Chapter 125
Crows fly and rabbits run, and they live everywhere without stopping.
Ruijin passed the imperial examination when he was twelve years old, and his family celebrated with great fanfare. Three years later, he lived up to everyone's expectations and passed the provincial examination and became the top scorer. At the age of fifteen, he became the youngest juren in Siyang City.
The family was rewarded and protected, taxes on mountains and fields were all reduced, and trade routes were unobstructed. For a time, the Zhang family's door was almost broken down. Small merchants in and out of the city intended to join them, and officials and celebrities in the city also extended olive branches. The Zhang family became the most popular family in the city.
Ruijin didn't like socializing much. After the farewell banquet for his teacher, he devoted himself to his studies and seldom met visitors. All the affairs at home were taken care of by Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He. Before he had even cooled down, Ruijin had to set off to Beijing again for the imperial examination the following year.
"I will see you off for eighteen miles, brother. I will only see you off here."
"You must take good care of yourself on the way to the exam, and be careful not to show off your wealth. Fortunately, we are not passing through any poor and remote places on our way to Beijing, so I think the journey will be safe."
Zhang Ruijin simply checked the carriage and horses. His father had also checked carefully many times, so he was relieved after just a quick glance.
This trip to the capital was a long and arduous one, and it was the first time in years that he had been so far away from home. His uncle had long ago sent a few unremarkable martial artists from the martial arts school to accompany him, so everything was no longer insecure.
He raised his eyebrows and glanced at Little Carp: "Eighteen miles? Did you walk eighteen steps from the garden to the gate of the house?"
"The gift may be small, but the thought is great. The thought is there."
Zhang Ruijin shook his head helplessly, put down the things in his hands, reached out and rubbed his twin brother who was a head shorter than him as he grew older, and said, "I'm afraid I won't be back for half a year. Don't cause trouble at home. Remember?"
Little Carp sighed, "I have never caused any trouble. Don't always say that I am naughty."
Rui Jin took his hand back: "You know what's going on. It's fine if you just stir up trouble. But next time you're having fun outside and casually mention my name, I'll deal with you the same way when I come back!"
When he went out on the street, he was often stopped by people who told him to get out of the carriage in a threatening manner. He responded politely and really got off the carriage. However, when the people saw him, they were dumbfounded. They said that he had grown taller and stronger in a few days, and his appearance was undoubtedly Zhang Ruili, which made people a little confused.
"Who's waiting for you to come back and clean up? I might be married before you come back."
Rui Jin agreed with this result: "It's best this way."
Little Li brother coughed dryly: "Oh, the teacher is here to see brother off too!"
Zhang Ruijin turned around and saw Luo Yan and Luo Yuxing coming out together.
"Master."
Zhang Ruijin bowed to Luo Yan and glanced at Luo Yuxing beside him. Neither of them spoke.
"I have already told you a lot before, so I won't nag you any more today. I just came to see you off."
"Thank you, Master."
Xu He picked up a food box and handed it to his son, who was almost taller than him, "Here are some snacks for you to eat on the way."
"good."
The two families saw them off. Zhang Ruijin got on the carriage, waved to everyone, and the wheels of the carriage rolled over the stone slabs and gradually went away.
Brother Xiaoli watched the carriage disappear from his sight and felt a little melancholy, but it didn't last long and he soon felt relieved again.
It’s better to go and take the exam, and the private school doesn’t need to open for classes.
"This is the first time Ruijin has been away from home for such a long time. The house feels much quieter without someone here."
Rui Jin had been gone for two days, and Xu He still hadn't adapted to the situation. Zhang Fangyuan saw that the man was a little bit weak, so he comforted him, "How can a child always stay at home when he grows up? If he becomes an official in the future and takes up a post far away, how can he be under my eyes all the time?"
"If you feel lonely, have another child with me."
"You are disrespectful." Xu He's sentimentality did not last until the third day. He was angered by what Xiaoli said: "Some time ago, someone came to propose marriage to our family. You should let your father take a good look at those families."
"Dad, you'd better stop yelling at other people. I don't know how to do anything. If I make the old man angry, I might not be able to stop myself and end up in court."
Zhang Fangyuan waved his hand: "Come on, come on, go find some fun instead of hanging around in front of your dad and making him angry."
Little Li raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he had been waiting for these words, and slipped away happily.
Zhang Fangyuan saw that everyone had left, and said to Xu He, "It seems that spring has come. At the end of last year, they said they were going to plant some chestnut trees in the mountains, but they started the work and I haven't had time to go and see them."
"Rui Jin is going to take the exam now, so he refuses as many visitors as possible, and he has been entertaining people for quite a while."
"Okay." Zhang Fangyuan stood up and took his coat: "You can go to the village with me today."
Xu He thought there was nothing to do, so he agreed.
The servant harnessed the carriage and the two of them went together. The weather was still a little cold after the beginning of spring, which was exactly why Xu He was worried about Rui Jin taking the exam. Not only was the weather unpredictable, but it was also cold in Kyoto, so he prepared a lot of thick mattresses and clothes in boxes for people to take with them.
"Master and husband, the road ahead is blocked. Should we wait a while or take a detour?"
Hearing the sound, Zhang Fangyuan stuck his head out to take a look. He was not far from the exit of the city, but there were several carriages parked in front of him, so it was inconvenient to take a detour.
"What happened? Was there an accident ahead?"
"My Lord, there is a salt shop ahead. I heard that the price of salt has been lowered, so people are rushing to buy it. The long queue is blocking the passage of vehicles and horses."
Zhang Fangyuan frowned slightly.
Firewood, rice, oil and salt, these four necessities of life are indispensable, and people's day and night revolve around these.
Salt is the most salty of all flavors, but it is expensive. Ordinary people eat the cheapest salt, and try to make the food as light as possible when cooking. If someone's food is too salty, the wife or husband will be scolded for not being able to manage the household. Only when entertaining guests will they be generous and sprinkle a few more grains of salt to save face so that people will say that this family lives well and that the dishes have oil and salt.
Now that the price of salt has dropped, people are naturally scrambling to stock up on it. After all, it is something they can use and there is no chance to waste it. It is understandable that the business is booming and the roads are blocked.
Xu He was a little surprised to hear that the salt shop had reduced its prices, but he also became interested: "At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, we often have banquets at home, so we buy a lot of salt. The price of salt has risen a lot recently. Sea salt and pond salt have both risen to fifty coins per catty, and well salt is even more incredible, selling for one hundred and twenty coins."
He called the servant sitting next to the coachman: "Go and find out how much the price has been reduced."
Although they are no longer a family that worries about salt, Xu He came from a poor family and has always been frugal and not fond of extravagance.
He is in charge of the huge Zhang family, which now has dozens of people. The food and drink business is not small. The price of salt has risen, and the expenses for buying salt for the family during the New Year have also increased. If the price is right, he can buy more and keep them for use at any time. With a big family, everything has to be planned carefully.
There is traffic jam on both sides, so it’s okay to go and ask about the situation.
Soon the servant came back and said, "It has returned to its original market price. The price of several types of salt has dropped by more than ten cents."
Xu He asked, "May I ask why the price of salt was lowered?"
"It is said that the imperial court has recently cleared out a lot of salt smugglers, and now ordinary people can only buy salt from the salt shops in the city, so the price has been reduced as a reward to the people."
After saying this, the servant asked again: "Husband, do you want to buy some for the house?"
Xu He said, "It has dropped so much all of a sudden. My family just bought a lot a few days ago and we are obviously losing money. The price of salt in the city has been very low in the past two years. Go and tell someone to buy some more."
"yes."
The servant took the order and went forward. Xu He turned around and asked the person next to him: "Have you heard about why the price of salt in the city is so high?"
Zhang Fangyuan said: "Salt is sold by both the government and merchants. Merchants can only get salt from the salt mining area after getting salt permits from the court to sell locally. Those who don't have salt permits can't get salt at the salt fields. Of course, there are also people who are tempted by profit and sell salt to merchants privately. Merchants then sell salt privately, which is a violation of the law. Minor offenses will be double the fine and confiscation of property, and serious offenses will be beheaded."
In the early years, there were special salt merchants in Siyang to manage the salt business, but later on for some reason they stopped managing it. Perhaps they committed a crime, or perhaps their salt permits were confiscated by the court. Afterwards, the court directly managed the salt business in Siyang, and the price remained high.
The common people could not afford salt, so they looked for ways to buy it, and more and more people started selling private salt.
The price of this private salt was lower than that sold by the imperial court and salt merchants, and the quality was good, so it was very popular among the people. However, this business is a dangerous one. Once caught, the consequences would be disastrous. Therefore, they can only do it secretly. If they are not experts, it would be difficult for common people to find people selling contraband salt.
Ordinary people cannot afford the salt sold by the government, so they will look for private salt. If ordinary people all go to buy private salt, even fewer will buy the government's salt. With few buyers, the government will raise the price to protect its stable income. The higher the price, the less able ordinary people are to afford it, so more people will look for private salt.
This vicious cycle led to an overflow of smuggled salt and financial losses for the imperial court, and the common people also suffered, to the detriment of all three parties.
The private salt dealers in Siyang have now been arrested. Ordinary people cannot buy private salt, so they have to bite the bullet and buy government salt. As more people buy it, government revenue recovers and the price of salt goes down.
"The salt business in the city was so slow before, so those who sell illegal salt will be severely punished."
Zhang Fangyuan said, "Of course. It's no wonder that those people dare to take risks and sell private salt. The salt industry is really a highly profitable industry. Who doesn't want to get a piece of the pie? If a legitimate merchant can get a salt permit from the imperial court and become a regular salt operator, that would be the best way out for the merchant. There are many ordinary peddlers who started from scratch who started from private salt."
He lowered his voice and said to Xu He, "The Qin family has become the local boss of Siyang City because of these two generations. Our ancestors were just unknown farmers and workers. I used to work for the Qin family. I heard that the Qin family started out as a private salt merchant. Later, when their business grew big, they retired from this business."
Xu He was a little surprised, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was reasonable. The salt industry was controlled by the government, and it was almost profitable to get a salt permit. This business was not like the ordinary food, clothing and housing industry, and there were many competitors. If one wanted to improve his business, he must have an outstanding skill.
The government controls the salt industry, and ordinary merchants are not allowed to enter. If there is competition from private salt traders, the government does not even have to bother to solve the problem, as the court will crack down on private salt traders.
As the merchants toasted each other, the subject they talked about most was the salt and iron industry controlled by the imperial court, and everyone who spoke of it had a look of longing on their face.
Xu He took a deep breath, thinking of the Jiangnan salt merchant who had come to Siyang and bought half a street with extraordinary generosity.
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