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  At dawn, small fishing boats sailed through the thin mist, and when they finally passed through the dock area filled with merchant ships and entered the nearby sea, the sky had completely brightened up. The once silent dock also regained its original vitality, and the noise surged wave after wave. At a time when the mainland was still embroiled in war, Siming Prefecture (Xiamen), this island port occupied by Ming Zheng, ushered in its most glorious moment in over a decade.

  Under the rule of Zheng Jing, who established a commercial nation, this small port quickly became the largest trading port in East Asia. Flocks of merchant ships sailed across the ocean to seek opportunities for wealth, including Zheng's own fleet from Taiwan, as well as smuggled ships from Qing-controlled areas such as Zhejiang and Guangdong. Even more, there were English, Spanish, and Portuguese galleons coming and going constantly, and occasionally, one could even see merchant ships from Korea, the Ryukyu Kingdom, and Siam.

  The merchant ships that came and went not only brought all kinds of goods, but also sailors of all colors. In this era, being a sailor was one of the most adventurous professions, having to endure long periods of loneliness and facing the unpredictable sea, so most of them were people who lived for the day and drank for the day. As a result, the brothels and wine shops in Siming Prefecture also flourished rapidly.

  Of course, since there is no formal commodity exchange in the ports of Siming Prefecture, various wine shops have also become one of the best ways for businessmen to obtain business information outside of the market. At the same time, it's not uncommon for big deals to be made over cups and plates.

  "I heard that Zheng's fleet has brought in a batch of top-grade rock sugar from Taiwan, which is far superior to the previous ones. It's said that there's also a kind of crystal-like block sugar that's never been seen before. I wonder if Wang Chaojun would be interested in taking this shipment?"

  "I've also heard about this, the goods are good but not cheap. It's said that this batch of rock sugar is one and a half times more expensive than usual, as for that ice sugar, one catty can buy two catties of ordinary rock sugar, it's too expensive, not easy to sell." In a corner of the wine shop, two people who had just made a deal on Huzhou silk were whispering to each other. "What, is Li interested?"

  "It's not true that there's no interest." The Li surname steward didn't cover it up either. "Although it's not easy to take out, bringing some back on the return trip isn't an extra profit? Moreover, good things are worth the price, and besides, that rock sugar is a new plaything, who knows if some big shots will like it."

  "That makes sense, come to think of it, Brother Li has the backing of the Hangzhou Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, and his family is from the Imperial Household Department, with connections all the way up to the palace. Who knows if they're not delighted by these new gadgets inside the palace."

  As soon as Wang Chao spoke, he saw Li Chaofeng's face stiffen: "Brother Wang, what do you mean by this? Could it be that Brother Wang knows my identity, but I don't know his background? If we expose each other, neither of us will benefit."

  In response to Li Chao's stern words, Wang Chao replied with a smile: "Don't worry, little brother. The Zheng family only recognizes money, not people. Even if you're just an errand boy, they won't dare to mess with you. After all, having more friends means having more paths to take, and the Zheng family has plenty of clever people."

  "Brother Wang is right." Li Chaofeng thought for a moment, and his face quickly relaxed. "It was my younger brother's mistake, I'll punish myself with three cups." After downing the three cups of penalty wine, Li Chaofeng's face turned red as he put down the cup, his eyes darted around, continuing to probe the other party. "Brother Wang, you really don't have any interest in this batch of sugar products?"

  "How can you not believe my words? To be honest, there is some interest, but it's not much," Wang Chaofeng twirled the wine glass in his hand, smiling ambiguously at the other person. "After all, Guangdong can also produce sugar, it's just that the quality is not as good as Taiwan's, and as for this batch of sugar products, there are too many people keeping an eye on them, so it's probably not easy to get your hands on them."

  "Is Brother Wang referring to those Redhead barbarians?" Li Chaofeng sneered in disdain. "I'd like to see just how much wealth these insignificant Red Barbarians can have."

  ??”

  "Newly arrived top-grade rock sugar, ten thousand catties!" The voice of the dock's responsible comprador had barely fallen when a group of unusually dressed merchants swarmed around him. Looking at the fiercely staring crowd, the seasoned comprador also felt a chill in his heart and hastily said, "Top-grade rock sugar, ten thousand catties, highest bidder gets it!"

  "Quanzhou Guangchang Number has a silver deposit of 650 taels!"

  A voice cried out loudly, but a moment later a new bid came out: "Guangzhou Nan Tianlong No., now silver six hundred and seventy taels!"

  "Ningbo, Xingfu Sheng number 680 taels!"

  "Nagasaki, and the Mohsheng number, willing to appear silver seven hundred and ten taels!"

  The price continued to rise, soon exceeding 20% of the normal snow sugar price and gradually approaching 30%. At this point, all parties who were originally eager to get their hands on it fell silent. After all, even if this batch of high-quality goods was excellent, it was too risky to compete for them at such a high price.

  At this moment, a strange accent that was obviously from the Yi people rang out: "Dolphin number, 1,040 rials!"

  The price was already sky-high, and Li Chongfu, who had boasted in front of Wang Chongfu, forced a unnatural smile on his face. However, his goal wasn't the rock sugar, so he managed to contain his anger and let the merchant sell the goods to this foreign ship captain named Adriano instead.

  After selling the snow sugar, it's time to sell the rock sugar. The tooth people who have learned from past experiences quickly showed the samples of rock sugar. After the rock sugar that was crushed into diamond-like small particles melted in the mouths of the buyers one after another, the tooth people shouted loudly: "Old rules, 4,000 catties of rock sugar, the highest bidder gets it."

  "I'll give 2,800 guilders." A voice suddenly rang out. Since the quote was in Dutch currency, which had a very poor exchange rate with the local currency, all the merchants turned to look at him. However, the bidder ignored the crowd's curious gaze and slightly shrugged his shoulders. "I just arrived from Batavia and only have Dutch guilders on hand."

  Looking at this fluent Chinese red-haired foreigner, Li Chaofeng's mind flashed back to Wang Chaofeng's prediction earlier, and he was afraid that nothing would come of it. He couldn't help but shout loudly: "900 taels, Hangzhou Tianchang隆号 bids 900 taels in cash!"

  But this quote was soon overwhelmed by a higher price, and Li Chaofeng's facial muscles twitched. To be honest, he didn't care about making a profit or not, as long as he pleased the superior, he wasn't afraid of not having a place to make money: "One thousand two!"

  "This guy must be crazy!" Some familiar merchants whispered to each other. "This price used to be able to buy three times the white sugar, how can you make money, aren't you afraid of losing?"

  Merchants calculated the accounts, feeling incredible, but the toothed people with commissions were beaming with joy: "One thousand taels of silver, is there a higher price? One thousand taels, no one bids, and this world's first batch of rock sugar will be Tianchang Long's? Good! Congratulations to Li Chaofeng, next there is another batch of deerskin for sale, interested Chaofengs can take a look.

  ??”

  Li Chaofeng, with his head held high, was led away to pay and collect the goods. Meanwhile, a merchant who couldn't hold back got up quietly and pulled aside a person from the pawnshop, asking: "Brother, now that the sugar season has just begun, will Taiwan send over new xue tang and bing tang?"

  He took the silver handed over by the other party, and a person in the tooth row smiled and quickly put the silver money into his pocket: "What the official said is not true, this snow sugar and ice sugar will not only have one batch, but the price may not fall much. After all, the output on that side is not too high."

  With that sentence, the merchant smiled and left. Looking at his background, those with a mind naturally inferred something, so they made their moves, and soon the news that Taiwan would continue to transport rock sugar and ice sugar for sale spread like wildfire, causing those merchants who were originally preparing to leave to change their minds one after another.

  "John, is the information you've gathered reliable? It's not some rumor from a prostitute again, is it?"

  "Look what Mr. Smith said," said John, a sailor, with a sly smile at the captain and the accountant beside him. "How could I joke about such a big thing? It's absolutely true, and I even spent money to treat people to drinks for it?"

  "Don't believe his nonsense, would he spend money to treat others? Others treating him is more like it, anyway the news was heard in a tavern." The captain who knew his subordinate's character turned around and took down a bottle of wine from the shelf behind him and threw it into John's arms. "Drunkard, you should get out of here." After the excited John left, the captain looked at the accountant. "Smith, do you have any suggestions?"

  "Jazz, I thought we shouldn't stay on the island and compete with these opponents." Smith adjusted his thinking. "If the news is true, then we should go directly to Batavia, after all, the goods are produced there, and Batavia has a trading house of the East India Company, where we can more conveniently obtain these new and curious commodities from the source."

  "That makes sense, and it can also avoid maliciously raising prices during competition." The captain nodded, opened a bottle of rum. "It's my honor that Mr. Smith can get your advice, come on, let's have a drink together." After the two clinked glasses, they drank it all in one go. "Alright, then give the order to set sail immediately."

  "Sir, you've forgotten that our funds are not abundant and a large portion of the goods we sold have yet to be paid for."

  "No, it's not important. The merchants of the Ming country are very trustworthy and they will pay the debt eventually. But every day we delay in Xiamen, the sugar reserve on Taiwan decreases by a large amount." As he said this, the captain poured himself another cup of wine. "Mr. Smith, don't worry that we don't have enough funds to purchase ice sugar. On the ship, there are over 100 rifles and three gold-plated clocks. I'm sure the officials will be happy to make such an exchange, and with the company's business house there, Sir Hester Parrish won't be unwilling to guarantee for the Karyeni."

  "You indeed look like a wise captain." Complimented Smith, the accountant. "I suppose you will soon return to the British aristocratic world with a value of over ￡10,000."

  "Haha, haha." The captain laughed maniacally and raised his wine cup. "Another round!"

  ??”