My eunuch godfather

Chapter 74 Tulip Bubble

More and more funds flowed into the Danbagu market, pushing prices in Southern Zhili and Zhejiang to over one tael and five mace.

There's a saying, "Buy when prices are rising, not when they're falling," and the major salt merchants saw that Nanjing Jinyun's monopolistic purchasing was proving very effective.

They all spent more money to purchase tuna and exchanged it for a higher percentage of shares.

They also accepted Zhang Kun's offer to use the silver deposits of the Jin Yun ship as collateral to borrow 20 taels of silver.

At this point, the major salt merchants realized that Zhang Kun did not have 300,000 taels of silver at all, but only a few hundred thousand taels.

But now that things have come to this, no one would be so tactless as to bring it up again.

With more ammunition, Zhang Kun spent another 12 taels of silver and, in addition, purchased 20 catties of raw rice through a stock swap.

Besides Nanjing Jinyunhao, other merchants and even ordinary people were also continuously purchasing from Tambaku trading companies.

The combined efforts of several parties directly pushed up the price of raw bamboo shoots in Southern Zhili and Zhejiang to over two taels!

As early as when the price had risen to around 1.8 taels, Zhang Kun had instructed major salt merchants to gradually reduce their purchases.

Furthermore, they stopped using goods as equity and switched to using silver as equity.

Although Nanjing Jinyun reduced its purchases, only about 30 catties of raw bamboo shoots are still circulating in the market.

These are still raw mushrooms from Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, and other places, which are being continuously transported to Southern Zhili and Zhejiang due to the high prices.

Otherwise, the amount of tampons still circulating in the market will only decrease.

With new funds continuously entering the market, the price of tambak continues to rise, heading towards three ounces.

Film Garden.

Wang Wei has been forced to live in the film studio for more than a month, and she is constantly anxious and has become much thinner.

Zhang Kun, who said he wanted to hire her as a guide, was elusive and rarely seen, probably busy with that big project involving hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

She took the initiative to go to Zhang Kun several times, but he made various excuses to avoid meeting her.

Without Zhang Kun's approval, the Zheng family would not let Wang Wei leave, and she would be trapped in Yingyuan.

Facing Xu Fo, whom she had invited to Yangzhou, and her friend Yang Wan, Wang Wei wept bitterly, sobbing as she said:

"My sister is suffering terribly here, as if she's in prison..."

Xu Fo sneered inwardly, "What do you have to be dissatisfied with living in the Shadow Garden?"

My mother went to Yangzhou more than ten times, and even when she drank until midnight, the Zheng family would "invite" her out and find her another place to stay.

On the surface, she had to pretend to be a close sister, and frowned at Yang Wan beside her, saying:

"Wanruo, we haven't received a reply from Mr. Mao yet. Could you please help Xiuwei?"

Mao Yuanyi was the son of Mao Guojin, a secretary in the Ministry of Works in Nanjing. A few years ago, he took Yang Wan as his concubine.

This guy is very lustful and already has more than 30 concubines at home, so he doesn't really care that Yang Wan runs around everywhere.

Many gentry members of the time took famous courtesans as concubines, and after marriage, they were still allowed to appear in public and continue to be socialites.

"My husband has already replied to my sister."

Yang Wan shook her head and said to Wang Wei and Xu Fo:

"Now, the officials and ministers in Nanjing are all in a state of chaos because of this man's Jin Yunhao."

Several officials in the censorate wanted to submit a memorial to stop the matter, but they were stopped by the heads of the academy...

As a whole, Liudu certainly didn't want to see Nanjing Jinyunhao's large-scale monopolistic acquisition.

They caused chaos in Southern Zhili and Zhejiang, ultimately creating a huge mess.

However, when it comes to individuals, a considerable number of nobles and officials have already participated in the speculation and profiteering of Tambak.

If the Nanjing Jinyun ship were stopped at this point, all the money invested would be lost.

Moreover, stopping the Nanjing Jinyun ship could very well disrupt the tampons market and cause widespread chaos.

After all, one of the core benefits that led to the hype surrounding Danbagu was that Nanjing Jinyunhao intended to monopolize the market through acquisition.

Xu Fo wanted to meet Zhang Kun, this manipulative and cunning man, and suggested to Yang Wan:

"The only way now is for you and me to go and find this person and plead for Xiuwei."

Seeing Yang Wan nod in agreement, he then looked at Wang Wei and said, "Xiuwei, dress plainly and come with us to request an audience."

The three courtesans arrived at Zhang Kun's villa, and were not refused entry after only giving their names as Xu Fo and Yang Wan.

Upon entering the garden, Zhang Kun and a woman were drinking tea in the pavilion when Xu Fo stepped forward first.

After introducing herself, she said with a charming smile, "What fine tea is the Commander enjoying? May I have a cup?"

"This tea is called Tongmu Red, and it's produced in Tongmu Pass, Huyi Mountain, Fujian."

Zhang Kun reached for the teapot, poured tea for Xu Fo, and introduced him as follows:

"It has a sweet and smooth taste; it is a fine tea. I have bought a lot to take back to the capital to share with my relatives and friends."

In fact, Zhang Kun bought up almost all the black tea he could get his hands on, and even sent people to Tongmu Pass to purchase more.

After finishing his work on the Nanjing Jinyun ship and returning to the capital, he immediately began to replicate the promotion model of Danbagu.

Compared to lightly roasted rice, black tea is less profitable, but it also doesn't attract as many troublemakers.

Xu Fo picked up the cup, took a sip, and praised, "This tea is mellow without being astringent, and fragrant without being overpowering. It is indeed a fine tea."

Seeing that the woman sitting opposite Zhang Kun was drinking differently, he smiled and asked:

"I wonder what kind of tea this young lady is drinking?"

"It's also Paulownia Red, brewed together with Bergamot."

Zhang Kun pointed to the utensils beside him and continued to explain to Xu Fo, "It's made by adding milk and fine sugar."

Black tea isn't that profitable, but turning it into milk tea can still make a lot of money.

"May I ask who this young lady is?"

Yang Wan, who was standing nearby, couldn't hold back any longer and said to Zhang Kun:

"How could Lord Qianhu have ignored my Xiuwei family for over a month?"

"Yang Wanru, is it? Please don't misunderstand."

Zhang Kun pointed to Zhang Jingzhen and introduced her to Yang Wan with a smile:

"This is the daughter of the Duke of England; she is merely an acquaintance of mine."

The young lady is also traveling from the capital to Nanjing to visit her maternal uncle, the Earl of Pingjiang, and therefore she is traveling with me.

The three courtesans were struck dumb, frozen in place, unable to utter a word:

The other party was actually the daughter of the Duke of Yingguo, and the niece of the Earl of Pingjiang!?

The British Duke's Mansion was far away in the capital and had limited influence in Nanjing, but the Pingjiang Earl's Mansion was in Nanjing.

Moreover, Chen Qisi, the Earl of Pingjiang, is currently serving as the Coordinating Defender of Nanjing and holds real power!

As for the claim that they are "just close friends," who would believe such nonsense?

Yangzhou and Nanjing are separated by the river. If you really want to visit the Duke of Pingjiang, would you stay here for more than a month?

Wang Wei, who was hiding in the back, felt even more remorseful. She never expected that Zhang Kun, a fifth-rank commander, would have such a close relationship with the Duke of Ying's mansion.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. He was treated as an honored guest by the major salt merchants of Lianghuai and was able to stir up trouble in Southern Zhili and Zhejiang.

It's not surprising that such a person would be favored by the British Duke's Mansion.

No wonder I haven't seen myself all this time; it turns out someone's been keeping an eye on me!

"Oh, I see. I apologize for my rudeness, young lady!"

Yang Wan hurriedly apologized to Zhang Jingzhen, knowing that this would offend her, and that Mao Yuanyi would not protect her either.

Zhang Jingzhen ignored Yang Wan and turned to look at the flowers and plants in the garden.

Xu Fuqian, who was standing next to him, smiled and changed the subject:

"This garden has quite a few tulips from Ruian County, Zhejiang Province. I've heard they can also be used in medicine?"

Upon hearing the word "tulip," Zhang Kun paused for a moment, then turned to look at the flowers and plants in the garden. "These don't look like tulips at all."

Zhang Kun was unaware that this was not the tulip introduced in later generations, but rather turmeric, one of the "Eight Delicacies of Zhejiang".

Although tulips had not yet been introduced to the Netherlands, Zhang Kun had already stirred up a "tulip mania" in the Ming Dynasty!