With the lessons learned from the first auction, the salt merchants put aside their concerns and began to bid boldly.
"I'll give you 1,600 taels."
"I'll give you one thousand six hundred and fifty taels."
"I'm one thousand six hundred and eighty!"
"I'll give you 1,700 taels."
The four chief salt merchants felt that there were too many participants, so they entered the auction directly and raised the bidding price significantly.
"I'll give you two thousand."
"I'll give you two thousand five."
"I'll give you three thousand."
"I'll give you three thousand five."
"I'll give you four thousand."
"I'll give you five thousand!"
When the big salt merchant Zhang Xian called out five thousand, the auction site was quiet for a while.
Five thousand taels of silver was nothing to him, but it was not a small sum of money to many small and medium-sized salt merchants.
Even the other three salt merchants felt that it was not low.
"Zhang Xian," Qian Lu said in a deep voice, "Why did you raise the price so high?"
"What?" Zhang Xian smiled faintly: "Of course I want to buy it. The higher the price, the fewer people will compete with me, and I will have peace around my ears."
"I advise you to take it step by step and don't raise the price by one thousand at a time." Qian Lu said in a warning tone.
"Haha," Zhang Xian laughed loudly, "You are the chief salt merchant after all. Although you are not as rich as a country, you shouldn't gossip about a few thousand taels of silver, right? If you are poor, then try to make more money. If you can't afford to play, don't play."
This sentence completely angered Qian Lu.
He was one of the four major salt merchants in Lianghuai. Not to mention Zhang Xian, even the transport envoy of the Lianghuai Transport Bureau would not speak to him in that tone.
"Zhang Xian, I will remember you." Qian Lu threatened.
Zhang Xian was about to retort when he was interrupted by Song Quan's countdown.
"nineteen....."
Before Song Quan could shout out the eight characters, Qian Lu immediately shouted, "I'll pay eight thousand taels."
Wow!
There was a cry of surprise at the scene.
Rice is cheap in Jiangnan, and eight thousand taels of silver can buy ten thousand dan of rice.
What is the concept of ten thousand shi of rice?
Enough to feed an army of 10,000 for more than 50 days!
It is really crazy to spend so much money to buy a sixth-rank official position with no real power and no salary.
"Nine thousand for me!" Zhang Xian offered the price after some hesitation.
This time it was Qian Lu's turn to be in trouble.
He is indeed not short of money, but that doesn't mean he spends money recklessly.
Although the status of an official can serve as a talisman, it is not omnipotent.
As the saying goes, a county magistrate is not as good as the current manager, and the relationship between him and the local officials is like that of brothers.
Even if the imperial court conducted a strict investigation into the issue of exceeding the regulations, he could still get away with it with money.
It doesn't take nine thousand taels of silver to bribe local officials!
While he was hesitating, the person Song Quan found spoke.
Li Ji advised Qian Lu, "Brother Qian, don't follow me. Among the four of us, Brother Zhang has the biggest business and makes the most money. It's normal that you can't compete with him. Just bear with it."
Is this advice?
It is indeed persuasion, but in the opposite direction!
Just like hundreds of years later, many people choose to turn the clock in the opposite direction when getting a foot massage. It not only fails to make people retreat, but instead makes them more motivated!
"What a joke," Qian Lu snorted coldly, "I am a member of the Qian family of Suzhou, how can I swallow my anger?"
After that, he shouted to Song Quan: "Sir Song, I will give you 10,000 taels."
hiss--
Everyone at the scene took a breath.
"Ten thousand taels, someone offers ten thousand taels!"
"I admire you, I really admire you,"
"As expected of the Suzhou Qian family, they are indeed rich."
As Qian Lu called out a high price of 12,000 taels of silver, the problem fell back on Zhang Xian.
Will he follow or not?
If you follow, you will definitely lose money, but you will feel happy.
Although you can save money by not following, you will lose face.
"Brother Zhang," Li Ji began to persuade Zhang Xian again, "Don't follow me. Be patient and you will have peace. Take a step back and you will have a bright future. Besides, there is more than one official position. Let's give this opportunity to Brother Qian. It won't be too late to make an effort later."
Li Ji's persuasion had the opposite effect. Zhang Xian gritted his teeth and said, "If I endure it for a while, I will get angrier. If I take a step back, I will lose more. I must follow!"
"I'll give you 11,000 taels!"
"Twelve thousand!" Qian Lu asked without hesitation.
"I'll give you thirteen thousand!"
"I'll give you 14,000!"
......
As the conflict between the two intensified, the bidding price also rose.
The higher the price, the happier Song Quan was, because only in this way would the court's deficit become smaller and smaller.
"I'll offer 20,000 taels!" Qian Lu said, gritting his teeth and slapping his thigh.
Everyone looked at his opponent Zhang Xian at the same time.
Now it is no longer about money, but a matter of face and voice.
The person who wins the auction will not only get a sixth-rank official position, but also gain corresponding status and influence.
The losing party will lose face and become the laughing stock of other salt merchants.
Faced with the competition for honor, Zhang Xian was not to be outdone and made another bid.
This time he didn't increase the amount by one thousand at a time like before, but directly increased it by five thousand.
"I'll give you twenty-five thousand taels."
His words directly detonated the entire cruise ship.
The salt merchants, officials, Jinyiwei, and factory guards present all had out-of-control expressions.
Li Ji immediately complimented him: "Brother Zhang is indeed the leader of Lianghuai salt merchants. I admire him."
Qian Lu's mouth twitched, and he realized that Li Ji might be a stooge hired by Song Quan.
But there is no turning back now.
After hesitating for a moment, Qian Lu said calmly, "I'll pay thirty thousand taels."
"I'll give you thirty-five thousand."
"I'll give you 40,000!"
Every time they made a bid, the people present exclaimed loudly.
When Qian Lu shouted out fifty thousand, the scene fell into a brief silence again, and then a heated argument broke out.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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