After the boat rowed some distance away from Huai'an Pier, Huo Xi turned around and saw that the tall archway of Huai'an Pier was no longer visible.
Came to two fishing baskets.
"Xi'er, why did Master Gong give us salted fish? Could it be that we gave him dried shrimps, crabs and fish, and he gave us salted fish in return? Could it be that he is also a fisherman?"
Huo Erhuai swung the oar at the stern of the boat and responded to Yang Fu in a loud voice: "He is not from the same group as us."
Huo Xi nodded.
He started to take away some salted fish covering the surface of the fishing basket, revealing the contents inside.
"Hey, what is this?"
Yang Fu started to turn over it and was stunned: "Xi'er, isn't it salted fish? How come there are so many bamboo tubes?" He picked up one and looked through it, but it was still heavy in his hand.
Huo Xi didn't answer. She just picked up a bamboo tube, found the gap, and pulled off the lid...
"Ah? This is salt!" A bamboo jar full of salt.
Yang Fu was stunned. He quickly picked up a few grains with his hands, put them into his mouth, smacked his lips a few times, and his eyes widened: "It's salty! It's really salt!"
"What!" Huo Erhuai stopped rowing, ran to the basket, picked up a few grains, rolled them with the tip of his tongue, and his eyes widened: "It's really table salt!"
Much better than the fish salt they buy.
They both looked at Huo Xi: "How can we buy so much salt? How much does it cost? Master Gong is afraid that we can't afford the salt?"
"Is Master Gong from a salt merchant?"
Huo Xi was silent, "I don't know if it's a salt merchant, but it's definitely a smuggler of salt." Otherwise, there's no way to make salted fish.
"Smuggler of salt? Are these smuggled salts?" Hiss, their hands trembled and the bamboo tube almost fell into the basket.
The boat swayed up and down in the canal, just like Huo Erhuai's anxious heart.
"Dad, you go boating. It's okay."
Huo Erhuai walked away hand and foot. He couldn't hold the oar board even after several times. He looked around for fear of being seen, "Niang Le, two big baskets of salt!"
My dear! My heart keeps beating.
It felt like countless eyes were peering at his boat from all directions.
"Xi'er, hide quickly!"
Yang Fu was also frightened. What about the illegal salt? If he was discovered, he would be beaten with a hundred sticks and exiled for three years. If the punishment was serious, the punishment would be increased.
These two baskets of salt are enough to serve for how many years. I’m so scared.
"Uncle, please clear out a wine basket, and we'll hide the things in it."
Yang Fu quickly climbed in to find the wine basket.
Pour the wine from a wine basket into a bamboo cup and a bamboo tube, and put the bamboo tube containing salt into the wine basket. If one wine basket is not enough, clear out another wine basket.
There was a lot left, which was wrapped in oilcloth and mixed into the grain.
"If anyone stops the boat to check, just throw these two wine baskets into the river quietly." Huo Xi ordered.
Yang Fu was so frightened that he nodded.
His voice trembled: "Master Gong, why do you give us these deadly things? He doesn't look like a bad person?"
"He probably just thought it was fun. He didn't want to cause us any trouble." Huo Xi gritted his teeth.
Humph, it scared her father and uncle.
He consoled him: "We still have the flag on the boat all the way, so there shouldn't be any inspectors on board to check the cargo. It'll be fine." I hope that's the case.
In the first year, fishing boats were recruited to transport grain, and it was agreed that if the fishermen brought goods with them when they returned to Japan, they would be exempted from tax on the goods.
Therefore, there should be no inspectors coming to check and collect taxes.
But Huo Xi was still concerned and ordered Yang Fu to put some important things in the bilge. Hide as many as possible.
Unexpectedly, Gong Ziyi turned out to be a private salt dealer.
He boarded her boat to take a look. He must have been more than curious. Could he be trying to sell salt privately to fishermen?
A private salt dealer? No wonder he is quite capable and still has that priceless ambergris in his hand.
Since ancient times, among those who sell smuggled salt, which family is not rich in gold and silver? There are several people who dare to rebel and take over the Jinluan Palace.
In the early days of Taizu's establishment of the Wei Dynasty, he and a private salt dealer who established the Great Zhou Dynasty crossed the river to rule.
However, in the end it was Taizu who unified the south of the Yangtze River and then unified it. Although Taizu was not a smuggler in salt, he did get help from many smugglers in the early days of the dynasty.
Huo Xi sat in a daze on the board of the boat, while Yang Fu was busy hiding things. He wanted to throw away a load of personal salt, but was reluctant to do so. He was in a dilemma. Huo Erhuai rowed absentmindedly.
The boat rocked so hard that Huo Xi's mind was confused.
The salt in this bamboo tube must weigh three or four kilograms. The two bamboo baskets must weigh about a hundred kilograms, which is as much as one stone.
Who doesn’t know that private salt can be very profitable and make a lot of money? The official salt tax is heavy. At the end of the previous dynasty, the price of salt once reached the point where one stone of grain was exchanged for one pound of salt, so that the common people could not afford salt.
However, when Taizu established the dynasty, he implemented the national policy of light corvee and low tax, and the Huaihe River and Huaihe River areas were salt-producing areas. The price of salt in the south of the Yangtze River remained at about the price of five kilograms of grain for one kilogram of salt.
According to modern nutrition, a person needs to eat six to ten grams of salt a day, and her family of four must eat at least one and a half to two kilograms of salt a month.
Now her family spends 30 to 40 yuan a month to buy salt, which is still affordable. But in areas where salt is not produced, the price of salt is more than the price of five kilograms of grain when transporting salt from the salt area plus taxes and freight.
Already.
Even if the common people eat some salt, it is still a big burden.
If the official salt is twenty-five cents a pound, and the private salt is only fifteen or six cents, which is half the price of the official salt or a 22% discount, who wouldn’t want to buy the private salt?
How can it be easy for ordinary people to save a penny or two?
Selling one stone of grain can only earn a hundred cents, but selling one stone of salt can earn one tael. So, do you sell grain or salt?
Huai'an produces salt. If the people in the capital want to eat salt, there is not much shipping cost, and the price of salt is not expensive. But if it is sold to a place that does not produce salt, how much more can one stone earn?
Even Huo Xi wants to sell salt, but he can only make so much money by selling grain.
Huo Xi glanced leisurely at the private salt hidden in the cabin. The battle between heaven and man.
"Xi'er", Yang Fu came over.
Huo Xi glanced at him.
"Xi'er, tell me, why does Master Gong have so much salt? How did he get it? Is he really a smuggler of salt? Can't he be a salt merchant?"
Yang Fu was grateful to Gong Ziyi for helping him recover the payment, and had a particularly good impression of him.
He almost couldn't hold his head up in front of Huo Xi.
I don't want to think that he is a private salt dealer.
"Even if he is a salt merchant, he is still a smuggling salt dealer. Otherwise, why would he give us salted fish?" Huo Xiyouyou said.
How many ships come and go on this Grand Canal every day? Huo Xi doesn't know how many ships are going to and from Huai'an this time.
However, during the previous dynasty, there were thousands of canals. If it returned to China, each of the canals would carry private salt, and the Huo family's ship alone could transport hundreds of rock salt.
How much salt can the entire Taoye Ferry transport? How much salt can the entire Jiangning County canal transport!
One stone of salt earns one tael, and her family can earn one hundred taels of silver by loading hundreds of stones on their ships. As long as they win over some ships, they can make huge profits! They will become a small fortune in one year and a huge fortune in five years!
hiss!
What Gong Ziyi has in mind is quite big.
Who doesn't want to do a profitable business? Huo Xi also thought, the smuggling business has always been profitable, let alone this smuggled salt. The money comes quickly.
Huo Xi touched the head on his neck and shook his head.
He turned around and saw the worried look on Huo Erhuai's face, and smiled, "Dad, it's okay. Let's keep it and eat it slowly."
Huo Erhuai was extremely worried, "How long will it take to eat this?"
This is not like eating chicken, duck, and fish every day. I was worried when I had no money to buy salt. Now that there is a full load of salt in the cabin, I am still worried.
Huo Xi laughed: "It's okay. When we get back, we won't sell the fish we caught, so we'll just make salted fish and sell it."
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