[C.E. 1776, April 28, breeze, four knots]
[Longitude: 356.6 East, Latitude: 57.7 North, Black Harbor, Elgin, Scotland]
[Specialties: Whiskey, Woolen fabrics, Beef]
[Today is a special day for the fledgling Drake Chamber of Commerce]
[We have our first permanent harbor, Port Elgin, Scotland.]
[Only in Mr. Piddick's official documents, it's called Port Elgon.]
[Whatever her name was, we opened up the market, and put the little chamber, with a total of three men, a standard Kirk and a capital of over four hundred pounds, officially on the track of development]
[The fine porcelain of the mysterious Orient is not to be missed.]
[Missing the East]
[When can we go back and visit?
[It's now 1776, it's nothing to listen to people shouting Lord Yankee, it's just the money rat braid, it's too ugly ...]
[Back on track, it's time for the Chamber to consider where to go next]
[For offshore trade, triangular trade is a good model]
[With Elgin as the fulcrum and the other two corners, which to choose?]
With the dim oil lamp, Lorraine carefully wrote her diary on the rocking waves.
A logbook is an essential lesson for every sea captain.
When at sea, they record winds, currents. When in the harbor, they record latitude, longitude, and specialties.
There is certainly a daily dose of insight and reflection involved.
And because of this vital information, no matter what the era, a nautical diary is a captain's most valuable privacy and treasure, worth more than the charts they use for their own purposes.
The captains were also the most protective of the contents of their diaries.
In addition to carrying it with them and keeping it secret, they often used secret words for key information when writing their diaries.
Lorraine's secret language was phonetic, flowery pinyin mixed in with English in the same font, and there was no chance of his diary being deciphered, at least in contemporary times.
Finishing his journal, Lorraine closed the book and stowed it away in the dark cabinet of the captain's cabin, and shook open the charts of the North Sea and Cantabrian waters on his bed, staring blankly at the list of lots that had been delivered before nightfall.
This is the privilege of the VIPs of the auction, who can know the details of the sale two days in advance and decide whether to attend or not.
Lorraine thus had a chance to familiarize herself with the rules of the auction.
Elgin's auctions are divided into morning and afternoon sessions, with special items in the morning and bulk goods in the afternoon, and last for two days.
Lorraine's spices and pewter are also on the list this time.
Four hundred and seventy pounds of spices were sold in nine lots of fifty pounds, in the afternoon session, while fourteen pieces of pewter were sold in separate bids, in the morning session.
According to Lorraine's own estimate, these goods would probably bring him between two hundred and thirty and two hundred and seventy pounds after tax, which was not a high amount in terms of a no-cost business.
He's struggling with whether or not to clear out his inventory of china to sell as well.
It's depressing to say the least.
Old Barry hand porcelain is not much, together only seven sets, but each piece is actually a high-level tea set.
Three sets of cloisonné, two sets of doucai porcelain, two sets of blue and white porcelain, this level of craftsmanship of the tea set can naturally be taken out to sell, and can easily be sold for more than two hundred pounds high price.
But judging by Mr. Piddick's reaction, they are clearly better used for gifts, and it would be a waste and a cow's chewing to exchange them for gold pounds.
But Lorraine is short of money.
You have to open an exchange, buy a ship, recruit sailors, achieve a healthy flow of goods in and out, and set aside enough money to run the chamber and form a financial chain ...
He scratched his hair in annoyance, "Damn it, if you're poor, you're poor, the big deal is to stay in the auction house for a few more months! Until we open up the eastern route, one of these good goods is used, one less!"
"What uses one less than the other?" Hina interjected uncertainly.
Lorraine looked up and saw that she was wrapped in her cowl as she had been during the day, only it was late at night and the veil was removed, wantonly flaring out her delicate face, her emerald eyes sparkling in the moonlight.
Lorraine smiled and shook her head, "Time for the changing of the guard?"
"Yes." Hina nodded, "Pierce is still young, his post is for an hour, followed by you."
"I won't mistreat him." Lorraine beckoned Heena in, "The auction is in two days. Elgin's specialty is whiskey, I'm going to fill the pods, spirits don't sell well in the freezing cold of Scandinavia."
"Selling wine?" Haina cocked her head, "You have a Norwegian route to Black Harbor?"
"Nope. So for the first auction, we have to get that chart, and with it, we have our next mooring ..."
...
Two days passed in a flash.
On April 30th, Port Elgin's Black Market Auction was held as scheduled in the small theater at 42 Flourish Street.
Horse-drawn carriages converged like fish, and hundreds of merchants gathered in groups of three or five.
Today Lorraine was dressed in a proper tuxedo, wig, pressed bowler hat, hands on a gathered solid black umbrella, and shiny, polished pointy-toed leather shoes.
He jumped off the wagon outside the theater and, once back, flashed the back of his hand like a true gentleman.
Hina froze.
She was wearing a light black veil coverall today that covered her hair and hid her pretty face.
Appropriate stacked yarn to the coverall divided into layers of thick and thin shadows, not only can skillfully cover the coverall inside the peculiar robe, but also let the delicate figure hidden, attracting people's imagination.
Her large eyes hidden behind the light veil flickered as she stared at Lorraine, until she saw Lorraine's smiling and encouraging gaze, only then did she poke out her coffee-colored veiled hand from under her smock and gently rested it on the back of Lorraine's hand.
Such a marvelous scene naturally attracted the attention of passers-by.
A strange young English gentleman with a young, light brown skinned African woman on his arm ...
By her complexion she seemed to be Egyptian, could she be of mixed Carthaginian or Macedonian descent, an honored member of the royal family?
They held their breath as they watched Lorraine take Heena by the arm and march right up to Mr. and Mrs. Piddick.
Mrs. Piddick covered her feather fan and held out the back of her hand to Lorraine, who nodded her head in greeting and hooked her slender fingers around the lady's fingertips and brought them to her lips, making a kissing gesture about a centimeter apart.
Hina's big eyes began to flicker again, torn between following the lady's example and handing her own hand to the half-hundred year old man across from her as well.
She's not very willing ...
Lorraine could see her niggling and inclined her head over in mock intimacy and whispered, "Salutations are fine, no need for a kissing hand salute for a young girl."
Hina then took a long breath and gave a shallow bow to Mr. Piddick.
Mr. Piddick smiled brightly, "Mr. Drake Jr. You always surprise me every time we meet. You are surrounded by?"
"Haina, Haina. Yzra, she's the ship's lookout, my most trusted companion."
"A man of talent, a woman of honor!" Mr. Piddick praised, "Your box is in number seven, adjacent to mine. I sincerely hope you have found the object of your desire."
"Found it indeed." Lorraine made a gesture of invitation to Mr. Piddick, "I only hope that the competition will not be too fierce in a moment. It would be a shame if the bidding was too high."
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