Chapter 1 Early Spring (Fourth)

Even though the little prince Baiyin's home is known as gold brick paving, he has never seen such a beautiful thing. He grabbed each color of "crystal" particles in his hands one after another, looked at the sun again and again. Until tears came from both eyes, he reluctantly put the last "crystal" back into his coarse cloth pocket, shook his head, and sighed: "It's so amazing, it's so amazing. Who would have thought that the salt sand used to pave the roads on the dam was so beautiful, how did you do it? Wash it with clean water?"

"That is the ancestral secret of the little fat man's family. You'd better ask less." Zhao Tianlong finally got another game back, gave the little prince Bai Yin a look, and scolded him unhappily.

The secret recipes of ancestral history in the past are not as rotten as those of later generations. So when Bai Yin heard this, his face immediately turned red. He hugged his chest and arched at Zhang Songling, and apologized with a wry smile, "It's abrupt, it's abrupt. I'm not trying to find out Brother Zhang's secret recipes. I'm strange. Why do you make salt grains so beautiful? If you still use them to cook, it would be a waste of resources."

"Hey, the prince is still hereditary, so that's what he saw." No matter how Zhao Tianlong looked, he felt that the little prince Bai Yin was not kind-hearted, shrugged, and continued to sarcasm.

Zhang Songling's impression of Bai Yin was not that bad, especially after learning that this person had taken the initiative to release water to the Jinsui Army Independent Battalion trapped in Heishi Village last year, he felt that this person was not hopelessly damaged. He smiled and responded in a low voice, "The little prince Bai Yin is indeed very knowledgeable. In addition to the largest bag of pearl salt, the colored salt particles in the other small bags are definitely not for eating. If you smell the smell on the salt carefully, you should guess what they can be used for."

"Is that right?" Bai Yin asked curiously, quickly grabbed a handful of light pink salt crystals, placed them under his nose and took a deep breath. There was a faint fragrance of flowers, and immediately rushed into his forehead along his nostrils. His whole body immediately became light, as if he was in a sea of ​​flowers and undulating with the waves. After a moment of stunnedness, he grabbed a handful of orange salt crystals and placed them in front of his nose to feel it carefully. However, there was another sweet and gentle fragrance, like peeling orange petals, making people saliva wet the corners of his mouth.

Light blue, rose, emerald green, dark purple, each salt crystal has a unique fragrance, not too strong, but has extremely strong adhesion. Even if it is put down for a long time, a faint afterglow is still wrapped around the fingers.

"How is it? I guess what I'm doing. I've been prompted to this point. If I can't guess it, you're useless." Seeing Bai Yin grabbing the colorful salt crystals like an addict and sniffing endlessly, Zhao Tianlong couldn't help but ridicule.

"It should be like the scented sap of the Eastern people, which is used to wash your face. I'm not sure, but it's definitely not for cooking." The little prince Bai Yin was very modest, frowned, and responded in a very low voice, (Note 1)

"I still miss you, the Japanese devils can't compare with this." Zhao Tianlong shrugged and continued to sneer, "This is the fragrant salt used by Westerners, which is specially used to bathe noble women. Why do the Western ladies in Harbin look so white? It's all because of this thing."

"Really,." Bai Yin's eyes immediately widened, looking at the bags of colorful salt crystals that emitted a faint fragrance, as if he was waving to him. He had run to visit Harbin City and was deeply impressed by the White Russian women in the city who were swaying in the city in a convertible carriage. Although the hair on her skin looked too heavy, the complexion was really white, as white as the white porcelain of Dingyao just opened. It made people look at it and want to buy it home immediately, collect it and play with it carefully.

"Of course, why don't you buy a few bags and try it home? It will last for three years to ensure that you will be caught by human traffickers and become a rabbit master after going out." Zhao Tianlong shook his head and ran away with his tongue, (Note 2)

"Brother Long, stop teasing him anymore." Zhang Songling is more "kind" than Zhao Tianlong, waved his hand and interrupted with a smile. "The effect is not as obvious as Brother Long said, but Westerners have indeed started bathing with bath salt a long time ago. This thing can make the skin delicate and smooth, and can prevent the smell of sweat in summer and the smell of feet when riding a horse. It can also make the skin exud different smells like perfume. If you go to the French Concession in Tianjin Wei, you will definitely buy pure Western goods."

"Oh, it turns out that this is bath salt. I have heard people talk about it, but I never had the chance to see it." Bai Yin immediately realized it suddenly, grabbed a few pink salt crystals, and while playing with it, he smiled and asked for the price. "I don't know how to sell this thing. If the price is right, I want to buy some of them back and try fresh for my cousins ​​at home."

"It's the trial sales stage, and it's temporarily set to be three o'clock per kilogram." Zhang Songling looked around and found that no outsiders were approaching, so he smiled and quoted a price.

"Three pieces," the little prince Bai Yin was startled and almost threw the salt crystal in his hand to the ground. "You are so expensive, you are really cruel. I'm afraid that Westerners can't get this price."

"That depends on the brand." Zhang Songling was obviously not the first time that he was questioned by someone. He was not surprised at all. He smiled and explained in a low voice: "If it is those bulk goods without brands, it is usually only at this price. If it is some big brands from France, you can buy a box of one or two for three yuan. Although our guerrillas produce themselves, they are not as famous as the big brands in France, but they are all pure natural Chinese herbal medicines, which are not only harmless to the body, but also make the fragrance last longer. Unlike those Western brands that are not of grade, they can easily mix things with dyed cloth."

"It's true." Zhao Xiaoshuan, who had been hiding beside him, walked up and smiled and said, "When the first batch of goods were just successfully tested, we didn't believe in its effect, so each of them took a little to the river as a pancreas. As a result, three days later, the smell of fruit still existed on his hair."

"Get up, you'll be your mouth everywhere." Now Zhao Tianlong's only person who doesn't like him in the guerrillas is Zhao Xiaoshuan. He raised his foot and kicked him three feet away. "If you like to buy it, you're just at this price. There are many people waiting to pick up the goods, and it's not less than half a pound of yours."

"I didn't say I won't buy it. Why are you so anxious?" The little prince Baiyin quickly turned around in his mind about how to get the guerrilla pearl salt and colored bath salt formula into his hands. He pretended to be aggrieved and whispered, "Since it's business, you must allow bargaining. Besides, retail and wholesale, the price can't be the same!"

"You still want to wholesale, but you can't eat this thing. Even if all the women in your banner use this thing to bathe, how many pounds can be made in a year." Zhao Tianlong didn't believe that he really wanted to buy the goods, so he curled his lips and asked with a sneer.

"If the effect is really as you said, of course I have to wholesale some to send it to people. Don't forget that I am the direct descendant of the Muhuali family. There is a gate of the royal palace on the grassland, and I can't get in."

This is the truth. The marriage of Mongolian nobles has always been a match for the same family. The princes of each family have been intermarried for hundreds of years, and they are almost intimate with each other. Even if they have fought for grasslands and water sources, they have been fighting all over the world. When the war has subsided, they can still come to the door and regain their blood relationship when needed.

Zhao Tianlong is an orphan who has no father or mother. He hates others to show off his noble blood. When he heard the little prince say it proudly, his face turned black and dark, fearing that he would offend Bai Yin, a potential big customer, Zhang Songling quickly walked between the two and said loudly: "The little prince is in the grassland, and Zhang has heard of this for a long time, but do you want to wholesale bath salt and take it to change hands? I'm afraid I can't agree to you for the time being. You saw it with your own eyes just now, and an old customer who came from his mouth packed all the inventory in my hand."

"Then what price did you negotiate with me just now?" When the little prince Bai Yin heard this, he jumped up in anger, pointed at Zhang Songling's nose, and asked loudly.

"Sample, I promised to give him all the inventory, but the samples were not included. The bath salts were not eaten. Adding a small spoon every time I took a bath was enough. Even if I sold the samples in my hand to you, it would be enough for you and your family to use them for a year or two." Zhang Songling looked at him and responded innocently.

"As long as we start using this thing at home, within less than half a month, there will definitely be someone who will ride a horse and ask for it." Bai Yin glanced at him helplessly, with a look of resentment.

Of course, he knew that bath salt was not used to pickle bacon, and he didn't need to put a lot of it when taking a bath, but the business opportunities hidden behind this thing made him unable to ignore it anyway. You must know that due to the excessive monotony of diet and living habits, many noble women on the grassland, like Westerners, have a bit of a strong sweat. Especially in summer, they ride out to visit relatives and friends, and take off their boots when they enter the door. The smell makes the most beautiful girl immediately hateful.

The aroma attached to the body surface after bathing can just cover up the congenital deficiencies of the girls. If it is really as boasted by Zhang Songling and others, it has an anti-odor function, it will be unlimited business opportunities. Even if the formula is not brought into your own hands, just sending a dedicated person to wholesale from the guerrillas and then reselling it can become a stable source of wealth. After all, no vendors from all over the country can enter the palaces of various alliances and banners like themselves, and they will not know what the most troublesome problems for girls of appropriate age are in summer.

"Then, I'm not thinking well." Zhang Songling thought for a while and responded apologetically, "How about this, how much do you want? Pay me half of the deposit first. When the guerrillas produce the new goods, I will send someone to send you a special trip to the mansion. Is the price? Since it's wholesale, I'll give it to you."

As he spoke, he lowered his fingers into his sleeves and was about to have a great time with Bai Yin. Seeing this, Li Laojiu, who was watching the fun, quickly walked away tactfully. While walking, he whispered: "You talk, you talk first. I'll go somewhere else, come again, come again later."

Even if he doesn't walk away, the little prince Bai Yin will not talk to Zhang Songling's sleeves. First, he is the prince, and loses his identity when doing this. Second, he has never talked to anyone. The pair of sleeves will immediately reveal his true colors. Looking at the cuffs of Zhang Songling's clothes that came over, thinking for a while, responding with a smirk, "This, I'm not used to it. Let's go to the tent, write with a pen, and finally agree on a suitable price. I'll send someone back to get you a deposit."

"It's refreshing." Zhang Songling clapped his hands with a smile, "Since the little prince is so sincere, I don't need to write it anymore. You can tell me the total number of things you want. I'll give you a 30% discount. Don't worry, no one can get goods from us, which is lower than a 30% discount. If you don't believe it, you can send someone to inquire yourself."

"Transaction." Bai Yin stretched out his hand and took Zhang Songling in the air. He had a 30% discount of one pound, which was two yuan per pound, which was the price of a sheep. If he could get the opportunity to ship, he could sell it for five yuan per pound, or even seven yuan, or eight yuan, and the profit was 200% higher than that of speculating on opium.

"However, before we talked about the specific quantity of this packaging, we first pointed to the small bag of coarse cloth containing bath salts. Bai Yin suddenly suggested loudly, "This packaging is too bad, and it is no less than that of a high-end product made in France. Just put it in this kind of cloth bag for me, which is too expensive."

"Isn't this wholesale?" Zhang Songling was finally caught in pain, and the expression on his face suddenly became a little awkward. "If you plan to retail, you may need to think of another way yourself. There are too few people in our guerrillas, and you have to beware of the Japanese coming to make trouble at all times. I really don't have the strength to take care of the packaging problem."

"That's true." Bai Yin nodded sympathetically, "Then can you supply your goods? In the first wave, I only have fifty kilograms for each, but I'm afraid I can get this number every month."

"This" not only Zhang Songling, but also Zhao Tianlong and Zhao Xiaosun's brothers, the expressions on their faces became unnatural. Whether it was a trial or a trial of the preparation of refined salt and bath salt, it was a temporary measure for the guerrillas. They had neither approved by the superior authorities nor had any long-term plans. After all, the guerrillas are currently too weak and cannot fight positional battles with the Japanese, and it is impossible to protect a stable base to develop their own industries.

However, if there is no income from selling fine salt and bath salt, the development of the guerrillas is even more impossible to talk about. Siqin's territory has not had much income. In winter, he was just robbed by the Japanese, so it is even more impossible to provide enough sponsorship to the guerrillas this year. The methods commonly used in the Central Plains to fight against local tyrants and divide the fields are not suitable for the vast and sparsely populated grasslands. In the southern foot of the Lamagou, the "rich peasants" with more than 30 acres of fertile land were caught by a large number of "rich peasants" with more than 30 acres of fertile land at home, but every household is so poor that they are bought by borrowing usury. How could there be any floating wealth and money to be mobilized to support the anti-Japanese team?

Seeing Zhang Songling and others' embarrassment, the little prince Bai Yin laughed in his heart, frowned, and continued to ask with a serious face, "Is the production of bath salts impossible to guarantee? That's a pity. I still hope that I can continue this transaction with the guerrillas for a long time, tsk, tsk."

"Little Prince, don't look down on others." Zhao Tianlong, who was proud and upright, was indeed deceived. He reached out and slapped hard on the shelves, and responded loudly, "How much do you want? Tell me a number. Even if we work overtime, we will meet your requirements."

"This is something that no one can regret, otherwise my losses will be great." Bai Yin looked at him, and his face slowly became cold. "You might as well turn around and ask Brother Zhang first. Usually, when you don't comply with the contract, how should merchants compensate you?"

"No need to ask, as long as you can afford to pay, we will produce as much as you want." Zhao Tianlong didn't know how to do business at all, but just gritted his teeth and held on the principle of fighting for a breath.

"Money is not a problem, don't forget what I lack the most." Bai Yin glanced at him again and emphasized disdainfully, "Otherwise, we will slap our faces and settle the contract first."

The house of the King of the Golden Bricks is Bai Yin, the little prince of the Yete Left Banner of Wuqi. There is a gold mine in his territory. Although the output is not large, it is enough to make him the most confident prince in Chahar. On the other hand, Zhao Tianlong had nothing except two box cannons, so he could compete with Bai Yin in this shopping mall that is far more familiar to him.

"If you want to be calm, just be calm." Zhao Tianlong's stubbornness came up, and he ignored his behavior. He raised his palm and planned to make a contract with Bai Yin. Knowing his production capacity, Zhang Songling quickly took the lead and suppressed Zhao Tianlong's raised arms. "Wait, little prince, I'm responsible for this. If you want to talk, you have to talk to me."

"What, Brother Zhang has other words?" By this moment, Bai Yin had already taken the initiative in the scene, and he was relaxed and free to move.

Zhang Songling's face was also red like an eggplant, and his voice trembled slightly. "We can provide one thousand kilograms of this pearl salt every month. If we have colored bath salt, each can provide up to twenty kilograms. No more. As the saying goes, rare things are expensive, and no more, they are worthless."

"Every 20 kilograms, I can't even fill a carriage. What's the point of doing this kind of business?" Bai Yin shook his head disdainfully, dusted the soil on his body, turned around and wanted to leave, "Forget it, I'd better send someone to Tianjin Wei to see how to sell bath salts produced by Westerners. If you can find a big business, let him pay directly on delivery."

Seeing that the hundreds of dollars that were about to be obtained flew away, not only Zhao Tianlong and Zhao Xiaoshuan, but also Zhang Songling, a store that was influenced by his father and brother since childhood, was very shocked. He stared at Bai Yin's back and gritted his teeth. Finally, before the other party went far away, he felt relieved, "Little Prince, please stay. We still have room for negotiation on the production."

"Why, you can supply more products." The little prince Baiyin waited for this sentence, deliberately pretending to be slow and turned his head, and asked with a smile.

"Thirty kilograms, thirty kilograms per month, what do you think?" Zhang Songling was anxious to make the transaction, but naturally couldn't raise his momentum. He discussed in a low voice with a tone of prayer.

"It's not easy to do anything thirty kilograms, so why not do it." Bai Yin vetoed without hesitation, and was too lazy to waste his "precious" time any longer.

"Then little prince Baiyin, how much do you want? You might as well count it out first and let Zhang listen." Zhang Songling had no choice but to take the initiative to give in again.

"I want less. If the Japanese come to the door, can your guerrillas still guarantee supply?" Bai Yin shrugged and sneered slightly. "So, when doing business, you must have the conditions to do business. If you don't have that condition, even if you hold good things, the transaction will not last long."

"Bai Yin, what do you mean?" Zhao Tianlong asked angrily when he heard something in Bai Yin's words.

"What does it mean? I think Brother Zhang is smart, you should be able to guess." Bai Yin was too lazy to look at him, but just stared at Zhang Songling tightly, not giving the other party any room to change.

Zhang Songling's face turned from black to white, then from white to blue, and finally turned completely blue to gray, like a gambler who had lost all his capital. He gritted his teeth and said, "I understand what the little prince means, but for such a big thing, I can't make decisions by myself, I need to report to Captain Wang."

"Isn't the recipe your ancestors passed down?" Bai Yin succeeded and pressed step by step, ready to seal the throat with one sword at all times.

"Formula, formula" Zhang Songling shook his head in pain, "The formula was accidentally developed by Uncle Scar and Uncle Wu. It is indeed my decision, but"

With a long sigh, he made a decision with difficulty, "I understand what the little prince means. If the little prince wants to open the factory in your territory, how to distribute profits between us, you have to make a guarantee for me, so that I can give Captain Wang an explanation."

"No." Zhao Tianlong finally understood what Bai Yin was thinking. He was so angry that he cursed beside him, "The second tail, who had no eggs, sticks his butt when he sees the Japanese and plots on his compatriots, but one pushes two. Get out of here, get out of here, even if we don't make money, we will never give you the recipe."

"Brother Long, don't make trouble. I'm responsible for this place. If something goes wrong, I'll carry it alone!" Zhang Songling hurriedly hugged Zhao Tianlong, forced him to the side, then turned his head and said to Bai Yin with red eyes: "Little Prince, your business mind is convinced, but the formula is the lifeblood of the guerrillas. Even if I want to give it to you, I can't pass the level of brothers, unless."

"No, absolutely not give it to him." Zhao Tianlong tried to rush over to stop him, but Zheng Xiaobao and Zhao Xiaoshuan held his arms tightly, one left and one right, "Brother Long, you can hear what Captain Zhang said first." "Brother Long, you have to believe Captain Zhang."

"You two guys who are sucking inside and outside." Zhao Tianlong was furious, raised his fists and greeted Zhao Xiaoshuan. Zhao Xiaoshuan forced himself to beat him, but refused to let go. Taking advantage of Bai Yin's inattention, he pointed at Zhang Songling from his armpit with his left hand, and then pointed to his heart.

"You" Zhao Tianlong had a straight mind, but his brain was not slow, and his roar was still very loud. The fist hitting Zhao Xiaoshuan gradually lost its strength.

The little prince Bai Yin was too lazy to pay attention to these simple-minded guys around him, and just took all his means to continue to force Zhang Songling, "Unless it is, Brother Zhang might as well talk about it. Of course, this business requires you to be willing to do it."

"Unless we change the way of cooperation, each company gets half of the formula.",,,,

"What half of the way? Let's talk about it first." As the smartest prince on the grassland, Bai Yin certainly knew the principle of stopping when he saw it, smiled and gave generous instructions.

"I will teach your people how to extract colorless salt crystals from salt sand." Zhang Songling continued to grit his teeth, and almost bleeding from the corner of his mouth. "The factory is located in your territory, and the raw materials are also provided by you. We only provide the prepared color-to-color flavoring powder according to production needs every month."

"What about the profits." Although he was not satisfied, Bai Yin responded with a smile on his face based on the principle of catching big fish with a long line.

"Four and six, you four and I six, otherwise, two and one can add five." Zhang Songling became less and less principled as he talked about it, and kept giving in to Baiyin.

"I think beautifully, the venue, raw materials, and people. You only produce a little medicine powder and take away half of the profits. How can there be such a good deal in the world?" Bai Yin curled her lips and looked down on the conditions proposed by Zhang Songling.

"Bai Yin, don't be greedy." Zhao Tianlong's roar came again, with a hint of helplessness.

"Brother Zhang, you can't give in. If you make concessions, Captain Wang will definitely not be able to spare you." Zhao Xiaoshuan and Zheng Xiaobao also looked at the greedy Bai Yin, with a look of sadness and anger.

Zhang Songling's face was not bloody at all, and his teeth were chewing, but in order to raise life-saving funds for the guerrillas, he had to make concessions again. "I will tell you how to turn salt sand into pearl salt. You can open the factory yourself. If you make more money, our guerrillas will not take a penny. That's it, it's OK."

"This is so refreshing." The little prince Bai Yin laughed and stretched out his hand, asking to swear with Zhang Songling, "You guerrillas have only a few people, why waste your energy on refining refined salt and give me the method? I organize the production of manpower. In less than three years, our products can be sold to Japan."

"It's your product." Zhang Songling raised his hand and fought Bai Yin weakly, correcting him angrily.

"I will not forget you, Brother Zhang, nor will I forget the benefits of the guerrillas." The little prince Bai Yin promised confidently.

"That's the matter of bath salt." Zhang Songling raised his palm again and asked in frustration.

"Just as you said before, I will go to the venue, the raw materials and labor, you will produce medicine powder, and the income will be increased by 2 or 5." The little prince Bai Yin finally felt relieved, laughed and raised his hand, and slapped Zhang Songling's palm hard.

Although the price of pearl fine salt is lower than that of bath salt, its sales are definitely far higher than that of bath salt as a luxury product, and the raw material cost is almost negligible. Therefore, he made a very cost-effective transaction. As long as he got the refining method and just pulled a group of herders from the territory or Han people who came to open up the land to work in the factory, he could turn the paved salt sand into the best of green salt in tons and move gold to his home.

As the other party in the transaction, Zhang Songling was undoubtedly vomiting blood. After making a contract with Bai Yin, he immediately became haggard, as if he had just had a serious illness, and even his voice became weak.

For the long-term plan, Bai Yin did not want to sprinkle salt on the loser's wounds. He found an excuse to continue looking at other goods. He took the two guards to leave and walked away as he looked at his back. Zhao Tianlong immediately rushed to Zhang Songling, grabbed his good friend's arm, and asked in a low voice, "How is it, you really suffered a big loss, otherwise we would think of some other ways and force him to make another agreement."

"Captain Zhang, Captain Zhang, you were pretending just now, right? Right?" Zheng Xiaobao also looked at Zhang Songling nervously and asked carefully.

Only Zhao Xiaoshuan, because he had to accompany Bai Yin as the "bad guest" throughout the journey, had no time to ask about the truth, so he turned around from afar and looked at Zhang Songling, with expectations in his eyes.

Zhang Songling quietly made a gesture of peace of mind to him, then lowered his head and whispered to Zhao Tianlong and Zheng Xiaobao, "It's not a loss, nor did he get much advantage. The key is to finally implement the production site of bath salt. Even if the profit is to be stripped away by Baiyin, if the output is enough, our guerrillas will not get less monthly payments in the future than what they earn after working overtime."

"That method of refining fine salt?" Zhao Tianlong and Zheng Xiaobao seemed to understand and grumbled with frowns.

"That thing is a window paper. A person who understands can poke it out with his fingers. Even if we don't tell him, he can ask from another place. If this window paper is used to exchange for half of his salt crystal factory, it cannot be considered a compensation." Zhang Songling smiled and a little proud in his response. After all, he is still the son of a businessman, and the blood of doing business has been flowing in his body. If he has a chance, he can only show this aspect.

"Oh." Zhao Tianlong and Zheng Xiaobao nodded slightly. Although they still didn't understand very much, they believed that Zhang Songling did nothing wrong. "Captain Wang's side, Captain Wang's side, are you angry?"

"Captain Wang has been trying to find a cooperation goal these days so that we don't have the energy to manage the factory when we fight with the Japanese in the future. But Captain Wang and I haven't figured out who to cooperate with. Today, Bai Yin came to the door on his own initiative, so he just gave him a discount." Zhang Songling nodded and continued to explain with a smile.

Now, Zhao Tianlong and Zheng Xiaobao were relieved. Looking at Zhang Songling, they slapped their chests together, "You can really act. Just now, we two thought you were really forced to go to the forefront by Bai Yin."

"Just rely on him, practice for another ten years." Zhang Songling laughed, "I have learned how to bargain with the adults at home since I was a child, and I learned until I went to high school before I put it aside."

"Hehehe" Zhao Tianlong and Zheng Xiaobao accompanied Zhang Songling to smile foolishly. After laughing enough, they frowned and said one after another: "But we can't take it lightly. That boy Bai Yin will definitely be tricky in the future." "What should we do if he makes money but doesn't pay us dividends? We can't do anything to him just by verbal agreement."

"No." Zhang Songling thought for a while and shook his head gently, "Since he has come in person, it's not just about doing business. This person is so smart."

Note 1: Xiangpanzi, that is, soap.
Chapter completed!