freenovelworld Chapter 124 Bloody BMW
Chapter 124 Bloody BMW
Although the foreign merchants didn't take the auction seriously, the items they brought were truly dazzling. Qi Lusheng didn't rely on his servants, but personally carried them upstairs one by one. These items included jade, gold, silver, jewelry, medicines, products made from exotic birds and animals, spices, furs, seeds, and other commodities.
After everything was moved, Qi Lusheng wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and said to Su Qin, "I roughly estimated that compared to going to foreigners to exchange items one by one, the profit from this auction is actually three or four times higher! When are we going to hold another auction to sell these things? I have many friends who are interested in these things, and I don't need to find anyone else. I can gather a lot of people to come."
Su Qin said as she rummaged through the items, "Don't worry. These things can't be sold so carelessly. They need to be carefully processed and packaged."
Now it was Mr. Zeng's turn to be curious: "Why is this?"
Su Qin explained affably, "You see, these items are either semi-finished or in their original form. Selling them directly would not only be difficult to raise, but would also easily alert those with ulterior motives to our ongoing business dealings with foreigners. If someone were to imitate us and hold an auction to drive down the price, we'd be forced to respond, which would be of no benefit to us."
Look, Grandpa, this huge piece of white jade, as smooth as jade, transparent and flawless, is truly a rare treasure. However, if such a piece of raw stone is sold directly, its price will certainly not be as high as the price of a finished product carved by a master sculptor.
"Look at those gemstones again. Although they are beautiful after simple polishing and various shapes, if they were made into exquisite jewelry, they would surely attract the attention of those ladies even more. In this way, it would be difficult for others to trace the source of our raw materials. After all, what jewelry store sells jade and gemstones that are not brought in by foreigners?"
Qi Lusheng's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief and sincere admiration. His fiery gaze was fixed on Su Qin, as if she was not a mortal but a god descended from the sky!
"Miss Su, I really admire you! How come you are so smart? You've mastered the art of business to perfection! You're a natural born business genius. If all of our Qi family's businesses were in your hands, you'd be raking in millions of dollars and making a killing!"
As Qi Lusheng spoke, he couldn't help rubbing his hands, his eyes full of desire and expectation.
Old Master Zeng, standing by, rolled his eyes at him and said unhappily, "Hmph! You're dreaming! You're actually dreaming of having my precious granddaughter work for you for free? No way! If you have such thoughts, you should put in more effort and learn how to manage your own business! Stop relying on others all day long!"
Hearing this, Qi Lusheng instantly became like a deflated ball, his head hanging down, his face full of grievance. He muttered to himself, "I was just saying that. I didn't really want Miss Su to work for me for nothing..."
However, he only dared to think about these words in his heart, but did not dare to say them in front of Mr. Zeng.
Seeing his drooping face, Su Qin smiled and comforted him, "I'm not that amazing. I just understand women's minds better. Showing them the raw stone is definitely not as convincing as showing them the finished product. I just came up with an idea. If you want it to come true, it all depends on Master Qi."
When Qi Lusheng heard that there was something he could do, he immediately asked, "Just tell me what I can do."
Su Qin: "If these are to be made into finished products, Master Qi will need to find some reliable craftsmen with superb skills. After all, no matter how good the product is, it will not work if the craftsmanship is poor."
Upon hearing this, Qi Lusheng immediately patted his chest and promised, "I'll take care of this matter. My family owns jewelry and jade shops, and the craftsmen I employ are very skilled."
Su Qin said in surprise, "It's true that it's good to lean on a big tree for shade. If it weren't for the Marquis of Wu'an Mansion, I would definitely not be able to do it on my own."
Qi Lusheng felt a surge of pride. "I'll go back to my mother. She manages these shops. She's definitely more familiar with the people there. There's absolutely no problem handing it over to her."
Su Qin: "We'll go back with you. I want to meet those craftsmen. I need to exchange some ideas."
Qi Lusheng immediately smiled happily: "Great, my mother has wanted to meet you since she heard about you."
Su Qin also wanted to meet the wife of Marquis Wuning. Jewelry and other things were sold to the women in the harem. The ladies and young ladies that Marquis Wuning came into contact with were all of high status. She was more familiar with their preferences. If she gave some suggestions, the jewelry she made would definitely be attractive.
After they packed up their things and returned to the city, Su Qin did not go directly to the Wuning Marquis Mansion. Instead, she discussed with Qi Lusheng and decided to find an opportunity when her mother went to inspect the shop. She would pretend to go to the shop to buy jewelry, and then the two of them would hit it off and talk in the shop.
Things cannot be rushed and we have to wait for a few days. Zhao Liangchen has not returned in these days. He has just been appointed as the deputy commander of the imperial guards and is very busy. Jin Tong is dissatisfied with Zhao Liangchen's actions and thinks that he is unscrupulous in order to climb up, so he says that he has just taken office and needs to be familiar with the situation, so he leaves all the things to him and becomes a hands-off boss.
There were also many people in the imperial guards who had opinions about Zhao Liangchen, especially his former colleagues who had the same official position as him, but now became his subordinates in the blink of an eye. How could they possibly accept this? Therefore, many of them privately tried to trip up Zhao Liangchen.
It would take a lot of effort for Zhao Liangchen to gain a foothold in the imperial guards, so he had no time to go home.
However, he did not completely ignore Su Qin's affairs. He instructed Zou Tai to visit Mr. Zeng from time to time and asked Zou Tai to pass messages back and forth.
Su Qin wrote a letter to Zhao Liangchen, telling him in detail about the auction, mainly talking about how the porcelain given by the emperor was handled, and asked him to explain it to the emperor.
Those foreign merchants were indeed unwilling to give up and contacted Qi Lusheng many times, wanting what he had. Among them were many other foreigners who received the letter. One of them even took out two Ferghana horses, which were rare treasures. Qi Lusheng decisively exchanged them for three pieces of porcelain.
Su Qin explained all these to Zhao Liangchen. Zou Tai gave the letter to Zhao Liangchen. After reading it, Zhao Liangchen wrote another letter asking Zou Tai to be the concubine of the emperor when he entered the palace to serve.
The emperor had indeed been waiting for the letter. He had been anxiously waiting since he asked Zhao Liangchen to take the porcelain out of the palace. He was afraid that the matter would be exposed and he would be embarrassed, and he was also afraid that he would not be able to exchange the things for much silver, and that the things passed down from his ancestors would be wasted in vain.
He had tried many times before to find Zhao Liangchen to inquire, but Zhao Liangchen was always in the military camp and could not be seen. He was afraid of arousing other people's suspicion if he rashly summoned him to the palace. Just when he was scratching his head and waiting, he finally received the letter from Zou Tai.
As soon as he received the letter, he couldn't wait to open it and read it. Zhao Liangchen's letter was not as detailed as Su Qin's. His was very concise. He first said that not all the porcelain had been sold. The emperor was very disappointed after reading it, thinking that this plan would not work. However, before he could calm down, he was shocked by the next sentence and jumped in surprise: "Ferghana horses? Two horses? Three useless pieces of porcelain were exchanged for two Ferghana horses?"
He read the sentence over and over again in disbelief, and still looked up at Zou Tai as if he still didn't believe it: "Did Zhao Liangchen really exchange for two Ferghana horses?"
Zou Tai was a little dumbfounded: "Ah? I don't know."