Chu Zhongtian was unwilling to accept this outcome and hurriedly asked, "Brother Wang, is there any way to obtain another batch of salt permits?"
Wang Fu shook his head with a wry smile: "In previous years, there should have been no problem, but as Brother Chu knows, our border settlements suffered heavy losses from being plundered by foreign tribes. This batch of salt permits was gathered from the surplus grain in warehouses all over the country with great difficulty. There is absolutely no way we can get another batch."
"What about the salt business for the next year?" Chu Zhongtian sat back heavily in his chair, looking as if he had suddenly aged many years.
I knew it was probably hopeless, but I asked just in case.
Wang Fu gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Chu, I have an idea."
"What?" Chu Zhongtian asked hurriedly.
Wang Fu said, "I have controlled all the people who knew about the theft of the salt certificates. I will not admit it to anyone who asks me. Let's just pretend that the salt certificates were not stolen. We will use the salt certificates from the year after next to deal with the immediate situation. Once we get through this, things will be fine."
Salt merchants' transactions were so large that sometimes a year's worth of salt permits were not enough, so the government reserved salt permits for the next three years in case of unforeseen circumstances.
However, using these salts is not without its costs; most notably, the cost is much higher.
A normal salt permit costs 1.5 taels of silver, but advance payment for salt permits for the next few years costs 2.1 taels of silver, which is equivalent to loan interest. This measure by the imperial court also played a certain role in macro-control, preventing salt merchants from recklessly dumping large quantities of salt into the market because of the huge profits in the salt industry.
“But that would make the cost of salt permits much higher,” Chu Zhongtian frowned. With all the bribes and favors involved, the cost would be three or four times higher than it is now, which is really too expensive.
Wang Fu shook his head: "Brother Chu didn't understand what I meant. I meant to take those salt certificates in advance, pretend they're for next year, and then when we recover next year, we can gather enough salt certificates to return to the warehouse. That way, no one will know, and it can also solve our immediate problem."
Chu Zhongtian's expression changed: "Absolutely not! This is undermining the imperial court, and if it gets out, it's a serious crime!"
Wang Fu said, "With Brother Chu's connections in Mingyue City, plus the Wang family's years of business dealings, how could things be exposed so easily? Besides, advance payments for salt permits are something every family has done every year, but how many have actually paid the full amount of taxes?"
Chu Zhongtian said in a deep voice, "In previous years, it was just a small amount of advance payment, and everyone turned a blind eye and let it pass. This time, it's an advance payment for the entire year's salt permits. The impact is too great. No, no, absolutely not."
Wang Fu sighed: "Brother Chu, please forgive my bluntness, but what other choice do we have?"
"As far as I know, the illegal salt trade has become increasingly rampant this year. You must be unable to sell a lot of the salt your Chu family has?"
“You couldn’t even sell salt certificates with a cost of 1.5 taels of silver before. Now that the cost is close to 4 taels of silver, you’ll have even less chance of selling them. And even if you do manage to sell them, how much will the Chu family make? The Chu family is so big, and there are huge expenses in every aspect. If there’s no income from the salt business, we’ll probably run into a fiscal deficit very soon,” Wang Fu analyzed.
Chu Zhongtian's expression changed, and he suddenly stood up and said, "Our Chu family has been passed down for hundreds of years, and we can afford this loss."
Although it will be a major blow, at worst it will just involve selling some ancestral land.
Just as he was about to erupt in anger, Wang Fu suddenly knelt down before him, grabbed his leg, and said, "Brother Chu, your Chu family is large and powerful enough to bear this burden, but our Wang family cannot. Because of the previous raids on the border trading posts, our Wang family was already in dire straits. If the news of the salt permits being stolen this time gets out, our Wang family will be finished. Brother Chu, we have known each other for so many years, and I have never asked you for anything before. This time, I'm begging you, please!"
"Brother Wang, please get up quickly, what are you doing!" Chu Zhongtian hurriedly helped him up. You should know that among the major families, the Chu family and the Wang family are the closest. After decades of interaction, they have long regarded each other as friends.
"The Wang family is about to collapse completely, what use is my old face now?" Wang Fu simply slumped to the ground and refused to get up.
Chu Zhongtian's expression shifted between light and dark: "Let me think about it. This matter is of utmost importance."
Hearing his tone soften, Wang Fu was overjoyed: "Thank you very much, Brother Chu. I am deeply grateful for your kindness. As for whether we can succeed later, we'll leave it to fate."
When Chu Zhongtian returned and mentioned this to Qin Wanru, Qin Wanru turned pale: "Of course not! Husband, how could you be so foolish as to agree to such a thing!"
Chu Zhongtian sighed: "I know this is dangerous, but what Wang Fu said makes sense. If we really follow the procedure and each salt certificate requires an advance payment, the cost of official salt will be too high, and no ordinary people will buy it."
Qin Wanru said anxiously, "Even if we don't buy it, so what? Our Chu family can afford to lose a year's income. Now that the imperial court has sent Sang Hong to keep an eye on things, if we really make any moves and he finds out, we'll be in big trouble."
“The situation of the Chu family is not as good as you think,” Chu Zhongtian said in a deep voice. “In previous years, we suffered losses every year. Only after Chu Yan took over in recent years has the situation improved slightly, but it is still not enough to withstand such a large loss.”
Qin Wanru couldn't help but say, "Actually, I've always wanted to ask this: although our mismanagement has played a part, where did the Chu family's profits from the two extremely profitable salt and iron businesses go? Why are we losing money year after year?"
“I didn’t intend to hide this from you, but you had too many concerns and didn’t ask,” Chu Zhongtian explained. “You should know that the Salt Transport Commissioner’s Office is located in Duzhuan, right?”
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