking his head in silence. He knew that this was a new deal proposed by Shopkeeper Du. He immediately said, "Yes, there is a territory. What does Shopkeeper Du mean by this?"

Shopkeeper Du did not play dumb. He had a box brought in and pushed it in front of Zhao Zhen. He said, "Sir, I have a set of river dredging boat blueprints here. They can help people build river dredging boats and dredge rivers. Do you need them?"

world log
Drawing of a river dredging boat (Ancient sages invented a river dredging rake to dredge rivers. A wooden rake eight feet long with two feet long teeth was tied with stones and dropped into the riverbed. Two boats anchored eighty steps apart were used to twist the wooden rake with a windlass to stir up the mud and sand, and then the boats were moved to dredge the river section by section. Those who learned this could be employed as shipwrights on river dredging boats. Three people were required to do this each year.)
Shipwright: (Familiar with the structure of river dredging boats and able to build river dredging boats.)
Professional skills: mortise and tenon joints, caulking, and applying tung oil.

After reading it, Zhao Zhen asked, "Manager Du, although the value of this [Dredging Boat Blueprint] is hard to assess, it is an item that can be passed down. What is Manager Du seeking?"

Shopkeeper Du laughed and said, "Sir, although this blueprint can only help people master the method of manufacturing a river-dredging ship, it still helps them become shipbuilders. How about 3000 strings of cash for this blueprint?"

Zhao Zhen listened and nodded. The value of this blueprint does not lie in the method of manufacturing the [Dredging Boat]. The Dredging Boat can only be used in turbulent rivers so that the stirred up mud and sand can be washed downstream with the river water.

That's not right. The Yellow River passes through my territory now. Xu He, Kong Hou and others once told me that the Yellow River has great hidden dangers. Since ancient times, it has had the habit of bursting its banks every three years and changing its course every hundred years. I need to pay more attention to it.

Having this boat can provide some relief.

In Zhao Zhen's opinion, the most valuable part at the moment is being able to work as a shipwright.

After all, as long as Meng Kang and Ye Chun are employed as shipwrights, they can quickly learn how to build other ships.

"All these drawings have been exchanged for Gengbing. I have also brought many specialties from the Huainan countries. If you are interested, please buy some. This will allow us to return home as soon as possible. I am very grateful for your kindness!" Shopkeeper Du said with a smile.

Zhao Zhen was naturally willing to listen to this, but he still hesitated for a while, patted his thigh and said, "Okay. Let's do as Shopkeeper Du said. Shopkeeper Du will go back to Huainan to buy specialties from Shandong and other countries. How about he also go to my shop to choose?"

Shopkeeper Du naturally agreed to it. After all, apart from other things, taking the cool bamboo mat and goose feather fan back would be a good business for next summer. He immediately agreed.

At that moment, Zhao Zhen called out Ji Xuan and asked Ji Xuan to complete the transaction with Manager Du's subordinate.

It's not that he doesn't trust Tian Xingping, but after Ji Xuan started working as a merchant, he needed to trade to increase his professional experience and advance. Especially for such large-scale transactions, Ji Xuan was always the one to complete them.

Now among the four people of the Ji family, Ji Xuan’s attributes have surpassed Ji Qingwan and the other two, and she has risen from the lowest level to the highest level.

During the transaction, Zhao Zhen asked Shopkeeper Du, "Shopkeeper Du, since you can produce the blueprint for the [River Dredging Ship], do you have any other methods to control the siltation of the river?"

Shopkeeper Du listened and nodded, saying, "There are many rivers in my area, and we have to dredge them every year. There are indeed many ways to manage them. If you need them, I will have someone copy them down and I will come back next year to give them to you."

Zhao Zhen thanked him and said to Shopkeeper Du, "I don't want you to make such a wasted trip. If you are interested, you can bring some tea leaves, coarse tea and tea cakes. I can take more than a thousand stones of this quality. More is fine."

Shopkeeper Du was naturally delighted when he heard this. He asked, "Sir, I can certainly buy this kind of coarse tea and send it to you. How much is it?"

Zhao Zhen said, "This kind of coarse tea costs 70 coins per pound. If it's good tea, the price will be higher. Ordinary tea costs 220 coins. The best tea costs 300 coins per pound, if it's of high quality."

Shopkeeper Du listened and nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, I'll come after the New Year."

After seeing off Shopkeeper Du, Sun Erlang, and Lu Zhuocheng, Ji Xuan said to Zhao Zhen, "My husband, in addition to the Geng cakes used for trading, we also exchanged the cool bamboo mats, goose feather fans, boxwood carvings, and peony bone carvings for the yarn, silk, ramie cloth, wax, and dendrobium that Shopkeeper Du brought, which are worth five thousand strings of cash."

Zhao Zhen listened, nodded, and said, "Yes, we can keep the items he brought in the store and resell them slowly at a higher price, so we won't lose money."

(End of this chapter)