bookpub Chapter 240 Wujiang Port, Will And Smith
Chapter 240 Wujiang Port, Will And Smith
Autumn is over and winter is coming.
With the cold air going south.
Light snow began to fall sparsely in the northern sky.
Wujiang port.
This is a sea port.
The reason why it is called Wujiang Port is because the location of Wujiang Port is the mouth of Wujiang River.
It is also a large port city in the north of the east.
At this time, the pier seemed very busy.
When winter comes, the sea will enter a period of ice. Although the ice layer is not very thick, it will still cause great damage to wooden ships.
During this period many ships began to return to port.
A sailboat came from afar.
Some of them are fishing and repairing.
Some of the long-distance fleets came to replenish and prepare to go south.
The pier is even more lively and busy.
All kinds of goods are moved back and forth.
Even many ships lined up outside the port, waiting to enter the port to unload.
The porters carried sacks or boxes one by one and sent them to the carriage on the shore.
Every time the goods are moved, they will receive their own wages from a person in charge.
The tugboat workers yelled loudly, and parked the boats in order.
Although the pier seemed extremely busy, everyone's faces were not happy, but rather sad.
This is the last rush of winter.
After this period they will lose their jobs.
In this world, jobs for freemen are not easy to find.
Many nobles like to use their own slaves, which can save a lot of money.
Freedmen are hired only as a last resort. 02
At this time, another large ship leaned on the bridge.
The porters' eyes lit up.
They have been discussing life at the dock all year round, so they can naturally tell which ships have a lot of cargo.
A group of porters swarmed up, one by one scrambling to recommend their strength to the ship owner.
This kind of merchant ship that transports a large amount of goods is generally an ocean-going merchant ship.
The boss is not only bold and generous, but also has a lot of goods.
As long as the job is received, it takes almost a day, and there is no need to find other moving jobs.
After the porter made sure, a gorgeously dressed young man got off the merchant ship.
Immediately after the boat ran down again, a young man in gorgeous clothes shouted to the people in front.
"Will, wait for me!"
Will in front stopped and turned his head to look.
"Smith, I thought you wouldn't come down anymore, didn't you stay with your lovely wife?"
After catching up with Will, he rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly.
"Hahaha, women can accompany me anytime, and business is the main thing. By the way, this place is really lively!"
The two walked side by side towards the pier.
Will looked at the busy crowd and said lightly.
"This is the last time the northern port is busy, and it will enter winter. We can only stay here for two days at most, and we will continue to go south."
"Your family is really powerful, do you run like this every year?"
The two territories are relatively close, and they have contacts with each other.
Will has always been a standout among youngsters.
Not only loved by women, but also admired by men.
In every gathering, Will always talks about the customs and customs of various places, appearing to be knowledgeable.
"That's right, the family territory is not rich in resources, and the main income of each generation is to run business by sea to support the development of the family. You live comfortably at home, why are you free to learn how to go to sea with me?"
Since Will took over his father's fleet, he has been running the ship by himself for the past two years.
He was very surprised to receive a sudden request from Smith.
But the relationship between the two is good, and he doesn't mind taking Smith out to see the world.
Smith thought about the situation of the family, and said with a sigh.
"Oh...! Don't mention it, the land harvest has not been good in the past two years, and there have been almost continuous wars in the north. That is to say, nothing can be grown on your family's land, so it is relatively stable."
"This time my father asked me to come out, mainly to see if there is any food to purchase. Otherwise, the famine will become more and more serious, and the battle is not over yet, and many people will starve to death."
Will nodded in understanding.
Although he is not in the grain business, he has seen many businessmen transporting grain from the south to the north.
The land resources in the south are abundant, and three crops can be planted in a year, while in the north, only one crop can be planted in a year. In the rest of the time, the land can only grow some miscellaneous grains.
Famine in the north is already a long-term occurrence.
It was better when there was no war.
When the war comes, there will be widespread famine.
Every year, a large amount of grain is purchased from the south.
It's just that wars in many places in this period have caused difficulties in food transportation, which made some lords have ideas about water transportation.
"Actually, there is nothing worth seeing in Wujiang Port. It is mainly the boats coming down here from Wujiang River. The real bustling place is in the south."
This is also the first time for Smith to go to sea, so he knows nothing about the outside world.
asked curiously.
"Then why are you staying here?"
He didn't dislike Smith either, but explained patiently.
"The ships that stop here are all for supplies. It will be very troublesome to replenish when going by sea. Not every place can allow ships to stop."
"The north is short of materials. Except for minerals, furs, and horses, there is nothing worthy of the attention of the southerners. The main income is to bring a large amount of materials from the south back to the north for sale."
Smith looked around like a curious baby.
Their family's territory is on the Wujiang River, but the wharf on the Wujiang River is much more desolate than here.
It was the first time he had seen so many big ships.
"Then what are the materials that these porters carry? I think there are quite a lot of them!"
All the things carried on the pier are shipped in sacks or boxes.
Smith also had no way of knowing what was inside.
"Part of it is seafood, and most of it is materials transported from the south. This is the last port in the north, and they will sell it here [and then resell it to the inland area through Wujiang port."
It's just that Will didn't know that there was a place called Upstream Village further north.
Before the upstream village was developed, Wujiang Port was indeed the last port in the north.
"Then can so many things be sold?"
Hearing such childish words, the corners of Will's mouth twitched immediately.
Much? Does your family have a lot of Southern stuff?"
Smith shook his head numbly.
"No, the things in the south are too expensive, and once in a while a few items appear, they are snapped up by those nobles."
Smiling and patted each other on the shoulder.
"Since you rarely see it in your territory, do you still think there are a lot of these materials? You must know that the north is very big, but there are only two sea routes from south to north, which cannot meet the needs of the entire north at all."
"Such a small amount of supplies can go out of several territories, which is already very good. Territories like ours relying on the Wujiang River are a little bit better. Those inland territories that don't even rely on the river hardly see any products from the south.
Smith also understood now, and his eyes lit up when he came over.
Said in surprise.
"Then let's build more ships and send a large number of materials from the south to resell. Isn't that a good deal?"
Will felt a little tired and put his hand on his forehead.
"If it's really that simple, wouldn't everyone start doing maritime business?"
Hearing what Will said, he immediately felt that it made sense.
It's just that I still don't understand.
"Ugh...!! What's the reason for that?"
Will holds up a finger.
"First, it is difficult to build a ship. Not all ships can run on the sea. You will often encounter strong winds and waves on the sea. If you are not careful, let alone make money. "It is common for ships to be destroyed. Even if my ship hits It will be very dangerous when there are strong winds and strong waves.”
Then extend the 2nd finger.
"Secondly, not everyone knows the shipping route. If there is no fixed safe route, it is easy to encounter rocks and the like and cause the ship to leak. Our family has been exploring for generations to find a safe route."
Extend the third finger again.
"Thirdly, lost at sea, during the sailing process of sea ships, it is not possible to sail close to the edge of the mainland 447. As I said just now, there will be many reefs and other obstacles blocking the forward route. At this time, we will enter the deep sea bypass.
"But the weather in the sea is changeable. One moment is clear sky, and the next moment may be stormy. If you are not careful, the ship will be blown to a farther place. At that time, you will not be able to find the route if you want to come back. Drifting continuously at sea, lack of food and drinking water in the end, trapped to death at sea.
Extend the 4th finger again.
"Fourth, pirates. There are many large and small islands in the sea. Some people who are forced to flee will hide in the islands in the sea to survive. But what resources do the islands have? They rely on passing merchant ships To rob."
"After a long time, pirates gathered together. Some pirates who are more talkative, pay a little toll, and everyone lives in peace. If you encounter those crazy pirates, you will not only sweep away all your belongings, but even kill all the people on board."
Then extend the fifth finger.
"Fifth, local aristocrats who are insatiable. The idea of normal people is to buy goods from the south and send them to the north, and then they can make a lot of money."
"Actually, a lot of goods are controlled by local nobles. For us merchants, time is money. It takes a long time to collect a little bit. But if you buy in large quantities, the local nobles will definitely find out. Then tax us hugely, and even double the price of the goods."
"At this time, you need to face a choice. If you change to another port, the expenses on the road will be a huge expense. But if you bite the bullet and buy it, the profit will decrease, so the profit at sea is not as big as imagined. Do you understand now?"
Smith was shocked at this moment.
He didn't expect that there would be so many ways to travel by sea.
At the same time, I also realized how naive my previous thoughts were.
Looking at Will, he nodded.
"It seems that running a business at sea is not as majestic as it seems on the surface."
"Yeah, let's go, let's go to the city to drink..."
"0$.!!!!!!"
A loud voice came from the sea. .