Green Mountain

Chen Ji bid farewell to Chen Lizun and returned to the Silver Apricot Garden, just in time to see a middle-aged man and four maids being blocked outside the door.

The middle-aged man was dressed in a deep blue scholar's robe, and the four maids wore light green jackets and skirts, with ribbons in their hair and plain silver earrings in their ears.

According to Xiao Man, third-class maids in the Chen Mansion were only allowed to wear wooden hairpins, second-class maids could wear at most one silver hairpin, and only first-class maids were permitted to bind their hair with ribbons, tying drooping ear loops, and wearing plain silver earrings.

Only the concubine maid's silver earrings could be adorned with jewels and jade.

The class hierarchy was distinct.

Xiao Man's voice could be heard from afar: "Young master did not tell me about bringing new maids. Arranging maids is possible, but we must wait until my young master returns before making any decisions."

The middle-aged man calmly said, "Miss Xiao Man, I am the head housekeeper of Qingzheng Garden, and you are just a maid in the mansion. Whether or not to arrange servants in the Silver Apricot Garden does not require your consent."

The middle-aged man was none other than the head housekeeper of Qingzheng Garden, Wang Duo.

Chen Ji stepped in front of the door: "What's going on here?"

Wang Duo, upon seeing him, smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, "Young Master Chen Ji, the second master just mentioned that you are a pillar of the Chen family and should focus on family matters and not be distracted by daily trifles. Before leaving, he specifically instructed me to arrange for four first-class maids to serve you meticulously. These four maids are very obedient. Whatever you ask them to do, they will do."

Chen Ji understood that the second house was about to make a serious move.

First, he had gotten Chen Wenren exiled to Lingnan, then caused the confiscation and extermination of the entire Wang family of Shuntian Prefect, and now he had seized control of the salt shop business, causing them a loss of several hundred thousand taels of silver.

Now that Chen Lizhi was really upset, they had inserted spies into the Silver Apricot Garden, and next, they would likely find an opportunity to land a fatal blow.

Seeing Chen Ji remain silent, Wang Duo continued to smile and say, "Young Master Chen Ji, these four maids are named Yu Shui, Li Xia, Xiao Shu, and Da Shu. Xiao Shu and Da Shu are twins, rare to find outside."

Chen Ji shook his head: "The Silver Apricot Garden doesn't need more maids."

Wang Duo's expression turned solemn: "As the saying goes, when an elder bestows, it is not to be declined. This is the second master's command, how can you refuse? If you don't want them, then I'll sell them to the Eight Great Hutongs."

Upon hearing this, the four maids lifted their skirts and knelt in front of the entrance to the Silver Apricot Garden, pitifully, "Young Master Chen Ji, please keep us."

Chen Ji walked through the gap between them and slammed the door shut with a clang: "Make sure to sell them for a good price."

Inside the door, Xiao Man hugged the Little Black Cat and followed behind Chen Ji: "Young Master, what if they don't get up from kneeling in front of the door? The second house surely knows your temper and might have already arranged for their families to be well compensated, determined to let these maids kneel to death here, accusing you of 'inhumanity.' They are certainly capable of such actions."

Chen Ji did not answer, instead, he turned around and closed the room door, leaving Xiao Man outside: "I'm changing clothes."

Xiao Man muttered outside the door: "I'm just afraid that their antics will ruin your prospects. Perhaps we should let them into the courtyard, I'll guard them to ensure they don't enter the main house. Otherwise, if the Imperial Censor reports you, you'll still get entangled in questioning..."

Chen Ji finished changing his clothes and walked out while adjusting his belt: "Let them report. I've already spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. I must get what I'm worth."

Xiao Man paused, "What? Hundreds of thousands of what?"

Chen Ji came out of the Silver Apricot Garden, seeing that the four maids were still kneeling at the door, seemingly determined not to get up until Chen Ji agreed.

Wang Duo stood behind them, his hands folded, calm and relaxed, eyes closed, resting.

Xiao Shu tearfully said, "Young Master, when I was twelve, my parents both succumbed to illness and passed away early. My sister and I had no choice but to live under our uncle's roof who unexpectedly sold us to the Chen Mansion as maids. Now, the two of us are helpless, and if you won't take us in, Housekeeper Wang will truly sell us to the Eight Great Hutongs."

Chen Ji looked down at her: "What's your uncle's name?"

Xiao Shu hesitated.

Chen Ji walked away: "Xiao Man, throw Wang Duo into the blue and white pool of Little Yingtai to wash his brain."

Xiao Man acknowledged with a yell, grabbed Wang Duo, and left. Wang Duo shouted in panic, but to no avail.

The Chen family had the Yinquan Water diverted into the mansion to create the garden of "Little Yingtai," with the bottom of the blue and white pool paved with broken blue and white porcelain. In the sunlight, the water shimmered like a galaxy pouring down.

Chen Ji walked away without looking back: "Xiao Man, if they still don't leave, throw them into the blue and white pool too. Housekeeper Wang, go back and tell Second Uncle, I understand your good intentions."

...

...

Chen Ji exited through the side door, Si Caogui rarely showed a smile on his face: "Young Master, please get in the carriage."

Chen Ji got into the carriage: "The news travels so fast?"

Si Caogui drove the carriage onto Fuyou Street: "In such a large household, news travels quickly. With so many servants coming and going, there's always someone who can't keep their mouth shut. I saw Chen Yue entering the mansion at 3 AM and was a bit worried, but I didn't expect you to dig such a big pit for them. They say nephews take after their uncles, and you do have a trace of Lord Lu's demeanor. When you take charge of the Chen family, you'll surely help Lord Lu accomplish great things."

Chen Ji leaned against the carriage wall and did not reply: "Let's go to Meihua Ferry Crossing."

Si Caogui was puzzled: "Not going to the Governor Mansion for roll call?"

Chen Ji responded, "There's no need to obediently attend the roll call in the future."

The carriage passed through Zhengyang Gate. Candidates for the Imperial Examination were increasing, carrying bamboo book crates on their backs with shading canopies tied to the tops.

The vendors on the street had stopped selling Aiwowo and started selling Dingsheng Cake and Zhuangyuan Cake.

The Zhuangyuan Cake shaped like a silver ingot had "Dingsheng" imprinted on it, and the date paste Zhuangyuan Cake had "Kui Xing" stamped on it. Any scholarly candidate passing by would buy a few to try, hoping for good luck.

Shops on Tianqiao were also selling Jidi Porridge, made with pig liver and intestines, where "gan" sounded like "guan" (official), and "chang" sounded like "chang" (prosperity).

There were also various items like Qingyun Jelly, Hairpin Flower Cake, Fifth Watch Chicken, and Three Exams Bun, all too numerous to mention.

Another vendor shouted loudly, "Do you know Mr. Wang Dao from Wang Daosheng? He didn't become the top scorer back then just because he didn't eat our Zhuangyuan Cake!"

The scholars laughed and cursed, "You might only dare to mock Mr. Wang; if you tried it with someone else, you would have already been thrown into prison!"

The carriage passed through the lively atmosphere and stopped slowly in front of the Wenchang Inn.

Si Caogui lifted the curtain with a purple bamboo pole: "Young Master, we have arrived."

Chen Ji lifted his robe and jumped off the carriage, heading straight for the inn's counter: "Which room is Young Master Huang Que from the south staying in?"

The shopkeeper remained unmoved, merely pointing upstairs without asking any questions: "Room B on the ground floor."

Chen Ji ascended the wooden stairs, standing before Room B on the ground floor and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Huang Que opened the door, and seeing it was Chen Ji, closed it expressionlessly.

Chen Ji wedged his foot in the door crack, politely saying, "Brother Huang, I am here to apologize."

Huang Que cast him a cold glance, "Brother Chen, you are overly polite. You are a young master from the prestigious Chen family on Fuyou Street, while I am just a small salt merchant's son from the South. You act based on results, while I insist on saving face. We walk different paths and can't work together."

Chen Ji bowed deeply, "Since Brother Huang values face, I will give you face. If you want money, I can also give you money."

Huang Que was taken aback; since coming to the capital, he had endured countless scornful looks. Aside from Qi Zhaoyun and Shen Ye, this was the first time anyone had formally greeted him so solemnly.

Chen Ji straightened up and sincerely said, "Earlier, a salt merchant brought a clerk from the Chen Family Salt Shop to your side. I was merely putting on a show for them, and I hope you don't take it to heart."

Huang Que was silent for a moment: "So, is the salt permit still the agreed two taels of silver?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Four taels."

Huang Que pushed Chen Ji aside and slammed the door shut: "Please leave, I will be preparing for the imperial examination in a few days."

Looking at the tightly shut door, Chen Ji spoke to himself, "I know what business Brother Huang is in and what its most challenging aspects are. However, from now on, after buying my salt permit, you can use my Chen family's shipping documents to pass checkpoints and ferry crossings. I wonder how much those documents are worth?"

The door suddenly swung open again, and Huang Que stood inside, staring straight at Chen Ji, no longer hiding his curiosity: "Dare you lend the Chen family's shipping documents to private salt traders, are you not afraid of death?"

Chen Ji laughed, "If anyone says Brother Huang is a private salt trader, I will be the first to disagree."

Huang Que fell silent, not knowing how to react for the time being.

Chen Ji began descending the stairs, "Why don't we visit Meihua Ferry Crossing? There's a new rule in the salt permit trade."

Watching Chen Ji's figure disappear at the top of the stairs, Huang Que couldn't resist following.

The two boarded a carriage, with Si Caogui searching Huang Que as usual with utmost caution before they were unnoticed.

Inside the carriage, Huang Que couldn't help but ask, "Brother Chen Ji, do you know what you're doing? Rejecting a chance at a promising future just to associate with us... salt merchants?"

Chen Ji gazed out through the curtain at the passing intellectuals and scholars outside, "Brother Huang, I am different from you. I cannot enter the Imperial Examination, join the Hanlin, enter the Six Ministries or the Cabinet, and only then do what I want. I cannot wait that long, that's why I must take each step swiftly."

Huang Que chuckled bitterly, "Us? I am different from them, Brother Chen Ji. You may not know I started learning at four, and at nine, my father spent a fortune sending me to Yueyang Academy. The master praised my exceptional writing skills at nine, but once he found out I was a salt merchant's son, he ignored me. Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—my father spent a lot of money and sought favors to change my registration to a farmer, just so I could sit for the Imperial Examination."

Chen Ji smiled, "You are a salt merchant's son; I am a Chen family's bastard son. Neither need look down on the other."

Meihua Ferry Crossing arrived.

Chen Ji led Huang Que into Meirui Building. Once inside, Huang Que stood by the sound of abacus beads, looking at the opposite wall.

The wall was lined with bamboo plaques; on the bamboo plaques were pasted red papers, on which it read: "Gongyi, one hundred permits, three hundred eighty taels."

"Yun City, one hundred permits, four hundred fifty taels."

"Guyuan, one hundred permits, two hundred eighty taels."

"Jinling, one hundred permits, four hundred sixty taels."

"Zheng County..."

Huang Que paused opposite the wall in puzzlement, "Brother, this is... the first time I've seen someone sell salt permits like this."

Chen Ji smiled and asked, "In the past, when buying salt permits from Big Salt Merchants, how many permits did you buy at once?"

Huang Que replied, "As I mentioned before, ten thousand permits."

Chen Ji asked again: "In this ten thousand endowments, how many are what Brother Huang wants?"

For a long time, there was an invisible cost in trading salt permits: salt permits being travel permits, cannot be resold elsewhere. If a salt permit specified that the batch of salt was to be transported to Guyuan, it could not be taken elsewhere.

The loss in transporting salt was very high, so Big Salt Merchants would usually bundle permits for remote areas and sell them to small salt merchants, leaving the small merchants with no choice; they had to accept what they bought.

It's pretty common for small salt merchants in the South to buy permits transporting salt to the North; they couldn't practically transport salt from the South to the North, so usually, they held onto the permits or found a mediator to resell them.

Chen Ji looked at Huang Que, "How many permits does Brother Huang have accumulated at home now?"

Huang Que pondered: "About three thousand endowments."

Chen Ji pointed at the wall, "Brother Huang can select the permits you want here without spending unnecessary money. Additionally, the permits Brother Huang holds can be brought here to sell. The doors of Meihua Ferry Crossing are always open to all salt merchants."

Huang Que gazed at the bamboo plaques on the wall with puzzlement: "If I pay four hundred sixty taels now, can I immediately buy a hundred permits for transporting salt to Jinling?"

Chen Ji nodded, "Yes."

Huang Que asked again, "Then if I wanted to sell a hundred permits for transporting salt to Jinling, how much silver would I get?"

Chen Ji pointed at the bamboo plaques, "According to the current price, it's also four hundred sixty taels."

Huang Que was puzzled, "Under usual circumstances, a mediator would take at least twenty percent. But Brother, doesn't this mean you're giving away benefits for others, what do you gain?"

Chen Ji unhurriedly explained, "I, of course, need to take a fee."

"How much is the fee?"

"One per thousand."

A fee of one-thousandth.

After careful consideration, Huang Que realized that taking one per thousand at any rate was much cheaper than deducting two-tenths and almost negligible. He suspiciously looked at Chen Ji, unable to understand what exactly Chen Ji hoped to achieve with this business.