Chapter 235 Persian Merchants
After taking a bath, Yunqiao went to have breakfast.
There were a few people coming from Kyoto today, and Chen Jingyan wanted to meet them, so he didn't have dinner with Yun Qiao. The triplets had already eaten and had gone to private school at this hour.
After a simple breakfast, Yun Qiao thought that she had nothing to do today, so she went for a stroll in the trade zone.
The trade zone has been built, but there is a shortage of goods in Mobei.
The most abundant items in Mobei are furs, dry goods, and spices, while textiles, ceramics, and tea are in urgent need.
Not to mention the shortage of people in Mobei, even the Mobei Palace is short of them.
Yunqiao was also thinking of buying some.
Wang Xiaodong came along this time. Yun Qiao was walking while Wang Xiaodong was talking in front of her.
"Wing City is much busier than before. However, the Marquis said that there are very few people engaging in trade now, and after the war, ordinary people have little money. It will take a long time for it to develop like Kyoto..."
Yun Qiao listened carefully.
She noticed that there was a group of people gathered in front and it was quite lively.
"What's going on in front? Let's go take a look."
The city patrol guard Li Xin was called over.
"In reply to Your Highness, there's a Persian man selling blankets up ahead. He says his blankets are of excellent quality and he wants to sell them in our trade zone. However, anyone outside of the Great Zhou who wants to sell anything within the Great Zhou territory will be charged 20% of the selling price as a tax..."
"The man said he hadn't sold his goods yet and didn't have the money to pay the tax."
"Twenty percent? How can it be so high?" Yun Qiao frowned.
We finally managed to get a Persian carpet merchant here, but we can’t let him be scared away by excessively high taxes.
"This is a rule that has been passed down through the ages in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and I am following it."
"I'll go take a look first."
As Yun Qiao walked forward, she saw a man of a different race, indeed a foreigner. This was the first foreigner Yun Qiao had seen since traveling to ancient times, a Persian native.
He spoke Mandarin with a foreign accent and shouted at the people who came by.
"A carpet, a Persian carpet, very good quality. Look at the pattern, it's the sun in the sky."
"You only need to spend thirty coins to buy the sun in the sky..."
There was a circle of people surrounding him, and I didn't know if they were looking at the sun in the sky or at this foreign Persian. It was very common to see foreigners in Mobei, but I had never seen many like the Persians.
"Thirty cents is enough to buy the sun in the sky. It's really not expensive. If I want more, can you give me a discount?"
I saw a young and beautiful woman who was dressed in luxurious clothes and looked like a girl suddenly appear in front of me.
The Persian merchant's eyes immediately lit up.
"Of course, beautiful lady, I can give you a very suitable price for whatever you want. Besides the sun in the sky, I also have mountains, rivers, lakes, flowers, plants and trees. You can choose as much as you want..."
Yun Qiao really looked at it again and again seriously.
These carpets are all handmade, with good styles and decent quality.
"If I want them all, how much do I need to pay you?" Yun Qiao asked directly.
"Well, this is a big deal. Oh, let me do the math. Sorry, I'm not very good at math."
The Persian merchants were very excited.
Yun Qiao smiled faintly. "Guard Li, please invite this Persian merchant to the other courtyard. I want to discuss the sale of carpets with him. Besides carpets, I also want to discuss some other business with you. I know that you Persians have a lot of spices, including coffee..."
The Persian merchant listened to Yun Qiao's words.
I was very surprised. "Beautiful lady, you actually know about cappuccino. It seems that you really know about Persia."
"If you like, my beautiful lady, I can give you some. I was worried that you might not be able to adapt to the climate in Mobei, so I brought some with me, but not much."
"Thank you very much."
During the conversation, Yun Qiao learned that the Persian businessman was called Rooney.
After chatting for a long time, Yun Qiao took all of Rooney's carpets and some utensils from Persia. In exchange, Yun Qiao gave him several sets of porcelain.
Rooney was extremely happy after seeing such exquisite porcelain.
After staying in Mobei for three days, Rooney returned to Persia.
Chen Jingyan knew that Yun Qiao had been busy these days, but he didn't think much about it. But when he came back, Yun Qiao was not at home.
Chen Jingyan accompanied the three children to finish lunch, and waited until the three children took a nap before seeing Yun Qiao come back.
He was carrying a lot of bags in his hands and looked like he was out shopping.
"Put the things down, and Lily took out some silver and gave it to everyone."
"I've been walking around all morning today and I'm really tired."
As she spoke, she sat down on a chair, and Chen Jingyan brought a cup of tea and brought it to Yun Qiao.
Unexpectedly, the other person didn't drink at all.
It was Xiaotao who brought a cup of brewed black liquid to Yunqiao.
"Your Highness, drink this. You drink a glass every day."
Yun Qiao smiled and said, "Xiao Tao is really considerate."
Chen Jingyan looked at it and asked, "What is this? It's pitch black and has a strange smell."
"This is a good thing. Your Majesty, you may not know that in Persia, this is used to treat colds. It is usually used to refresh yourself..."
Not much is known about coffee Yunqiao.
It was only after arriving in Mobei that Yun Qiao heard some businessmen say that there was something called cappuccino. Yun Qiao immediately realized that this was coffee. She had always loved coffee in modern times, so she paid some attention to it.
Unexpectedly, she actually met this Persian businessman who sold coffee.
It’s just that the amount of coffee Rooney gave was relatively small, and it seemed like it would only last for three months.
I wonder when that Persian businessman Rooney will come again.
This coffee is pure black coffee. People who like it will find it fragrant, but people who don’t like it can’t even drink it.
Yun Qiao likes to drink black coffee, which is bitter but has a mellow aroma. However, Chen Jingyan doesn't like it and spits it out as soon as he drinks it.
"What kind of coffee is this? It's bitter and astringent, even harder to drink than medicine."
Yun Qiao smiled and said, "It's for refreshing. If you don't like it, then don't drink it. Why waste such a good thing?"
"My Lord, are you not busy these past two days? I have something I want to tell you."
Chen Jingyan said, "Just as you said."
"Regarding the Great Zhou's business tax policy, if we follow the previous 20% tax on the sales price, it's simply too high. Mobei leads to the border, and if this door to trade is opened, it will be beneficial to both Mobei and the Great Zhou. However, this high tax is deterring many merchants."
"I suggest that we reduce taxes for six months or a year, or give tax breaks to small vendors with thin profits. Would that be a better idea?"
As smart as Chen Jingyan is, he certainly knows what Yun Qiao means by this.
"Doing this will definitely boost trade in Mobei. Merchants from all over the world will flock to Mobei to do business. With more people, there will naturally be more money to be made. However, we are short of goods here..."
As Chen Jingyan was speaking, he suddenly thought of something and immediately said, "Madam asked me to ask those people if they had any goods. Could it be that they wanted to use their goods to open a market?"
"That's exactly what I mean."
"Now that everyone is short of money, why not exchange goods for goods? We can take their goods and send them back to the interior, and the Persians or other tribes can take our goods and exchange them for money."
"That's a good idea."
Chen Jingyan said with a smile.
Yun Qiao continued, "I also heard that the Tianshan tribe, which is very close to us, often sells grain. If we can get in touch with them and open up trade, we can stockpile some food."
"We buy their food and fodder and can take it to the market to regulate the price fluctuations of food in the market, so that the food price will not be low due to an abundance of food, nor will it be high due to a shortage of food."
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