novelraw Chapter 590 - 521
Chapter 590 - 521
Although Old Madam Kou didn’t reach an agreement with Su Jingchen, she wasn’t disheartened and had no intention of returning to Huizhou.
Backing down is not her style.
For a junior, she only needed to wear him down a few times, using both persuasion and pressure, and she didn’t believe he wouldn’t surrender.
Old Madam Kou settled down in Yangzhou, but to avoid suspicion, she didn’t stay at the Heir Mansion. Instead, she took residence in the courtyard directly opposite Su Jingchen’s home.
Indeed, this courtyard was Kou Family’s, purchased when Lord Yin was still a Salt Transport Envoy.
Like Lord Yin, this courtyard was full of hidden surprises, with underground tunnels and secret rooms far more numerous than those in Lord Yin’s mansion.
Old Madam Kou initially planned to employ a dual approach, to persuade bit by bit from inside Su Jingchen’s household.
After all, the identity of a Marquis Mansion descendant is far superior to that of a merchant’s son. Su Jingchen may be tough, but Yu Xiaolian might not be.
Which woman doesn’t want her husband’s family to be a bit more dignified?
Old Madam Kou was confident she could win over and soften Yu Xiaolian, encouraging Yu Xiaolian to sweet-talk Su Jingchen, which would likely be more effective than her attempt at persuasion tenfold.
Just as she was about to meet her granddaughter-in-law in the capacity of a grandmother, the servants at Su Mansion unexpectedly informed her that Madam Su had left for Yu State half a month ago. Upon further questioning about her return, the servants evasively said there was no definite timeline; it could be summer, or perhaps the end of the year.
"Our Madam hasn’t gone back to her mother’s home for three years and misses it dearly. Plus, she has business in Yu State and hasn’t returned for many years. Even just settling accounts would take some time!"
Having faced a closed door, Old Madam Kou felt extremely displeased.
She inwardly cursed Su Jingchen for being cunning.
This man hadn’t established himself in Yangzhou yet, and his wife went back to her parental home, and this...
This was clearly evading her!
Yu Xiaolian, having evaded, was currently enjoying a grand meal with all her family members.
This time upon returning, she used more carriages than when traveling from Northern Land to Yangzhou, a total of nine.
Each carriage was filled to capacity with goods, including gifts, personal belongings of Su Yuntong, and mostly purified refined salt.
Of course, this salt was not secretly taken for personal profit; she had obtained a salt permit as a salt merchant for official wholesale.
As for the part of salt pre-sold by Lord Yin before his retirement, Su Jingchen had also found a solution to alleviate it.
Although the pre-sale money didn’t end up in Su Jingchen’s pocket, the salt merchants had genuinely paid for it, and they couldn’t be made to spend money with no salt in return.
However, Lord Yin pre-sold an enormous quantity, and if all were fulfilled, the salt industry would be monopolized by these people once again.
Su Jingchen had no other ambitions; he just wished that ordinary people could afford salt.
While salt couldn’t be sold at a flat price, it was achievable not to sell it at a high price.
A certain salt merchant, 3,000 pounds of sea salt.
There isn’t 3,000 pounds of sea salt, want refined salt instead?
Yes, but refined salt costs more, previously with the money for 3,000 pounds you can now only buy 1,000 pounds.
What? Disagree?
If you disagree, please queue behind, and once there’s sea salt, it will surely be redeemed for you.
Su Jingchen used such methods to dismiss those salt merchants who had bought pre-sale salt from Lord Yin.
"Sea salt is inherently expensive, and refined salt is even pricier, doesn’t this mean the salt price increased instead of decreased?" Ten-year-old Yu Ziqian tilted his head and asked Yu Xiaolian with a puzzled face.
Through the years of school training, Yu Ziqian was no longer the mischievous lad he used to be.
Yu Xiaolian saw that he grasped the crucial point immediately, showed him an appreciative glance, then began to explain to everyone eloquently.
Although the court currently allows salt merchants to trade salt, it has requirements for the salt price, with a maximum selling price of three hundred coins per pound.
Therefore, although these salt merchants have been able to exchange for salt tickets as they wished, the actual profit margin is severely shrunk.
Especially since most salt merchants transport salt to remote, saltless areas for selling, the costs of carriage, city passage fees, and labor are also quite significant expenditures.
"What if salt merchants secretly sell at high prices, we wouldn’t know!" Yu Zixuan innocently interjected.
Yu Xiaolian gently patted her sister’s head and warmly said, "They wouldn’t dare, if found out by the Government, it wouldn’t just be about losing the salt merchant business, it could cost them their heads."
Salt is as important as grain, being the foundation of people’s livelihood, and the court does not tolerate manipulation in this area.
Of course, during years of disaster and wars, many merchants made use of the opportunity to inflate prices, and grain and salt once reached sky-high prices, but the law doesn’t punish en masse, it was uncontrollable and nothing could be done.
But as of now, it’s a peaceful time, and it’s believed no one dares to be the first to break this taboo.
...
Yu Xiaolian stayed in Yu State with Su Yuntong for half a year, until the news of severe flooding in Huainan reached Yu State, making Yu Xiaolian somewhat restless.