Chapter 488: Steady Seat on the Fishing Platform

After staying at the Mediation Office for a while and chatting with Qin Qiong a bit longer, Chen Yan felt hungry, so he took his leave and went home.

Unexpectedly, after returning, an unexpected person was waiting for him.

"Miss Xu, is there something?"

Chen Yan plopped down, casually picked up the tea that Qing'er had brought and took a sip.

Xu Lianyue said, "The people from the family you mentioned last time have shown up, but it seems they didn't come looking for you; instead they found me at the Xianlya, came over and told me to discuss cooperation in detail, saying that you have already agreed."

"Their intention is to cooperate quickly, aiming to dispatch a caravan in mid‑July, and then send another one in August."

"I asked, and they want to send out one caravan every twenty days; by early next year the first dispatched caravan should be able to return. To guard against mishaps, it would be best to assemble twenty‑five caravans!"

"Huh?" Chen Yan asked in surprise, "One caravan every twenty days?"

"Yes," Xu Lianyue said, her tone shifting with a hint of doubt, "Traversing the Si Chou Zhi Lu is not easy. Even though the Tang Dynasty defeated the Göktürks, the safety of the middle section—from Yumeng Pass to Suie City—has improved greatly, but they intend to go beyond Suie City and sell to the 'Kang State.' A piece of brocade can fetch twenty‑five to forty guan of cash."

"The price is very tempting, but the risk is huge, because if you're going that far, you naturally have to sell the finest brocade to make it worthwhile."

"But according to estimates, we won't see the first return until early next year, that is, the seventh year of Zhen Guan, and during that time we must keep supplying goods while they keep sending caravans; the risk is simply too high."

"Aren't they afraid the caravans might be wiped out, causing a total loss?"

Hearing that, Chen Yan fell into thought, "According to the terms I pre‑negotiated, they must provide a guarantee equal to the value of the goods, which means we only need to supply the goods and will never lose; the risk is almost entirely theirs."

"However, I never told them at first that we were to cooperate on selling silk; I said we would first cooperate on selling white sugar..."

Xu Lianyue's expression changed, "Sorry, I wasn't aware of that. I assumed you were discussing selling both silk and white sugar with them, and since they never mentioned otherwise and only talked about white sugar and silk, I subconsciously thought silk was included."

"No problem," Chen Yan chuckled, "They have already shown sincerity: one caravan every twenty days, a total of twenty‑five caravans, with the first return not until early Zhen Guan Year 7. Their sincerity is ample, so cooperating on silk is fine as well."

"I didn't expect their ambition to be that great; they actually want to go beyond Suie City, which would take a year and a half before any harvest."

"A harvest only once every year and a half—such a long interval means countless mishaps could occur; who knows how many times the family can still cooperate with me?"

Chen Yan paused, "You probably haven't decided yet, have you? When we tell the family later, since they intend to go beyond Suie City, the guarantee should be set at ten guan per piece, and the caravans should be jointly supervised by both sides, with departure and return locations mutually agreed upon and witnessed."

"Besides the guarantee, when the caravans return, if our side's profit exceeds ten guan, they must make up the remaining profit for us."

"Finally, tell them that Weinan County will establish three new silk‑making workshops to secure the supply for our cooperation, which will require a large recruitment of labor."

After hearing all of Chen Yan's words, Xu Lianyue was dumbfounded, completely stunned.

"These conditions... can the family agree to them?"

A guarantee of ten guan per piece of brocade is nearly three times the market price; the selling profit exceeds ten guan, and they would still have to give us the remaining profit.

"It's not..."

"Is our shop the only one in the Tang Dynasty selling silk?"

Xu Lianyue was a bit puzzled; they simply produce silk much faster and at lower cost than others, but it shouldn't force the family to spend such a huge sum to buy it, right?

There are plenty of brocades on the market priced at three to five guan; why doesn't the family just buy them outright and sell them themselves?

Xu Lianyue thought for a while, recalled Chen Yan's last sentence, and began to understand.

"So... the family isn't after cooperation, but after our technology?"

"You didn't know?" Chen Yan said unexpectedly, "Didn't I tell you?"

"Did you ever tell me?"

Xu Lianyue muttered inwardly, "You clearly only said whether we had cooperation with the family, right?"

"Never mind, that's not important; anyway you know now."

Chen Yan waved his hand nonchalantly, "The conditions are out, we've shown equal sincerity, and the handling of white sugar will be the same as silk; for now we only cooperate on these two items."

Xu Lianyue hesitated a moment, then couldn't curb her curiosity, asking, "Aren't you worried they'll learn the silk‑making technique?"

"If the technique falls into their hands, we'll lose any advantage; after all, our channels aren't as extensive, and our contacts aren't as broad as theirs."

"Should they acquire the technique, we could face serious trouble and lose the chance to become the Tang Dynasty's largest silk merchant."

"It doesn't matter," Chen Yan said casually, "If they have the skill to learn it, let them. Our technology is slated for an upgrade early next year; then the production speed will increase dramatically, costs will be further cut, and more importantly, I'm confident the resulting goods will be of higher grade and quality."

"The hydraulic loom technology was meant as bait I gave them; let them learn it if they will."

"Besides, building workshops takes time, right? As long as we keep a close eye on the hydraulic loom and prevent them from getting a chance to dismantle and study it, they won't quickly master the manufacturing technique."

"And by the time they learn it, we'll have already taken off."

Xu Lianyue's mouth twitched, and she began to silently mourn for the family.

If that's the case, they're practically doomed to be taken advantage of.

But there's nothing we can do; who could have guessed Chen Yan would produce an even better machine?

She thought carefully and mused, "That still leaves a problem. As you said, the hydraulic loom is merely bait we tossed them; even if we find ways to delay them from getting the bait, the bait's purpose is precisely to be taken by them."

"That timeframe could be next year, and our cooperation would still be ongoing, perhaps without even receiving the first return..."

Before she finished, Chen Yan already grasped her meaning and sneered, "A brocade at ten guan per piece—what more could you be dissatisfied with?"

"Moreover, didn't I say the caravans need joint supervision?"

"The family wants my technique; I want them to provide the routes and channels of the Si Chou Zhi Lu!"

"In this cooperation, we've already won; the only issue is how much we win versus how little we win."

"......"