Chapter 81

In the swaying cabin, Xia Qianfeng, who had just turned thirty, woke up from his sleep. He shook his slightly swollen head and reluctantly stood up to open the cabin door for a look. It turned out that it was still dark outside, and the heavy snow from two days ago had yet to melt, adding a touch of white to the distant scenery. The temperature was astonishingly low, but fortunately, Shuangyu Port was relatively far south, unlike the northern ports which would freeze in winter, otherwise the entire port would have been temporarily unusable.

Seeing that it was still dark, Xia Qianfeng returned to bed, but he tossed and turned, unable to fall back asleep. He had only slept for two hours after staying up until the third watch of the night. However, with matters on his mind, he couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

Xia Qianfeng was a merchant from Nanjing's Yingtian Prefecture. This time, he had transported a batch of silk to Shuangyu Port and sold it quickly. However, he couldn't return with an empty ship. According to his previous plan, he intended to purchase a batch of pepper to take back. He had already contacted the buyer, who had even paid a deposit. As long as the pepper could be transported back, he would immediately receive the remaining payment.

Xia Qianfeng originally thought he would quickly acquire the needed pepper, but unexpectedly, an accident occurred. Pepper was a specialty of the South Seas, and the trade in the South Seas was monopolized by the South Seas Chamber of Commerce, which had always provided the pepper. However, dozens of cargo ships from the South Seas Chamber of Commerce had set sail and never returned, leading to a shortage of pepper in Shuangyu Port. Xia Qianfeng had searched for nearly ten days throughout the port but still couldn't find anyone willing to sell pepper.

With the New Year approaching, if he didn't leave soon, he might not only miss the New Year but also exceed the agreed transaction time with the buyer. If he failed to purchase the pepper by then, the penalty for breach of contract would be a minor issue, but the key was his reputation. As the saying goes, "A promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold," especially in business. If his reputation was damaged by this deal, his family's business would be significantly affected, and even shrink. Each time he thought about this, Xia Qianfeng felt a headache.

Due to the lack of pepper, Xia Qianfeng was particularly anxious in bed. He finally managed to wait until the sky began to lighten in the east. He could no longer stay in the cabin, so he got dressed, went down to the ship, and had a quick breakfast at a breakfast stall in the port. Then, he hurriedly headed to the North Harbor Teahouse.

When Xia Qianfeng first arrived in Shuangyu Port, he spent every day at the North Harbor Teahouse. After all, the North Harbor was the stronghold of the South Seas Chamber of Commerce, so goods like pepper and spices were generally traded there. However, due to the incident with the South Seas Chamber of Commerce, Xia Qianfeng stayed at the North Harbor Teahouse for four or five days but still couldn't find anyone willing to sell pepper.

Disappointed with the North Harbor, Xia Qianfeng, harboring a glimmer of hope, went to the South Harbor Teahouse and the West Harbor Teahouse to try his luck. Unfortunately, no miracles occurred. After staying at the other two teahouses for a few days, he still came up empty-handed. So, early in the morning, he returned to the North Harbor Teahouse, hoping to find someone willing to sell pepper.

The North Harbor Teahouse always opened at dawn, and today was no exception. When Xia Qianfeng entered the teahouse, he found that many merchants were already sitting and drinking tea. He immediately found an empty table, sat down, and, as usual, placed a dish of pepper on the table to attract sellers.

However, not long after Xia Qianfeng sat down, he noticed that many merchants in the teahouse began to stir and look towards the counter at the back. Since Xia Qianfeng was facing away from the counter, he didn't know what they were looking at. Curious, he turned his head and saw that the layout of the teahouse had changed. On the wide wall next to the counter, several areas were marked with red paint, each labeled with words.

"Silk Area, Cotton Area, Porcelain Area..." Xia Qianfeng read the words on the wall aloud. He also noticed that several teahouse attendants were climbing ladders and pasting paper strips on the wall. The merchants in the teahouse, seeing this, quickly gathered under the wall to look up.

Intrigued by this unusual scene, Xia Qianfeng stood up and walked to the wall, looking up at what the attendants were pasting. To his surprise, each area on the wall contained commercial information. For example, in the cotton area, there were paper strips about two feet long and palm-wide, each containing information about a batch of cotton, such as its origin, price, and quantity, along with a unique number.

The number of such information strips in each area varied, but there were no more than thirty in any area, as the wall space was limited. Thirty strips were usually sufficient, and many less popular areas had far fewer. At this moment, almost all the merchants in the teahouse were gathered under the wall, pointing and discussing the information.

Xia Qianfeng, looking at the information on the wall and listening to the discussions around him, suddenly realized something but still had many questions. Just then, a teahouse attendant walked by, and he immediately grabbed the attendant and asked, "Brother, what's going on with this wall? How did such a big change happen in just a few days?"

The attendant, who had become accustomed to such questions over the past few days, immediately smiled and pointed towards the entrance, saying, "Sir, this wall can't be explained in just a few words. However, there's a notice on the screen by the entrance. You might not have noticed it when you came in, but I'm sure you'll understand if you take a look."

Xia Qianfeng followed the attendant's finger and indeed saw a screen by the entrance with something pasted on it. He had been so preoccupied with business matters that he hadn't noticed it before. After thanking the attendant, Xia Qianfeng quickly went to the screen and carefully read the notice. Only then did he finally understand what the wall was for.

The wall was called the "Goods List." It categorized the information about goods for sale by type. If a buyer found the information appealing, they could note the number before each piece of information and pay a small fee at the counter. The teahouse would then provide the seller's name and address and even help them contact each other. Unlike before, the teahouse would not take a commission once a deal was made, as the sellers had already paid to register their information, and the buyers had paid to obtain it.

Additionally, the notice stated that there was also a "Buyers' List" to complement the Goods List, which would publish information about goods that merchants needed to purchase. However, due to time and manpower constraints, only the Goods List was available for now, and the Buyers' List would be available in two days.

Understanding the purpose of the Goods List, Xia Qianfeng also checked the date on the notice and found that it had been posted yesterday. This meant that the Goods List had only been available since yesterday. Xia Qianfeng felt relieved; although he had missed one day, he still had a chance if someone was willing to sell pepper.

With this in mind, Xia Qianfeng quickly ran to the Goods List and began searching for information about pepper. Due to the loss of the South Seas Chamber of Commerce's fleet, South Seas goods were in high demand, and the Goods List even had a special "South Seas Area" listing information about South Seas goods.

Seeing the South Seas Area, Xia Qianfeng silently prayed, "Buddha, please protect me," and then began reading the information. As the saying goes, "Heaven does not betray the determined." He finally found a piece of information about selling pepper in the third-to-last entry. This made him overjoyed. He checked the price and quantity of the pepper and was both pleased and surprised. He was pleased that the quantity was sufficient to meet his needs, but the price was over 20% higher than before. If he bought it at this price, he would hardly make a profit even if he transported it back to Nanjing.

However, the pepper was crucial to his reputation, so he couldn't let it go even if it meant a loss. He immediately noted the number before the information and ran to the counter to pay a silver tael to get the seller's information. He then rushed to find the seller, as the counter manager had told him that two other merchants had already gone to see the seller. Although there was no news of a successful transaction yet, given the high demand for pepper, no one could guarantee when the batch would be sold.

Xia Qianfeng's luck was good. When he found the seller, the seller was negotiating with two other merchants who wanted to buy pepper. Xia Qianfeng immediately joined the negotiation and eventually bought the pepper at a price 30% higher than before. The price he would sell it for in Nanjing was about the same, and with the added transportation costs, he would even incur a loss. However, he was still happy because he had made a good profit from the silk he had brought, and he had maintained his reputation.

There were many merchants like Xia Qianfeng in Shuangyu Port, and the Goods List introduced by the North Harbor Teahouse quickly spread throughout the port, causing an unprecedented sensation!