Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 250 The Most Profitable Business in the World

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Just as Liu Ye was pondering where to find the silver to keep the increasingly complex system of the Qiongzhou Camp running, Li Fu muttered, "The money shops in Guangzhou have mountains of silver, but unfortunately we can only look at it and not spend it..."

This reminded Liu Ye, who laughed and said, "Who says we can't spend it? As long as we put it in a fixed deposit, spending this money is exactly the same as spending our own money!"

Sun Yuanhua reminded him, "General, although I don't understand why you're running this money exchange, I still understand that once someone deposits their money, it's still their money. If you use it without permission, wouldn't that be no different from being a robber? The Qiongzhou Camp is upright and honest, and they are destined for great things. They can't ruin their reputation for the sake of short-term wealth!"

Liu Ye explained, “Please rest assured, Mr. Sun, it is absolutely not a case of taking money without permission. Even if the money is borrowed and spent, it will be returned in the future. The purpose of setting up this money shop is to make money from money. Once we make money, we will share it with everyone. These big depositors are like our partners, contributing capital to help Qiongzhou Merchants do business.”

The explanation was so simple and easy to understand that Sun Yuanhua immediately grasped it and nodded, saying, "That's excellent."

Li Fu understood, and he tentatively asked, "Does the general mean to take some money from the bank for emergency use?"

“You guessed half right, but not all of it,” Liu Ye said. “The current cash flow can still cover daily expenses. We’re transferring some money from the bank to do business, not for expenses. Doing so is like drinking poison to quench thirst. The hole will only get bigger and bigger, and sooner or later we won’t be able to fill it, and the bank will go bankrupt.”

Li Fu scratched the back of his head: "But what kind of business can earn so much silver in such a short time, both to meet the needs of the Qiongzhou Camp and to pay back the principal and interest to the bank?"

“Didn’t I tell you? The fastest way to make money is through maritime trade.” Liu Ye asked Van Bommel, “What was the most profitable business for the East India Company?”

Van Bommel replied, “The East India Company has dozens of trading posts and outposts in the Far East, including Japan, Luzon, and Ming China. They deal in a wide variety of goods, from spices, pepper, and amber to sugar, medicinal herbs, and rice. Specifically, the most profitable items at the Da Yuan trading post are tea, silk, porcelain, and raw silk.”

"What about the profits and cycles of trade?"

"Taking popular goods such as tea and silk as examples, it takes a month to transport them from Fujian or Taiwan to Batavia, and three to five months to transport them back to Europe, depending on the sea conditions. As for profits, goods from the Ming Dynasty have the highest profits, reaching over 200 percent."

"A trade cycle of nearly half a year, and only a profit of 200%?" Liu Ye was quite disappointed. Although the profit margin was not low, it was far inferior to Japan's profits of 300% or even 400%. In addition, the European trade routes were basically controlled by a few maritime powers such as the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal. Unless a new trade war was waged like the Netherlands did against the Ming Dynasty, it would be impossible to break the monopoly of these countries. It was not feasible to intervene in this trade route. He should turn his attention to Japan, which was closer to the Ming Dynasty.