Chapter 348 - The Foshan Journey (Part 1)

"One thousand doses of Zhuge Marching Powder, three thousand doses of Plague-Repelling Powder. I'll purchase the entire lot." Liu San had already thought this through. This batch of medicine was primarily for his own use—after all, summer heat prevention was an important matter, and Minister Shi had been asking about heat prevention medicines.

The secondary purpose was to use them as samples for trial sales in surrounding areas and mainland cities, testing how receptive the locals of this era would be. Medicine saved and benefited people; in terms of expanding the transmigrators' influence and penetration, it far surpassed luxury goods like glass.

Yang Shixiang was astonished. "Isn't that too much?"

"Not at all. Bairen City alone needs this much summer medicine—there are about ten thousand people there now. Commissioner Wu has said he'll take as much of this medicine as we can supply..." Liu San hinted that Yang shouldn't forget the transmigrator group was also a huge consumer base. Yang Shixiang's commercial instincts were rather too dull. He also took the opportunity to boast about his so-called "connections"—though in reality no such connections were needed; Wu De and Liu San merely knew each other. But Chinese people had always placed great importance on personal relationships, so this could be considered a reassurance.

"That means I'll need to go to the mainland." Yang Shixiang made up his mind. "Some of these ingredients are available in Qiongshan, but not in such quantities. I'll need to go to a major apothecary in Guangzhou. Only—" He hesitated.

Liu San guessed he probably didn't have enough capital. Medicines like musk and ox gallstones, while not as expensive as ginseng, deer antler, or rhinoceros horn, would still require a considerable outlay to produce this many doses.

"I could advance some of the payment..."

"No, no, no—that won't do!" Yang Shixiang quickly refused. "There's no precedent for that! Accepting advance payment before the business has even begun."

"Why no precedent?" Liu San smiled. "Here's what we'll do—consider it my joining as a shareholder. It can serve as capital investment."

"This—" Yang Shixiang hesitated, but the allure of this deal and the two formulas was too great. Though he had some habits of a spoiled young gentleman, he genuinely hoped to make something of the family business in his hands. After some deliberation, he nodded in agreement.

Liu San laughed inwardly. This settled half the matter of "joining as a shareholder." Actually, you should thank me, he thought. Right now, the transmigrator group is a super high-potential stock. Having me as a shareholder means you've effectively become a shareholder too—and the cost is much cheaper than trying to buy in ten years from now. By then, not only you, but your children and grandchildren, and your shop assistants and their descendants, will all have reason to thank your wise decision today.

"Very well. Manager Liu!" Yang called out. "Calculate how much of each ingredient we need based on the doses. Check what stock we have, and don't unpack my luggage. Send someone to Bopu to book a boat ticket."

The Gaoguang Shipping Company, which ran cargo vessels on the Lingao-Guangzhou route, had started regular passenger service using spare capacity on their ships, carrying passengers and personal cargo between Guangzhou and Lingao. The ticket prices were quite cheap. Though the accommodations were basic, they attracted merchants traveling between the two places—though this business wasn't large, as travelers between these locations were quite limited.

Seeing how decisively and efficiently he acted, Liu San took this as a good sign. He seized the opportunity to suggest, "Since you're going to Guangzhou anyway, why not make a side trip to Foshan?"

"Go to Foshan? Those snobs!"

"As they say, 'circumstances change with the times.' Before, when Runshitang's performance was poor and you approached them, you were asking for favors. Naturally, given how the world works, their attitude was cold. But now you have a big deal in your hands and will be paying genuine silver for their ingredients. Surely they wouldn't turn away business that comes to their door? Besides, you're still close relatives."

"In terms of variety and quality of ingredients, my uncles' stock is indeed excellent. It's just—" Yang Shixiang's face showed resentment; apparently he had endured quite a bit of cold treatment and disdain in the past. "I really don't want to let them earn this money."

"On the contrary, you should let them earn it." Liu San guided him patiently. "Lingao is such a small place with so few people. Even if you could sell medicine throughout Qiongzhou Prefecture, how many households would that be? To sell medicine, you need to go to the mainland!"

These summer medicines had a huge market in Guangdong and Guangxi. Runshitang, confined to its corner of Lingao, had long been out of touch with mainland drug merchants and the pharmaceutical industry—essentially cut off from mainland market conditions. To break into the Guangdong market, they would definitely need help from local apothecaries. Yang Shixiang naturally understood the implication: this was about using his relatives in Foshan to expand their market.

Thinking it through this way, he felt relieved. Yang Shixiang nodded deeply. "Thank you for the guidance, Doctor Liu!" He then asked, "I wonder if it would be convenient for Doctor Liu to get away? If possible, would you accompany me on this trip to Foshan?"

Liu San had been wanting to propose going to Foshan himself and was wondering how to bring it up. Now that Yang had taken the initiative, it was exactly what he wanted. He immediately agreed.

Liu San wanted to use this opportunity to get inside a pharmaceutical enterprise of this era and observe their business model and methods. He had heard elderly pharmacists tell many stories about century-old apothecaries, but those were mostly about the mid-Qing period and later—over a hundred years away from the present, with limited reference value.

Liu San returned to his lodging and quickly rode his bicycle to Bairen City to report to Shi Niaoren. Shi Niaoren praised him highly, saying his efficiency was truly excellent—though perhaps slightly too excellent. His budget request hadn't yet been approved, and if they were departing tomorrow, he might not have anywhere to get the silver. Furthermore, the Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee would need to be notified, as this technically fell under their purview.

Shi Niaoren was busy making phone calls and delivering documents. Liu San sat alone in the office, idly watching young nurses going back and forth in the corridor. After about an hour, Shi Niaoren returned.

"Everything is taken care of." Shi Niaoren was somewhat excited as he placed a document folder on the table. "Both the Executive Committee and the Foreign Trade Committee support your plan. In addition to the four hundred taels of silver in your application, they're allocating an extra one hundred taels. Also, the Planning Committee has approved your request for medicine samples—ten boxes of each type."

"Thank you for the leadership's support..."

"Hold on—you won't be going alone. There's a team."

"Huh?"

"Here's the thing. Foshan is a major town. Its ceramics and textile industries are well-developed. The Industry Committee wants to send someone to see the local industrial situation firsthand, and perhaps recruit some craftsmen to bring back. The demand for ceramics is growing constantly."

"Fine, let's go together then. But what identity will he use?"

"Just say he's your friend. The Intelligence Committee is assigning each of you a servant—these are interns from the first intelligence training class. Keep an eye on them!"

"Isn't this... quite an elaborate team?" Liu San had originally planned to travel alone with Yang Shixiang, light and carefree. Now it seemed to have become quite an undertaking.

"This is an excellent infiltration opportunity. The Executive Committee naturally wants to seize it." Shi Niaoren said, "There aren't that many people. Go get ready. Meet at Bopu tomorrow." He handed over an envelope. "Here are your allocated funds. Sign for them."

Liu San signed the receipt. Inside the envelope were several sheets of mulberry bark paper notes, printed elegantly, with the format, patterns, and designs modeled after modern bank checks. The header read "Delong Bank," with the denomination written below in formal characters. All were fifty-tael notes, brand new.

"These are Delong Bank notes, newly issued in Guangzhou." Shi Niaoren explained. "There aren't many places that accept them yet. Here's a list of the various establishments and their addresses that have agreed to honor these notes." He handed over a list. "By coincidence, the accepting establishment in Foshan Town is a pharmaceutical firm."

"Wouldn't it be funny if it turned out to be run by Yang Shixiang's relatives?"

"That I wouldn't know. But with these banknotes, traveling on business will be very convenient. Otherwise you'd have to make a trip to the Guangzhou Station first to get cash."

After the Executive Committee conceived the idea of establishing a bank during the Leizhou Sugar War, Cheng Dong and Yan Ming had moved quickly, developing a complete organizational and management system for the bank, as well as protocols for fund allocation and remittance in short order. They had even specifically recalled the main personnel from the Guangzhou Station to Lingao in rotation for meetings to discuss this matter.

After discussion, the final plan was as follows:

Delong Bank would establish a separate presence in Guangzhou, ostensibly as an independent enterprise. Since Meng Xian's appearance really didn't look much like a native of the Great Ming, it would be difficult for him to pass as a local. So the nominal proprietor was a relative of Shen Fan's—a student who could also handle document work on top of being the figurehead. The actual manager would naturally be Meng Xian.

Delong Bank's business was more similar to traditional money shops than modern banks. First, it did not engage in lending—only deposits and remittances. Of course, it would be difficult for Delong to attract deposits when just starting out with no reputation or credibility. So the depositing customers were actually just the three trading houses under the Guangzhou Station. Besides the principal, operating funds, and profits of these houses, there were also deposits attracted through Zizhen Studio and Zicheng Trading.

Through managing business account transactions, Delong Bank effectively monitored the capital flows of the Guangzhou Station, while also eliminating the need to physically transport large quantities of silver between Guangzhou and Lingao. All they needed was a ledger transfer at the bank and a telegram notification.

To quickly develop Delong's remittance business, Meng Xian first implemented a simple, rudimentary joint-network remittance system in the Pearl River Delta. This was the operational method commonly used by Shanxi banks in the Qing dynasty: in areas with substantial cash flows, they would partner with well-capitalized, actively-trading major merchant houses as joint-exchange affiliates. Drafts issued by Delong could be cashed at these establishments at face value. Conversely, drafts issued by these affiliates would be honored by Delong in Guangzhou. Between affiliates, accounts were settled monthly, with bilateral transactions cleared through remittance.