Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 103: You and I have different paths! (First update)
Kyoto Salt Shop.

Today's sales have been calculated.

Three thousand two hundred and twenty kilograms.

Fang Mo is also preparing to add today's sales to the total.

After studying for a period of time, he has become more and more proficient in using this set of symbols and numbers, and feels that it is more practical and convenient.

He also admired Xia Zhibai more and more.

If it weren't for Xia Zhibai, he wouldn't have known that numbers could be calculated so conveniently and quickly. It was much faster than ordinary calculations and could perfectly fit the multiplication table. Now Fang Mo even felt that his arithmetic ability was no worse than those old scholars in the Ministry of Revenue.

This is the confidence that Arabic numerals give him.

boom!
Boom!

Just as Fang Mo was flipping the counting card, there was a knock on the door.

It disrupted Fang Mo's mood.

Fang Mo frowned.

He looked towards the door suspiciously, wondering if he had heard it wrong.

After the salt shop closed, it was no longer open for business.

The Kyoto Salt Shop has been open for a month. Everyone in the market knows the rule, so it doesn't make sense for anyone to come at this time.

But as another knock on the door sounded, Fang Mo finally confirmed that he was not hallucinating, but someone really was knocking on the door outside.

Fang Mo stood up and opened the door.

into the eye.

Fang Mo's pupils shrank slightly.

It turned out to be Zheng Ao, the steward of the Minister, who came to cause trouble today.

Fang Mo looked towards the backyard with a bad look on his face, and said with a stiff face, "Greetings to the butler of the Minister. It's so late, I wonder why the butler came to our salt shop?"

Zheng Ao snorted coldly, without even glancing at Fang Mo, and said calmly: "Since I'm here at your salt shop, I'm here to sell salt."

"Where's Xia Zhibai?"

"Call him out and tell him that our master wants to buy a thousand kilograms of special salt."

"But there is one request."

"That he should personally deliver the salt to your house."

Zheng Ao threw a cloth bag onto the table, and there was a series of crisp ringing sounds, which was obviously the sound of silver coins colliding.

Fang Mo glanced at the gray cloth bag cautiously, and could vaguely see some silver light. He suddenly became more nervous. Their store couldn't take out a thousand kilograms of special salt at all.

And this weighs one thousand kilograms.

Even if Xia Zhibai was born with supernatural powers, he couldn't get there alone, right?
Isn't this just making things difficult for people?

In Fang Mo's opinion, Zheng Ao's selling of salt was fake, and his real intention was to find fault.

Fang Mo forced a smile on his face, but was still ready to refuse, saying, "I'm sorry, our salt shop is closed. Let's buy salt the day after tomorrow. This is the rule that our Kyoto Salt Shop set long ago. The most important thing in business is credit. Although the Minister's generosity makes our salt shop a little flattered, the rules cannot be abolished."

Zheng Ao glanced at Fang Mo coldly and said disdainfully: "Am I talking to you?"

"I want Xia Zhibai's answer."

Fang Mo looked embarrassed.

At this time.

Xia Zhibai also heard the noise outside the house and walked from the backyard to the front hall.

Zheng Ao repeated his intention, but his attitude was obviously much more low-key: "Xia Zhuangyuan, what I said today was indeed inappropriate and offensive. My master specially asked me to buy salt to apologize, but my master also said that since I bought special salt, I should naturally treat it with the attitude of special salt."

"One hundred taels for a thousand jin."

"A lot."

Zheng Ao stared at Xia Zhibai with a hint of arrogance and dissatisfaction in his eyes.

Zheng Ao was obviously not convinced.

Xia Zhibai did not answer.

He went to the counter and checked the silver.

It is indeed one hundred taels.

Xia Zhibai showed a gentle smile, took the silver and said, "Since a big customer has taken the initiative to come to my door and ask for business, I naturally have no reason to refuse."

"Fang Mo, go get 'a thousand kilograms' of salt. I will personally deliver it to Minister Guo."

"Sir, one thousand kilograms." Fang Mo looked anxious, tugged at the corner of Xia Zhibai's clothes, and whispered, "Sir, we don't have one thousand kilograms of special salt in our store right now, and the other party is obviously here with bad intentions. If you go there, I'm afraid you will be in danger."

Zheng Ao had come with bad intentions, and Xia Zhibai went alone. Wasn't this like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth?
Xia Zhibai gave Fang Mo a reassuring look and said with a smile, "When did our store order special salt at 100 wen per jin? Since Minister Guo has shown such great sincerity, we will naturally send our best special salt to him, 100 liang per jin. Go to the warehouse and get a jin of the best salt."

"I'll deliver it myself later."

Fang Mo's eyes suddenly widened and he looked at Xia Zhibai in disbelief.

Some couldn't believe their ears.

One hundred taels per pound?
Is this salt?
This is more expensive than gold, right?

"Go quickly." Xia Zhibai urged.

Fang Mo nodded blankly and ran quickly towards the warehouse.

He was just staggering a little, and had not yet recovered from the shock.

Hearing Xia Zhibai's words, Zheng Ao was also stunned for a moment.

How could Xia Zhibai say that he wanted to buy a pound of salt for one hundred taels?
This is one hundred taels.

Zheng Ao looked at Xia Zhibai unkindly, but just snorted coldly and didn't say much.

Before leaving, Guo Huan said that the amount of salt was not important, what was important was to bring Xia Zhibai home. Although he was very angry, he did not dare to lose his temper on the spot. He just looked at Xia Zhibai with increasingly cold eyes.

Not a moment.

Zheng Ao came back with a jar of salt.

Xia Zhibai didn't weigh it and put the can of salt in his backpack.

Then he followed Zheng Ao out.

Fang Mo watched the two people leave, and only pinched his thigh suddenly when their figures were completely out of sight.

"hiss!"

"I'm not dreaming, this is actually real?"

"One hundred taels per pound of salt, and it's for a third-rank official in the court." "Isn't he afraid of completely angering Minister Guo?"

"That's the Minister of Revenue."

"."

Fang Mo looked at the empty streets worriedly, feeling a little lost.

He just hoped that Xia Zhibai could be more restrained.

Otherwise, the consequences will be unpredictable.

A quarter of an hour later.

Xia Zhibai followed Zheng Ao to Guo's house.

Guo Huan's house was not that magnificent, it even looked quiet and elegant.

The decoration of the house was not luxurious and there were few servants and maids in the house.

Zheng Ao took Xia Zhibai to the lobby.

There was a person standing in the lobby with his back to the door.

Zheng Ao bowed respectfully, let Xia Zhibai in, and then left.

Xia Zhibai entered the lobby.

He glanced at the lobby and went to the chair in the middle of the main hall, but did not sit down. Instead, he took out the salt from the backpack and placed it neatly on the chair.

Xia Zhibai cupped his hands and said, "Minister Guo, the special salt you requested has arrived."

"One hundred taels per pound."

Guo Huan slowly turned around and looked Xia Zhibai up and down. A smile appeared on his skinny face and he said, "You are really smart."

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Minister."

Guo Huan shook his head and snorted, "That's hardly a compliment."

"I am very dissatisfied with you. For a hundred taels of silver, you only give me a pound of salt?"

Xia Zhibai said indifferently: "Kyoto Salt Industry has its own rules. This time it was the Minister who broke the rules first, so I can't follow the rules anymore."

"Besides, the Minister asked me to deliver a thousand kilograms of salt. I'm afraid he was deliberately forcing me to do something against my will."

Guo Huan sneered: "I am a buyer, and you are just a businessman."

Xia Zhibai shook his head and said, "I am just doing business, but I am still an official at heart."

"It's just that there is no specific court position."

“But an official is an official.”

"When you are in business, be business; when you are an official, be an official."

"If the Minister is really short of that little bit of salt, I will personally come to your house to replenish it tomorrow."

"But, is the Minister's family really short of salt?"

Xia Zhibai looked at Guo Huan with a smile.

Guo Huan had a blank expression on his face. He just stared at Xia Zhibai closely, as if he wanted to see through the person in front of him.

Xia Zhibai bowed and said, "I have delivered the salt that the Minister requested. If the Minister has nothing else to do, I will go back first. When the accounts of the salt shop are counted tomorrow, I will send the accounts to His Majesty. Time is very tight, and I don't have the energy to chat with the Minister."

Guo Huan's eyes darkened.

He glanced at the salt shaker placed in the middle.

In his eyes, this salt shaker was like a spiritual tablet.

More like an urn.

And that was where Xia Zhibai was supposed to sit.

Guo Huan's expression relaxed, and he said calmly, "I heard a piece of news recently."

"You have provided Hua Lun with a new way to settle accounts."

"As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, I am in charge of the accounts of the whole country, and I should also master this new way of accounting."

Xia Zhibai nodded, then shook his head.

"can."

“But there’s no point.”

Guo Huan frowned and said without comment: "It is meaningful, and the significance is very important."

"The court's accounts are complicated. If there is a new way to review them, it will be of great help to the court in clarifying the situation in the world."

"You don't understand."

Guo Huan remained calm.

He was actually a little surprised that Xia Zhibai would agree so easily.

Judging from the previous attempts, Xia Zhibai was obviously very smart and not so easily fooled, but since Xia Zhibai didn't notice it, he was naturally happy to see this situation.

Xia Zhibai looked at Guo Huan with a complicated expression and sighed, "Minister Guo, at this point, why do you have to be so secretive? I can give you those accounting methods, but they are no longer meaningful to you, because in addition to the accounts for Hua Lun, I will also submit the accounts for my salt shop after I process them."

"at the same time."

"I will also offer another way to unify the accounts."

"You can't defend it!"

Guo Huan's pupils shrank slightly, but he still had a smile on his face, as if he didn't understand what Xia Zhibai said. He said with a straight face, "I don't understand what you mean. As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, it is my job to help the court solve problems. How can it be that I can't prevent it?"

Xia Zhibai sighed, "Minister Guo, why do you have to speak out some things?"

"Do you really want to master the new accounting method?"

"If it doesn't involve their official hats, who among the ministers in the court would be interested in new things?"

"With this one hundred taels, you are not buying salt, but your official hat."

"You just overlooked one thing."

"You and I have different paths!"

Xia Zhibai raised his head and looked directly at Guo Huan with an aggressive look in his eyes.

Xia Zhibai continued, "I know what your purpose is, and I know what you want to do. I could even not tell you that and force you to fight for your life, but I didn't choose to do that because what happened to you has nothing to do with me."

"I'm also happy to see you continue to struggle."

"Because the more you struggle, the more it proves that I am right."

(End of this chapter)