The land of Zhejiang is a land of rivers, with thousands of rivers flowing through its territory and numerous ferry crossings. The place where Manager Xu took them by carriage is a small ferry crossing. Unlike the large merchant ships gathered at the Zhejiang ferry port, most of the boats here are small canopy boats for passengers.
Seeing their party of six moored on the boat by the ferry, boatmen eagerly solicited passengers. Manager Xu and his companions found one that seemed decent, asked about the price, which was calculated based on the journey, deemed acceptable, and one by one they boarded the boat. As the ropes were released and the oars gently paddled, their journey to Wuxing officially began.
The experience of traveling by boat on the big river and small streams is quite different. After spending half a month on a large ship, switching to a small boat was quite novel.
Yuanzhou is mountainous, with waterways crisscrossing, but it is slightly different from the scenery of Zhejiang. The few people on the boat enjoyed the riverside scenery for a while, feeling refreshed and joyful.
Occasionally, small boats passed by on either side. The boatman, a talkative fellow, paddled the boat and jovially asked, “Are you merchants from out of town coming to Zhejiang for business?”
These individuals were quite astute, and their faces revealed nothing. Even the relatively naive Liu Yanan, who had become much smarter after this trip to Zhejiang, smiled and said, “At our age, what do we know about doing business? There’s a saying that goes ‘traveling ten thousand miles is better than reading ten thousand books.’ We’re just out here to broaden our horizons and gain some knowledge.”
The boatman glanced at them. One appeared to be a wealthy young gentleman, the other two had similar appearances, likely brothers, with excellent manners and upbringing. Although their attire wasn’t wealthy, they didn’t seem poor either. The other two seemed of ordinary means, and one looked like a servant.
The oldest was at most twenty, and the youngest was only fifteen. They didn’t look like merchants at all, so the boatman chuckled and said, “It’s great to have the ability to travel around when you’re young. Are you heading to Wuxing?”
Lu Chengxiao smiled and replied, “We’ve heard of the reputation of sericulture and silk in this area. When we arrived here, we thought of bringing back some fine silk for our elders at home. We heard that you can buy quality goods at reasonable prices from rural households in Wuxing. Is that true?”
At the mention of silk from Wuxing, the boatman became enthusiastic and said, “You’ve come to the right place. Although silk production is widespread in Zhejiang, if you want the best silk, you have to go to Huzhou.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
The boatman became animated and explained, “Have you ever heard of Jili silk?”
Liu Yanping and the others looked puzzled, but Lu Chengxiao knew a thing or two and said, “Is it originally called Qili silk? Because ‘Qili’ sounds similar to ‘compiled,’ so it became ‘Jili silk’?”
The boatman chuckled, “Impressive for a young man!”
Lu Chengxiao shook his head and smiled, “That’s all I know. I’ve heard that it was originally called Qili Village because it’s seven miles away from Nanxun. Beyond that, I’m not sure. Could you please tell us why Jili silk is superior?”
When it came to Jili silk, every boatman ferrying along the river had a story to tell, and they all spoke with pride and honor.
“The silk from Huzhou, you won’t find any better even in the heyday of the Ming Dynasty. Although it’s all silk, unlike other regions where most of the silkworms produce coarse silk, in our Huzhou, the silkworms produce fine silk.”
“Silk can be categorized into fine and coarse silk?” Liu Yanan asked curiously.
The boatman smiled, “Of course. Silk cocoons also come in different grades: superior cocoons can be spun into fine silk, medium-grade cocoons produce coarse silk, and inferior cocoons can only yield rough silk. Rough silk is not suitable for weaving on looms. Most of it is used for embroidery threads or other purposes. When weaving silk fabrics, fine silk is used for the warp and coarse silk for the weft.”
“Our Huzhou silk is mostly fine silk, and among them, Jili silk is the finest of all silk, renowned for its whiteness, purity, roundness, and resilience, famous throughout the world. You’ve arrived a bit late. If you came during the new silk season in April or May, you would see the bustling scene of silk merchants from all directions gathering, much livelier than now.”
“If you’re buying silk fabric, going to Wuxing is the right choice. The silk from Wuxing is excellent and always in high demand. Every year, it’s the hottest item. Here, every household raises silkworms, but there aren’t enough people to spin silk quickly, so they directly sell the cocoons. Those with good silk-spinning skills sell silk, while some families weave the silk into fabric directly. This requires skill. With good silk quality and skilled weavers, the quality of the fabric produced is excellent!” He gestured with his hand, giving a thumbs-up.
Then he raised his chin, indicating the boats in the distance, and said, “Look at those boats coming and going. Many of them are traders from various places, and many are going to rural households to buy silk fabric. After dyeing, they will transport it to the market for sale, where the prices are much higher.”
In other words, they had firsthand access to goods. Looking over, Lu Chengxiao asked, “If we buy a small quantity, can we still get a good price?”
The boatman chuckled, “That’s not possible. The price depends on the quantity. If it’s just one or two pieces, it’s better to buy elsewhere. If you can buy dozens of pieces, then that’s considered a bulk purchase.”
“What if we buy more? From what you said, many people here are big merchants. They can’t just bring a few dozen pieces and leave, right? Their prices should be much cheaper than buying just a few dozen pieces?” Liu Yanping asked. The boatman glanced at him, and Liu Yanping smiled, “Curious. When you go out, you want to learn everything. Would you mind telling us?”
“Sure, there’s nothing I can’t tell you.” The boatman said as he paddled the boat. “Actually, when you go to rural households to buy silk, it’s hard to get large quantities because weaving silk fabric isn’t easy, and each household can’t produce too much. Even if you want it, they can’t supply it. That’s why big merchants rarely go there. It’s too labor-intensive. But it’s not easy for farmers to sell silk fabric either. They can only wait for buyers to come, and when small buyers come from afar, they want a good deal. So they haggle hard. If you go there and ask a few more households, you’ll know.”
Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanping glanced at each other. This was similar to their experience in Yangshan Village.
When cloth vendors went to Yangshan Village to buy, the prices were indeed about ten percent lower than those outside the village.
The group chatted with the boatman, inquiring about where to find sellers after reaching Wuxing. The boatman was also enthusiastic, saying, “When you get to the pier, there will be people soliciting customers. Just follow them to see. As long as you inspect the goods carefully, it’s fine. If you don’t want to follow them, you can go to each village and ask.”
As time passed, the boatman seemed tired, and the conversation dwindled. It took three or four hours before they reached the Wuxing pier. Here, they realized what the boatman had said was true. There were many porters pushing carts, carrying uncolored raw silk.
Another type of person was what the boatman called “customer solicitors,” each holding a wooden sign, all selling raw silk.
After paying the boat fare, they were immediately stared at by dozens of pairs of eyes. After a quick assessment, they swarmed over, eager to sell to Lu Chengxiao and his group.
“Do you want to buy raw silk? Our family has some, not far from here. Would you like to go and see the goods?”
“We’re just a mile or two away. Want to come? You can decide whether to buy after seeing the goods.”
“Our village has raw silk in every household. Let’s go over and take a look. Shall we?”
…
Although they were mentally prepared, being surrounded by dozens of people, Lu Chengxiao and his group still felt a bit overwhelmed. They all carried a considerable amount of money, so they were particularly attentive to the safety of their purses. However, this vigilance was only internal; they didn’t show it on their faces. Lu Chengxiao asked first, “What are the price ranges?”
The crowd quieted down. Apparently, among these solicitors, there was some taboo against each other. The first person who rushed forward to ask if they were interested in buying raw silk cleared his throat and said, “That depends on the quality of the goods. Different qualities naturally have different prices.”
Seizing the moment of their hesitation, Lu Chengxiao and his group slipped away. Those who chased after them to solicit them stopped when they saw them not responding, then turned to find new targets.
Lu Chengxiao and his group decided to spend a few days around Wuxing, especially looking for households farther from the pier. Finished raw silk was relatively difficult to sell, so naturally, the prices would be better.
In such a small place, there were no maps or anything similar, so they could only rely on their mouths and legs to ask around. Just as they had walked a short distance away from the pier and were asking for directions, they saw a hesitant young man holding a wooden sign approaching them. He clasped his fists in a greeting and asked, “Gentlemen, are you interested in buying raw silk?”
Lu Chengxiao was a bit surprised. Looking at the wooden sign, he realized this was a solicitor. However, this group was much more refined than the previous batch at the pier. He nodded but couldn’t help but ask, “You’re a solicitor? Why aren’t you at the pier?”
The young man looked embarrassed and said, “Our silk is of good quality, so the price is a bit higher.”
Lu Chengxiao understood what he meant. People at the pier probably acted like him, asking about the price first. If the price was high, naturally, they wouldn’t be competitive. He smiled and asked, “What’s the price?”
The young man hesitated for a while before quoting a price of two taels and two coins.
Two taels and two coins, indeed, this was a high price. Medium-grade silk fabric with good color and good sales volume in Lu Feng Cloth Shop sold for more than five taels. Taking goods from Hongdu Prefecture was around two taels and sixty-seven coins. When he went to Shengze with his adoptive father Li Cunyi, the medium-grade raw silk there was priced at around two taels and one coin. That was operated by a large silk merchant, so naturally, the price would be higher than that of rural households. Coming all the way to Wuxing to find silk farmers to buy raw silk, the price of two taels and two coins naturally felt expensive.
Seeing his expression, the young man became anxious and said, “Our goods are really good. Gentlemen, you’ll know once you see them. Our silk is good, and our spinning and weaving skills are excellent. The fabric we weave is really good. Please come with me to take a look. Even if you don’t like it, other families in our village also have raw silk. Theirs isn’t as expensive as ours, it’s also about one or two taels per piece. Gentlemen, you won’t be disappointed on this trip.”
Lu Chengxiao found this young man to be well-mannered and refined in appearance, not like a farmer at all, but more like an educated person. After being begged several times, he was somewhat moved. Since he was in the fabric business himself, he naturally knew that although it was all silk, there were many grades. He glanced at Liu Yanping and asked him, “What do you think? Do you want to go take a look?”
Liu Yanping thought for a moment. They didn’t have any specific destination anyway, and this young man seemed very trustworthy. He didn’t seem like a sly villain. So he asked the young man, “How far is your village from here?”
The young man’s face turned red again. After hesitating for a while, he said, “Nine li.”
Nine li…
Lu Chengxiao and his group didn’t know what to say. No wonder he couldn’t attract customers and didn’t even go to the pier to compete for customers. Instead, he waited by the roadside. The price was high, and the journey was far. It was normal for merchants who came to buy raw silk to be afraid to follow him. They probably didn’t know where they would end up.
The young man was afraid that after waiting for so many days, the only potential customer who had heard the price might leave without turning back, so he hurriedly pointed to a distant ox cart and said, “We came here by ox cart. It’s also fast to ride on the ox cart. After you finish looking at the goods, whether you buy them or not, we can take you out by ox cart?”
After saying this, he realized that it was already getting late, and it was probably almost evening when they arrived in the village. It wouldn’t be easy to come out then, so he became anxious, with sweat pouring down his forehead. He added, “If it’s too late, you can stay overnight. We can also send you out tomorrow.”
Seeing the young man’s anxious expression and his decent appearance, which looked like that of a scholar, and not at all like that of a villain, Liu Yanping turned to Lu Chengxiao and asked, “Should we go take a look?”
In fact, relying on their skills and courage, Lin Huaigeng and Liu Zhang were from a security escort agency and were skilled in martial arts. Lu Chengxiao and his brother, despite their unassuming appearance, could easily handle five or six men each. As long as they didn’t attack simultaneously, dealing with a dozen men each was not a problem.
Most importantly, it was difficult to invite merchants to go nine li from the pier. Liu Yanping was genuinely curious. In such a remote place, daring to quote a price of two taels and two coins, the quality of the goods must be remarkable.
During the conversation with the boatman on the boat, they learned that the quality of silk was not only related to the spinning skill but also largely dependent on factors such as the variety of silkworms, environment, water source, humidity, and so on. Liu Yanping had an idea. If the silk was good, the fabric produced by a village wouldn’t be much different. Prices ranging from one tael and eight coins to one tael and nine coins were also there, which was worth taking a look at.
Lu Chengxiao obviously had the same idea. He nodded and turned to the young man, saying, “Alright, we’ll follow you to take a look.”
The young man was overjoyed. He bowed to the group and said, “Please wait a moment, I’ll ask my younger brother to bring the cart over.”
After speaking, he turned and waved to the young man driving the cart in the distance, calling him over in a dialect that Lu Chengxiao and the others couldn’t quite understand.
Sansukini: It’s the 100th chapter ( /^ ▽ ^ )/. So I’m releasing 1 bonus chapter today. Thanks so much for all the readers.
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