Mi Banxia's pretty face flushed: "Granddaughter just heard that he has become very famous recently, so I am curious."

Mi Moli waved her hand and said, "It's okay. Look at these outstanding men more often, so you won't be blinded by those who seek fame and reputation. It's a pity that Fu Chengwang got there first."

There was a lot of regret in his words.

Mi Banxia quickly said, "I thought you would let Big Brother go."

Mi Moli snorted coldly: "He is too deeply entangled with the sea merchants. It's not a good thing."

Mi Banxia explained for her eldest brother: "He also did it for the family."

Mi Moli snorted coldly and said, "Huh! Isn't the family's wealth enough? Instead of studying hard, he chooses to hang out with sea merchants. That's fine, but he also evades taxes. Such a person is no longer worthy of being a member of the Mi family."

Mi Banxia quickly said, "I will persuade Big Brother to restrain himself, and he will definitely listen."

"That would be best." Mi Moli said.

…

Zhao Lin returned to the headquarters and took a short rest, then asked someone to call Liu Rui over.

Liu Rui came and looked at it carefully.

The four people around Zhao Lin are well-known, namely Su Di, Fu Wenqi, Gong Qiubai and Su Yinghan.

Now Fu Wenqi is the governor of Jiangbei and did not follow Zhao Lin here.

Only Su Di, Gong Qiubai and Su Yinghan came.

But now, only Gong Qiubai is here, and the other two are nowhere to be seen.

"Commoner Liu Rui pays his respects to the Governor."

Liu Rui bowed to Zhao Lin.

Liu Rui had the title of scholar, and according to the Daqi law, he did not need to kneel when meeting an official.

Zhao Lin smiled and said, "President Liu is here, please sit down."

"Thank you, sir."

Liu Rui sat down upright.

Zhao Lin asked, "The Qingyuan Ocean Trade Chamber of Commerce was founded by President Liu?"

Liu Rui said proudly: "Your Excellency, it was I who set up this organization."

"Why set up such a chamber of commerce?" Zhao Lin asked.

Liu Rui said, "It's not easy to be a maritime trader. I, the common people, have established the Maritime Trade Chamber of Commerce based on the principle of mutual assistance and mutual benefit."

"Good!" Zhao Lin praised: "If everyone were like you, there wouldn't be so much poverty in this world."

Liu Rui said: "Thank you for the compliment, sir."

Zhao Lin said, "How about this, call the rest of the Chamber of Commerce here, and I'll have a meeting with you."

Liu Rui was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Zhao Lin meant, but he reacted quickly and said, "It is their honor to have a face-to-face meeting with you."

Liu Rui provided the list and Zhao Lin immediately sent someone to invite them.

Soon, all these people came over.

Twenty-three people in total.

Nowadays, those who can engage in maritime trade all come from wealthy families.

Not to mention anything else, a merchant ship used for maritime trade alone costs more than ten thousand taels of silver, sometimes as much as thirty or forty thousand taels, which is the entire asset of many so-called rich people.

These twenty-three people can be said to be the richest people in Qingyuan Province.

Zhao Lin took a quick glance.

Among these people, some had calm expressions, some had a hint of fierceness, and some had flickering eyes and did not dare to look Zhao Lin in the eye.

"I called you all here today because, firstly, I want to learn about the situation of maritime trade, and secondly, I want to hear about any difficulties you may have."

Zhao Lin tried his best to display the attitude of serving the people in his previous life and spoke to everyone in a friendly and amiable manner.

When some people heard what Zhao Lin said, they showed joy, while others were very disdainful, but no one spoke for a while.

Liu Rui spoke first: "Your Excellency, please feel free to ask us any questions. We will definitely tell you everything we know."

Zhao Lin smiled and said, "I feel relieved with what President Liu said. Where are you going to do business?"

This was no secret, so Liu Rui did not hide it: "The nearby ones are Ryukyu and Pirate Island, the far ones are Singapore and Malaysia, and the further ones are some scattered islands."

Zhao Lin asked curiously, "Is Pirate Island the name of the island?"

Liu Rui said, "The original name of Pirate Island is Sun Island, but the people there are short and mean. They don't work and just like to plunder and pirate. That's why the common people call it Pirate Island."

"I see."

Zhao Lin nodded and said, "So Red Hair Island means there are people with red hair on the island?"

Liu Rui said: "Your Excellency is absolutely right."

Zhao Lin asked, "The people on the pirate island are so despicable. How can we do business with you?"

Liu Rui smiled and said, "Although they are very backward, almost like savages, they have silver and copper mines there, and they trade directly with silver and copper."

"So that's how it is." Zhao Lin suddenly realized.

Silver and copper mines in Daqi are rare and difficult to mine, especially copper, which has many uses but very little is mined, which cannot keep up with usage. Therefore, the value of copper coins has increased a lot.

In the past, one tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins, but now it can only be exchanged for eight or nine hundred.

Zhao Lin asked, "How far apart are these islands?"

Liu Rui said: "Ryukyu and Pirate Island are only a few thousand miles away from us, Red Hair Island is only three to five thousand miles away, and the ones further away are tens of thousands of miles away."

Zhao Lin sighed, "The sea is windy and rough. To be able to travel tens of thousands of miles without incident depends not only on the seamen's skills but also on luck."

Liu Rui was moved and said, "Your Excellency is right. Luck is actually more important. Every time we go out to sea, it's a gamble. If we're lucky, there won't be too many storms, and we'll return safely, and we can even make some money. But if we're unlucky, not only will we lose our cargo, but there will also be casualties, which is a huge loss. Every year, small merchants are ruined by this. Even though we have a lot of money, we live in fear, afraid that one day we will follow in their footsteps."

Once the conversation started, the merchants began to complain about how dangerous it was to go out to sea. They had to worry about it, it was very dangerous, and they earned their money through hard work.

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