Santaro looked at the group of people outside the door, feeling a little nervous and a little excited.

He witnessed what happened on the dock this morning with his own eyes.

The King of Chu of the Tang Dynasty came, and the news spread throughout the ports of Japan in the shortest possible time.

This is an opportunity!

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Before Li Kuan and his entourage entered the shop, he took the initiative to greet them, "This noble man, what do you want to buy?"

Li Kuan glanced at the furnishings in the shop, "Let's take a look at what you have here first."

"My lord, when you arrive in Nambazu, it's a good idea for you to come to my store, Santaro. I'm not boasting. The goods are more complete than mine, but the price is not as favorable as mine; the price is more favorable than mine, and the quality is not as good as mine. You see, it's like this

Abalone is produced in the Ezo region in the north, and there is absolutely no one that is better than this."

"Santaro? You speak Chinese quite well. Who did you learn it from?"

Li Kuan did not comment on Santaro's self-proclaimed behavior.

However, abalone is the best from Hokkaido, which is now Ezo. This information is consistent with what Li Kuan knew, which invisibly increases the credibility of Santaro's words.

"My lord, I learned Chinese from an eminent monk who traveled east to Namba. When you look northwest from the pier, there is a hillside where Prince Shotoku built Shitennoji. That eminent monk is from Shitennoji.

"

"You still sell ginseng?"

"Yes, there are businessmen from Baekje occasionally, and I have some regular cooperation with them."

"I didn't expect you to actually know how to do trading business. Your shop is quite big? Why don't you see any porcelain for sale?" Li Kuan walked around the shop and probably had a preliminary understanding of Santaro's strength.

"I want you to know that valuable items such as porcelain are often the favorites of Nara's nobles. If you put them in Nambazu, they won't fetch a good price." Santaro said as he suddenly had an idea, "My Lord, if you have porcelain,

, I also bought it here.”

"Santaro, if you have porcelain, how do you buy it?" Wang Xuance asked from the side.

"This depends on the specific condition of the porcelain. As long as it is good porcelain, I will definitely buy it at a high price."

When Santaro saw that there was something going on, he was so excited that he wanted to jump up.

"Yang Qiwa, run back and get some porcelain."

In total, it was not far from the dock. Wang Xuance simply asked Yang Qiwa to run back and get the samples. This Yang Qiwa, as the lookout on the clipper ship, was familiar with many people, so Wang Xuance let him follow him.

.

"What is the most traded item in Nambazu?"

While Yang Qiwa was returning home, Li Kuan continued to understand some of the situation in Japan.

"Replying to your noble lord..."

"Don't be too noble, I think you will all know about this king coming to Japan soon."

Wang Xuance: "This is our Royal Highness the King of Chu of the Tang Dynasty!"

"Reporting to His Highness the King of Chu, the most traded item in Nambajin is rice." Santaro quickly changed his words and clenched his fists. He felt that his opportunity had really come. As long as he hugged the thigh of His Highness the King of Chu of the Tang Dynasty, he would be sure to do it in the future.

He will be the largest businessman in Nambazu.

"Rice?"

This answer is not quite what Li Kuan imagined.

"Yes, His Highness King Chu."

“Why rice?”

"Because in Nambazu, most transactions are settled using rice. For example, if a local buys the abalone in Xiaoren's shop, the price is one hundred kilograms of rice for one kilogram of abalone."

Santaro quickly explained the reason.

"Don't you use copper coins?"

"Um..." Santaro felt a little confused about how to answer, "It's true that it's not used, but you must be curious why we don't use it. I have received a few Kaiyuan Tongbao from Shangguo. This Kaiyuan Tongbao is exquisitely made and weighs every penny.

They are all one coin, very fixed; but in the Japanese country, no one can cast such exquisite copper coins. I even heard that some vassal states have imitated and cast copper coins, but the copper coins broke when pinched, and the picture was very blurry...

"

After hearing Santaro's explanation, Li Kuan finally figured it out.

As for the current industrial level of the Japanese state, it is estimated that it is not even as good as that of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period; the entire Japanese state has just been in the period of transformation from slave society to feudal society. It is no wonder that in history they will continue to send Tang envoys in the next few hundred years.

That is to learn the advanced political system, culture, technology and other contents of the Central Plains.

The kimono, tea ceremony and other things that everyone saw in the Japanese country in later generations all originated in the Tang Dynasty.

"If rice is used as currency, then it means that Nambazu has a large inventory of rice?"

Li Kuan suddenly felt that if he had nothing to bring with him when he went back, he could consider bringing a boatload of rice; he could even consider increasing the Japanese rice trade in the future.

"Nambajin is the largest port in Japan, and the storage and flow of rice should be second only to Nara. If His Highness the King of Chu needs rice, I can also help prepare it."

"What, you want to do business with me?" At this time, if Li Kuan could not see Santaro's plan, it would be too embarrassing for the time traveler.

"I am willing to serve His Highness the King of Chu. I am very familiar with the situation in Nambajin. I know which house has the best products and which house I want to buy. If the prince is willing to give me a meal, I will never regret it.

"

Santaro kowtowed and knelt in front of Li Kuan.

"Xuan Ce, Donghai Fishery needs to have a base in Nambazu in the future. I will leave it to you to arrange the contact with Santaro."

In Shanghai in later generations, there were various compradors who worked for foreigners. Now that Li Kuan came to Japan, he also needed Japanese people who were familiar with the local conditions to do things for him.

As long as the Tang Dynasty remained strong and powerful, Santaro, a small businessman, would never have the guts to cheat him.

"Steward Wang, bring the porcelain." At this time, Yang Qiwa also came back holding a package.

"Santaro, here, this is the porcelain of the Tang Dynasty. How much does it cost?"

Wang Xuance took out two pieces of porcelain from the package and gently placed them on the counter of the shop.

These porcelains were temporarily purchased from Dengzhou Prefecture, and their quality could not be said to be very good or bad; in the Tang Dynasty, even the wealthy families could afford them.

"White as jade, as bright as a mirror, and as loud as a chime." Santaro carefully picked up a porcelain vase and inspected it, "This kind of porcelain can only be seen in Nambazu only a few times a year."

At this time, the Tang Dynasty had no trade relations with the Japanese country, and had almost no contact with Goguryeo and Silla Baekje, so porcelain was still a very scarce item in the Japanese country.

"Just tell me how much you are willing to pay for it." Li Kuan didn't want to waste time on two ordinary porcelains.

"Your Highness King Chu, I am willing to exchange the same weight of silver for you!"

"What?" Li Kuan frowned, thinking that he would hear wrongly in the future.

"Your Majesty, this... this is a very generous price when converted into equal weight of silver. This villain definitely did not take advantage of you."

Li Kuan:......
Chapter completed!