Chapter 1721 New Food Deal

Qin Huacheng had no idea how much money Dacheng Rice Bank gave to Welbeck last year. Of course, he had no way of knowing how much the so-called 20% of the service fee was. But judging from the attitude of the Dutchman, it was obvious that he would only do so after negotiating conditions.

He planned to sign, but his negotiating authority was not enough to make such a financial commitment, so he did not dare to overstep his authority. At the moment, he could only agree with a wry smile, and prepared to go back and ask Shopkeeper Wang for instructions.

Welbeck said: "When you go back, make it clear to your boss that starting from this year, the company's board of directors will reconsider grain procurement. If your rice bank cannot come up with better conditions, the board of directors may adjust the grain purchase policy.

."

Qin Huacheng already knew something about the middleman operation mode of Dacheng Rice Store. Hearing this, he couldn't help but ask: "Excuse me, sir, can you tell me how to adjust it?"

Welbeck looked up at Qin Huacheng and added: "Maybe in the future we will no longer purchase grain through Dacheng Rice Bank."

Dacheng Rice Company is the undisputed number one in the local grain market, and Cheng Dapeng can even single-handedly influence the direction of local grain prices. In the past few years, the reserve grain purchased by the East India Company

The Dacheng Rice Company has always organized the supply of goods. This operating model has both advantages and disadvantages for the East India Company.

The advantage is that Dacheng Rice Bank can provide uniform prices, grain quality, and stable delivery. The Dutch do not need to spend a lot of time organizing procurement separately. They only need to negotiate the acquisition content with Dacheng Rice Bank several months in advance.

The operation efficiency is very high. The disadvantage is that as an official agent, Dacheng Rice Bank has further grasped the local grain market, and the price is definitely higher than the cost of separate purchases by the Dutch. Of course,

The Dutch officials in charge of this matter, including Welbeck, all made a lot of money from the grain trade. Since the officials in charge are all vested interests, they have never paid attention to this operating mode.

Objections were raised.

This trade model has two important and indispensable factors. One is the absolute influence of the Dacheng Rice Company in the local grain market, and the other is that the officials of the East India Company who manage grain procurement can obtain sufficient benefits. If either condition occurs

Any changes may lead to the collapse of this model.

The Dacheng Rice Company is still the main local grain supplier in Batavia. Even though the East India Company has begun to organize grain farming in recent years, there is still a huge gap between the planting scale and operational efficiency of the Dacheng Rice Company.

, the cost of producing grain is even higher than the price purchased from Dacheng Rice Company. Therefore, there has been a dispute within the East India Company about growing grain on its own. It is believed that it is easier than placing an order directly with Dacheng Rice Company, especially if it can purchase grain from the grain trade.

The officials who received the kickbacks took the initiative to act as lobbyists for the Dacheng Rice Company within the East India Company, and firmly opposed the investment of company resources in agricultural projects with lower returns.

But the faction that insists on growing their own food is not weak. These officials believe that the lifeline of food must be in their own hands, rather than left to the black-haired and yellow-skinned Han immigrants. Even during the wars in previous years

Among them, Cheng Dapeng had shared weal and woe with the Dutch in the city, and he did not win the complete trust within the East India Company. In the eyes of these Dutch people, Cheng Dapeng was a foreigner after all, and they should not be entrusted with such important resources as food all year round.

Control, Batavia's grain market control ultimately needs to be returned to official hands.

This has to mention the second important factor in the current grain procurement model of the East India Company, the power distribution model in related matters. For officials in charge of agriculture and grain procurement, the seat under their buttocks is a cornucopia. Every year, through grain

A lot of wealth has entered their pockets through trade, and this situation will inevitably attract the envy of others. After all, who wouldn't want such cheap benefits?

If you want to reap the benefits of grain trade, you have to either unseat the current officials and replace them yourself, or cancel the old trading model and start a new one to reshuffle the local grain market. But no matter which one it is, for the management

For Qin Huacheng, this matter is just a fight between gods, and a small shrimp like himself has no clue. Welbeck said that in the future, all grain purchases may not be done through Dacheng Rice Bank, which means that the East India Company has no control over grain procurement.

The distribution of power in the field will change. And all Qin Huacheng can do is to take this news back first and see how the superiors respond.

Although Qin Huacheng did not complete the task of signing the contract when he left, he finally got some information and did not leave completely empty-handed. Although he wanted to find out more information, he suffered from the fact that he had no capital to bargain with the other party. Welbeck naturally

I don't even bother to talk in detail with him, an errand boy who has no real benefits.

When Qin Huacheng returned to Dacheng Rice Shop, the sky had already darkened. Seeing his unhappy expression, shopkeeper Wang guessed that he had failed to get the job done. Before he could open his mouth to report, he took the initiative and said: "Eat first, Chengda will do it later."

The shopkeeper is coming over, and you can report the situation of the Dutch to him face to face."

Although Qin Huacheng was a little surprised by Shopkeeper Wang's attitude, he still followed his instructions and went to eat first. Sure enough, not long after, Cheng Dapeng came to Mihang, summoned Shopkeeper Wang first, and then quickly called Qin Huacheng in.

to the study room.

Cheng Dapeng first dismissed shopkeeper Wang, and then asked Qin Huacheng about the process of going to these places today. Qin Huacheng did not dare to neglect, so he first told the story of the meeting and talks with Chu Huo and Duan Xuan at two farms in the morning.

Then there is the situation of going to the city to meet with Welbeck.

"The Dutch want to do new things!" After listening to Qin Huacheng's story, Cheng Dapeng couldn't help but sigh: "It has been more than four years. It seems that they don't want to keep the grain trade under my control. They plan to slowly

Destroy my platform!"

Qin Huacheng didn't know how Cheng Dapeng gradually controlled the grain market in Batavia, so he didn't dare to answer this question and could only stand and wait for instructions.

After Cheng Dapeng sighed, he asked Qin Huacheng: "Did Welbeck mention any specific time? For example, how long does it take for us to respond, or when will the change in the procurement plan he mentioned be implemented?"

Qin Huacheng thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I haven't heard him mention the specific time. Maybe this person is just bluffing to bargain."

Cheng Dapeng thought for a moment in silence, shook his head and said: "If he wants to bargain with me, there is no need to make such an excuse. As long as the conditions he proposes are not outrageous, I should agree. An increase of 20% on last year's basis is nothing.

It's a big deal... He probably rejected you on purpose and asked you to come back with news."

Qin Huacheng said in astonishment: "We need to use this unconventional way to deliver news. Could it be that this Dutch official has..."

Cheng Dapeng nodded before he could finish his words and said: "Yes, he has probably been sidelined. Maybe there are still people watching his every move, waiting to catch him. I don't know about his position.

How many people are secretly jealous!"

When Cheng Dapeng saw Qin Huacheng's expression of concealed surprise, he smiled and asked, "Do you think it's a bit exaggerated that an official in charge of food procurement can cause an official fight?"

Qin Huacheng nodded, indicating that what Cheng Dapeng said was exactly what he was thinking. When he went to find Welbeck earlier, the office space did not look like the treatment of an important person. Besides, although this job had good benefits, to put it bluntly,

He is just a low-level official, how can he be as serious as Cheng Dapeng said.

Cheng Dapeng said slowly: "Welbeck is certainly not a big shot, but the person who placed him in this position is one of the seventeen major shareholders of the East India Company. As the saying goes, you have to wait and see when you beat a dog.

Master, if someone wants to take his seat, it probably means that there are changes in the upper echelons of the East India Company."

Qin Huacheng didn't know much about the composition of the East India Company, and only after arriving in Batavia did he gradually receive some information about this colonial organization. For a large commercial organization like the East India Company, internal struggles for power are naturally inevitable.

, Cheng Dapeng said that Welbeck's position may involve a high-level power struggle, so the current situation seems to make sense.

Qin Huacheng asked for instructions: "Then if we agree to Welbeck's request, will this year's grain purchase order be safe?"

Cheng Dapeng shook his head and said: "According to what he expressed, if he can't stay any longer, then this year's procurement model may change. I think this is Welbeck reminding us to try to keep his seat.

Only then can we keep the food business."

Qin Huacheng said: "Even if the Dutch want to change the way they play, the price of food in Batavia is not in the hands of the big shopkeeper. Logically speaking, they can't get around it anyway, even if Welbeck is replaced.

Is there any change?"

Cheng Dapeng said: "The Dutch are not as simple as you think. Think about it, they changed the way they purchase grain in order to weaken the influence of Dacheng Rice Bank on grain prices. Those small grain merchants who have been taking orders from us finally

Given the opportunity to come forward, at the same purchase price, they will not hesitate to sell their surplus grain to the government. What we can do is to affect local grain prices by purchasing at a higher price or selling in larger quantities, but here

In this situation, it actually has no effect. If we take the initiative to raise grain prices, small grain merchants will reap the benefits; if we suppress grain prices, then the Dutch will get what they want."

Qin Huacheng had never heard anyone from Mihang talk about these market conditions in detail before. After listening to it, he couldn't help but sigh: "So although Mihang can affect local food prices, in fact this trick is just a decoration to scare people. It is not used when it is really needed."

It doesn’t work that well.”

Cheng Dapeng said: "Whether it works or not depends on the cooperation of the Dutch. In the past, they purchased grain through our rice bank, so it is very useful to control the fluctuation of rice prices. When purchasing grain from the private sector, we can keep the market down.

When the Dutch come to buy food, we will raise the price of food. The difference in price will be given to officials like Welbeck, and everyone will tacitly agree on the deal. But if the Dutch change

Without the grain purchase model, the previous operation is no longer so easy to use."

Qin Huacheng thought for a while and then asked: "But we are the major local grain producers. If the Dutch buy grain from small grain merchants, they may not be able to get the amount they need, right? In the end, they will have to come to us.

Buy food."

Cheng Dapeng said: "That's what I say, but then we will be passive, and the seller's market will become a buyer's market, which is very unfavorable for us, and the higher-ups certainly don't want to see such a situation."

Qin Huacheng didn't understand the terms buyer's market and seller's market, but he understood what Cheng Dapeng meant by "above". Although Cheng Dapeng was a big businessman who could make all the difference in Batavia, he was just a businessman.

He is just a spy leader serving Haihan. The ultimate goal of all his business activities in Batavia is to collect various information for Haihan's intelligence agency. If he cannot complete this main mission, then he will be regarded as a big friend here.

No matter how much money Bian makes, he cannot be considered a qualified intelligence officer after all.

Since Cheng Dapeng said that he did not want to see this situation, it means that his previous control of the local grain market also came from the instructions of Haihan. Think about how another country thousands of miles away can actually

Remotely controlling the grain market in Batavia, Qin Huacheng couldn't help but marvel at the economic intervention methods used by Haihan. However, he didn't know that Haihan actually had similar arrangements in Manila earlier, but the scale of operations of Ran Tianlu and others in Manila was still small.

It is far from the influence that Cheng Dapeng had in Batavia.

Since Cheng Dapeng could not sit idly by and watch such changes occur, in order to prevent the Dutch from changing their grain purchase plan, he had to find a way to intervene in the East India Company's power changes and preserve the official positions of these vested interests headed by Welbeck.

However, when Qin Huacheng met with Welbeck before, the other party's words were unclear, and it was difficult for Cheng Dapeng to use the limited information brought back by Qin Huacheng to deduce Welbeck's real situation and thoughts. However, Welbeck once mentioned during the meeting that Cheng Dapeng

Going to give him an explanation, Cheng Dapeng thought this was a sign that Welbeck wanted to have a direct interview with him, so he planned to go there again in person.

"You will come with me tomorrow." Cheng Dapeng ordered Qin Huacheng's general: "If Welbeck really needs our help, then this matter may be more troublesome. I want to say hello to him and contact the central contact person.

The task is entrusted to you."

"Leave it to me?" Qin Huacheng was stunned for a moment.

"You are a new face here. Even if someone knows that you work for me, they won't pay much attention to you as a newcomer." Cheng Dapeng pointed to his head and said: "But you have to be smart when you encounter trouble. Remember you.

Identity and mission!”
Chapter completed!