The price system of Colonia's textiles collapsed after a small transaction between the East Coast and the Rodriguez Chamber of Commerce. La Plata merchants who received the news no longer bought high-priced goods from the British. Local merchants who had joined the Rodriguez Chamber of Commerce were waiting for the quota allocation of the chamber of commerce with peace of mind, while those from Santa Fe and even further afield were anxiously waiting for the next arrival of the East Coast people. Some were impatient and even prepared to avoid the Rodriguez Chamber of Commerce and secretly sneaked from inland to the East Coast Republic to purchase.

The English merchants looked at the scene with a gloomy face and were speechless for a long time.

"The price of cotton cloth is only 8 shillings (1 pound = 20 shillings ≈ 4 yuan) per piece, and wool velvet is only 6 pounds 5 shillings. Are these East Coast people crazy?!" George Hampton was a little angry, "Can they make money at this price? This is impossible! Unless... they are selling stolen goods! Mr. Sheldon, Mr. Clifford, La Plata is our market, we cannot lose it, I have paid the membership fee, this is our market."

"Yes, gentlemen." John Hill, a wool merchant, also shouted, "You have heard it just now. These East Coast people will continue to sell cotton and wool in a month. They are preparing to compete with us for a long time. If we do not respond properly, maybe we will say that we will completely lose this market."

Peter Sheldon and William Clifford fell into silence. Obviously, what happened before them exceeded their expectations and became very difficult.

"Mr. Clifford, have any ships disappeared recently? I mean the kind of cargo that carries cotton." Peter Sheldon, a middle-level merchant, turned to ask, "Maybe we should try to figure out where the cotton cloths sold by the East Coast people came from, produced by ourselves or imported from elsewhere?"

"No need to be so complicated, Hawke, go to the dock and spend some money to let the La Platas allow you to enter their warehouses. Take a closer look at the fabrics of the East Coast people, and tell me when you come back, go quickly." William Clifford turned to one of his employees, and the employees left.

Everyone stood here silently for a moment, waiting for the return of the East India Company employee. After a while, the employee named Hawke returned from the dock. He nodded to William Clifford, and said, "The cotton cloths of the East Coast people are thin, breathable, smooth, and have a good texture. They are much better than the Indian cotton cloths we have. They do look as they say, and they are all made by themselves."

"Where's the wool?" George Hampton asked nervously.

Hawke glanced at him and then said with certainty: "Same. Their wool wool is tough and wear-resistant, but it feels very delicate. The wool wool wool wool wool wool wool wool wool. Gentlemen, I think we should continue to pay attention to the East Coast people. If they are not maliciously dumping at low prices, then their production costs must be very low, which means that they can still make more or less profits at the current price that we are no longer profitable."

Hawke's words made him feel a little chilled when he was present. The quality was not as good as the other party, and the price was much higher than the other party. How could he compete?

"Maybe we can ask our 'Spanish relatives' for help. After all, losing the market in La Plata will also reduce their own income. Through them, they may be able to put pressure on the officials of La Plata from official channels to try to ban the East Coast trade charter." Peter Sheldon asked Clifford tentatively.

"You can give it a try, but don't have too much expectations." William Clifford nodded reservedly, "In addition, I am going to report this to the East India Company as soon as possible. What about you, Mr. Sheldon? You should also report to your company's senior management after you return to Hamburg or London. Although the market in La Plata is not eye-catching, the nature of this matter is very serious. We may have encountered an amazing competitor. The export of textiles accounts for more than 60% of the total export of all commodities in the Kingdom every year. We must take this matter carefully."

"What should I do about these goods?" John Hill asked carefully, "If I can't sell it this time, it will be half a year later. Oh my God, I'll have such a big sum of goods in my hands, and my capital turnover will have problems."

"Go to Rio de Janeiro, to Sao Paulo, to Bahia, to Cartagena, to Villacruz... to all ports that can sell these damn goods! In short, don't stay in Colonia anymore, go, John, let's stop being slow. Take the time to leave here, I'm fed up with the salty sea breeze here!" George Hampton pulled John Hill's arm and walked towards the dock.

The goods were not going well, and these British merchants were in a bad mood. Soon, they left here and returned to their temporary cargo warehouse. At around three o'clock in the afternoon, the British who had packed up their goods walked on their merchant ship, sailed and set sail, silently left the dock, and headed east.

...

After seeing off Alvaro and his son, Xu Xin, Xiao Baitu and others sat in a circle with excitement and checked the harvest of the trip. 500 sabers were sold to the Rodriguez Chamber of Commerce at a discount of 2 yuan each, with an income of 1,000 yuan; in addition, 100,000 red bricks were sold for 200 yuan; and the biggest gain of the trip was those textiles, 1,000 pieces of cotton and 300 pieces of woolen were sold for 9,100 yuan, with a gross profit margin exceeding 50%. Although it was expected, it was still overwhelming. Excluding the government's taxes of 2,575 yuan (25% tax rate), the East Coast Company made a net profit of 2,525 yuan, which was quite profitable.

"Everything is good, but not at all. The market in La Plata is still a little narrower after all." Tao Chenxi smashed his mouth and said with some regret, "I only consume one or two thousand wool velvet every year, and if I die of 10,000 cotton, the profit I can provide us with is only about 30,000 yuan a year. Compared with our annual fiscal gap, this amount of money is of no use."

"Our textile prices are low, which should drive some ordinary civilians who were originally unable to afford to join the procurement. The final annual consumption should be much higher than it is now. After all, the people in the La Plata area, especially Paraguay, are still quite rich, and their purchasing power will not be small. In addition, I hope that the ability of the Rodriguez Chamber of Commerce is really as strong as Alvaro said, so we may sell goods to Chile and Upper Peru through him. Those areas are densely populated and the consumption capacity of ordinary people is also very strong, which should be able to drive our textile sales to a new level." Xu Xin analyzed, "And Brazil has several times the population that is La Plata, and its wealth is comparable, which is suitable for us to dump products. And our competitors are still these old-faced British people. The so-called "Southern Common Market" can only be dominated by our East Coast Republic in the future. The British must get out!"

"Well said!" Tao Chenxi was a little excited when she was described by Xu Xin. "When we go back, we will buy machines, recruit workers, and expand production. Grandma, we will fight with the British this time. I don't believe it anymore. If our mechanized industrial production can't compete with their backward system that combines rural wool and handicraft workshops, then we might as well find a piece of tofu to kill each other."

"It is easy to buy a machine, we can make it ourselves. But what about the raw materials? How to solve it?" Minghui, who had been talking, said at this time, "Industrial production requires sufficient sources of raw materials and a vast amount of commodity dumping places, both of which are indispensable. If the problem of raw materials is not solved, we will easily get stuck in our necks."

"This matter must be planned in a coordinated manner." Xu Xin thought for a while before saying: "On the one hand, we try every means to purchase from abroad, and on the other hand, we must also be based on ourselves. We must expand our sheep population. Long wool and short wool sheep must be raised on a large scale to form large-scale grazing as soon as possible. In addition, cotton cultivation should also be put on the agenda. The climate of ducks in Hubei is still barely suitable for cotton cultivation. When I go back, I will report to the Ministry of Trade and the Executive Committee. This matter must be implemented quickly and strive to form a certain planting scale within a few years."

"After all, we still have to rely on outbound purchases in a short period of time." Minghui continued to pour cold water on and said, "Don't blame me for not reminding me. In this era, textile exports are the lifeblood of British finance, known as national industry. We do this and grab the market randomly. If the British are angry and embarrassed, they may fight to us."

"You mean the British will start a war on us? This...can't be?" Xiao Baitu said in surprise.

"The war may not necessarily start directly. After all, the example of the Spaniards is here. It is a hundred times more difficult than the Spanish. But they have other tricks. Do you forget what country is Britain? You are not unfamiliar with the famous Drake? It is a pirate country! At that time, the king will issue some privateing permits to the people below, and then you will find that many British ships are coming like wolves, attacking our transport ships, destroying our raw materials imports, blocking our product dumping places, and even blocking our coastline. Can we eat it?"

"Don't say it, there is really a possibility." Xiao Baitu sighed and said, "Damn, who did we provoke whom we made some money? Why is it so difficult!"

"Don't say it's useless." Xu Xin interrupted Xiao Baitu's lament and said, "No matter how difficult it is, it must be done! Do you think that no matter how difficult it is, no one will come to trouble us? Humph, that only means you are too naive! The Ministry of Internal Affairs just caught two Spaniards who spyed on intelligence near the arsenal a few days ago. Our cannons have excellent performance, far exceeding Europeans. It would be strange if they are not jealous. This is the first group, and more will come in the future. French, Dutch, British, etc. are coveting our technology. So, we cannot be afraid of doing things, we have to face difficulties. Of course, sometimes we must also pay attention to strategies. I will report this matter to the Executive Committee for discussion. Okay, pack up and let's withdraw it too!"
Chapter completed!