301 Sincerity
Yue Jiaojiao pointed at Zhao Zhan and said, “If you want to talk about business, it’s best to talk to my husband. You’ve been traveling far and wide, so it’s possible that you won’t know how to speak the official language here.” After Yue Jiaojiao finished speaking, she changed to the official language and looked at the other party with clear eyes. “Since you want to do business sincerely, why don’t you be more honest with all of us here?”
“Hahaha!”
Wagler laughed out loud. When he opened his mouth again, he spoke in a rather awkward formal tone. “You’re quite interesting. You’re different from the other women I’ve met. Although you look thinner and weaker than them, you have a strong soul. I’m more than willing to do business with you.”
“Since you’re here to do business, then please allow my husband to take over from here.”
Wagler looked at Zhao Zhan, “You’re not bad either. However, you should note that the other people in your workshop don’t have your strong mental fortitude. You should work on that.”
“It’s not just from that. They just value human lives,” Zhao Zhan said in a neutral tone. “Just now, your companion had an allergic reaction to chili. They were just worried that he would be in danger.”
Wagler spread out his hands. “If you insist, I shall underestimate your kindness. Let us settle down and get down to business, shall we?” Wagler looked around the room. “To be honest, I’ve had business deals with Shang before. He was the one who introduced me to this place. “I’m going to bring this business of yours to the northern desert first, and then turn back to the western regions.”
“Give us a moment.”
Zhao Zhan asked Yang Lizheng to lead his men to carry away the westerner with the allergic reaction. Then, he lowered his eyes and looked at Yue Jiaojiao. “Are you going to wait for me at home or stay here with me?”
“I’m going to head home first. “Yue Jiaojiao squeezed his hand. “I’ll get Madam Qin to bring you dinner later.”
The room was crowded with seven or eight westerners standing inside.
Moreover, this group of people had ragged clothes. They were travel-worn and liked to smoke, so they carried a pungent scent with them.
Yue Jiaojiao felt that she would have difficulty breathing staying in the same room as them so she insisted on going back first.
Zhao Zhan sent her out of the workshop first before attending to the westerners. He watched her back disappear from his sight before returning to his room.
“It seems like you can’t bear to leave your wife even for a second,” Wagler mocked Zhao Zhan in his own official language.
“It’s true,” Zhao Zhan admitted with a smile. “I understand the pain of a man like you, who has been doing business outside all year round, without a wife by your side.”
“They’re just women. We have silver in our pockets, we have more than enough.”
“Wagler, we’re talking about business, not women,” Zhao Zhan had been influenced by Yue Jiaojiao and had learnt to be respectful towards women. He didn’t want to bring them out and discuss them as if they were objects.
“What type of business are you here for?”
“I want everything…” Wagler didn’t know how to say this. He flicked his sleeve and skipped the topic.
“Except for the beans.
“Have you heard of the cunning fox story? It’s just the right way to describe Shang. He wants us to fight so that he can take advantage of my business. There is no way I’m going to let him have his way.
“Zhao Zhan, why don’t we work together? I have a big business in Bei City. If you’re willing to join hands, I think we can have a hand in that business in Bei City.”
Of the six servants who had signed a death contract in Huai County, Zhao Zhan picked a few and brought them with him. He found two clever ones.
He was now guarding Willow Village and handing Huai County over to Fang Tianliu. Other than that, he wanted to explore other places. What he lacked was useful people.
Now that there was someone he could use, he could take advantage of the situation and have the upper hand.
Zhao Zhan had long wanted to resolve the matter with the Lin family in Bei City, but he had never found the right opportunity.
“Wagler, there are also people in Bei City who do business with me. Have you ever dealt with the Lin family in Bei City before?”
Zhao Zhan didn’t hesitate to ask what needed to be asked.
Wagler’s face was filled with ridicule.
“The Lin family? When I passed by Bei City two years ago, the Lin family was begging to partner with me. I heard that the Lin family made a fortune last year and picked up their business in Bei City.
“I hate people like the Lin family the most. They’re just like us, people who rely on doing business to live a good life, but they still want to put on the status of scholars. Most people from around here have this common problem.
“I was doing a good job of making money, but they made me unhappy.”
Zhao Zhan had been trying to capture the key information in Wagler’s words.
The Lin family’s windfall must have been the dowry from the Yue family in Yang City last year.
He had to find a way to get back something that belonged to her.
Zhao Zhan suppressed his thoughts and looked at Wagler with a calm expression. “How do you want me to work with you?”
“To be honest, I want to buy something special from you in addition to the things you produce in your workshop.
Zhao Zhan’s eyebrows raised slightly.
“And what would that be?”
“The recipe for making brine. Zhao Zhan, I think you should know that soybeans are not only found here. Us westerners also have them.
“But my hometown is not as rich in resources as yours, where there are all kinds of delicious food to enjoy.
“I want the recipe because I want to add another delicacy to my hometown.”
Wagler stood up and placed his right hand on his left shoulder. He lowered his head and said, “Please consider this collaboration with a good heart.”
Zhao Zhan’s expression turned serious.
It was unrealistic to transport the brine to them, but sharing the recipe would not be as hard.
“I know the importance of the recipe, but as long as you can offer me a price, I can pay you the money.” Wagler sat back down. “To show my sincerity, I’m willing to buy five hundred kilograms of each of the ingredients in your workshop, except for the beans. As for the joining fee, I’ve already paid it when I was in Huai County. This is the token I received there.”
Zhao Zhan took the sign and looked at it carefully before handing it back. “I can’t deliver everything to you right now. My workshop doesn’t have much in stock, so I can only give you half of each amount. If you want it, you can get it in ten days.”
Apart from the seasoning, which could be made on the spot, everything else required time.
“Two hundred and fifty kilograms it shall be then. I’ll come back in ten days. I hope to hear the good news about my proposal.
“Right, may I know where you placed one of my men?”
Wagler wanted to take his leave, so Zhao Zhan brought him to the workshop’s temporary resting area.
The allergic westerner had already recovered quite a bit. Doctor Sun gave him a prescription and had him leave with Wagler and the others.
“Doctor Sun,” Zhao Zhan called for him after seeing that Wagler and the others had left. “How’s Yang Dashan doing?”