A dilapidated ship finally arrived in Guangzhou. Upon seeing the Xia Dynasty attire on the shore, the sailors all knelt down and wept in gratitude, thanking the gods for guiding them to the legendary capital.
“McKenji, we have finally arrived in Great Britain. All the hardships will be well compensated. When you return to your hometown, you can buy a large piece of land and live like an aristocrat.”
McKenzie wiped away his tears and snot and nodded vigorously. As partners, he and Hubaye had endured tremendous pressure during the voyage. Storms, pirates, and the anger of the crew had almost driven them crazy, but now it was all worth it.
"Hubaye, who should we go to sell our goods to? It would be best to find a monk who understands Sanskrit to act as a translator, otherwise we won't be able to sell our goods at a good price."
“No, we don’t need translators, nor do we need to find people to sell the goods. Someone will take care of all of that for us,” McKenzie said confidently, looking at the group of people on the dock who were clearly not dressed as laborers.
The merchants from Bactria did not understand Sanskrit, and McKenzie and Hubaye's Bactrian was also very poor, but once the whole boxes of pepper were displayed, nothing was an obstacle anymore, and soon well-dressed merchants came to their door.
Inside the cabin, McKenzie placed a bushel of pepper on the table, and the Great Xia merchant took out a silver ingot and put it on top.
McKenzie shook his head vigorously. Although he had never been to Great Xia, the experience passed down from his ancestors was deeply imprinted in his mind. That silver ingot was more like gold.
“Gold…gold…” McKenzie placed a piece of gold next to the pepper.
The merchants of Daxia were all stunned. After exchanging glances, each of them took out a larger ingot of silver and replaced the original ingot.
McKenzie, being a bachelor, poured out most of a bushel of pepper and placed it next to the silver, indicating that this was the final price.
The merchants of Great Xia laughed. In the past, this price might not have been outrageous, but since the royal spice shops opened in all the provincial capitals of Great Xia, the price, though still not affordable, was no longer as expensive as gold.
The meeting ended on bad terms, and Hubaye asked McKenzie worriedly, "Won't this cause trouble?"
"No, the Great Xia prides itself on being a superior nation and would never bully foreign merchants. We will just wait and see; they will definitely return."
Soon someone returned, but it wasn't a merchant; it was a government official's bailiff who locked the two men up without saying a word.
"A businessman...I...am a businessman, the law...there is a law..."
"What are you shouting for? Are merchants still merchants if they don't pay taxes? How dare you blatantly smuggle and break the law?" The head constable roared at the two pitiful merchants.
In reality, what the constable was thinking was: "You dare to compete with the royal shops for business? You think you can uphold the law? You're a fool!"
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