“It wasn’t easy for me to bring these goods back from overseas. Ten silver dollars each. If it works out, great. If not, I’ll go find someone else.” Niu Bi turned and left.
He had already checked; there were more than ten smaller shops than Kun Kee on this street, so he wasn't worried about selling his goods.
"Mr. Niu, nine silver dollars apiece, that's my bottom line. You have to let me make a little profit, right?!" Manager Yan called out from behind. There were more than ten shops on this street. If he didn't accept it, Mr. Niu would definitely go to another shop.
In this way, the name of the largest and most comprehensive merchant guild on this street would be undeserved.
Furthermore, County Chief Zhang and Brigade Commander Chen have sent people to inquire several times. If they still can't find lighters, things could get complicated.
"Okay, nine yuan it is!"
Niu Bi calculated that 9 yuan each would be about right.
"Then it's settled."
Shopkeeper Yan's face lit up with joy. He picked up his abacus, swiped it around for a while, and looked up to say, "One hundred lighters, nine silver dollars each, totaling nine hundred silver dollars. That's 25 small gold bars, plus an additional 25 silver dollars."
"good."
Niu Bi nodded. Before coming, he had specifically searched on Baidu and found that in the 1920s and 1930s, a gold bar was worth about 30 to 40 silver dollars, which was a reasonable exchange rate.
Not counting the 25 silver dollars, just the 25 gold bars, each equivalent to 31.25 grams according to the old system of the Republic of China, totaling 781.25 grams, would be worth 276.75 yuan per gram in the current market. Wouldn't that be worth one or two hundred thousand yuan?
"By the way, Manager Yan, can we trade in gold bars?"
Niu Bi wanted to make money to improve his life in the real world. Dollars were unusable in reality, but gold bars were always a hard currency, and he could easily exchange them for RMB at a gold shop.
"Okay, but you'll have to wait a little while."
After finishing speaking, Manager Yan called over the accountant and asked him to fetch the gold bars.
While waiting for the shopkeeper, Niu Bi and Shopkeeper Yan chatted about all sorts of things.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. “Manager Yan, I travel between the West and China, and this is the business I do. If you want some, I’ll bring more directly to you next time.”
He said that with a purpose.
Who knows if Manager Yan might have bad intentions?
After all, this was during the MG's period of fragmentation, which was far from peaceful.
Of course, Niu Bi said one thing, but after this job, he definitely wouldn't come back.
"Great, great, that's wonderful!"
Shopkeeper Yan was overjoyed upon hearing this. "I look forward to Mr. Niu's next visit!"
Although we earned less, it would be good if we could cooperate in the long term.
"Shopkeeper, everything is ready."
A short while later, the accountant came in carrying a small bag, which Manager Yan took and handed to Niu Bi. "Mr. Niu, please check it."
"Having a portal is awesome! Making money this way is incredibly lucrative!"
Niu Bi took the heavy bag, his heart pounding with excitement. When he opened it, a golden light dazzled his eyes.
Gold bars? He'd never seen one before in his entire life.
Niu Bi took out two small gold bars and rubbed them together. Seeing the marks, he put them away with peace of mind.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you!"
Niu Bi shook hands with Manager Yan, then slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out of Kunji. "Manager Yan, when the next batch of goods arrives, I'll come directly to your shop!"
"good!"
Manager Yan waved from behind. "Mr. Niu, if you have any other imported goods, you can come to me, such as bicycles, foreign watches... I'll buy anything that's foreign!"
"must!"
Niu Bi had a sudden inspiration: bicycles, foreign watches—he could have those too.
Of course, I won't hire this Manager Yan next time.
He knew how to fire a shot and then move on to another location.
"Manager, shall we eat this Mr. Niu?" The accountant asked as he watched Niu Bi leave.
“Foreign goods are in high demand now, and it’s hard to find connections. This Mr. Niu has connections with foreign goods, so let’s keep him around for a while!” Manager Yan looked in the direction Niu Bi left, pondered for a moment, and shook his head.
Twenty-five gold bars is no small sum. Normally, he would have cheated him out of it, but this time, for the sake of long-term cooperation, all that's needed is to find out about Mr. Niu's background.
"Yes, shopkeeper!"
......
Niu Bi wandered through the maze of streets, unaware that someone was watching him.
Zhang Wangcai pulled a rickshaw in the Dongchang Road area, but he rarely carried passengers; pulling the rickshaw was just a cover.
Because of his quick wit, he would specifically stake out wealthy customers outside large trading companies and then follow them to rob them.
Over the past ten years, he has gained a great deal and developed an extraordinary eye and tracking skill.
He never made a mistake thanks to his exceptional skills.
Today, he happened to be staking out not far from Kunji when he spotted Niu Bi carrying a package out of there; the package was very heavy.