Chapter 81: If there are no difficulties, create them!

Time flows like a stream, and days slip by; in the blink of an eye, nearly half a month has passed.

The weather has grown increasingly sweltering, and the birch trees on both sides of the road have had their leaves withered by the sun, drooping powerlessly on either side.

The cicadas deep in the woods are chirping incessantly, and the stray dogs by the street are lying on the ground, panting with tongues that look like tongues of flame.

Reflecting this heat is the ever-rising price of salt.

Since Zhang Yunxiu and his party entered Joseon, in just twenty short days, the price of salt across all of Joseon has already reached thirty-two wen per jin.

In one month's time, it has more than doubled from before.

Everyone has become crazed; how much can one earn from farming all year round? How could it be as fast as hoarding salt? Thus, whether commoners or high-ranking officials and nobles, all have joined in this battle of contention.

At this moment, in a small courtyard in Haizhou City, Li Ergou and seven or eight of his underlings are sitting around an Eight Immortals table filled with delicacies, gorging themselves.

With just this one move, they have already earned several hundred taels of silver.

Moreover, this momentum shows no sign of abating; it still has a trend of climbing higher.

Such good fortune naturally calls for a proper celebration.

Swallowing a large mouthful of fatty meat, Wang Pangzi wiped his mouth, which was glistening with oil, and looked at Li Ergou, smiling ingratiatingly: "Brother Ergou is still the smart one. We sold our houses and land to hoard sixty thousand jin of salt in advance; as soon as it's sold, we'll all be big shopkeepers."

"Yo, yo, yo, now you know Brother Ergou is impressive? Weren't you worried about losing money before?" Shouhou nudged Wang Pangzi with his elbow and mocked.

"I was just worried about not being able to marry a wife," Wang Pangzi muttered, the fat on his face shrinking as if he were a wronged young bride.

"Just you? Do you think us brothers weren't worried?"

Shouhou was about to say more when Li Ergou, sitting to the side, waved his hand to stop him: "Alright, alright, we're all brothers here. To be honest, I didn't have full confidence when we started this, so it wasn't unreasonable for Pangzi to worry."

Wang Pangzi hurriedly cast a grateful glance at Li Ergou, then ignored the idle chatter and buried his head in gorging himself again.

In a flash, the table full of dishes was wiped clean.

"Hiccup!" Letting out a long, satisfied burp, Li Ergou rubbed his belly and muttered to himself, "Eat your fill, drink your fill, and sleep with your woman—this is what you call living."

"Alright, Brother Ergou has spoken. Let's hurry and leave, so we don't delay Brother Ergou from handling his business." Shouhou gave a cheeky grin, stood up, and waved his hands as if herding ducks: "Move, move, don't delay our Brother Ergou from handling his business."

The crowd laughed heartily and swayed as they walked out.

A warmth stirred in Li Ergou's heart; he bared his teeth and bypassed the main hall, heading straight for the inner room.

Inside, Min'er was wearing a bright, floral-patterned robe, sitting alone at the table, burying her head in eating the pastries on the table.

Seeing Li Ergou enter, her little face flushed, and she stood up to welcome him: "Brother Ergou, would you like to eat?"

"No, I bought them all for you to eat; you just eat them yourself."

Shaking his head, Li Ergou pulled over a stool and sat down next to Min'er.

He rested his head on his left hand, half-leaning over the table, and looked at Min'er's fair, smooth neck with eyes full of tenderness.

"W-why are you looking at me?" Min'er muttered, her face turning red.

"What? Can't I even look at my own wife?" Li Ergou grinned and retorted. "Shameless, who... who is your wife?" Min'er spat out, her face flushed, but then she suddenly thought of something and hurriedly suggested to Li Ergou: "Brother Ergou, why don't you sell all that salt?"

"As soon as you sell it, you'll have over two thousand taels of silver. The eight of you brothers can each get at least a hundred taels; we've already earned enough."

Li Ergou smiled and shook his head.

"If... if you don't sell these things, when will you ever be able to marry me?!" Min'er's eyes turned red, and she said with a sobbing tone.

"Sigh, women really have long hair and short insight. Look, ever since us brothers got this salt, not only the neighbors on the street, but even your father looks at me with higher regard."

"Otherwise, do you think you could come and live at my place?" Li Ergou gritted his teeth and said sullenly.

Hearing this, Min'er tilted her head and thought for a while before nodding: "It seems so. These pastries were also sent by others; now people are all rushing to curry favor with you."

"That's right," Li Ergou hugged Min'er and said sternly, "People always fawn over the powerful and trample the weak. As long as we have the goods in our hands, others won't look down on us."

"What if the price of salt drops?" Min'er asked, unable to help but worry.

Li Ergou felt a chill in his heart, but he quickly waved his hands repeatedly and refused: "It won't drop for a while, and I feel it can still climb a bit higher. Trust my judgment."

"Mm." Min'er's little face turned completely red, and she leaned against Li Ergou's shoulder, full of happiness.

On the other side.

Having arrived in Hanyang, Zhang Yunxiu found an inn to stay at and quickly summoned his core members to a meeting. Once everyone had arrived, Zhang Yunxiu spoke first: "Right now, the price of salt is around thirty-three wen. We can sell a small amount at thirty wen."

"Why?" Zhao Dazhuang immediately asked, puzzled.

"Fishing, of course, requires give and take. We'll suppress the price first, and you'll see the effect later." Zhang Yunxiu smiled at him, offered no further explanation, and looked at Han San to instruct him: "First, sell two million jin of salt in various places at the price of thirty wen. Be careful not to sell too much in one place, so as not to cause panic."

"Understood." Han San nodded in agreement, then suddenly said with concern: "By the way, Young Master, you mentioned the Japanese pirates invading; paper can never wrap up fire forever. If the Japanese pirates don't invade, the price of salt will eventually fall."

"I know that, of course." Zhang Yunxiu gave a wicked smile, "But we will definitely be able to dump this salt to the maximum extent before the price of salt collapses."

Most of his salt was acquired at ten wen per jin.

As long as the price jumps up again to forty or even forty-five wen, he will sell it off without the slightest hesitation.

Sell as much as he can; as long as the price is higher than ten wen, it is a business where he will definitely profit and never lose.

Han San seemed to understand a little. He turned his head, and suddenly a vicious plan arose in his heart: "Young Master, actually we could find some short soldiers, dress them up as Japanese pirates, take some Warships to the side of Joseon, and fire a few cannons."

"Mm, this method is good." Zhang Yunxiu raised his eyebrows and ordered: "There is no time to lose. Send someone to rush back to Tianjin Guard immediately and have them send out more Warships."

If there are no Japanese pirates, then create Japanese pirates.

As long as the panic among these people is stirred up, they will believe whatever he says.

Moreover, there are also the big merchants and noble lords of Joseon who will participate in it.

(End of chapter)