Chapter 80: Others Are Fearful, I Am Greedy!

Three days later, with Hwanghae Province as the center, the price of salt across all of Joseon began to climb.

From the initial seventeen wen, it soared all the way up to nineteen wen, just as the common folk thought it had hit the ceiling.

The salt merchants of Haizhou City joined forces, limiting the daily amount of salt they released for sale while simultaneously buying back salt at a price of twenty wen.

With this, everyone was in a frenzy.

Twenty wen? In less than seven short days, the price of salt had doubled.

Commoners who had hoarded large amounts of salt at home one after another brought out their surplus and sold it off to the salt merchants.

Of course, while it was called a "large amount," it was actually only a few dozen jin, or at most, a hundred jin.

Moreover, the number of people doing so was relatively small.

For the massive demand, it was still a drop in the bucket.

At this time, quick-witted small peddlers and wealthy households saw a business opportunity.

Who were these salt merchants? Every one of them was a big shot with powerful backing; if they could afford to buy salt at twenty wen,

it meant there was definitely profit to be made here.

As a result, in many villages and towns, the figures of some independent traders could be seen.

Carrying cloth bags and pushing small carts, they shouted loudly: "Salt! Twenty-one wen a jin! If you have any, don't hide it away; once you miss this village, you won't find this shop again."

Upon hearing this cry, a large crowd of commoners dressed in hemp clothes surged out of the village and surrounded the peddler.

"Twenty jin, twenty jin."

"Ten jin."

"Eight jin."

Everyone talked at once, frantically handing their bags toward the peddler.

The peddler grinned from ear to ear, collecting them one by one and distributing the money; the transaction was then considered complete.

After working for an entire morning, the peddler and his accompanying companions took a look: just this morning, they had collected a full three thousand jin of salt.

Among it, some had been bought at eighteen wen, some at nineteen, and a small portion at twenty-one wen.

After packing up their belongings, the four or five of them nimbly pushed their small carts back home.

Once they entered their small courtyard, the men fetched a basin of cold water, found towels to dampen, and wiped their sweat-stained bodies from head to toe.

"Brother Ergou, tell me, do you think we can make money this time?" a short, slightly chubby youth asked, looking toward the lean man by the water basin in front.

The sturdy man called Ergou paused in his movements, then gave his face a fierce wipe and turned his head back.

He appeared to be about twenty years old, with eyes that were bright and piercing, a face as if carved by a knife, and prominent cheekbones; he wore only a washed-out, pale short jacket, yet it could not hide the heroic spirit on his body.

He was called Li Ergou, and he was a well-known street hoodlum in the vicinity.

Because he was sturdy, skilled with his hands, and quite loyal, he had quickly gathered a team of more than twenty people.

Among his peers, he could be considered to have a bit of a reputation.

Before Li Ergou could speak, a man beside him kicked out heavily and cursed: "Wang Pangzi, what the hell are you saying? When has Brother Ergou ever cheated us?"

Wang Pangzi stumbled, his large body lunging forward, and he fell directly to the ground.

"Hey! Li Gan, what the hell are you doing? We're all brothers; Pangzi is just worried about the money going down the drain, there's nothing wrong with that!" Li Ergou glared at Shouhou, who had thrown the kick, then personally helped the chubby man up from the ground and asked with concern, "Are you alright, Pangzi?"

"N-no, I'm fine." Wang Pangzi muttered, then asked nervously again, "Brother Ergou, I took out all the money for my bride-price this time, what if..."

"Wang Pangzi, are you not going to learn your lesson?"

Shouhou had the least respect for this chubby man; seeing him whining again, he flew into a rage. Li Ergou glared back at Shouhou, then patted his chest and guaranteed, "Don't worry, I promise to get you a wife." "Look at this salt, how it changes every few days. With these thirty-thousand-plus jin of salt, if we make twenty wen a jin, it's enough for us brothers to earn enough money to open a shop together."

"So that means, when the time comes, I'll be a shopkeeper too?" Wang Pangzi's eyes lit up, his face full of longing.

"That goes without saying," Li Ergou promised solemnly.

"Heh, with his fat head and big ears, looking like he's stuffed with grease, he wants to be a shopkeeper? He should go take a piss and look at himself in it," Shouhou shook his head with a smile, his mouth curling as he couldn't help but mock.

"Hahaha," the others laughed out loud.

The air was suddenly filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Wang Pangzi's face turned beet red; he glared at Shouhou and retorted, "This is called a face of fortune, fortune! You don't know a damn thing. With that sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked look of yours, without an ounce of meat on your face, you look like a loser with no fortune."

Shouhou was just about to mock him back when a graceful figure suddenly appeared outside the courtyard.

Li Ergou felt a softness in his heart; he coughed twice and waved his hands as if shooing flies, urging, "Get out, get out, get out! All of you go back and eat. When it gets cooler, come out with me again in the afternoon to collect goods."

The others also immediately spotted the shy figure and began to jeer: "Oh, so it's Sister-in-law who's here. Let's go, let's go, brothers, let's give Brother Gou some face."

"Hahaha, Brother Ergou, you'd better keep it together; don't be unable to get up this afternoon and have us come to call you."

"Brother, keep it down; our house is only separated from yours by a wall, I'm afraid I won't be able to stand it..."

These men were all crude fellows, and once they started joking like this, it made the beauty's cheeks turn bright red.

Seeing the beauty being teased, Li Ergou knit his brows and shouted in a gruff voice: "If you dare to blather on again, watch out, or I'll tear all your mouths apart!"

The men pretended to be afraid, let out a few strange cries, and then scattered in a flurry.

At this moment, the beauty walked in, holding up a red Western-style pleated skirt.

She appeared to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, of medium height, with fair skin and a pair of watery, large eyes that tugged directly at one's heartstrings.

"Min'er." Li Ergou hurried to meet her and pulled the beauty into his arms.

In an instant, the beauty's soft body collided with his.

A cool breeze blew, carrying the woman's body heat and warmth, drilling fiercely into Li Ergou's nostrils.

Min'er also took the opportunity to bury her head in Li Ergou's chest.

This lasted for quite a while before Min'er raised her head and said timidly: "Brother Ergou, when are you coming to my house to propose? My father said if you don't come this year, he's going to marry me off to someone else."

"He dares!" Li Ergou glared and gritted his teeth.

"Then you'd better hurry up," Min'er tilted her neck and pouted, humming.

Li Ergou scratched his head and gave an awkward smile: "It's just that... I've invested all the money I had on hand into this business recently."

"I also heard some news from my second uncle who works in service; this salt can indeed rise in price, but in the end, it is not the proper path," Min'er said, filled with worry.

At this, Li Ergou became annoyed and immediately retorted: "Then what is the proper path? Is it only the proper path if one is like your second uncle, wearing an official uniform, eating the government's food, and throwing one's weight around in front of us common folk?"

"I... I didn't mean that."

"Of course I know that." Li Ergou's tone softened, and he pulled Min'er into his arms again, saying gently, "Don't worry, once I make money this time, I will save it up and open a small shop, and by then I'll make you the proprietress."

"Thank you, Brother Ergou." A wave of sweetness filled Min'er's heart.

"Just thanking me with your mouth won't do; let Brother Ergou take a look and see if you've grown up yet," Li Ergou chuckled, his gaze aimed at the young girl's developing peach peaks.

"No... didn't you just look yesterday?" Min'er lowered her head, her face full of shyness.

"Yesterday is yesterday, and today is today."

(End of this chapter)