Tea Merchants of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 122 Hui Mo

As Jiang Yin expected, Su Shan and Li Qing were both from local aristocratic families. Moreover, they were from large aristocratic families, Hui ink and Xuan paper.

Jiang Yin said with surprise, "Excuse me, I'm sorry, you are from the Huimo Su family and the Xuanzhi Li family. I have heard of your two families for a long time, but I didn't expect to meet you here today."

She raised her eyebrows and said jokingly, "So, if I want to buy Hui ink and rice paper, can Brother Su and Li Qing help me?"

She was attracted by Hui ink and Xuan paper, and she really wanted to buy some to take back.

It's good to be from a big family, and the big family has nothing to do with tea, so the Inspector would never suspect her.

"Of course, you can go and see it now." Su Shan waved his hand and said, "I'll give you a cheaper price."

"It's OK here, too. It depends on how much you want. The more you want, the cheaper it is." Li Qing said with a smile, "Brother Zhang, besides the tea business, do you do other business? For example, our Hui ink and Xuan paper?"

They also thought about expanding their business to other places, but it is not that easy.

It could only be sold in large quantities to Huizhou merchants traveling back and forth from north to south, or to other merchants, who would then resell them elsewhere.

But it is impossible to sell the products on a large scale in this way. We need special shops to display and sell them.

Jiang Yin narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you saying you want to cooperate with me?"

Jiang’s main business is tea, and everything else is just a bundled product. They sell as much as they can.

Of course, when it comes to these bundled items, you should be cautious when purchasing them and not take too much.

Therefore, she knew about the situation that Li Qing described.

"Yes." Li Qing nodded and said, "If my guess is correct, Brother Zhang's family should run a teahouse.

I don’t require the entire shop to sell Xuan paper, I just need to open up a place in the teahouse to sell Xuan paper, and the profit will be easy to predict.”

Although it is a win-win cooperation, on the surface, they are the ones asking others to do things for them, so they naturally have to be more humble.

"The same goes for Hui Mo." Su Shan quickly raised his hand to agree, "I want to cooperate too."

Hui ink and Xuan paper are best used together, they should act together.

Jiang Yin hesitated for a moment and said, "This is a good idea, but I have to think about it. So, I will go and have a look and buy some to take back.

If this method is feasible, I will send you a message, or send someone to purchase the goods directly, okay?"

She had never thought of selling teahouses mixed with other irrelevant items before.

Usually, teahouses sell not only tea, but also some cakes and snacks.

But when she thought of the Huiji Teahouse, she felt that it was not impossible. Perhaps it could bring a lot of customers to the teahouse.

Li Qing nodded decisively and said, "Okay, it's settled. Let's go to the shop and take a look now?"

Jiang Yin nodded in agreement. She also wanted to go out and take a look.

On the way, she also asked Li Qing and Su Shan why Huiji Teahouse didn't just sell rice paper and Huiji ink. Now even Su Shan felt helpless.

"Our shop is in Huizhou City, so of course you have to come to the shop to buy it." Su Shan sighed, "The teahouse is just to attract people."

This was Li Qing's idea, he just benefited from it.

It's true, this teahouse attracted many customers to buy Hui ink and Xuan paper in the store, and many of them were from other places.

"Then why not sell it on consignment at a bookstore?" Jiang Yin tilted his head in confusion.

Ink and paper are most commonly used by scholars. Where are the most scholars? Of course, besides academies, there are bookstores.

Moreover, normally, bookstores also sell pens, ink, paper and inkstones.

"Of course we have them in bookstores," Su Shan said, "but Hui ink and Xuan paper are not ordinary ink and paper. Our costs are high, so they are naturally expensive.

Moreover, many scholars did not have enough money to buy Hui ink and Xuan paper, so they could only buy some ordinary paper, pens and ink. "

This is the biggest problem facing Hui ink and Xuan paper: people don’t have money to buy them. And those who have money to buy them are mostly businessmen rather than poor scholars.

Jiang Yin frowned slightly and said, "So, you attract customers in the teahouse to attract those who have some money?"

The tea in Huiji Teahouse is not cheap, so a group of customers are selected from the beginning.

In addition to those who come here to listen to the famous "Heavenly Matcha", the customers are not limited to Huizhou tea.

That's why Su Shan and Li Qing attach so much importance to the teahouse.

Li Qing took over the conversation and said, "Brother Zhang is smart, that's exactly it."

Jiang Yin pursed her lips and said, "Hui ink and Xuan paper are expensive, so why don't you expand your business to Tokyo? There are rich people everywhere there."

Whatever you take to Tokyo, it will only become more expensive, not the most expensive.

"Of course I went." Su Shan pouted, "But our Hui ink and Xuan paper are not the only things in this world. Tokyo is such a prosperous place, there is everything you need."

Their shop was opened in Tokyo, but it was not that prominent and they were excluded.

Jiang Yin was a little speechless, but he didn't know what to say, so he could only comfort her: "It doesn't matter, there is still a long time to go, and there will always be a chance to sell your Hui ink and Xuan paper to various places, so that they can be everywhere."

She suddenly saw a sense of mutual admiration between Su Shan and Li Qing. They both wanted to revitalize the family and explore a new path forward.

As they were talking, they came to the Su family's Hui Mo shop. Before they entered the door, they smelled the fragrance of ink.

Jiang Yin's eyes lit up and he said, "This must be Hui ink. Just from the smell, I can tell it's not an ordinary product."

"That's right." Su Shan puffed out his chest and said, "One ounce of gold is worth one ounce of ink. Nothing can compare to Hui ink."

Hui ink, which is worth one ounce of gold and one ounce of ink, is made from pine soot, tung oil smoke, glue and spices as the main raw materials.

It is light when picked up, clear when ground, has a sweet smell, is as hard as jade, grinds silently, is as sharp as lacquer, and can last forever.

The production process of Hui ink is very complicated, involving more than twenty steps such as lighting smoke, mixing materials, pounding, making ink, drying ink, filing edges, washing water, filling with gold, and engraving molds.

Hui ink has distinct characteristics, unique craftsmanship, and a wide variety of styles and varieties, and is also highly regarded by the government.

Su Shan introduced Hui ink with some pride, which was the most outstanding thing in his family.

He introduced it seriously, and Jiang Yin was fascinated. If it wasn't inappropriate, she would have wanted Su Shan to take her to see what the workshop that made Hui ink looked like.

However, Su Shan said indifferently: "You can go and see it. It's in She County, which is a bit far away. But there are many families making Hui ink there, and the competition is fierce."

Hui ink is not unique to his Su family, but is produced by many families.

However, what those families made could not match what the Su family made. The Su family was the only one in power, but they did not monopolize it.

Jiang Yin's eyes lit up, then dimmed again, and he said regretfully: "Next time, I will definitely go and have a look when I have time."

This time she has more important things to investigate and cannot have too close contact with Su Shan and the others.