"No money?" Fang Lang was stunned by the seller's words. What's the point of selling something for free? He quickly asked, "Then what do you want?"
"Cigarettes, is this your first time here? The Italian lira is now as worth as waste paper, so I don't accept lira." The Italian looked at Fang Lang and explained science seriously.
"Why cigarettes? Can't US dollars be used?" Fang Lang was very confused. He never thought that cigarettes would be used for shopping.
"It's not that US dollars are not acceptable, but in our army, cigarettes are stronger than US dollars. If you give me US dollars and I want to buy cigarettes, it will be difficult to find them." It took Fang Lang a while to react to the Italian's words. It turned out that there was such a way to play.
"Aren't cigarettes distributed directly? Why do we need to buy them?" As far as Fang Lang knows, the U.S. military's logistical supplies are sufficient, and each soldier has a fixed cigarette quota every month. Normally, there should be no shortage of cigarettes! How come cigarettes have become a harder currency than the U.S. dollar on the black market?
"Yes, cigarettes are distributed, but the monthly quota will be finished in three days on the high-intensity battlefield. If you want to smoke again, you have to wait for next month's quota or exchange it. So, you know!" The words spoken by the Italian were like a fog that was cleared away, allowing Fang Lang to see thousands of golden lights.
Cigarettes were spread from the Indians, and Brazil happens to be the main tobacco-growing area. Although Brazilian local cigarettes have not yet formed a big brand, there are many small-scale cigarette factories. For example, Fang Lang's uncle Yang Zong's family runs a small workshop-style cigarette factory.
Fang Lang, who was originally thinking about how to purchase goods and sell them in the United States to make money, suddenly discovered a new world. He quickly asked again: "Brother, are you Italians the only ones who trade in cigarettes, or do everyone trade in cigarettes? Do you look at the brand?"
Since Fang Lang didn't smoke, he had never thought that cigarettes had become hard currency in the army. So were the cigarettes he was rationed with in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force directly embezzled by his superiors? He felt like he had lost 100 million yuan, and his heart ached.
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...
"Of course everyone trades in cigarettes! Including the Germans. As for the brand, it's actually not very important. Of course, the most popular cigarettes on the market now are American Lucky Strike cigarettes. It seems that you don't understand the market at all! You don't have any cigarettes on hand, right? Then how many US dollars are you willing to pay for this watch?" The Italian obviously felt that Fang Lang had strayed too far from the subject and wanted to bring the topic back to watch trading.
Seeing that the Italian didn't want to continue to popularize market information for Fang Lang, Fang Lang didn't get angry, but whispered in his ear: "Brother, I'm a crew member on a US Navy transport ship. I just arrived in Italy, so I don't know much about the market, but I will travel between the United States and Italy frequently in the future. Do you understand what I mean?"
When the Italian heard Fang Lang's words, his eyes sparkled with bright golden light. He glanced around at the people around him, and when he saw that no one noticed them, he lowered his voice and pointed at Fang Lang's armband and said, "Brother, this is not the emblem of the US Navy."
"Hehe... yes, I'm from the Brazilian Expeditionary Navy, but we are under the command of the United States Navy's Fourth Fleet, and I happen to be an officer in the Navy Logistics Department, so..." In order to make this Italian believe that he had the ability to get enough cigarettes, Fang Lang had to reveal a little about his identity.
The Italian's eyes began to glow green, and he whispered to the other party: "Brother, how about we go to another place to talk?"
Fang Lang knew very well what the Italian was thinking. He didn't want him to think that he could have exclusive access to his own channels, so he had to put enough pressure on him in order to gain more benefits.
"Hey man, let's continue talking about the price of this watch! I don't have any cigarettes right now, so I wonder how much you want to sell it to me in US dollars." Fang Lang deliberately emphasized the word "now" so that the Italian could clearly understand what he wanted to express.
"Brother, the watch is a small problem. If you can bring a lot of cigarettes, what's the harm in giving you this watch?" The Italian was very sensible and was obviously a big businessman.
"Why don't you tell me how much this watch is worth in cigarettes?" Fang Lang was a man who would not give up until he saw the rabbit, so he continued to tease the Italian.
"Brother, you want to know how much a pack of cigarettes is worth in US dollars, right? Don't test me. I want to be a long-term business partner with you and will never cheat you on such a thing!" The Italian said directly and frankly.
Fang Lang didn't react at once. He was used to the character of the Chinese in his previous life. He wanted to test the bottom line of this Italian again and again, but he didn't expect that the other party would not beat around the bush with him.
"Okay! Man, let's be honest. I'm sure I need to confirm it with others. So can you tell me how much a pack of cigarettes is worth in your case?" Since others have already spoken frankly, Fang Lang no longer beats around the bush.
"Brother, if you have cigarettes to sell to me, I will buy them at five dollars a pack. Of course, the price will also depend on the market, but I believe that the price will become more and more expensive. I believe that no one in Naples can offer a higher price than me." The Italian said in a firm and confident tone.
This price really exceeded Fang Lang's expectations. You have to know that the US dollar of this era has not experienced the devaluation and over-issuance of later generations, and its purchasing power is quite strong. One US dollar now can definitely be regarded as the value of one thousand RMB in 2,000 years, because one US dollar now is approximately equal to one gram of gold.
If Fang Lang remembered correctly, a pack of cigarettes in the United States was about 20 cents, so if the cigarettes were shipped from the United States to Europe, the price would increase 25 times. Is there any business with higher profits than this? Fang Lang didn't even dare to calculate how many times the profit would be if he purchased them from his own cigarette factory in Brazil and shipped them over.
"Brother, your offer is really attractive to me. I think I know what goods to bring back from the United States. I wonder how much you can eat." Fang Lang calculated the capital in his hand. Five hundred dollars can buy 2,500 packs of cigarettes. If he sells them to him at the price of five dollars a pack, it will become 12,500 dollars. With this money, he can buy 62,500 packs of cigarettes in the United States, which is worth 312,500 yuan. This business is definitely worth Fang Lang's life. You know, in the United States now, a car only costs about one thousand dollars, and if Fang Lang makes two trips, he can turn the money that is not enough to buy a car into the price of more than 300 cars. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be his turn to discover such a good business!
"I don't have much US dollars, but my uncle has sufficient funds, so it is absolutely no problem to raise tens of thousands of dollars." In this era, tens of thousands of dollars are really a big deal, so the Italians' tens of thousands of dollars are definitely enough to say that they have sufficient funds.
"To be honest, the profit from this is huge. Aren't there other businessmen doing this?" Fang Lang didn't believe that no one else had discovered such a good business opportunity.
"Of course someone has already started doing it, otherwise how would the price be determined? You are wondering why no one just ships whole boats here, right?" The Italian asked Fang Lang's question with a smile.
Before Fang Lang could answer, he answered himself: "Do you think the German submarines on the sea are vegetarians now? Except for the fleets protected by the escort fleet, who would be willing to take the risk of other civilian merchant ships without the profit at this price! The ships protected by the escort fleet are all transporting strategic materials, and they will not do business with you! In fact, the time when these cigarettes can be used as cash has only started since the Americans landed and counterattacked, which is more than four months. It also takes time for big merchants to prepare fleets. As far as I know, some merchants have never returned after taking the risk to sail. This has made the price of cigarettes more firm."
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