"When the princess smiles, no one knows it's the lychees!"
Following the poem of the Master of Mohism, rumors of Princess Changle's love for lychees immediately spread throughout the city of Chang 'an. Everyone was endlessly curious about this fruit that had never been heard of before in Guanzhong. Unexpectedly, even Princess Changle loved it so much. The Master of Mohism even boasted that he would eat three hundred lychees a day and would not hesitate to become a citizen of Lingnan.
"Lychees are also known as Dan Li. Sima Xiangru called them Li Zhi in 'Ode to the Upper Forest'. They are a specialty of Lingnan. Their flesh is fresh and juicy. It's sweet and memorable." In Chang 'an, a Lingnan merchant proudly showed off the specialty of his hometown.
"Since lychees are so delicious, why haven't we heard of them in Chang 'an?" A Chang' an citizen questioned.
The Lingnan merchant said regretfully, "That's because lychees are not easy to store. They have to be eaten when they're plucked from the tree. Otherwise, the taste will change after three to five days. It's thousands of miles from Lingnan to Chang 'an. Unless it's rushed 800 miles, it'll spoil by the time it reaches Chang' an. "
"Mo Jiazi is so considerate for Princess Changle," the Chang 'an citizens said enviously.
If it had been before, everyone would certainly have reprimanded Princess Changle for her excessive extravagance. However, for a pregnant woman, even an ordinary man would do his best to satisfy his wife's demands. As for Princess Changle, who was pregnant, she had even eaten an apple that had been sent over from the Western Regions. As for the lychees that had been sent over from eight hundred li away, no one found it strange.
"I've been away from my hometown for several years. If I can eat the lychees of my hometown, I'm willing to spend any amount of money," the Lingnan merchant said enviously.
"I'd like to try the lychees that Mo Jiazi can't forget."
"What's so difficult about that? According to the grapevine, a large caravan of the Mo Family entered Chang 'an this morning with a full load of lychees. They've already started selling them in the East Market, "a well-informed Chang' an merchant said with a smile.
"Really?" the Lingnan merchant said in surprise.
"Absolutely, but the price is not low. It's 100 copper coins per catty." The Chang 'an merchant could not help but click his tongue.
"100 copper coins per catty!" everyone exclaimed. A hundred copper coins per catty was a sky-high price that had never been heard of before. It was not something that ordinary people could afford.
However, no one questioned this price. These fruits were from thousands of miles away and were not easy to store. A hundred copper coins per catty was already an extremely fair price.
The Lingnan merchant picked up a stack of banknotes and headed towards the East Market without hesitation.
The Eastern Market was already crowded with people. Following Mo Jiazi's poem, lychee became the hottest topic in Chang 'an City. However, the news that lychee could be sold for 100 coins per kilogram caused a stir in Chang' an City.
Almost all the merchants in Chang 'an were looking forward to seeing the fruits that cost 100 copper coins per kilogram in Chang' an. Some were curious, and some were disdainful.
However, the final result surprised everyone. In just one day, 20 carriages of lychees were sold out in Chang 'an.
"Gosh, Mo Jiazi deserves to be Mo Jiazi!" The merchants in Chang 'an City admired him so much that they wanted to prostrate themselves in front of him.
The speed of transporting lychees had to be fast. Assuming that the carriages carrying lychees could only carry 500 kilograms, the total weight would be at least 500 kilograms after deducting the ice used for refrigeration. 20 carriages would transport more than 10,000 kilograms of lychees. The price of each kilogram was 100 copper coins. In one day, the Mo Family's village had earned a million copper coins, which was 1,000 copper coins. Moreover, this was only the income of Chang 'an City. If the lychees in Lingnan City could be sold everywhere, there would be many shrewd merchants in Chang' an City. After calculating in their minds, they could not help but gasp. This was a great business.
"You are really useless. How could you allow Mo Jiazi's caravan to transport the goods to Chang 'an City so easily?" Zheng Chang looked at the lychees sent by his men and said angrily. The Five Surnames and Seven Watches had blocked the Mo Family's village, but they still made a mistake.
A servant of the Zheng Family could not help but feel wronged: "Young master, you can't blame us. For a long time, we have been ordered to stop Mo Jiazi's goods from being transported out. Who would have thought that Mo Jiazi actually bought goods directly from Lingnan City. We didn't check it for a while …"
"I don't care. From now on, no goods of the Mo Family's village can enter or leave Xingyang City." Zheng Chang said angrily.
"Yes!" The servant of the Zheng Family hurried away.
Uncle Zheng on the side could not help but sigh in his heart. Although they could successfully block the caravan of the Mo Family's village in Xingyang City, Mo Jiazi's intention was not just to sell lychees, but to let the Jiangnan family see the benefits of the development of Jiangnan City.
And Chang 'an City can consume thousands of copper coins a day. What a temptation this is. Mo Jiazi may have achieved his goal.
"Brother Mo is sitting on Fan Li's talent. With a wave of his hand, he can collect thousands of copper coins a day. It really makes the Old Man admire him." In the Mo Family's village, Xiao Rui praised.
It has to be said that Uncle Zheng's guess was right. After the sale of lychees worth thousands of copper coins a day in Chang 'an City, the entire Jiangnan family could not sit still. The leader of the Jiangnan family, Xiao Family, finally made a move. However, Duke Song Xiao Yu did not come in person. Instead, he sent his eldest son Xiao Rui and Princess Xiangcheng to visit the Mo Family's village.
With the sisterhood of Princess Changle and Princess Xiangyang, there is some cover for the two families.
Meton smiled and glanced at Princess Changle and Princess Xiangcheng who were tasting lychees with relish. He shook his head and said: "I'm not afraid of Brother Xiao's joke. Although this batch of lychees sold for 100 copper coins a jin, the Mo Family did not make any money. Not to mention the money to buy the fruit farmers in Lingnan City, just the labor, carriage, and ice needed for the journey of thousands of miles, the price of 100 copper coins is just enough to break even!"
"Mo Hou is benevolent."
Xiao Rui couldn't help but nod in agreement. Most of the goods from Lingnan City to Chang 'an City have skyrocketed in price, let alone the lychees that have extremely harsh preservation conditions.
"It's a pity that such a treasure can only be trapped in Lingnan City. It's really a waste of God's gift. At first, I just wanted to let Changle have one more fruit to eat. Later, I found that this could be done, so I transported it on a large scale. By the way, the people of Lingnan City can get some benefits." Meton sighed.
"Princess Changle smiles, no one knows that it's lychees. Sister Changle can eat them. This time, Sister Changle is really lucky." Princess Xiangyang teased.
Princess Changle suddenly blushed and couldn't help but show a happy look.
Xiao Rui shook his head and said: "It's far more than that. Lingnan lychees are sold to Chang 'an City. In addition to the profit of fruit farmers, the manpower, horses, inns, warehouses needed along the way, so that the merchants in Chang' an City can profit. If it is transported on a large scale in the future, it will benefit many people!"
"Lingnan's lychees can be transported to Chang 'an City. In addition to saltpeter ice, it is also credited to the refrigerated carriage developed by Mo Family. Once enough ice is added, even in the hot summer, it can be refrigerated for a day. In the future, not to mention lychees, as long as it is fruits and vegetables from the south, they can be transported from Lingnan to the north intact." Meton reached out and a Mo Jiazi brother quickly pulled a special carriage to Xiao Rui.
Xiao Rui took a closer look and saw that the carriage was wrapped in a thick quilt.
"This is the refrigerated carriage. It won't be hot if it's wrapped in a quilt! How do you keep it warm? "Xiao Rui hasn't spoken yet and Princess Xiangyang said straightforwardly.
"Sister, you don't know why the quilt is warm. It's because the quilt makes the heat not easy to lose, which makes people feel warm. Mo Family wraps the refrigerated carriage with quilts, and with the help of Mo Family's insulation material, it can protect the door from extremely low temperature. My sister's ice cream shop often covers the ice with quilts so that the ice will not melt. "Princess Changle explained.
"As long as the ice cubes do not melt, the temperature in the refrigerated carriage will be extremely low, so that lychees will always be fresh." Xiao Rui's eyes brightened. Now saltpeter ice is quite popular in the Tang dynasty. With the help of the refrigerated carriage, I'm afraid that this lychee business is really promising.
"It's a pity that lychees are only two or three months old. I'm really a little reluctant." Princess Xiangyang said with some regret.
Meton laughed and said, "Sister Xiangyang, don't worry. In this younger brother's vision, Jiangnan will be used as the vegetable and fruit base of the Central Plains. Some fruits and vegetables that are not suitable for the season in the north can be planted in the south in the south. Once the brick road between the north and the south is built, and with the help of the refrigerated carriage, I'm afraid that the world will be full of fruits."
Xiao Rui's mind couldn't help but shake. He originally thought that this was a single lychee business, but he didn't expect it to be a vegetable and fruit business several times better than the lychee business.
For a long time, the Jiangnan area has superior conditions but has no place to work. However, with the blessing of Mo Family's Ink Technique, it emits a dazzling light. Even if Xiao Rui is familiar with poetry and books and is not good at business, he also knows that once the whole Jiangnan becomes the vegetable and fruit base of the north in autumn and winter, it will be of great benefit to Jiangnan.
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