Chapter 965
The food on the road is not as good as in the city
“Deacon Lu came back yesterday and said that your batch of goods was of good quality. I had someone check it again this morning, and the whole hides and tendons are indeed worth buying.” He paused, “But he also said that you don’t just want to sell this batch of goods.”
Zheng Yi nodded: "Yes."
"So what do you want to do?"
Straightforward, indeed straight.
Zheng Yi didn't rush to deliver his prepared remarks. Instead, he asked a question in return: "Manager Meng, why do you think the business of goods from the North has never been able to grow significantly in the past?"
Manager Meng glanced at him, seemingly not expecting him to ask a question first.
"Disperse." He only said one word.
“Yes,” Zheng Yi said. “It’s scattered at both ends. In the north, it’s scattered—today this tribe brings a few hides, tomorrow that hunter brings half a bag of bones, and no one can gather a decent shipment. In the south, it’s scattered too—the merchants who come are all kinds of people, and the big merchants want to buy but can’t find anyone who can supply them reliably.”
Manager Meng didn't respond, but he didn't interrupt either.
Zheng Yi knew that they were waiting for him to say the most important sentence.
"What I want to do is to connect the northern regions first," Zheng Yi said. "Several tribes will process their hides, bones, tendons, and herbs according to the same standards, and ship them out via the same route, making at least two trips a year. The quantity may not be huge all at once, but it will be stable."
As soon as the word "steady" was uttered, Manager Meng paused slightly in his tea-serving hand.
Steward Lu glanced at Zheng Yi discreetly from the side—he remembered that he had said yesterday that "stability" was what Shenghe valued most.
Manager Meng put down his teacup and asked a more direct question this time.
How many movies have you watched?
“Currently, there are three: Black Anvil, Firefly, and the Cold Feather tribe, which is located further north. Together, these three tribes can produce more than forty hunters who can handle whole hides and about ten experienced hunters who can process bones and tendons.”
"Can three companies really support two trips a year?"
“It’s not enough now, but if this road is opened up, more tribes will want to join in,” Zheng Yi said. “The North doesn’t lack goods; what it lacks is a road to turn those goods into products.”
Manager Meng finally leaned back in his chair.
This is the first action he's taken since he entered the room that looks like he's "thinking".
The inner hall was quiet for a few moments.
Deacon Lu stood to the side with his hands at his sides, not interrupting. Wu Chen sat next to Zheng Yi, his palms already slightly sweaty, but he remembered Zheng Yi's words—don't rush to speak.
Manager Meng thought for a moment, then suddenly turned his gaze to Wu Chen.
"Are you from the Kuro-Nagani clan?"
Wu Chen was taken aback, not expecting the other party to ask him directly.
"Yes."
"How many wolf pelts did your department take from this shipment?"
Wu calmed himself down and said, "Eleven whole leathers were produced, and Shenghe collected eight. The other three leathers have an old wound, and they were taken from the scattered route over Wanping's side."
Manager Meng raised an eyebrow slightly.
He asked, "How much did you hunt?" Wu Chen replied, "How much did you sell?", "Where did you buy it?", and "Where did you not buy it?", explaining the reasons clearly. This shows that this person didn't just know how to hunt, but actually went through the entire trading process.
"Do you think the price Shenghe offered you was fair or not?"
This question is even more tricky than the previous one.
To say something is fair seems unconvincing; to say something is unfair seems like someone looking for trouble.
Wu Chen remained silent for two breaths, then said, "Fair. But not for free."
Manager Meng narrowed his eyes slightly: "What do you mean?"
“When the master craftsman inspects the goods, he points out clearly what’s good and what’s bad about each piece of leather. Good leather gets a good price, and inferior leather gets a lower price. He doesn’t cheat us, but he doesn’t overpay us either,” Wu Chen said. “I think that’s fair. If you want a higher price, you have to process the leather better.”
These words were spoken neither humbly nor arrogantly, and even Deacon Lu nodded slightly in agreement.
Manager Meng glanced at Wu Chen for two breaths, then turned to Zheng Yi.
"You have a good eye for people; the people you bring with you aren't stupid."
Zheng Yi smiled and said, "It's not that I'm picky, it's just that there's no shortage of knowledgeable people in the North, it's just that no one used to take them out to see the way."
Manager Meng did not respond to the flattery, but instead steered the conversation back to the main topic.
“You said you want to establish a long-term supply relationship, so I have three questions for you.”
"Please ask."
"First, how do you guarantee that the quality of each batch of goods will not vary too much?"
Zheng Yi had clearly thought about this issue long ago.
"Set standards. How to peel, shave, and tan the skin; how to remove and dry the bones; how to remove and stretch the tendons—all these are set into a few rigid rules. Whoever's goods meet the standards will get more; whoever produces substandard goods will have money deducted the first time and will be eliminated the second time."
Who decides?
“I’ll find someone to finalize it,” Zheng Yi said. “Bone Granny understands medicine and bones, Wu Chen understands leather, and Yan Ao understands hunting. Let’s combine the three and finalize what we can first, and then we can fill in the rest later.”
Shopkeeper Meng didn't offer any comment, but continued, "Secondly, what if something happens on the way and the goods are damaged? How will you compensate us?"
This problem is even more severe than the first one.
Zheng Yi did not answer immediately, but thought about it seriously for a moment.
"I can't afford to pay for it." He finally told the truth. "With our current financial situation, if the whole shipment is lost, I don't have the money to compensate for it."
Deacon Lu's brow twitched slightly—how dare they say such things so bluntly?
But Zheng Yi continued, "So I won't let the goods get stuck on the way. I'll scout out the route before we leave, and I'll choose the most reliable people to escort the goods, avoiding any risky routes if possible. If Shenghe is willing to cooperate long-term, I have another request—please help look after one floor in Biancheng, so the goods don't get stuck at the entrance to Beining."
Manager Meng remained expressionless, but he didn't say, "This doesn't count as an answer."
He asked a third question.
"With these three departments working together, who is in charge?"
Upon asking this question, Wu Chen subconsciously glanced at Zheng Yi.
Zheng Yi also fell silent.
The question isn't "Do you have the final say?" but rather "Who do you turn to when something goes wrong? Who makes the final decision when there are disagreements? And who gets the lion's share once things are resolved?"
Zheng Yi remained silent for three breaths before saying, "I'm currently in charge because I know the roads, people, and rules of the South best. But if someone from the North can take over in the future, I don't mind letting them."
Manager Meng stared at him for a long time.
So long that it felt as if the air itself had solidified.
Finally, Manager Meng spoke, not to Zheng Yi, but to Steward Lu.
"Give them a trial run. A quarter's worth, at today's price plus 50%. We'll see if we can continue after the next batch arrives."
Deacon Lu immediately responded.
Zheng Yi felt a sense of relief, but he didn't show it on his face.
He knew that a "trial run" wasn't a long-term partnership, but it was the safest option a large firm like Shenghe could offer. If the next batch of goods was successful, they could continue; if it failed, Shenghe wouldn't lose too much.
This is already better than the best outcome he had hoped for.
Once outside the gates of Shenghe, Wu Chen finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"My back was covered in sweat when I asked those three questions just now."
Zheng Yi smiled and said, "Me too."
Wu Chen was taken aback and glanced at him.
He thought Zheng Yi had been very steady from beginning to end.
"I prepared for the first two questions, but the third..." Zheng Yi paused, "I didn't expect him to ask the third one so directly." "What did you answer?"
"To be honest," Zheng Yi said, "I am indeed in charge now, but if someone can take over in the future, I don't mind letting them. I'm saying this to him, and also to you."
Wu Chen paused slightly in his steps.
"What do you mean?"
"It means that you, Red Fang, Flame Hound, or even Bone Woman, any of them could potentially stand on their own in the future," Zheng Yi said. "This path isn't just mine alone. I can't go far by myself."
Wu Chen remained silent for a while without replying, but his steps were lighter than when he arrived.
As the two walked back, they saw Chi Ya squatting at the entrance when they were almost at the freight yard. He was holding a piece of bread and glancing at them while munching on it.
Seeing them return, Chiya immediately stood up and ran over in a few steps.
"So, how was it? Was that head manager fierce?"
"It's not considered fierce," Zheng Yi said.
"Did the deal go through?"
"Test the waters for one season."
Chiya didn't quite understand what "trial run" meant, but judging from Zheng Yi and Wu Chen's expressions, he knew it was a good thing. He stuffed the last bite of biscuit into his mouth and mumbled, "So, can we exchange more things to take back?"
Zheng Yi looked at him and suddenly smiled.
"can."
Chiya immediately grinned, a smile utterly innocent, like a ray of sunlight suddenly piercing through the northern winter.
Wu Chen looked at Chi Ya's smile and recalled Zheng Yi's words earlier, "If someone can take over in the future, I don't mind letting them."
He suddenly realized that this path might not be as simple as just changing a few pieces of cloth or a few pots.
In the afternoon, Zheng Yi explained the terms that Shenghe had negotiated to all the people from the tribes.
"Try it out for one season, and the price will increase by half a percent. If the quality of the next batch of goods is not bad, we can continue."
Yan'ao sat in the corner, and after listening, remained silent for a long while before asking, "Adding half a percent... how much is that?"
Zheng Yi read out the numbers.
Yan'ao's eyes slowly widened a little.
"so much?"
"The premise is that the next batch of goods won't be of lower quality," Zheng Yi said. "And it has to be done according to their inspection standards. You can't just peel off the skin, cut the bones, or pull out the tendons. When we get back, we need to make the rules clear."
This time, the Flame Hound didn't snort, but nodded seriously.
Red Fang chimed in from the side, "So when are we leaving?"
"Let's stay one more day, buy everything we need, and settle all the bills," Zheng Yi said. "We'll leave early the day after tomorrow."
"So soon?" Chiya was a little reluctant.
"Fast?" Yan Ao glared at him. "You've been out there for days, and you've almost forgotten your own name?"
Red Fang shrank back, not daring to retort, but muttered under his breath, "I never had a surname like that anyway..."
Everyone laughed.
Zheng Yi smiled and shook his head, but he was thinking about something else.
Manager Meng's three questions, especially the third one—"Who is in charge?"—stuck in his mind like a thorn.
He knew that just because he answered correctly this time didn't mean he could answer correctly next time.
Shenghe was willing to try it out for a season, not just to see the goods, but also to see if he was a reliable person.
If he fails to consolidate relations with the North and make cooperation among the three departments smoother when the next batch of goods arrives, then this "trial run" will truly be just a one-off attempt.
The journey back from Bac Ninh to Bac Di was slower than the journey there.
It wasn't because the road was difficult, but because they were carrying too much stuff. Cloth, cotton-padded coats, iron pots, needles and thread, spices, salt, knives, copper buttons, medicine pots, children's undershirts... bundle after bundle were piled on the backs of the pack animals, making the whole caravan look like a slow-moving worm.
Chiya would look back almost every half hour, afraid that some bundle of cloth might slip off the back of the pack animal.
"Stop looking behind you, watch the road." Yan'ao walked beside him, his tone impatient, but he couldn't help but glance in the direction of the pack caravan himself.
Wu Chen walked at the front, occasionally glancing back at Zheng Yi.
Zheng Yi rode on the last pack animal, clutching a roll of coarse paper he had bought in Beining City, densely covered with various figures from the transaction. He had been looking at it and calculating the whole way, his brow furrowing and relaxing at times.
"What's written on that paper? Can you read it all the way?" Wu Chen finally couldn't help but ask.
Zheng Yi looked up: "It's about what to prepare for the next batch of goods."
What should we prepare?
"We need more whole skins, cleaner tendons, and finer bones. Shenghe specifically requested a few things, but we didn't bring enough this time. We'll have to prepare more next time." Zheng Yi paused, then added, "There's one more thing we didn't bring at all this time."
"what?"
"accessories."
Wu Chen frowned: "What kind of jewelry?"
“Bone ornaments, ivory ornaments, horn ornaments. The kind you wear on your body,” Zheng Yi said. “When I was wandering around Beining City, I saw merchants from the south selling these things. The materials were ordinary, the workmanship wasn’t very good, but the prices weren’t low. I thought to myself, our bones and ivory in the north are much better than theirs, why can’t we make them ourselves?”
Wu Chen remained silent.
He felt the idea was a bit far-fetched. People in the tribe used bones and teeth to make things, either practical objects or symbols of ritual and status; no one ever thought of making them to "sell."
But Zheng Yi's accomplishments along the way have made Wu Chen hesitant to say "no" so easily.
By the time we returned to the tribe, it was already dark.
Bone Granny stood at the edge of the camp, leaning on her crooked wooden staff, watching the caravan emerge from the snow in the distance.
She didn't go to greet them; she just stood there and waited for the group to slowly approach.
Red Fang was the first to rush over, almost pouncing on Bone Woman.
"Grandma! We brought so much stuff! We have cloth, pots, salt, spices, and I even ate some flatbread dipped in meat gravy—it was so delicious!"
The old woman frowned at his noise and gently tapped his leg with her wooden cane.
"Keep your voice down, I'm not deaf."
Red Fang chuckled and stepped aside.
The Bone Woman's gaze passed over him and landed on the pack caravan behind them. Bundles of cloth and miscellaneous items were piled up like small mountains in the twilight, and people from several tribes had already gathered around, reaching out to touch the things they had never seen before, letting out low gasps.
The Bone Woman then looked at Zheng Yi.
Zheng Yi climbed off the pack animal, walked up to her, and took out the roll of coarse paper from his pocket.
"This trip went relatively smoothly."
The old woman didn't take the paper; she just looked him up and down.
"you lost weight."
"The food on the road is not as good as in the city."
"You eat well in the city, yet you've lost weight?" The old woman snorted. "It's clear that what's good isn't truly good."
Zheng Yi smiled and didn't argue.
The old woman asked again, "Have all the goods been replaced?"
"It's all done. Twenty percent more than expected." (End of Chapter)