Chang'an.
Dahan Chamber of Commerce.
When Cui Hou received the order conveyed by the escort of the cavalry, she couldn't help but feel a little headache.
"Spice, jade, and pudding wine increased the price?" Cui Hou's shopkeeper asked, "How much does this... need to increase the price?"
Cui Hou shook her head, "Didn't say it."
The shopkeeper suddenly didn't know what to say. After pausing for a moment, he said: "Master, although the price can be increased or lower, there is always a reason to raise the price? You can't say that you want to raise the price. Isn't this losing your reputation...
The pace of life in the Han Dynasty was actually very slow, and some people would never go out of ten miles in their lives, so many times the shops were open for a lifetime. It is not impossible for old customers to raise prices temporarily, but there must be an explanation, otherwise they will inevitably be criticized by customers.
Cui Hou’s headache is not the price increase, but what is behind the price increase.
After all, are businessmen? Isn’t raising prices a very common thing? Not to mention that prices fluctuate when the changes in spring, summer, autumn and winter are changing on weekdays, sometimes the prices of morning, noon and evening are not uncommon.
There is no problem with raising prices, but Cui Hou doesn't know how to raise prices and how much it is appropriate.
And the most critical question, why raise prices?
"Why... go and ask?" the shopkeeper said tentatively.
Cui Hou pondered and did not answer immediately.
Cui Hou has always boasted about his friendship with the cavalry in the Han Chamber of Commerce, but in fact Cui Hou was a little afraid of seeing the cavalry General.
He felt that Fei Qian is no longer the Fei Qian of the past.
Although what Cui Hou said occasionally cannot be completely boasted. He had indeed sat with Fei Qian for a while in Luoyang City and drank and talked happily, but now Luoyang City, which is said to have never fallen for a thousand years, has been destroyed. How can the friendship between people never change forever?
Moreover, after the last time there was a problem within the Cui caravan and was caught by Fei Qian, Cui Hou became more and more reluctant to see Fei Qian. If he didn't meet, Cui Hou could still pretend to be an ostrich. Every time he met, Cui Hou deeply felt the gap in status.
But it won’t work if you don’t see each other. After all, if you don’t understand the goal, how can you do things?
So Cui Hou could only delay for a while, and then went to the cavalry office to ask for a meeting.
Fei Qian did not come out in person, but sent Xu Chu to come.
This is nothing. After all, with Fei Qian's current status, it is impossible for him to come to greet Cui Hou in person. Of course, Cui Hou would not complain, but he was a little sour in his heart.
Xu Chu did not mean to take Cui Hou into the inner courtyard directly, but to lead Cui Hou to the side of the corridor. When Cui Hou felt something was wrong, he smiled and explained to Cui Hou: "President Cui, the lord asked me to apologize. There are some things he has now, and it is not convenient to see you. If you come because of the price of goods in the Western Regions, you might as well go and meet Zhen to do it..."
"Zhen is engaged?" Cui Hou then realized, and went forward and left the corner gate. It was the place where the foreign government officials were.
Have you just walked around the relationship?
Xu Chu smiled and squinted his eyes, looking very kind and harmless, but Cui Hou knew in his heart that this kindness was just Xu Chu's mask.
"Ah, it's okay...ah, no, it's not right that I came down to disturb the cavalry. I can't help but get the cavalry's guidance. I hope that the lieutenant Xu would like to thank the cavalry on my behalf..." Cui Hou was hesitating before whether to pay a visit, but now he can't even see him? But what else can Cui Hou say, so he can only thank Xu Chu, then walked out of the corner gate and turned to the official party.
Cui Hou rarely comes to the official party because Cui Hou believes that the Han Chamber of Commerce is his territory, so the official party still has some strangeness to him.
Along the corridor, Cui Hou walked into the official hall and saw blue bricks and white walls, red railings and black tiles in front of him. The officials from all walks of life were sweating profusely, the slow ones were calm, and the panic were busy, which was simply a miniature picture of life.
Cui Hou suddenly felt a little out of place.
After standing for a while, Cui Hou moved forward, looking at the wooden sign erected in front of the official house, and then found Zhen Mi. When Cui Hou saw Zhen Mi, he almost couldn't recognize him...
Zhen Mi was wearing a red and black official robe, sitting on the white thatched mat, asking the clerk what was going on. Her face was serious, which was completely different from the gorgeous impression that Cui Hou had left before. If she wanted to use a simple word, it would be clear. Like glass, although she was not completely undecorated, her pink and black official robe was light and she did not cover her jade skin. In addition, her red and black official robe, her upright Jinxian crown, bright eyes and white teeth made Cui Hou feel a little bit arrogant without anger.
What surprised Cui Hou the most was that in Zhen Mi's house, almost all the utensils were ordinary, that is, ordinary officials used it, without the rich decoration or graceful demeanor. Even the white mat where Zhen Mi sat did not look new, Cui Hou could see that the mat might be the ink mark left by the person who used it before, and even at the edge of the mat, there were some scattered and tiny holes...
Zhen Mi can actually sit on such a thing?
Isn’t she obsessed with eating, using beauty, being extravagant and extravagant, and being clean?
Is this really Zhen Mi?
Cui Hou had heard that Zhen Mi entered the official party before, but he didn't care much. Cui Hou felt that with Zhen Mi's habits, he would be excluded, bullied, or demoted, and he would not have been done for a long time in the officialdom.
It's like the boss of a company later drove a four-lane A4 to work, and then his employees not only drove briefs, but also used large G models for transportation. So what would others think?
Following the customs of the countryside is not just for the "country".
According to his previous impression, Cui Hou felt that even if Zhen Mi could stay in the official party, he would definitely feel uncomfortable. Either Zhen Mi was uncomfortable himself or made other officials uncomfortable. But he never expected that Zhen Mi would change so much. If he had not seen Zhen Mi many times before and would not have admitted his mistake, he would almost think that the person in front of him would be just another person with a similar appearance!
Cui Hou was a little surprised for a moment, but Zhen Mi looked up and saw Cui Hou standing outside the house.
"Since you are an old acquaintance, why are you embarrassed?" Zhen Mi said with a smile, "President Cui is a rare guest! Don't blame me if you lose your greeting!"
"How dare you, how dare you!" Cui Hou hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, "Cui's ordinary people should not come to disturb you without any trouble... Now I have to see Mrs. Zhen... Uh, Zhen's style is better than the past, but she is still in a turmoil and misfortune outside, which really makes me envious..."
Cui Hou's words were not just for the sake of invitation, but were indeed expressed with emotion.
When Zhen Mi first came to Chang'an, she had to visit Cui Hou specifically and say something to please Cui Hou. Looking at Cui Hou's face, she was cautious, but now it's the other way around.
Cui Hou, at the beginning, boasted of being an old acquaintance of the Cavalry, and thought that he was working hard and making great contributions to the Cavalry, but almost became a prisoner.
Now it seems that Zhen Mi's choice is the right one. Although Cui Hou seemed to be the one who was the one who was the one who was talking about the wind and rain in the Han Chamber of Commerce, when he arrived here, he still had to be polite to Zhen Mi and nodded. Although the position was not high, this authority was enviable enough.
In addition to his position, this change in Zhen Mi's current appearance decoration also surprised Cui Hou and felt a lot of emotion.
Cui Hou looked at the robe on her body and the jade pendant hanging around her waist. She thought it was quite good before, but now she looks very tacky no matter how she looks at it...
"President Cui is polite," Zhen Mi invited Cui Hou to sit down, and then asked the servants outside to send some tea in, and then said to Cui Hou, "Everything is OK in the Chamber of Commerce?"
"Yes, yes, everything is fine..." Cui Hou said it roughly, not a lie, because over the past period of time, the overall trade operation has been relatively stable and there are no special matters. In addition, Cui Hou was originally a veteran in trade, so he didn't feel any difficulty in doing it. After narrating it, Cui Hou mentioned the price increase order of the Western Regions by the Cavalry, and then asked, "I am impatient and insane, and I failed to understand the profound meaning of the Cavalry, for fear that I would do something wrong and miss the Cavalry. I had no choice but to go to see the Cavalry, but the Cavalry ordered me to come down to find Zhen to engage in... So I came shamelessly and hoped that Zhen would give me any advice...
After hearing Cui Hou's words, Zhen Mi couldn't help but smile.
To be honest, Cui Hou had never been so polite before in front of her.
However, Zhen Mi would not take it out. After all, Cui Hou also mentioned the cavalry specifically, and took advantage of the situation for him, saying that he was also someone behind him...
Specifically, whether someone above is stronger or someone behind it is better, there is indeed no need to distinguish between high and low strength at the moment.
So Zhen Mi smiled and said, "President Cui can get a job with a cavalry, no matter how difficult it is, it is a good thing after all. Since I am a minister, I will do my best and do my best. I also asked President Cui to say bluntly, what are you worried about?"
When Cui Hou told the matter, Zhen Mi suddenly realized, "I understand. The lord asked President Cui to come here because of my comment..."
In fact, before Cui Hou came, Zhen Mi received a notice.
Zhen Mi stood up, went to the bookshelf behind her, found an archived memorial, then put it on the table, gently pushed forward, signaling Cui Hou to read it, and said: "I have been thinking about economic and trade exchanges in Shandong and Shanxi, commodity trading, trading markets, etc. a few days ago, so I wrote a memorial to tell you the point of business and goods... The Cavalry asked President Cui to come here, most of the time, just to let President Cui look at this table..."
What Zhen Mi said seemed to be just a look, but in fact it was not.
Fei Qian means that in terms of the Western Regions goods, even the Han Chamber of Commerce, Zhen Mi obviously has more research and understands the key points, so he asked Cui Hou to learn from the scriptures and follow Zhen Mi's advice, not just to take a look at the memorials written by Zhen Mi before.
Otherwise, I just need someone to hand over the memorial to Cui Hou and read it, wouldn’t it be over?
Cui Hou was quite surprised to see that Zhen Mi did not make things difficult for him. She was stunned for a moment and thanked him, then took the archived memorial and started reading. What a merchant, it is always accustomed to strange goods. If there are good things, they always want to sell them at high prices. However, if it is too much, it often makes people feel that they are cunning and intentionally making things difficult for him. Zhen Mi almost completely abandoned the merchant's imprints in this area. While surprised Cui Hou, she couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
『Gold, silver, copper?』 Cui Hou looked at the project that seemed to occupy a large amount of space in Zhen Mi's stamp, and couldn't help but repeat softly, "Shandong is so luxurious, likes gold and silver, blended into ingots, and stored... He also saw that copper in Guanzhong is expensive, transported more, less circling, and privately minted coins, and is often proud... Zhen is engaged in this... What does this mean?"
Zhen Mi nodded and her face gradually became serious. "Chairman Cui, although I was born in Ji, I am now living in Guanzhong and being a minister, so I should naturally put the great cause of the cavalry first. I wonder if President Cui agrees?"
Cui Hou was furious and nodded repeatedly, "Of course! I should do it like this!"
"Shandong has been ill for a long time." Zhen Mi said slowly, "Don't President Cui said that this is the import of bad copper in Shandong?!"
『This…』 Cui Hou's hand shook slightly, and then smiled bitterly, 『This matter is indeed...but...』
Cui Hou wanted to speak but stopped.
Zhen Mi's eyes were flowing, and she took out a few coins from one side of the table, and threw them on the table.
『This is a Shandong imitation coin. Its texture is slightly lighter and the flesh is slightly thinner. It is prone to black rust when it is wet in rain..." Zhen Mi pointed to the coins and said, "This is the coin of the West... The meat is good, the contour is round, the patterns are clear, and it is not afraid of wind and rain, and it is not easy to rust... President Cui, may you really not know about this copper coin?"
Looking at the small copper coins on the table, Cui Hou couldn't help but feel a little sweaty on her head.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! "As for bronze, more imitations..." Zhen Mi took out some small bronzes under copper coins for change, and said in disgust, "Look, these are just, they are worse than bad money!"
For ordinary people, gold, silver and coins are basically invisible or useable. Even copper coins, when trading in small amounts, they must use smaller units of currency, namely copper coins. This copper coins are the smallest coins of the Han Dynasty. They usually have no patterns, usually a small round copper coins of one zhu or two zhu.
Because this small copper coins are easy to mint and there are no anti-counterfeiting measures, compared with the previous Western coins and the more difficult to imitate later, the Chow Coins are naturally the hardest hit areas for imitation in Shandong. Although the profit is very small, the amount is large and there will be a profit.
In addition, because these imitated small copper coins are also used in Shandong, the price difference between Guanzhong and Shandong is formed, which is cheap in the east and expensive in the west, so it forms a cycle in which Guanzhong exports good money such as gold, silver and copper coins to Shandong, while Shandong constantly finds various opportunities to input bad money from Guanzhong.
"President Cui is not ignorant, but he just doesn't investigate this matter..." Zhen Mi looked at Cui Hou meaningfully, "I'm afraid it's for the number of trades, which will lead to achievements... If you investigate deeply, it will definitely affect trade, reduce trade, reduce the income of the Han Chamber of Commerce, and damage President Cui's reputation...
"No, no!" Cui Hou waved his hands repeatedly, "I definitely don't have this intention! I... I do know this, and I am collecting relevant information... I am definitely not deliberately concealing the cavalry! I am preparing to report this to the cavalry!"
Cui Hou almost shouted loudly.
At most, he could only pretend to be stupid. How could he say he was deliberately deceiving it?
This is a completely different meaning, okay?
Zhen Mi stared at Cui Hou seriously, and then suddenly smiled, as if the frost melted, the spring breeze blew on her face. "President Cui was in charge of the Han Chamber of Commerce. President Cui was the only one who was the one who was responsible for such matters. There was no need to say too much to me, I was just talking about the matter... But what did President Cui think about these gold, silver, copper coins and Western Regions goods?"
Cui Hou wiped his sweat, exhaled a long breath, and quickly moved his head, and then realized, "This Western Region goods are mostly used by the children of the gentry, but now the price is increased to get the outflow of gold and silver coins back? Zhen is engaged in it, I wonder what I said below?"
Zhen Mi smiled, "I am just a little girl, and I have a shallow understanding... Of course, President Cui made the decision..."
"No, Zhen is engaged in this matter, I'm sincerely asking for advice!" Cui Hou bowed to Zhen Mi repeatedly, "I'd like to ask Zhen to give advice and give me some advice!"
Zhen Mi smiled gently, "President Cui has gained something and does not know whether he should agree or not, so it is better to submit the memorial to the cavalry... Isn't it a thousand times stronger than my lying? President Cui, I still have official duties here, so I won't leave him to sit for a long time. I hope he can forgive me if he is rude."
"This, uh, okay..." Cui Hou subconsciously wanted to take away the stamp prepared, but was stopped by Zhen Mi. She couldn't help but hand it back in embarrassment, and said goodbye. On the surface, she was still polite, but in her heart she cursed Zhen Mi.
Only boys are difficult to raise!
Is there any bad money? When did you not have it?
Didn’t the cavalry do this before?
Besides, bad money cannot be used in the formal market in Chang'an. At most, it can only be exchanged for money that can be used in Qingyin Shop. The loss is very large, so it is usually used secretly in the countryside. Cui Hou doesn't go to the countryside every day, so I don't know if it's normal?
Moreover, whether it is output or input, he can buy goods, and he can trade, and all include the trade volume of the Dahan Chamber of Commerce. The higher the trade volume, it is naturally proved that Cui Hou was in charge of the Dahan Chamber of Commerce. As for these counterfeit currencies, aren’t there any inspections in the market? What does it have to do with the Dahan Chamber of Commerce? What does it have to do with him, Cui Hou? It was not that he asked people from Shandong to mint them privately, and he did not get any benefits from it!
How could this be considered his fault?
Besides, does Dahan Chamber of Commerce have the power to enforce the law?
No, so what's wrong with this?
Cui Hou muttered in her heart while a little angry, but when she got behind, she looked up at the eaves of the official party and stood there for a long time, then sighed a long time, lowered her head, and slowly continued to move forward.
『e=(′o｀*)))Ah…』
I have to write a good stamp when I go back.
We must not only clearly state the matter of gold, silver and copper coins, but also talk about the pricing arrangements for goods in the Western Regions...
Cui Hou's sweat just now walked out of the official hall. A gust of autumn wind blew, which made him tremble for a moment, and quickly wrapped his collar tightly with his hands.
Cui Hou turned around and suddenly felt that he was getting further and further away from the cavalry.
I could have sat in the same seat before and talked about it with laughter, now...
Everything in the world changes, so it is like this.
Chapter completed!