Chapter 21 The Khitan Visitor
In the inn next to the cargo yard, Kang Chengdong was eating mutton while drinking strong wine, and a basin of charcoal fire was roasted next to him.
A young man in his twenties sat opposite Kang Chengdong, took a sip of wine, and whispered: "It's still the strong wine in the Han area, and it makes you feel so comfortable to drink! Unfortunately, there is no such good wine in the north. I should bring more when I go back this time!"
Kang Chengdong said: "If your husband likes it, then buy more wine to go back, but he just doesn't know whether to sell it in the south."
The young man smiled and said, "Our caravan is so big that it would be useless if we can't even bring a few jars of wine."
Kang Chengdong nodded and said yes, paused, and asked, "My husband thinks, what kind of tooth we met in the daytime is reliable or not?"
The young man shook his head: "I asked many people in the afternoon. At this time, Bingzhou is doing business in this way, and there is nothing unreliable. There are only more than two thousand sheepskins, which is not a lot of money. What's wrong with trying it out!"
Kang Chengdong sighed: "It's not a big money to Langjun, but it's a huge amount of money in his eyes."
The young man laughed, and ran into a bowl of wine with Kang Chengdong, raised his head to drink, and said, "Mr. Kang, as long as we do well this time, we still have many businesses in the future, are we afraid that we will not make money? In the past six months, the business here in Bingzhou has been booming. When we see you today, it is indeed well-known. More than two thousand sheepskins can be sold in an instant. How big is this business! Before coming, I thought there was only a fur business, but I didn't expect that he would be good here and was a good place to serve. Mr. Kang, this time, he will find out his way and be infinitely rich in the future!"
Kang Chengdong said repeatedly that he drank alcohol and ate meat with young people.
This young man was a Khitan nobleman named Yelu Buhua. His grandfather was the current Helu Maliu in Xijing, and he was considered a branch of the royal family. However, there were thousands of Khitan royal family, and he was also a branch of Yelu Maliu, so he could not become a high-ranking official. When Kang Chengdong arrived at Datong Prefecture of Xijing in Khitan, he accidentally met Yelu Buhua and got along well with him. A few days ago, Yelu Buhua accidentally heard that the fur business in Bingzhou was booming, so he became interested and asked Kang Chengdong to bring him to check it out. Anyway, he could not be a high-ranking official, so he was good to be a rich businessman.
Unexpectedly, when he arrived in Bingzhou, he was doing business in this way, which made Yelu Buhua very moved. He was agile and could tell at a glance that the current trading situation was particularly beneficial to large merchants. Because of the use of teeth and freight yards, the Bingzhou government accumulated a large amount of inventory, greatly simplifying the transaction procedures, and large merchants could quickly ship and import goods. If there were fixed channels for purchase and delivery in the north, capital could grow rapidly, far from comparable to hard trafficking in the past. Although Yelu Buhua's status in the family was not obvious, he was the grandson left behind in Xijing, and could easily establish a purchase and sales channel in Khitan. When he walked in the trading hall today, he almost saw a mountain of gold and silver piled up in front of him.
Out of caution, Kang Chengdong and his party did not stay in the inn introduced by He Kun. However, after asking around for an afternoon, they realized that there was no need. The inns here were actually quite different, many of them even belonged to the Bingzhou Yamen. The fur market has familiar inns, introducing their customers to live in. The discount is a benefit for customers.
After drinking for a while, Kang Chengdong said to Yelu Buhua: "Langjun, we have figured out the matter, and it is no longer necessary to stay here. Sell the goods you brought quickly and buy them back is the right way. I just don't know what goods your husband wants to change. Everything is good here in Bingzhou, but it is difficult to get cash. And I have also asked, gold, silver and other things are rare."
Yelu Buhua didn't care: "What do you want money to do! We are businessmen, of course we are selling goods! It's rare to have such a treasure land, and there is no shortage of all kinds of goods. I thought about it and brought some pearls to my family. I also bought some incense medicine. This kind of good thing can be given gifts and is easy to sell. Needless to say, I must buy silk and other things. Also, I will take some tanned cooked skins back."
Kang Chengdong made a little calculation and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "As soon as the husband said, the two thousand sheepskin we brought seemed to be unable to buy much goods."
Yelu Buhua nodded deeply. This time he miscalculated and brought too little goods.
After the two of them had been thinking for a long time, Yelu Buhua looked at countless treasures from the white walls, and felt that he wanted to buy everything, but he was worried about bringing less sheepskin. However, when he went back this time, he was worried about what to bring to sell next time. The price of sheepskin was still too low. Of course, there was huge profit for ordinary merchants, but for Yelu Buhua, it was a bit useless.
After discussing for a while, Yelu Buhua said, "I didn't expect that there were so many treasures in Bingzhou. I couldn't buy anything by selling sheepskin alone. Mr. Kang helped me think about it, what else is the most scarce thing in the southern country, and I can sell it to make a lot of money."
Kang Chengdong pondered for a while and said, "The northern country is not as rich as the Song Dynasty. There are actually not many products that we can sell. Nowadays, the biggest sect of the Song Dynasty is sheep. If you talk about treasures, just count the Northern Pearls. However, there are many pearls in Nanjing, and Xijing, and there are also pearls from the Song Dynasty. If the Song Dynasty is in urgent need, there are many in the northern country, unless it is a horse-"
Speaking of this, Kang Chengdong hurriedly stopped. The Khitan controlled the horses exported to Song with strict control, and once they were caught, they would be sentenced to death. Moreover, this was a strategic material, and it would be equivalent to the enemy after being sold. Yelu Buhua was a royal family, so who knew what he would think.
Unexpectedly, Yelu Buhua didn't think it was offensive. After thinking for a while, he shook his head: "It's a pity that he has no way to transport it to Song. The court is very careful about this matter and it's not easy to succeed-"
Seeing that Yelu Buhua was interested, Kang Chengdong was overjoyed and whispered: "My husband, in fact, the border area has never stopped selling horses to Song."
Yelu Buhua was stunned and asked hurriedly: "How did those people do it? Don't the border patrol soldiers check?"
Kang Chengdong smiled and whispered: "Of course, it's a check, but there's always a way. As far as I know, they are first sold to some border areas in the north, and then sold to the Song territory. These small tribes live on both sides, and the place where they live is high and steep, so there is no way to check it."
Yelu Buhua heard this and slapped his thigh and smiled, "It's interesting, interesting! Needless to say, the same is true for selling salt and grain. We will discuss this matter again, and discuss it again! My ancestor was left behind in Xijing. There are many things that others can hardly handle, but I am not difficult!"
As he spoke, his eyes were dripping, obviously he was moved. He had a low status at home, and he had a rare position. He did not have the ability to be an official, so he made money in business and became his life goal. What court bans do? As long as he made money by himself, Yelu Buhua didn't care at all.
The Khitan lacked bulk materials for trading with the Song Dynasty, and a large amount of gold and silver flowed into the Song territory every year. Six or seven out of ten annual monies given to the Khitan were returned to the hands of the Song people through border trade. The easiest way to balance trade was to market horses. However, although Song and Khitans were known as brother countries, they actually regarded each other as the most important enemy countries, and both controlled the flow of strategic materials to the other side. The Khitan rarely sold horses to the Song Dynasty.
Seeing Kang Chengdong looking at him with a gaze, Yelu Buhua smiled and said, "Drink, drink! Mr. Kang, as long as you are dedicated to me and do business well, there will be a pricey deal. I will find a way to sell goods from Song Realm. Don't worry, there will be a way!"
Chapter completed!