Chapter 3171 Let’s Drink
Zhou Silang glanced at him and said, "You've robbed someone of their wealth. How could they not want to kill you?"
He sat between the two of them and sighed deeply, "Depriving someone of their wealth is like killing their parents. Look at how powerful Lord Yang is, and his family background is so good. Even though he cut off their financial resources, they still sent assassins to kill him."
Zhou Silang broke out in a sweat every time he thought of this. He shuddered, rubbed the goose bumps on his arms, and said to the two men, "Now that this broken source of wealth has fallen into your hands, do you think they hate you?"
He used himself as an example, "I have been selling tea to the grassland. If one day someone stopped me and stopped selling to me, and even snatched away all my buyers, I would definitely hate them to death."
Zhou Man and Bai Shan: ...
"Of course, I wouldn't kill them," Zhou Silang explained immediately after noticing the strange looks they were giving him. "If I'm not welcome here, I'll find another place to stay, right? But I only make a few bucks from my tea business, compared to how much money the salt fields in Jiangnan can make."
He lowered his voice and said, "I heard that most of the official salt of our Great Jin comes from Jiangnan. Think about it, who in this world doesn't eat salt? How much salt do we eat in a day? How much money does that cost..."
Bai Shan: "...It's not that great. Other places also produce salt, including well salt. There are also some salt fields in other coastal areas. The Jiangnan salt fields account for about a quarter of the salt in Dajin at most."
But this is the most concentrated area. Salt in other places is mostly self-sufficient, such as Qingzhou.
Several counties in Qingzhou get their salt from Beihai County. Basically, there is no excess to sell outside. Occasionally, they can only sell a small amount to the nearest Qizhou.
Therefore, compared with the Jiangnan Salt Field, which was not only able to supply the entire Huainan Road, but also to supply nearly a quarter of the prefectures and counties of the Jin Dynasty, the previous Beihai County was far inferior.
Zhou Silang thought about it, but couldn't figure out the exact amount. However, he thought it was quite a lot. "Does this mean that one out of every four households consumes salt from Jiangnan?"
Bai Shan nodded, "About the same."
"That's quite profitable," Zhou Silang said. "Now you're making all that money. How many people's financial resources are being blocked by this?"
Bai Shan: "...I didn't earn it, so I didn't get much benefit."
"Anyway, everyone has decided it's you," Zhou Silang said. "I used to think being an official was pretty cool. Is there anything more prestigious than being an official? No one can bully you, except for officials higher than you."
"Bullying is nothing. We all serve in the same court, so we have some ties. You're all smart, so others might not be able to defeat you. But I didn't expect them to resort to knife-wiping when they can't defeat you." Zhou Silang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with lingering fear, "You don't know, I heard that Lord Yang was assassinated in Jiangnan a few days ago, and even the tea he drank when he went out might be poisoned. What do you think if those people find they can't kill Lord Yang and turn to kill you?"
In the past, they fought openly and secretly in the officialdom, but Zhou Silang didn't think it was a big deal. His sister was popular, and they were both smart. No matter how they fought openly or secretly, those people couldn't beat them. But now...
Zhou Silang looked at the two men with some worry. He asked cautiously, "If... are you willing to resign now?"
Bai Shan didn't say anything.
Zhou Man asked him directly, "There are bandits on the road from the capital to Xiazhou. You might be robbed if you pass by. Are you willing to give up that trade route now?"
"That's definitely not possible. It took us many years to open up this trade route. We are very familiar with Dayu's side of the road."
Zhou Man said: "Bai Shan and I don't want to do that either. How can we give up just because of a little setback?"
She said, "Besides, if Bai Shan and I stop being officials, who will protect our caravan? Believe it or not, you won't even be able to continue your medicinal herb business."
Bai Shan nodded. "Only Zhou Man and I are still in the officialdom. They dare not take action against you. If they want to fight, they will fight us. But if we both retreat, they will definitely beat the fallen dog."
"I'm not a dog," Zhou Silang muttered, but he still understood what they meant and couldn't help but sigh. "Forget it, I won't go back to the capital for now. Tomorrow I'll go to Longchi and bring everyone back. I'll have someone make a few rooms for me in the back house. I'll move in with my friends. With more people, we won't be afraid of assassins."
Zhou Man: "...That's not necessary, Fourth Brother, just go do what you need to do. This is the backyard of the county government office. There are yamen runners here during the day, and there are also family guards and bodyguards at night."
"By the way, the princess and Yin Huo both live here. The guards and escorts they bring with them are all good fighters. Would an assassin dare to come?"
Zhou Silang's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he felt a little relieved.
Bai Shan continued, "Besides, this is Qingzhou, which is far away from Jiangnan. This is my territory. How can I be bullied by others on my own territory?"
Zhou Silang slapped his thigh and said, "Yes, this is your territory. Alas, Lord Yang is just unlucky. He was transferred to Jiangnan, which is someone else's territory. No wonder he is always being assassinated."
"Xiazhou is so great! Let me tell you, Lord Yang is very prestigious in Xiazhou..."
"I know, I know," Zhou Man interrupted him quickly, "Fourth brother, are you going to sleep tonight? We have to go to the government office tomorrow."
"Let me feel it," Zhou Silang tilted his head and looked up at the sky. After a while, he said to the two people who were looking at him eagerly, "I have no sleepiness at all now."
Bai Shan and Zhou Man lowered their heads immediately. What should they do? They wanted to hit someone.
The three of them sat there for a while, and Bai Shan tentatively suggested, "I heard that drunk people sleep well."
Zhou Silang was delighted when he heard this and said with a roll of his eyes, "But I don't have any wine."
"I have it," Bai Shan immediately stood up, "Wait a minute, I'll get some wine."
Whether it is Bai Shan, Bai Erlang or Yin Huo, none of them can drink much, but there are always people who send them wine during festivals, and there are occasionally guests at home, so there is still wine.
Bai Shan moved a jar of wine and was about to leave, but after thinking for a moment, he turned back and picked up another jar.
Zhou Man was silent for a while, "Drinking cold wine is not good, I'll go light the stove and heat up the wine."
The stove was lit, Bai Shan opened the wine and poured it into the wine pot to heat it up. Zhou Man said again: "It's not good to drink on an empty stomach. I'll go to the kitchen to find something."
She went to the kitchen and rummaged around, finding a few steamed buns. After thinking for a while, she carefully searched the cupboard and found some snacks. She packed them up and gave them to Zhou Silang to take away.
Zhou Silang looked at the plate of steamed buns and the dish of dim sum, speechless for a long time. "Even a dish of fried beans would be nice."
"No, you'll just eat it."
Zhou Silang poured himself a glass of wine, took a bite of the steamed bun, drank half a mouthful of wine, and glared, his eyes sparkling, "This wine is good!"
(End of this chapter)
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