Chapter 990 - 829: Salt Permit Securitization

Ping Zhao, full of doubts, followed Chen Ji out of the teahouse, not knowing where Chen Ji was headed.

A group of people headed north all the way, and Chen Ji returned to Taoye Ferry where the Late Sun was docked and boarded the painting boat by stepping on a sampan.

On the deck were three large wooden chests. He uncovered them, revealing neatly piled salt permits packed tightly within.

Chen Ji closed the wooden chests again and called Yuan Xing and others to help carry the chests off the boat.

Ping Zhao asked him, "All the salt permits are here, what do you plan to do with them?"

Chen Ji retorted, "The Lamp hasn’t bought any salt permits, has it? If it has, be sure to sell all the Huguang salt permits before evening today."

Ping Zhao shook her head, "Don’t worry, you said to only use the 1.2 million taels of silver, so I only used the 1.2 million taels of silver. I’ve only collected 90,000 permits in these few days, is that enough?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "It’s enough."

Ping Zhao returned two strings of Buddhist Treasures to him, "The remaining 520,000 taels are all here."

Chen Ji accepted the Buddhist Treasures and cupped his hands to Ping Zhao, "Thank you, Aunt Ping, for your assistance. We are preparing now..."

Ping Zhao raised her eyebrows, "Hold on, are you planning to bid me farewell and never interact with me again? Are you planning to kill the donkey after the grinding is done?"

"It’s not about killing the donkey after the grinding is done," Chen Ji sincerely said, "Aunt Ping knows better than I do what kind of nature the Eight Great Merchants have. If they were good people, they wouldn’t be the Eight Great Merchants. Dealing with them is extremely dangerous, and when the plot reaches its end, someone is bound to act desperately. My mother has painstakingly managed the Lamp for over ten years, and with connections to Guyuan’s tens of thousands of border army provisions, nothing can go wrong, so it’s better if Aunt Ping doesn’t get too deeply involved."

Ping Zhao was silent for a moment, "But I’ve been running around these days just to know what exactly you are doing, now I know nothing yet, and you plan to just leave the Lamp behind? At least tell me the answer to the mystery."

Chen Ji turned and stepped off the boat onto the sampan, "Don’t be anxious, Aunt Ping, the conclusion will be revealed today."

Ping Zhao idly placed her arm on the side of the boat, watching Chen Ji’s departing figure, and after a moment, she waited until Chen Ji was far away before speaking, "Ah Jie, how is your son just like you, such a tight-lipped person, too secretive."

As she spoke, footsteps sounded behind her.

Mrs. Lu emerged from the cabin in black attire, wearing a veiled hat, and watched Chen Ji’s figure disappear beyond Taoye Ferry’s wharf.

Ping Zhao glanced at her, "I’ve already pretended to be someone without cunning, and I’m also the strategist of the Lamp’s General, yet this kid still doesn’t trust me, isn’t he a bit overly cautious?"

Mrs. Lu calmly said, "It’s not that he doesn’t trust you, he just doesn’t want to test you. Actually, he’s quite foolish and always uses the simplest methods: because he doesn’t want to be betrayed again, nor does he know how to face betrayal, he simply decides to trust no one, thus avoiding any difficult situations."

Ping Zhao was taken aback, "Is it because of the imprisonment last year? I heard about it, it was a young man named She who sold him out, that person was his senior brother from the Luocheng Medical Hall. But what’s there to be conflicted about? If it were my personality, I would simply take that She guy out with one blow, and it would be settled."

Mrs. Lu sighed, "He’s not like you, he didn’t make things difficult for She Dengke. Hu Junxian initially thought Chen Ji was too shrewd, and Guyuan couldn’t retain Chen Ji, but Hu Junxian misjudged. Chen Ji’s character is very much like the border army, and also very similar to Hu Junxian, when they are doing what they care about the most, they like using the simplest methods... because the simplest methods are the least likely to go wrong."

Ping Zhao rolled her eyes, "Why mention that stubborn rock, he stayed in that broken place of Guyuan for so many years just for an Imperial Decree, even the official path is wasted. Clearly, he could return to the Imperial Capital to take up the post of the Minister of War, but he doesn’t go back, as if Guyuan can’t do without him, he takes himself too seriously."

Mrs. Lu looked at her, "After all these years, you should go back to Guyuan to see him."

Ping Zhao chuckled derisively, "Finally coming to this picturesque Jiangnan, I’m not going back to eat sand. Besides, why should I be the one to go back and find him, not him coming to Jiangnan to find me?"

Mrs. Lu’s face was expressionless, "Your affair, don’t complain to me."

Ping Zhao straightened up, "No complaints, no complaints. Ah Jie, can you figure out what this kid Chen Ji is up to?"

Mrs. Lu walked down the painting boat on the sampan, "Since he said today it will be revealed, let’s patiently wait. Also, transfer the Eight Generals back to Jinling, the Eight Great Merchants are likely to tear off their masks."

Ping Zhao curiously asked, "Do you go to take care of him?"

Mrs. Lu didn’t look back, "No, now he is the one who needs the least care. If the Eight Great Merchants plan to move against him, they will hit the hardest iron plate beneath the sky."

...

...

On Bank Street, inside Pingle Tea House, it was the busiest time. Wang Dequan led his store manager to sit in the corner, listening to the guests talking loudly about the price of Huguang salt permits.

Wang Dequan smiled and squinted at a table where seven men gathered noisily around it, saying loudly, "I’ve found a seller with a hundred permits, selling twenty permits at a time, and since I don’t have enough silver, that’s why I’ve called you all here. Don’t blame me for not reminding you, this is a money-making opportunity, just half a month ago the Huguang salt permit was only two taels each, and in just ten days it’s risen to eight taels."

One man hesitated, rubbing a teacup alongside a square table, "Could it drop back to two taels?"

The leader of the men clicked his tongue, "Haven’t you heard, right now all the Eight Great Merchants are scrambling for Huguang salt permits, buying as many as available at eight taels each. These bastards have the sharpest sense of smell, there must be something big about to happen."

A Han man asked suspiciously, "Why doesn’t this merchant sell the salt permit directly to the Eight Great Merchants? Why sell to us?"

The leading man lowered his voice, "The Eight Great Merchants buy them for eight taels each, but selling to us is eight taels and three maces, so selling to us is definitely more favorable for the merchant. But don’t worry, the salt permit is eight taels of silver today, and it might be ten taels tomorrow. Haven’t you heard? That Old Li from Hetao Lane bought twenty permits for four taels of silver each, and now has sold them all for eight taels of silver, which is enough to buy a set of one-courtyard house in Jinling City."

Everyone got excited, "Really?"

The leading man said disdainfully, "Is there a need to fake it? Go and ask around; there are many who’ve exchanged these deals for houses. Quickly tell me how much silver you can offer, go late and you’ll miss out on all those hundred permits."

"I’ll offer twenty taels of silver."

"I’ll offer forty taels."

The leading man looked at one in the middle suspiciously, "Where did you get forty taels of silver? How did you save up so quietly?"

A man explained, "I’ve been working hard morning and night for years, and I can’t save up forty taels? Hurry, how much will you offer?"

The leading man raised his chin, "I’ll offer sixty taels."

Wang Dequan saw a few people gathered nearly two hundred taels of silver and left the tea house together.

The Store Manager whispered, "Master, if these people drive up the price of salt permits, I’m afraid it will be even harder for us to collect them."

Wang Dequan glanced at him, "Let me ask you, what was our original purpose in collecting salt permits?"

The Store Manager thought for a moment, "Not to let the Zhang Family get half of the salt permits, to avoid a huge loss in our business in Hu-Guang."

Wang Dequan nodded, pointing to the group of men leaving, "What difference does it make if they drive up the price and take it or if we take it? It won’t fall into Zhang Family’s hands anyway."

The Store Manager hesitated, "But if we deliver fewer salt permits to the government office, it might be hard to explain to the Hu Family. We’re currently a few thousand short of the ten thousand that Mr. Hu requested."

Wang Dequan sneered, "Contesting for the Grand Secretary is among the Hu, Chen, and Zhang families. Previously, Hu Junye promised to give me, the Wang Family, the sea trade register, but reversed his decision. Let them fight among themselves. We, at the Wang Family, cannot go bankrupt just to help him."

The Store Manager pondered, "But if we help the Hu Family now, it would mean aiding Prince Fu, and that could be a great merit."

Wang Dequan stood up, "When have we Jiangnan scholars cared about dragon subjugation merits? Even when the real Crown Prince came to investigate the illegal minting of copper coins, the scholars forced the Crown Prince to leave placidly without success. Now, this isn’t even the Crown Prince but Prince Fu, so how could it affect us? Regardless of whether the Crown Prince or Prince Fu ascends the throne, our days in Jiangnan will continue, and our business will persist!"

He walked out the door, heading towards the government office. The Wang family carriage followed behind, loaded with over ten thousand collected salt permits, along with the three hundred thousand initially held by the Wang family.

Arriving at the government office, they found several other families already present. Inside the main hall of the government office, more than ten large boxes were set up, and the Hu family members were opening boxes for inspection.

Hu Junye sat on a Taishi Chair, while Xu Chongyi stood inside the hall reporting, "Mr. Hu, don’t worry. We’ve been watching the Zhang Family closely these days, ensuring the Xu Family’s public funds are still in the Xu Family Mansion, not moved an inch. Furthermore, we stopped the Xu Family Salt Company when they were about to take out the salt permits, claiming a need to check the accounts, and pressed those permits in the Xu Family Mansion as well, absolutely not letting the Zhang Family have a chance to use them."

Gu’s Master brightened up, "You got hold of Xu Family’s twelve thousand Huguang salt permits? Then the Zhang Family can only possess up to nine thousand permits at most. What are those nine thousand permits good for?"

The Eight Great Merchants heard this and breathed a sigh of relief. Nine thousand permits are insignificant in face of those six hundred thousand permits in Hu-Guang. Gu’s Store Manager gleefully commented, "The Zhang Family likely didn’t anticipate the Xu Family’s twelve thousand permits would be intercepted. Now, holding just these nine thousand permits, all their previous efforts are for naught."

Manager Ji pondered for a moment, "Since their salt permits are now useless, the immediate priority is to prevent the Zhang Family from selling the salt permits back to us."

Wang Dequan chuckled, "Rest assured, I sold three thousand permits to the Zhang Family..."

Manager Ji frowned, "Everyone is collecting salt permits, why did you sell to them?"

Wang Dequan rolled his eyes, "What’s the hurry? I sold those three thousand permits dispersedly and noted down the trademarks. Once the Zhang Family releases them to the market, my people will immediately notice."

At this point, he looked to Hu Junye, "Mr. Hu, the Zhang Family has already failed previously. Shouldn’t we take advantage of the high salt permit prices and quickly sell the permits to the market? This coming-and-going amounts to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and we would be able to donate our earnings to the court, allowing you to report back to Your Majesty."

Hu Junye was silent, deep in thought.

Just then, a servant from the Wang family ran into the government office, shouting, "Master, it’s not good!"

In an instant, everyone in the main hall stood up abruptly, "What happened?"

The servant exclaimed, "Master, the Golden Pig from the Spy Department suddenly appeared. In the name of the Inner Court Treasure Paper Department, they’ve opened a Salt Exchange on Sanshan Street, splitting each Huguang salt permit into ten parts, selling one part as a ’Jia Ticket,’ each Jia Ticket is sold for eight maces of silver. The Golden Pig told the people that those who buy Jia Tickets could sell them back to the court next year, not only retrieving the eight maces of silver but also getting five percent silver interest for free!"

Wang Dequan exclaimed in shock, "What?"

The servant, breathlessly, continued, "Sanshan Street is completely blocked now, and the people are scrambling to buy."

Wang Dequan hastily gathered his robes and ran out, shouting, "Quick, go have a look!"