Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 103 Dong Xiaowan

"Zihou".

Qian Qianyi patiently advised, "One should be down-to-earth and pragmatic in life."

"Aiming too high and making grand pronouncements only makes one a laughingstock."

Who would believe a deal worth millions just out of the blue?

"Mr. Muzhai," Lin Dao asked frankly, "do you think glass is valuable?"

"It is quite expensive."

Qian Qianyi shook his head, "But it's not anything rare."

"A lot of Frankish figures from Macau were brought over, some of them even with colorful decorations."

"If you want something cheaper, the merchants also ship it from Japan to sell."

"If you're just selling chips, you can make some money, but it's very difficult to scale up."

During the late Ming Dynasty, although people verbally advocated banning maritime trade, the gentry in Jiangnan were doing very well in the maritime trade.

Back when Liu Daxia openly burned all the shipbuilding data, water charts, shipping routes, and nautical charts, these valuable documents secretly fell into the hands of the gentry in Jiangnan, who then took over the maritime trade business.

The imperial court was forbidden from engaging in maritime trade; they had to do it themselves.

Tea, silk, porcelain, rhubarb, and other goods were sold overseas, bringing back ships full of silver.

Faced with massive import deficits, European merchants have also pulled out their trump card.

Glass products.

The Portuguese, the Dutch, and even the Japanese were all desperately trying to import glass products into the Ming Dynasty.

This thing isn't exactly everywhere, but its value is definitely not that exaggerated.

"Mr. Muzhai, what do you think if I were to sell a glass mirror like the one from Kefu?"

Glass mirrors have been invented for decades, but the technology is not yet mature enough to be widely used.

Qian Qianyi neither confirmed nor denied this, saying, "I have this item at home too. We'll talk about it when I see yours."

He won't believe it just by talking.

"Mr. Muzhai~" The madam walked around the screen and brought over wine with a smile. "It's already this late, please do me the honor of having a meal."

"Haha~~~" Qian Qianyi said with a smile, "I'm sorry to bother you."

"It is our good fortune that Mr. Muzhai has graced us with his presence," the madam said in a very pleasant voice.

She instructed the maids to bring the dishes, and then said, "My daughter, knowing that you were coming, specially cooked a few dishes herself."

"Oh?"

Qian Qianyi nodded and smiled, saying, "Is my disciple here?"

The madam seized the opportunity to say, "Ever since I returned from my trip to Huangshan with you and Lady Hedong, I have been longing to play a song for you to repay your kindness."

"Hahaha~~~"

Qian Qianyi smiled again at the screen, "Xiao Wan?"

From behind the screen, a beautiful young woman emerged, dressed in a moon-colored dress and carrying a red pipa, and stepped forward to greet them.

"Master~~~"

"Your teacher's wife has been nagging," Qian Qianyi greeted with a smile. "She said you haven't written to her in a long time, and she'll have to give you a good talking-to when she sees you."

Dong Xiaowan and Liu Rushi once secretly competed with Qian Qianyi.

Despite his advanced age, Qian Qianyi was still expelled from the court.

But he was a genuine leader of the Donglin Party, who had once held the high position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and his family was a family of scholars and officials.

He is famous, powerful, wealthy, and talented.

Definitely a wealthy family.

Qian Qianyi was highly sought after among the masters of martial arts.

When Dong Xiaowan and Liu Rushi accompanied Qian Qianyi on a trip to Huangshan, it was a secret rivalry between them.

Ultimately, Qian Qianyi chose Liu Rushi.

As for Dong Xiaowan, it was done under the guise of taking her on as a disciple, to save face for her.

As for Dong Xiaowan not writing letters to Liu Rushi, what would a loser write to a winner about?

Are you suggesting I write, "How have you been lately?"
It's good enough that they didn't completely break off relations and start pulling each other's hair and scratching each other's faces.

After a few brief pleasantries, Qian Qianyi finally introduced Lin Dao to him.

"Lin Dao, Lin Zihou, is in the business of overseas trade."

Before demonstrating its value, the introductions are always so casual.

Dong Xiaowan glanced at Lin Dao, handed the pipa in her hand to the maid Cuiliu, and gave Lin Dao a curtsy.

"This humble servant greets Young Master Zihou."

Lin Dao, who had been observing the whole time, simply sat there and nodded, saying, "Greetings."

Qian Qianyi remained expressionless, the madam smiled radiantly, and Dong Xiaowan kept her head down, making her expression unreadable.

However, their thoughts were surprisingly consistent.

'Those who lack manners are either arrogant or inexperienced newcomers.'

The dishes were served, and Dong Xiaowan personally poured wine for Lin Dao and Qian Qianyi.

After drinking three cups with her, she got up and sat down on a chair by the ship's window.

He took the pipa from the maid, put on the finger cots, and skillfully plucked the strings.

She played the pipa while singing a cappella.

She sings Kunqu Opera.

Without a doubt, Lin Dao couldn't understand the words.

He put down his wine glass and looked at Qian Qianyi. "Mr. Muzhai, in addition to the shop selling imported goods, I also plan to open a gift recycling shop."

Qian Qianyi, holding a wine glass and listening to the music, frowned slightly. "A pawnshop?"

A pawnshop isn't something just anyone can open.

"It's not a pawnshop."

Lin Dao reiterated that it was "a recycling shop".

"We only accept high-value items, such as jewelry, precious medicinal herbs, spices, and gold."

"Only accept what is inappropriate."

He opened a recycling shop to collect valuable items, but he wouldn't accept clothes that were worm-eaten, rodent-damaged, or completely bald. These kinds of things would fetch a high price in the modern world.

"Still a pawnshop." Qian Qianyi wasn't interested in doing business. "It's not a difficult thing, though."

It's just two shops.

As long as there is a unique copy of "Qi Lun", it won't be a problem for Qian Qianyi, given his connections.

Lin Dao actually has plenty of money.

This thing is very cheap in the modern world.

The main reason for opening a store to sell industrial products is to build a reputation, provide a legitimate source of income, and at the same time cover up the recycling store.

Unregistered individuals with little or no legal status possess large sums of money and immediately seek to sell all sorts of rare and exotic treasures.

This is because they are afraid of attracting thieves.

Not only thieves, but also local officials, gentry, nobles, eunuchs, and even gangs of beggars all wanted to devour him.

He used Qian Qianyi's name to open a shop and diversify his financial resources.

This is used to cover up the recycling shops that actually take the goods to the modern world to make money.

The good items that the recycling shop buys back are the goods he really needs for trading.

To reiterate, his hundreds of thousands of beggars cannot cross the border.

He had to build everything from scratch on his own.

Although the late Ming Dynasty was a chaotic period, the basic order in Jiangnan was still maintained.

If you start off jumping around too much, you're likely to attract gunfire.

As for going north to find bandits, or simply building up their own power base...

Lin Dao kept in mind that his primary purpose for coming here was to raise funds for Yonghe Time and Space.
In Yonghe Time and Space, there is a shortage of food and supplies, and people are starving to death. He needs to earn money to buy food and supplies to feed the people.

Building up influence will have to wait until the food shortage in Yonghe Time and Space is alleviated.

"How about this."

Qian Qianyi felt that discussing business while listening to music was a huge mood killer.

He simply stated, "Three days from now, at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), bring your copy of 'Qi Lun' and your 'goods' to this Meixiang Pavilion. I'll be waiting for you here."

"it is good."

Lin Dao didn't want to waste any more time, so he simply got up, said goodbye, and left.

From beginning to end, he never glanced at Dong Xiaowan.

After he left, Dong Xiaowan finished playing a piece.

Chien Chien-yi joked, "I've been doing business overseas all year round and have forgotten about etiquette. Don't take it to heart."

Dong Xiaowan covered her mouth and chuckled, "Master, there's no need to say such things. It's already a blessing for Xiaowan to serve you."

Sometimes you have to listen to what a woman says, no matter what.

Undoubtedly, Lin Dao's disregard and rudeness angered her.

She was very famous, and powerful and talented men vied to seduce her. She was even targeted by Tian Hongyu's servants.

Lin Dao was the first person to dare to ignore her like this.

Moreover, she could tell that the other person wasn't playing hard to get; they were genuinely ignoring her.

This is so infuriating!
"Three days from now, right? Watch me get my revenge!"

Lin Dao, of course, had no idea what the famous martial artist was thinking.

In the Yonghe Time and Space, princesses and empresses lined up to serve the emperor and be violated; what did famous skills matter?

He doesn't even care about Dong Xiaowan, let alone Qian Qianyi.

I'm only being polite now because I need him.

Once Lin Dao has assembled his own team, they'll all be easy prey!

First, make money to buy enough food to feed the millions of mouths in Yonghe Time and Space.

Only after addressing Yonghe Timespace's needs will it be time to build a team here.

Back in the modern world, Lin Dao went online to seek help from the all-knowing netizens.

'If I traveled back to the Ming Dynasty, what kind of goods would be suitable to sell?'

The netizens' replies were all sorts of strange and varied.

Ignoring those who pad their word count, post advertisements, or ramble on, there are quite a few useful suggestions to summarize.

Glassware: mirrors, cups, teapots, oil lamps.

"Selling watches! Looking for a clock as a birthday gift!"

Perfume and cosmetics—in every era, women's money is always the easiest to earn.

"Selling wine—red wine, white wine, champagne—with nice packaging, it's a guaranteed money-maker."

"Selling medicine—modern industrial pharmaceutical products, even a single cold pill—is a life-saving miracle drug."

"They sell cultured pearls; they buy them cheaply and the quality is good, then sell them in the Ming Dynasty for the price of wild pearls."

'Soap, cigarettes, sugar, salt~~~'

"A lewd magazine, huh? Let those bumpkins from the Ming Dynasty see what modern art is all about."

"Get lost, upstairs! There are tons of illustrations from the Ming Dynasty, and they're even better drawn than those in magazines."

'Hey OP, didn't you go to the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties before? How come you're in the Ming Dynasty now? Are you using two time portals? I can't even survive here anymore, please help me out~~~'

Lin Dao has always appreciated the wisdom of netizens.

He decided to buy a small sample of each item to see which ones were popular before making a large-scale purchase.

The next three days.

During the day, Lin Dao would go to small commodity wholesale markets, supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores and other places to purchase goods.

In the afternoon, I would oversee the warehouse's incoming and outgoing goods, and remotely coordinate with companies in Hong Kong, South Africa, and Harbour City to handle various transfer procedures.

In the evening, we went to Yonghe Time and Space to check in and also did some digging.

He even took a night to spend with Su Tongtong at her new home.

"I feel healthier lately."

"I'm not tired even though I dig the earth every night."

"Sure enough, when men have a career they love, their health also improves."

(End of this chapter)