The daily life of a concubine's daughter

Chapter 350: Purse Cutting

Jiang Miao touched the porcelain cup in his hand and suddenly felt it was hot.

This is porcelain from the official kiln. It is expensive, but it is certainly not worth as much as gold.

He blurted out: "This is a robbery!"

In addition to silk and porcelain, the Daxing Dynasty also had other good things. No wonder maritime trade continued despite repeated bans.

Shi Yao thought, no wonder the prices are getting higher and higher.

If silver and gold flow into the domestic market, how can prices not inflate?

Xie Jibai coughed lightly: "How can this be called robbery? This is called business, a fair trade. The sea is very dangerous. Some old captains and sailors who have been sailing for 10 to 20 years have failed and cannot return."

There are endless gold and silver mines overseas. That is other people's territory. It is ugly to just grab them. They don't call it robbing, they call it trading.

However, it is true that after each trade, boxes of gold and silver were moved to domestic ships - there was no other way, silk and porcelain were so profitable.

Due to the lack of a unique environment, foreigners cannot master this technology.

Shi Yao nodded. It was indeed very dangerous to travel on the sea. They should sell one pound of porcelain for one pound of gold.

However, the goods they brought in from the West would also be sold at sky-high prices. For example, diamonds and various gemstones, a small piece, could cost anywhere from a few dozen taels to a thousand taels of silver.

One can imagine how huge the profits are from the internal and external transactions.

Faced with such enormous wealth, Shi Yao couldn't help but be shaken.

If there is a chance, she will definitely get involved!

Jiang Miao could certainly think of what she could think of. He calmed down and asked, "I read in a book that some small countries can also make porcelain. Do they also have maritime trade?"

Xie Jibai nodded: "Yes. Northern Silla, Dongying, and the Southeast Sea Kingdom all imitated our dynasty to make porcelain, but their craftsmanship was not good, and the porcelain was rough, so they could not sell it at our price.

For example, the porcelain of our dynasty is light, crisp, thin, clear, delicate, and has rich glazes. It is translucent when exposed to light and has a crystal-clear feel. On the other hand, the porcelain of Japan is heavy, dull, thick, and dark in color. It becomes heavy in the hand after holding it for a long time, so the price is relatively low.

Shi Yao lowered her head and smiled.

Well, in her previous life, she had also bought Japanese-style porcelain, and it was exactly as Xie Jibai said.

Just by looking at the appearance, the difference is immediately apparent.

Jiang Miao asked: "What are you thinking about, cousin?"

Shi Yao raised her head and saw that both of them were staring at her, so she said seriously, "I was thinking that if the tea leaves could be stored for a longer time and sold to the West, it would be a huge fortune."

Xie Jibai smiled and said, "If someone can really figure out a way to store it, the tea merchants will definitely set up a longevity tablet for him and worship him three times a day."

Shi Yao thought that in the past life, tea was popular among European royal families and nobles. Later, a certain British country colonized India and planted tea trees like crazy.

In modern times, tea is still the main drink in formal occasions in China.

It can be seen that throughout history, the world's top-notch and oldest beverage, apart from wine, is tea.

Shi Yao's mind moved. She didn't know how to prolong the storage of tea for the time being, but she could make matcha pastries, which was also an idea to make money.

She looked at Xie Jibai with fiery eyes.

Xie Jibai nearly choked to death on a mouthful of tea. He covered his lips and coughed twice, then asked, "Why is the Second Miss looking at me like that?"

Shi Yao retracted her gaze and said with a smile, "Nothing, nothing, I was just wondering if the Xie family also does maritime business?"

She discovered another benefit of marrying Xie Jibai, that is, she can make money as she pleases!

Thinking back to the past, when her mother took her to set up a stall, the Shi family members tried to obstruct them in every way, fearing that they would bring shame to the official family.

She and her mother had been poor for more than ten years. They had a lot of ideas for small businesses, but they couldn't display their talents.

The former fifth sister-in-law, Qi Wan, ran a business with her dowry and even lost her title of lady, and her dowry was confiscated by the court.

Women were not allowed to take the imperial examinations, and wives of officials were not allowed to do business. Living in a large mansion, they could only deal with competing for favors and engaging in household intrigues as serious matters.

Xie Jibai's face flashed with sadness: "The Xie family once traveled by sea. My second uncle was wild and liked to travel all over the world.

One time, I personally led a boat trip and encountered a tornado halfway. We couldn't escape it. All five of the Xie family's boats sank, and only four of the other twenty or so boats survived. After that, my family only traveled by land, not by sea.

Most of the mineral materials I was looking for were entrusted to my close friends to bring back. These heavy materials are not convenient to transport by land, so it is more cost-effective to transport them by sea. "

Jiang Miao poured tea and said, "Thank you, brother. Please accept my condolences."

Xie Jibai laughed again: "It happened many years ago. I was not yet born at that time. I only often heard my grandfather mention my second uncle."

Shi Yao was thinking about tea, so she chased after Nanbei Tea to ask about it.

Xie Jibai always answered questions.

As they chatted, Jiang Miao couldn't stand it anymore. He felt more and more that he was redundant, so he yawned and said, "I'm going to deliver gifts to the various mansions early this morning. You two can chat while I go and take a rest."

After saying that, he stood up and went to the guest room in the outer courtyard.

Shi Yao and Xie Jibai were an unmarried couple, but they were afraid of being gossiped about, so Xie Jibai also stood up and said goodbye to Shi Yao.

Shi Yao sent them out of Ganlu Hall, turned back, and took a nap in the lady's warm room.

Hearing someone moving outside, she suddenly opened her eyes and asked dazedly, "Are the old man and the old lady awake?"

It was summer in May and the weather was hot and humid, so the cloth curtains in the warm room were replaced with bamboo curtains.

Banxia pushed aside the bamboo curtain, looked outside for a few times, turned back and said softly: "The old man has woken up, and the old lady is still sleeping."

Shi Yao put on her coat, reached for the purse at the bedside, and took out the seal inside. Under the seal was the word "Yao" engraved in running script.

"This seal can only be played with in private."

A girl’s maiden name should not be told to outsiders casually, and it should not be printed on external objects.

So, it's useless.

Shi Yao had no hobby of appreciating seals. They were not as beautiful as the flowers and plants in the yard outside. However, the seals were made of expensive bloodstone!

Judging from the quality, it is smooth and delicate, so it should be top quality and the price should be quite high.

Shi Yao carefully put away the seal, found a pair of scissors, and cut the purse into pieces.

Banxia was surprised and asked, "Girl, why are you cutting this? Be careful not to hurt your hands."

Who pissed her off? She took out her anger on the gift she gave to Mr. Xie.

Shi Yao said with embarrassment: "You embroidered this. Thank you for your dedication to me and for giving me his grandmother's jade pendant. I feel guilty for giving you this purse. It's not appropriate to give it back to you. After all, he used it. It's better to cut it clean."

Banxia chuckled and took the initiative to step forward and hugged the scraps of cloth together: "No wonder you used the sachet you embroidered to forcibly exchange it for Master Xie's purse."

Shi Yao put the scraps of cloth in her new purse to avoid any trouble if they were left here, and to use them as stuffing for the puppet when she got back.

After destroying the corpse and covering up all the evidence, Shi Yao finally regained consciousness and caught up with the old Duke in the yard, "Grandfather!"

The old Duke turned around and asked with a smile, "Are you awake? I don't know who the Xie family asked to get a batch of sea duck eggs from the south. The salted duck eggs we ate at noon are these. They are quite different from the salted duck eggs in the capital. Each one is oily. Your grandmother asked someone to send a basket to Guanju Courtyard. You and your mother can try them tonight."