novelraw Chapter 425: Want to Earn for Yourself?
Chapter 425: Want to Earn for Yourself?
The official from the salt tax office on Hedong Road had just fallen asleep.
Suddenly hearing a servant report that the soldier Captain from the salt village opposite was asking to see him, he immediately felt rushing with pride, his drowsiness gone.
Having held his position at the salt tax office for a long time, he naturally knew that salt smugglers often snuck to the south shore of Jie Pond to steal salt in the dead of night.
Usually, they’d slip some coins to the guards to open the gate, buy a few hundred catties of salt, and run off.
But when they wanted to play big, the guards wouldn’t dare act on their own. They’d come see him. At that point, it wasn’t about a few coins anymore—it meant a huge sum of money, a big deal.
So, being woken up in the middle of the night meant riches. Not being happy was difficult!
The salt official threw on a robe and went to the outer chamber. The guard Captain stepped forward, handing him a pouch.
The salt official felt the heft. Close to two hundred taels of silver.
Great joy surged in his heart!
“A big salt lord’s come?” The salt official chuckled, “How much does he want?”The guard Captain replied in a low tone, “He wants all the salt from Fengjia Village.”
“Well!” The salt official laughed, “He’s playing big. This salt lord must be quite capable.”
The captain nodded, “He’s an old acquaintance of ours. You’ve seen him before, Boss Iron Bird Flies.”
“Iron Bird Flies?” The salt official murmured, “Can’t recall.”
The guard Captain said in a curious tone, “Just give me a price.”
The salt official paused, “Ah! Remember him now. That fellow. Didn’t recall his business being that grand. Can he swallow the whole village’s output now?”
The Captain replied, “Don’t know if he can swallow it, but he paid two hundred taels upfront.”
The salt official nodded, “Fine. For two hundred taels, I don’t care how he manages it. Fengjia Village’s salt is his. I’ll report to the higher-ups that Fengjia Village suffered a fire, the village is rebuilding, and has no salt to hand over. Done deal.”
The guard Captain said, “Good.”
He said ‘good,’ but didn’t leave. Instead, he looked at the salt official expectantly.
The official reached into the pouch, grabbed several pieces of silver—about fifty taels—and tossed them to the Captain. “Distribute this among the boys in Fengjia Village. Keep it quiet.”
The guard Captain was overjoyed. He hurriedly clutched the silver and backed out. Then he paddled a small boat back to Fengjia Village.
His journey involved eight li of travel over water on that return trip. It took quite some time. By the time he saw Iron Bird Flies again, it was well past midnight: “Boss Iron, it’s settled. The salt tax officer agreed. Fengjia Village’s salt is all yours to buy. But…you understand, those two hundred taels? That just secured your permission to buy salt. Taking it all away? That’ll cost an extra payment.”
Iron Bird Flies smiled, “Name your price.”
The guard Captain held up two fingers: “Twenty coins per catty.”
Iron Bird Flies agreed: “Deal! Round up the salt craftsmen too. Haul the salt out. I’ll pay transport fees to have them cart it to Puzhou.”
In normal years at Jie Pond, the salt production area, salt could fetch as low as four or five coins per catty. Outside salt-producing regions? Maybe seven or eight coins.
But with the drought now, and war? Different story. Even at the source? Twenty to thirty coins per catty. Places without salt production? Could hit seventy or eighty. Prices? Utterly insane.
But Iron Bird Flies didn’t care. After sealing the deal with the Captain, he went back into the forest and signaled to Xing Honglang. Xing Honglang’s forty-two followers, plus Iron Bird Flies’ eighteen men, filed out of the trees and stood guard near the village entrance.
Soon, guards organized the salt craftsmen. Cart after cart of smuggled salt emerged from Fengjia Village. They even negotiated the fee for hauling it all the way to the ancient ferry dock in Puzhou. The craftsmen happily started pushing their carts toward their destination.
Xing Honglang and Iron Bird Flies’ men flanked the transport team for protection.
Up to that point? It looked like a typical smuggled salt deal.
The soldiers thought little of it, waved cheerfully, and saw them off.
Only when the salt transport team vanished from the officials’ sight…
Hoofbeats rumbled within the woods! Zao Ying burst forth with fifty cavalry! And dozens of riderless horses! Swarming out!
The sudden appearance terrified the salt haulers.
The cavalry, however, didn’t harm them. They simply handed the extra horses to Xing Honglang and Iron Bird Flies’ crews. Both groups mounted seamlessly – transforming instantly into something clearly not your average salt smugglers.
Gazing at those now-mounted smugglers, radiating fierceness? The salt craftsmen thought, “Boss Iron today? Something’s different! He never had this swagger before. What gives?”
At that very moment? Xing Honglang finally addressed the craftsmen:
“Brother salt craftsmen. Today? The salt you sold me? How much of what I paid will actually find its way into your pockets?”
The craftsmen exchanged nervous glances. One murmured, “…Two coins per catty.”
Xing Honglang laughed coldly, “I paid twenty coins. Per catty.”
The craftsmen stood silently.
Xing Honglang chuckled darkly, “The officials screw you over too harshly. Interested in bypassing them? I pay you directly. Ten coins per catty.”
Stupid question? Who wouldn’t want their income quintupled?!
They chorused instantly: “Of course we want that.”
Xing Honglang declared plainly, “Wanting it makes things simple. But first? Got the guts to flee Fengjia Village? Build a secret salt pond somewhere officials won’t see? Sell all that illicit salt to me?”
The craftsmen froze at the suggestion: “T-This… How could we dare? Caught by the officials? Death sentence!”
Xing Honglang encouraged them firmly, “Don’t fear! Jie Pond? It’s huge! More than forty li long. Four li wide! Find some remote corner, a shore section hidden from officials’ eyes. Dig your pond there. Tall reeds along the edge? Good cover. Impossible to see unless you’re right beside it. Divert water into it. Evaporate salt freely. Every copper coin earned? Belongs to you. Way better than this life now, right?”
A craftsman voiced a concern, “Doing that? Makes us all black market refugees.”
Xing Honglang countered briskly, “What’s the world like out there? You unaware? Shanxi teems with rebel bandits! Perhaps five or six out of every ten peasants? They’ve all ‘joined the rebels.’ They’re black market refugees too! Anybody terrified by that?”
The salt craftsmen heard this reasoning. It made sense.
One craftsman spoke up: “Building a hidden salt pond by Jie Pond? Hard to hide forever. But west of Jie Pond? There’s Nitrifying Pond. Salt from there? Tastes slightly bitter. Not as good as Jie Pond’s yield. So the officials? They never inspect it. Build a secret pond by Nitrifying Pond? Don’t need to fear inspections.”
He gritted his teeth and added, “If Boss Iron and… this… female Boss… promise to protect my lowly life… I’ll dare it! Escape Fengjia Village. Live as a rebel refugee! Camp by Nitrifying Pond in a straw hut! Dig a pond. Make salt just for you. Only worry? That bitter taste. Might not meet your standards?”
Xing Honglang grinned widely. Gaojia Village needed salt primarily for alkali production! Who cared about bitterness? It wasn’t for human consumption anyway. She chuckled, “Good! We’ll build it at Nitrifying Pond then!”
Her decisive words kindled courage in the other craftsmen. Several more quickly volunteered: “We’ll join too!”