From the fusion of Tongbei Quan to the Longevity Martial Saint

Chapter 41 Since there's nothing to discuss, then let's not discuss it.

"Uncle Yang, these farmers are directly stealing brine from our salt fields. Aren't the Fang family and the officials doing anything about it?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhi sighed:

"The difficulty lies in the fact that these people in the village are stealing brine."

"They are clever; they don't steal the salt we leave on the salt field."

"If they steal salt, the government can arrest all the farmers in the village according to the law on the salt and iron monopoly."

"Braised water is completely outside the scope of the salt and iron monopoly."

"As for the lords of the Fang family, they only care about the amount of salt we deliver each year. If we can't deliver enough salt by the end of the year, it will be your responsibility as the head of the saltworks and mine as the manager of the salt field."

Fang Qing immediately understood.

The tenant farmers in these villages near the Jinsha Saltworks knew that stealing salt was illegal, so they stole highly concentrated brine.

This brine can be used as salt.

As for the Fang family, they only care about the result!

I'm too lazy to pay attention to the process.

This caused great hardship for the salt producers at the bottom of society.

High-concentration brine is a key production material used in the production of salt.

Without the means of production, they were unable to produce salt.

This matter has become a dead end, with one narrow path blocking both ends.

"Several other salt fields belonging to the Fang family have also encountered similar problems."

Yang Zhi hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a low voice:

"The ironwork for our new piece arrived a couple of days ago."

"When I went to the Fang family to collect the iron, I specifically asked the managers of the other salt fields owned by the Fang family."

"Many villages suffered poor harvests this year. As a result, there have been cases of people stealing high-concentration brine from the other salt fields owned by the Fang family."

"It's just that the situation isn't as dire as ours. Our Jinsha Saltworks is too close to those nearby villages."

Fang Qing frowned.

It was the end of the year, the perfect time for the salt farmers at Jinsha Saltworks to work hard, produce more salt, and have a good New Year.

Now, their production has dropped directly because their high-concentration brine has been stolen.

It goes without saying that Fang Qing and Yang Zhi are inextricably linked.

It is estimated that salt farmers will not be able to afford even a full meal this year.

"Alright, I have a day off tomorrow. You take me to the estate and we'll talk to their manager to see if we can resolve the issue..."

"That's the only way we can do it."

Yang Zhi hung his head and sighed helplessly.

I just hope Zhuangzi can give Fang Qing some face.

……

the next day……

Fang Qing and Yang Zhi headed straight for Zhu Family Village, the largest village in the vicinity.

Zhujiazhuang is quite famous throughout the Lianghuai region.

They possess a large tract of fertile land.

The tenants they supported numbered nearly five or six hundred.

Most of the tenants who were able to be taken in by the Zhu Family Village were young and strong.

If just two or three hundred able-bodied men were randomly selected to steal the brine ice from the Jinsha Saltworks, it would be enough to reduce the Jinsha Saltworks' production by 20% to 30%.

Fang Qing and Yang Zhi soon arrived at a house that was many times more magnificent than Fang Qing's three-courtyard house.

There are two stone lions in front of the house, and the iron gate at the back has been freshly painted with vermilion lacquer.

The gate is nearly three meters high.

Two brand-new red lanterns are hung high!

The ground in front of the gate is also polished with bluestone, making it very smooth, comparable to marble on Earth.

After introducing himself, Fang Qing was personally led inside by a steward-like man.

After all, he was a kitchen worker, so even a wealthy landowner like the Zhu family had to treat him with great hospitality.

Upon entering the Zhu family mansion, one finds artificial hills and flowing water, complete with a garden-style layout.

Fang Qing felt that the Suzhou gardens he had visited on Earth were nothing special.

This was the extravagant lifestyle of a landlord family with only 500 tenant households in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Other families, like the Fang family who were salt merchants, couldn't even imagine it.

How much wealth has the Zhu family amassed over the years?

I walked further along the corridor, not knowing how far it was.

The steward led them through several doors and arches before finally arriving at a wooden waterside pavilion.

This pavilion was built in a very extravagant manner, near the center of a lake.

However, it was winter, and the lake was frozen over. You could still vaguely see colorful fish swimming at the bottom of the lake, fish that Fang Qing couldn't name.

The sheer extravagance made Yang Zhi, who was standing nearby, tremble again.

"My goodness, the wood used in this pavilion looks like it's made of the most precious mahogany. They're so rich!"

A beautiful maidservant had already served hot tea.

After a while, a man walked over from a distance.

"Housekeeper Fang, your presence at the Zhu family home is a great honor; I apologize for not welcoming you properly."

Zhu Qinghe was dressed in a magnificent brocade robe.

These materials are all top-quality materials sourced from Yangzhou.

No snowflakes fell, and no raindrops touched the ground.

Zhu Qinghe smiled so hard his eyes narrowed.

His fat squeezed his features to the center of his face, and when he came in front of Fang Qing, he simply cupped his hands in greeting.

When Zhu Qinghe sat down and saw that there was only tea on the table, he immediately said to the maid standing next to him with displeasure:

"Come here, Fang Zao Tou, why are you only serving this cold tea?"

Go and fetch those high-class tea snacks I brought back from Yangzhou a few days ago, so that Chef Fang can have a good taste.

Before long, several exquisitely packaged tea snacks were served.

Zhu Qinghe cheerfully introduced each of the tea snacks one by one:

"The exquisite hibiscus cake is soft and smooth, a top-quality pastry. I doubt Steward Fang and Manager Yang have ever tasted this at the Jinsha Saltworks?"

"It's my treat today, come and have a good taste."

Zhu Qinghe had a smile on his face, but his words were barbed, saying that salt farmers like Fang Qing couldn't afford such high-end food.

Fang Qing didn't take Zhu Qinghe's sarcastic remarks to heart at all.

Let's get straight to the point:

"The reason we are looking for the Zhu family head this time is that a few days ago, your Zhu family's tenants not only stole our Jinsha Saltworks' brine at night, but also injured our salt farmers yesterday."

"Patriarch Zhu, you need to give me an explanation."

Zhu Qinghe, who had been all smiles, froze instantly the next moment.

He patted off imaginary dust from his clothes before glancing at Fang Qing:

"Master Fang, you've made such a fuss over a mere salt farmer. Are you here to punish me?"

"Let's not even talk about whether the people who injured you and stole your brine are tenants from my estate; that's still up in the air."

"Even if that's the case, you need to provide evidence."

"Otherwise, they'll just make baseless accusations and accuse me without any basis. I happen to be very familiar with the ways of the Six Doors, so let's go straight to the court and demand an explanation."

Fang Qing placed her hand on the mahogany tabletop.

He leaned slightly forward, a chilling smile flashing across his resolute face:

"So, Patriarch Zhu, you're not planning to control your tenant farmers?"

Zhu Qinghe gave a forced smile and snorted coldly:

"It wasn't done by any of our tenant farmers, so what right do I have to stop them?"

"There's nothing to discuss."

Fang Qing stared coldly at Zhu Qinghe's face.

The hand that was originally on the table was immediately removed.

Instead, it was placed under the table.

Yang Zhi, who was sitting next to Fang Qing, suddenly realized something when he saw Fang Qing's actions.

He subconsciously stood up from the stool and took a step back.

Sure enough, the next moment, Fang Qing's voice was devoid of any warmth, as if he were speaking casually: