CHAPTER 435: 339. LUCK

Chen Ji hummed: "Where is the son of the salt merchant named Huang Que sitting?"

Qi Zhenzhu pointed: "Right beside your right hand."

Chen Ji turned his head to size up the literati from the South beside him, who appeared to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, with a few strands of gray already in his temples. The other man wasn’t looking at anyone else, his gaze remained fixed on Qi Zhaoyun across from him, and Qi Zhaoyun was also looking at him.

Chen Ji interrupted their affectionate gaze, politely saying: "Brother Huang Que?"

Huang Que came to his senses, and curiously asked: "How did you know my name?"

Chen Ji smiled and said: "I have long heard of Brother Huang Que’s talents. By the way, I’ve heard that Brother Huang Que’s family is in the salt merchant business, may I ask some questions?"

Huang Que’s expression turned a bit unnatural: "Merchants are just crafty opportunists, there’s nothing worth talking about."

Chen Ji replied earnestly: "Brother Huang Que, that is not true. Merchants transport grain to places in need and cloth to places lacking it, this is for the benefit of national economy and livelihood, how can it be said to be inferior?"

Huang Que was taken aback.

At this moment, the maid brought up the wine and dishes, Chen Ji didn’t move his chopsticks, handing the dish plate behind him to Xiao Man, he continued to ask: "Brother Huang Que, how is the salt merchant business?"

Huang Que sighed: "Times are tough."

Chen Ji laughed and said: "Brother Huang Que, you must be joking. Everyone says that a third of the world’s wealth is in the hands of the salt merchants, the gardens of the salt merchants in Suzhou and Yangzhou number over two hundred, even more luxurious than the officials and nobles in the Imperial Capital, how can you say times are tough?"

"What you’re referring to are those big salt merchants, while small households like ours can only barely survive," Huang Que explained: "Firstly, the difficulty is that my dynasty salt merchants are hereditary by written charter, only those forty-six big salt merchants can purchase salt permits from the Ministry of Revenue. And small households like ours can only buy high-priced salt permits from big salt merchants, relying on their mercy. They buy salt permits from the Ministry of Revenue at four qian silver per permit, and then sell it to us at four taels silver per permit, a tenfold increase."

Chen Ji nodded, this salt permit represents a business license, big salt merchants buy salt permits from the court, and then use these permits to source salt from official salt factories, one salt permit equals 300 jin.

The court-sanctioned big salt merchants have a fixed number, forty-six, naturally monopolizing the market, even if they don’t sell salt, just selling the permits can earn them huge profits.

Chen Ji curiously asked: "Is there a way to become one of the registered salt merchants?"

Huang Que continued: "Here is the second difficulty, to become a registered salt merchant, one must spend five hundred thousand taels of silver to purchase a ’woben’ from the Ministry of Revenue, moreover, to purchase salt permits from the court, one must buy a minimum of ’ten thousand permits’, such a huge amount of silver coins leaves people daunted."

Chen Ji nodded again, the threshold is too high, blocking all small households out.

He casually handed the snacks newly brought in by a maid from Qi Mansion to Xiao Man, then asked: "Can small households start doing business with the salt permit?"

Huang Que shook his head: "Here is the third difficulty, my dynasty’s official salt factories produce about 1.2 million permits annually, but the court issues 2.4 million permits each year. Now, if you have no contacts, even with a permit, you can’t get salt from the salt factory. Small households wanting to source salt are already lined up fifteen years in advance."

Chen Ji asked in confusion: "If you can’t get salt from the salt factory, why do salt merchants still buy salt permits from the court?"

Huang Que suddenly sat up straight and fell silent, when Chen Ji pursued further, he excused himself saying he needed to change clothes and hurriedly left Pellucid Tower.

Chen Ji watched Huang Que’s departing figure, his eyes sharp.

He speculated that what Huang Que dared not mention were the words ’privately sold, official salt’; big salt merchants and small salt merchants were mixing private salt into official salt to sell.

It didn’t matter if no salt was available from the official salt factories, having a salt permit, small salt merchants would find private salt and sell it as official salt.

Xiao Man worriedly said: "Young master, don’t get any ideas about private salt, getting caught would mean execution."

Chen Ji smiled: "Rest assured, I won’t engage in illegal business."

Xiao Man was puzzled: "Then what kind of business does young master plan to do?"

Chen Ji said softly: "Of course, the business that the court hopes I will do. Xiao Man, some businesses can be exchanged for money, but others can be exchanged for power; exchanging for money is a last resort, exchanging for power is the best option, because power can seize money."

Xiao Man couldn’t comprehend: "Young master’s business knowledge is stranger than Auntie’s. Please eat something quickly, the food from Qi Mansion is quite delicious."

Chen Ji laughed heartily and started picking up some food.

A literary meeting.

While others’ tables were constantly being covered with a fresh sheet of Xuan paper, his table was continuously swapped with new dishes. No one paid him any more attention, as if the light spilling into Pellucid Tower had inexplicably missed the corner where he sat.

Across from him, Qi Zhaoning, who had been focusing on the poetry, gradually noticed Chen Ji’s conspicuously unconventional behavior.

When she saw Chen Ji openly passing snacks to Xiao Man, she immediately frowned and said to Qi Zhaoyun beside her: "Who would secretly pass snacks to the maid at a banquet, how improper."

Qi Zhaoyun chuckled: "He was originally the Chen Family’s bastard son, and was banished by his legitimate mother to learn at the Medical Hall, being unruly is no surprise. People do change; once he stays long enough in the Imperial Capital, he will naturally learn propriety."

Qi Zhaoning grew more indignant: "Grandfather even discussed with Father about marrying me to him, impossible! Once Grandfather returns from the palace, I’m going to talk to him about this and have Qi Zhenzhu marry Chen Ji, a concubine daughter is just right for a bastard son."

Qi Zhaoyun reassured: "He is a military general, yes, military men are indeed a bit coarse, but they have their advantages, like being capable of shouldering burdens."

Qi Zhaoning was frustrated, pulling at her handkerchief under the table: "I had admired him by hearing of his battle achievements of beheading over a hundred enemy generals, which is why I didn’t attend the theater today and came to the Literary Meeting instead. But you heard what Lin Chaojing said earlier, those exploits were clearly falsified, surely the Chen family did it for him, deceitful."