Chapter 86: Let the Fellow Daoist Die, Not the Poor Daoist

Now, after Zhang Yunxiu threw out a large amount of salt, the price of salt dropped quite a bit. At first, Jin Fu thought it was just someone timid who was in urgent need of money, so he did not take it to heart.

That was until the "big shot" behind him summoned him.

And the big shot behind him was none other than the Left State Councilor of the Uijeongbu, Zheng Che.

As the saying goes, "officials and merchants" are not separate; if a merchant has no backing, they would likely have become fat meat in the eyes of others long ago.

Therefore, when this backer summoned him, Jin Fu did not say a word, took his gifts, and headed straight for Hanyang.

Upon arriving at Zheng Che's residence, the steward led him to the east side room of the main hall.

Zheng Che had been waiting there for a long time. Seeing his backer, Jin Fu bent his knees to pay his respects. Zheng Che waved his hand to signal that he need not, then gestured for him to sit.

The two sat down with the etiquette of host and guest. Zheng Che stared into Jin Fu's eyes, frowned, and spoke first: "The recent matter of the salt price is likely to cause a great disaster."

"It couldn't be, could it?" Jin Fu's heart skipped a beat, but on the surface, he feigned composure and said, "It has only dropped by a few wen; it cannot be considered a major event. Besides, isn't there a war going on in the south?"

Zheng Che waved his hand and replied with a hint of helplessness: "At first, I thought the same as you. Later, after asking around in various places, I discovered that someone is dumping salt in large quantities everywhere. You tell me, can the price remain stable like this?"

"Then why doesn't the Honorable Minister report this to the King and have them arrested?" Jin Fu asked, as if possessed.

"If I could arrest them, would I still be worrying?" Zheng Che glared at Jin Fu irritably, his voice trembling as he said, "Those are envoys from the Celestial Dynasty; it is said they are acting under the mandate of the Great Ming Emperor. Do you believe that if I dared to make a move, Li Chengliang would be leading his troops to attack within three months?"

The heavenly might of Great Ming could not be offended by their small country.

Jin Fu also secretly cursed himself for being loose-lipped, so he gave an awkward smile and looked expectantly at the old official, waiting for him to come up with a plan.

Zheng Che had already made plans. Seeing Jin Fu's appearance now, he hardened his heart and simply laid it all out: "After you go back, gather all the merchants you know and have them put up the money to protect this market."

"Honorable Minister, didn't you say this salt price would collapse sooner or later? Then why should we protect it?" Jin Fu was completely confused.

"Fool!" Zheng Che leaned forward, his face flushed red as he cursed, "If we don't make them protect the market, how can we dump all the salt in our hands? 'Let the fellow Daoist die, not the poor Daoist'—is such a simple principle something you don't even understand?"

"Honorable Minister, if we do this, our reputation will be ruined," Jin Fu said with a look of difficulty.

Zheng Che covered his lips, chuckled, and mocked: "Heh heh, now you know you want a reputation? You merchants, full of the stench of copper, which one of you didn't get rich by cheating and swindling? Now you're suddenly concerned about your own reputation."

Stung by this sudden "prick," Jin Fu's fair face instantly turned the color of a purple pig liver.

Before he could speak, Zheng Che interrupted him rudely: "Enough, enough. I don't want to talk to you anymore. If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of people who do!"

In this day and age, the one thing there is no shortage of is people who want to climb up.

Jin Fu knew that his thin arms could not twist the thigh, so he could only nod and agree.

"Sigh."

With a heavy sigh, Jin Fu came back to his senses. At this moment, Jin Guanjia brought in a cup of steaming ginseng tea and said respectfully: "Master, I saw that you have been traveling for several days, and I was afraid your body couldn't take it, so I prepared some ginseng tea for you."

"Please drink it while it's hot."

Jin Fu nodded, took it from the steward's hand, and brought it to his lips, sipping it down in one go.

"Gulp, gulp." Forcing himself to endure the heat, he drank it all in one breath. Jin Fu wiped his mouth and pointed at the steward, instructing: "Tomorrow, gather the most trusted clerks in our house, have them go to the various warehouses, take out the salt, and once the price stabilizes for another two or three days, start dumping it."

"Ah? Wouldn't that offend all those merchants to death?" Jin Guanjia opened his mouth wide in shock, the teacup in his hand nearly slipping.

"I have no choice," Jin Fu knit his brows and said in a low voice, "The master has died on this side, and the house is on fire on that side. You tell me, should I cry for the master first, or have people put out the fire first?" He was just a merchant; in the eyes of ordinary people, he was the wealthy shopkeeper Jin.

In the eyes of Zheng Che, he was just a stinking beggar.

The kind that could be easily crushed if he just moved a finger.

"This servant understands." Seeing his master's state and knowing his master's bitterness, Jin Guanjia replied, "I will go and prepare now. If anyone comes to hold us accountable later, I will take the blame myself."

Jin Fu shook his head and waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

Three days passed in succession. Because these merchants were stabilizing the salt price, Zhang Yunxiu sold off five million catties of salt, yet the price only dropped to forty-two wen.

This made Zhang Yunxiu extremely happy.

These fellows were truly not afraid of death; they still wouldn't follow him in dumping their stock, still hoping for the price to rebound.

Of course, many had bought in at a high price and were firmly trapped.

Coupled with the tense war in the south, they naively thought that the salt price could still rise.

This was just like a gambler; the more they lost, the less they would let go.

"Since I gave you a chance and you didn't take it, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Muttering to himself, Zhang Yunxiu directly ordered the messenger at the door: "Tell them, take all our salt—however much there is, count it all—and dump it all out."

"Be fast, and the force must be greater than before."

"Yes." The messenger accepted the order and left.

In two or three days, Zhang Yunxiu directly dumped the remaining salt onto the market.

Now, panic spread completely. Those merchants protecting the market discovered that the amount of salt circulating was simply too much.

The key was that once the big players dumped, the small ones followed suit.

In just five or six days, the price plummeted from forty wen a catty to thirty wen a catty, and this trend showed no signs of slowing.

Seeing that it was about to break the thirty-wen mark, the merchants who had finally come to their senses were already heartbroken.

They now had only one thought.

"Follow and dump! Even if it means cutting off our own flesh, we must dump!"

Thus, without these merchants protecting the market, the price of salt plummeted all the way down, cutting the thirty-wen price in half to fifteen wen.

And this was not even the most terrifying part; the most terrifying thing was that this item had almost lost all liquidity.

Of course, it was still fine for personal consumption.

Those small households that had hoarded large amounts of salt at high prices and were unwilling to cut their losses had already gone bankrupt.

Some had even borrowed usurious loans, and now that the price of salt had dropped, the loan sharks were not about to let them off.

Several burly men arrived at their doors and scavenged everything they could from their homes.

For a time, the war in the south of Joseon remained unsettled, and the people in the North were exhausted.

(End of chapter)