The Portuguese were the true pioneers of the Age of Discovery. In the early sixteenth century, they had already occupied Goa and gradually monopolized the Eurasian trade. But the Portuguese woke up early in the morning and rushed to the evening market. By the seventeenth century, their trade network had already been overtaken by Spain, Holland and other rising powers. Even the British were about to catch up with them.
The British had already begun to set foot in India and even shared the convenience of Goa. But Goa would still be controlled by the Portuguese for a few hundred years. Now, Goa was completely a free port, accepting merchants, adventurers and penniless paupers from all over the world.
The monastery that Zhou Qingfeng settled in was run by a poor Portuguese priest. This bald middle-aged man called Marcelo came to Goa from Lisbon to make a fortune, but in the end, he did not do well. He did not recruit enough believers, nor was he able to make a lot of business. He could only rely on the charity given by the Portuguese governor in Goa.
The child, Santos, was adopted by Father Marcelo. Children like this were everywhere in Goa. Skinny and small, they scurried around the streets like rats, looking for any chance to survive. But these children usually did not live to adulthood. They were likely to suffer heatstroke due to a heatwave and die in a corner of the street, waiting for their bodies to stink before being cleaned up.
But as long as they still had a breath left, these children would display a shocking desire to survive. They would try their best to grasp at any straw. Many of the street beggars in Goa relied on their talent to survive. Talent for begging, talent for stealing, talent for robbery, no matter what talent it was, as long as they could make a living. Santos relied on his talent for language to capture Zhou Qingfeng.
Father Marcelo was very generous and warm towards Zhou Qingfeng who came looking for him out of the blue. He did not even ask about the other person's background before inviting him into his monastery and asking if he could give him some alms for the sake of God.
"I don't believe in God." Zhou Qingfeng walked around the simple monastery. The place was quite big, but the facilities were broken. The Virgin Mary's statue was mottled and there was not a single complete table or chair in the domed hall. Even Marcello's own house was extremely simple. There was only a rotten wooden bed in the house and nothing else.
"I'm a businessman and I want to do some business. If you can accommodate me, Father, I don't mind paying for it. " Zhou Qingfeng took out a silver coin and tossed it to Santos. He then continued to say to Father Marcello, "As long as I'm satisfied, I've always been generous. But if you make me angry, I've always been fierce. "
Zhou Qingfeng's left and right eyes shot out a cold light and heat respectively. Father Marcelo, who was looking at him, felt that one side of his body was cold and the other side was hot. The man shuddered in fear, but he immediately became much more obedient. In fact, he even became more fluent in Cantonese, which he had not used for many years.
Santos, on the other hand, was overjoyed when he received the silver coins. He was extremely grateful to Zhou Qingfeng. He was amazed by the exquisite patterns on the silver coins. At present, the coinage technology used in the West was still very ordinary. In terms of details, it was far less violent and direct than the high-powered stamping machines.
"Master, what do you need?" Santos asked. A person who could casually give him a silver coin was worthy of his attention.
"Go get something to eat first. I see that you all seem to be hungry. I, on the other hand, need a quiet room. We'll talk about my needs after dinner, "Zhou Qingfeng said calmly.
"A room? Yes, yes, yes," Father Marcello finally interrupted and extended his hand to lead Zhou Qingfeng to the backyard. There was a special guest room in the backyard, but it was empty and full of dust. "Honorable sir, may I know your name? I think you need a few servants, and I can recruit them for you. "
Father Marcello rubbed his hands and said with a flattering smile, "You only need ten silver coins, and I can find five or six of the best servants for you."
"My surname is Zhou, you can call me Mr. Zhou," Zhou Qingfeng released the magic tool of the tent, and the ghost servant inside floated out to work and clean up. He had the ability to refine Ghost King Pills, and the ghost servants around him had been trained to be excellent, and they were more reliable than living servants. "I have my own servants, so you don't have to worry."
Seeing that Zhou Qingfeng was actually using the ghost to work, Father Marcello was so scared that he immediately drew a cross on his chest. But when the room rent of two silver coins fell into his hand, a smile appeared on his face again, and he was very kind and tolerant.
Santos spent a silver coin to buy a large number of ingredients. Goa was located in the tropics, and it was rich in rice and seafood. Just these two things were enough to make a sumptuous dinner. In addition, there were mangoes, pineapples, cashews, and other dried fruits. There was a wide variety of food, and the price was very low.
Zhou Qingfeng carefully inquired about the prices of the goods in the market, and even made a record. Santos originally thought that as a servant, he should cook dinner, but Guo Jiao took the responsibility. She did not cook, and only taught the ghost servants how to cook. But when the piping hot dinner was served, Marcelo and Santos were stunned.
"Let's eat together." Zhou Qingfeng directly placed the table in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary. After the ghost servants cleaned up, the domed hall that was originally used for prayer looked brand new.
Father Marcello did not have any objections to Zhou Qingfeng occupying the hall, because there was really no other place in this dilapidated monastery that could set up a huge dining table.
The priest was a little stunned in the face of the sumptuous food, and was even more surprised by the few bright lights placed around the table. This made him not know where to place his hands and feet when he sat down, for fear that he would do something wrong and be rude.
"Dear Mr. Zhou, you must be a noble from the East." Marcello was determined to learn Mandarin from Santos that night, and he must build a good relationship with this extraordinary young man in front of him.
"Hmm … I guess so." Zhou Qingfeng was dealing with a large prawn. This was just caught from the sea, and it was very fresh.
The child, Santos, stood in front of the table, and hesitated for a while before taking out some copper coins from his pocket that he had used to purchase ingredients. "Master, this is the rest of the money."
"It's yours. Come to the table and eat."
"I'm just a servant. I'll be very satisfied if you give me some food after the meal."
"I'm now ordering you to sit down and eat."
After receiving the order, Santos sat at the table with some apprehension. The taste of the food on the table made the child constantly marvel, while Father Marcello, opposite him, prayed to the Virgin Mary for forgiveness of his sin of gluttony while eating heartily. The ghost servants at the table still poured wine from time to time, and they immediately exclaimed that they ate like an emperor.
After eating and drinking, Zhou Qingfeng began to get to the point. "I want to sell some silk and porcelain. The quantity is not much, but the quality is definitely the best. Can you find the best buyer for me? "
Silk and porcelain from China had never been in short supply in the Western world, and the price was also very high. For example, the famous "thin-bodied porcelain", which was said to be able to exchange for an army. When Marcello and Santos heard that Zhou Qingfeng wanted to sell these two kinds of goods, they immediately nodded to indicate that there was no problem at all. There were merchants in Goa who would buy them at a high price.
Father Marcello was more stable and asked, "Dear sir, you can find the most generous buyers of silk and porcelain in Goa. But can you give us some samples? "
Zhou Qingfeng turned his head and said to Guo Jiao. The girl then took off the hair scarf that she used to tie her hair. When Marcello held the light and elegant, light and smooth silk fabric, he was stunned on the spot.
"This … this is the best silk I've ever seen. I can't describe its beauty with words. If your silk was of this quality, the princes of Lisbon would definitely go crazy. "
The Revolutionary Army had set foot in the cotton textile industry and achieved great success, so naturally, they would not let go of the silk weaving industry which had a smaller market but higher profit margin. The success of mechanization in cotton spinning was also extraordinary in silk weaving, which could produce higher quality silk thread and satin.
Song Yingxing created the dye industry with the use of coal tar, which allowed the Revolutionary Army's cloth and satin to have more patterns and colors, making it more popular in the market. Just by looking at Father Marcello's exclamation of the name of the Virgin Mary, it was enough to prove the excellent quality of the Revolutionary Army's products.
"Just this hair scarf alone is worth ten Portuguese gold coins, which is enough to exchange for my monastery." Marcello returned the hair scarf to Zhou Qingfeng, "There is no need to find merchants for such valuable goods, they must come to see you."
Marcello's price was obviously a little exaggerated, but Zhou Qingfeng did not mind using these gorgeous goods to build his reputation and attract more merchants to come to trade. He took back the hair scarf and said, "So what do you think of my porcelain?"
"Porcelain? Where? "Father Marcello asked.
"In your hands." Zhou Qingfeng pointed to the set of tableware on the table.
Wow … Holy Mother Mary!
Father Marcello had been attracted by the luxurious dinner tonight, until now he found that he should pay more attention to the luxurious tableware he used. These crystal, beautiful, delicate and warm tableware were the real priceless treasures. He looked down at the plate in his hand and couldn't help wiping the grease with his sleeve. Finally, he sighed at the light, "It's transparent."
It was too exaggerated to say transparent, but transparent was a very suitable description.
Zhou Qingfeng had developed the kaolin soil in the direction of Dandong on a small scale. With Fire Phoenix, a top master who could control flames, it would be a waste not to make some porcelain. The silk in his hand still needed raw materials from Jiangnan, but the porcelain could be made in his own kiln. He came to Goa this time to open up the market, so of course, what he brought was the best.
When Ye Na went to Jiangxi to 'invite' Song Yingxing, she was later arranged by Zhou Qingfeng to go to Jingdezhen to 'invite' the craftsmen who made and painted porcelain. He also specially selected the top talents who produced tributes for the royal family. With the progress of advanced technology, the products made were also epochal.
There were two kinds of porcelain on the table, one was traditional porcelain, and the other was bone porcelain mixed with calcium oxide and alumina. The two kinds of porcelain complemented each other and each had its own advantages. As the saying goes, 'as white as jade, as thin as paper, as clear as a mirror, and as loud as a plate.' The goods that Master Zhou brought out for sale might not be priceless, but they were precious.
"I vowed to abide by poverty, but today I ate with such expensive porcelain. I am ashamed of my faith. "Father Marcello was so excited that he shed a few drops of tears. But he quickly said to Zhou Qingfeng, "Dear sir, do you want to live in Goa for a long time? Perhaps you need a Portuguese who knows Chinese as a housekeeper? "
Zhou Qingfeng shook his head, "No, I don't live in Goa for a long time, and I don't need a housekeeper."
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