Chapter 425: Want to Earn for Yourself?
Chapter 420 of "The Great Ming in the Box" opens showing developments: The official from the salt tax office on Hedong Road had just fallen asleep.Suddenly hearing... Keep reading!
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, theyâd 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 wouldnât dare act on their own. Theyâd come see him. At that point, it wasnât about a few coins anymoreâit 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!
âA big salt lordâs come?â The salt official chuckled, âHow much does he want?â
The guard Captain replied in a low tone, âHe wants all the salt from Fengjia Village.â
âWell!â The salt official laughed, âHeâs playing big. This salt lord must be quite capable.â
The captain nodded, âHeâs an old acquaintance of ours. Youâve seen him before, Boss Iron Bird Flies.â
âIron Bird Flies?â The salt official murmured, âCanât recall.â
The guard Captain said in a curious tone, âJust give me a price.â
The salt official paused, âAh! Remember him now. That fellow. Didnât recall his business being that grand. Can he swallow the whole villageâs output now?â
The Captain replied, âDonât know if he can swallow it, but he paid two hundred taels upfront.â
The salt official nodded, âFine. For two hundred taels, I donât care how he manages it. Fengjia Villageâs salt is his. Iâll report to the higher-ups that Fengjia Village suffered a fire, the village is rebuilding, and has no salt to hand over. Done deal.â
The guard Captain said, âGood.â
He said âgood,â but didnât leave. Instead, he looked at the salt official expectantly.
The official reached into the pouch, grabbed several pieces of silverâabout fifty taelsâand tossed them to the Captain. âDistribute this among the boys in Fengjia Village. Keep it quiet.â
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: âBoss Iron, itâs settled. The salt tax officer agreed. Fengjia Villageâs salt is all yours to buy. ButâŚyou understand, those two hundred taels? That just secured your permission to buy salt. Taking it all away? Thatâll cost an extra payment.â
Iron Bird Flies smiled, âName your price.â
The guard Captain held up two fingers: âTwenty coins per catty.â
Iron Bird Flies agreed: âDeal! Round up the salt craftsmen too. Haul the salt out. Iâll pay transport fees to have them cart it to Puzhou.â
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 didnât care. After sealing the deal with the Captain, he went back into the forest and signaled to Xing Honglang. Xing Honglangâs forty-two followers, plus Iron Bird Fliesâ 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 Fliesâ 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 officialsâ sightâŚ
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, didnât harm them. They simply handed the extra horses to Xing Honglang and Iron Bird Fliesâ crews. Both groups mounted seamlessly â transforming instantly into something clearly not your average salt smugglers.
Gazing at those now-mounted smugglers, radiating fierceness? The salt craftsmen thought, âBoss Iron today? Somethingâs different! He never had this swagger before. What gives?â
At that very moment? Xing Honglang finally addressed the craftsmen:
âBrother salt craftsmen. Today? The salt you sold me? How much of what I paid will actually find its way into your pockets?â
The craftsmen exchanged nervous glances. One murmured, ââŚTwo coins per catty.â
Xing Honglang laughed coldly, âI paid twenty coins. Per catty.â
The craftsmen stood silently.
Xing Honglang chuckled darkly, âThe officials screw you over too harshly. Interested in bypassing them? I pay you directly. Ten coins per catty.â
Stupid question? Who wouldnât want their income quintupled?!
They chorused instantly: âOf course we want that.â
Xing Honglang declared plainly, âWanting it makes things simple. But first? Got the guts to flee Fengjia Village? Build a secret salt pond somewhere officials wonât see? Sell all that illicit salt to me?â
The craftsmen froze at the suggestion: âT-This⌠How could we dare? Caught by the officials? Death sentence!â
Xing Honglang encouraged them firmly, âDonât fear! Jie Pond? Itâs huge! More than forty li long. Four li wide! Find some remote corner, a shore section hidden from officialsâ eyes. Dig your pond there. Tall reeds along the edge? Good cover. Impossible to see unless youâre right beside it. Divert water into it. Evaporate salt freely. Every copper coin earned? Belongs to you. Way better than this life now, right?â
A craftsman voiced a concern, âDoing that? Makes us all black market refugees.â
Xing Honglang countered briskly, âWhatâs the world like out there? You unaware? Shanxi teems with rebel bandits! Perhaps five or six out of every ten peasants? Theyâve all âjoined the rebels.â Theyâre black market refugees too! Anybody terrified by that?â
The salt craftsmen heard this reasoning. It made sense.
One craftsman spoke up: âBuilding a hidden salt pond by Jie Pond? Hard to hide forever. But west of Jie Pond? Thereâs Nitrifying Pond. Salt from there? Tastes slightly bitter. Not as good as Jie Pondâs yield. So the officials? They never inspect it. Build a secret pond by Nitrifying Pond? Donât need to fear inspections.â
He gritted his teeth and added, âIf Boss Iron and⌠this⌠female Boss⌠promise to protect my lowly life⌠Iâll 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?â
Xing Honglang grinned widely. Gaojia Village needed salt primarily for alkali production! Who cared about bitterness? It wasnât for human consumption anyway. She chuckled, âGood! Weâll build it at Nitrifying Pond then!â
Her decisive words kindled courage in the other craftsmen. Several more quickly volunteered: âWeâll join too!â