Chapter Thirty-Six: Qinghua Porcelain

  That night, except for arranging a few partners to guard the warehouse, more than 60 partners were invited by Liu Ze to the main hall. As for those who couldn't come, Liu Ze had already sent someone to deliver wine and food to them.

  Liu Ze stood in front of the hall and said loudly: "Everyone, please take your seats."

  The servants had never seen such tables and chairs, let alone that in the Han Dynasty only scholars could sit on mats, these servants were originally the lowest-ranking servants of the Zhang family, where they had sat with their masters before, so they all hesitated to move forward.

  Liu Ze loudly said: "Today is New Year's Eve, Liu certain has prepared a little wine here, and with you all to celebrate the new spring. Today, regardless of seniority, everyone seated is brothers." The crowd responded in unison, and they all took their seats. Liu Ze sat down at the upper seat with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Jian Yong.

  Liu Ze stood up with his wine cup and said, "Thank you all for the past year of life and death together, through thick and thin. Today, I am fortunate to have a place in the Luoyang business community, all thanks to your efforts. Please drink this cup to express my gratitude."

  Everyone was frightened and stood up, repeatedly saying they didn't dare. Zhang Fei had already finished the wine in his cup, seeing everyone pushing back, he let out a loud shout: "This is big brother's toast, if you're going to drink it then drink it, do you have so much nonsense?"

  These people were originally Zhang's slaves, accustomed to obeying orders. As soon as Zhang Fei spoke up, they hastily drank the wine in their cups.

  Liu Ze said: "Today is New Year's Eve, I specially offer a red envelope to everyone, it's just a small token, not enough to show my respect, please accept it with a smile."

  Jian Yun immediately ordered someone to bring in a box, the box was full of red cloth packages, and they were distributed according to the number of people. Someone quietly opened one to take a look, and was instantly stunned, with whispers below: "Heavens, twenty taels of gold!"

  "This is twenty thousand bucks, can buy several hundred kilograms of grain!"

  In the Han Dynasty, the salary of a prefectural governor was 2,000 dan, while that of a county magistrate in a small county was only 300 dan. The accountants were originally just servants and slaves of the Zhang family. When their master was happy during Chinese New Year, they would be grateful for a few coins as a reward. Now, seeing this large ingot of glittering gold belonging to themselves, how could they not be overjoyed?

  Liu Ze smiled slightly and said, "I've discussed it with Master Zhang, from today on, you are no longer slaves of the Zhang family, but free men. Those who want to return home can receive travel expenses after the New Year, those who want to follow me can stay, and next year I will pay everyone's monthly salary according to their duties."

  As soon as this was said, the crowd of accountants were already tearfully grateful, all kneeling on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing to Liu Ze, thanking him a thousand times. As for returning home, not one person was willing, firstly because many of these accountants had been sold into the Zhang family since they were young and had long lost contact with their families, so they didn't even have a concept of "home" anymore; secondly, the salary Liu Ze gave them was almost equal to that of a county-level official's monthly stipend, and it was unlikely that they could find another unit with such high pay anywhere else. Therefore, everyone unanimously vowed to follow Liu Ze to the death.

  Liu Ze raised his glass again and said, "Thank you all for your trust in me. Here, I solemnly promise to you that as long as you are willing to follow me, I, Liu Ze, will never let everyone down! Come on, today we'll get drunk and then rest!" After that, they had a big drinking bout, and everyone got thoroughly drunk.

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  Winter has gone and spring has come, and before one's eyes it is again the time when peonies are in bloom. The whole city of Luoyang is intoxicated with the fragrance of flowers. Due to the great chaos in Shu, combined with the large-scale procurement of Shu brocade by Persian merchants, the price of Shu brocade has skyrocketed, and high-quality Shu brocade is now worth almost as much as 20 taels of gold per bolt.

  Lucas has been frowning and depressed lately, his mood has reached an extreme. Last year, he spent 100,000 taels of gold to buy 10,000 pieces of Shu brocade from Liu Ze, and made a profit after arriving in Rome. However, before he could sell all the remaining goods, a large amount of cheap Shu brocade flooded the Roman market, making him regretful. If he had known that the price of Shu brocade would plummet, he wouldn't have spent that 100,000 taels of gold. What's worse is that with the sharp decline in the price of Shu brocade, it has caused chaos in the sales of Eastern silk in the Roman market. Now this spring, as soon as he entered Luoyang City, the price of Shu brocade soared to 20 taels of gold per piece, which shocked him greatly.

  He, who had been familiar with the business for many years on the Silk Road, was also confused. The ups and downs of Shu brocade prices over the past decade were unprecedented. Seeing his Persian counterparts starting to stock up on Shu brocade, he too was in a dilemma. If he didn't buy it, there would be no business to do, after all, silk was the main commodity on this thousands-of-miles-long Silk Road. But if he bought it, he wouldn't know whether the price would stabilize or not. What if it plummeted like last year? This time, he wouldn't be as lucky as last year; he might even lose his entire fortune.

  However, the result of these days of observation was that the price of Shu brocade rose day by day, making him even more indecisive. Several partners had urged him to make a move and buy goods, or else the Shu brocade would be snatched up by others. Without Shu brocade, how could they do business this year? After careful consideration, Lukas decided to visit Liu Ze in person. Although Fuyuanzhuang was no longer selling Shu brocade, the astute Lukas had determined that Liu Ze must have a large amount of inventory, and he even felt that this young man was the mastermind behind the manipulation of the Shu brocade price in Luoyang market.

  Just as he was about to set out, a servant came to report that Liu Dazhu from Fuyuanzhuang had come to visit. Lukasz had been in business for many years and had met countless people, but this Liu Ze really made him see through, if he really had Shu brocade in his hands, it would be a rare commodity now, why bother coming to the door to sell it? Although he was confused, he didn't dare to neglect, personally went out to welcome Liu Ze and others into the living room.

  This time, Liu Ze came to visit Lukas under the accompaniment of Jian Yun. Liu Ze looked around Lukas' living room, which was spacious and bright, with a typical European style, red wood tables, Persian wool carpets, showing off the owner's luxury and wealth, on the wall hung a Persian tapestry that could be called a work of art, Roman oil painting, and in the corner of the wall still hung a suit of armor of a Roman soldier.

  Both sides sat down as host and guest, and the servants brought tea. Lukacz said: "What wind blew you, Manager Liu, over here?"

  "I have come to your residence today without an appointment and disturbed you."

  "Mr. Liu is a great nobleman, and today he has graciously condescended to visit my humble abode, bringing glory to my home. But I don't know what wisdom Mr. Liu has to impart?"

  "Mr. Lukas has been in business for many years and is well-versed in the ways of commerce, but what are his views on the future prospects of East-West trade?"

  Lukaz gazed at Liu Ze, the more he looked, the more he felt that there was something inexplicable about him, a maturity that didn't match his age. Liu Ze's simple question had stirred up the pain in his heart, and he sighed: "My country emphasizes agriculture over commerce, and is closed off to the world, while Rome exhausts its military and never stops fighting. The only thing our two countries have in common is the heavy burden of taxes. On the Silk Road, there are thieves and bandits everywhere, barbarians plundering, sandstorms raging, extreme heat and cold... for merchants, it's like trying to take chestnuts out of a fire. To outsiders, merchants seem to be dressed in finery, throwing money around, but unless you've experienced it yourself, you can't understand the bitterness and hardship on this road. This Silk Road is truly a road of sorrow, tears, and death! As for your question about prospects, I can only answer that it's bleak."

  "Roman trade with the East is diverse, including jade, precious stones, medicinal herbs, spices and so on. The Han Dynasty mainly exports silk products, but today the price of Shu brocade in Luoyang market fluctuates greatly, I'm afraid even Mr. Lukas, who has been engaged in business for many years, can't grasp it?"

  "The price of Shu brocade changes three times a day, I'm afraid it's none other than Liu Zhuanggui who is manipulating the market behind the scenes?"

  Liu Zedan smiled calmly and said, "Liu Mou doesn't have such an extraordinary ability to predict the future, but rather just saw some signs in advance. This time, the price of Shu brocade has risen sharply, which is related to the rebellion of the Board Shield Barbarians in Shu. However, as a result, trade between Han and Rome will be difficult to continue. I wonder what Mr. Lukas plans to do?"

  Lucaz shook his head and sighed, "Hundreds of people in the caravan are waiting for food, even if it's difficult to do, we have to do it. I heard that Liu Zhuang has a large stock of Shu brocade, so I hope Liu Zhuang can give us a discount on account of our past friendship."

  "The Shu brocade is easy to discuss, but didn't Mr. Lukacz think of exchanging it for other goods?"

  Lu Cai raised an eyebrow and said: "Other goods? Doesn't Liu Zhuang have something even better in his hands?"

  Liu Zeshao smiled but didn't speak, and with a wave of his hand, one of the attendants brought over a large wooden tray, on which were placed several pieces of ceramics in different styles. Lukas's eyes shone brightly as he reached out to grab a Qinghua porcelain plate, examining it carefully and exclaiming: "Good! Really beautiful! Good stuff!"

  "Mr. Lukacz, what do you think of these ceramics? Are they qualified to enter the Roman market?"

  Lucas had also done the ceramics business before, and oriental ceramics were also quite popular in the Roman market, but due to the general quality of the ceramics, uneven color, it was difficult to gain favor with the Roman nobility, so most of the tableware used by the Roman nobility were made of silver. But the Qinghua porcelain in front of him had a white and delicate body, bright and lustrous glaze, deep blue and green colors that seemed to drip, completely different from ordinary ceramics, it could be called a work of art, using such tableware for dining was simply a pleasure.

  "Not bad, not bad, good stuff! I think it will sell well in Rome, but how much stock does Liu have on hand?"

  "Two vehicles, totaling 10,000 pieces."

  "Alright, I'll take this batch of goods. Liu, give me a price."

  Liu Ze made a "perfect" gesture with his hands.

  Lucaz slightly furrowed his brow and said, "This batch of porcelain is not bad, but the price seems a bit high. The price that Manager Liu gave me is one that I'm afraid I won't be able to bear. Can you lower it a bit?"

  Liu Ze shook his head and said, "A penny for a penny's worth of goods, Mr. Lukacz, you should understand its value."

  "Indeed, this batch of porcelain is expensive, but it's also worth the price. To be honest, 100,000 taels isn't too much to pay for it. However, porcelain is fragile and difficult to transport over long distances. If there's too much damage during transportation, it won't be worth it."

  Liu Ze smiled slightly and said, "The problem of transportation is not a problem. All the porcelain has been completely wrapped in six layers of straw rope. Even if it falls from a height of one zhang (about 3.3 meters), there won't be a single crack. If Mr. Lukas doesn't believe me, he can inspect them on the spot."

  Lukazhi said: "Mr. Liu is a man of his word, what he says must be true, I should believe him, no need to verify again. It's just that..."

  Liu Zedan said calmly, "Alright, the price of this batch of porcelain cannot be discounted, but Mr. Lukas must still want to buy a batch of Shu brocade. I'll give you 10,000 pieces of high-quality Shu brocade at last year's price as compensation. What do you think, Mr. Lukas?"