Read Novel Full Chapter 985 - 79: The Trade Fair Begins
Chapter 985: Chapter 79: The Trade Fair Begins
The first day of the trade conference is the opening ceremony, inaugurated by Zhao Yao, announcing the commencement of the first trade conference in Swamp Prefecture.
At the opening ceremony, Zhao Yao first delivered a speech, which will not be elaborated here. To summarize, it was a welcome to those who have come from all corners of the world to do business in Swamp Prefecture.
After finishing the speech, Zhao Yao struck the gong to officially begin the trade conference. Then, numerous fireworks were set off, creating a very lively atmosphere. Finally, the people of Swamp Prefecture performed dragon and lion dances, making it very festive.
After the performance, Prince Han would lead the esteemed guests who came to the trade conference to visit the product exhibition.
At the docks of Swamp Prefecture, each place would have its own "exhibition hall" to display the goods they brought. The "exhibition hall" is actually a simple structure, with many shelves inside showcasing items to attract customers.
The exhibition halls are distinguished by region, not by individual. For example, there is the Lingnan Exhibition Hall, the Capital Exhibition Hall, the Yangzhou Exhibition Hall, the Annan Exhibition Hall, the Johor Exhibition Hall, etc.
As the host of the trade conference, Swamp Prefecture has the largest Lingnan Exhibition Hall. Not only does it display items from Swamp Prefecture, but it also showcases specialties from other provinces in Lingnan.
Zhao Yao first led the esteemed guests to visit the Lingnan Exhibition Hall. The first sights were Lingnan’s specialties, such as fruits, medicinal herbs, and food.
The people had already set up stalls to showcase these unique Lingnan items before the trade conference, and guests from afar had already tasted them.
Foreign royal guests were not very interested in these specialties. In their eyes, these things were consumed by commoners and did not match their noble status.
What interested them were items like glass, soap, salt, and sugar.
When they saw the exquisite glass items on the shelves, they were all left dumbfounded.
These exquisite glass products were newly crafted and hadn’t been sold yet. Hearing that these beautiful glass items were not yet on the market, the members of the foreign royal families were visibly excited.
As the prestigious Prince Han, Zhao Yao had already lowered himself by leading them to view the exhibition hall. If he also had to explain the items, it would be too beneath his status, so others introduced these items to the foreigners.
The ones responsible for explaining to the foreigners were the "talents" who had previously failed at Swamp Prefecture.
The glass products specially crafted for the trade conference were all of very high quality, befitting the status of the foreign royal guests.
There were glass tableware items like bowls, plates, basins, jars, cups, chopsticks, etc. The colors of these tableware items were very bright and splendid. These foreign guests preferred luxurious and opulent colors, unlike the people of Great Zhou who favored simplicity.
There were glass jewelry items like earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets, hairpins, and hair sticks. These glass jewelry items were exquisitely crafted and sparkled in the sunlight, shining even more brightly than jewelry made from gold and silver, which the foreign royal guests particularly liked, especially the princesses who couldn’t take their eyes off them.
There were glass vases, such as long-necked vases, round vases, square vases, and those in various animal shapes. These glass vases came in a variety of colors, such as red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple.
There was glass furniture, like coffee tables, desks, chairs, and beds. This glass furniture also came in many colors, with intricate patterns carved on them, representing auspicious motifs and animal patterns.
There were glass lanterns, such as lanterns from Great Zhou, and lanterns from various foreign countries, and those from the Western Regions.
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There were many more glass products, which will not be introduced in detail one by one.
The foreign royal guests were dazzled by the exquisite glass products before them, finding it hard to decide what to buy, wishing they could purchase everything.
Even the officials of Zhao Yao’s small court were amazed by these glass items, despite having seen many glass products before, none as beautiful as these.
Seeing the foreign guests eyeing the glass products on the shelves with greed, Zhao Yao felt very satisfied. Many had already begun inquiring about prices and expressing a desire to renegotiate business agreements regarding glass products with him.
After the glass products, Zhao Yao then led the foreign guests to view items such as salt, sugar, chili, and pepper.