The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 541 Purchasing
The foreign merchants, who thought they had made a very subtle complaint, craned their necks and waited and waited.

Ten days have passed.
Half a month has passed.
Neither of them received the imperial decree from Shangdu.

The foreign merchants were greatly puzzled:
"How can General Iri's influence be so great? Hundreds of people signed a joint appeal, yet his career remains unaffected?"

“We inquired with Marcoli and found that General Yili is not that powerful. The most powerful person is his superior, the General Zhenguo, who is the mastermind behind the Han Chinese court’s takeover of the entire Western Regions.”

"Isn't it said that Han emperors are most intolerant of people whose achievements overshadow their own?"

"The founding emperor of the Yongtai Dynasty was a wise ruler! Moreover, Marcoli said that the entire garrison in Anxi and Guanxi was composed of this emperor's loyal followers, and the throne of the Shang Dynasty was entirely protected by this army."

"And another thing, I've heard that this great general who has won countless battles is an extremely beautiful woman!"

The foreign merchants: "So that's how it is!"

Not to mention that Gan Minglan's identity as a woman sparked a series of speculations and associations among these foreign merchants.

They no longer held any expectations for the court's attitude.

After recognizing reality, he immediately transformed into a disciplined and honest businessman.

What's the point of coming all this way, overcoming mountains and rivers?

Isn't it all about making money?
They started purchasing the goods.

The variety of goods exported from Bagua City far exceeded that of the maritime trade of the Southern Yue Kingdom.

Silk fabrics such as colorful silk brocade, Shu brocade, and double-sided embroidery are classified as top-tier luxury goods.

The price was outrageously high.

Handmade, limited quantity.

High-quality cotton fabrics with rich dyeing options and beautiful patterns offer better value for money than silk.

With the support of hydraulic multi-spindle spinning machines and hydraulic looms, the production capacity of cotton fabric is not limited!
Porcelain, and the most popular items among foreign merchants in Bagua City were tea sets and tea pets with unique oriental characteristics.

Tea tables with root carvings or jade carvings are supplied as complete sets.

It's many times more expensive than each product category sold separately!
Tea merchants have also made great strides in recent years.

In addition to the original varieties, flower tea, fruit tea, tea powder and formula tea drinks have been developed.

Don't tell me yet.

Don't say it yet.

These fancy varieties all tasted good to foreign merchants!

The above three categories of mainstream goods are hard currency for export, so you can buy them without hesitation.

However, it's worth mentioning the high-profit items in Bagua City.

Perfume is the first choice.

Unfortunately, the European agency rights almost all fell into the hands of the Venetian merchant Marcoli.

Secondly, there's the mirror.

That’s right.

It's a mirror!

The mirrors from Kansai Trading Company are clearer, and their wholesale price is more than half cheaper than that of workshops in Venice and other places of the same mirror size.

Foreign merchants, who lacked access to mirrors, quickly embraced this reverse export, placing orders that were no less numerous than those placed by merchants within the Great Wall.

The third best-selling item is various medicinal wines.

Besides the famous meat wine and snow lotus wine, Gan Minglan gave Huang Lao, the imperial physician, many ancient prescriptions.

It uses Yili Wuliangye as the base liquor.

Mr. Huang and his grandchildren successfully replicated it:
Acanthopanax senticosus wine is used to promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, and treat soreness and weakness in the lower back and knees.

Royal Longevity Secret Recipe: Guilingji Wine

Poria cocos wine, which is believed to invigorate the spleen and calm the mind, is considered a "nourishing immortal wine" by Taoists.

Huoxiang Zhengqi Wine is a good remedy for relieving summer heat and dampness.

All of these medicinal wines are sold by the cup in inns and restaurants in Yili.

Foreign merchants travel abroad year-round, and few of them are in good health.

Anyone who has ever drunk medicinal wine can understand the benefits its medicinal properties bring to the body.

Don't say that Muslims can't drink alcohol! The court and the nobility are not bound by certain rules.

Of course, these medicinal wines are not something that ordinary believers can afford.

It was also snapped up by foreign merchants.

Other items include dozens of medicinal herbs such as nine-leaf hibiscus, fountain pens, ink, notebooks, mutton fat soap, and various milk candies.

The foreign merchants had a premonition.

Once the results of the smoke test of Wuxiang medicinal tobacco reach Europe, the price of Jiuye Fuxiang will surely rise to a new level.

This has been verified by generations of Han Chinese smokers.

This tobacco is non-toxic!
But the future of Wuxiang medicinal smoke is uncertain!
The daily transaction volume in Bagua City is increasing at an astonishing rate.

at the same time.

Someone used a large sum of money to pave the way, and the message was relayed through various levels of government to Gan Minglan.

"Master, someone wants to buy the technology to grow trees in the desert and pave roads with asphalt. We can name our price."

Gan Minglan became interested and asked happily:

"Which country's businessman is this? He has such a discerning eye!"

God knows.

Without her cheat-like abilities, the greenery along the asphalt roads connecting these oases wouldn't have fared so well.

Tiger Head: "They are noble merchants from the Arab province of the Ottoman Empire!"

Gan Minglan: It turns out it was a piece of cloth on the head of the future generation!

They really do have the key to obtaining the most important raw material for paving asphalt roads.

As for planting trees in the desert, their deserts don't have the underground karez systems of the Western Regions.

Even with the advanced technology of later generations, they were unable to solve their problem of greenery.

Gan Minglan could only express her regret:

"We can discuss asphalt paving technology, but I'm afraid I can't help with desert afforestation."

The message was replied to very quickly.

The next day, several Arab merchants were taken to Ganluchuan.

From the Yili River Valley to the Ganlu River.

What they saw and heard along the way left them both amazed and in awe.

"The road is wide and smooth!"

"The green plants on both sides of the road have no fallen leaves!"

"Roses? There are still hundreds of thousands of acres of roses blooming in the desert this season?!"

"."

Before even meeting the first person from the Western Regions, they were already stunned by these man-made landscapes.

Faced with overwhelming power, Arab merchants abandoned all their previous prejudices against women.

After a flustered and trembling outburst, the accompanying translator calmly said:
"Your Excellency, thank you for your audience! Our journey east from Stone City has been truly awe-inspiring, especially considering the state of your country's road engineering! Therefore, we are eager to learn this paving technique to improve the road conditions of our Ottoman Empire."

That really shows sincerity.

They knew that such a large project was not a small business, so they said that as long as they learned the skills, the price was negotiable.

Is Gan Minglan short of money?
The gold allocated to her every day was so much that it couldn't be contained in a bushel.

She said to the translator:
“Tell them to trade me some Arabian specialties. Hmm, I want 100,000 young adult camels, half male and half female.”

Arab merchant: "."

This great general who protects the country is indeed formidable!
Camels are one of the "currencies" in their Arabian desert region.

Camels could be used to directly exchange for goods or as betrothal gifts or compensation.

A healthy camel is roughly equivalent to ten sheep or a farmer's income for more than half a year.

Arab merchants relied entirely on camels to transport goods across the desert.

The general before us just asked for 100,000 heads!