Chapter 1170 Behind the Scenes Deal
Compared to when he was the third in the Sanlin Gang, Lin De is now much more restrained in his behavior outside the home. Faced with Gu Hui's compliments, he just smiled indifferently and said, "This is all thanks to the Haihan leaders. Let’s eat, Mr. Gu is laughing!”
Gu Hui complimented him a few more words, and then asked cautiously: "I wonder what good things the fleet has brought this time? Does it require labor to unload the goods?"
Lin De responded: "It's almost the same as before. They are all Haihan goods that are easy to sell on the market. The goods on these three ships will be unloaded to Tongsheng No. C warehouse. Please make arrangements to unload the goods as soon as possible. Tomorrow We still need to rush back to load a batch of silk and satin. Remember to ask your people to come over early to do the work. By the way, this time there is also a new batch of Haihan special brew arriving in Zhejiang. This stuff is good and tastes more exciting than rice wine. "Okay, I'll have someone bring you two bottles to try later, but ask your people to be careful when working and don't break the bottles."
Gu Hui quickly thanked Linde, then walked to the side of the ship and called his men to start work quickly. After unloading and loading these three shipments of goods, he could collect at least twenty or thirty taels of silver into his pocket. The effort required was just words. The money was really easy and pleasant.
There are dozens of large and small warehouses built on Tongsheng Wharf, but they belong to different owners. Warehouse No. C is also in the territory managed by Gu Hui. Like his group of workers, they are all properties under the name of Lord Tongpan Wang of Hangzhou Prefecture. With such a big-name backer as his backing, Gu Hui is much more confident in handling various affairs at Tongsheng Terminal. He is also more comfortable in dealing with customers like Haihan who are still controversial in the outside world than other foremen.
Of course, as for the shady relationship between Mr. Wang and Haihan, that is not something that a small person like him should care about. He only needs to manage things on the dock well. However, he also knew that compared with the subsequent sales of these goods, the profits gained at the dock were actually negligible. These Haihan goods sold extremely well in Hangzhou, and the prices of many things remained high. Although I heard that the superiors have been trying to impose a ban on Haihan products, this import business involves the jobs of thousands of people and the interests of several big figures behind the scenes.
Judging from past experience, this batch of goods can stay in Warehouse C for at most two or three days before being picked up by merchants from all over Zhejiang. Gu Hui conservatively estimated that the revenue that these cargoes could bring to Haihan was at least around one hundred thousand taels of silver. However, this was only one of Haihan's many sales locations along the coast of Zhejiang. Gu Hui's current knowledge is difficult to imagine how much goods Haihan can dump into Zhejiang every month.
After Lin De explained the matter to Gu Hui, he got off the boat and went to the city to do business. Gu Hui returned to the pier, sat under the bamboo shed and cooked with a brazier and supervised the work, while his workers unloaded the goods from the ship to the shore one by one. When he was bored, he took out the two bottles of Sanya special wine that the steward on the ship had just brought him, and asked him to go to the small restaurant on the pier to cut a plate of pork head meat, put a plate of salted peanuts on it, and began to enjoy it comfortably. .
"Xiao Gu, you really enjoy it!"
When Gu Hui was drinking happily, he suddenly heard someone greeting him and quickly turned around to look. As soon as he saw the person coming clearly, he immediately jumped up from his chair. He didn't even have time to put down the chopsticks in his hands, so he hurriedly greeted: "Why is Manager Chen here in person? It's such a cold weather. Why do you have to send someone to say hello?" That’s why you, old man, need to go there yourself!”
The visitor looked to be about fifty years old, so he could be called an old man. However, Gu Hui's humility was not due to his age, but to his status. This old man named Chen Mingqi is the confidant of Wang Tongpan's family. He is responsible for more than half of the properties run by the Wang family in Hangzhou. Speaking of which, Gu Hui is just one of the many foremen under him. He usually doesn't even have many opportunities to speak in front of Chen Qi. If he knew that the other party was coming to inspect the dock, Gu Hui would have gathered his men and waited here respectfully. How can I still have the leisurely time to drink wine and eat meat?
Chen Qi looked at the wine and food on the small table, smiled and said: "Sanya special wine! Xiao Gu, do you know what the price of this wine is in the market?"
Gu Hui smiled apologetically and said: "The villain certainly knows the price of this wine in the market. How can I afford such an expensive drink?" The Haihan fleet that just arrived at the port, led by Mr. Lin, already knows the villain. It’s been a long time, so I gave you two bottles of wine. I have nothing to do, so I just wanted to take a few sips to make you laugh.”
The taste of the sugar cane wine produced by Haihan is a matter of opinion, but the glass bottle used in its packaging is very beautiful. This packaging alone has improved its quality a lot. In the early stage, Haihan found many Zhejiang celebrities through various channels and promised them huge profits to promote this kind of alcohol produced in the south. Although the method was a bit old-fashioned, the effect was quite good. With the joint efforts of many spokespersons, the Sanya Special Brew brand quickly entered the local high-end market and became the darling of various banquet occasions.
In addition, its supply is extremely limited. The number of bottles put on the Zhejiang market every month is only one or two thousand bottles. It is often in a state of price and no market. Therefore, it is a very scarce commodity in the local area. One pound of Sanya Special The brew can be sold for twelve taels of silver. There are even smart businessmen who purchase Sanya specialty wine locally at a higher price and then transport it to inland areas, where the selling price can nearly double, making even greater profits.
With Gu Hui's income, it wasn't that he couldn't afford such high-end wine, but it was too expensive, and he would definitely be reluctant to pay for it out of his own pocket. Besides, in front of a discerning person like Manager Chen, it's better to be humble when speaking.
Chen Qi ignored his explanation, but stared at the dock not far away. Dozens of laborers were sweating profusely, unloading the goods from the three Haihan sailboats onto the shore.
Gu Hui spoke up: "If you have nothing to do, old man, please sit down and rest for a while. I will ask someone to cook two more hot dishes, and you can have a drink and rest."
Chen Qi was not interested in this proposal. He turned to him and asked: "These three ships arrived today? Which warehouse will the unloaded goods be transported to next?"
Gu Hui responded quickly: "These are the three ships. Master Lin ordered all the goods on these ships to be transported to Tongsheng No. C Warehouse. By the way, Master Lin also said that he would leave after loading the purchased silk and satin tomorrow."
Chen Qi continued to ask: "Who is taking care of warehouse C now? Zhang Laizi or Li Laosan?"
"Back to the manager, Li Laosan is in charge." Seeing Chen Qi asking about work matters one after another, Gu Hui did not dare to deal with it with a playful smile anymore, and braced himself to answer one by one: "Now the No. C warehouse is rented to Haihan people, so in addition to Li Laosan, there are two people sent by Haihan who are also stationed in Warehouse C.”
"Are you on duty at the dock at night or are you going home?" Chen Qi asked another question that sounded a bit strange. "If there's nothing important, I usually go home after work at dinner time." Gu Hui responded honestly: "If you have anything to do, you might as well give me an order, and I will definitely handle it for you." ”
"It's nothing. I passed by here today and stopped by to take a look... Okay, keep an eye on the unloading and don't make any mistakes!" Chen Qi patted Gu Hui on the shoulder and turned around to leave without waiting for his reply.
Gu Hui was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed him to see him off. He really didn't understand the purpose of Chen Qi's visit to the pier. Asking these trivial things just now was not worth the time for a "big man" like him to come to the pier to confirm in person. Moreover, Gu Hui has been working under Chen Qi for four or five years. This is the longest private conversation he has had with Chen Qi. However, he feels that the content of the conversation is completely nutritious. He tried to flatter him, but they ignored him at all. mean.
Gu Hui sent away Manager Chen with questions in his mind, but his mind was soon pulled back by what happened at the dock. A laborer probably came to start work without breakfast. When unloading the goods, he had a hand in his hand. Slip, a box of Sanya special wine hit the ground directly. This scene happened to be clearly seen by Gu Hui, who had just sat back on the chair, and immediately ran over and scolded him. There are six bottles of wine in this box, and even the cost price to the owner of the goods is estimated to be around fifty taels. A laborer who only earns a few taels of silver a month may not be able to afford it after working for a year.
Gu Hui squatted on the ground and carefully opened the box. Although it was filled with straw as a buffer, a bottle still hit the lid of the box and broke the neck of the bottle. Gu Hui sighed, closed the lid of the box, then slapped the troublemaker on the face and cursed: "Do you know how much this wine costs? It's three months' wages for you! How are you going to pay for it!" ”
The laborer was beaten but did not dare to fight back. He just begged Gu Hui for forgiveness. Gu Hui cursed a few more times, but when he saw that the other party did not dare to retaliate, he said with lingering meaning: "Forget it, you have been working here for a long time, so I will trust you once. Master Lin just rewarded me with two bottles of wine this morning. There is still an unopened bottle. Let’s use it to repair the broken bottle. As for the money, it will be deducted from your salary every month, and it will be deducted from you for half a year. Are you convinced?" br>
How could the laborer dare to object? Although he knew that the cost of the wine was less than twelve taels of silver, he really couldn't afford the compensation at the moment. This compensation was enough to bankrupt him. Moreover, if Gu Hui was offended, the laborer's job would be lost, so he had no choice but to accept Gu Hui's solution. In the eyes of outsiders, Gu Hui must be praised for his "benevolence and righteousness". He used his own money to pay compensation to his subordinates first, and he also made reasonable explanations to the owner of the goods. There is indeed nothing to fault.
"Gungungun, go move the goods first, and I will handle this box of wine!" Gu Hui impatiently dismissed the troublemaker and moved the box to the place where he had been drinking.
Gu Hui opened the box, slowly took out the broken bottle of Sanya special brew, raised it to his nose and smelled it, his face changed color slightly. In fact, when he opened the box to inspect the damage, he had already noticed something was wrong. The broken bottle did not emit the aroma of wine, and the liquid inside was definitely not the wine he had just drank. Half of the reason why he took the initiative to take over this matter was that he was afraid that others would find out the clues and cause even greater trouble.
Gu Hui stretched out his finger to dip a little of the spilled liquid into his mouth, tasted it, and spit it out immediately. If this thing is Sanya special wine, no one will drink it if it is given away for free, and it definitely does not taste like the wine has gone bad. Gu Hui twirled his fingers and felt that the liquid was slippery, a bit like some kind of grease.
Why the Haihan people would put such strange things in bottles of Sanya special brew and pass them off as good wine? Gu Hui couldn't understand, but one thing he knew very well. If the Haihan people did this intentionally, then they definitely wouldn't want anyone to do it. See through their tricks. I heard that several high-ranking officials in the city of Hangzhou once opposed Haihan. A few months ago, they suddenly disappeared overnight. Even now, they are still alive and dead. As a small dock steward, he naturally did not want to cause other troubles, so after realizing that something was wrong, his first reaction was to top up the wine that Linde gave him to prevent the Haihan people from counting the goods. When something unusual was discovered.
Gu Hui put the unopened bottle of Sanya special brew back into the box and asked a laborer to put it back. Then he secretly took the broken bottle to the ditch leading to the Qiantang River and dumped it. He was also thrown directly into the waist-deep drainage ditch, which was regarded as destroying the body and eliminating traces.
Sure enough, the Haihan people who counted the goods later did not notice any damage to the goods, so they smoothly handled the handover of the goods and settled the wages with Gu Hui. After Gu Hui finished handing over, he let go of his worries and went home humming a little tune with the remaining half bottle of wine.
At this time, Lin De, the owner of this batch of goods, was meeting guests in a garden somewhere in Hangzhou. The person sitting opposite him was none other than Chen Qi, who had appeared at Tongsheng Wharf this morning.
"Master Lin, everything is ready. Someone will take action outside the city tonight." Chen Qi paused and said, "It's just the fire starter you prepared. Is it really useful?"
Linde put down the wine glass and said softly: "Don't worry, Manager Chen. This kind of kerosene is produced in the south. It is easy to put out and is extremely difficult to extinguish. It is more powerful as a kindling material than strong liquor. We have made such elaborate arrangements because of this." Seek to be foolproof.”
Chen Qi added: "It would be a pity to burn those three sailing ships together."
Lin De said disdainfully: "The leaders of Haihan are all people who do big things. What do three sailboats mean? After this matter is completed, thirty or three hundred sailboats can easily make money! Manager Chen, Your family has received all the benefits, so you won’t regret it at this juncture, right?”
Chen Qi smiled and said: "My master will do what he says, and naturally he will not regret it. However, you must abide by the standards of action you mentioned before!"
Linde nodded and said: "It should be so. Please tell Mr. Chen that everything will be carried out as agreed."
(End of chapter)