Chapter 85: Smashing It Open

Time flows like a stream, and days pass by; nearly a month has gone by since the war in the south broke out.

Over this past month, "reports of victory" have been flying out of Gyeongsang-do in Joseon, and the number of Japanese pirates has been increasingly exaggerated.

They claim there are hundreds of Warships and tens of thousands of men.

The key is that these rumors are coming from the mouths of certain officials serving in the imperial court; you tell me, are we supposed to believe them?

As the war progresses, the price of salt has also soared all the way, reaching forty-six wen per jin in the blink of an eye.

This price has completely met Zhang Yunxiu's expectations, so he is not prepared to wait any longer.

Just past the hour of Chen this day, he summoned all the stewards to the main hall.

He sat in the seat of honor, while the other stewards stood with their hands hanging down, looking at this big shot with faces full of respect. Meeting everyone's gaze, Zhang Yunxiu said without a hint of emotion: "Dump it."

"Start selling at a price of forty-five wen per jin, and continue until the price falls below ten wen."

"As you command!" The stewards straightened their bodies, then cupped their fists and shouted in unison.

Afterward, Zhang Yunxiu gave some more specific details and then waved his hand to let everyone go and prepare.

Before leaving, Zhang Yunxiu smiled at everyone and said: "I hope you all work hard; I will set up a banquet right here, waiting to celebrate your success."

"Many thanks, Young Master."

The group returned the salute once more and dispersed in an orderly fashion.

Two days later, at midday, in the streets of Haizhou City, merchants pushed small carts filled with sacks, and under the protection of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they arrived at a crowded location to set up tables and platforms.

At this moment, many onlookers gathered around.

Someone quick-witted gathered the courage to step forward and ask, "What are you selling?"

"Salt." The person in charge of sales frowned, opened a bag to reveal the snow-white table salt inside, and said with a bitter face, "Look, what fine salt. If our master weren't truly in need of money, he wouldn't be selling all this salt right now."

"What's the price?"

"Our master said, forty-five wen per jin. If you buy a lot, the price can be lowered further; consider it a discount for everyone."

The clerk rolled up his sleeves and shouted loudly, and the surrounding onlookers immediately became restless. They felt that the price of salt wouldn't drop anytime soon, so they scrambled to buy it.

"Then give me ten jin first."

"Give me fifty jin."

"Three hundred. Three hundred jin."

At the same time, the same thing was happening repeatedly all over Joseon.

At first, no one noticed, but later, those with quick minds realized something was wrong; such a massive amount of salt was flooding the market all at once.

Even if there were many people buying it up, it still caused a significant impact on the price of salt.

In less than ten days, the price of salt fell all the way from forty-six wen per jin to forty-two wen.

Among this, there were still many wealthy families protecting the market, which prevented the price of salt from completely collapsing.

At midday this day, the living room in Jin Fu's home was packed with wealthy merchants from Haizhou City, each of them wearing an anxious expression.

Some paced back and forth, some sighed while holding their foreheads, and some looked miserable.

Suddenly, a hearty laugh rang out at the entrance of the hall: "Hahaha, everyone, everyone, I went to see a person of high status, which is why I arrived a bit late. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please forgive me."

Everyone turned their heads to look; it was Jin Fu. "Boss Jin, you've finally come. Now, not to mention Haizhou, the price of salt across all of Joseon is falling. You are our backbone; you must come up with a plan quickly." Wang Laoban took a step forward, grabbed Jin Fu's hand, and said with great excitement.

The other merchants were also looking anxious, all talking at once:

"That's right, Boss Jin is not only the richest man in our Haizhou City, but you also have connections in the court. Now, us small fry are all counting on you."

"Boss Jin, have some mercy. I have the young and the old to support, and I've invested every bit of silver I could move into this."

"As long as we can get through this disaster, whatever Boss Jin tells us to do in the future, we will never say a single word of 'no'."

"Everyone, everyone, there is no need to worry." Having taken in everyone's pleas, Jin Fu lifted his long robe and walked forward to sit in the seat of honor, then looked at the crowd and said, "The noble person above has already said that the war in the south will not end so quickly once it starts."

"The price of salt will not go down for a while; it's just that some people are in a hurry for money, which has caused the price of salt to drop a little."

"Then what does Boss Jin mean?" Wang Laoban probed cautiously.

"We will hold our ground and move all this salt into our warehouses, working together to stabilize the price of salt." Jin Fu smiled and explained the reason in detail, "Don't you worry, the price of this salt won't fall very far."

"We will drive the price of salt up to fifty wen, and then sell it off together."

At this, many people began to hesitate.

They were not as wealthy as Jin Fu; they had very little liquid silver on hand now, and if they encountered any emergency, they would have no choice but to sell at a loss.

Seeing this scene, Jin Fu raised his eyelids and said with a smile on his face: "Don't worry, the big shots in the Uijeongbu have spoken with me; we won't lose money."

"Ah! So the person behind Boss Jin is actually a big shot from the Uijeongbu!" one person exclaimed.

"Since the big shot said so, then we'll just follow Boss Jin and get rich."

Jin Fu stood up, his face flushed purple, and patted his chest to guarantee: "Everyone, rest assured, I, Jin, would rather lose my own money than let my old friends lose theirs!"

Since he had said as much, and with the backing of people from the Uijeongbu,

who among these small fry dared to object?

After saying a few polite words with a smile, these wealthy merchants who had been invited dispersed together.

In an instant, only Jin Fu and his steward were left in the hall. Jin Guanjia smiled ingratiatingly: "Master, if the price of salt can rise to fifty wen per jin, we will make a fortune."

"Rise, rise, your grandmother's leg!" Jin Fu's face turned red, and he fiercely slapped him hard.

Jin Guanjia let out a loud "Wah!" and spun around twice on the spot.

Then, he covered his reddened cheek and stood there pitifully, two hot tears welling up in his eyes.

Was there anything that couldn't be said nicely?

Besides, what he said was good, and one shouldn't hit a smiling face.

After Jin Fu slapped him, his anger dissipated a lot, and he then became concerned about the steward: "Are you alright? Was that slap I just gave you a bit too heavy?"

Although his face was swollen, since his master was concerned, Jin Guanjia had no choice but to accompany him with a smile: "Not heavy... not heavy at all. It's all my fault for being slow-witted and making Master unhappy; I deserved to be hit."

"Sigh, that blow wasn't aimed at you."

"Then what is the Master doing it for?"

"What else could it be, if not for this salt price?" Jin Fu shook his head with a bitter smile, and then the scene of seeing that big shot yesterday surfaced in his mind.

(End of this chapter)