Chapter 52
Three days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the business banquet was held as scheduled at Guanhe Tower.
In preparation for this banquet, Guanhelou closed for three days in advance, redecorated the upstairs for entertaining guests, and specially transported fresh and high-end ingredients and several experienced chefs from the provincial capital.
In addition, Feng He also contacted the most famous opera troupe in the city, and they would set up a stage downstairs to provide entertainment besides the banquet. There would also be some singing girls and poor women who were not presentable. Although he did not like them much, such banquets usually had to arrange for a few of them. It was up to the individual whether he wanted to accompany them or not.
On the day of the business banquet, although Guanhe Tower was closed to the public, there were many carriages and servants outside the restaurant.
Lu Shang came early, and besides himself, he also brought Lu Qi and Zhan Shunan. Seeing Feng He greeting other guests at the door, he just greeted him and took his people to wait inside.
Most of the merchants present today came from the provincial capital. There were only three or five merchants in Tang Town, and now they were all trying to use their connections to deal with the masters and lords above them, trying to get some big business from them.
In the end, Lu Shang didn't recognize anyone and had no choice but to walk around the venue. Although he didn't talk to anyone, he listened to what everyone was talking about. He even recognized most of the people in the venue based on their conversations.
There was also the timber business family that Feng He mentioned repeatedly. Their surname was Li. They sent two young men today. The two were not standing together, but there were people standing all around them.
Lu Shang took a quick look and found that there were more than twenty people standing around the two of them alone. Even more people couldn't even get to the front and could only stand at the back on tiptoe, craning their necks from time to time to take a look.
Once upon a time, Lu Shang was treated the same way as those two young masters, but times had changed. He looked at them from afar, feeling a pity in his heart. He quickly adjusted his mindset and went over to become one of the onlookers.
Although he was unable to strike up a conversation with the two young masters of the Li family, after listening for half an hour, he had a general understanding of the business partners that the Li family needed on this trip.
It turned out that the escort agency that the Li family had cooperated with in the past was employed by a group of foreign merchants and they left with them two months ago. The Li family wanted to wait for a while, but the head of the escort agency sent a letter back, estimating that they would not be able to come back within a year.
But the Li family couldn't just wait for a year, so they had to look for another escort agency.
In addition to escorting timber, the Li family has also developed some business in silk and brocade in the past two years. However, their family does not deal in common fabrics from the north and south, but specializes in looking for rare fabrics from foreign countries in the Western Regions.
It just so happened that among the people attending the banquet today were people from the escort agency and the tailor shop. The masters of the two families were also the few who could talk to the two young masters of the Li family, and they talked for a quarter of an hour.
Until the last guest arrived, Feng He and Manager Fu came in one after another.
The Feng family's business is very big and is considered a leader in the city. However, there are also families like the Li family present today, which are not much inferior to the Feng family.
Feng He just said a few polite words in front of everyone, and then ordered people to serve the dishes. The troupe on the first floor could also prepare to start the show.
Manager Fu went to the back to arrange things. After Feng He greeted a few familiar business partners, he walked straight towards Lu Shang.
After all, he was the only son of the Feng family and the initiator of this business banquet. His every move was noticed by many people, so when everyone saw him talking and laughing with a strange man, many people were shocked.
As Feng He and Lu Shang talked longer, more and more people became restless.
Lu Shang was listening to Feng He explaining the basic criteria the Li family used to find an escort agency when he heard a greeting from the side: "Hello, Master Feng, may I know who this is--"
The visitor was a middle-aged man in his forties, followed by a gentleman dressed like an accountant.
Feng He put on a polite smile and said, "So it's Mr. Zhang. Let me introduce you two."
"This is Mr. Zhang, a native of Tang Town. His family also runs a tavern. The famous Yi Jiangnan in town is owned by Mr. Zhang—"
"It turns out to be Mr. Zhang. I've heard a lot about you." Lu Shang bowed.
Feng He continued, "This is Mr. Lu. His family is in the logistics business. Mr. Zhang should have heard of him. We at Guanhe Tower have recently changed several suppliers, all thanks to Mr. Lu's help in arranging the connections. Not only that, the compensation and damage guarantee service provided by Lu's Logistics is unparalleled!"
"Oh?" Mr. Zhang became interested.
Feng He did not interfere. He smiled slightly and took a half step back, indicating that Lu Shang should explain in person.
Lu Shang understood and took the initiative to take over the conversation: "That's right. I am not very talented, but I have recruited a logistics team. All of them are good hunters who grew up in the mountains. They are responsible for the transportation of goods."
"Isn't that the escort agency?" Mr. Zhang's reaction was the same as that of Manager Fu.
Lu Shang smiled and said, "That's not all. In addition to providing cargo escort, Lu's Logistics also offers compensation for damaged goods. In other words—"
He carefully explained the compensation clause and concluded, "Of course, in addition to compensation, if the buyer doesn't have time to find a seller personally, as long as they quote a reserve price and requirements, we can also negotiate the source of goods on their behalf."
Master Zhang was dumbfounded and couldn't help but say, "No wonder I saw that Shopkeeper Fu has been idle recently. It turns out that he asked Boss Lu to do it for him. The logistics delivery is really a bargain for him..."
Speak of the devil, and here comes the devil. Shopkeeper Fu comes over and says, "Who is saying bad things about me?"
Mr. Zhang turned around and greeted Manager Fu, and couldn't help but ask in detail about the recent supply of goods to Guanhe Tower.
The logistics provided by Lu Shang has not been reduced in terms of cost, but many times, for busy people like Manager Fu and Feng He, time is the most valuable cost.
Shopkeeper Fu said, "It's mainly about saving time and worry. For example, if you ask farmers to deliver goods or ask the staff in your own restaurant to pick them up, there will always be delays, and you have to bear the loss for the delay. But it's different when you entrust it to Lu Logistics. We've had them deliver the vegetables, meat, fruits, etc. for Guanhe Tower for two months, and they've always arrived early, and the quality is always consistent."
"Although it's not good to say such pessimistic things when doing business, you also know, Master Zhang, whether farmers are growing vegetables or raising livestock, there will always be times when they fail to take good care of them. If something happens along the way, it's one thing for the farmers to lose money, but our restaurant will be affected even more. As I said before, with Lu's Logistics, the losses will be fully compensated."
"To put it bluntly, it's nothing more than spending a small amount of money to buy peace of mind and worry-free!"
Mr. Zhang understood something and his gaze unconsciously shifted to Lu Shang.
As he was speaking, someone passing by paused, and Li Da suddenly turned around and asked, "Excuse me, what logistics are you talking about?"
He just happened to pass by and only heard half of what Manager Fu said. He couldn't help but stop and ask a question.
Feng He was delighted to see him coming over, and immediately introduced him: "Hey, this is the eldest son of the Li family. I told you before, Brother Lu, that the eldest son will be responsible for the Li family's plan to re-establish an escort agency."
"This is Mr. Lu. Mr. Lu is in charge of Lu's Logistics."
"Master Li and I have known each other since childhood. He has a noble character. Although he looks aloof, he is very easy to get along with. Brother Lu is a close friend I have made recently, and his character is also impeccable."
As he spoke, Feng He moved closer to Li Da and whispered in his ear, "I moved to Tang Town. Now I live near Brother Lu's house and often visit him!"
The Feng and Li families have always been on good terms. Feng He has an average relationship with Li Er, but is a good friend of Li Da.
Before, he returned to the capital to arrange business and met with Li Da. He mentioned that he would return to the examination hall. Li Da also knew a little about the inside story.
After hearing what he said, Young Master Li couldn't help but look at Lu Shang a few more times.
With both young masters from the prefectural capital present, Master Zhang was speechless. He felt rather embarrassed, but he didn't want to give up on Lu Shang's cooperation. Shopkeeper Fu pulled him aside and whispered, "I'll introduce you to someone else later."
Only then did Mr. Zhang smile again.
As the two walked away, Feng He took the initiative and invited Li Da and Lu Shang into the private room next to them. Lu Qi and Zhan Shunan were not far away, and seeing this, they hurried in.
After everyone sat down, they exchanged pleasantries for a while before Li Da asked, "Could you trouble Mr. Lu to explain the logistics details to me?"
How could Lu Shang not seize the opportunity that was delivered to his doorstep?
After introducing the unique advantages of Lu Logistics, he called Zhan Shunan forward, "This is the logistics team's long-term worker, Hunter Zhan. Hunter Zhan's abilities are beyond my ability to describe in a few words. For example, the leader wolf on the mountain died at the hands of Hunter Zhan."
Transporting timber is not the same as transporting it within the town. It has to go a long way. In addition to the loss during the journey, what they fear most is bandits blocking the way. Therefore, they often ask the escort agency to escort them so that they can at least fight if they really encounter bandits.
Li Da had also seen some martial artists, and judging from the appearance of Zhan Shunan, he was no worse than the escort agency he had cooperated with before.
Unconsciously, the balance in his heart tilted even more towards Lu Shang.
Feng He also helped persuade them, "Brother Lu's logistics are absolutely top-notch. Guanhelou has been working with them for so long, and there hasn't been a single problem. Now that their helpers have all been replaced by experienced hunters, even if we really encounter robbers or bandits on the road, we won't be afraid at all."
"If you ask me, Li Da, you can give it a try. You don't need this little money anyway. What if you find a treasure?"
For someone like Feng He, it would be very easy to come up with five hundred or one thousand taels, and for Li Da, it would be very easy to come up with three to five thousand taels at once. Moreover, his family has all the wood prepared, and now all that is left is the final transportation.
According to Li Da's idea, if he couldn't find a suitable escort agency, he would directly find servants from his home, lead the team himself, and send them to Lingnan.
The journey from Songxi County to Lingnan is long. It would take at least three months to carry people and goods. It doesn't matter if it takes a long time. He is just afraid that after he leaves like this, when he comes back in three months, he doesn't know what a mess his family will be in.
The Li family is not like the Feng family, which has only one young master. Master Li is a playboy, and has seven or eight sons. Among them, Li Da and Li Er are the most important. However, they are half-brothers, and their fight has become more and more intense in the past two years.
Feng He gritted his teeth and said, "If that doesn't work, I can at least act as a guarantor for Brother Lu! Just hand over the goods to him, and you'll pay him once they're safely delivered. If anything goes wrong along the way, I'll cover all losses!"
Before Li Da could speak, Lu Shang was shocked: "This is unacceptable!"
Li Da had never seen Feng He so eager to help others before, and he looked at Lu Shang for a long time.
He pondered for a moment and asked, "Because the escort agency had to leave temporarily, I have over 300 pieces of wood stored at home. If I give it to Boss Lu, I wonder how many people Boss Lu can arrange to escort it, and how long it will take?"
The three hundred does not refer to weight, but to the finished logs that have been cut. According to past experience, a three-horse carriage can only hold a maximum of fifty pieces of wood.
Lu Shang asked, "Mr. Li, could you please tell me how much each weighs, and how long and wide it is?"
If Lu Shang had just been talking nonsense, Li Da might have been a little more suspicious, but since he was so cautious, Li Da felt much more relieved and relaxed. He told the details and waited for Lu Shang's follow-up response.
Lu Shang did some mental calculations and said, "Then I can probably send out eight vehicles, each with four escorts. As for the time it will take, to be honest, Young Master, Lu's Logistics has never left Tang Town, and I'll need to go there on horseback."
Li Da couldn't help but smile: "That's great!"
"My wood will have to wait for two more months at most. If Mr. Lu can give me an accurate answer within two months, then I will give it a try. The shipping fee will be the 10% that Mr. Lu mentioned."
Even if the timber from the Li family is sold at the lowest market price, it is worth over a thousand taels, which is equivalent to about a hundred taels after being converted to 10%.
But the escort company his family had previously cooperated with calculated the fees based on the number of people and the distance traveled. The escort fee paid by one person was usually between ten and twenty taels. This trip would cost at least two hundred taels.
No matter what, by cooperating with Lu Shang, as long as nothing goes wrong on his side, the Li family will still make money.
Lu Shang promised to go to Lingnan as soon as possible, firstly to estimate the time, and secondly to see which route was most suitable. He made a verbal agreement with Li Da, which was almost done.
Even though Lu Shang came for the Li family, he couldn't help but feel excited when he finally managed to get this big deal done.
It's a pity that Li Er is in charge of the Li family's cloth business. If he reaches an agreement with Li Da, he is afraid that he will no longer be able to be friends with Li Er. Fortunately, Lu Shang is not greedy. After a moment of regret, he no longer thinks about it.
While we were talking, the crab feast was being prepared downstairs.
Shopkeeper Fu knocked on the door and the people inside stopped their business conversation.
Feng He said, "Today's crab feast includes not only our Guanhelou's specialty, the drunken crab, but also several new dishes provided by Brother Lu, as well as Yue Xin's whole fish feast. Master Li, you must try them all!"
"Oh? Boss Lu is also a good cook?"
Lu Shang didn't notice anything wrong: "Just a little interest..."
The three of them came out of the private room and saw that the bosses outside were no longer talking about business, but were gathered in groups of three or four, waiting for the waiter in the store to set the crab feast in front of them.
The banquet is divided into two parts. The left half is for tasting wine and crabs. There are peach blossom wine, osmanthus wine, sake and rice wine. Autumn crabs are the most plump. In addition to drunken crabs, there are also crab pots, steamed crabs, fried crabs, crab roe and crab oil, etc.
The right half is prepared for people with poor spleen and stomach, and it is a large table of fish feast.
Most of the dishes at the fish banquet had appeared at the Lu family's housewarming party, but some new dishes had also been added. The ingredients were fresher and bolder, and the presentation was more refined and grand.
After all, Lu Shang is not a professional chef, but as long as he tells the recipe, the chef will start to cook. The dishes he makes are not bad, with good color, aroma and taste, and also have a sense of wealth.
Everyone on the scene was salivating and immediately started a banquet.
At the same time, the opera troupe below also started singing. The humming and humming voices only served as background, adding a bit of romance to this feast of delicious food. However, the singing girls and the poor people were completely forgotten, and no one asked for their songs.
Because so many people wanted to drink, the business banquet lasted for a long time.
Although Lu Shang's alcohol tolerance was average, the alcohol content of the wine at the banquet was not high. After drinking a few glasses, he didn't feel drunk at all, let alone feel drunk. He probably knew what was going on, so he began to take the initiative to toast and talk to others.
Lu Xian and Zhan Shunan felt uncomfortable with this kind of occasion, so they hid aside together and no one came to find them.
The crab feast came to an end in the evening.
Those who are willing to come to such a business banquet obviously do not come just for the food. No matter how much they gain, at least they know each other and can nod and say hello when they meet again in the future.
This banquet was originally organized by Lu Shang to take advantage of Feng He's connections, and Feng He had been introducing him. In the past half day, three families had been confirmed to cooperate, including the Li family, and the only thing left was the final confirmation.
Two of the three families that were chosen were also in the restaurant business. Lu Shang had already figured out the situation of the surrounding villages early on, so he just had to take them with him when delivering goods to Guanhe Tower.
There was also a medical clinic. Rather than delivering the goods, they wanted to find someone to purchase the herbs in bulk. Since Lu's Logistics could take care of both, they decided to sign up with them as well.
Lu Shang agreed with them on a time to sign the contract and accompanied Feng He to send them off.
After the last person left, he let out a long breath.
After socializing for half a day, it was inevitable that he felt tired, but Lu Shang was more excited than tired.
He turned around and formally thanked Feng He.
Feng He may have drunk too much, his face flushed red. He waved his hand and said, "Well, we're family, so we shouldn't talk behind each other's backs. Brother Lu, please help me put in a good word for the teacher in the future..."
"Teacher?" Lu Shang frowned.
"Ah..." Feng He slapped his head, "My future teacher, my future teacher!"
Lu Shang burst out laughing.
Feng He felt dizzy, so he simply rested in the Guanhe Tower. Lu Shang was still clear-headed, so he didn't stay any longer.
When he returned to the nameless alley, Jiang Wanning was just packing up her stall. The ones who had experienced it with her today were Pang Liang and Xiang Min. The two kids had done something unknown, but their faces were covered in ink.
"Aning!" Lu Shang called out from a distance, and after Jiang Wanning looked up, he waved at her again.
As he approached, Pang Liang stood still and called out softly, "Hello, Master." Xiang Min also imitated him.
Lu Shang responded and quickly helped Jiang Wanning pack up the pens and ink. He then took these things from her and took them back home together. As for the two little ones, they looked at each other and followed behind silently.
Jiang Wanning knew Lu Shang was happy just by looking at his expression, and couldn't help asking, "My husband, have you reached an agreement?"
"Hmm!" Lu Shang responded heavily, stretched out three fingers, and waved them in front of Jiang Wanning's eyes. "The three parties have already made the deal!"
Jiang Wanning smiled and couldn't help but say, "I knew my husband could do it."
"Cough——" Lu Shang covered his mouth and coughed. After he put his hand down, the curve of his mouth was still as deep as before, and sharing the joy of success with others made his chest hot.
Jiang Wanning asked flatteringly, "Husband, can you tell me about it?"
"Of course!"
Whenever Lu Shang talked about his cooperation with other merchants, Jiang Wanning always had something to say -
"My husband's eloquence is so good!"
"I would also be willing to hand over the business to Lu's Logistics."
"It would be great if it could work out, but my husband should also be careful not to get too tired..."
Jiang Wanning was not a talkative person, but she always found a way to sigh at the right time, which made Lu Shang want to share even more. He kept chattering until he entered the door.
Grandma Lu was peeling corn in the yard. She bought four glutinous corns in the evening and was waiting to cook them in the evening.
She didn't know Lu Shang's daily movements, but it was very easy to tell whether a person was happy or not.
Seeing the young couple talking, Grandma Lu didn't bother them any more. She waved Pang Liang and Xiang Min over and tapped their noses: "Where did this cat come from?"
Lu Shang shouted, "Grandma, please help me look after the children. Just wait for Uncle Pang to come and tell them to leave."
"Okay." Grandma Lu agreed.
As for Lu Shang and Jiang Wanning, they went straight back into the house and put down their writing brushes and other things. Lu Shang had been drinking all afternoon, so he inevitably smelled of alcohol. He thought for a moment and said, "I better wipe off and change my clothes."
"Okay, I'll go make some sobering soup." Jiang Wanning said.
Lu Shang didn't refuse: "Then I won't eat ginger."
"Remember, remember, husband, go quickly. The clothes were just washed yesterday and are in the closet."
Lu Shang smiled and agreed, not forgetting to say: "Thank you for your hard work, Aning. Next time, I will do the laundry. Just put the dirty clothes in the basin and I will wash them when I come back."
"Okay, okay." Jiang Wanning agreed, but actually didn't care. She just walked out of the door quickly and closed it behind her.
Lu Shang smelled of alcohol, but was far from being drunk. Jiang Wanning made him a soup just to prevent a headache the next day, and did not add any bitter herbs.
While making the sobering soup, she also fried some vegetables and heated up the steamed buns and rice.
Lu Shang didn't like eating wheat and bran buns, so after moving to the town, his family only used white flour to make buns, or steamed some soft and glutinous rice. Grandma Lu especially liked to eat it with soaked rice.
He had eaten outside, but Jiang Wanning and Grandma Lu still wanted to eat, so he only prepared portions for two people.
After the hangover soup was cooked, the staple food and rice were almost ready. Grandma Lu came in to take over the remaining work, and then she had to cook the glutinous corn.
This corn has just been harvested and is the tenderest of the bunch.
Jiang Wanning did not refuse. She let the soup cool down a little, listened to the noise in the room, and pushed the door open and went in.
Lu Shang had indeed finished wiping himself and changing his clothes, but there was still a hint of alcohol on his hair. He took the hangover soup and drank it all in one gulp. After finishing it, he burped and then realized, "Oh, right, I think I forgot to tell you that after the Mid-Autumn Festival, I will probably go on a long journey."
"A long journey?" Jiang Wanning raised her head.
"I'm going to Lingnan. If everything goes well on the way, I can discuss cooperation with the Li family when I get back. The Li family is engaged in timber business. If I deliver a shipment of goods to them, I can earn a hundred taels of silver as a commission."
Lu Shang knew Jiang Wanning's concerns and couldn't help but hook her finger. "One trip earns a hundred taels. Such big business is not easy to find. Besides, I will only follow the first few trips. Once I am familiar with the logistics team, I will stop following them. Okay?"
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