On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Qingfeng's caravan only stopped for one day before preparing to set off again. The merchants who cooperated with him last time had to pay for all their losses, and he said that he would never let his friends who worked with him lose money. The merchants in Fushun couldn't fathom Uncle Zhou's heroic spirit, and the news behind his back was flying everywhere.
These days, merchants' operations were always hindered by many factors. The officials were corrupt, the people were ignorant, the roads were not peaceful, and the city was not peaceful. Small merchants and peddlers had no ability to go to unfamiliar places to do business, and even their purchases were blocked.
Reality forced a large number of merchants to continue to unite. They either united in the form of marriage and extended into the officialdom to form a big family like the Ye family in Liaodong, or they looked for a backer everywhere and organized a chamber of commerce to form a local tycoon like Wang Kai or Wong Yuanwai.
But no one could be like Zhou Qingfeng, who connected a large number of small merchants and peddlers through a wide range of financial loans, and now he even paid for them when something happened. The peddlers were naturally happy. Anyway, they definitely wouldn't lose money. But everyone felt that Uncle Zhou would definitely lose money like this — there were too many robberies these days, and accidents were inevitable during transportation.
Even Wang Kai and Wong Yuanwai would find it troublesome to intercept the goods from the Tiger Head Mountain, let alone others. But Zhou Qingfeng organized another caravan to go to Shenyang in two days, and he also publicly said that other merchants were welcome to transport goods with him, and he would pay for them if anything happened.
Was there such a good thing?
The merchants didn't care whether Uncle Zhou would lose money or not. Anyway, they believed him last time, so he paid. It was said that he lost thousands of taels of silver. This kind of compensation didn't kill him, which showed that this young master had a deep family background.
So the merchants who got the news swarmed to the west of the city and asked to go with Zhou Qingfeng. But when they arrived, they learned that if they wanted to get this kind of compensation service, they had to pay a fee. Such a good thing, no matter what, they couldn't let these stingy guys take advantage of it for nothing. They would charge according to the value of the goods and the transportation cost. To put it in a nice way …
"The boss said that this thing is called 'commercial freight insurance'. If you want to go with us, we will guarantee the safety of the goods. But we're not doing charity either. We can't lose too much, right? Therefore, those who wish to participate will have to pay up. We have already announced the method of payment. "
Old Man Sun received the merchants who came to consult. Everyone surrounded a large display board and looked up. Zhou Qingfeng and Xu Bing drew up a two-dimensional diagram, marking the value of the goods, transportation costs, and other factors that would affect the insurance premium.
"Hiss … I'll have to spend more money on this. Then we won't do it. "Someone immediately made a move to leave.
But more merchants still gathered around the display board to calculate carefully. Some even borrowed an abacus from Old Man Sun and began to calculate on the spot. Once they calculated it, quite a number of people began discussing it. "This fee is much more expensive than hiring bodyguards and armed escorts. That's about 10% less profit per batch. "
"But the armed escorts are only in charge of escorting you. If they run into thieves who come to rob you, they'll run if they can't win. They won't pay you a single cent. Zhou Shao's Zhou Dongjia will pay for it. "
"If it's far away, it'll be more cost-effective. But Fushun is only eighty miles from Shenyang. A round trip will take at most two days. It's not cost-effective to spend money like this. "
"You don't have to spend money to transport your own goods? I've even asked a friend who transported goods with Zhou Shao last time. He combined many people's businesses to purchase goods together, so he can lower the price by quite a bit. It's the same if he sells it, and the price can be raised. It's not a loss after all. But doing business this way is much more comfortable. We don't have to worry about losing all our money if something happens along the way. "
The merchants discussed it, and quite a number of people came to Old Man Sun to consult. Some people praised the insurance idea, but still wanted to lower the insurance premium. The old man just laughed, but he refused to budge. Not a single cent less.
With the reputation built by Zhou Qingfeng's previous compensation guarantee, the power brought by his control of the western part of the city, and the business network he built by providing all kinds of financial loans, there were people who mustered up the courage to pay for this transportation insurance.
The small merchants in the western part of the city had very poor ability to resist risks. They had no bargaining power when purchasing and selling goods, so they were always on tenterhooks when transporting goods. Now that Zhou Qingfeng stood up and integrated everyone's needs and strength, the merchants in the western part of the city did not need to calculate too much. They decided to continue to stand with Grandpa Zhou.
The value of the goods transported by the small merchants was not high, and there was not much demand for purchases. The goods worth ten to twenty taels were once again transported to the Lin Family Inn. After a few hired accountants evaluated the goods, they began to report the insurance premium. Because Zhou Qingfeng's insurance was paid by his own people to ensure the safety of the goods along the way, the premium was quite high — it usually ranged from five to ten percent of the value of the goods.
But if the goods could be safely transported back, the merchants would still profit.
In the past, when transporting the goods, the merchants would have to repeatedly remind and remind them, and even send people to follow along the way, deeply afraid that something would happen. This time, many small merchants threw their goods to Zhou Qingfeng and did not care anymore — in any case, if something happened, they would have to ask Zhou Shao to pay for it. At least everyone knew that this young man was really rich recently.
In the end, even Li Yongfang sent people to join the group, paying for the goods to be transported. This Sir You Ji felt that he was the local tyrant of Fu Shun. Zhou Qingfeng could run away, but he could not run away from the temple. Leaving the goods to this kid to transport would definitely not be a loss. Moreover, his advisor came and forcefully lowered the insurance premium by half. In response to this, Zhou Qingfeng only sneered and nodded in acknowledgment.
In just one day, Zhou Qingfeng's caravan set off again. The scale this time was several times larger than the previous time. If it was robbed again, Grandpa Zhou would really have to pay a huge loss. When accompanying him on the journey, Xu Bing could not help but say in a low voice, "If I was the mastermind behind the scenes, I would definitely rob you and earn a lot in one go."
Zhou Qingfeng rode on the puppet wolf and personally escorted the goods. He chuckled and said, "I'm waiting for the bandits behind me to rob me. If they don't rob me, how can I establish my authority? "
With his head wrapped in gauze, Tan Feng rode behind Zhou Qingfeng. Looking at the caravan made up of more than thirty carriages and more than a hundred people, he had mixed feelings in his heart. Last time, he had failed to protect more than ten carriages. This time, more than thirty carriages were a huge target. The difficulty of escorting the goods was even greater than the previous time. But in his heart, he was anxious to avenge his previous humiliation. He was not willing to be humiliated by a group of bandits.
"Boss, don't worry. This time, I will definitely give my all and will not easily fail again. "Tan Feng gritted his teeth, his blood boiling. He decided to risk his life for his own reputation.
Zhou Qingfeng turned around and comforted him with a few words. But in his heart, he thought, "Damn this hothead, I'm really going to lose my life."
As the caravan set out, the streets of Fu Shun City were filled with people who came to watch the show. Everyone had heard about the unfortunate incident of Zhou Qingfeng's caravan being robbed. They also heard about his generosity and foolishness in paying the compensation. They also heard about the new insurance service. This was a rare occurrence that had not been seen in thousands of years!
"Old Cai, Cai Zhiwei, where are you?" Zhou Qingfeng rode on the puppet wolf and walked in front of the caravan. When he was about to leave the city, he suddenly shouted for his subordinates.
Cai Zhiwei had been in charge of recruiting people recently. It had been a long time since he appeared in front of Zhou Qingfeng. Knowing that his boss had summoned him, he ran over panting and asked, "Boss, what's the matter?"
"This is a historical moment. Shouldn't you draw a picture to record it?"
What …? Boss, don't bully me like this. I really don't understand what you're saying.
Cai Zhiwei was dumbfounded.
"This is the first time the insurance business has appeared and been put into practice in the land of China. The caravan in front of you has historical significance. And I am the great person who created this historical moment. Wild geese leave their sound, and people leave their names. As my personal artist, shouldn't you be more responsible? "
Oh … This uncle's habit of liking to draw came back again.
Cai Zhiwei had almost forgotten his profession, but if Zhou Qingfeng wanted him to draw, how could he not draw? So the caravan stopped at the gate of Fu Shun City and blocked the road for more than two hours. Only then did Cai Zhiwei, who was standing on the city wall, complete the initial simple sketch. How to complete the whole painting was not something that could be done in a day or two.
While Zhou Qingfeng stopped to draw, Ximen Ai mixed in with the crowd and circled around the caravan to watch — Uncle Zhou had made his insurance business known to everyone. Now, the hot topic of public opinion was all about him. Many new words were being spread by word of mouth and discussed everywhere. Now, even illiterate aunties on the street could talk a little about the 'insurance business'.
Ximen Ai was extremely suspicious of such a large caravan. Zhou Qingfeng had just lost a large sum of money, and now he was doing it again. In the eyes of conspiracy theorists, there was a great deal of strangeness in this matter, and it was even a trap.
The two brothers, Yang Wei and Yang Bang, also came in disguise to see what was going on. When they saw Zhou Qingfeng's evil wolf puppet, they felt that it would be very difficult to swallow this batch of goods. Looking at the escort team of more than a hundred people, they also felt that the difference in power was not big enough, and they were not sure if they could swallow it in one go.
"Big Brother, look at that Zhou kid. I haven't seen him for half a year, and he has grown a lot and become a lot more powerful. "Yang Wei wore a leather hat and clasped his hands like an old farmer. He nudged his brother with his elbow and asked, "Are we going to make a move this time?"
Separated by the bailiffs who were maintaining order, the scholarly Yang Bang was also looking at Zhou Qingfeng on the puppet wolf. After observing for a long time, he met with Ximen Ai again and said assertively, "This time the caravan is so large, and it is so ostentatious. There must be a trap. We can't act rashly. "
Ximen Ai also nodded. "This Zhou kid's methods are cruel, but his mind is quite meticulous. Just by looking at how he played the whole city of Fu Shun in the palm of his hand, we can see that he is not someone with an undeserved reputation. This time, we need to think about it carefully. "
The bearded Yang Wei looked in the direction of Zhou Qingfeng and said in a low voice, "Are we not going to make a move this time? Are we just going to watch this fat sheep slip away? "
Yang Bang and Ximen Ai looked at each other and sneered a few times.
Yang Bang shouted coldly, "What's the hurry? Such a big fat sheep, it is not just our family that wants to eat up. "
Ximen Ai also cursed with hatred, "This Zhou thief is so arrogant, there must be righteous people who are willing to help. We only need to contact him a little, and he will definitely be supported."
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