Chapter 265 Suez
Giulio Medici ultimately couldn't outbid Qin Mo, but when the jewel merchant tried to overcharge, he exposed the merchant's cunning, saving Qin Mo a considerable amount of money and winning over both Qin Mo and Shia. He was then able to invite them to his home.
When Qin Mo and Xi Ya arrived at Giulio's residence in Aden, they discovered a cluster of buildings in the Western style. The fact that such a cluster of buildings stood out amidst the surrounding Western-style architecture suggested that Giulio was quite influential in Aden.
"Julio, you can build a house in the Western style in Aden, you must have some powerful connections!" Qin Mo teased casually, looking at the oil painting on the wall.
"You flatter me, sir. I merely have some business dealings with the local Sultan; compared to you, I am truly ashamed..."
"Oh! My name is Qin Mo, I'm not some important person, Giulio, you don't need to be so polite."
Giulio Medici, who prided himself on his excellent judgment, observed that Qin Mo's refined manners throughout were far beyond those of ordinary nobles, not to mention his fierce retinue and the wealth he casually tossed around. If this kind of person isn't a noble... then what kind of person is a noble?
"...I wonder if Your Excellency Qin Mo has come to Aden for sightseeing or business?"
"Oh! I'm here for travel, but my men will stay here to do business. Are you interested in Daxia goods?"
Giulio smiled. Although he wasn't the kind of greedy, unscrupulous businessman, his family did need a business partner like Qin Mo.
“I have never been particularly interested in business since I was a child, but our Medici family is a family of merchants, and all Western merchants have an inexhaustible thirst for goods from the East.”
Giulio spoke frankly, directly expressing the Western merchants' desire for Eastern goods, unlike the shrewd and worldly-wise "cunning" merchants.
Looking at this handsome young man in his early twenties, Qin Mo seemed to see Qin Yuanze's shadow in him. Equally handsome, equally polite, equally honest, she just wondered if he was as flamboyant as Qin Yuanze inside.
"Julio, how much tax does your family's caravan have to pay to get here via the Arab world?" Qin Mo asked casually.
"Oh! Qin Mo, you don't know, the Arabs control the passage to the Mediterranean. It's very difficult for our caravans of foreign races to pass through. Even if we force our way through, the taxes we have to pay are an unacceptable figure."
“Our family also tried to form our own caravan to Aden, but we later found that it was better to cooperate with foreign merchants and have them help us transport goods to Alexandria, which would bring us more profits.”
Qin Mo understood. In his previous life, the Arabs, together with Venetian merchants, controlled the trade routes from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, selling spices, silk, and porcelain at exorbitant prices. It wasn't until the Cape of Good Hope was discovered and navigation technology improved significantly that the Arab world gradually declined, and Venice withdrew from the stage of European domination.
“Julio, my caravan manager will be coming to Aden. You can talk to him about any business matters you may have. I’m setting off for the Western Continent in a few days.”
When Giulio heard that Qin Mo was going to Xizhou, he was immediately delighted and said, "I'm also going back to Xizhou in the next few days! Qin Mo, if you'd like, we can go together."
"Hehe! That would be perfect!"
Qin Mo never expected that shopping would lead to finding a guide. Although she had a global map in her mind, she couldn't just draw a straight line and drive there when it came to actual travel. Having a guide who knew the way would save her a lot of detours.
A few days later, Qin Mo, accompanied by several attendants and Shia, boarded Giulio Medici's ship and set sail into the Red Sea, heading northwest.
Qin Mo did not bring any Elven followers with him on this trip to the Western Continent. Their appearance was too conspicuous and might cause some unnecessary trouble in the racially diverse Western Continent. Therefore, Qin Mo only brought a few old retainers.
Xu Ge and Chen Ji were both old subordinates of Qin Mo's father, and both had accompanied Qin Lan to Xizhou for the last time. Now, at the age of forty, they still tried their best to volunteer to become Qin Mo's personal guards.
The others, however, were all white. These were Mu Qingge's trained subordinates, "elites" belonging to the "Special Operations Division." Their trip to Xizhou was to pave the way and lay out points for Qin Mo's intelligence network in the future.
Arab ships were very distinctive, with pointed prows and sterns, and single or double masts were the most common. The largest were said to have three masts and could carry a weight of 300 tons. Although not as large as Qin Mo's galleon, which was nearly 1,000 tons, it was still enough to sail in the Indian Ocean.
"Qin Mo, which city do you plan to visit on your trip to Xizhou?"
Over the course of a few days, Giulio and Qin Mo became familiar with each other, and their conversations and inquiries became less reserved, developing a sense of friendship.
"I'd like to visit Rome. You live in Florence? It seems like it's on the way!"
"Hehe, it's true that my home is in Florence, but I'm not going home this time. I'm going to Athens to pick up my cousin first, and then I'll go to Rome. If you're not in a hurry to leave, you can come with me!"
Qin Mo carefully calculated the time and said uncertainly, "Let's talk about it later! When you go traveling, there's no fixed route..."
Sailing northwest along the Red Sea, after reaching the mouth of the Suez River, Giulio's ship entered the Suez River, and a few days later the group arrived at Suez, a major city in Egypt.
Suez, located at the northern end of the Suez River, is an important port for Egypt to enter the Red Sea. Goods from the West were transported from Alexandria, while goods from the East and Africa were unloaded here and transported overland to Alexandria. Its important geographical location made the originally barren Suez the most prosperous city on the Red Sea coast.
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