"Master Chen, do you want to place an order in our shop?"
Facing Shopkeeper Ding's surprised look, Master Chen nodded calmly, "Yes, our Chen family's grocery store has always sold salt, but now the salt piled in the store cannot be sold, so I want to sell it in the grocery store."
Buy some goods into your store."
Shopkeeper Ding noticed that the other party's eyes were not evasive, and he spoke in a sincere tone. He hesitated and said: "Young Master Chen should already know the rules of our shop. The snowflake salt in Lingnan can only be sold for ten cents per catty. Are you here?"
The goods in our store are thirty cents per catty, how do you make money? Or are you planning to sell them to other places?"
"Haha!" Young Master Chen laughed and said: "Shopkeeper Ding is smart, and I like to deal with smart people. Although our Chen family is not as good as the aristocratic families in the Central Plains, we still have a lot of wealth. The Chen family is outside Lingnan.
There are also many industries in this city, so you don’t have to worry about sales. With my reputation, I guarantee that snowflake salt will never be sold in Lingnan."
Shopkeeper Ding did not agree immediately, but took a sip of herbal tea. The bitter taste in his mouth made his head sober.
He put down the tea bowl and said, "The herbal tea from Lingnan is good. It can not only clear away heat and detoxify, but also refresh the mind."
"Shopkeeper Ding, just get used to drinking!" Young Master Chen looked at him with a smile, his expression was not anxious at all, as if he was sure that he would agree.
Shopkeeper Ding noticed his expression and saw that the other person was as motionless as a mountain, and was filled with admiration. As expected, someone from a noble family is more calm than someone from a mud-legged family like him.
"As long as Mr. Chen can abide by the rules set by our princess, everything will be fine. When doing business, he must welcome customers from all over the world and accept wealth from all directions. It is not Xia Ji's style to do business if he comes to you. Of course, the most important thing is to like Chen.
As a young master, I hope you can keep your word and not let the princess down."
"Haha, let's wait and see!" Master Chen raised his hand and gave him a fist.
Shopkeeper Ding immediately stood up and clasped his fists in return, saying, "We'll wait and see and cooperate sincerely."
Young Master Chen is very satisfied with his attitude and is a sensible person.
The next step was to sign the contract and pay the advance payment very smoothly. After seeing them off, shopkeeper Ding shook his head and turned back to the shop.
Since the opening of Yan Pu, it has become popular throughout the city. It can be said that it has easily checked the people in the whole city. It can be said that the household registration yamen in Fucheng is not as clear as Yan Pu.
The news spread to the villages and towns below, and many people came to the shop to inquire. Shopkeeper Ding reported the question to Xia Jing.
As a last resort, Ye Fei and his team members, who had just completed the household registration in Fucheng, were sent by Xia Jing to the towns below to continue the census.
On a village basis, small books are distributed to each household. If you want to buy cheap snowflake salt in the future, you will have to rely on small books. If you don’t have a book, you have to reissue it according to the rules.
Naturally, Prince Qian has also been paying attention.
No, it should be said that the entire palace is paying attention.
"My lord, I have already sent someone to find out. The princess has set up a salt farm in Linhai Town. I don't know where she got the technology. She uses seawater to dry out snow-white snowflake salt. Now the people in the city eat it.
Snowflake salt in the princess's shop.
It can be said that since the opening of the princess's salt shop, the coarse salt in the city has become unsaleable and has reached the point where no one cares about it.
My lord, tell me, should we invite the princess to come over and discuss it? If a family doesn’t speak the same language, they all eat from the same pot. When she gets rich, she can’t leave you without giving her some soup, right?”
Mr. Zhang felt that his words were shameless and shameless, but he had no choice but to do so. Lingnan, which was under the control of the prince, did not have overnight food, so he felt unconfident.
Mr. Yan raised his eyes and glanced at Mr. Zhang, pursed his lips and did not speak to persuade him. He could not express the logic of the robber.
Prince Qian sat in the main seat with a dark face and didn't say a word. For a moment, the people below couldn't figure out what he meant.
Mr. Zhang said this with all his face, but received no support from others. He was left in the cold for a while, which made him feel a little embarrassed.
He coughed lightly: "Old Yan, what do you think?"
Mr. Yan was forced to say helplessly: "Your Majesty, I heard that even the Chen family has asked the princess to cooperate. It seems that she is really a big piece of fat."
It makes everyone want to come and take a bite.
Mr. Zhang nodded and looked like he was thinking about you: "Yes, she is a piece of fat. Even the eccentric young master of the Chen family asked her to cooperate. You can imagine how many forces will be watching the princess in the future.
The most important thing is that we have only been in Lingnan for a short period of time, so many things cannot be clearly seen, and the clouds and fog surround us, so I am afraid that the princess will step into my trap."
"Okay!" King Qian looked irritated and couldn't hear what they were saying in his ears. He turned around and told Anu: "Go and invite the princess over. Tell me that I have something to ask for."
"Yes, old slave, let's go now." Anu glanced at a few people and retreated.
I just hope that the princess knows the prince’s intention and doesn’t whip the prince.
When Xia Jing heard the message, she couldn't figure out what King Qian wanted to do with her. In addition, Anu, the personal eunuch, came to invite him personally, so she didn't delay and followed him to the study.
Because the weather was too hot today, Xia Jing did not wear an inner skirt and outer robe and wrapped herself in several layers like other women of this era.
She was wearing a light riding outfit, simple, sober, and capable.
She sat on the soft couch next to her, took a sip of tea from Hongmei, and sat there quietly waiting for them to speak.
King Qian is sitting on the main seat. It is rare for him to sit upright today. If you look carefully, you can find that he has lost some weight during these days.
But even if I lose some weight, my overall body shape is still fat. Fat people are afraid of heat.
"Princess seems to be very busy these days, and I haven't seen you anymore."
Xia Jing pursed her lips and smiled, and told the truth: "Does it make a difference whether you can see my figure or not? Your Majesty, you are not short of company."
Red sleeves add fragrance, and there are five or six confidantes, not to mention ten or a hundred. Men who are not lonely still want her to accompany them, and they are dreaming!
King Qian: "."
He took a deep breath and smiled: "Princess, do you blame me for neglecting you?"
Xia Jing: "."
Thinking back on what she just said, there really was no other meaning than telling the truth.
She rolled her eyes in her mind and poured cold water on him on the spot, "I hope you won't be so sentimental."
King Qian nodded good-naturedly, "Oh, I understand."
Mr. Zhang stroked his forehead: "."
The topic is a bit far off topic.
You and your wife don't need to flirt in front of them.
Xia Jing couldn't stand what she thought was his affectionate look, so she pushed the tea cup aside, "Come to me if you have something to say, and I'll go back if nothing else."
"Oh." King Qian seemed to have just remembered the purpose of coming to see her. "I heard that the princess has been busy with general affairs recently and seems to be enjoying it, so I thought of inviting the princess to come over to discuss it and let's make money together."
"Let's make money together?" Xia Jing rolled her eyes for a moment and knew what their plan was.
Smelly man, I will listen to what you say today.
King Qian said confidently: "Yes, I heard that the princess has set up a salt farm in Linhai Town. Now the salt eaten by the people in Fucheng comes from your shop. I just want our wealth to not go to other people's fields. We, husband and wife, will work together to make it happen."
Make the salt field bigger and stronger, and strive to capture the business of most cities in the Yu Dynasty within two years."
"I'm afraid you may have eaten garlic early this morning, and your tone is quite loud!"
Xia Jing raised her eyebrows, glanced at the two gentlemen, and sneered: "I used to hear that high-ranking officials like to play with empty gloves and white wolves. I used to be young and naive and didn't believe it, but now that I'm a lot older, I still let them
I gained more knowledge."
The two gentlemen started talking casually, and now their old faces turned red from the ridicule.
King Qian paid no attention to the expressions of the two gentlemen. He disagreed and said: "How can I call this a white wolf with nothing? Let's join forces to become bigger and stronger so that you can make more money. Is this wrong?"
Xia Jing was too lazy to pay attention to him and said nothing more than a few words.
When King Qian saw Xia Jing turning her face to the other side, he said shamelessly: "We are husband and wife. What you earn is not my king's, and what I earn is not yours. As a family, don't be so fussy about it. It's easy to fuss over things too much."
It’s not beautiful anymore.”
Xia Jing laughed at Prince Qian's shameless logic, "What I earn is yours. I solemnly declare to you today that what I earn is mine. None of you robbers can come and rob me!"
King Qian: "No, what a robber."
Xia Jing waved her hand to interrupt him, and she snorted: "Normally, I control the inner courtyard, and everything you earn is mine. It's just that I don't despise your little money, so please don't worry about my pocket!"
Not to mention King Qian, the shock in the hearts of the two gentlemen could not be expressed.
Looking at the princess's behavior during these days, their impression of the princess is that she is dignified, generous, sensible, discerning, and puts the overall situation first in her dealings.
They just didn't expect that she would take money so seriously, which was beyond their expectation.
Mr. Zhang was afraid that the couple would quarrel again, so he had to speak: "Princess, in everything you do, you put the overall situation first. I have seen that you are building salt fields, lowering the price of salt, sending troops to suppress bandits, and doing everything for the sake of the people.
You and the prince are joining forces to better build Lingnan, why do you refuse?"
Xia Jing narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, "Just because you saw me doing a few practical things, you think I'm easy to bully?"
"This" Mr. Zhang glanced at King Qian, then at Mr. Yan, and said something like snake oil, "You will be well only when Lingnan is well!"
The importance of salt is self-evident.
If you have your own salt field in a fiefdom, you won't have to worry about being choked.
Xia Jing never thought about occupying the salt field by herself from the beginning.
To be honest, with such a long coastline in Lingnan, countless salt fields can be built as long as they know how to do it. It doesn't matter if you teach them how to dry sea salt.
But she couldn't see King Qian's reasonable attitude, and she couldn't bear the fact that they wanted to stand on the highest moral ground and use morality to kidnap her.
What matters is the overall situation, and what matters is that only when Lingnan is good can she be good.
Even if Lingnan is not doing well, she can still live a good life!
"Don't talk nonsense to me. You have to know that when women act mischievously, it doesn't matter what your reasoning is. If you want to get benefits, you have to pay. If you want to talk about cooperation with me, you have to show sincerity!"
Mr. Zhang looked at King Qian.
There is quite a tacit understanding between the master and the servant.
King Qian hesitated for a moment and asked directly: "Tell me what you want? Or what do you want to get from me?"
Xia Jing looked at her with contempt and said, "You should know that there is no free lunch in the world. You can't let me give you technology or shares for free. If you pay, you will be rewarded. I don't ask you to pay anything. In a word, I want to be free."
!”
King Qian looked at her with doubtful eyes, "Freedom?"
"Freedom!" Xia Jing thought about it in her mind, "Absolute freedom of words and deeds. You can also see how backward and poor Lingnan is. In the future, I may often go out to work, and I will also develop many industries in Lingnan. I hope the prince will not interfere.
!”
King Qian frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable, "What if you break the law?"
Xia Jing glared and emphasized: "I am a good person who abides by the law. Please don't slander me! Here are my conditions. Whether you agree or not is entirely up to you. If you want to own the salt field, you must agree to my conditions."
After that, she fanned herself. Summer in Lingnan is really hot!
It doesn't snow here in winter, and it's so hot in summer that you can't even use ice to cool down.
King Qian received the expectant looks from the two gentlemen and felt aggrieved in his heart.
He took the wet handkerchief from Anu's hand and wiped it on his face and neck, and then reluctantly promised: "Okay, I will give you freedom. From now on, you can travel freely and do things freely, okay?"
Xia Jing stood up with satisfaction and polished the ink for him with her own hands, "It's empty words, let's prove it with words!"
King Qian raised his head in shock and said angrily: "I keep my word, but you actually doubt my character?"
"How can you keep your word when the emperor is here?" Xia Jing handed him the wolf hair, "Here, write down the promise you just made and stamp it with your private seal."
King Qian hesitated. Can he regret it?
Xia Jing seemed to have read through his inner thoughts and added more fuel to the fire, "As long as you write this letter of commitment, you can own the salt fields that make a lot of money every day. This transaction will only make a profit without losing any money."
King Qian glared at her and grabbed the wolf hair, "In your eyes, a couple can make a deal. You have no conscience. I have treated you well all these years in vain."
Xia Jing just smiled and said nothing. A man's mouth is a liar. If you believe a man's words, you will be the one who ends up being deceived.
It is better to have a father and a mother than to have one yourself.
Only when you hold something in your own hands can you feel confident.
She is not a resentful woman in this era who has experienced the abuse of storybooks, and she does not waste so much emotion on sentimentality.
King Qian noticed that there was no flinch in her eyes. He was angry for a moment, dipped in ink, and swiped, a letter of commitment was completed in one go!
Throw away the wolf hair, and finally stamp it with a private seal!
Xia Jing lowered her head and saw a little ink splattered on her sleeve. She casually picked up the promise letter and blew on it.
After the writing was dry, he folded it and smiled: "Hongmei, give the salt-drying method I prepared to the prince, and we will pay for it."
King Qian was stunned for a moment, then took the paper and said, "You won't give me the dividends?"
Xia Jing raised her chin, "Isn't this giving you money? This way you can have your own salt field, why do you have to join me?"
"If you have the idea of just taking money and not doing anything, I think you should stop daydreaming and go figure it out yourself if you want to make money!"
Xia Jing's expression looked like she was afraid that he would take advantage of her, which made King Qian so angry that he really wanted to grab the letter of commitment and tear it up, so as not to get what she wanted, but he was so angry that his liver ached!
He gritted his teeth and warned: "Xia, don't get carried away!"
Thanks to Otaku Cat, Let Your Hands Go, Wen Yuxuan-Aa, Ainianyu, Shuyou20210605203749283, Juesha, and Xinruzhishui for their recommendation and support~