Chapter 1719 Grain Trade

There are a lot of private money exchanges in this grain business. Qin Huacheng had heard shopkeeper Wang say something about it before, but he didn't expect that he would encounter such a situation on his first errand. Someone actually wanted to give him a benefit. And he heard that

What Chu Huo meant was that not only would he, the person in charge, get benefits, but his boss, Shopkeeper Wang, would also get a share. This was probably not the first time such an operation had been carried out between Chu Huo's farm and Dacheng Rice Line.

If measured by the transaction amount agreed upon by the two parties in this contract, Chu Huo's price of two hundred silver coins was actually not high. However, considering that Qin Huacheng was only the manager and not the decision-maker during the transaction, more than half of it was

The job content is just running errands back and forth to solicit opinions from both sides. The hard work of two hundred silver coins is not a small amount. You must know that this amount of money is almost a year's living expenses for ordinary people in the local area.

But Qin Huacheng didn't dare to take this move. The execution scene he saw yesterday was still deeply imprinted in his mind. If he was greedy for this little money, he might be tied up and used as a victim to scare the monkeys. Let alone two

One hundred silver coins, even two thousand or twenty thousand, is worthless compared to the safety of his own life. He, Qin Huacheng, is not a poor man who has never seen money. I think that when he was in Manila, Ding Feng would give money every time.

At that time, it was not just the number of one hundred or two hundred.

Qin Huacheng said: "Brother Chu, I have only been working in Mihang for a few days, and I am really not very clear about the rules here. Why not let me go back and ask shopkeeper Wang for instructions first to see what he wants."

Chu Huo's face turned even uglier: "It seems that I really don't want to give you face! Well, then I'll go to Shopkeeper Wang to explain the matter myself. Don't blame me for not taking care of you then!"

Qin Huacheng was about to say a few more words of persuasion, but Chu Huo was no longer willing to continue the conversation and served tea to see the guests off. Qin Huacheng could not force him, so he left Chu Huo's farm in despair and went to the next step.

location.

On the plain south of Batavia City, grain fields stretch as far as the eye can see. Since the end of the war with the Matalan Kingdom, Batavia has never stopped developing agriculture. Today, the scale of farmland has even exceeded

Since food was extremely tight during the war, the Dutch learned their lesson and gave more support to farmers who grew food during the post-war reconstruction, including preferential measures in land prices, taxes and other aspects.

Dacheng Rice Bank also seized this opportunity. After the war, it dedicated thousands of acres of land in the south of the city to growing grain crops, becoming the largest local grain merchant in one fell swoop.

Cheng Dapeng was still not satisfied with this situation, and successively arranged for many related households to come forward to open some other farms in this area, and through private joint ventures, they realized industry alliances in disguise and controlled the food price trend in the area.

There are as many as ten members of this Han Grain Merchants Alliance, and the cultivated land they manage locally has reached 10,000 acres. It only takes one sentence to influence the price of grain on the market.

The Dutch are not completely unaware of these actions of Cheng Dapeng and others, but the grain supplied by them accounts for more than half of the local market. If these Han grain merchants are to be sanctioned, the local grain market will inevitably decline in the short term.

A collapse occurred and caused social unrest. This was a situation that the Dutch had to try to avoid. Of course, another part of the reason was that the officials in charge of agriculture and grain trade in the East India Company could obtain from large grain merchants like Cheng Dapeng.

The benefits are very considerable, and there are vested interests acting as a protective umbrella for grain merchants. Therefore, as long as the fundamental interests of the East India Company are not violated, the Batavia authorities will still turn a blind eye to the informal business methods of grain merchants.

As a large grain merchant, Dacheng Rice Company purchases grain from farmers and then sells it to the Dutch at a uniform price and quality standard, saving them the trouble of purchasing scattered grain on the market. In this process, the farm, Dacheng Rice Company,

The managers of the East India Company all had the opportunity to make a fortune from it as personal gains. Qin Huacheng didn't know how many shady transactions there were, but he knew that he would never make another mistake because of money this time.

The accident had already happened once in Manila, and he could not repeat the same mistake in Batavia, so regardless of whether he would offend Chu Huo and Shopkeeper Wang because of this incident, he decisively refused to accept the benefits offered by Chu Huo.

But now Qin Huacheng is a little worried whether a similar situation will occur at the second farm he is going to visit next. After all, according to Shopkeeper Wang, the two farmers who have reached grain transactions with Dacheng Rice Bank are both from the rice bank.

The old employees have probably communicated with each other for a long time. It is impossible to say that this second company will follow Chu Huo's operation and take the initiative to request a price increase, and then provide a little sweetener to ask Qin Huacheng to facilitate the matter.

"No matter what, the money cannot be collected." Qin Huacheng looked at the farm gate in front of him and reminded himself silently again.

The owner of this farm is named Duan Mingxuan. He looks a few years younger than Chu Huo and has a bit more of a scholar. Duan Xuan claimed that he used to work as a clerk at Dacheng Rice Store, specializing in writing various sales contracts and the like.

Qin Huacheng thought that this man was an expert, so he had to be very careful when dealing with him to discuss the contents of the contract.

As if he had guessed what Qin Huacheng was thinking, Duan Xuan said proactively: "Actually, this sample of grain sales contract was drawn up by me. For each transaction, you only need to modify the details of grain quantity, grade, price, and delivery time.

.I believe you have also read the contents of this contract. Are they all similar?"

Qin Huacheng suddenly said: "I see, that young man is no longer here to do anything. I would like Boss Duan to give me a clear answer as to whether the conditions in this contract are feasible."

Now that the other party has made his words clear, Qin Huacheng no longer needs to waste his words explaining the contents of the contract. He can simply let Duan Xuan give him a quick word to save everyone's time.

Duan Xuan said: "Since Brother Qin is a cheerful person, I will tell you the truth. I'm afraid the transaction price in the contract will have to be increased by another 20%. Of course, Brother Qin's hard work will not be in vain.

The fee must be paid.”

Qin Huacheng's heart sank when he heard this. The other party's conditions were indeed almost exactly the same as those of Chu Huo, requiring an increase of 20% on the originally agreed price. But it was not Qin Huacheng who could say anything about the price increase.

After all, when the other party proposed such conditions, they were probably asking him to act as a microphone in the middle.

Qin Huacheng said: "To be fair to Boss Duan, when I went to visit Boss Chu when I was young, he also made such a request."

Duan Xuan said: "Huh? Since you made a request, Boss Chu must have made other conditions for you, right?"

Qin Huacheng nodded and said: "Boss Chu did promise to give me some benefits after the matter is completed, but I did not agree."

"Are you too young? Or are you afraid of trouble?" Seeing his confession, Duan Xuan asked again.

"Afraid of trouble." Qin Huacheng frankly admitted the other party's guess: "The younger one came to Batavia not long ago, and he doesn't understand the rules here, but the big shopkeeper Cheng once specifically told him that any benefits without his consent would be ignored.

Don't touch a single copper plate."

Duan Xuan said: "Shopkeeper Cheng sometimes just talks to scare people, so you don't have to take it all seriously. Besides, it's the rule in this industry to give you benefits, not to harm you. Even if shopkeeper Cheng finds out in the future, he won't do it for such a trivial matter.

Blame it on you."

Qin Huacheng shook his head and said: "Whether shopkeeper Cheng will blame me is his idea, but since he told me, I can't make this mistake. If Boss Duan wants to take advantage of me and let me try to promote a price increase, then there is no need

Yes, I won’t accept this money.”

"You are quite honest in what you say." Duan Xuan nodded and said, "But if you don't accept my money, this matter won't be done. You won't be able to report to your superiors after you go back. So what should we do?"

Qin Huacheng smiled bitterly and said, "I can only tell you the truth. If Shopkeeper Wang really wants to blame me, then I'll admit it."

"Would you really rather be punished for failing to complete the task than take the money and go back and say a few nice words to Shopkeeper Wang to persuade him to raise the price?" Duan Xuan was still trying to persuade Qin Huacheng to give up this unnecessary insistence: "In fact, even if the price is raised,

If the price is fixed, Dacheng Rice Store will not suffer any loss, because the price sold to the Dutch will rise accordingly, and the rice store will make no less money. Think about this clearly!"

At this time, Qin Huacheng seemed to have turned into a dead-headed person who was trying to get into trouble. He just shook his head and said: "The truth is indeed what Boss Duan said, but I still can't accept this benefit. Boss Duan doesn't need to persuade me anymore."

Qin Huacheng knew very well that his work at Dacheng Rice Store was just a transition. According to Cheng Dapeng, he was sent to the rice store to learn about matters related to grain trade. After completing his studies, he would definitely not stay in the rice store.

Doing things. As for whether he can earn more profits for Mihang during his tenure, this is not the main criterion for Cheng Dapeng to test his training results. As an intelligence officer lurking among the people, making no mistakes is the primary quality.

.A companion has already been eliminated because of greed for money, how could he fall into the same pit again.

If this offends Chu Huo, Duan Xuan, or even shopkeeper Wang, Qin Huacheng is not worried. After all, these people are unlikely to affect his future development. Cheng Dapeng does not use him because he needs him in business.

Dacheng Rice Shop creates profits. As for what kind of punishment shopkeeper Wang can give, the most he can do is complain to Cheng Dapeng. So no matter how much Duan Xuan tried to persuade him, Qin Huacheng still made up his mind and decided not to deal with these peripheral people.

Small grain traders are complicit.

Qin Huacheng refused to let go, and the deal was naturally not settled. However, Duan Xuan did not drive Qin Huacheng away angrily like Chu Huo, but instead invited him to visit his farm after suspending the negotiations. Although Qin Huacheng did not know what he meant.

, but I can also feel that Duan Xuan's move was not malicious. He was not in a hurry anyway, so he accepted the other party's invitation. After a brief lunch, Qin Huacheng followed Duan Xuan to the farm and patrolled with him.

Farming conditions on the farm.

The two of them walked slowly along the field path, one behind the other. Duan Xuan introduced the situation of this farm to Qin Huacheng as he walked: "Two years ago, shopkeeper Cheng asked me to come forward and encircle 500 acres of cultivated land here.

To be honest, brother Qin said that 99% of the money for setting up the farm was paid by shopkeeper Cheng first, although I also understand that he did this not entirely to take care of me, but to control the local grain.

market, but after the farm started running, shopkeeper Cheng handed it over to me to take care of. In two years, not only did he repay the expenses he had paid in advance, but he also built a manor here with the remaining money. This year, he raised another three hundred yuan.

If we open up acres of land to grow grain, we can support our family and dozens of farm workers even if we run it on our own.”

Qin Huacheng did not interrupt and listened quietly to his story. However, in two years, he earned back his initial investment and still had a surplus by relying on the income from farming and growing grain. This shows that Batavia's grain trade is indeed quite profitable.

Feng. But he immediately thought that only after farming reaches a certain scale, the cost of growing grain will be diluted accordingly. If an ordinary family cultivates ten or eight acres of land, it will probably only be enough for one family.

Just making ends meet.

Sure enough, Duan Xuan went on to talk about this issue: "But without the investment from shopkeeper Cheng, it would be unrealistic for local owners to open up wasteland and farm land here on their own. But now latecomers want to open up farms here, and the cost

It is also much higher than two years ago, so the local grain market is basically controlled by shopkeeper Cheng. In fact, the price of grain is just a matter of his words."

Qin Huacheng carefully savored Duan Xuan's words and found that his statement was consistent with that of Shopkeeper Wang of Dacheng Rice Store, both of which confirmed Dacheng Rice Store's dominant position in the local grain market. But since grain prices have always been controlled by Cheng Dapeng, why did these farmers

They dare to ask for a price increase, not to mention that they all relied on Cheng Dapeng's help and should have a heart of gratitude and awe. Aren't they afraid that Cheng Dapeng would be dissatisfied and use other means to suppress their food prices?

.

Duan Xuan continued: "It is not our turn to mention price increases. The purchase price of grain every year is basically decided by shopkeeper Cheng. Of course, he will not treat us badly, and the price he gives will not be treated badly.

It can make everyone make money. Dacheng Rice Company has thousands of acres of grain fields under its name. Shopkeeper Cheng may know the cost of this kind of grain better than we do. If anyone makes excuses to want Dacheng Rice Company to increase the purchase price,

Then he will probably come back in disgrace with shopkeeper Cheng."

Qin Huacheng finally couldn't help but ask: "In that case, why do Boss Duan and Boss Chu insist on raising the price?"

Duan Xuan said with a smile: "Why do you think it is? Of course it is shopkeeper Cheng's wish. We are just following the order."
Chapter completed!