Chapter 39

Unlike the panicked Wang Chenglin, his father, Wang Shoucheng, was much calmer. He looked at the fine salt on the table with a puzzled expression: "This salt is all top-grade fine salt. Where did Yueyang get it from, and why is he selling it so cheaply? Isn't he just asking to lose money?"

Wang Chenglin also said irritably, "Yes, I don't understand what Yueyang is up to either. The cost of such fine salt is certainly no less than 800 coins per pound. Has Yueyang gone mad? Or did the wind blow this salt to him?"

The two of them thought hard in the study but couldn't figure out why Yueyang had the nerve to sell the salt so cheaply. At that moment, Yueyang stood at the door of a salt shop in Yingzhou City, his face beaming as he watched the throngs of people outside. The salt he was selling was iodized salt he had bought from a modern salt company two days ago. In the highly industrialized modern society, salt was extremely cheap. Since he bought it in bulk, the cost was only one yuan per pound. Even though he bought 100 tons at once, it only cost him 200,000 yuan.

However, there was a small problem when passing through the portal. Yueyang realized that he would be exhausted if he tried to throw 100 tons of salt through the portal by himself. But humans are very adaptable. Yueyang had a sudden idea and packaged the salt into one-ton bags. He then bought a small forklift and used it to transport the salt through the portal.

Yueyang was delighted, but Yuelai Fu, standing beside him, looked at the crowd outside with a pained expression and said, "Young Master, this is all top-grade fine salt. It's only 300 coins per pound, which is too cheap. We could easily sell it for 700 to 800 coins per pound!"

Yueyang waved his hand dismissively, "Ah... 300 coins is already a good profit for us. If we charge more, it wouldn't be appropriate. Besides, Yingzhou City is not that big. Even if we charge more, how much could we really make? Uncle Lai Fu, you need to think long-term! In the future, we will sell this salt to Datong, Taiyuan, and even Beijing. That's where we can make big money!"

Indeed, Yueyang's vision was no longer limited to Yingzhou City and Shanxi Province. He had already thought about expanding his salt business to the surrounding provinces of Hebei and Henan, where the real money could be made.

To be honest, Yueyang was very dissatisfied with the salt and iron monopoly policy of the Ming Dynasty. For example, in today's Shanxi, the price of coarse salt is 300 coins per pound. If 100 coins are equivalent to 20 RMB, then each pound of salt costs 60 RMB, which is unimaginable in modern times.

But is salt really that expensive? According to Yueyang's recent understanding, the salt price in the Ming Dynasty was actually quite cheap. The government purchased coarse salt from "zao hu" (households specialized in salt production) at 5 coins per pound, which is about 1 RMB. However, why did the market price of salt rise to 300 coins, a 60-fold increase?

The problem lies in the distribution process. For example, if the Wang family wanted to sell salt, they had to apply for a salt permit from the Salt Transport Office, which is a license to sell salt. After obtaining the permit, they had to go to the inspection office for a check. Then they had to sell the salt at designated locations. After selling the salt, they had to return the permit to the local government. The entire process was not only cumbersome but also costly. The welfare of Ming Dynasty officials was generally low, so they waited for bribes. When the Wang family came to them, the officials would deliberately delay the process until the Wang family offered them silver. This shows that although the production cost of salt was low, the costs associated with transportation and sales were extremely high. The Wang family, having spent so much silver to bribe the officials, had to raise the salt price several times over.

However, someone might ask, since the Ming Dynasty implemented a salt and iron monopoly, how could Yueyang sell salt so openly in the city? Wasn't he afraid that the Salt Transport Office of Yingzhou City would cause trouble for him? Yueyang had already considered this. Getting a salt permit could be difficult, but it could also be easy. Although the number of permits in each state and prefecture was fixed and controlled by the Wang family and other small salt merchants, the saying goes, "Money can make the devil grind." After spending a lot of silver, Yueyang obtained the salt permit.

With the salt permit in hand, Yueyang's first step was to drive the Wang family out of the market. He did exactly that. After opening his salt shop in Yingzhou City for three days, he almost drove the Wang family's salt shop out of business. Wang Shoucheng had no choice but to seek help from the Prefect Zheng Fakui, but Zheng Fakui claimed that the salt monopoly was not under his jurisdiction and passed the ball to the Salt Transport Office.

Wang Shoucheng had no choice but to go to the Salt Transport Office and find the Salt Transport Commissioner. However, the Salt Transport Commissioner of Yingzhou, who had already received bribes from Yueyang, kept talking in official jargon, saying that Yueyang's salt permit was legally obtained and he couldn't interfere with his normal business operations. Seeing this, Wang Shoucheng finally realized that he had underestimated Yueyang. This young man, once called a bookish scholar, was extremely ruthless.

By dusk, Wang Shoucheng returned to his residence, dragging his tired body. As soon as he entered the house, Wang Chenglin came forward to help him take off his outer robe.

"Father, what did Prefect Qiu say? Did he agree to help us?"

Wang Shoucheng did not answer but said with a gloomy face, "Let's talk in my study!" Then he walked into the study first.

In the study, Wang Shoucheng sat down, leaned his head back on the chair, and said nothing, just closing his eyes to rest. Wang Chenglin did not dare to speak and stood silently behind him.

After a long time, the light in the study gradually dimmed, enveloping Wang Shoucheng in darkness. Finally, Wang Shoucheng sighed lightly, "It seems I underestimated the young man from the Yue family. I thought he was just lucky to train a few hundred elite soldiers and that he was just a martial man. I thought that even if he somehow got a batch of fine salt, it would be a losing business and wouldn't last long. But now it seems he is serious. He must have a stable supply channel. I just can't figure out where he got this salt from!"

Wang Chenglin's face was full of anger, "Father, Yueyang is trying to cut off our livelihood. Since that's the case, we shouldn't be polite to him. I'll lead a group of people to burn down his three shops tonight! I don't believe he has three heads and six arms!"

"You fool!"

As soon as Wang Chenglin finished speaking, Wang Shoucheng glared at him and scolded, "All you know is fighting. Can't you use your brain? Those three shops are so important. Do you think the Yue family won't guard them? I tell you, from today on, you are not allowed to take any action against the Yue family without my order, understand?"

"Yes!" Wang Chenglin answered respectfully, but a look of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes. His eyes kept moving, as if he was plotting something.

After a while, Wang Shoucheng said weakly, "Alright, I'll write a letter to your brother tonight and ask him to talk to Prefect Zheng. I'm sure Prefect Zheng will give your brother a face, and Yueyang won't dare to go too far."

Wang Chenglin said softly, "Yes, I understand. If Father has no other instructions, I'll take my leave."

"Go ahead!" Wang Shoucheng waved his hand and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes to rest. Wang Chenglin quietly left the study.

As Wang Chenglin walked out of the study, he couldn't understand. Yueyang was just a bookish scholar who read dead books. Four or five months ago, he was a wimp that Wang Chenglin could easily manipulate. He could play with Yueyang at will with just a few servants. But in such a short time, this wimp had become a hotshot in Yingzhou City, not only training a militia but also defeating bandits and saving the city. The contrast was too great, too unbelievable. Now, he was even trying to cut off the Wang family's roots, which was unbearable for the proud Wang Chenglin.

The more Wang Chenglin thought, the angrier he became. Soon, he found a tall, muscular man with a fierce look and said, "Master Huang, you've been with our Wang family for four or five years. You know how we've treated you. Now that our family is in trouble, are you willing to help us?"

The man bowed and said loudly, "Second Young Master, I have been taken care of by the Wang family for so many years and have always wanted to repay you. Please tell me what to do, and I will do it without hesitation!"

"Good!"

Huang Chenglin was delighted and said in a low voice, "Here's the plan. Tonight, you will lead a group of brothers to the three new salt shops and do this... this..."

PS: Brothers, do you still have any recommendation votes?