Novel Full Chapter 987 - 80: Official Assessment
Chapter 987: Chapter 80: Official Assessment
After the trade conference began, Swamp Prefecture became even more bustling and prosperous. Now, just walking on any street in Swamp Prefecture, one can see crowds of people everywhere. The shops on both sides of the street are all open, and even a casual visit to any store will find it packed with customers.
Of course, the most lively places are the exhibition halls from various regions.
From the very first day of the trade conference, the exhibition halls from various regions have been crowded with visitors.
In recent days, merchants from other regions and foreign countries have been overjoyed in their hearts, because they have sold a lot of goods and signed many business deals. By coming to Swamp Prefecture to participate in the trade conference, they have made a fortune. It is no exaggeration to say that the money they made in just these few short days surpasses their earnings from the entire previous year.
Not only did the merchants attending the trade conference make money, but the local people of Swamp Prefecture also earned a considerable amount. The money earned by the people here is more than what they have made in the past decades. During this period, they have been waking up from their sleep at night with smiles on their faces.
With more people, the likelihood of incidents increases. To ensure the safety during the trade conference, Zhao Yao not only had his Personal Guard patrol but also "borrowed" many soldiers from the Southern Garrison to monitor the situation.
Zhao Yao’s Personal Guard numbers in the tens of thousands, but these men cannot appear publicly. They disguise themselves as civilians and blend into the marketplace to keep an eye on things, preventing disturbances and guarding against spies.
Now, on every street and in every corner of Swamp Prefecture, one can see the presence of patrolling soldiers. With sabers at their waists and serious expressions, these soldiers patrol diligently, leaving no corner unchecked, to ensure the safety of Swamp Prefecture and its people.
After the trade conference began, Zhao Yao became busier, with more and more people seeking business cooperation, leading to a greater variety of business projects.
Zhao Yao inwardly sighed with relief, thankful that he had implemented printing technology early on. Otherwise, with the contracts signed in just these few days, writing them by hand could have broken one’s wrist.
For inland entrepreneurs who worked with Zhao Yao, the collaboration was private. However, foreign merchants were both private and state representatives. For state-represented businesses, foreign Imperial Merchants needed to sign contracts with the Ministry of Revenue.
Zheng Qian and his officials have also been exceptionally busy these days, busy signing deals with representatives from various foreign countries.
Although they are divided into private and state deals, the goods being ordered are basically the same. Since this is the first trade conference, Zhao Yao offered many concessions to foreign merchants, such as only imposing a one-tenth tariff temporarily. After six months, the tariffs will return to normal.
Regardless of whether it is a private deal or a state deal, the unified tariff is one layer. After six months, the tariffs for private and state deals will differ. State tariffs will be one layer less than private tariffs.
Learning that tariffs will return to normal after six months, foreign merchants decided to buy more goods within this six-month period, so they signed many cooperation contracts in advance and paid deposits.
Zhao Yao’s own Xiao Jin Vault, and the Ministry of Revenue’s national treasury, have been almost filled with foreign gold and silver during these days.
Foreigners doing business in Swamp Prefecture do not pay with Great Zhou’s Copper Coins but with gold and silver. Zhao Yao stipulated that they use gold and silver for payments. Of course, Copper Coins are not completely rejected. For transactions involving small amounts, Great Zhou’s Copper Coins can be used. However, the foreign merchants buy and order so many goods with huge transaction amounts, it can only be settled with gold and silver.
Fortunately, these foreign countries have a considerable amount of gold and silver, especially Siam and Annan. These two countries have a number of gold mines, so the royal family members of these two countries are adorned with gold from head to toe. They walk openly during the day on the streets, their bodies gleaming with dazzling golden light, attracting a lot of attention.
Apart from paying with gold and silver, Zhao Yao also allowed transactions to be settled with food supplies. Although Swamp Prefecture is not short of food supplies for now, the more food, the better. However, not every foreign country has surplus food supplies. Countries like Annan, Siam, and Johor are well-supplied with food. With few people and double or triple cropped rice, they have no shortage of food to eat.
Because these countries have no shortage of food, they do not plant double or triple cropped rice every year. Even though they have double and triple cropping, they sometimes plant it as single crop rice. When Zhao Yao heard about this in those days, he felt both angry and envious.
However, since these countries submitted to the Great Zhou, they no longer plant rice as single crop rice because they pay a significant tribute of grain to the Great Zhou, and also sell some grain to the Great Zhou.