Chapter 46
Huo Shu’s brow twitched. He did indeed have the intention of acquiring other goods. As Tao Yu had said, silk and brocade alone were a bit too monotonous.
Furthermore, the journey to the Northern Region was long and arduous, and it would take a considerable amount of time. If the goods brought were too few, it might not be profitable.
Tea leaves were not only light and easy to carry, but they also had a market.
The Northwest was vast, but there were not many places that produced tea. However, people from both the north and south shared a liking for tea.
Boundary herders had once fought for tea-producing areas, even leading to battles.
Last year, when the war in the Northern Region ceased, the imperial court not only ceded land but also compensated with silver and tea.
This showed that both tea and fabrics were commodities.
In fact, traveling merchants dealing in goods primarily dealt with the same few items.
Previously, without connections to acquire goods, there had been no arrangements. Now that Fang He had come to discuss business, it was an invaluable opportunity.
He was certainly not a stingy person, nor did he hold a grudge about the matter with Qiao Tuzhi.
With business coming to his doorstep, there was no reason to refuse: “Good, you can see the goods first.”
Fang He was overjoyed upon hearing this. His Fang family had been in the tea business for generations, and their tea supply was substantial.
However, in prosperous places like Jiangnan, where there were many people who enjoyed tea and tea tasting, the market was large, but tea merchants were as numerous as carp crossing a river.
To stand out in the tea industry was no easier than passing the imperial examinations.
Therefore, competition among tea merchants was common; they fought for customers and business.
At the end of last year, Fang He got engaged, and his family began preparations to open a new branch, which was handed over to him, making him responsible for its profits and losses.
This was considered a wedding gift from his family, as well as an asset for his future married life.
His elder brothers were the same; upon marriage, they each received a shop, and their post-marriage income and expenses relied on the shop. Unless there were major changes, the family would not provide further support or financial assistance.
For the sake of his wife and children, the brothers who took over the tea shops worked diligently to manage them.
Fang He had finally managed to marry Qiao Qiao’er and naturally couldn’t bear to see her suffer.
After getting married, he had to be a real man and take good care of his wife and children, accumulating family wealth.
For this reason, upon learning that Huo Shu was going north to trade, he took the opportunity during the New Year festival to visit his relatives in the village and then came to talk business with Huo Shu.
Concluding a traveling trade deal was much more profitable than running a shop and receiving individual customers for several months.
If a stable, long-term cooperation could be established, it would be even better.
Those who engaged in traveling trade knew that merchant caravans going to the Northern Region were rare, and successfully securing a deal was uncommon.
After the two parties reached an agreement, they would go to the city shop to inspect the tea the next morning.
After Fang He left, Ji Yangzong came to inquire, fearing that Old Man Qiao had come to cause trouble again. Upon learning that it was about business, he couldn’t help but feel relieved.
This business was going smoothly, which put his mind at ease. He didn’t need to worry too much; the younger generation had their own connections and paths.
The next day, early in the morning, Tao Yu and Huo Shu went to the city again.
Jingyuan Tea Shop was a Fang family tea shop, and they had several branches in Tongzhou.
Upon arriving at the tea shop, they discovered that it was located near the prefectural yamen, on the bank where Tao Yu had fallen into the water.
Tao Yu looked out with a hint of sadness, but it could also be said to be a destined connection.
The shop was divided into two floors. The downstairs hall had high shelves displaying tea cakes, and the open space was for customers to enjoy tea.
The back door faced the river, and both the upstairs and downstairs railings offered places to drink tea and enjoy the scenery. The rooms on the second floor were filled with tea cakes, and there were few people drinking tea there; it was specifically for purchasing tea leaves.
“A pot of bitter tea.”
Next to the main entrance of the tea shop, a window was opened, and a sign advertising brewed tea was hung outside.
This meant that they sold tea in pots. Passersby could bring their own water kettles, and the shop would fill them.
The prices of different tea infusions varied, but they were generally affordable. For example, bitter tea, which was invigorating, could fill a pot for three to five copper coins.
The most expensive was no more than ten copper coins, enough to last for most of the day.
Most of these were for people going to do physical labor or hard work; they would buy a pot to hang on their waists to stay alert and relieve fatigue while working.
Early in the morning, there were not many customers in the tea shop. Most of the business was of this nature. They had to wait until after the morning market before people gradually came to drink tea. The afternoon customer flow was the largest.
“Tongzhou is considered a major tea-producing prefecture. The most famous are Huangshan Maofeng, Qimen Black Tea, and Lu’an Tea. Besides these, other teas are also quite good, but they don’t have such fame.”
Fang He took out the tea leaves and brewed tea for Huo Shu and Tao Yu to taste the famous teas of Tongzhou.
Huo Shu couldn’t really distinguish the quality of the tea. Compared to the Northern Region, the tea served in street tea houses in Tongzhou was generally better than that in the north.
So, he directly asked about the tea prices.
Fang He introduced them.
In addition to the several famous teas, most tea gardens in Tongzhou were concentrated in the Zhongshan area. Countless tea gardens there formed a vast area, and all tea leaves from that area were collectively called Tongzhou Chang Tea.
Additionally, there were small tea mountains outside the scope of local tea merchants, called private teas.
The prices were tiered, with the three major famous teas at the top, followed by Tongzhou Chang Tea. The prices of private teas varied; the higher ones were from major tea merchants within Tongzhou, whose own teas were priced above Chang Tea, but this was a very small minority.
Most of the private teas were from less famous tea merchants, and their prices were lower than Chang Tea, but not significantly so.
These private teas were grown, picked, and processed in a single workshop, resulting in lower costs than Chang Tea. Even if sold at a lower price than Chang Tea, the profit might not be less than that of Chang Tea.
Merchants who had been in the tea business for generations all wanted to establish their own private tea mountains. To truly make a name for themselves, they had to rely on their own products.
Moreover, many tea connoisseurs enjoyed exploring and tasting private teas, seeking out different flavors.
Returning to the matter of price.
Outside the province, Tongzhou Chang Tea was already quite renowned. If the capital turnover was limited, traveling merchants would generally only take Chang Tea.
Therefore, Fang He directly negotiated the price for Chang Tea: “The tea leaves of Chang Tea are divided into three grades: the top grade is priced at 880 copper coins per jin, the middle grade at 800 copper coins per jin, and the lower grade at 600 copper coins.”
Many tea merchants preferred to go directly to the tea gardens to get tea, bypassing the shops, thinking that the tea in the shops was overpriced. In reality, the market price at the tea gardens was not much lower than in the shops.
Unless they were familiar faces, people at the tea gardens would still overcharge. To get tea at a low price, one had to be familiar with the way to negotiate.
“This shop is a newly opened branch of my family, and we haven’t cooperated with any traveling merchants yet. Brother Huo is my primary traveling merchant for sourcing goods, so the price is negotiable.”
“If you think highly of Chang Tea, you can get the top grade for 400 copper coins, the middle grade for 350 copper coins, and the lower grade for 250 copper coins. How about it?”
Tao Yu knew a little about tea prices. The market price of tea could be inquired about at any shop.
In the past, in early spring, tea pickers would be summoned to the tea gardens to pick tea. Women and husbands in the village who had free time or had finished their spring farming work wanted to earn some extra money.
Tea pickers were paid by the jin for picking tea. Maojian was twenty to thirty copper coins per jin, and the tea leaves themselves were only a few copper coins.
Fast tea pickers could earn over a hundred copper coins a day.
When he had free time, he also went to watch the excitement. People were constantly coming and going from his home, and they drank tea faster than ordinary families. His father had to buy tea every few days.
The tea gardens and the city were in opposite directions, but the distances were roughly the same. When his father had time, he would go to the tea gardens to buy tea.
The price would be slightly lower than the market price in the shops, but not much. Even after factoring in the detour to the shops, they could still get it. Where they bought it depended entirely on personal preference.
The price Fang He offered was close to the price these tea merchants paid to get tea from the production sites. It was truly not inflated.
Since the other party was so straightforward, there was nothing more to say.
The price was thus settled.
“What are the prices for Maofeng, Black Tea, and Lu’an?”
“The market price is around a thousand copper coins.”
Maofeng’s market price was five taels per jin, while Black Tea and Lu’an were around four taels.
Fang He said, “If you’re looking for something more affordable, you could also get some high-grade broken tea.”
He took out some samples. This high-grade broken tea was the tea fragments sifted out from good tea shops. Although their shape was no longer intact, the tea brewed from them was still fragrant.
The price was not expensive; it was meant to cater to tea lovers who liked good tea but had limited funds.
“You can get it for 500 copper coins per jin, and you can get a discount of two liang on Maofeng and the other types.”
Tao Yu said, “We should also get some good quality goods.”
Huo Shu said, “Okay.”
After considering everything, Huo Shu and Tao Yu bought another 250 taels worth of tea. Actually, at such a good price, they could have bought more, but their funds were limited.
Including the support from their families, they had only about seven hundred taels of silver. They spent three hundred on cloth, and they still needed to reserve some money for expenses on the road. They also needed livestock for escorting the goods, which would also cost money.
After leaving the shop, Tao Yu felt much lighter.
“Actually, Tongzhou porcelain is also a common commodity for traveling merchants to resell. I wonder what the market situation is like in the Northern Region.”
Huo Shu said, “The market situation won’t be bad, but it’s not easy to transport. If it needs to be delivered to the Northern Region, it’s prone to damage on the way.”
They were a newly formed merchant caravan with limited manpower and funds. Everything was just beginning, and it was not suitable to carry porcelain.
Tao Yu agreed.
Regardless, they had almost acquired all the goods, and the next step was to plan the route north.
However, this time Huo Shu did not make arrangements alone. He planned to discuss the northbound route with Ge Liang.
Tongzhou was almost at the southernmost point of the Yuan Dynasty’s territory, while the Northern Region was at the northernmost point, spanning several prefectures in between. The route was extremely complex and could not be decided rashly.
He did not return to the village. Instead, he took the map of the Yuan Dynasty’s territory and went to Hongli Village.
Ge Liang was training on the public mountain between the two villages, in an abandoned forest farm. The eleven people under his command had already begun practicing.
Ji Wenliang had returned exhausted these past few days, falling asleep as soon as he got home. It was more tiring than farming.
Old Man Qi asked him if he still wanted to go out, but the young man didn’t complain at all.
When Huo Shu arrived, Ge Liang had not returned yet. He thought since he was here, he might as well go up the mountain to take a look and return together.
“It’s colder on the mountain, and it’s tiring to go up. Why don’t you wait for me in the village?”
Tao Yu nodded and didn’t insist on going up the mountain: “There are many ponds in Hongli Village. I’ll go buy some shrimp, and we can have it for dinner.”
After Huo Shu left, Tao Yu found a shrimp pond nearby. Just as he was about to call out to the owner of the house next door to inquire, he climbed up a bit and passed through a bamboo forest. He saw a crowd gathered in the yard of this house, seemingly watching some excitement.
“Heartless one, I’ve worked myself to death in this home, taking care of the whole family without a single complaint. You weren’t even home for the New Year. I waited day and night for your return, and you brought back a vixen! This life is unbearable!”
Tao Yu heard the commotion and crept closer.
He saw a woman sitting on the ground in the yard, crying and cursing.
Beside her stood a neatly dressed man, and a young man with a delicate and pretty face half-leaned against him, unsure whether to help her or not.
“Get up. You’re acting like a shrew. Making such a fuss, what does it look like?”
The man tried to pull the woman up, but she shook him off: “You’re saying I’m old and past my prime, not as beautiful as that vixen outside. But whose sake did I toil and have my face worn out for!”
Seeing the woman continue to make a scene, the villagers who had come to watch grew more numerous, and the man’s face grew more unmanageable.
“I broke my leg when I was out. If it weren’t for his meticulous care, how could I have returned with all my limbs intact? Now that his adoptive mother, who he relied on, has passed away and he’s left with no one, I brought him back.”
Someone in the crowd advised, “It’s common for men to have multiple wives and concubines. Madam Wang, don’t be too jealous.”
The woman directly spat: “Bah! He thinks he’s worthy! Relying on a few acres of poor land and two ponds, and he wants to be like the high families with multiple wives and concubines! If he’s not driven away today, don’t expect any peace!”
Tao Yu listened to the commotion and saw the man’s parents rush back from outside. The woman’s family also came upon hearing the news, each with their own reasons, and tried to persuade them.
The woman refused. Someone called the village head, and soon, Village Head Zhou and his son Zhou Zheng also arrived.
