After dinner, Wang Chong visited his imprisoned little sister and rested in his room for a while. Suddenly, the door opened and Shen Hai and Meng Long barged in like a gust of wind.
"What's the matter?"
Wang Chong frowned and lifted his head.
"Gongzi, someone wishes to meet you!"
Two uninvited guests had arrived at the Wang Family Residence, and they requested to meet Wang Chong. Shen Hai and Meng Long had been punished by Madam Wang to stand guard at the entrance due to the incident in the day. As such, other than the two of them, no one else knew of this matter.
Initially, Shen Hai and Meng Long wanted to inform the madam about this matter. However, the madam already had too many things to worry about during this period of time. If she were to find out that the young master was' stirring up trouble 'outside, she would surely fly into a rage. Thus, the two of them decided to keep this matter a secret.
"Third young master, I think it's best that you meet them outside. Otherwise, if Madam were to find out about it, you will surely be punished. "
The two of them bowed and said.
Wang Chong smiled. Shen Hai and Meng Long might not have realized it, but unknowingly, their mentality had changed. If it was in the past, they would never have said such words.
It seemed like his' earnest words' and the high praise from The King of Song had worked. At the very least, the two of them no longer viewed him as a profligate scion.
Walking out of his room, Wang Chong saw the two uninvited guests outside the Wang Family Residence. Honestly speaking, Wang Chong was also curious about the background of the two and why they would look for him.
"You are Wang Chong?"
Before Wang Chong could even speak, the two of them had already begun to question him. In truth, the moment Wang Chong appeared in the distance, before he even walked over, the two of them had already been carefully observing him.
The two of them were extremely curious as to who it was that dared to steal their loot. There weren't many people who knew about the Hyderabad ores, and the other party was able to purchase the ores at an exorbitant price before them. It wasn't something an ordinary person could do!
The two of them really wanted to know who their opponent was. However, neither of them expected Wang Chong to be so young.
The two Buddhist monks did not lie. It was indeed a child!
The grand Zhang Clan was something that even the head of the Zhang Clan held in high regard for. Yet, it was actually foiled by a child. This was something that the two of them found hard to believe.
"Who are you?"
Wang Chong stared at the two of them, also observing them. Wang Chong did not remember seeing them, but from afar, Wang Chong could smell the strong smell of rust, sulfur, and furnace fire.
People with this kind of smell must have been working in special places for a long time. Wang Chong had already vaguely guessed their origins, but he still needed them to personally confirm it.
"I am Zhang Jian!"
"I am Zhang Cong! Young Master Wang might not recognize us, but we are all from the Zhang Clan in the capital. "
The two of them said. The Zhang Clan specialized in blacksmithing, iron ores, weapons, and armor. Even though they were famous in the iron industry, the two of them didn't think that a fifteen-year-old child would know about them.
"It's them!"
Wang Chong appeared calm on the surface, but gedeng, his heart skipped a beat. He didn't expect the Zhang Clan to arrive so quickly.
In his previous life, Sindhu left behind a handful of WuZi Steel weapons in the Central Plains, and those weapons were forged by the Zhang Clan.
If he hadn't appeared, the Zhang Clan would have been the one to take over his baton and deal with the two Buddhist monks from Sindhu.
In the iron smelting and iron ore industry, the capital's Zhang Family had a resounding reputation, and they held an important position. If not for them, WuZi Steel wouldn't have been left behind in the Tang dynasty.
It was a pity that even though the Zhang Clan had sensed the uniqueness of the Hyderabad ores, they still didn't understand the true value of the Hyderabad ores.
The Hyderabad ores they bought from Sindhu could only be considered as a small sample. On top of that, they didn't know the correct forging method of WuZi Steel, so they weren't able to bring out the true value of the steel. This was truly a pity.
"May I know the reason why you two are looking for me?"
Wang Chong smiled.
"It's like this. I heard that gongzi found two Sindhi monks and bought some ores."
The two of them tried their best to be tactful with their words.
The clan head had instructed them time and time again not to reveal the matter of the Hyderabad ores. The two of them didn't know how much Wang Chong knew about the ore. Was he just buying it on a whim, or did he view it as some kind of rare ore?
In any case, before getting a clear understanding of Wang Chong's background, the two of them didn't wish to speak too much.
"Hehe, as I expected."
Upon hearing those words, Wang Chong chuckled on the inside. As expected, the two of them were indeed here for the Hyderabad ores. Furthermore, it was very likely that they had asked for the address of the two Sindhi monks after failing to find anything.
"I did buy some of that ore. Why, are you two interested in this ore as well?"
Wang Chong flung his sleeves and placed his hands behind his back.
He didn't just buy some of it, he bought all of it. Not only did he buy all of it, he even monopolized the sales of the Hyderabad ores in the Central Plains.
If the two of them hadn't met with the two Buddhist monks and were unable to buy the Hyderabad ores, why would they come here?
"This … Our Zhang Clan is indeed interested in this ore. However, I heard that gongzi has already bought all of it. Your father is an influential official of Great Tang, and we have always respected Duke Jiu. However, I have never heard that your clan has dabbled in the iron industry as well. May I ask if gongzi is willing to part with the iron ores and give them to our Zhang Clan? Of course, we won't let gongzi suffer a loss. We will send an appropriate amount of gold as compensation to show our sincerity. "
The two of them bowed and said.
The two of them felt that what they said was reasonable and very sincere. Duke Jiu's lineage wasn't a blacksmith, and Wang Yan's family had nothing to do with blacksmiths.
The Hyderabad ores falling into the hands of the Wang Clan would be a waste of a heavenly treasure. Only in the hands of the Zhang Clan would they be able to display their true value.
Of course, the Zhang Clan wouldn't take it for free. They would also compensate them appropriately. This would be beneficial to both the Zhang Clan and the Wang Clan.
In the eyes of the two, even though Wang Chong had stolen the Hyderabad ores, he was still a child. Furthermore, given the Wang Clan's reputation, they probably wouldn't be able to afford the money needed to buy the ores.
The words of the Wang Clan's gongzi were probably just the willfulness of a child.
"Hehe!"
Upon hearing those words, Wang Chong chuckled. He knew that the two of them thought that he was a child, thinking that he didn't know the value of the ores:
"How much silver are the two of you going to give me as compensation?"
"A thousand … gold taels!"
The two of them replied sincerely, emphasizing the word 'gold'. "As long as gongzi sells the contract between you and the two Buddhist monks to us, we can immediately send a thousand gold taels to your residence."
'A thousand gold taels'. This was a figure that the two of them came up with after discussing it with the clan head. In the eyes of the two of them, Wang Chong had made a huge profit by selling a contract for an ores that he didn't even have in his possession.
They had investigated the matter carefully, and the annual income of a general like the Wang Clan wouldn't exceed a thousand gold taels. The reason why they gave such a huge figure was in consideration of the reputation of 'Duke Jiu', and it could be considered as a form of respect.
"Hehe, if it's this amount, the two of you should return. I won't sell the contract for the Hyderabad ores. It won't be too late for the two of you to look for me after you have thought things through. "
Wang Chong scoffed and waved his hands.
He was prepared to earn a fortune from the Hyderabad ores, perhaps even a few hundred thousand gold taels. A thousand gold taels wasn't even a fraction of what he wanted.
Most probably, he could earn more than that by selling a WuZi Steel weapon.
The two of them probably really treated him as a child who had never seen the world. A thousand gold taels? There was no way he would agree to it.
"Why?"
The two of them widened their eyes in astonishment.
They thought that this was a fair price. Based on their understanding, the Wang Clan was an incorruptible family. For a gongzi like Wang Chong, it would be a miracle if he could earn ten silver taels a month.
To be able to earn a thousand gold taels without doing anything, only a fool wouldn't do such a thing!
"Pardon my words, gongzi, but a thousand gold taels isn't a small sum. If gongzi wants more, I'm afraid that it will be difficult for us to agree to it. "
The faces of the two of them darkened and turned awful.
A thousand gold taels was the highest they could offer after consulting the clan head. They didn't expect that Wang Chong would ask for less. This was something that they didn't expect, and it was impossible for them to agree to it.
The capital's Zhang Clan was famous in the Tang dynasty, but they weren't at the level where they could throw a few thousand gold taels away casually.
"Furthermore, if we aren't wrong, you haven't even gotten the contract for the Hyderabad ores, right? If you aren't able to sell it for ninety thousand gold taels in a month, not only will you not be able to get the Hyderabad ores, you will also have to pay a huge sum of money. — — Are we right? "
The two of them said bluntly.
Ninety thousand gold taels, this was an impossible mission. Even for a clan like the capital's Zhang Clan, this was an extremely taxing task, needless to say, a 'small yamen' like the Wang Clan, which relied on their salary to survive.
The two of them didn't believe that Wang Chong would be able to complete this mission. This was also the reason why they came to negotiate with Wang Chong.
In their plan, even if they were to obtain the contract from Wang Chong, they would have to renegotiate with the two Sindhi Buddhist monks to either reduce the price or extend the time limit.
In any case, gathering ninety thousand gold taels in a month was an unbearable burden for any clan that had a huge budget.
"Hehe, the two of you! I can tell that the two of you want this ore very much. However, I would like to ask, if I were to give this contract to your Zhang Clan, given the capital's Zhang Clan's strength, how much profit can a jun of this ore generate? "
Standing on the stairs, Wang Chong's robe fluttered in the wind as he looked at the two of them confidently.
"This …"
The two of them were clearly taken aback. They didn't expect Wang Chong to ask such a question:
"This, with the reputation of our capital's Zhang Clan, any weapon, even if it's just a sickle, as long as it has our name on it, can be sold for several times the original price. As long as this Hyderabad ore is refined by our Zhang Clan into a weapon, a jun can generate a profit of at least three hundred gold taels. "
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