The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 660 Maritime Trade

The light in the darkness was very obvious; no glimmer could escape the notice of someone with a discerning eye.

Therefore, the two parties quickly made contact through the fire, but to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings, Zhou Xun did not continue forward and let Zhang Xiu go by himself.

Zhang Xiu clasped his hands in a fist salute and left, taking a small boat back to his own ship, where he sailed to meet up with the Chen family.

The Chen family's fleet was also heading this way, and the two sides soon met. Chen Yu, the head of the Chen family, boarded the ship and said excitedly, "Brother Zhang, we've finally met. You've been waiting for me for so long."

Zhang Xiu returned the greeting with clasped hands and said, "This is not my fault. It was your Wei Emperor who sealed off the border. The Wei army sentries robbed two batches of my goods, causing me heavy losses. So, Brother Chen, the price of the goods will have to be raised this time."

Upon hearing about the price increase, Chen Yu's face immediately fell, and he said with dissatisfaction, "Brother Zhang, I didn't steal your goods, so it's not fair to raise the price for me."

Raising prices would increase costs, which he, as the buyer, naturally didn't want.

Zhang Xiu laughed and said, "Things are valued for their scarcity. Now that trade routes are blocked, there are bound to be few goods transported from Jiangnan. With fewer goods, prices will naturally be higher. I don't believe you will sell the goods at the original price after you get them."

"Besides, we're currently engaged in smuggling, and we could be seized by the Wei army's detective team at any time, resulting in us losing both our money and our lives. I'm taking a huge risk by delivering goods to you. If you don't agree, I'll have to find someone else. The Langya Wang clan has already sent someone to contact me."

Upon hearing that someone was trying to steal her business, Chen Yu immediately changed her expression and said, "No, my grandmother is your aunt. Our two families are really close relatives. You can't treat me like this."

Chen Yu's grandfather was Chen Cong, the younger brother of Chen Gui, the previous head of the Chen family. Chen Cong's wife was Zhang Zhao's sister.

Zhang Xiu's family, the Zhang family, was a prominent clan in Pengcheng. They only fled south to escape the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and although the rebellion hadn't ended for long, the two families still maintained contact.

Zhang Xiu said, "Then let's raise the price. A 30% increase wouldn't be unreasonable."

"Thirty percent?" Chen Yu exclaimed immediately, "You might as well kill me, at most you'll get one percent."

Zhang Xiu shook his head and said, "At least 20%, and you have to agree to one condition."

Chen Yu asked in surprise, "Uncle, you're not being honest. You don't want me to betray the Wei army's deployment or secretly defect to the Han army, do you? I won't do that. I'm just doing business, and I don't want to take such a big risk."

Zhang Xiu ordered someone to bring over a box and said with a smile, "It's not that serious. I just want you to distribute the books in this box to me, even if you just throw them on the streets of Xiapi. That won't be too much trouble for you, will it?"

Chen Yu opened the box out of curiosity, took out the Legend of the White Snake from the book, glanced at it by the firelight, and said in astonishment, "Just sending some books, is it that simple?"

Zhang Xiu nodded and said, "That's right. If you agree to this condition, the price will only increase by 20%. Otherwise, there's no room for negotiation on a 30% increase."

Chen Yu said, "I'll still give you 10%, and I'll help you distribute the book."

After much back and forth, the two finally decided to raise the price by only 15%. However, Chen Yu had prepared funds based on the original price but didn't bring that much money with him, so he had to pay it off on the spot and make up for it during the next transaction.

After the negotiations were completed, both parties began to deliver the goods. Chen Yu moved the boxes containing cloth and tea to his own small boat, while Zhang Xiu moved the boxes containing money from the Chen family onto the ship.

Moving cargo is hard work, but there is a small crane on the deck of the ship. It consists of two logs crossed in a cross shape. The vertical log is fixed to the deck, while the horizontal log can be moved around. One end is used to lift the cargo, and the other end is moved to change the direction of the cargo. This makes it easy to move the boxes of cargo to the desired location. As a result, cargo that originally required five or six people to pull can now be handled by two or three people, increasing efficiency by nearly 100%.

Moreover, there were several small carts on the boat. The carts were also at right angles, with two forks on the ground, each with a wheel at the bottom, and a pull ring at the end. Shaking the pull ring could raise or lower the cart.

In addition to the handcart, Zhang Xiu also carried many pallets, which were made by nailing a few pieces of wood under the wooden planks so that they were about a hand's width off the ground, allowing the handcart to be easily forked in.

Workers use a crane to move the boxes onto a pallet, then insert the cart into the bottom of the pallet, raise the pallet, and pull it away. One person can easily move a wooden box weighing hundreds of kilograms.

Chen Yu was dumbfounded by what he saw and exclaimed in astonishment, "You can do that? Give me a few of these carts, no, I want a hundred or a thousand, the more the better."

Zhang Xiu's short-distance mobility tool is so useful, it's so enviable, I have to get my hands on it.

The trailer is easy to make; just find a few planks and piece them together. The crane is also easy to make; they're all made of wood, so just go back and find a few carpenters and experiment a few times. But the cart is made of iron and looks very technical, so he can't replicate it in a short time. He can only order a few from Zhang Xiu first.

This kind of handcart can be used on ships, and it can definitely be used in factory areas as well. It's much more convenient than carrying things on and off the ship.

Now Cao Wei is also encouraging aristocratic families to build factories. As the first aristocratic family in Xuzhou, the Chen family naturally has the intention to build factories, and has even started building them. If these handcarts are introduced into the factory area, how much trouble will it save?

Zhang Xiu shook his head and said, "Don't even think about it. This kind of cart is a rare commodity in Jiangnan. Currently, only Wushang Steel Plant can produce it, and the quantity is extremely limited. I used all my connections and only managed to get ten. I don't even have enough for myself, so how could I have any extras to sell to you?"

People are inherently greedy. The more Zhang Xiu refused to sell, the more Chen Yu wanted it. Upon hearing this, he immediately said, "Then sell me these few carriages on the ship. If you don't buy them, I'll have my grandmother write a letter to your father complaining about you. You don't want to get scolded by your father, do you?"

Dealing with relatives can be very difficult sometimes, because if you refuse, they will use moral blackmail and bring up past grievances. If Chen Yu's grandmother, who is also Zhang Zhao's sister, were to write a letter to Zhang Zhao, Zhang Zhao would most likely not refuse his own sister's request for a few carts.

At that point, Zhang Xiu will probably not be selling goods anymore, but giving them away for free. Not only will he be giving them away for free, but he will also have to deliver them to people's doorsteps.

Thinking of the consequences, Zhang Xiu said indignantly, "I'm your cousin, you can't do this to me."

Chen Yu said, "So, are you going to sell them or not? I see you have three on your boat. Sell them all to me, and I won't ask you for them again."

Zhang Xiu gritted his teeth and said, "Two thousand strings of cash per vehicle, not a penny less. Don't complain about the price. I bought them from the steel mill for fifteen thousand each."

Now it was Chen Yu's turn to grit his teeth and say unwillingly, "Your Marquis Shence is really heartless. Is he a general or a shrewd merchant? He even cheats his own people."

As the head of the most prominent aristocratic family in Xuzhou, Chen Yu naturally knew that the Wushang Steel Plant was Guan Xing's property.

This cart weighs at most a few dozen kilograms. How much would scrap iron of the same weight cost? That damned Marquis Shence dared to accept thousands of strings of cash. Why doesn't he just rob him?

Zhang Xiu asked, "Do you want it?"

Chen Yu nodded and said, "Of course I will. I didn't bring any money with me this time, so I'll write an IOU first."

What could Zhang Xiu do with his own relatives? He had no choice but to swallow his pride, put away the IOU, and leave without hesitation.

Chen Yu excitedly picked up the cart and led the team back. On the way home, he personally tested the cart and liked it more and more. However, he felt extremely pained when he thought about the outrageous price of the cart. The three carts had robbed him of six thousand strings of cash, which was not money.

That damned Marquis of Shence, Guan Xing, you're utterly inhuman.