Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 80 Others are afraid but I am greedy!
Three days later, the price of salt throughout North Korea, with Hwanghae Province as the center, began to soar.

From the initial 17 wen, it soared all the way to 19 wen, and just when people thought that this was the peak.

The salt merchants in Haizhou City united together and sold salt in limited quantities every day, and at the same time bought back the salt at the price of twenty cents.

Now, everyone was excited.

Twenty cents?
In less than seven days, the price of salt doubled.

People who had stockpiled large amounts of salt at home took out the excess salt and sold it to salt merchants.

Of course, although it is called a large amount, it is actually only a few dozen kilograms, and at most a hundred kilograms.

And the number of people is also smaller.

Compared with the huge demand, it is still a drop in the bucket.

At this time, some clever small vendors and wealthy people saw business opportunities.

Who are these salt merchants? They are all wealthy people with connections behind their chairs, and they can buy salt for twenty cents.

This means there must be some profit to be made here.

As a result, some retail investors can be seen in many villages and towns.

They carried cloth bags and pushed carts, shouting, "Salt, 21 cents a pound. Some of it is hidden away. If you miss this village, you won't find this shop anymore."

Upon hearing the shout, a large group of people in sackcloth clothes rushed out of the village and surrounded the peddler.

"Twenty pounds, twenty pounds."

"Ten pounds."

"Eight pounds."

Everyone was talking at once and frantically throwing the bags toward the peddler.

The peddler was grinning from ear to ear. He took the items one by one, distributed the money, and the deal was done.

After a busy morning, the peddler and his companions took a look and found that they had collected 3,000 kilograms of salt in the morning.

Some of them were purchased for eighteen cents, nineteen cents, and a small number were purchased for twenty-one cents.

After packing up their belongings, four or five people quickly pushed the cart back home.

As soon as they entered their own yard, they filled a basin with cold water, wet a towel, and wiped their sweaty bodies up and down.

"Brother Ergou, do you think we can make money this time?" A short, slightly fat young man asked the thin man standing by the pool in front of him.

The sturdy man called Ergou paused for a moment, then wiped his face suddenly and turned around.

He was about twenty years old, with bright eyes, a sharp face, prominent cheekbones, and was wearing only a short coat that was washed so much that it looked bleached, but he still looked very heroic.

His name is Li Ergou, and he is a famous street thug in the area.

Because he was strong, had good martial arts skills and was quite loyal, he quickly gathered a team of more than 20 people.

Among his peers, he is considered to have some reputation.

Before Li Ergou could say anything, a man next to him kicked him hard and yelled, "Fatty Wang, what the hell are you talking about? When has Brother Ergou ever cheated us?"

Fatty Wang staggered, and his fat body fell forward and fell directly to the ground.

"Hey! Li Gan, what the hell are you doing? We are all brothers. Fatty is just worried that the money will be wasted. There is nothing wrong with that!" Li Ergou glared at the skinny monkey who kicked him, then personally helped the fat man up from the ground and asked with concern, "Are you okay, Fatty?"

"No, it's okay." Fatty Wang hummed and asked nervously again, "Brother Ergou, I took out all the money for marrying a wife this time, just in case..."

"Fatty Wang, don't you have a good memory?"

The skinny monkey looked down on the fat man the most. Seeing him grumbling again, Li Ergou glared at the skinny monkey, then patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, we promise to let you find a wife." "Look at the salt. It's changed in a few days. We have more than 30,000 kilograms of salt. If we can make 20 cents per kilogram, it will be enough for us brothers to make enough money to open a shop together."

"So, by then, I will be the shopkeeper too?" Fatty Wang's eyes lit up and his face was full of longing.

"Of course." Li Ergou responded solemnly.

"Hey, with his fat head and big ears and bloated appearance, he still wants to be a shopkeeper. Why doesn't he take a piss and look at himself?" The skinny monkey smiled and shook his head, his mouth pursed, and he couldn't help but sneer.

"Hahahaha" the others laughed together.

The air was suddenly filled with joy.

Fatty Wang's face flushed red with shame, and he glared at the skinny monkey, retorting, "We call this a lucky face, a lucky face! You know shit, with your pointed face and monkey cheeks, and the way your face can't hold two pounds of meat, you look like a loser with no lucky face."

The skinny monkey was about to make a sarcastic remark when suddenly a beautiful figure appeared outside the yard.

Li Ergou felt soft in his heart, coughed twice, waved his hands as if to shoo away flies, and urged: "Go, go, go, go back to eat, wait until the weather is cooler, and then go out with me to collect the goods in the afternoon."

Everyone saw the shy figure at the first sight and started to make a noise:
"Huo, it turns out that my sister-in-law is here. Come on, brothers, let's give Brother Gou some face."

"Hahaha, Brother Ergou, you have to control yourself. Don't be unable to get up in the afternoon or we will have to wake you up."

"Brother, please be quiet. There is only a wall between our house and yours. I am afraid I can't stand it."

These people were all vulgar men, and when they started joking, the beautiful woman blushed with embarrassment.

Seeing the beauty being teased, Li Ergou frowned and shouted in a hoarse voice: "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will tear your mouths apart!"

A few people pretended to be afraid, screamed a few times, and then dispersed.

At this time, the beautiful lady walked in wearing a red pleated skirt made of western cloth.

She was about seventeen or eighteen years old, of medium height, with fair skin and a pair of big watery eyes that were very captivating.

"Min'er." Li Ergou walked quickly towards her and hugged the beauty in his arms.

In an instant, the beautiful woman's soft body collided with him.

A cool breeze, carrying the woman's body temperature and heat, penetrated into Li Ergou's nasal cavity.

Min'er also buried her head in Li Ergou's arms.

This went on for a long time before Miner raised her head and said timidly, "Brother Ergou, when are you going to come to my house to propose marriage? My father said that if you don't come this year, he will marry me to someone else."

"He dares!" Li Ergou glared and shouted with gritted teeth.

"Then you'd better hurry up." Min'er raised her neck and hummed with a pout.

Li Ergou scratched his head and smiled awkwardly: "I just invested all the money I had recently into this business."

"I also heard some news from my second uncle who is on duty. The price of salt can increase, but it is not the right way after all." Min'er said worriedly.

Li Ergou was annoyed and asked, "What is the right path? Is it the right path to wear official clothes, eat official food, and show off in front of ordinary people like your uncle?"

"I-I didn't mean that."

"Of course I know." Li Ergou's tone softened, and he hugged Min'er into his arms again, saying softly, "Don't worry, when I make money this time, I will save it and open a small shop, and then you will be the boss's wife."

"Thank you, Brother Ergou." Min'er felt sweet in her heart.

"It's not enough to just thank you verbally. Let Brother Ergou take a look at you to see if you have grown up." Li Ergou smiled but his eyes were fixed on the girl's developed peach peaks.

"No. Didn't I just see it yesterday?" Min'er lowered her head, looking embarrassed.

"Yesterday was yesterday, and today is today."

(End of this chapter)