Chapter 468 Money Flows Like Water
Zhao the matchmaker was forty years old, a rare unmarried professional woman in ancient times.
She is very different from the stereotypical matchmaker, neither noisy and adorable nor flashy and greasy.
Matchmaker Zhao was wearing a loose moon-white dress, and her long hair was tied loosely behind her head with a plain silver hairpin.
The material looks plain, but it is high-quality cotton from the Western Regions, which is soft, breathable and shiny.
The price is more than three times higher than local cloth.
This detail is enough to show that Zhao the Matchmaker is not content to live alone.
Gu Xixi drank a mouthful of the hot egg soup, looked at Matchmaker Zhao and said with a smile, "Mrs. Zhao's dress looks very comfortable. Did you make it yourself?"
Matchmaker Zhao looked down at herself and said with a smile, "Well, for home wear, loose and breathable is of course the best."
Gu Xixi said, "If you have a ready-made pattern, can you give me a copy? I will make two sets based on it later."
Matchmaker Zhao readily agreed, "Yes, yes, I'll copy it down and give it to you later."
At this moment, she was sitting next to Gu Xixi, cracking a basin of dried walnuts.
In autumn, fresh walnuts are shelled and the bitter inner skin is removed. They are ground into a pulp together with red dates and can be used to make walnut cheese.
After chatting for a while, Gu Xixi had finished her egg drop sweet soup.
She put down her empty bowl and started talking about business.
In order to open up trade routes in the future, from near to far, tea gardens will inevitably have to start from the interior of the northwest to lay the market foundation.
After gaining recognition from local tea merchants and establishing a solid foundation, we can then talk about long-term trade routes, such as the capital, in a step-by-step manner.
The experience that Zhao the matchmaker had accumulated over the years in the business now showed its advantage.
There are several tea merchants under the jurisdiction of Qingtian County. What are the situations of their families and their family relationships?
Who has the strongest foundation, the most purchasing channels, and whose supply tends to come from the south of the Yangtze River or the southwest of the Yangtze River?
Who are the friends among the tea merchants, who are the enemies, and what kind of disputes have happened in the past...
Matchmaker Zhao knew a lot about all of the above.
I wouldn't say it's complete, but it's enough for Gu Xixi to understand the inside story that's useful to her.
Which tea merchants are big and which are small, and how is the local market distributed.
Based on their personalities and respective strengths, we can further infer what they really want.
This will be of great help in discussing cooperation in the future.
Gu Xixi listened carefully and asked a few more questions that she wanted to know.
Matchmaker Zhao was able to answer all of Gu Xixi's questions.
Gu Xixi smiled with relief and handed over a bag of copper coins that she had prepared long ago, "Thank you, Madam Zhao, you have helped me a lot."
Matchmaker Zhao glanced at the bulging purse and jokingly refused: "You came here to chat, why are you giving me money?"
"Take it back quickly!"
Gu Xixi did not back off, and said with a smile, "Ordinary people who come to your door to ask for things have to pay a commission. Isn't this the rule?"
Matchmaker Zhao laughed, "People come to ask which son is the one to rely on for life, and which daughter is the one who has grown up."
"Not like you!"
Gu Xixi said, "They are all about finding out about other families' situations, and they are all using the knowledge you have accumulated with great effort."
"What's different?"
As she spoke, she stuffed the purse into Zhao the Matchmaker's hand.
Matchmaker Zhao hesitated for a moment, but finally gave up.
As a woman who also works for a living, Zhao the Matchmaker can understand Gu Xixi's reasons for doing things.
She smiled and said, "Then I'm welcome."
"But the amount you gave is not in accordance with the rules. It is equivalent to a deposit for our first meeting."
"Only one-third of this is already a high price."
"I'll return the extra money to you. When you really need me to help you make connections, I'll give you the rest later."
Gu Xixi smiled. She really liked talking business with people like Zhao the Matchmaker.
Friendships are friendships, and official business is official business. When the distinction is clear, everyone feels comfortable.
Gu Xixi said, "Don't rush to return my money. There is indeed more than one deposit here."
"There are some things I haven't told everyone yet, but since I need you to help me make some connections, I'll tell you a few more words in advance."
"Next year, we will have a harvest of Pinellia fruit in our village."
"I heard that the eldest daughter-in-law of our Northwest Fruit King is the matchmaker you helped to arrange."
Guozi Wang’s original surname was Wang and he was not from Qingtian County.
He was a businessman in the provincial capital, and he was involved in the reselling of raw silk and tea from the south of the Yangtze River and porcelain from the central region.
The reason why he is called the Fruit King is that he made his fortune by reselling fruits.
Summer fruits from the Western Region, plums from the South, and peaches and apricots which are specialties of the Northwest.
Southern honey oranges in winter, northern duck pears, tribute pears, etc.
The Fruit King is still engaged in this industry and has already become the number one in Northwest China.
Although ordinary people have limited demand for side dishes such as fruits, the market for the Fruit King is not limited to the northwest.
His fruits had long been sold to the capital, the south of the Yangtze River, and even some wealthy cities in the Western Regions.
With such a wealthy family, it was Zhao the matchmaker who arranged a marriage for him, which was a well-known achievement in the circle.
Hearing Gu Xixi mention it again, Matchmaker Zhao lowered her eyes and smiled modestly.
"Well, that was all in the early years."
"It's just luck. I don't get it every year."
She paused, then changed the subject, "When do you plan to start this?"
"Perhaps I could try to give you a hand."
"Maybe early spring next year." Gu Xixi looked at a yellow leaf falling from the sky.
"Then please invite Boss Wang to see the apple blossoms blooming in the garden."
"Okay," Zhao the matchmaker agreed, "I have plenty of time. I can also take this opportunity to visit their house more often."
The sun had not yet risen above the mountain and a gust of wind blew by, making me feel cold all over.
Harvest in autumn and store in winter, heavy snow falls in the northwest.
During the slack season and the New Year holidays, Gu Xixi’s greatest pleasure when relaxing at home is counting money.
The money from the two seasons of good grain harvest, the second season's remuneration from the Northwest Army, the dividends from the main store and branch of Ganyuju in Beijing, the dividends from the pesticide and fertilizer workshop, and the technical remuneration from the Yunling County Seedling Chamber of Commerce...
Previously, the silver bills in the wooden box were spent like water when they were invested in the tea garden, but recently they were filled up again like water.
Even Gu Xixi would press the lid hard before closing it every time.
"Lv Jing, I want to buy land again."
“There are also fruit tree seedlings, and we can invest more in them in the spring.”
Lv Jing smiled and said, "Many people from the local Gu family have come to me to register their names."
"Next year, they will receive saplings from the host and start growing pinellia."
"I wonder how much more dividend income the boss will have to earn during the coming New Year holidays?"
Gu Xixi looked up and smiled at Lu Jing, "Let's get a carriage after the New Year."
In the blink of an eye, winter has gone and spring has come.
Spring comes much later in the northwest than in the south. This year, tea gardens only started to harvest the first batch of Mingqian tea on the Shangsi Festival.
After the beginning of spring, Gu Xixi would personally check the condition of the tea trees and the quality of the new leaves every two days.
The day she set for mining was the Shangsi Festival.
That day, Gu Xixi arrived and watched the tea pickers work. After making sure there were no problems, she left the tea garden.
The carriage did not return to Huachi Ferry, but went towards Qingtian County.
Gu Xixi sat in the car, glancing to the side with a complicated expression.
"Brother Zichu invited Lu Jing and I to his house for dinner today. We made the appointment half a month in advance."
Mu Nanzhao sat upright with his eyes closed and hummed in a neutral tone.
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