Jinyi champion

Chapter 15 Plan ahead
The development of beach drying salt fields outside the city went very smoothly.

There are many saline-alkali lands in Huguang. This is mainly due to the infiltration of brine from underground salt mines, which destroys the soil on the ground. It is difficult for plants to grow, and naturally it is impossible to grow crops. These lands can be used with a little modification.

It's just that many methods are needed to fight and preserve the brine.

Especially the brine that has been exposed to the sun in the middle and later stages, if it is not well preserved, all previous efforts will be wasted when it rains, and it needs to be re-dried. This requires diverting the brine to a place with a cover before it rains, and releasing it again after the weather clears show.

"Salt brine that has been exposed to the sun for more than five or six days must be kept well, and there must be a brine preservation area as a buffer between every two salt flats."

Zhu Hao is like a professional engineer. When the salt flats are being built outside the city, he will personally show up and give hands-on guidance.

……

……

June fourteenth.

The first batch of salt extracted from bittern outside the city was successfully sun-dried.

The yard already has experience in sun drying salt, and the weather has made the salt come out very quickly.

When Zhu Niang saw the white salt crystals at the bottom of the salt pond, she was overjoyed.

"This...is it really made from the brine of Yanwozi?"

Aunt Li's eyes widened after she tasted it, her face full of disbelief.

Zhu Hao said with a smile: "Auntie, it's nothing. If we were at the seaside, we would guard the sea and give it to us, that would be inexhaustible, but now we are in the inland Huguang...but That's fine, who would have thought that we used bittern to make salt? Nobody checked."

"Quick, get the salt."

The people in the courtyard are busy.

Even Zhu Ting, the youngest, helped support the sack even though she had little strength.

The difference from before is that this time I bought a few donkeys. The donkeys are mainly used to pull the mill, grind the salt crystals, and then pack them in bags.

"Mother, when we have more money, we won't dry salt in this yard. The place is not big, and we have to transport it to the city when we buy brine, and it is easy to be stopped and questioned by officials. After a few batches of salt are produced later, we will put the yard back. Set it up so that no one can discover the secret of sun-dried salt."

"By the way, mother, we will transport salt to Dongzhu Su in a few days. For the first time, mother will have to come forward in person. Whether it is Dongzhu Su, the Zhu family or those with ulterior motives, they will pay attention to what method we use to control it. Salt, we must keep the secret."

The family was busy until late at night before collecting all the salt.

For sun-drying salt, as long as there is no bad weather, the sun-drying process can continue after a batch is collected and the next batch of brine will be delivered.

A steady stream.

June sixteenth.

Two more batches of salt were released outside the city. Unfortunately, because the water flow was not well controlled in one salt flat, the freshly dried salt was accidentally poured into the water, so that the shipment was delayed, and the salt output from the other salt flats was smooth.

After putting the salt back together, Zhu Niang took Yu San and the others to Hanshui overnight.

The next morning, Zhu Niang brought people back from outside the city. When they got home, they mysteriously called Aunt Li and Zhu Hao, and took out three silver ingots of ten taels and one ingot from the bag they carried with them.

"Ma'am, this is..."

Aunt Li is not sure.

Zhu Niang said happily: "It's all earned."

"oops."

Aunt Li danced with excitement when she heard the words, "The two hundred taels I borrowed didn't cost much, plus these... it's enough to pay back Su Dongzhu."

The courtyard suddenly became alive.

Aunt Li began to look forward to it again: "If it's at the end of the month, two or three batches of salt will be handed in... I guess there will be another eighty or ninety taels of silver to pay..."

Zhu Hao asked: "Mom, it seems that the official salt in our hands hasn't been transferred yet... How come there are eighty taels of silver in return?"

"Ah."

Zhu Niang smiled and nodded.

Aunt Li asked puzzledly: "What salt? Isn't it all handed over to Su Dongzhu?"

Zhu Niang explained: "What Xiaohao said is that we have the official salt of Yanyin, which is a total of twenty Yin, eight thousand catties, ten Wen per catty, if it is put on the market, it can sell for ten yuan. Sixty-seven words..."

Aunt Li was speechless: "There are so many?"

I thought that a net profit of thirty taels at a time was an exaggerated figure, but I didn't expect that the eight thousand catties of "raw salt" that Su Xigui gave at the beginning hadn't been sold yet.

"Mother, is there a way to contact the merchants who are going south? I hope we can sell this batch of salt by ourselves, maybe it will be old... Right now, even ten catties of salt can't be sold out in a day."

Zhu Hao understands that all parties are currently suppressing him, all kinds of rumors are flying everywhere, few customers come to the door, and it is not reliable to make money by retailing.

We can only resell a large amount of official salt.

Zhu Niang shook her head: "I asked people on the river, and they said that the boundary between Jiangxi and Huguang is not peaceful recently, those chieftains in the south of Huguang are doing things again, and there are bandits in the mountains of Jianggan. If you want to get salt, you'd better go to Go north."

"Mother, if you go north, you won't be able to get the land right. We didn't do salt trading before, so we don't know much about the market, but now that we want to sell salt, we must grasp the market. In fact, the more uneven the ground, the more difficult it is for the merchant The more opportunity there is, the better we will sell it at a fair price.”

Zhu Hao saw Zhu Niang's avoidance of merchants.

She used to be a small retailer, but now she is suddenly asked to be a "salt owl" in Huguang. How could she adapt to this change all of a sudden?

When there is a problem, Zhu Niang's first thought is to avoid it, not face it.

"However, how can we resell this batch of salt?"

Zhu Niang is still in trouble.

Zhu Hao said with a smile: "In Anlu, the sale of official salt is monopolized, but the provincial capital is not. No matter how powerful Huang Fantai is, it is impossible to take all the benefits. There is a lot of room for maneuvering. , we can send people to the provincial capital to inquire about the news, and contact the people over there for licensed products..."

"provincial capital?"

Zhu Niang retreated again.

Zhu Hao understands that Zhu Niang is unwilling to leave Anlu. As a chaste wife, she is not mentally prepared to be a big businessman, but more of a mentality that she will be safe if she is a little rich, and she will be content if she can keep the property left by her husband.

"Mother doesn't need to go in person, just let someone go, why don't you let Yu San bring the goods, Yu San looks smart, he should be able to handle this kind of thing well."

Zhu Hao made a suggestion.

……

……

Zhu's Manor.

Recently, Zhu Jiashi did not ask about Zhu Niang's business affairs.

Zhu Wanjian asked someone to keep an eye on them all the time. Although the rice shop was open as usual, there were only a handful of people who actually went in to buy salt and grain.

At this time, Zhu Jiashi was meeting Lin Baihu, who had just returned to the capital, and then rushed back to Anlu without stopping.

"...A minister cited Song Renzong's precedent of raising a clan son to be banned from the palace, and asked His Majesty to enter the palace as a royal family member with both talents and virtues to study. Anlu's line can be said to be the target of public criticism.

"The Empress Dowager called for an inquiry, and specifically mentioned that since the birth of Prince Xing's son, the inside information of Prince Xing's mansion has never been reported, and blamed Zhu Qianhu for his ineffectiveness."

After Lin Baihu finished speaking, he handed a receipt to Zhu Jiashi.

The receipt was signed by Zhu Wanhong, the eldest son of Zhu, indicating that the money given by the Zhu family had been accepted by him.

But Zhu Jia knew that even if the money arrived in the capital now, most of the money would not fall into the hands of his son, but would be swallowed up by Jin Yiwei and even the moths in Dongchang. Zhu Wanhong didn't have the guts not to sign the receipt.

"Then Lin Baihu, are you here on an important errand?"

Zhu Jia felt that Lin Baihu's arrival was not kind this time.

Lin Baihu said: "I hope to meet Zhu Qianhu and have a detailed talk with him." This is because he doesn't want to tell Zhu Jiashi too many secrets, but wants to follow Zhu Mingshan who moved to Anlu to monitor Xingwang's mansion nearby plot.

Zhu Jiashi shook his head: "My husband can't afford to sleep on the couch, and often he can't speak. He needs someone to take care of him personally. I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with it."

Since Zhu Mingshan fell from a horse last year and injured the back of his head and spine, he is now only half alive. Sometimes he is clear-headed but unable to express himself. The Zhu family relies entirely on Zhu Mingshan's official position and his good relationship with the royal family to gain a foothold in Anlu. .

Zhu Jia knew very well that it was impossible for the Zhu family to move back to the capital, the best would be to keep the status quo, the worst would be that Emperor Zhengde would have no heir and the son of King Xing would ascend the throne, then the Zhu family would be doomed.

"That's it...the old lady, there is something confidential, it's okay to tell you."

Lin Baihu pondered for a moment, and his expression became serious, "Earlier, Jin Yiwei sent six spies to sneak into Xing Wang's mansion, but they were discovered, and four of them were kicked out. The other two have disappeared until now, and they are probably gone was silenced."

Zhu Jiashi was shocked: "Xing Wang's mansion even dared to..."

"There is no evidence, no one is alive, no one is dead, and I have personally recruited people in the palace before, hoping that someone can pass on the news to the outside, but even Mr. Xi, who was recruited by the palace, keeps secrets about the affairs of the palace."

"I also secretly interrogated the teachings of a Prince Xing's son, and asked about the teachings of King Xing to the son. At that time, I knew a little...but then this person moved with his family, and Jin Yiwei has not found his whereabouts until now."

When Lin Baihu said this, his face was rather helpless.

Zhu Jiashi said: "Isn't this Xingwang's mansion a dragon's pond and a tiger's lair?"

Lin Baihu smiled wryly and shook his head: "I, like your mansion, have been ordered to keep an eye on Prince Xing's mansion. I haven't made any achievements in the past few years. I am afraid that I will be held accountable by the court. If I have no chance to come to Anlu again, I have a piece of advice... If the Zhu family can find out more things from King Xing's mansion...especially find evidence of King Xing's connection with the Minister of Chinese and Military Affairs..."

Zhu Jiashi looked gloomy and remained silent.

"That's all for now, let me take my leave."

After Lin Baihu finished speaking, he cupped his fists and left.

Zhu Jiashi hurriedly got up and asked, "How to check?"

Lin Baihu said: "There is something that others don't know, but the Zhu family must know that the eldest son of King Xing died five days after he was born. The Zhu family should have done something at that time, right?"

Zhu Jiashi's face was stern.

The implication in the dialect is that Zhu Houxi, the eldest son of King Xing Zhu Youzhu, did not die normally, but was murdered.

"So after the birth of King Xing's second son, he has been careful until now. The mansion raised many children of the same age at the same time. Outsiders can't tell which one is the real son of King Xing... King Xing only has one son, and everything must be done from this son. If something unexpected happens to him...then everyone will be happy and everyone will enjoy peace."

(End of this chapter)