Chapter 1464 Inside Information
If He Li's main way of doing business is to make money by taking advantage of information asymmetry, then compared with these professional brokers on Zhoushan Island, He Li's information channels can only be described as "blocked".
Most of these brokers are naturalized citizens of Haihan from the Ming Dynasty, and the backers behind them may be officials from a certain department of Haihan. The White Lotus under Haihan's rule was not spotless. There were also many shady gray areas. Although these information-selling transactions were illegal, it was almost impossible to completely clean them up. Unless the time travelers do everything personally, this kind of business will continue to exist.
Of course He Li didn't want to be inferior to others, but the fact was that in this black market that specialized in selling all kinds of information, he could only be in the position of a buyer, and he couldn't afford to stand up and say that he and the other party were in the same industry. The information the other party has is basically out of his reach, so he doesn't even have the capital to bargain.
Of course he doesn't need to buy the news, but his response may be extremely passive when the time comes. For this mission to Zhoushan Island, a few hundred taels of silver is really not a big amount. If you can really buy useful information, you won't feel too bad even if you spend the money.
He Li gritted his teeth, took out his wallet from his arms, ordered three Haihan banknotes with a face value of 100 yuan, put them on the table, held them down with a tea cup, and said, "Then tell me, let's see if it's true." , you can just take the money.”
The broker looked at the money on the table, then looked at He Li's expression and then said: "Okay, what do you want to know about the Northern Route?"
"The Northern Route has always been a thankless job. Why are so many people suddenly trying to grab this deal?" He Li asked a question that had been bothering him for many days. Even He Xiao couldn't answer his question. He knew that there must be some particularly significant benefits. If this broker was not a parallel importer, then he should be able to give a reasonable explanation.
The broker looked around to make sure there was no third person nearby, and then lowered his voice and said: "Liaodong will start operating plantations this year. Do you know about the plantation? After this business is completed, the goods in and out of the place will increase. There are more, now is the best time to enter the market, and naturally there are many well-informed people who want to seize this opportunity.”
He Li had naturally heard of what kind of business a plantation was. There was also a plantation run by Haihan on Zhoushan Island, but it was limited in terrain and land area, so the scale was not large. But it is said that in the areas under the control of Haihan in the south, plantations are often measured in scale of thousands of acres, and the profits after entering the harvest period are very generous. His elder brother, He Xiao, has invested all the money he earned in the past two years in plantations in the south. In a few years, he will be able to live a comfortable life in Haihan, where he can put his shirt on his back and eat his food.
Although He Li knew that Haihan had occupied a position in the Liaodong Peninsula and defeated the local Houjin defenders, he had no idea what the specific local situation was and what development plans Haihan had. As for developing plantations in Liaodong, He Li had never even thought about it. Logically speaking, such land that had just been snatched from the enemy would not be developed immediately, at least until the situation was basically stable, and would not be developed again. It was only activated when Hou Jin counterattacked. But Haihan obviously has strong confidence in his defensive capabilities, and he started planning the follow-up development plan as soon as he grabbed the land.
As for how much improvement the development and construction of plantations can bring to the local shipping market, He Li actually has no clear idea. He only knew that the plantation that Haihan advocated had quite good returns, but because he had lived in the south, he did not know what kind of economic crops Haihan planned to plant in the plantation in Liaodong, and the harvest period of these crops. How long again. The lack of sufficient information for reference made it difficult for him to make a clear judgment.
"I know about the plantation, but the news you said is too vague. Please tell me what specific plans the plantation has. Otherwise, if you want to collect money for such a sentence of revelations, then I will do the same!" He Li He would not be fooled easily and immediately asked the other party for more clear information.
The broker said: "Seeing as you are also a cheerful person, I will tell you the truth. The Ministry of Agriculture's Liaodong plantation development plan was sent to the north via Zhoushan. I happened to read this plan below, and the contents of it must not be disclosed in full. Here you go, I’ll tell you a little more about it. As for how to verify it, you’ll have to do it yourself in the future.”
He paused here to show his solemnity: "Liaodong will introduce Zhu Nai and Li Nai from Shandong and plant them in large quantities locally. In addition, there are sugar beets and soybeans, which are also the main business projects of the plantation."
The so-called "氰" is the way to call apples at this time. Haihan has also planted a large number of apple trees in the Shandong occupied area, and they have not yet entered the harvest period. Apple trees generally begin to bear fruit two or three years after they are planted, and the entire harvest period can last for more than twenty years. If planted scientifically and managed properly, the harvest period can sometimes last as long as fifty years. This kind of fruit may not have a big market in Daming, but its sales prospects in Haihan are believed to be promising by many people.
At present, the apple orchards planted in Shandong are still a year away from entering the picking period, but the fruits have already been booked by merchants. The Ministry of Agriculture took a fancy to such a good market prospect and decided to introduce apple planting projects in Liaodong region after considering comprehensive factors such as temperature, precipitation, sunshine, and soil. Sha Xi alone plans to invest in the development of two thousand acres of apple orchards.
As for sugar beets and soybeans, they are also economic crops suitable for Liaodong’s geographical environment. However, it is different from the sugar beet varieties that were introduced to the Far East from Persia and Arabia after the 12th century. The sugar beets that the Haihan Ministry of Agriculture plans to promote in Liaodong are artificially cultivated varieties with higher sugar content and are specially used in the sugar industry. In the original history, it would take about a hundred years for the Germans to cultivate high-sugar beets, and the world's first beet sugar factory would not appear until the early 19th century.
Haihan's cane sugar industry in the south is an important agricultural income, and if the north can also build a sugar industry chain, it will definitely play a good role in promoting the economic status of the northern colonies in the future.
Soybeans are originally a crop native to China and have been cultivated for thousands of years. They were planted in large quantities in Liaodong during the reign of the Ming Dynasty. What the Haihan Ministry of Agriculture can do is provide better bean seeds and more scientific planting methods to improve their yield and quality. The sowing, fertilization, field management, pest and disease control and other aspects of soybeans are very particular. It can be said that soybeans are a category of economic crops that require careful care.
The utilization value of soybeans is well known to everyone. In addition to a wide variety of soy products and seasonings, soybeans are also an excellent oil crop, and the by-product after oil extraction is extremely high-quality protein feed. The glycerin, paint, artificial rubber and other products obtained after deep processing of soybean oil as raw material are of extraordinary value to Haihan. Even if the market demand for soybean oil is not that high, Haihan's own industrial development needs will be able to utilize all the soybean oil produced in the Liaodong colony in the future, which is a cash crop that will make a steady profit.
The Ministry of Agriculture recommended these two projects to Shaxi, who was also very optimistic about them and included them in the development projects of the Liaodong Peninsula. Although implementation has not yet begun, these related plans have actually been leaked at some point due to the people in charge. Otherwise, even if He Li could afford the price, there would be no place to buy such inside information. It's just that the broker didn't dare to go into too much detail about this information, and He Li didn't know much about agriculture. He didn't know much about what things like sugar beet looked like, let alone the large area of this thing. Where will the profit after planting come from. Therefore, He Li was still a little skeptical about the broker's description.
"I can understand every word of what you said, but why can't I understand them all together?" He Li frowned and said, "Haihan really knows how to grow the things you mentioned in Liaodong?"
"Do you think you can't make money with these things?" The broker seemed to have seen through He Li's thoughts and sneered: "Let me tell you this, even if the Haihan people sell mud and sand, there will still be people holding the money. I went to buy it, do you believe it?”
He Li just wanted to say that he didn't believe it, but then he thought about it. He Xiao seemed to have said that Haihan's glassware was all made of sand, which can be said to turn decay into magic. Haihan glassware, which is marketed all over the world, is it just selling dirt?
The broker continued: "To be honest, you don't understand how these things can make money, and I actually don't understand either. But it doesn't matter, as long as the leaders understand, they will arrange everything, and you just need to follow the arrangements. Haihan has always been known for being shrewd in business. When have you ever heard that Haihan people lose money in business? Since these planting projects are to be promoted in Liaodong, they must be calculated to make a lot of money. Since it is a place to make money, what about shipping? Demand will definitely be boosted by it.”
When He Li heard what he said, it seemed to make sense. The Haihan people never did business at a loss. Since they were going to build a plantation in Liaodong, they must have considered the causes and consequences before implementing it. If the development of Liaodong proceeds smoothly, the harvest period will begin in at most one year, and the required maritime transport capacity will be considerable. It is indeed an excellent time to intervene in the operation of the northern route at this time. If we really waited until shipments started there before planning to take the northern route, I'm afraid this piece of fat would have been divided up by other carriers.
Thinking about the fact that the information channels of those competitors may be far better than his own, He Li seemed to understand why these competitors were quietly planning to bid for the transportation business of the Northern Route - they were all people who wanted to make a fortune quietly!
"Boss, what I just said is true. You can buy this information for three hundred. It is really worth a thousand times! As long as you use some tricks, you can easily earn ten times or a hundred times. Back!" Brokers take every opportunity to advocate for the value of the information they provide.
This time He Li had to admit that what he said made sense. If the news was indeed true, then there were indeed many ways to easily earn back the money. Thinking of this, he picked up the tea cup holding the banknotes and nodded to the man. The broker thanked him with clasped fists, then reached out and swept away the three hundred-yuan notes.
"Boss, do you have any other questions? As long as you pay, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!" The man finally made the deal after spending a lot of time, and it seemed that he didn't even intend to stop there.
He Li suddenly thought of something and asked the man, "Besides me, how many other companies have you sold this news to?"
The man smiled and said, "You're lucky to have met me first, so I haven't sold it to anyone else besides you. I know what you want to say. You can buy out the news. Just add three hundred more." ! ”
He Lixin said that the news was only worth three hundred. Six hundred was really a bit expensive, but she felt a little guilty if she didn't buy it out. After some haggling with the man, the deal was finally settled at one hundred and fifty, and the man promised never to sell the information He Li had just learned to another house. After He Li reluctantly paid the money, he asked the broker to leave. Although he still had some questions in his mind, he really didn't want to spend such a high price to get answers.
After a long while, He Li suddenly slapped his forehead, secretly thinking that he later took out the one hundred and fifty because he was tricked by that person. Most of the merchants who came to Zhoushan Island to bid this time were businessmen with official backgrounds, and they were far better informed than themselves. The reason why these people came to Zhoushan was probably because they already knew about Haihan's development plan in Liaodong, so they only tried their best to find out the news after they arrived on the island. In this case, who can the broker's information be sold to? It's one thing to buy it out or not. I paid him an extra 150 yuan for nothing.
But the matter was at this point, and it was useless to talk more. He Li could only comfort himself. At least he spent the money to buy more reliable information, which clarified the purpose of his trip to Zhoushan. As long as it serves its purpose, the money will be well spent.
Early the next morning, the other three people who went out to inquire for information also came back one after another. Although they were all tired, they could not hide their excitement. They all said that they had obtained useful information. Instead of feeling happy, He Li felt faintly uneasy. When he asked, it was just as he thought, these three people all met the broker who sold the information to He Li, and it was the same person who sold the information to He Li. Under the instigation of that man's eloquent tongue, the three of them all paid for the so-called "inside information" in triplicate, all with the same content.
He Li couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this, and then he remembered that the man had also said that he could sell information from various companies. The four people in his group were obviously among his information, but he actually split up and sold one information four times. , which can be considered a pretty powerful move.
(End of chapter)