Chapter 22: The Deal (Part 2)

“Open the doors, and shared profits await! Keep the doors open, and shared profits will follow!” The Polish merchants nodded repeatedly, almost giving thumbs up in approval.
Wan Li served as an official solely for wealth, and these men had traveled tens of thousands of miles to the distant and dangerous East precisely for 300% profits. Moreover, in Vietnam, they held a unique advantage. France and Russia were staunch allies, united against German ambitions, and they took advantage of this to undermine France’s position: “Honorable Lord Liu Yu, you truly see far ahead. If you have any requests beyond what’s possible, feel free to bring them to us.”
These Polish merchants were better suited to the realities of the Far East than the French. Before coming, they had already researched Liu Yu thoroughly and were not surprised by his age at all.
Accustomed to Eastern politics, they had seen many children, women, and even eunuchs in high positions—this was reality, and since it couldn’t be changed, they quickly adapted to the environment and even mastered bribery tactics: “We can provide whatever you need…”
Their words carried deep meaning—they were willing to offer women, jewels, or money. After some thought, Liu Yu said, “I have quite a few breech-loading guns here…”
“Yes, quite a few!” The Poles were merely flattery. In the Far East, only Vietnam struggled to obtain breech-loading weapons due to French restrictions. In Hong Kong, hundreds of thousands of such guns were sold each year. Japan alone purchased tens of thousands of new rifles, and the Qing Dynasty also had a significant stock.
For them, carrying a dozen breech-loading guns was even easier than Deng Cunyu: “Do you need more weapons? I can make things convenient for you.”
“No! I just want to maintain my rifles and need some tools.” Liu Yu knew there were many things more important than rifles: “I’d like to set up a small gun repair shop.”
Besides the rifles themselves, two other factors determined combat effectiveness: the hand that pulled the trigger and proper maintenance.
At present, Liu Yu’s camp only had some gun oil, leaving them helpless in the face of major problems: “I need some simple tools—wrenches, hammers, lathes, drills, small steam engines…”
None of these items were restricted by the French; they could be easily purchased in Haiphong. The Poles even thought of the small machinery already in their merchant fleet.
This was a great deal!
“Deal! But I expect you to pay the full deposit.”
However, Liu Yu’s next words shocked them: “I can allow you credit—30%.”
This was even more favorable than paying the full deposit.
According to their intelligence, Deng Cunyu had acquired goods for just 30% of the price, which was practically free. If they could get credit and make a round trip to Haiphong, they could earn a 500% profit.

Despite monopolizing trade along the Red River and having substantial capital, their available cash was quite limited. Allowing 30% credit could enable them to earn greater profits at once.
“We have a repair workshop on our ship, equipped with many tools and machinery—all available to you at the purchase price!” The Polish merchant was sensible: “Let’s conduct the transaction right away.”
In the past, the Qing Dynasty spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver on the Abensson fleet. After much effort, they were deceived by foreigners, losing all seven hundred thousand taels with nothing left in return.
In the end, Li Hongzhang reaped some minor benefits—he purchased the repair machinery from the Abensson ship and established the Suzhou Foreign Gun Factory, which later merged into the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, marking the origin of modern China’s machinery industry.
Yet despite decades of effort and tens of millions of taels invested, Li Hongzhang failed to produce even a single qualified military rifle.
He was determined to ignite the true spark of China’s military industry right there!
But after seeing the goods, he was quite disappointed.
The Pole held a greasy plier and said with a smile, “At our purchase price, it’s seven hundred eagle coins.”
Most of them were repair tools. Liu Yu listed them one by one: pliers, hammers, scissors, screwdrivers, forceps, jacks…
The more valuable tools were fewer. There were several hammers, but upon closer inspection, each was greasy, and many were severely damaged.
It seemed like a household repair tool set. Was seven hundred eagle coins really worth such a small amount of goods?
More importantly, there wasn’t a single lathe, drill press, or planer that Liu Yu wanted.
He nodded. “You can include that in the price.”
The Polish merchants were eager to sell these repair tools, which had cost less than 250 Mexican coins each when purchased. After all, they had used these tools for at least three years, and with their residual value, they could exchange them for goods worth two to three thousand eagle coins.
They were willing to take a 300% profit risk, let alone a 1,000% profit. Smiling, they said, “Great! Are there any other needs, Mr. Liu Yu?”
“Hmm!” Liu Yu thought for a moment before adding, “If you have time, bring me some books too. Though there might not be any suitable ones for coastal defense…”
“No problem. There are fast ships to Hong Kong for coastal defense supplies. Whatever books you want, we can provide them. Should that be included in the payment?”
“Hmm, yes. You can give me more credit.”
After all, for Liu Yu, this was a loss-leader deal. Once the time came, even if these supplies weren’t burned, they would be left in the warehouse in Haiyang. Any extra gain was welcome.
The Polish merchants’ smug smiles always annoyed Jiang Linyang. He felt his future son-in-law was yielding too much, and there seemed to be little profit in this deal.
He glared at the mess of repair tools piled together but saw Liu Yu walk over, carefully sorting them out. Ignoring the grease on his hands and face, he categorized them while saying to his father-in-law, “Prepare two good animals to transport all of these.”
His gaze was sharp and determined.
This was the beginning and hope.