Chapter 616: Choking to Death
While Pingzhou was busy with peace talks, Ding Jun and Zhou Yi, two managers of the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce, were entrusted with important tasks because of their outstanding performance.
After receiving the order, the two men immediately rushed to Qingzhou secretly to meet with Chief Steward Wu.
After the two arrived, they went in one after the other to meet Chief Steward Wu.
After coming out, the two exchanged a glance. It was clear that they had both accepted new tasks. However, the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce had confidentiality regulations, so neither of them said anything, let alone inquired about anything.
Then, the two of them went their separate ways to carry out their missions. Ding Jun went to Zhuozhou, and Zhou Yi went to find a famous local pharmacy in Qingzhou.
Cai Guang is a famous donkey dealer in Zhuozhou. He owns four or five large ranches and countless related shops and businesses, and is also well-known locally.
One day, he received a businessman who wanted to discuss a business deal with him.
This businessman was introduced by his old friend He Shizhong, and he thought it would be okay to meet him.
The three of them met and exchanged pleasantries before Ding Jun got straight to the point. "Manager Cai, I'd like to buy a batch of adult donkeys from you."
Cai Guang said nonchalantly, "That's easy to say. How much do you want?"
Ding Jun smiled faintly, "One hundred thousand."
"How many?"
"Mr. Cai, you heard me right. I do want to buy 100,000 donkeys."
Cai Guang looked at his old friend. When did such a powerful buyer appear in the donkey industry? Is he reliable?
He Shizhong nodded slightly at him, indicating that he should not worry, "Manager Ding's strength is only a hundred thousand donkeys, it's just a drop in the bucket."
For a moment, Cai Guang had a lot of thoughts in his mind.
"Manager Ding, to be honest, you want 100,000 adult donkeys, but I can't come up with that many right now."
"Oh, look at my memory. I forgot to tell you, Mr. Cai, I do need so many donkeys, but not right away. You can deliver them by the end of the year."
Cai Guang was delighted when he heard this. "Is that so? That's easy. You can come back at the end of the year."
"Mr. Cai, can you please listen to me first and then give me an answer?"
"Shopkeeper Ding, you go ahead."
"Well, our Ding family is planning to buy 100,000 adult donkeys from you at a price of 10 taels per donkey, for a total of one million taels."
Hearing this, Cai Guang had an idea. In recent years, the price of an adult donkey has been fluctuating around eight taels of silver. Ding Jun gave him ten taels of silver per donkey, so it was basically certain that he would make a profit by trading with him.
"To show my sincerity, I will pay you a deposit of 60,000 taels."
After hearing this, Cai Guang was already willing to make the deal.
"However, there are two points I must make clear," Ding Jun said. "First, I hope every donkey Cai Dongjia delivers by the end of the year is a healthy, mature animal."
Cai Guang said firmly, "This is necessary. I'm not the kind of profiteer who sells inferior goods as good ones. Besides, you were introduced by Lao He. If I cheat you, I will lose face in front of Lao He. Finally, I still want to do business with you for a long time."
Ding Jun nodded. "Secondly, I must state that if the price of donkeys fluctuates significantly at the end of the year, I have the right to cancel the order at any time."
"Then the deal is done. As for the 60,000 taels deposit, it will be used as compensation for my failure to fulfill the contract."
"Is that so?" Cai Guang looked thoughtful.
"Hey, Mr. Cai, where is your toilet? I drank too much tea just now." Ding Jun said, holding his stomach.
Cai Guang quickly called the servant to take him to the toilet.
"Mr. Cai, please think about what I just said. I'll excuse myself for now."
After Ding Jun left, Cai Guang asked He Shizhong, "Who is this guy?"
"Don't worry about that. Just know that the other party has a strong backing."
"Ding Jun has a strong background?"
"It's harder than you can imagine." After replying, He Shizhong said seriously, "Old Cai, to be honest, after listening to what I just heard, I think this deal is worth doing."
Cai Guang thought about it again and again, and indeed did not find anything wrong with the transaction.
"If I want to do this deal, I have to raise another 150,000 donkeys, which also involves grass and feed, so I have to prepare more." This is called a domino effect.
"Why? You have more than 100,000 donkeys on the ranches you own, right?" He Shizhong was puzzled.
Cai Guang rolled his eyes at his old friend, a business idiot. "You don't want my old customers anymore? You only see the newcomers laughing, but don't hear the old ones crying?"
"Ahem—I didn't think it through," He Shizhong said doubtfully. "But even if you're stocking up for this deal with Manager Ding, you don't really need to raise another 150,000 donkeys, right? Wouldn't 100,000 be enough?"
"You don't understand." He couldn't guarantee that every donkey would grow up safe and healthy, so he had to raise more to ensure delivery. Besides, he thought Ding Jun was probably optimistic about the price of donkeys this year. It was normal for him to prepare a few more donkeys for the market, right?
Ding Jun paid a deposit of 60,000 taels, which gave him the confidence to raise another 150,000 donkeys. If the deposit was smaller, he would not have done the same thing.
When Ding Jun came back, Cai Guang had made a decision in his mind.
So they signed the contract smoothly.
At the same time, Zhou Yi also reached an agreement with a large pharmacy called Anhe Pharmacy, whose main product was donkey-hide gelatin.
Their pharmacy needs a large amount of donkey skins every year to make donkey-hide gelatin. In addition, other parts of the donkey, such as hair, meat, bones, head, donkey's three treasures and donkey hooves, can also be used as medicine, and their pharmacy also dabble in these.
All in all, Anhe Pharmacy has a great demand for donkeys every year.
Zhou Yi discussed with the purchasing manager at Anhe Pharmacy, "I can supply your shop with 100,000 adult donkeys at six taels of silver per donkey, with delivery by the end of the year. However, if something unexpected happens to me by the end of the year, I have the right to cancel the contract and pay a penalty of sixty thousand taels of silver, is that okay?"
The manager of Anhe Pharmacy pondered. Six taels per adult donkey was below market price. If they signed this contract, at the end of the year, if the other party fulfilled their obligations, they would have purchased a batch of donkeys at a low price. If they canceled the contract, they would still have made a net profit of 60,000 taels.
They won't lose out anyway.
After weighing the pros and cons, the manager of Anhe Pharmacy decided to sign the agreement.
Next, Ding Jun went to find several wealthy donkey dealers and reserved donkeys from them. The number of donkeys he ordered was about 300,000, and the deposit alone was 300,000 taels.
Zhou Yi also negotiated contracts with three or four donkey workshops with high demand, ordering around 300,000 donkeys. He also negotiated the deal through a few middlemen, so as a sign of sincerity, he paid the liquidated damages in advance to the middlemen.
After completing the task, the two of them quietly retired with a few contracts.
…
With the conclusion of the Juyang peace talks, the Dali court and the Pingzhou government both issued official documents to announce to the world that after negotiations, the two sides had set a salt price of two hundred coins per catty.
Pingzhou also subsequently announced relevant regulations on tax refunds for salt, as well as the news that Dali had lifted its blockade of Pingzhou.
When Song Mo heard the news that Pingzhou could refund the tax on salt, he was very angry and even asked the Honglu Temple to send an official letter to reprimand them for going back on their word.
Pingzhou's response was simple: the only thing they had to say was the relevant regulations regarding Pingzhou's salt tax rebate. In other words, we in Pingzhou are willing to give our people preferential treatment on salt. What right do you, Dali, have to interfere? We in Pingzhou have only agreed not to dump low-priced salt in Dali. We have limited the amount of tax rebates available to Pingzhou residents. We have done this. You, Dali, should stop telling us what to do!
This reply letter from Pingzhou is so heartbreaking.
At this time, the people of Dali learned that the price of official salt had been lowered through the announcement posted in Dali.
"The price of official salt has been lowered!"
"But it still costs two hundred coins per jin."
"Be content. The official salt is 200 wen per catty. Although it's not as cheap as the private salt from Pingzhou, it's still 100 wen cheaper than the previous 300 wen per catty. It's better than nothing."
"There's nothing we can do. The price of salt in Dali and Pingzhou is the same now, two hundred coins per catty."
"Now all crows are black."
"You're wrong. I heard that during the negotiations in Juyang, the court insisted on a high price, and Pingzhou had no choice. After a long haggling, they finally agreed to Dali's price. To this end, Pingzhou even introduced a tax refund policy..."
"By this calculation, the price of salt in Pingzhou is only 150 wen per catty? That's great." The people of Dali were truly envious.
Some people were puzzled. "Can't Pingzhou just sell it for 150 wen per catty? Why go through all this trouble?"
"There's nothing we can do. Pingzhou and Dali have an agreement. The price of salt sold to the people in Pingzhou cannot be lower than 200 coins per catty."
"The people of Pingzhou are truly blessed. The Pingzhou government does everything it can to treat its people well, but we in Dali, on the other hand, never get enough of plundering."
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