The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 157 Brokerage Bidding
Du Zhong's answer was unexpected by Shang Mingshu. She guessed from Du Zhong's attitude that he was worried about her and feared that he was trying to undermine Shang Wenshu and had designs on her, so he dared not show his face.

Unexpectedly, Du Zhong asked Shang Wenshu to stand up for him, just so that Shang Wenshu could receive more praise and boost her self-confidence.

"Brother, you have shown me great kindness in protecting my elder sister. I am truly grateful." Shang Mingshu bowed deeply to Du Zhong with sincere gratitude.

Du Zhong quickly stepped aside, and at the same time solemnly bowed in return: "Third Miss, please don't do this. It is a great blessing for me to be favored by the First Miss and to marry her. I am just protecting this blessing."

A faint smile spread across Shang Mingshu's face and lips: "I was overthinking it. It's getting late, brother, you should go back and rest early."

She was worried that because of her, Du Zhong was too reserved when interacting with his family, which made Shang Wenshu uncomfortable. Just as Du Zhong said, Shang Wenshu was sensitive and thoughtful, which is why she wanted to talk to Du Zhong.

Now it seems she was overthinking things.

“My lady, both the eldest and second ladies have found good husbands. Aren’t you envious?” Walking back to the courtyard, He Mai couldn’t help but think of the starlight that fell into Du Zhong’s eyes under the moonlight when he mentioned the eldest lady.

As Shang Mingshu's personal maid, Hemai hopes that Shang Mingshu will be better.

In her view, a woman must eventually get married, and her own wife, being so outstanding and unique, deserves to be matched with a truly exceptional husband.

Shang Mingshu continued walking, the light and shadows dappled, making it impossible to discern her expression: "Fate need not be sought."

Shang Mingshu doesn't intend to force relationships with men. If she meets someone, she'll cherish that opportunity; if they're not meant to be, she'll take good care of herself.

He Mai was about to say something when He Sui nudged her with her elbow. Meeting her sister's warning gaze, He Mai reluctantly shut up.

Shang Mingshu walked ahead and could guess the little tricks the two sisters were up to behind her, but she didn't say anything.

The next day, the two sisters accompanied Shang Jinliang to discuss cooperation with the Shi family. The Shi family was extremely sincere and understood that the Shang family was their best choice, and Shang Jinliang was also a kind and honest person.

Neither side intended to gain a significant advantage, while the other actively facilitated the bidding. There was almost nothing to argue about. They invited trusted individuals to witness the event, and before the auction at the brokerage firm, the Shi family handed over all the money they could raise to Shang Jinliang.

On the day of the auction, not only wealthy merchants from Huizhou Prefecture, but also merchants from all over Jiangnan came in droves. Some came to buy property, some to broaden their horizons, and some even hoped to make friends with wealthy merchants from all walks of life.

"Shi Houqiong has so much wealth!" Shang Zishu looked at the thick stacks of account books on the three long, dark tables. Although she didn't know the exact amount of the Shang family's assets, she had a general idea that it couldn't possibly amount to this much!

"Eighteen tea mountains, six tea houses, twelve inns along the river..." Shang Jinliang sat next to Zhang Yuan, the broker who was presiding over the bidding, and read out the properties confiscated from the Shi family in a low voice.

Not only did Shang Zishu's red lips part more and more as she listened, but even Shang Mingshu couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

Their main objective this time was the tea plantation. The tea houses would bid based on the tea plantation. As for the other properties, including Shi Houqiong's private garden, Shang Jinliang was not envious, but simply lacked the financial strength.

The people who came this time were all very wealthy. Not to mention the Cheng family, many big merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang also came to join in the fun. Moreover, they came in groups of three or five, so they didn't look like they were fighting alone.

Shang Jinliang remained calm and even quite relaxed, displaying an air of complete confidence.

In addition to the Shi family's cooperation, Lin Yuanyuan and Yao Zongsi came last night to deliver a sum of money, saying it was idle money and they wanted to make money together with the merchants. They only provided the money and would share the profits every year.

Furthermore, the Chen family of Hangzhou offered Shang Zishu a large sum of money under the pretext of early betrothal. Shang Zishu handed it over to Shang Jinliang without hesitation, trusting her family's business and naturally investing the money in her own home. With officials watching closely, Master Zhang didn't keep them in suspense and went straight to the point: bidding on tea mountains. There were eighteen locations, seven of which were outside Huizhou Prefecture. Shang Zishu had her eye on one, but Shang Jinliang planned to bid on all the other tea mountains within Huizhou Prefecture.

The first tea plantation opened by Master Zhang was located in Xiuning County. This tea plantation was not large, with a yield of about 600 catties per mu, and the asking price was only 600 strings of cash.

Suitable for merchants with moderate to high financial means, the first to call out a price was surprisingly a porcelain merchant from Wuyuan: "Six hundred strings of cash!"

"Seven hundred strings of cash!" a small tea merchant from Huizhou said through gritted teeth.

Bidding was incessant, the price soaring rapidly, quickly surpassing one thousand strings of cash. Then a rough, hoarse voice rang out: "One thousand two hundred strings of cash! This is the contribution from the twenty-odd tea farmers we've chipped in. This tea mountain should belong to us tea growers!"

"Tea farmers from Xiuning County," Shang Jinliang introduced to Shang Mingshu. These were people Shang Mingshu might come into contact with in the future.

Tea farmers who can raise more than a thousand strings of cash are not small tea farmers, and they can unite more than twenty households at once. This is a considerable force for tea merchants, and if they can be recruited, it can play a significant role.

"Five thousand five hundred strings of cash!" A cold laugh came from the group of Zhejiang merchants.

The Wuyuan porcelain merchant who initially quoted a price continued to press: "One thousand six hundred strings of cash."

The Zhejiang merchants did not give up and quickly raised the price to 1,800 strings of cash.

Shang Mingshu's gaze fell on the tea farmer whose forehead was covered in fine sweat. She whispered an instruction to He Mu, who stepped back and squeezed to the side of the tea farmer, stopping him just as he was about to continue bidding.

This scene did not escape the notice of the merchants, and even Cheng She, who was sitting opposite them, saw it all.

"Third sister, why are you paying attention to them?" Shang Zishu asked, puzzled.

She is a tea maker, and no one understands the tea mountain, the place of origin, better than her. Before the auction, she personally inspected the tea merchants that she could visit, accompanied by Shang Mingshu.

Based on geographical location, water source, tree age, and even tree orientation, the value of each tea mountain is precisely calculated. In Shang Zishu's opinion, the tea mountain in Xiuning County, which is worth more than 1,000 strings of cash, is not worthwhile.

"Tea farmers have it tough; they earn their money through hard work," Shang Mingshu said with a faint smile.

“Third Sister is the kindest-hearted.” Shang Wenshu agreed with Shang Mingshu’s actions.

Shang Zishu rolled her eyes. She didn't deny that Shang Mingshu was a kind person, but Shang Mingshu's kindness was limited to not actively doing evil, and at most she would casually help the elderly, weak, sick and disabled.

Just like the first encounter between Shang Mingshu and Cheng Mian, there couldn't be any more.

Shang Mingshu must have something to do with this; Shang Zishu just wants to know Shang Mingshu's plan.

Knowing what answer Shang Zishu wanted, Shang Mingshu added, "Tea farmers only know how to grow tea, not how to make it."

She and Shang Zishu analyzed a small tea mountain that was extremely valuable. Due to the water source, the price would not be too high. The Shang family could not participate in such a small tea mountain, as it would attract the attention of everyone present and make them mistakenly believe that it had something special about it, making it perfect for this group of tea farmers.

They grow good tea and hand it over to the Shang family. How can that not be considered ownership by the Shang family?