Aoyama

Chapter 359: Raising the price from the ground up
Early in the morning, at the hour of Mao, it was still dark.

When Chen Ji walked out of the side door of the Chen Mansion, Si Caogui was wiping the carriage.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Si Caogui said without even turning his head: "If you stuff something inexplicable into my hands again, I will pull out one of your teeth."

But Chen Ji turned a deaf ear to him and stuffed a bag of palm leaves into Si Caogui's arms as usual: "Donkey meat BBQ made by Xiaoman."

After saying that, he got into the car without looking back.

Si Caogui looked down at the palm leaf bag and was about to throw it on the ground again.

Chen Ji stuck his head out of the carriage and said, "Master Si Cao, I have no intention of bribing you. I also know that this thing cannot bribe you, but people always have to eat. Only after eating can they have the strength to do things. Don't worry, I will find a way to fight for the opportunity to be adopted, for Jing Chao."

He returned to the carriage and lowered the curtains.

Si Caogui looked at the shaking curtain and was about to say something when he heard Chen Ji's voice coming from inside: "Today is a day off. We will not go to the Governor's Office. We will go to Meihua Ferry. Huang Que will definitely go to Changlu Salt Field to verify the authenticity of the salt permit. He will definitely choose the nearest Hangu Salt Field. If he rides a fast horse, he should be back this evening."

Si Caogui asked, "You asked me to tell Yanhao about Huangque yesterday. I'm afraid they will come and interfere with your work."

Chen Ji said casually: "Master Si Cao, Huang Que is not my main business today. They are my main business today."

Si Caogui was silent for a moment and stuffed the palm leaves into his arms.

……

……

The back door of Meihua Ferry is located in a place called Baishu Hutong, which is relatively secluded.

At this time, several middle-aged salt merchants were waiting outside Baishu Hutong. The salt merchant nicknamed Lao Fu waited with his hands folded, and from time to time he secretly looked at Chen Ertong beside him.

Huang Que came from a distance.

Old Fu looked back and asked anxiously, "Did you get the salt?"

Huang Que's face was weathered and he was breathing heavily. "I got the money. I personally rode to the Changlu Salt Field. I thought it would take a lot of effort, but I didn't expect the salt officials there to be so polite after seeing the salt permit. I have never seen such a friendly salt official."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good as long as we get it, it's good as long as we get it."

Someone was thinking with a smile on his face: "With this batch of salt permits, as long as we can successfully get the salt, we can mix it with our own private salt and make a profit of six taels of silver..."

Huang Que's face darkened: "Cao Laoliu, can you say this outside? If you can't control your words, don't get involved in our business in the future."

Cao Laoliu glared at him and said, "Who are you trying to teach a lesson to, Huang family kid? I am polite to you because I respect your father. According to seniority, you should call me uncle, but don't take advantage of me."

Huang Que said calmly: "Why don't you ask other people if they are willing to associate with someone as arrogant as you? If you want to die, don't implicate others."

Cao Laoliu looked around, but saw that the other salt merchants had turned their heads away.

He quickly slapped himself and said with a smile, "It's my fault."

But Huang Que stared at Cao Laoliu calmly without saying a word.

Cao Laoliu hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and slapped himself again: "It's my fault."

Huang Que walked past him and said solemnly: "What we do is a business that costs our lives. If you don't want to die, just keep your mouth shut."

At this point, he suddenly saw Chen Ertong next to Lao Fu and asked in a serious tone, "Who is this? Didn't I tell you not to bring strangers here?"

Old Fu quickly explained: "I am too old to do this anymore. This is my nephew. I brought him here to see the world."

Huang Que looked directly at Lao Fu: "Will you vouch for him?"

Old Fu gritted his teeth and said, "I'll be the guarantor."

At this time, Chen Ji's carriage drove over.

He lifted the car curtain and said with a smile: "Brother Huang is back? I guess he didn't stop for a moment."

Huang Que took a deep breath and said, "Brother, I did get some salt from the salt field. Now we can talk about business."

Chen Ji's eyes swept over the crowd and asked, "Are these all the salt merchants that Brother Huang called?"

Huang Que nodded: "That's right."

When Chen Ji's gaze swept over him, Chen Ertong shrank back. Logically speaking, Chen Ji had never seen him and the driver would not betray him, but he still couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Then please come."

He jumped off the carriage and led everyone into the depths of Meihuadu.

When they arrived at Meirui Building, the man guarding the door pushed open the door.

When the door opened, Huang Que and the salt merchants were stunned to see that the original wine table and red carpet had been removed, and the gauze curtains hanging from the roof had also been torn off.

The warm smoke and fragrant curtains are all gone.

In the spacious main hall of the building, there were only long tables where accountants sat, clacking away on their abacus, making a deafening sound.

On the wall behind the accountant, there were bamboo signs with red paper pasted on them.

Outside the threshold of Meirui Building, Huang Que stared blankly at the busy scene inside, somewhat afraid to step in: "Brother, this is..."

He became alert. He originally thought that he had gotten a great bargain, but now, hearing the sound of the abacus in his ears, he always felt that he was being plotted against.

But he thought about it and couldn't think of how Chen Ji could plot against him. The price of the salt permit was very low, two taels per ticket, and he could get the salt first, so he couldn't lose money on this deal.

Chen Ji smiled and asked, "But what?"

Cao Laoliu whispered beside Huang Que: "The longer the night, the more dreams there are. The money you and I brought this time is not much, so the loss is not that big."

Huang Que suppressed his doubts and immediately bowed to Chen Ji, saying, "Brother, we are here today for the salt permit. Now that the salt permit has been verified, let's stop talking nonsense and talk about business."

He looked back and exchanged glances with several salt merchants.

Several salt merchants took off Buddhist coins from their wrists and handed them to Huang Que. Huang Que said, "Brother, here are six thousand taels of silver. We want to buy three thousand taels."

Chen Ji shook his head: "Brother Huang, no."

Huang Que frowned: "Brother, are you going to raise the price? We have already agreed on this..."

Chen Ji comforted him, "I'm not raising the price, but I don't want to sell it piecemeal. You see, I invited these nine accountants from the Zhang family. It takes several days just to check the accounts of my Chen family's salt shop. There are also many scoundrels in the salt shop who mix private salt into the salt shop and sell it. I'm in a hurry to catch them all. I'm too lazy to waste my time and energy on other things."

After saying this, Chen Ertong shrank back again.

Huang Que asked in a serious tone, "How are you going to sell it, brother?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "I plan to find a wealthy buyer who can buy 300,000 salt coins at once, so that no one will have to worry. Brother Huang, how many salt coins can you take at most?"

Huang Que hesitated and said, "If you can wait for me for another two months, I can take 10,000 silver coins... You also know that I am a juren who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination. How can I carry so much silver coins with me?"

Chen Ji was a little disappointed: "Sorry, I can't wait that long. Of course, if Brother Huang really wants to buy it, then just buy it in pieces at the price of four taels. At this price, even if Brother Huang wants to buy a hundred yin, he can do it." Huang Que's voice gradually became solemn: "Chen Ji, are you deliberately teasing me? You just said that you didn't want to raise the price, but in the end, aren't you just looking for an excuse to raise the price?"

Chen Ji sat at the edge of the table and said calmly, "Brother Huang, this is different. You are from a merchant family, so you know that the market is changing rapidly. Today, rice is worth ten cents a pound, but if there is a drought tomorrow, it will be worth twenty cents a pound. When the two dynasties go to war, it will be worth forty, sixty, or eighty cents a pound."

Huang Que took a deep breath and said, "You wanted to sell salt before but couldn't find a way. Now I have called all the salt merchants for you, but you want to raise the price? Who will dare to do business with you in the future?

Chen Ji counted on his fingers and said, "Nowadays, every family in the market mixes private salt with official salt. The timid ones mix 10%, the bold ones mix 60%, and some people are so bold that they dare to mix 90% with official salt. They persuade the cooks to escape and go to places where the government cannot control to boil salt, such as Mangdang Mountain, Nanling, Fangong Dike, Shuangyu Island..."

Huang Que's expression changed.

Chen Ji continued, "If the government wants to catch them, they will gather tens of thousands of people and even the government can't do anything about it. A salt permit is worth four taels of silver in the hands of a salt merchant, but it can be worth seven or eight taels in their hands. Brother Huang Que, do you know such people?"

Huang Que gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know him."

Chen Ji continued, "Of course, they earn their money by risking their lives. If they are not careful, they will lose their lives. However, it is definitely worthwhile to sell them salt permits at four taels each. Brother Huang, there are many such people in Ning Dynasty. All they lack is a salt permit that can be used to buy salt. I know that it is embarrassing for Brother Huang to raise the price, but the poor need to save face, and the rich look at the results. Brother Huang, do you want to be poor or rich?"

Huang Que turned and left: "Take care of yourself."

Chen Ji bowed sincerely and said, "Brother Huang, even if the deal fails, we still have our righteousness. How about you all stay for a drink, as my apology to you. If it really doesn't work out, Brother Huang can collect enough silver to buy the 300,000 coins, and I will give you two taels each."

Huang Que said in a deep voice: "No need!"

Chen Ji stood in the light, quietly watching Huang Que and others go away.

Brother Pao looked at Chen Ji and scratched his forehead with his little finger: "Did you catch it?"

"Caught it."

……

……

Huang Que left Meihua Ferry, took a deep breath to calm his mind, and remained silent for a long time.

Old Fu consoled him, "Huang family boy, you are young, you still need to learn more and see more, people's hearts are hard to predict."

Huang Que was about to speak, but suddenly asked in confusion: "Where is your nephew?"

Old Fu was startled and turned around to see if there was anyone around him.
Huang Que winked at the salt merchant behind Lao Fu, and several people surrounded him: "How dare you bring government officials to investigate us? You know what we are doing. If you dare to betray us, we will sink you into the pool of water tonight."

Old Fu cried out: "It's unfair, he is definitely not a government official."

Huang Que had no expression on his face: "Who is he?"

Several people squeezed Lao Fu under the wall. Lao Fu saw someone touching his waist and hurriedly said, "That boy is called Chen Ertong. He is from the Chen Family Salt Shop, not the government!"

Huang Que was puzzled: "Chen family?"

At this moment, in the Chen Family Salt Shop, the chief manager Chen Yue stood at the doorstep waiting silently, while the second manager Ye behind him was drinking tea leisurely.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Ertong's voice came from afar: "Not good!"

Chen Yue looked towards the east side of Mule and Horse Market Street, only to see Chen Ertong running wildly all the way. He came to the door of the Salt Shop, bent over and panted.

Chen Yue asked angrily: "What's wrong?"

Chen Ertong said quickly, "Boss, Chen Ji is now in Meirui Building in Meihua Ferry. They have vacated the place and there are nine accountants working together to check the accounts. I have never seen an accountant who can use an abacus so fast."

Chen Yue was shocked. Even Shopkeeper Ye Er immediately put down his teacup and walked to the door to pull Chen Ertong up straight. "Where did he find so many accountants? Could it be that the master sent them to him?"

Chen Yue thought, "If it's those guys, it's easy to deal with. We usually treat them with respect. If they really find out something, they will only come to us privately to exchange money."

Chen Ertong quickly explained: "It's not from the master's side. He said he was invited from the Zhang family."

Shopkeeper Ye Er looked at Chen Yue in confusion: "Zhang family? Which Zhang family?"

Chen Yue's face darkened: "Which other Zhang family member could that kid be friends with? There is only one Zhang family member, of course it's Zhang Zhuo's family!"

Shopkeeper Ye Er was in doubt and said, "Oh no! If they start to check the accounts, they can find out everything in the cracks of the salt shop. They might find out something. Chen Yue, you did all the accounting. Did you miss anything?"

Chen Yue closed his eyes and thought carefully: "Logically, there shouldn't be any problem with the accounts, but..."

The moustache on the face of shopkeeper Ye Er trembled: "You are talking nonsense!"

Chen Yue said unhappily, "There are so many accounts over the years, and I don't do every one of them myself, so who can guarantee that there won't be any mistakes?"

Even if a thief does his job perfectly, he will inevitably feel guilty when he is caught. Chen Yue was very confident at first, but now he heard that it was the nine accountants of the Zhang family who were checking the accounts, and he couldn't help but feel short of breath.

Shopkeeper Ye Er paced back and forth in the salt shop: "Tell me, what do you think we should do now?"

Chen Yue narrowed his eyes slightly: "The first to strike is the strongest, the last to strike will suffer. I originally wanted to let him go, but now it seems that I can't keep him. I have to get rid of him as soon as possible."

Shopkeeper Ye Er walked out: "I'll do it right away."

Chen Yue pulled him back to the threshold and asked in a deep voice, "Where are you going?"

Shopkeeper Ye Er said angrily, "Didn't you say to get rid of him as soon as possible? I have to leave the city and call for help from the farm."

Chen Yue said angrily: "You are confused. This is the master's business. You and I are just servants after all. If you kill the master, both of us will die."

Shopkeeper Ye Er was puzzled: "Didn't you say that the Second Master would protect us?"

"If you kill him, the second master will kill us next," Chen Yue grabbed the collar of the shopkeeper Ye Er, "If you were the master, would you keep a dog that eats people? Even if this dog eats passers-by, you will not keep it again. Dogs can eat chickens, ducks, and dogs, but they cannot eat people!"

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Chen Yue slowly loosened the collar of Shopkeeper Ye Er and thought for a long time: "He sells salt permits at two taels each, right? He hasn't met you yet, so go and buy some back with the silver."

Chen Ertong hurriedly explained, "No, the salt permit is not the same price as before. He deliberately deceived Huang Que and others to raise the price. Now it has to be four taels per ticket. If you want to buy it at two taels, you have to buy 300,000 tickets at once."

Shopkeeper Ye Er exclaimed, "Buying three hundred thousand tickets at once? Even if we take out all the money in our private account, it won't be enough."

Chen Yue thought for a moment: "How much difference?"

Shopkeeper Ye Er whispered, "We are short of 230,000 taels of silver."

Chen Yue thought for a moment, and suddenly said, "Take it from the public account."

Shopkeeper Ye Er took a step back and said, "You are crazy. We never touch the public account."

Chen Yue held up his fat belly and sneered, "What are you afraid of? That guy took the public account, but the silver is still in the salt shop. Before he can settle the silver in the public account, he must get out of the capital first. When I get the salt permit back, as long as I can exchange it for salt before the fifteenth of next month, I will be able to do it without anyone noticing."

Shopkeeper Ye Er asked in confusion, "Why do you insist on buying these salt permits from him?"

Chen Yue waved his hand and said, "You don't need to know this with your dog brain. Just go and buy it. We'll see the result in front of Wendan Hall tomorrow."

"I'll go get the silver," Shopkeeper Ye Er returned to the backyard, carefully took out two camphorwood boxes, carried them and went out, accompanied by more than ten people escorting him.

(End of this chapter)