The wind and clouds outside Luoqia Port were light and clouds were quiet, and a few seagulls were chirping on the sea, adding a hint of vitality to this deserted port on a quiet morning.

Blanco Sosa de Almeida gently jumped onto the dock under the service of his servants. He is almost 40 years old this year, but his skills are still very agile. This is the result of his persistence in horse riding, hunting and other sports. He is very proud of this. It is already mid-February, and a not-so-hot summer is about to pass, and he also rushed to Luoqi Port with two ships of cotton in this wonderful season.

Both ships of cotton were purchased through his own relationship in the Georgia Mission of the Kingdom of Spain. There were a large number of Old Mainland immigrants from Spain and England, who opened many cotton plantations and used black slaves purchased from Africa for planting. Before this, most of the cotton they produced was for sale to the East Coast people, and merchant ships drove there at a fixed time every year. Every April (Southern Hemisphere Cotton Harvest Season) and October (Northern Hemisphere Cotton Harvest Season), East Coast people would give a latest cotton purchase price, with the metric tons they used as the acquisition unit.

In this case, those cotton sellers (such as those in the northern hemisphere) will drive south to the east coast port for the acquisition in mid-to-late October every year and go to the East Coast Port to "Koujiao" to cut. In the past, both Dongfang Port and Luoqia Port were places where delivery were available, but now it has been changed. The East Coast people designated Luoqia Port as the only delivery port, and Dongfang Port will no longer accept such business. The Luoqia Bulk Trade Center, which has been newly established for more than a year, will announce the latest purchase price of the harvest season in the dockyard. After selling the cotton at hand, these merchants will decide on the cotton purchase price they will go back to the plantation owners based on this price and their predictions of the cotton price trend. After years of stable development, everyone has become accustomed to this trading method, and the East Coast people, as the main buyers of cotton, have firmly controlled the pricing power of cotton.

As many countries on the old and new continents began to vigorously develop their own cotton textile industry, the prices of cotton in Georgia, Florida, Haiti, Brazil, and other places, as the main cotton producer, began to gradually rise. The competition for cotton resources among countries began to heat up, especially after the East Coast people once again raised the purchase price of cotton to 160 yuan/ton, the cotton resources in these areas were immediately snatched, and all kinds of merchants and captains rushed into these cotton production areas with cash boxes or goods. They either directly purchased cash or bartered goods, and in short, they snatched the goods in vain. Then they almost drove the ship south to Luoqia Port and delivered goods to the East Coast people.

This has nothing to do with it, it is just because the purchase price given by the East Coast people is the highest. Also, everyone is used to referring to the purchase price of the East Coast people. As the main buyers of cotton, the pricing of the East Coast people is the "king of the king" - unquestionable and debatable. When those French merchants went through a lot of hardships to arrive at the main export ports of cotton such as St. Augustine, they will find that the price of cotton today has far exceeded their psychological expectations, and most cotton already has owners, and planters are not willing to deal with strangers unless you can offer a price that makes them feel very moved.

This situation bothered them. The high price of cotton in Port St. Augustine was already shocked. If they were to eat it at this price and then ship it back to France for sale, it would be difficult to make profit. Unless the owners of newly built textile factory were willing to invalidate the original acquisition agreement and give a "more sincere" acquisition price, no one would be willing to do such a foolish thing that would bear the losses themselves. Only a few merchants who had opened factories themselves bought some of the remaining inferior cotton that others had picked up at high prices, and then set sail and left the dock. They were also preparing to go to Haiti to try their luck.

The Blanco family itself has a large cotton plantation in Brazil. Although some have been sold to investors from the East Coast, the remaining scale is still very large. The amount of cotton produced each year is also a huge number. In another two months, the cotton in its family plantation will be listed. According to the current trend, it will obviously be sold at a good price. Well, it seems that we will increase our investment in cotton plantations next, but it is a pity that the best cotton plantation is the best.

The parks are in the north, and in the area controlled by the Dutch, which is a pity. However, the good news is that the Dutch have suffered several major defeats in Brazil recently. The situation of the Portuguese has changed a lot. If the local government increases some aid to Brazil, it will be not difficult to drive the Dutch out of Brazil. At that time, their family must seize the opportunity and strive to divide up more property left by the Dutch - such as high-quality cotton plantations.

A servant who had disembarked before Blanco quickly ran back from the dock trading center. He said to Blanco in a slightly excited voice: "The price has risen again, sir. 175 yuan/ton! Everyone is very excited! The cotton bull market is really coming!"

A passing Spanish businessman seemed to know Portuguese, and he nodded at Blanco with a smile and said, "This price is quite good, it's worth it. I shipped cotton all the way from St. Augustine to Port Rocha. Now I can go have a drink with confidence."

“As you said, everything looks beautiful,” Blanco responded with a smile. “The only annoying thing is probably that the cotton acquisition next season (deal from May to June) will become a war. Everyone has cash and goods ready and is waiting for Brazil’s cotton harvest season in late April.”

"Who said no, it would be a tragic war for merchants who do not have enough cotton plantations. Everyone involved needs enough money and good luck to acquire enough cotton, but it is worth it. After all, it is a cotton bull market now, and demand in the old continent is gradually rising." The Spanish merchant shrugged his shoulders as if helplessly and said.

After saying goodbye to the Spanish businessman politely, Blanco asked his personal servant to contact the dock officials to unload the goods, and then went to the trading center to deliver cotton with the East Coast people. He himself prepared to go to the tavern next to the dock like the Spanish businessman to have a drink and ask for some latest news or rumors.

The wines provided in the pier tavern are still quite limited, with only the newly launched West Lake beer, Xiangshan Dried Red and River Daqu. The taste of these wines is not good but not bad. Blanco will occasionally drink some. However, River Daqu here has become the favorite of some alternative sailors. They feel that the spirits brewed in the Old Continent on the boat are not "strong" enough, and only River Daqu can satisfy their appetite. To be honest, Blanco has a low acceptance of this spicy spirit. He thinks that drinking this wine is completely a torture. In comparison, he is more willing to give himself a glass of Xiangshan Dried Red.

There were merchants, captains and sailors everywhere in the tavern. The waiters were all stupid, black and thick, South African Xhosa people. Their service attitude was very poor and the steaks were not authentic, which caused some rude sailors to curse. However, they did not dare to be too presumptuous. The patrol officers passing by from time to time made them dispel all the idea of ​​making trouble. They did not want to be hung on the high flagpoles, which was too stupid.

Several captains talked about a newly built leather goods processing factory in the port by the East Coast people. One of the captains even took off a pair of stinky leather boots from his feet and placed them on the dining table. Everyone looked at them for a moment.

However, the captain was unaware of it. He pointed to the shoes dyed purple and with a faint natural pattern, and said to a middle-aged man opposite in standard Spanish: "This is a pair of rain boots I just bought in the dock store. Purple, how about it, beautiful? It is also very comfortable to wear! Made of whale leather, it can be seen that the leather is tanned very well, without common odors, and there are no common patches, in short, it is perfect. Look, it is also patterned, and the dyed purple is also very luxurious. The salesperson promised me that this kind of shoes are

At extremely low temperatures, they will not deform, break, and the insulation effect is quite strong. I believed him, and then I planned to wear these shoes to go to the waters of Southern Horse Island to hunt whales. People on the east coast are spending a lot of money to buy whales, not only to buy whales, but also to buy all the whales! What are you waiting for with such generous conditions? Garcia, listen to me! Don’t go to the damn Svalbard to hunt whales, the competition there is too fierce, and whales can’t be sold at any price. Let’s go to the south to hunt whales with me, we will definitely make a fortune, which is much more money than selling cotton."
Chapter completed!