On the pier.
Li Zexuan was talking to Yan Lide and the others when Wang Renbiao came back.
He first greeted the two leaders of the imperial court, then looked at Li Zexuan and said, "Little Xuan, I've already prepared the small boat. I'll take you to the big ship to see the goods!"
"Mm, okay ~!"
Li Zexuan nodded and was about to leave with Wang Renbiao when Xiao Yu suddenly said, "Marquis Yong 'an, do you have goods on the Wang Family's ship?"
Li Zexuan didn't know what Xiao Yu meant. He turned around and answered, "Yes, before the Imperial Court's fleet went south, I asked Renbiao to help me bring back some specialties from Nanyang!"
Xiao Yu twirled his beard and laughed, "Haha! That's great! You can ask your students to help you settle the accounts. I'll let your goods reach the shore earlier. Take it as repayment! "
Li Zexuan couldn't help but laugh. He didn't expect Xiao Yu to open the back door for him. This was good too. He didn't have to wait for half a day at the pier!
"Haha! Thank you, Elder Xiao! "
Li Zexuan thanked Xiao Yu, then followed Wang Renbiao onto the boat and went to the Wang Family's main fleet.
…
"Xiao Xuan, come and take a look. Is this the rubber you need?"
The boat followed the Ba River and rowed for more than a mile before reaching the Wang Family's fleet. From this, one could see how many ships were waiting to dock. If Xiao Yu didn't open the back door for Li Zexuan, they would have to wait for an entire afternoon. After boarding a large ship, Wang Renbiao said to Li Zexuan behind him.
Li Zexuan responded, his heart full of anticipation. Many modern industrial products required rubber, and he really needed it!
A person who seemed to be in charge of the ship led the two of them into the cabin. They saw that the huge cabin was filled with rows and rows of wooden barrels.
"Young Master, Marquis, this is the rubber we brought back from Nanyang. Please take a look!"
The guide bowed and smiled at Wang Renbiao and Li Zexuan.
At this time, Li Zexuan couldn't be bothered to exchange pleasantries with others. He took a big stride and arrived in front of a wooden barrel. He deftly opened the lid and saw that it was filled with a white glue-like liquid. When he sniffed it carefully, he could smell a faint fragrance. What else could this be but natural rubber? Oh, no, it should be called natural latex!
In Li Zexuan's previous life, when he was in university, one of his university classmates opened a factory that produced latex pillows and mattresses. The rich second generation generally liked to show off. When he was in his second year of university, that guy invited everyone in his class to visit his factory.
That was the first time Li Zexuan saw what natural latex looked like. It was also from that visit that Li Zexuan learned that natural latex didn't have a pungent smell. Instead, it had a faint fragrance. Some people bought natural latex pillows from the internet, but when they bought them, they would come back with a pungent smell. This meant that you bought a fake product. It was synthetic rubber, not natural.
"Little Xuan, how is it? Is this the rubber you need? "
Wang Renbiao asked worriedly when he saw Li Zexuan staring at the wooden barrel for a long time without saying anything.
"Yes, yes, this is rubber. This is the rubber I need!"
Li Zexuan recovered from his chaotic thoughts. His voice was unusually excited. "Renbiao, it's all thanks to you this time! How much rubber did you bring back in total? "
From his voice, Wang Renbiao could hear a trace of expectation. This made Wang Renbiao a little surprised. One must know that this young man in front of him held a high position at such a young age. Moreover, he had a huge family fortune. It was really hard to understand that he had something to look forward to.
Wang Renbiao looked at the manager beside him, indicating that he should answer this question.
The middle-aged manager didn't dare to be negligent. He cupped his hands towards Li Zexuan and said, "Replying to Marquis, we found the rubber on the island. The island was full of rubber trees. We filled 20 boats, but we didn't finish loading them. However, in order to not fall behind the team, we only brought back 20 boats of rubber. Each boat was loaded with about 50,000 pounds of rubber!"
If each boat was 50,000 pounds, 20 boats would be … 1,000,000 pounds!!!
Li Zexuan's breathing suddenly became hurried. 1,000,000 pounds, that was more than 500 tons! I'm rich! I'm rich! There were only three words in Li Zexuan's mind right now, and that was to strike it rich! Such a huge amount of rubber was enough for him to do a lot of things.
"That's great! Renbiao, I won't beat around the bush, but I'll remember this kindness! I'll have someone send the money to your house now. Get someone to row these boats upstream for another three li. That's the new workshop of Strange Taste Pavilion. Just move the rubber there! "
According to the original agreement, if the Wang family's fleet found rubber in Nanyang, Li Zexuan would have to pay 400 strings of cash for each boat of rubber. Of course, the 400 strings of cash was a price of friendship. Because a boat of spices from Nanyang would definitely cost more than 400 strings of cash. The main reason was that Wang Renbiao was looking for Li Zexuan to buy a large number of compasses to ensure the safety of the Wang family's fleet. It could also be said that it was an exchange of interests!
"Haha, Xiaoxuan, you're too kind!"
Wang Renbiao replied with a smile.
At the same time, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. After this incident, the relationship between the Wang family and Li Zexuan was even stronger. This was more valuable than anything else. After all, this young man in front of him had become a founding marquis before the age of 15! His future achievements were simply immeasurable!
After exiting the cabin, Wang Renbiao ordered the steward on the boat to start sailing. They bypassed the boats in front of them and headed straight for the dock.
Such a blatant act of cutting in line would, of course, anger some people. However, after seeing that it was the merchant ship of the Wang family of Taiyuan, most people shut their mouths. The reputation of the Wang family of Taiyuan was not just for show. There were also people who weren't afraid of the Wang family of Taiyuan. However, after seeing Li Zexuan at the bow of the boat, they all hesitated.
After a while, twenty fleets full of rubber arrived at the front and began to dock.
Xiao Yu was a man of his word. He had already sent officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs to wait at the dock to calculate the total value of the goods on board.
Perhaps it was because Li Zexuan had now been promoted to a marquis, or perhaps it was because Li Zexuan had sent people to set up sheds for the officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs at the dock and even sent ice cubes and iced water. The officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs who came to receive the goods were so enthusiastic that Li Zexuan was a little uncomfortable.
However, facing the buckets of white gelatinous liquid on board, the officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs who came to receive the goods couldn't help but feel troubled. How should they value this stuff? How much should they charge?
…
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