Hearing that the two Wangcai brothers were taking him to the most important place in the port, and that it was also a must-go place for everyone who came to the port, Zhou Zhong was also extremely curious. He immediately asked them to lead the way, and then the three of them headed east

As we walked, we soon came to a very prosperous place on the port.

This is already the easternmost point of the port controlled by the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce. Further east is the port area controlled by other chambers of commerce. But at the junction of this port power, a very prosperous area is formed, with many restaurants and inns.

, all kinds of small vendors are crowded in it, shouting one after another, vying to win over the merchants walking on the street.

Compared with other parts of the port, the area in front of Zhou Zhong is not only more prosperous, but the restaurants and inns on both sides of the street are also obviously more upscale. Even the fireworks women sitting by the windows in several brothels are better than other places.

It is more beautiful, and as for the pedestrians on the street, most of them are well-dressed. It is obvious that this must be a prime location in the entire port.

Wangcai and Fugui took Zhou Zhong through several restaurants and inns, and soon arrived at the center of this area. However, what surprised Zhou Zhong was that in the core of this prime location, there was actually a ten-meter-thin area.

The flat open space should be a square to be precise. What is even more surprising is that in the center of the square, a three-story teahouse stands quietly there.

Zhou Zhong looked at the teahouse in the center of the square, then turned to look at the restaurant and inn on the edge of the square. He found that the building closest to the teahouse was also twenty feet away. The surrounding buildings formed a circle with the teahouse as the center.

Like stars holding the moon, this invisible foil gives the teahouse itself an indescribable majesty, making people feel awe at the first sight.

"This...what is this teahouse for? Why is it so...so special?" Zhou Zhong really couldn't think of any words to describe the teahouse in front of him. From the architectural environment, this teahouse is very domineering, with several people around it.

There are no other buildings in Shizhang, but no matter how domineering it is, it is still a teahouse. The tall flag in front of the door has a big word "tea" written on it. Although the front is large, the decoration is very ordinary, and it looks nothing more than ordinary.

It's just an ordinary teahouse that occupies a relatively large area.

"Hey, Master, I don't know something. This Beigang Teahouse is not an ordinary teahouse. However, if you want to explain it, it can't be explained clearly in one or two sentences. Let's go in and have a look. Then Master, you will naturally understand

Understood!" Fugui said at this time. The two brothers looked almost the same. What they had in common was that they were ugly. There was not much difference in their personalities. The only difference that could tell the difference between them was that Fugui was darker than Wangcai.

After hearing this, Zhou Chong looked at the teahouse again, and found something different from ordinary teahouses. He saw several guards standing in front of the gate of this teahouse called Beigang, and these guards looked familiar to him. They should be

People from my own chamber of commerce. In addition, there is a constant flow of customers in the teahouse. Most of the people coming in and out are of extraordinary bearing and luxurious clothes. You can tell at a glance that they are not ordinary people.

Seeing that there were guards from the Chamber of Commerce standing guard in this teahouse, and there were so many people coming in and out, Zhou Zhong couldn't help but feel curious. He immediately walked forward with Wangcai and Fugui, wanting to go inside and take a closer look. The gatekeeper

The members of the Chamber of Commerce quickly recognized him and were surprised at the time. They wanted to salute Zhou Zhong, but were stopped by him with a wave of his hand.

After entering the teahouse with the flow of people, Zhou Zhong saw that the teahouse's hall was very vast, with hundreds of tables placed inside. Almost every table was full of people, drinking tea or talking, and it looked like an ordinary teahouse.

Zhou Zhong didn't pay much attention at first. When he entered the hall, he saw an empty table in the corner, so he walked over and sat down. However, before he could ask the waiter to serve tea, he saw a man in his forties with a steady demeanor at the table next to him.

The middle-aged man turned around and cupped his hands at him and said: "You are so polite, little brother. May I ask what you want to buy? I have cotton from Songjiang and silk from Suhu. They are all top quality. I wonder if you can

interested in?"

"Buying goods?" Zhou Zhong was stunned when he heard this, and then asked with a strange face, "What goods do I not want to buy?"

"Don't want to receive the goods?" After hearing this, the middle-aged man looked Zhou Zhong up and down with a strange look, and then suddenly smiled, "Little brother, you are joking, if you are not here to buy goods, why don't you come here to drink tea?

of?"

"Isn't this a teahouse? Why can't I come here to drink tea?" Zhou Chong was even more surprised when he heard this. He couldn't understand what the middle-aged man who took the initiative to strike up a conversation was talking about.

But as soon as Zhou Zhong finished speaking, the middle-aged man looked at him as if he were looking at an alien, as if he was seeing something very strange. However, the middle-aged man quickly realized that this was a very strange thing.

It was a rude move, so he showed a fake smile and said with his hands: "It turns out that little brother is here to drink tea, there is a misunderstanding!"

After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he immediately turned around and ignored Zhou Zhong, which made Zhou Zhong a little confused. He turned around and was about to ask Wangcai and Fugui, but found that these two guys were covering their mouths and snickering.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhong immediately understood that Wangcai and the others must know the reason. He immediately glared and said: "Why are you laughing? Tell me quickly what this teahouse is for. Why did this person ask me if I want it as soon as he came up?"

goods?"

After hearing Zhou Zhong's words, Fugui and Wangcai immediately did not dare to laugh anymore. Wangcai stepped forward and secretly pointed to a table next to him and said to Zhou Zhong: "Master, do you see any difference on that table?"

After hearing this, Zhou Chong looked along Wangcai's finger and found that there were three people sitting at the table. Judging from their clothes, they should all be businessmen. The three of them were chatting and sipping tea, and listened carefully to the content of their chat.

There seems to be no difference in some business matters.

"What's different? Isn't it just businessman Mikami talking about business?" Zhou Chong looked at it for a long time but didn't see anything special, so he said to Wangcai with a puzzled look on his face.

"Master, please take a closer look. What are the differences on the table?" At this time, Fugui also opened his mouth and gave instructions.

"On the table?" Zhou Zhong looked over there again after hearing this, but this time he really saw the difference.

Normally, there should be nothing on the teahouse table except teacups and cakes, but that table was different. In front of the person sitting in the middle of the three people, except for teacups and a plate with cakes,

There is also a small plate with a unique shape, and some crystal white sugar is placed on the plate.

In Europe and other places, there is nothing strange about putting sugar on the tea table. After all, they can't taste the bitterness and then sweetness of tea, so they like to put sugar in the tea. But this is the Ming Dynasty, and it depends on the other party's clothes.

He was also a Ming Dynasty businessman who was not in the habit of drinking tea with sugar, so it was really strange to see a plate of sugar in front of him.

Noticing the strange plate of sugar on the table, Zhou Zhong listened carefully to the conversation of the three people, and soon discovered that the three people were talking about a sugar business, and it was the two people who did not put sugar in front of them.

They both plan to sell a batch of candies in their hands to the person in the middle who puts the candies in front of them. Now the two people are proposing the benefits they are willing to give up, and the person in the middle is considering it.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhong seemed to understand something, but he also had a lot of doubts. However, before he could speak, Wangcai next to him finally explained: "Master, our Beigang teahouse is actually for businessmen coming and going.

For business use, you must have seen that the businessman sitting in the middle is here to collect sugar. According to the unwritten rules of the teahouse, he placed a plate of sugar in front of him, so that when someone happens to have sugar, he wants to sell it.

, we will sit down and discuss with him. If several businessmen want to make a move, then we can all sit down together and discuss. Whoever offers the lowest price and whose goods are good will buy them."

"That's it!" Zhou Chong nodded after hearing this. At the same time, he looked at the tables in the teahouse and found that on almost every table, someone placed goods that needed to be purchased, such as porcelain, silk, cotton, etc.

In addition, many people did not sit and drink tea, but walked around the teahouse, apparently looking for someone to buy their goods.

However, Zhou Zhong quickly thought of a question and immediately asked: "No, I didn't say that I wanted to purchase goods when I sat down just now, and there was no goods to be purchased in front of me, but the middle-aged man asked as soon as he came up

What kind of goods do I want to purchase? This is obviously not normal?"

"Hey, Master, I don't know. There is an unwritten rule in the Beigang Teahouse. When there is an empty table in the teahouse, only the person who is purchasing the goods will be the first to sit down, and then put out the samples of the goods to be purchased.

Just wait for the seller to come up and talk. After the seller enters the teahouse and walks around, if he can find a buyer, he will naturally sit down and discuss. But if he does not find a buyer, he cannot sit on a table by himself.

Instead of drinking tea on the table, you have to leave information about the goods you want to sell in the teahouse, and let the teahouse pay attention to it for you." Fugui also explained at this time.

Now Zhou Shige finally understood. It turned out that when he sat down here, although he didn't put anything to buy, according to the default rules of the tea house, he was already a person who bought goods. No wonder the middle-aged man came up and asked him

What to acquire.

After understanding the rules of the Beigang Teahouse, Zhou Zhong felt very interesting. He then asked Wangcai and Fugui for more information about the teahouse. According to them, places like the Beigang Teahouse were the most popular place in Shuangyu Port.

There are three teahouses in total, including one each in Westport, Nangang and Beigang. The Beigang teahouse is the largest and has the largest daily volume of goods transactions.

Zhou Zhong also saw that the Beigang Teahouse is actually a commodity trading center. Most of the goods shipped from the port are traded here, and the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce in charge here takes a commission from it. The greater the transaction volume, the greater the profits of the chamber of commerce.

big.

However, Zhou Zhong also discovered that the trading methods here at Beigang Tea House were too primitive. It relied on the merchants to find business opportunities on their own, while the tea house did not actively participate in the transactions. This efficiency was actually very low. It seemed that
Chapter completed!