Chapter 416: One Thousand Five Hundred Catties of Salt

"Master Jin, we don't have much of value here. These two legs of lamb were cured at the start of winter — the flavor's decent enough. Please don't turn your nose up at them, sir." Ding Hong said with a smile.

Liu Yong rose to take the lamb legs. Zhao Jin pointed to the camp stool in front of him and said, "Sit and talk. There are some things I need to ask about."

Ding Hong offered a polite word and then sat down cautiously. Zhao Jin paused briefly in thought, then asked, "Are you familiar with the surrounding area?"

"I've been here nearly ten years now. I know this area well." A trace of puzzlement crossed Ding Hong's face, but he answered all the same.

"What other villages or stockades are around here? How far is it to Shuyang County town? Are all the villages nearby refugee settlements?" Zhao Jin fired off several questions in one breath.

The puzzled look on Ding Hong's face deepened. He turned his head and exchanged a glance with the two companions standing behind him, hesitated a moment, then spoke: "To be honest with you, Master Jin, our stockade only ever heads outward. We generally don't go deeper in. I'm really not too familiar with what's inside, and I don't know whether there are any other villages there either."

He stammered through his words. Zhao Jin merely listened with a smile, his expression perfectly normal, but he could tell this Old Ding wasn't telling the truth.

"... As for getting to Shuyang, follow this road east for a bit over two days and you'll reach the official highway. Then follow the highway north and you'll get to Shuyang County town..."

Hearing Ding Hong's words, Chen Sheng and the others all furrowed their brows. He didn't know the nearby roads, yet knew how to reach the distant Shuyang County town — this was clearly a brush-off.

Seeing the grim looks from Zhao Jin's companions, the sturdy young man beside Ding Hong glared back at them, though he quickly averted his gaze elsewhere. He couldn't withstand the killing intent in Chen Sheng and the others' eyes.

After he finished speaking, Ding Hong studied the expressions of the men across from him. He remained silent for another moment, then asked cautiously, "Might I ask what Master Jin is inquiring about all this for?"

"I never imagined the Ming heartland still had such desolate regions. So I want to get a clear picture of this place — how many people, how much land, what the terrain is like!" Zhao Jin said with a laugh, his voice ringing out.

These words left Ding Hong and his two companions stunned. Such words seemed like something only an official would say, yet judging by Zhao Jin and his group's ages, and the scale and manner of their caravan, it was nothing like the way the authorities operated. As for the armor on their bodies, the weapons in their hands, and even the bloodstains and such — that only made things seem more uncanny.

After a stunned pause, Ding Hong put on an apologetic smile and said, "I truly can't be of any help. I beg Master Jin's forgiveness."

After saying this, he exchanged a few more polite words, then led the sturdy fellow away. The two of them left, but the middle-aged man who had gone out to make contact earlier remained behind.

"Esteemed travelers, my name is Ding Zhi. Whatever you gentlemen need, just say the word. Ding Family Stockade doesn't have much, but I'll do my best to arrange things for you." That middle-aged man had the exact manner of an innkeeper.

Ding Zhi, in truth, also looked like someone who did rough, heavy labor — not tall, but very solidly built. Ding Hong had just politely declined Zhao Jin's request, and everyone was somewhat displeased; they were all impatient with Ding Zhi's attentiveness. Yet Ding Zhi, who seemed quite shrewd, acted as if he noticed none of this and simply went on, "That lamb leg is truly delicious. A fat sheep freshly slaughtered, then rubbed with sea salt and hung to dry — the flavor soaks right in, but the gamey smell mostly fades. Just roast it a bit over the fire and it's ready to eat. Even better with wine."

Ji Xiang's brows shot up, ready to snap at him and shoo him away, but Liu Yong had caught on to something and asked, "Where did you get sea salt around here? And how do you have so much salt to cure lamb legs?"

The Grass Den area was all villages formed by gathered refugees, living in bitter poverty. Anything they needed beyond grain had to be brought in by traveling merchants from outside. Salt was certainly one of those things.

Even the impoverished common folk of Xuzhou struggled to get salt, let alone people here. And when they did get salt, they had to use it sparingly. Curing meat took quite a lot of salt and didn't preserve much — such a wasteful practice was practically a luxury for the villages in the Grass Den.

The act itself was odd, and the fact that this seemingly shrewd Ding Zhi had deliberately emphasized it made it even more peculiar.

With Liu Yong's question, Zhao Jin and the others all took note of this detail as well, while the expression on Ding Zhi's face grew increasingly pleased.

"Sirs, we have a salt well here. It draws from the brine waters connected to Haizhou, so it produces top-quality sea salt — salt white as snow, only fifteen wen per catty."

Everyone's expressions turned rather strange. Though they didn't know the exact geography, this place had to be at least three or four hundred li from the Haizhou salt fields. How could well water be connected to seawater?

Absurd as the claim was, everyone could guess the true origin of this fine sea salt: it was likely smuggled out by the salt-making households from the salt fields, traded to these Grass Den refugee villages, who then, aside from their own use, sold it onward.

Official salt cost three hundred to four hundred wen per catty, and was still mixed with plenty of sand and impurities. Private salt was better quality, generally forty to fifty wen. This price of fifteen wen was indeed very cheap — there was profit to be made no matter what.

Zhao Jin clapped his hands together and said with a smile, "Seems I'll have to buy before we can do business. How much salt do you have here? I'll take all of it, and pay in cash!"

Ding Zhi was instantly stunned. He stared straight at Zhao Jin, as if trying to see whether Zhao Jin was toying with him.

"I've brought this many carts, this many horses. Even if I don't have enough ready silver on hand, can't I use these to settle the account?" Zhao Jin said leisurely.

The expression on Ding Zhi's face shifted again — at first delight, but the look didn't last long before it turned to caution. Zhao Jin could guess what he was thinking and added calmly, "Just take whatever I say at face value. If I really had some scheme, could your little stockade stop me? If I killed everyone here and took your salt, what could you do about it? Since that's the case, why would I bother toying with you? Speak plainly!"

This Ding Family Stockade had around four hundred people, over three hundred of them able-bodied men and women. Zhao Jin's side had only a few dozen, but if it truly came to a fight, Zhao Jin could easily bathe this place in blood.

In a lawless place like this, if you could burn, kill, and plunder, why spend silver to buy? The logic was clear to everyone once stated.

Ding Zhi's expression slowly changed. He knew Zhao Jin was speaking the truth, but having it laid out so nakedly was deeply unsettling.

"How many catties of salt? Speak!" Zhao Jin pressed again. Ding Zhi lowered his head for a long moment, then looked up and said, "One thousand five hundred catties, all top-quality sea salt."

The salt here was, of course, Huai salt, but Ding Zhi clenched his teeth and only vaguely called it sea salt — cautious enough. One thousand five hundred catties of salt barely qualified as the scale of a minor salt smuggler: not a small amount, but not a large one either.

"Bring him one hundred fifty taels of ready silver!" Zhao Jin turned his head and said. Ji Xiang nodded and left the tent. Before long, he returned with ten silver ingots.

The gleaming white silver ingots laid out before him — Ding Zhi could no longer keep his composure. At present, one tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand two hundred wen. In Yangzhou and the Jiangnan regions, you could even get one thousand three hundred. The other party was exchanging with him directly at a rate of one tael to one thousand wen, letting him take a bit of extra advantage. Ding Zhi wanted to speak up and point this out, but when he thought about the difference of just a few taels of silver, he simply couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.

"I've given the silver, and I've made my sincerity very clear. Regarding what I mentioned earlier, would you reconsider?" Zhao Jin asked in a deep voice.

Ding Zhi stood there dumbly. Zhao Jin spoke again, and only then did Ding Zhi snap out of it. Somewhat flustered, he said, "I'll go ask my uncle first, ask him first. Master Jin, please wait a moment."

He wasn't so flustered as to touch those silver ingots. He turned and left the tent, hurrying off.

The moment he was gone, Chen Sheng frowned and asked, "This is only the first village we've seen. Is there any need to rush like this? Wouldn't those guides be more useful?"

"Qi San doesn't operate in this area. Yi Jinbao only knows the roads. The Peng uncle and nephew aren't from this region, and they haven't lived in the Grass Den for years — they aren't familiar with everything. We need to find natives who truly understand this place, people who can at least cross-check with the guides. This Ding Family Stockade knows how to build dikes and create farmland, and they've survived to this day right by the road — they must have their methods. We can't waste too much time here. One is better than none. Once we've put down roots, we can talk about the rest!" Zhao Jin answered.

Ding Zhi hadn't been gone long before Ding Hong returned to the tent, this time with only Ding Zhi following. Ding Hong narrowed his eyes and looked at the silver ingots in front of Zhao Jin, then crouched down and scrutinized them for a long while. This made Zhao Jin and his companions feel odd — could there be something wrong with their fine-grade pure silver?

He looked and looked by the lamplight. Finally, Ding Hong let out a long sigh and said in a low, heavy tone, "Sins from a past life, a bitter fate in this one. I don't know what I did wrong. Master Jin, what do you want me to do?"

After asking this, Ding Hong looked at the silver ingots and gritted his teeth again, then said with difficulty, "Master Jin, wretched souls from all over the realm come to this Grass Den searching for a way to survive. None of us have it easy. If you want me to go harm others, I won't do it."

His words weren't spoken with much backbone — hesitant and faltering. Behind him, Ding Zhi even reached out and poked him stealthily a few times, signaling him not to say the wrong thing. Ding Hong turned his head and glared furiously at him, but in the end, it was just another sigh.

"You came from Shandong, didn't you?" Zhao Jin did not make a request, but asked instead.

Ding Hong nodded and said sullenly, "Fled here from Yanzhou Prefecture. Most of the people here are fellow townsmen from Shandong, with some other wretched souls from elsewhere too."

"On your way here, where in this Grass Den could people settle? Where was the soil and water good? Where are people living now, and what's the situation like? Are you clear on all of this?" Zhao Jin asked again.

Ding Hong's brow furrowed deeply, a look of bewilderment spreading across his face. He stared at Zhao Jin for a long time before slowly nodding and saying, "Back then, I led everyone on the journey. Some places already had people, some places had too many snakes. We walked, and people died along the way. We finally found this place with great difficulty. A few people sold themselves to trade for a bit of rations and seeds for everyone. I know that whole journey well..."

A smile appeared on Zhao Jin's face. He didn't know what this man could accomplish, but for now, he fit the requirements.

"I've bought your salt. I'll also spend fifty taels of silver to hire you as a guide. Set out with me tomorrow!" Zhao Jin stated his demand with a smile.