Six Eight, Another Way

  "Today's success is all thanks to Mr. Xu."

  In another courtyard waiting for Yu Guozhen was Xulin Xu Zhongyuan, who had just today helped to push up the price.

  "Even if I don't do anything, the final price won't be low with Young Master Yu's bravery and cleverness. " Xu Lin smiled and bowed his hands in respect.

  He was wearing the robe of a Shengyuan, proving that he wasn't just a simple merchant. Yu Guozhen led him to another courtyard, where he saw young house guards training around him. He stopped in his tracks and slightly revealed an expression of surprise.

  "What can Mr. Xú teach me?" Yú Guózhèn turned his head to look at him.

  The two men were of similar height, with Yu Guozhen being slightly taller. Xu Lin withdrew his gaze and looked up slightly, saying: "I have self-awareness, although I also like military affairs, but I only have the ability to discuss it on paper. Brother Yu has won battle after battle, how can I possibly instruct him?"

  The two men walked to the center of the courtyard, Xu Lin looked around and saw that except for a young servant boy who was following Shi Jingyan to practice shooting and sword fighting, there were no other idle people in the entire courtyard. Only then did he solemnly say: "Yu Shao brother, my family has recently encountered an unexpected event, our original business can't be done anymore, so we have to find another way..."

  Without waiting for Yu Guozhen to ask, he told his own situation. It turned out that the Xu family was also a well-known family among the Huishang merchants, although they had never been considered a large household, but they had their own industries in Nanjing, Yangzhou and Suzhou, Hangzhou, and even two sea ships, traveling between the Great Ming and Japan.

  But just before the year, Xu's family boat had an accident, and both sea boats sank. Even the head of the household was killed in the disaster, which made Xu Lin, who was originally preparing to take the imperial examination, return home to take over the family business. Half of the cargo on those two ships belonged to other families, and Xu Lin paid off the debt by selling his property. Later, there were only a few things left at home, and if he couldn't find new financial resources, the family would decline.

  Xu Lin kept talking, while Yu Guozhen just listened without interrupting. This person spoke extremely logically, even when talking about his own painful experiences, his tone was very calm, except for the occasional flash of light in his eyes, revealing his sorrow.

  "This person is indeed a very capable individual, with composed demeanor and extremely strong self-control, considering things thoroughly and meticulously." Yu Guozhen thought to himself.

  Xu Lin must have had ulterior motives for him, first showing kindness when bidding on the pearl and now being frank about his own affairs. This person is clever and knows how to advance and retreat, leaving a very good impression on Yu Guozhen.

  "So, after learning that Young Master Yu was selling the technique of cultivating pearls, I took out all the available funds from my family and gathered 5,000 taels of silver. Originally, I wanted to see if I could get on Young Master Yu's lucky boat. But today, everyone who came is an expert, and I didn't get a good deal. After thinking about it, I can only come to beg Young Master Yu with a humble face."

  "Oh, what does Mr. Xú want from me?" Yú Guózhèn asked in surprise.

  "Please find a substitute for Mr. Yu's goods." Xu Lin said sincerely: "The other twelve families are all wealthy merchants, their shops and branches are almost all over the country, only Mr. Yu has lost out in this regard. Although my family has encountered some setbacks, we still have business connections in Yangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Guangzhou. If I am lucky enough to get Mr. Yu's consent, I can sell the Yu family's pearls to these places!"

  "What else?"

  "Also..." Xu Lin hesitated for a moment, staring intently at Yu Guozhen, but he couldn't read anything from his expression.

  At last, he gritted his teeth: "If river pearls can be cultivated, then southern pearls must also be cultivable!"

  As soon as he spoke, Yu Guozhen looked at him in astonishment, and for the first time, his face revealed the emotions hidden deep within!

  Yu Guozhen, when with Xiaolian and others, even in informal settings with Gao family brothers, Luo Jiuhe, Ye Wuyue, etc., would joke around and not lose his innocence. However, he knew that his youthful appearance often led to him being underestimated, so in formal settings, he was always serious. This sudden display of emotion made Xu Lin somewhat uncomfortable, and it took him a moment to understand: "Young Master Yu... didn't plan on doing this?"

  Yu Guozhen did not have this intention, it can be said that Xu Lin's words woke up the dreamer. He sells the technique of cultivating freshwater pearls, but he does not sell the technique of cultivating seawater pearls! In the pearl industry, there has always been a saying "East is not as good as West, West is not as good as South". Among sea pearls, Nan pearls are the most valuable, also known as " Hepu Pearls"!

  "Nan Zhu can indeed be cultivated." Yu Guo Zhen said slowly: "But you must also know that Nan Zhu is for imperial use, even if it's cultivated, it's hard to sell."

  Yu Shaoxiong, nowadays officials and wealthy merchants are competing to be extravagant. According to the imperial edict of Taizu Emperor, merchants are not allowed to wear silk, but today's Huishang and Jinshang merchants, which one is not dressed in satin? Xu Lin smiled: "Moreover, since the Jiajing and Wanli dynasties, South Pearl has been extremely rare. Even with the imperial court spending a huge amount of money, only a few taels can be obtained. Every year, dozens or even hundreds of people die for pearl fishing. If we can cultivate South Pearl, it would be a great merit!"

  Yu Guozhen's expression had already been reined in, and he returned to that calm and waveless state.

  "If Young Master Yu is still not at ease, I am willing to sell this Hepu Pearl to Hong Fan." Xu Lin said again: "What does Young Master think?"

  "If you want to plant Nan Zhu, you must go to Qin Lian Er Zhou." Yu Guo Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly, hiding the turmoil in his heart: "The weather there is scorching hot, Mr. Xu, are you willing to travel thousands of miles to that desolate and barren land?"

  "That's natural. Qinlian two states are not far from Guangzhou Prefecture, and our humble person has traveled to all directions in his youth, and also been to Hepu."

  Yu Guozhen nodded, but didn't immediately respond to Xu Lin. However, his heart was turbulent with excitement. He had originally planned to go south to establish a foundation, he just didn't know which place to choose.

  The island of Taiwan, now known as the East Fan Da Yuan, was a complex and multifaceted place. The Dutch had established themselves in the south, while the Spanish were beginning to develop the north. The influence of Japan also lingered, even going so far as to kidnap the Dutch governor at one point. Yu Guo Zhen's forces were thinly stretched and his resources severely lacking, making it unrealistic for him to establish Taiwan as a base of operations.

  He also wanted to go to Hainan, and he had specifically inquired about the situation in Hainan. It was said that in recent years, strange winds had been frequent near Lingao, Hainan, and although Hainan was good, it was like Taiwan, where manpower and materials were lacking under Yu Guozhen's control, and could not be taken care of yet.

  So he originally wanted to find a place near Guangzhou Prefecture as the big rear base of his third burrow. But now Xu Lin's suggestion made him see a new choice.

  Qinzhou

  Qinzhou is a natural good harbor, not too far from the big city of Guangzhou. Currently, it has been developed to some extent. If he can establish himself in Qinzhou and have about twenty years of development time, Yu Guozhen firmly believes that he will not only reverse the fate of Hu Lu's dominance over China for 260 years but also make human history return to its original natural historical normal process.

  The Huaxia nation has been one of the most advanced nations in the world since its civilization began, occasionally adding "one of", which is a normal process in natural history.

  "Mr. Xue, directly in Lianzhou Hepu, it's easy to attract attention. If you want to open a pearl farm, Qin Zhou is better." After a moment of hesitation, Yu Guozhen finally made up his mind: "If Mr. Xue really wants to do this business, I have a suggestion."

  "Please go on."

  "Act quickly, Mr. Xu thought of Hai Zhen Pearl, others will also think of it, those twelve families are all in cahoots with each other, if Mr. Xu can't get things done within three to five years, it'll be hard for him to enter this market again."

  "Yu Shaoxiong's intention... is to support me?" Xu Lin couldn't help but get excited: "This kindness is like rebirth, I'm extremely grateful!"

  "Wait and be patient, judging from Mr. Xu's tone, it seems that the capital in hand is tight. This South Pearl matter is not something that can produce results in one or two days. Even if it goes smoothly, it will take more than three years, with an investment of at least tens of thousands of silver coins. Can Mr. Xu afford it?"

  "This matter is not difficult for me, with the support of Brother Yu, I can borrow from some friends of my late father." Xu Lin said this, his spirit was extremely excited. Before, although he was very calm, there was always a faint sadness surrounding him, but now, not only did the sad color disappear, but his whole person was radiant and refreshed.

  "Hmm." Yu Guozhen smiled at him without responding.

  Xu Lin quickly calmed down, hesitated for a moment, and then stretched out five fingers: "Fifty percent belongs to Yu Shao."

  Yu Guozhen narrowed his eyes: "In that case, aren't you taking a big loss? The money was yours to put out, the people were yours to find, and the sales route and all that, were all yours. I'm almost just sitting here eating five percent of the profits."

  "If not for Yu Shao's support, I would want to turn over a new leaf, it would take at least twenty years. With Yu Shao's support, after five years, the Xu family will be revitalized." Xu Lin said: "Although I am not talented, I have also read the books of sages and worthies, and having received the kindness of being pointed out by others, I should repay it with a gushing spring."

  "Those who often kill dogs are usually of a heroic and righteous nature, while those who betray others are typically bookworms."

  Yu Guozhen's words instantly made Xu Lin's face turn bright red, and he looked at Yu Guozhen for a while before suppressing his shame and anger: "If that's the case, Brother Yu's previous words wouldn't be mocking me, would they?"

  "It's not natural, I have another suggestion, first be a villain and then a gentleman." Yu Guozhen said: "If I teach you the technique of Zhong Hai Pearl, but you abandon me, wouldn't I end up with nothing?"

  "Please speak, I am all ears."

  "You don't have to go find someone to lend you money, I'll cover all the funds." Yu Guozhen said: "However, initially we didn't do the South Pearl business, but cotton cloth."

  "Cotton cloth?" Xu Lin was taken aback: "That's a specialty of Songjiang Prefecture..."

  "My cloth is cheaper than Songjiang fabric, good quality and low price, the price can even be sold to ordinary hemp fabric." Yu Guozhen said firmly: "The quality is not worse than ordinary Songjiang cloth, the output... The only thing that can limit me is the amount of cotton."

  "Huh?"

  "So, Mr. Xu wants to gain my trust, the first thing is to think of a way to transport cotton flowers for me, let's start by transporting cotton flowers worth 10,000 taels of silver, the sooner the better, I can give Mr. Xu 1,000 taels of deposit in advance."

  Thank you

  Thanks to Mù Tóu Zhú Zi, Jiāng Hú Bù Lǎo Kè, Yù Mèn Zhī Sǐ and Biān Gǎn Dǎ Shǎng for the rewards! Continuing to seek support from San Jiang Piao!