Green Mountain

These borderline people used to receive some stale grain mixed with sand and send it to the border town for salt permits and then sell the permits back in the Imperial Capital to big salt merchants. The cost of transporting grain was one tael and two maces, but they could sell the salt permits for one tael and two maces and a few liens' price.

Without any means to support themselves with salt, they could only rely on earning a meager profit from big salt merchants, being the humblest laborers among all salt merchants.

Chen Yue scanned the struggling borderline people: "Remember to tell them, if they don't do as we say, they can forget about earning a living in the Imperial Capital in the future."

Chen Bin whispered: "I've already warned them… Shopkeeper, what should we do next? What loophole are you talking about?"

Chen Yue chuckled, pointing to the boxes on the ground: "When Meihua Ferry Crossing consigns the sale, they only need to record the salt permit serial numbers. Salt merchants don't need to leave the salt permits at Meihua Ferry Crossing, right?"

Chen Bin pondered: "Indeed, this is true. Chen Ji must be guarding against someone setting fire to Meihua Ferry Crossing. If all the salt permits inside get burnt, he couldn't afford to pay back even if he sold himself. So salt permit merchants only need to register the permit serial numbers at Meihua Ferry Crossing. When someone buys a permit, the seller then takes the permit to the buyer and completes the transaction within a day."

Chen Yue nodded: "Now that their Meihua Ferry Crossing has no salt permits to sell, if I consign several tens of thousands of permits for sale and someone pays to buy them, but I refuse to deliver the permits, what would they do?"

Chen Bin was shocked: "Their reputation would be ruined."

Chen Yue added: "What if I send people to buy salt permits, and when he takes my silver but fails to deliver the permits, I ask him to refund the silver, and he can't return it? Can I get the authorities involved to arrest him?"

Chen Bin suddenly understood: "That's the idea. But since he took the silver, why couldn't he afford to refund it?"

"That's not something you need to worry about," Chen Yue instructed Chen Bin: "Have the borderline people take the salt permits for consignment. Remember, you must take the permits out. After he hangs up the bamboo signs, have the shop staff go buy the newly listed permits and complete the transaction the next day. Once the task is done, everyone must stay inside the salt shop. No one is permitted to step out to prevent any leaks."

Chen Bin bowed with clasped hands: "Yes."

Watching the borderline people carry the salt permits into Meihua Ferry Crossing, Chen Yue turned and got onto the sedan chair: "To the front gate of Meihua Ferry Crossing."

The sedan chair meandered through the Eight Great Hutongs to the front gate. Chen Yue swaggered into Meihua Ferry Crossing, found a seat on the third floor of Red Plum Building by the railing, drinking alone while occasionally glancing into the courtyard of Meihua Ferry Crossing.

An hour later, he saw the borderline people completing the consignment and hurriedly leaving through the back door, feeling relieved.

Soon after, Chen Bin led a group of shop staff through the back door and straight towards the brightly lit Meirui Building. After just thirty minutes, Chen Bin hurriedly left again, indicating he had likely already paid the silver.

By this point, half of the plan was complete.

Chen Yue's eyes were profound; Shen Ye's influence surpassed imagination, drawing a large number of salt merchants to rush to clear out the salt permits these days. His inserted people quietly mixed in, secretly calculating the number of salt permits Chen Ji sold.

These past few days, Meihua Ferry Crossing sold about 340,000 permits, of which 300,000 should belong to the Chen Family Salt Shop, and 40,000 should be consigned by other salt merchants.

By rights, Meihua Ferry Crossing indeed had no more salt permits to sell now.

Chen Yue calculated for a long time, feeling somewhat at ease.

Now, each family's shopkeeper hasn't filled the salt shop's deficit yet, so the public ledger only shows 40,000 taels of silver. Adding the 80,000 taels Chen Bin just paid for permits, Chen Ji should only have 120,000 taels of silver at hand.

Exhaust those 120,000 taels, and as long as Chen Lizun is not in the Imperial Capital, as long as Chen Ji can't come up with the compensatory silver tomorrow, tomorrow will be his pitfall.

Chen Yue turned his gaze toward a solitary figure at a square table in Red Plum Building, a middle-aged man clad in fur.

He raised a glass of wine, toasting the middle-aged man from afar, who responded similarly, drinking his wine in one gulp.

The middle-aged man put down his wine cup and left Red Plum Building.

At the back door of Meihua Ferry Crossing, twenty or so men silently awaited, beside them rested more than ten large boxes. Their cheeks were sunburnt purplish-red, their skin rough like rocks of the Northwest Border.

The middle-aged man calmly said: "Carry the boxes and follow me inside."

The twenty or so men filed in, heading straight to the well-lit Meirui Building.

Once inside, ignoring the commotion in Meirui Building, the twenty or so men suddenly dropped the boxes on the ground, the massive thud silencing the crowd.

The merchants, seeing the short knives at the men's waists, stepped back, making a path.

Chen Ji, speaking in low tones with Brother Pao, heard the sound of boxes hitting the ground, immediately turned to look: "What can I do for you, honorable heroes?"

The leading middle-aged man grinned: "I, Li, am a grain transporter from the border town, also what you call a borderline person, and specialize in taking the route through Datong. Over the years, I've accumulated quite a few salt permits, and it took great effort to bring them to the Imperial Capital, but no one was willing to accept them, saying they couldn't produce salt."

The middle-aged man placed a hand on the knife hilt at his waist, and said nonchalantly: "I, Li, heard from drinking last night you buy and sell salt permits here, so I've brought these permits over."

Chen Ji smiled, cupping his hands: "Then you've come to the right place, we indeed trade salt permits here. You can register and list them here..."

The middle-aged man shook his head: "I'm a simple man, not understanding these Imperial Capital customs. I ask only one thing: here are 400,000 salt permits, selling to you at three maces of silver per unit. Do you take them or not? Once I exchange these permits for silver, I'll lead my brothers to other livelihoods. Anyone who wishes can take on this unlucky borderline person's role."

At three maces of silver per permit, it's even cheaper than extracting from the Ministry of Revenue. For 400,000 permits, totaling 120,000 taels, the resell would be tenfold the profit.

To take or not to take?

Chen Ji cupped his hands: "Take them. Brother Pao, please have the master accountant count the salt permits, then allocate 120,000 taels of silver to them."

Counting the salt permits is a laborious task. Even with the master accountant quickly glancing over, it took a full two hours.

Once the permits were confirmed, Brother Pao promptly retrieved two sandalwood boxes from the Chen Family Salt Shop, along with the 80,000 taels of Buddhist Treasure just received tonight, handing them to the group of men.

The man from the border named Li grinned, turned, and disappeared without a trace.

However, no sooner than the men had left, the master accountant in Meirui Building suddenly said: "Something's not right."

Chen Ji turned to him: "What's not right? Are the salt permits fake?"

The master accountant shook his head: "The salt permits naturally aren't fake, but why out of these numerous permits is there not a single one from Jinling?"

The flickering candlelight in Meirui Building illuminated the glint in Chen Ji's eyes: "Perhaps they've sold Jinling's permits altogether to a big salt merchant? No matter, make sure to store these permits properly. This batch will bring us a handsome profit, and heaven forbid they get burned."