Chapter 1720 Passing the test
What do you mean by becoming the shopkeeper? Duan Xuan's words made Qin Huacheng understand something instantly. The farmers' request to increase grain prices was not just their own wish. It was more likely that they had received secret instructions from Cheng Dapeng, so the two farms would coordinate their demands. Raise prices. As for the reason for this arrangement, whether Cheng Dapeng wanted to make more money from this year's grain trade or had other purposes, Qin Huacheng couldn't figure out the key for the moment. But it was obvious that Cheng Dapeng did not want the outside world to realize that the change in food prices was his intention. Even Qin Huacheng, who was in charge of the matter, was temporarily kept in the dark.
But why Duan Xuan told him this inside story is what Qin Huacheng wants to understand most at the moment. If Cheng Dapeng wanted him to know, he would have asked Shopkeeper Wang to tell him when the matter was arranged, instead of telling him through Duan Xuan when the matter reached an impasse. If Cheng Dapeng had no intention of letting him know, Duan Xuan would probably not be able to escape punishment afterwards if he talked too much.
"You don't have to guess." As if he expected that Qin Huacheng would inevitably think wildly after hearing this, Duan Xuan took the initiative to announce the answer to him: "If you agreed to receive benefits from Chu Huo or me, then No one will tell you the answer to this mystery. But since you have decisively rejected our conditions in both places, according to the instructions of shopkeeper Cheng, I will tell you the inside story."
Now Qin Huacheng really understood and said in shock: "So I didn't fail in my errand, right?"
"Of course it's not a failure, the performance is acceptable, it's passed the test." Duan Xuan gave his evaluation with a smile.
Qin Huacheng finally put a big stone back into his heart. Only now did he really sort out the cause and effect of this errand. It turned out that there were two lines of light and dark going on at the same time. The light line was when he visited the farmer with the grain purchase contract, and the dark line was when he visited the farmer with the grain purchase contract. The farmer put forward conditions to him and tried to bribe him. If Qin Huacheng could not withstand the pressure and temptation and accepted the farmer's conditions, even if the contract content was successfully passed, it would still be judged as a mission failure. The real test is not whether he can successfully complete the contract negotiations, but whether he can reject the benefits offered by the farmer without reservation.
Cheng Dapeng asked Shopkeeper Wang of Mihang to arrange this job for him. The main purpose was to test whether he had enough self-control to deal with external temptations. Qin Huacheng couldn't help but feel a little scared when he thought about it. If he hadn't persisted before, The new life that has just begun will probably end here. This was also thanks to the bloody execution scene I had just seen the day before yesterday. I had to restrain myself due to lingering fear, otherwise it is hard to say what the outcome would be.
Qin Huacheng swallowed hard and continued to ask: "What will happen to this contract after passing the test?"
Duan Xuan laughed and said: "The price on this contract was originally set by shopkeeper Cheng. In previous years, it was all done after signing. If it wasn't to test you this time, there would be no need to send someone to confirm the contract again."
Qin Huacheng finally relaxed a little after hearing this answer, and said with a smile: "That's because I caused trouble to Boss Duan and Boss Chu!"
Duan Xuan shook his head and said: "We are all doing things for shopkeeper Cheng. No need to worry about anything. But I was rude in some way before. I hope Brother Qin won't blame me."
Qin Huacheng said he didn't dare. Duan Xuan and Chu Huo obviously had more trust than Cheng Dapeng, otherwise they wouldn't have received such a secret mission. In front of these two people, Qin Huacheng didn't dare to trust him, otherwise God knows how they would describe his performance in the report to Cheng Dapeng afterwards.
Now that the mission ends here, Qin Huacheng is happy and relaxed. However, he still had in his hand a grain supply agreement signed by Dacheng Rice Company and the East India Company. He originally wanted to take it out and ask Duan Xuan, but he felt that it would be a bit inappropriate to ask a former employee about the business of Dacheng Rice Company. Okay, now I suppressed this idea again.
After Qin Huacheng said goodbye to Duan Xuan, he planned to return to the city for business. On the way, he also visited Chu Huo's farm and took the initiative to confess to him. Chu Huo heard that he had completed this task with Duan Xuan, and his current attitude was much kinder than before: "Chu's attitude was a bit rough before, but it was also due to the situation. Don't blame me, brother!"
Qin Huacheng said that his acting skills were amazing. He had really thought that Chu Huo had fallen out because he couldn't agree on the price, but he didn't expect that this guy was acting. He had brought in emotions quite well.
Back at the Mihang Store in the city, Qin Huacheng found Shopkeeper Wang and confessed to him the results of his talks on the two farms. After listening, Shopkeeper Wang nodded and said, "Since Duan Xuan and Chu Huo have told you the truth, what do you think?"
Qin Huacheng said sternly: "Thanks to the care of the big shopkeeper, I have the opportunity to come to Batavia to make a living. I should do my best to serve the big shopkeeper. As for receiving benefits privately, whether it is now or I will never dare to do it in the future, and I hope the shopkeeper will take notice.”
Shopkeeper Wang twirled his beard and said: "It would be best if you really think so. Although the boss employs people in an eclectic way, he also values whether people can be clean and honest. If they are lustful and greedy, let alone re-employ them. Don’t even think about getting ordinary errands, so after joining the company, most of them will arrange some situations to test the newcomers, so don’t worry about it, it’s just a routine assessment.”
Qin Huacheng responded: "The little one has always fulfilled his duties and has never acted beyond the rules. The big shopkeeper will ask questions to test, so the little one is not afraid. But what should we do with the remaining contract?"
Shopkeeper Wang did not answer his question immediately, but asked instead: "Do you have a more intuitive understanding of the local food production situation now?"
Qin Huacheng nodded and said: "With the guidance of Chu and Duan, I have roughly understood the operation of this type of private farm."
"Then you should also understand the position and role of rice banks in the grain trade system. Rice is purchased from the fields and then exclusively sold to the official warehouse of the East India Company. You can count the price changes during this process. ?" Shopkeeper Wang continued to ask.
Qin Huacheng responded bravely: "The villain knows."
"Okay, then you go to the East India Company and ask their official in charge of grain procurement to sign the contract." Shopkeeper Wang waved his hand and said: "Go quickly and try to get this matter done before dark today. Don't do it again." Delayed.”
It was just a matter of talking to the two Han farmers, Chu Huo and Duan Xuan. After all, Qin Huacheng could also speak Chinese, so there was no barrier to communication. But he has never dealt with Dutch officials before, so communication may be a bit troublesome. He was about to explain this issue to Shopkeeper Wang, but the other party had already mentioned the matter: "Don't worry, the official in charge of this matter over there can speak Chinese, and communication should be no problem."
In this case, Qin Huacheng had nothing to refuse. He immediately took the remaining sales contract and rushed to the city where the official offices of the East India Company were located.
In the war a few years ago, the central fortress built in the city of Batavia became the last stronghold of the Dutch to save their lives. After the war, the Dutch further strengthened and repaired this core area, and at the same time arranged the official institutions. Improvements have also been made. The offices of some non-critical departments were moved out of the fortress area to free up enough space for storage of food and weapons. For example, the logistics department responsible for purchasing grain moved to a two-story building in the city after the war, and worked in the same building as the medical and health, culture, education, religion, transportation and other departments. Naturally, Qin Huacheng had to first get guidance from Mi Xing to find such a place. After announcing his identity and intention at the door, guards took him to one of the rooms, where he met Welbeck, the official in charge of local farming.
Just as Shopkeeper Wang said, this Welbeck can actually speak relatively fluent Chinese, but he obviously has a Lingnan accent. It seems that the people he originally learned Chinese from were people of Han descent from Lingnan.
After Qin Huacheng expressed his intention to come, he presented the prepared contract to the other party for review. Welbeck didn't read the content at all. After taking it, he asked Qin Huacheng to dictate it to him. Qin Huacheng thought that although the Dutchman could speak Chinese, he might not be able to read the contract written in Chinese characters. He quickly explained: "Your Excellency, this contract is written in two languages. You can compare it."
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"I know." Welbeck raised his hand impatiently: "You say what you want."
Only then did Qin Huacheng realize that he had taken it for granted. Since the Dutchman signed a grain sales agreement with Dacheng Rice Company every year and even learned Chinese, how could he fail to consider the issue of contract language. Fortunately, he had read through the contract many times to ensure that there were no loopholes in it that would be detrimental to Mi Xing. He was already very familiar with the content and could fully recite the terms even if it was unscripted. At that moment, Qin Huacheng explained the contents of the contract to Welbeck while recalling it.
According to the cooperation habits between Dacheng Rice Company and the East India Company, pre-purchase contracts for grain trade are signed every late spring and early summer. Considering that the harvesting time of summer grain in various farmlands may vary, and the purchase volume of the East India Company is very large, it is likely that the delivery cannot be completed at one time, so this purchase contract is not one, but divided into several parts. , there will be certain differences in the delivery quantity and time each time.
The contract Qin Huacheng took was the first batch of grain orders to be delivered to the East India Company this summer. The quantity was fifteen thousand bushels of newly produced local rice, weighing about 180,000 kilograms. According to the price previously negotiated by the two parties, the total price of this batch of rice is fifteen thousand silver coins, and the unit price is one silver coin per bucket of rice. The East India Company first paid three thousand silver coins as a deposit, and the remaining balance was settled when the grain was delivered.
Of course, this price is not the final transaction price until the contract is signed and takes effect, and Qin Huacheng's task is to make Welbeck accept the conditions of this contract, at least in terms of price and transaction conditions, and no longer make any disadvantages to Dacheng. Changes in rice rows.
Regarding the conditions listed in the contract, shopkeeper Wang did not make any more arrangements for Qin Huacheng, so there was little room for flexibility in this negotiation for him. If Welbeck is not satisfied with the terms of the deal, Qin Huacheng has no room for concessions.
After hearing this, Welbeck yawned and said impatiently: "Is this gone?"
Qin Huacheng responded: "Your Excellency, it is clear that this is the content of the contract."
Welbeck said: "What about the content outside the contract?"
Qin Huacheng remembered that shopkeeper Wang had mentioned when giving him this job that if the Dutch asked about anything other than the contract, they would say everything was business as usual. As for what this extra content is, although Shopkeeper Wang didn't say it, Qin Huacheng could guess a little bit. It must be a kickback to Dutch officials in the grain trade. If this specific number were to be leaked, it would probably implicate many people, so Qin Huacheng could only respond to Shopkeeper Wang's instructions.
"Still the same? Do you mean the same thing as last year?" Welbeck was still dissatisfied after hearing Qin Huacheng's response and continued to ask.
Qin Hua thought to himself: "I don't know when this was based on the past, so he had to force a smile and say: "This should be what adults understand."
"The amount your boss gave me last year was too small. If it weren't for the fact that he gave me 20 acres of vineyards last year, I wouldn't have considered your family for this year's food purchase." Welbeck's face was gloomy. Regarding Dacheng The conditions given by Mihang seem to be unsatisfactory.
Qin Huacheng smiled apologetically and said, "Sir, this condition was set by the shopkeeper of Chengda. He must have considered all aspects of the situation, so I won't treat you badly."
Welbeck said: "When Cheng Dapeng came to me to discuss this deal, he agreed to increase the service fee year by year. How come it is still the same this year? Is he trying to burn bridges because he has become too strong-willed?"
Qin Huacheng thought that this ghost had a deep understanding of Chinese, and actually knew the idiom of burning bridges across rivers. However, he was not in the mood to lament the other party's Chinese proficiency at the moment. He just continued to persuade: "There may be a misunderstanding. Sir, please don't think too far."
Welbeck threw the contract in his hand on the table and said: "If it is a misunderstanding, let Cheng Dapeng explain it."
Qin Hua Cheng thought that if he went back in despair to invite the big shopkeeper, he would inevitably appear useless, and Mi Xing probably didn't send him here to talk to the Dutch just to get into trouble. Since it is a negotiation, we have to discuss the conditions.
Thinking of this, Qin Huacheng took the initiative to suggest: "Sir, why don't you tell me what conditions are suitable? If I go back and report to the big shopkeeper, I can have a clear explanation."
"What are the appropriate conditions?" Welbeck repeated Qin Huacheng's words, then pointed to the contract on the table and said: "The service fee will be increased by 20% from last year's standard!"
Yes, there is another one who wants to add 20%. Qin Huacheng thought that he would have sex with 20% today. I visited the two farms before, and they also asked for a 20% increase in the purchase price. Although the conditions were arranged there, it was a coincidence that I encountered the same situation when I transferred to the Dutch.
(End of chapter)