Chapter 305 38. Watch the Taste Increase and the Price Soar

"Master Tanjo is so free!"

Kobayata, who was working as an unqualified pig herder, was stopped by someone. He looked up and saw who else but Sukezaemon.

Seeing that it was Sukezaemon, Kobayata took off his bamboo hat and shook it casually in his hand. It was still a little hot in the field under the direct sun.

"Nothing like our boss Sukezaemon, the head of the house!" Kobayata greeted him with a smile.

"Today's lunch will be in the hands of Tanjo." Sukezaemon and a trusted servant came to Kobayata.

Kobayata asked him to sit under a big tree by the river, and Tatsuzo ran home to bring a large pot of herbal tea and a ceramic bowl. Several people sat on the ground and gulped down a large bowl of tea.

Kobayata had been in the countryside for more than a week. The big guys in the mountains had their own things to do, and no one had come to take care of Kobayata yet. Kobayata was able to take a few days off from his busy life, not having to worry about any mundane matters, and he was very relaxed.

"Look at how I've raised these piglets?" Kobayata pointed at the pigs on the riverbank with the branch in his hand.

"No matter how well the pigs are raised, Danzheng will never use them as his main business."

Sukezaemon also used a small branch to tease a piglet not far away, poking its butt and its ears.

"It's rare to be able to go back to the countryside and relax for a few days, but I'm just entertaining myself." Kobayata said, and the piglet raised its butt and ran away quickly to find its mother pig.

Tatsuzo and Sukezaemon's servants stood up consciously and went to another tree not far away.

"The sedentary and traveling merchants in Nanxin have started to ship goods." Sukezaemon immediately changed his face when he talked about business.

"They are just starting to sell out of inertia. They have to eat. Is there any supply in the countryside?" Xiaoping broke the branch in his hand recklessly.

"Very little. There was a severe drought last year, and 70% to 80% of soybeans were lost. Many of them were bought out in advance by the government. The amount shipped now is far less than in normal years in the past."

"Have you sent people to the countryside to check?" "We have visited more than 20 villages, so it should be correct."

This year's new wheat has been harvested. Due to the lack of winter snow last year, the wheat harvest this year may be a little less. But the wheat has been harvested, which means that the people can at least have a little money in their hands, more or less.

"What's the market situation?" "It was eight cents a few days ago, but now it's out of stock. The merchants from Koshu, Joshu, and Bushu came late, and the villages in the whole mountain are no longer able to get miso. They are running around in a panic."

"What is their purchase price?" "Ten cents a liter, there is no stock to buy, hahahaha." Sukezaemon was a little pleased. Those small foreign merchants just came now, how could they still buy goods.

"Has the news that we have inventory spread?" Kobayata stood up, clapped his hands, put his hands behind his back, and looked at the quietly flowing Lianchuan.

"Everyone in the whole mountain knows that our warehouse in Naya Warehouse is full of miso. They have surrounded us a long time ago." Sukezaemon also stood up.

"So, I can only come here to hide from the sun to avoid being found by them."

"Sukezaemon, do you think you can ship it?" Kobayata's heart fell into his stomach when he heard the price of ten cents a liter. History really followed his trajectory, and the miso crisis in the East broke out.

The current price is three and a half times the original cost. If you sell it now, the original cost of 10,000 kan will immediately turn into 35,000 kan. If the profit is split 30-70, Kobayata will get 24,500 kan.

And Kobayata's cost? It's all other people's. He got nothing for nothing!

"Wait two more days. Yamanouchi is the only one in the whole East Country that has goods. If we don't hold them back and let them go up, the price will always go down if we release so many goods. We may not be able to get 30,000 kan by then."

Sukezaemon seemed to have an abacus in his hand. He could go through the big account in his mind with just a few blinks of his eyelids. His eyes were full of brilliance.

"So, you're going to hide from me for the next two days?" "I'm going to bother you for a few more days."

"It's delayed you from doing other big business." "Such a big business of 30,000 or 40,000 kan is not usually available. Hahaha!"

"There is one thing, Takeda Daizen Shintaka of Kai." Sukezaemon said casually.

It turned out that after Takeda Harunobu suppressed the forces of Suruga through his eldest grandson, he worked hard to prepare the gold mine and open up new sources of income.

The extremely rich catch in Suruga Bay reminded him, and he actually imitated the joint-stock management of Yamanouchi and also brought in the samurai of Kai and Suruga to open a fish drying workshop. [Note 1]

When Sukezaemon went to Suruga, he found that there were many high-quality dried fish in Sunpu Town, ranging from bonito flakes to other dried fish that were grilled, grilled, and boiled and then dried.

Not only were they delicious to eat, but the price was surprisingly not expensive, and ordinary middle-class families could afford them.

Takeda Harunobu relied on this dried fish to open up a new source of income of thousands of kanwen a year, and also won the loyalty of a group of Kai and Suruga samurai. After all, a daimyo who can make everyone rich is a good daimyo, and following him will give you meat to eat.

Kobayata thought to himself that Takeda Harunobu was a lord and he could have monopolized the business by himself, but he followed Kobayata's example and gave a lot of profits to other samurai. Kobayata had to do it, but he took the initiative to do it.

He has a great character! He has foresight!

"Takeda Daizen is indeed a hero!" Kobayata exclaimed.

"If this works, I can immediately withdraw 10,000 kan from my hand, and I will go to Kai to meet Takeda Daizen and compete for the exclusive right of this dried fish." Sukezaemon did not hide his ambition.

"You are not avoiding me. Takeda Daizen can be an enemy of my prince. You are betting on both sides." Xiao Pingtai was not surprised. When new special products appeared, as long as the sales prospects were determined, merchants who smelled the fragrance of money would always rush to them.

Sukezaemon was not a local merchant of the Yamanouchi family. He was not controlled by the Yamanouchi family. He could naturally bet on both sides. Sukezaemon could watch the rise and fall of the daimyo lords with cold eyes.

"In five days, I will return to Yamanouchi. I can't let them wait anxiously." Xiao Pingtai turned his head and said.

"Okay, it should be so." Sukezaemon followed with a smile.

At the same time, in front of the Naya branch store under Yamanouchi Fuchu Castle, dozens or even hundreds of small merchants from all over the East gathered. As time went by, the number of people increased.

[Note 1]: Numazu in Shizuoka Prefecture is indeed one of the seven major fish drying industry clusters in Japan. The most famous dried tuna is one of Japan's top 100 specialties. Its origin actually dates back to the Edo period, and in the middle and late Edo period, which is a hundred years earlier here.