kvmb Chapter 403 Shen Xingjian's Super Bargaining
Chapter 403 Shen Xingjian's Super Bargaining
After Wei Que finished talking about cotton, he went straight to the topic of silver. "Sir Shen, I wonder how much this cotton you bought in the past cost?"
Shen Zheng didn't want to play tricks on him, so she told him the truth: "Twenty cents a pound."
Wei Que said, "Hmm," "It's expensive because of the travel expenses."
Shen Zheng understood what he meant and asked, "Sir Wei, may I ask, if your Canal Transport Bureau goes to the west to buy cotton, how much will it cost?"
Wei Que recalled the emperor's instructions before he set out, and finally chose to speak in a humble manner.
"Sir Shen, to be honest, you know that the journey from Tong'an County to the cotton-growing areas in the west is not only long, but we also have to go upstream. The round trip will take at least half a month on the boat. If we are delayed on the way, we will have to pay for it by the month."
Yu Shizhang's face suddenly darkened, and he tapped the table with his fingers and said, "Let's get to the point."
Wei Que smiled at him and stroked his fur: "Master, calm down. I just want to make my words clearer, so that Lord Shen won't think that I am cheating Tongan County."
"This is what I think, Lord Lao and Lord Shen, please listen. I have not been to the west yet, but based on my past experience, if I go there directly in the name of the government to buy cotton, the cost of cotton should be able to be reduced to less than ten cents. As for the other expenses, they are the shipping and loading and unloading fees incurred on the way."
He assured, "Please rest assured, Lord Bo and Lord Shen, the price of cotton will be lower than your previous purchase price. After all, the larger the quantity, the better. However... we must also ensure that I and my brothers have enough food to eat, so that we don't make a wasted trip."
Yu Shizhang was still frowning in thought. Shen Zheng lowered her eyes and kicked Shen Xingjian under the table.
For a moment, Shen Xingjian didn't move.
After two tries, Shen Xingjian still didn't move.
Hey--
Shen Zheng raised her head and looked at Shen Xingjian: Pretending to be dead at the critical moment?!
Shen Xingjian tilted his head in confusion: What?
Instead, Liang Fu suddenly bent down and touched his leg, and whispered, "Sir Shen, why do you keep kicking me?"
Shen Zheng looked at Liang Fu's wrinkled face and tried her best to hold back her laughter. "Sorry, Sir Liang, I kicked the wrong person..."
How did she know that Liang Fu's legs were so long that they reached Shen Xingjian.
But after this commotion, Shen Xingjian at least understood what she meant. He nodded at Shen Zheng, his whole aura suddenly changed, and he looked directly at Wei Que.
"Master Wei, this is not how you calculate the account."
"Hmm..." Wei Que lowered his head and hadn't noticed who was talking to him. After a moment, he reacted and glared, "Hmm?! Lord Shen, what did you say?"
Shen Xingjian repeated, "Your humble servant says that this is not how you calculate the account."
Wei Que looked at Shen Xingjian's appearance and felt terrible.
He thought that this idiot was just here to listen today, who would have thought that he would take the initiative to speak.
He recalled Shen Xingjian's various performances in the court.
This person either keeps his mouth shut or, once he speaks, he will not show mercy to anyone. He never fails.
What is this called?
This is called the barking dog that bites!
Now he is being targeted by this dog!
Wei Que was sweating for himself and laughed: "I forgot that Lord Shen, the pillar of the Ministry of Revenue, is here. So in your opinion, how should we settle this account?"
He just didn't believe that he, Wei Que, couldn't rely on his years of experience traveling outside to win a battle!
Shen Xingjian said he wanted to settle the accounts, so he took out a piece of paper and pen from his pocket and started writing.
"Let's calculate the travel expenses and labor costs first. Lord Wei, look, this is the route map from the western cotton-producing area to the Liuyangfu dock. Starting from Liuyangfu, the boat goes all the way west. Let's make two assumptions."
Wei Que didn't expect that this kid was so fully prepared and was horrified.
"What assumption?"
Shen Xingjian wrote two Arabic numerals on the paper - 1 and 2.
Wei Que scratched his head. What on earth was this painting?
Shen Xingjian was immersed in his little world of arithmetic, talking to himself: "The first assumption is that your cargo ship from the Canal Transport Bureau went over empty. Although it is upstream, as far as I know, your cargo ships have all been improved by the Ministry of Works. You have a good relationship with Lord Yue of the Ministry of Works, and he even gave you the priority when it comes to ship modification, rather than the Governor."
Wei Que: !!
Liang Fu! It must be this old man Liang Fu, who even told such a private matter to an outsider!
Wei Que looked at Liang Fu fiercely, but he was responded with an extremely honest smile.
Shen Zheng and Yu Shizhang were so happy that they were smiling from ear to ear, and even drank tea leisurely.
Shen Xingjian continued, "The modified empty ship requires less manpower and material resources to sail upstream. If we talk about the actual consumption, the biggest part is the damage to the ship and the living expenses of the crew on board."
Wei Que really wanted to ask Shen Xingjian to stop talking.
But Shen Xingjian didn't even glance at him, "But I think that Lord Wei would not go back and forth with an empty ship. So the next assumption is, whether it is along the way or in the western region, there are scarce items, and some areas are even on the trade route of your Caoyun Division. Lord Wei, how can you give up the profit and go with an empty ship?"
Wei Que racked his brains and came up with an excuse for himself.
"Mr. Shen, what you said makes sense, but I am sailing for Tongan County, so I will follow Tongan County closely. If the quantity required by Tongan County is large, the cargo ship will not carry other items during the round trip."
"You will." Shen Xingjian didn't give Wei Que any chance.
"How come I can do it?!" Wei Que was anxious.
If he arranged the manpower and time reasonably, and could empty the warehouse and squeeze out time in the middle of the journey, that was also Wei Que's ability! This kid actually took all of this into account?
Wei Que stiffened his neck and refused to do it.
Shen Xingjian turned to Liang Fu and asked, "Sir Liang, what is the maximum load capacity of the cargo ships used by the Canal Transport Bureau on the inland rivers?"
Liang Fu didn't even look at Wei Que, and answered bluntly, "Six thousand stones."
ho-
Shen Zheng secretly gave a thumbs up, it actually weighed hundreds of tons.
Just as Shen Xingjian said, what a waste to use it only to hold cotton?
And there is another benefit to using cotton as the bottom of a cargo ship...
Shen Xingjian's idea coincided with Shen Zheng's: "Master Wei, look at our cotton. It only weighs a few kilograms, but it is so big. It only takes up space, not weight. If you use cotton to pad the bottom of the goods to transport some fragile items, wouldn't it be easy? Then you can cooperate with local royal merchants along the way and make back the extra money."
Wei Que felt like his underwear was exposed in front of Shen Xingjian.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Then, Lord Shen, what do you want?"
Shen Xingjian smiled at him and asked for a high price: "Tong'an County will not pay for the outbound expenses. Your Caoyun Bureau will cover it. As for the return voyage... Tong'an County will pay according to the weight of the cotton."
Shen Zheng, Yu Shizhang, Liang Fu:!!!
Shen Xingjian is really brave enough to speak!
Shen Zheng stared at Wei Que's clenched hands, fearing that he would go up and punch Shen Xingjian. Should she help him take the blow then, or step forward to stop Wei Que?