I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1498 Fear and hesitation for even a second is disrespectful to Chen Dong.

Sun Shan thought the pile of things was merchandise, but it turned out to be gifts.

Wow, it seems this escort mission really made a lot of money.

Sun Shan put the gifts aside, picked up Sun Dali and Dege'er and went into the study, asking them to give a detailed account of the journey.

Just as Dege was about to speak, Sun Shan waved his hand to stop him, telling Sun Dali to speak instead, as he really didn't want to hear Dege bragging again.

This infuriated Dege, who sat alone, sulking.

Sun Dali scratched his head and said honestly, "Sir, this escort mission is not difficult. We will first transport the grain to Chenzhou Prefecture, then load the grain onto the boat and sail along the Yuan River towards Dongting Lake."

After changing boats three times, we arrived at Dongting Lake. Following the address given by Scholar Chen, we found a lake merchant named Master Chen who specialized in buying and selling grain on Dongting Lake. Knowing that we were introduced by Scholar Chen, he quickly received us.

Master Chen was a distant relative of Scholar Chen, and he had settled in Yueyang Prefecture.

He paused, then added, "I married a girl from Yueyang Prefecture, and we've settled down here."

Sun Shan's lips twitched; he hadn't expected the reason for settling down to be so simple.

Because he married a girl from Yueyang and settled down there, this merchant from Yueyang was quite "unconventional".

This is very rare in Daqian, especially since the Chen family is a prominent clan in Guangzhou, and it is generally difficult for ordinary people to move away from their ancestral home.

Dege chuckled and said, "Shanzi, this Master Chen, according to him, went to Dongting Lake with his clan to make a living back then. Hehe, he must have taken a fancy to the girl from Yueyang and couldn't bear to leave."

Sun Shan glared at De Ge'er and said, "Don't say such inappropriate things; it's uncivilized."

These words infuriated Dege'er even more.

He muttered to himself: Shanzi is such an old-fashioned, rigid, and hypocritical person.

Sun Dali continued, "Master Chen even asked what the relationship was between Scholar Chen and you. Hearing that you were an official in Yuanlu County, Master Chen said he would come to visit when he had time."

Dege interrupted again: "Of course we have to come and pay a visit. Knowing more officials means more opportunities. Hehe, don't underestimate my Shanzi just because he's only a county magistrate now. He has a bright future and will definitely become a high-ranking official in the future. Master Chen is really smart to know how to make friends with him in advance."

Then he turned to Sun Shan and said, "Shanzi, I learned much more on this business trip than I did at the county school. Oh my, I met quite a few shrewd and resourceful merchants along the way."

They were so smooth-talking, it was almost dizzying. Luckily, I had enough self-control, or I would have fallen for their tricks. Oh dear, Shanzi, I need to go a few more times to figure out their methods.

Although Sun Shan was very unhappy that De Ge'er kept interrupting, what he said this time made a lot of sense.

He said encouragingly, "Brother De, it seems you've really learned a lot from this grain trade. Excellent, excellent, excellent."

Dege stood tall and proud, as proud as a rooster.

He chuckled and said, "Of course, Shanzi. My usual joking and laughing face is just to deceive the enemy. Hehe, I have long seen through everything and grasped everything. You think you can take me down? No way!"

Dege'er is the kind of person who can be cheerful all day long if given a little sunshine.

Sun Shan waved his hand to quickly interrupt his boasting: "Go back and write an article about your experience of this business trip, and hand it in to me in three days."

De Geer:.......

They stared dumbfounded at Sun Shan.

Go to hell with writing articles!

He's like a tiger roaring, determined to take the imperial examination route. Shanzi is such a boring guy; all he does is write, even when he's doing business, he has to write articles—it's simply outrageous!

De Ge was about to refuse, but Sun Shan didn't give him the time.

He asked Sun Dali, "Uncle Dali, what happened next?"

Sun Dali looked at Dege with sympathy, thinking how painful writing must be.

Fortunately, as long as Dege writes, then let him write; it's fine as long as he doesn't have to write it.

Sun Dali continued, "We chatted with Master Chen for a while, and then he led us to move the grain to the warehouse. After all the sacks were in the warehouse, he had the grain inspected."

Hearing this, Sun Shan was taken aback and asked, "The grain inspection is already underway?"

Sun Dali nodded and said, "Yes, the grain was inspected as soon as we got off the ship and arrived at the warehouse. The inspection was completed late at night, and then they quoted us a price. If we agreed, we could proceed with the transaction."

All of this happened so suddenly that everyone was stunned.

Even Wang, the deputy manager who had some experience in the team, was at a loss.

After all, the transactions seem too easy, it feels unreal. There might be a trap involved.

Dege'er then jumped out and said, "Shanzi, I saw that Master Chen's price was within the range you offered, so I agreed without thinking."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Shanzi, this is our first time doing business. We've received help from Scholar Chen, and Master Chen is a relative of Scholar Chen, so we have to give him face. We agreed without hesitation. Hehe, Shanzi, didn't I do the right thing?"

Actually, Dege'er was also wondering to himself how the grain could be sold so quickly.

Shouldn't we haggle a bit? Shouldn't we compare prices and look at other suppliers?

Then Dege'er realized that this was all thanks to the Chen family paving the way, and the price was within the predetermined range, so he dared not hesitate.

I'm afraid that even hesitating for a second longer would be disrespectful to Chen Dongling.

He made a quick decision and agreed.

Sun Shan thought for a moment and then pondered.

He affirmed Dege'er's actions: "Dege'er, well done. We've achieved our goal, so we should be more decisive. This time, we're entirely thanks to the Chen family's help, and they've offered a fair price, so we should sell without hesitation. Perhaps the Chen family will appreciate our cooperative relationship and want to work with us again next time."

Dege'er smiled with bright eyes and said, "Shanzi, Master Chen knows we still have grain, and he'll buy it again if we transport it over. Oh, he'll definitely continue doing business with us because we're easy to talk to."

Having received Sun Shan's affirmation, De Ge'er became even more proud, raising his head high and looking ahead with an arrogant air.

Young people are full of vigor and ambition, and it is the perfect time for them to strive forward.

The grain trade went so smoothly it was almost unbelievable.

It was just a matter of moving and delivering goods; the item was bought by Mr. Chen as soon as it landed.

Sun Dali laughed and said, "Master Chen settled the account the day after he took our grain. Hehe, the grain trade is really easy, even easier than when I sell eggs in the city."

Upon hearing this, Sun Shan couldn't help but laugh: "What did you do after that?"

Dege'er said with a grin, "Shanzi, what else can we do? Of course, we'll use the money we make from this grain trade to buy some good quality, low-priced goods to sell back in Chenzhou Prefecture."

Wow, Dongting Lake is teeming with merchant ships! People from all over the country come here, and even more goods from all corners of the world. Loading and unloading is a constant affair. After finding a cheap inn to rest, we wandered around the next day, looking for good goods.

In fact, Dege'er and Wang Jijun were both from the countryside, and everything was new to them, so they wandered around.

Sun Dali, just like accompanying Sun Shan to take the imperial examination, stayed at the inn, guarding the payment for the goods, eating, drinking, relieving himself, and sleeping, never leaving his side.