Chapter 3222 Asking for Advice
When Bai Jingxing and Bai Ruoyu were forcibly taken to the restaurant, they happened to run into Bai Shan, Bai Erlang and others downstairs.
Bai Shan was used to seeing her daughter covered in dirt. She simply took out a handkerchief and wiped the sand and tears from her face, then asked her, "Why are you crying like this?"
Bai Jingxing immediately complained, "Aunt Wuyue doesn't allow me to play with sand."
Wu Yue quickly reported, "My wife sent someone to say it's time for dinner."
Bai Shan said to her, "Isn't it just playing with sand? Is it worth crying like this?"
"You must have played a lot these past two days. There should be a limit to how much fun you can have. If you keep playing with sand, you'll get bored. Wouldn't that mean you'll be missing out on something fun?"
"I won't get bored."
"That's just as unbelievable as your previous claim that you wouldn't get tired of eating fatty meat."
Bai Jingxing immediately stopped talking.
When she was just one year old, she especially liked to eat fatty meat, and this continued until half a year ago. Her favorite food was meat soup made from 70% fat and 30% lean meat, which was especially delicious when mixed with rice.
But half a year ago, she suddenly stopped liking fatty meat. She couldn't stand any fat at all and had to be completely thin.
Bai Jingxing sighed like a little adult.
Bai Erlang, with a look of disgust, ordered the palace servants to take his son away and wash him.
This restaurant is not small, and some of the large private rooms have bathrooms. Coincidentally, Zhou Man booked a luxurious large private room today.
So the two of them were taken to the cubicle to wash.
Tang He was stunned. "These two kids are so naughty?"
Isn’t this too dirty?
He felt that his son was naughty enough, but it was rare for him to get so dirty.
Bai Shan said nonchalantly, "What child isn't naughty?"
Zhou Man nodded in agreement, "Just follow the rules."
Tang He: "...Can being naughty and abiding by the rules go together?"
"Of course," they said, "having fun is not against the rules."
"Alright," Tang He waved his hand, deciding to skip the matter and get down to business. "Xiaoxue brother Yin, when are you leaving for Beijing?"
Yin Huo said, "I calculated that the first day of August is a good day."
Tang He raised his eyebrows, "It's indeed a good day. Take your time on the way. We'll return to the capital just in time for Mid-Autumn Festival."
Bai Shan asked, "Has the Laizhou case been solved? Brother Tang, do you want to stay with me for a while, or..."
"I have to go back to Laizhou," Tang He said, "The case hasn't been solved yet."
He turned the teacup and glanced around the room.
Bai Shan asked all the servants and guards in the room to leave, leaving only Wu Yue and the senior palace maid in the compartment to look after the children.
They are both absolutely trustworthy.
Tang He then said, "Zhishan, have you ever seen a pirate?"
Bai Shan: "Does a corpse count?"
Tang He looked at him.
Bai Shan explained, "Last year, pirates attacked a merchant ship. When the news reached Beihai County, I asked General Liu to send troops out to sea to suppress the pirates and bring the merchant ship back. Besides the merchant ship and the people on board, General Liu also brought back two dilapidated boats and more than a dozen bodies. Those were all pirates."
Tang He sat up straight and asked, "Have you checked who they are?"
"Refugees from Baekje," Bai Shan paused and said, "But the pirates on the sea are not only from Baekje, but also from Japan and even fishermen from Silla."
"Of course, the most powerful ones I know of are actually the pirates from Pingzhou and Dengzhou. Most of them are islanders."
Tang He was surprised, "Jin people?"
Bai Shan nodded helplessly. "Yes, a considerable number of these people are exiled criminals or descendants of criminals. They join the local fishermen in banditry. Their reasons are varied, but their primary purpose is profit."
He said, "General Liu and I are both troubled because neither of these two places is under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou. We can only strike back when they appear, and we can't go to their base."
Tang He tapped the table with his fingers. "This is very interesting."
"Why, the sinking of the official ship has something to do with them?"
"More than that," Tang He said with a faint smile, "But I can't tell you the details of the case at this moment."
Tang He pondered for a long time, then approached Bai Shan and asked, "Zhishan, you know a lot about salt administration, and you were the one who figured out this method of drying salt. So, what is the current profit from one stone of salt?"
Bai Shan said, "Salt is now exclusively transported and sold by the Salt Transport Bureau. The price has dropped by nearly half compared to three years ago. The profit is actually not that great. After deducting all costs, the profit per stone is only between five and ten coins."
After all, selling salt is now considered a national public welfare activity.
Tang He stroked his chin and thought, "That doesn't sound like a lot."
Bai Shan poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and said, "Senior brother, the question you asked is based on the assumption that salt has a cost, or in other words, a complete cost process."
Tang He raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
Bai Shan said, "The official salt was robbed, which means they got the salt for free. There were no expenses for time, labor, or materials, and only a portion of the transportation cost. This makes it extremely cheap. If they sell it at the normal salt price, they will make more than a stone, five cents, or ten cents."
Tang He patted the table lightly. "Yes, if they transported it to other places, the price of salt would be higher than this, and they would make more money."
Zhou Man had just finished talking to Mingda about Baekje and Silla when he asked sensitively, "What do you mean by 'somewhere else'?"
Yin Huo asked, "Fanbang?"
Tang He nodded. "Yes, I checked. That sunken official ship is not simple at all. Seagoing ships are difficult to build and are extremely valuable. Even if they wanted to steal the salt, they wouldn't sink the ship."
This is also the reason why no one thought it was embezzlement at the beginning, but rather pirates were rampant and robbing government ships.
After all, a government ship is no cheaper than the salt on board.
"Even before the ship sank, the Laizhou Salt Works were already experiencing significant salt losses. You might not have noticed it on your own, but I've compared the accounts from your Beihai County Salt Transport Office. Their losses, from production to unloading, were more than ten times yours."
Bai Shan tutted his words and said, "Liu, the governor of Laizhou, seems quite smart. Why is he so desperate?"
Tang He said with a strange look on his face, "It was only after I arrived in Laizhou that I learned that the person who secretly reported to Your Majesty about the Laizhou Salt Fields was Governor Liu."
Everyone's mouth dropped open. Bai Shan was the first to react and asked, "Laizhou Salt Transport Bureau?"
Tang He nodded, glanced at Bai Shanhou, and said, "Back then, the Beihai County Salt Fields were incredibly popular. Although the position of the Salt Transport Commissioner was not high, the interests involved were enormous. Therefore, the Beihai County Salt Transport Commissioner was carefully selected by His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and the court officials. They were upright and strong-willed. Salt Transport Commissioners in other places were not as good."
Bai Shan rubbed his forehead, a little annoyed, "The Salt Transport Bureau has only been established for three years, right?"
How could something like this happen so quickly?
Yin Huo understood very well, "Even if salt became a monopoly and the price was cut in half, it would still be one of the most profitable industries. After all, people in this world can live without tea or iron, but they cannot live without salt."
Mingda suddenly said, "Depriving someone of their wealth is like killing their parents. Lord Tang, you should be more careful."
I will update tomorrow, good night
(End of this chapter)
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