Chapter 85

Ding Buling saw his son and immediately slapped him hard, "You wicked child!"

"That, Mr. Ding, don't get so angry. Let's settle the gambling debt first," Lu Daglang said with a forced smile.

"Name your price," Ding Buling said, "I'll give up my son if I have to."

"It's not that bad. How about 15,000 strings of cash for that 2% share?"

If calculated by current earnings, this share could bring in nearly 3,000 strings of cash per year. If not for Ding Jia, the Zhu family might have been revived with this share. Otherwise, Ding Buling wouldn't have been tempted.

It could take ten or twenty years to see the full benefits, and the returns might be even higher. However, there's also the risk of the technology spreading and becoming worthless. Moreover, each salt purchase requires a significant investment. Objectively speaking, 15,000 strings of cash for a 2% share is a fair price, unless it's a disguised act of plunder.

Ding Buling snorted.

"What about the remaining debt? Write an IOU. Don't worry, I won't ask for it. But if any bad news comes from your mouth, even if I suffer, I might find someone to take the blame, just like your family. This 14,000 strings of cash debt will be your family's death warrant!"

The plot was revealed.

"Fine." Ding Buling had no choice but to write the IOU and leave with his son. As soon as they left the Lu family's house, he slapped his son again.

The father and son returned to Yanzhou in a sorry state.

The news quickly reached the Zhu family.

"Mr. Ding went to the south, looking very angry. His son was in a terrible state," Zhu Huan said.

"Perhaps they were hoping for some benefit. But how could the Lu family, those ingrates, give them any? It was easy to set a trap for them," Wang Ju said.

"It seems so. Otherwise, he wouldn't have that expression."

"That's why I say one should be content. Lu Daglang's greed will lead to his downfall faster."

Zhu Huan smiled, understanding that once the matter was exposed and traced back to the Ding family, it might become the death warrant for Lu Daglang, not as he imagined.

Wang Ju then turned to look at Zhu Jun, who was lying in bed, severely injured. He would need at least half a year to recover.

Zhao Siniang was sitting by the bed, holding her few-month-old son and weeping.

Zhu Jun's face was not good. How could he be in a good mood after failing?

"Er Lang, don't be sad. I ask you, do you want to wear Princess Anle's hundred-bird dress (rumored to cost over 100 million coins)? Do you want to live in a dragon palace? Do you want to eat exotic delicacies every day? Do you want to keep a thousand courtesans?"

Zhu Jun laughed, "Xiao Lang, don't mock me."

"Exactly. I had to work as a mule to survive, and even a string of cash was worth my life. But does your family lack food, shelter, or clothing? If you don't want Princess Anle's dress, don't want to live in a dragon palace, don't want to eat exotic delicacies every day, and don't want to keep a thousand courtesans, why do you need so much money? Money is good, but enough is enough."

"Jun, remember this."

"In fact, suffering a loss isn't always bad. On the first day Li Er Lang came to my house to study, I told him that it's not a problem to make mistakes, but it's a problem not to correct them. People say that a setback can make you wiser. Everyone makes mistakes, but fools make mistakes and don't correct them. The worst are those who not only don't correct their mistakes but also blame others. Wise people learn from their mistakes."

"What lesson did you learn? When Lu Daglang invited you, did you think about why he, who lives in Xianyang, would come to Huayin to buy a house? Was his intention good?"

"Furthermore, should you have gone? The difficulties with the salt workshop were beyond your ability to solve. The people who could solve it were the other shareholders you invited. They could at least get some respect from County Magistrate Cai. Would they also respect Lu Daglang? What use was it for you to go? Even if Lu Daglang had good intentions, which he didn't, why not seek help from those who could help you? Or were you afraid he would make things difficult for you? If you didn't go, would he dare to make things difficult for the others?"

"There are coincidences and people who look alike, but coincidences are rare. When you saw that servant girl, Yu'er, who looked like Xiangyu, did you not suspect anything? If I had seen her, I might have left immediately. Even if I didn't leave, I wouldn't have drunk any alcohol, let alone gotten drunk!"

This incident also made Wang Ju more cautious.

"It seems the history of the Song Dynasty isn't so kind, and it will be even less kind in the future."

He thought to himself, and his power was limited. If he lost the support of the Zhu, Zhao, and Li families, his fate might be dire.

Therefore, he said, "Sir, could you hire one or two more reliable people like Quan Er's eldest son?"

"That would be best to prevent certain people from acting rashly. But do you have enough money?"

This year and next year might be fine, but if he hired two more people, they would need to eat and be paid. Would they really work for free?

Wang Ju didn't have enough money.

"Sir, don't worry. The woman I sent back successfully divorced her husband."

"She divorced him, and you're happy?" Zhao Siniang said.

"Better to break up a temple than a marriage, but her situation was special. Divorce was a blessing for both her and her husband."

"Oh, who is she?" Zhu Huan asked curiously.

"Her identity is special. Just don't ask. But later, she sent someone to me and gave me 1,000 strings of cash as a reward."

"So much?"

"It's not much for her." Wang Ju planned never to reveal Zhao Niannu's identity. But Zhu Huan understood that she must be a noblewoman, and for the sake of her reputation, it couldn't be revealed.

...

Niu Yuanwai also received the news.

He knew more about the inside story than Zhu Huan and Wang Ju. He immediately thought that the Lu family's young master must have used some means to take away the 2% share that was originally promised.

Niu Yuanwai frowned. The Lu family's young master might have done it perfectly, but this hidden danger was now planted.

Moreover, based on the information he had, could the Lu family's young master really do it perfectly?

Greed!

Zhu Huan still had the most shares in the fine salt, but only 8%. Unfortunately, there were too many shareholders. If the annual earnings were only a few hundred strings of cash, would the major families be happy to join? Each expansion required a sacrifice, and the Zhao and Li families only had 5-6%.

Even if the Lu family got 8% shares, could they hold onto them as the largest shareholder, given how they obtained them?

But after a moment's thought, he didn't worry too much. Even if the matter was exposed, what did it have to do with his family? His second son had a fierce fight with the Ding family's son, and almost the entire Yanzhou city knew about it.

The goal was achieved. The Zhu family's share was given away, and no matter how it was handled in the future, it couldn't be reclaimed. Without this share, it was like cutting off one of the Zhu family's arms.

After thinking for a long time, he said happily, "Bring me some wine."

He happily ate small dishes, drank wine, and hummed a tune.

On the surface, he seemed to have succeeded, but in reality, the Zhu family's income was shifting. It was no longer in the north but in the south, amidst green mountains and bamboo.

And the storm was not in Shaanxi but in the capital, where a grand drama would unfold.

---

---

---

---

---