Chapter 258 - Scarce Herbs (1/2)
After seeing Yuwen Tong off the night before, Ling Zhang was absent-minded all along this day. At noon, a store a.s.sistant came to the manor from the capital city to report the state of the drugstore. During the couple of days following the grand opening, the aggregate size of orders had been amazingly large, but after that, sales volumes had slowly declined. Recently the business had been going relatively steady.
w.a.n.g Qing had sent this store a.s.sistant here to tell Ling Zhang that his negotiations with a trading fleet from the Fangcun Kingdom had been going well, that the company had agreed to reserve one third of every s.h.i.+pment of the kind of rare herbs Ling Zhang wanted for the Ling’s Drugstore, but they requested a face-to-face meeting with the proprietor of the drugstore. If the cooperation went smoothly, the company would consider selling all this kind of herbs they owned to the Ling’s Drugstore.
Overjoyed, Ling Zhang asked the store a.s.sistant, “When do they want to meet?”
“Their s.h.i.+p departs for the Fangcun Kingdom in three days, Young Master.”
Ling Zhang thought for a while and then said, “You may go outside and have some rest. I’ll make some arrangements and then go back to the city with you.”
Had he known this beforehand, he would’ve returned to the city with Yuwen Tong the night before.
Ling Zhang informed Ji Yin of this matter. The latter exhorted him to be careful.
w.a.n.g Dashan, taking Qiu Bing and the other ten with him, would be accompanying Ling Zhang providing protection. Yang Liuzi and the other eleven were staying, and Ji Yin would personally instruct them. Xie s.h.i.+ was also staying, excited at the prospect of seeing Ji Yin train them. Qiu Bing, however, was so happy to know his master s.h.i.+fu wouldn’t be tormenting him for some time that he was almost reduced to grabbing Ling Zhang’s sleeve and dissolving into tears.
“Young Master, my master s.h.i.+fu is so horrible. He’s literally a monster,” Qiu Bing complained tearfully.
Lately, in order to learn skills from Xie s.h.i.+, Qiu Bing had gone through all sorts of hards.h.i.+ps and been having nightmares at night about Xie s.h.i.+, which always ended with him waking with a start.
Feeling fairly sympathetic to him, Ling Zhang clapped him on the shoulder and boomed, “Hang in there.”
Qiu Bing almost burst into tears. He really didn’t want to stick to it at all.
After some quick thinking, Ling Zhang decided to be a little more encouraging. “Don’t forget your great original aspiration. You promised me you’ll become a master of detoxification for my sake. I’m counting on you to ensure my safety.”
Qiu Bing wiped his tears, regretting having made that reckless promise. Woebegone, he said, “Yes, Young Master. I’ll stick to it. You can count on me.”
After consoling Qiu Bing, Ling Zhang took w.a.n.g Dashan and the others out of the manor. Instead of a carriage, he chose Snowflake the horse, for it was much faster and he would be able to reach the city at dusk.
They traveled at full speed the whole journey and got to the city gate at dusk before the sun set completely behind the mountains. After entering, they went to the drugstore first.
w.a.n.g Qing was pleasantly surprised to see Ling Zhang. He had originally thought that Ling Zhang wouldn’t return until the next day.
“Where are people of the trading fleet from the Fangcun Kingdom? Would it be convenient for them to have a meeting with me tomorrow?” asked Ling Zhang on entry.
“They’ve been staying right at the Four Seas Inn. These two days they’re specially waiting for you to come back to meet them, so any time is convenient for them. How about I have someone go there and tell them the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow?” w.a.n.g Qing quickly collected his thoughts.
Ling Zhang nodded. “Okay. Tomorrow morning then.”
Now that Ling Zhang had come back, w.a.n.g Qing naturally gave him a minute report on the recent condition of the drugstore, which was much more detailed than the one given by that store a.s.sistant. Ling Zhang read over the account book of the drugstore, checking every other drugstore that had been in cooperation with him as well as every drug merchant that had bought herbs from his drugstore in bulks. It was only when he’d got a general idea of them that he put the account book down.
After unhurriedly getting informed of the business situation of the drugstore during the few days following his leaving the city, Ling Zhang asked about the trading company of the Fangcun Kingdom. “Now fill me in on that trading fleet from the Fangcun Kingdom.”
w.a.n.g Qing began, “Their captain’s name is Luo Sang. He’s around thirty-five or so, of medium height, st.u.r.dy, quite good at Chinese. He’s on voyages between the Fangcun Kingdom and the Great Yue almost all the year round. On average, he comes here twice a year, and this is his first voyage this year. There are fifty crew members in total in his trading fleet. They mainly provide transportation service for one company. Their master is the mayor of Wantao City, the biggest port city of the Fangcun Kingdom, and which is why he has access to the herbs you want, Young Master. But Luo Sang said that even his master could only get a limited amount of this kind of herb every year. Most of it goes to the royal household of the Fangcun Kingdom. And mayors of other cities scramble to purchase it as well, so the price is very high.”
“What’s their price?”
w.a.n.g Qing gave him a number.
Ling Zhang thought for a while. This price was ten percent higher than the one he knew, but he believed it was acceptable if Luo Sang would some day sell the whole s.h.i.+pment of this kind of herb to him. However, he couldn’t agree to this price without bargaining. “Don’t accept their price too quick during tomorrow’s meeting. We should talk to them about it.”
w.a.n.g Qing, who shared Ling Zhang’s opinion, bobbed his head.
“Wantao City is the biggest port city of the Fangcun Kingdom?” inquired Ling Zhang.
w.a.n.g Qing had had some dealings with several Fangcun trading fleets and had more acquaintance with them, so he replied, “Yes. According to Luo Sang, s.h.i.+ps berthed in the harbor outside Wantao City are huge; apart from the Great Yue, those s.h.i.+ps also travel to the Luohai Kindom as well as areas further south. Wantao City is the wealthiest city in the Fangcun Kingdom. On top of that, it also owns the finest navy in Fangcun. The mayors.h.i.+p of Wantao City is hereditary, but the mayor’s family also intermarry with the royal household every generation. They’re fairly close.”
Ling Zhang had a thoughtful look on his face. The Fangcun Kingdom was relatively near to the Great Yue, but it would still take several days to get there by sea. About one third the size of the Great Yue, this country was neither large nor small. It was currently the biggest overseas force.
After having w.a.n.g Qing give him some more information about that Fangcun trading fleet in detail, Ling Zhang pondered over it for a while and then made a lot of preparations, including sending a servant to find someone proficient in Fangcun language. Although that Luo Sang guy was fluent in Chinese, other crew members’ Chinese were terrible, and they communicated with each other in Fangcun language. With someone adept at Fangcun language at his disposal, he might be able to get some extra information when the occasion arose.