Chapter 135 New Inspection (2)
Luo Shengdong had close contacts with the Haihan people, and even had secret collusion with the Haihan people. Not only the people in Yazhou Shuizhai knew about this, but also many caring people in Yazhou City.
Recently, the price of salt on the market in Yazhou has dropped from the previous 400 cents per catty to 280 cents per catty, and it continues to fall. A large amount of low-priced refined salt has begun to pour into the market, and no one will want it anymore. I no longer pay high prices to buy the coarse-grained and slightly bitter sea salt I used to have. During this period, several inspection departments around Yazhou did not have any records of detecting illegal salt trafficking.
The inspectors who gritted their teeth in anger were almost certain that the salt dealer behind the scenes was Luo Shengdong, the commander-in-chief of Shuizhai, based on the gossip feedback from various vendors. in the market.
As we all know, the local salt production areas in Yazhou are only a few salt farms in the back, such as Danzhou and Qiongzhou Fucheng. Due to limited production capacity, hundreds of thousands of kilograms of salt need to be shipped from the mainland every year to supplement the needs of Hainan Island. Therefore, the price of local salt has always been Stay high. The cheap salt that Luo Shengdong put into the market quickly broke this price balance, and the quantity was very large. According to the estimates of a few smart people in the Inspection Department, the amount of salt put into the market each time would be at least a thousand kilograms. Otherwise, It is not enough to affect the changes in salt prices in Yazhou as a whole. So the question becomes, where did Luo Shengdong get so much cheap refined salt?
This question does not require in-depth investigation, the answer is already obvious. First of all, it is definitely impossible to hide a salt farm with an astonishingly high output in the Yazhou Shuizhai. In fact, in the past, all the salt that the Shuizhai officers and soldiers received every month had to be purchased from the local market, although the purchase price for the army would be higher than the average market price. It is low, but even if the quantity of about 100 kilograms per month is returned to the market, it will not be enough to affect the price of salt, so these cheap refined salts cannot come from Yazhou Shuizhai. Secondly, Mr. Luo Ba, the commander of Shuizhai, has made at least two or three trips to the Victory Port where the Haihan people are located every month since he achieved military merit and was upgraded for exterminating pirates. If there is no benefit, why would he run so diligently?
Obviously, the Haihan people nestled in Victory Port provided Luo Shengdong with sufficient supply, allowing him to easily suppress local salt prices. Although I don’t know how much Luo Shengdong can earn from this business, Luo Shengdong recently purchased a high-end house in Yazhou and magnanimously asked He Wenhui, the water village counselor to come forward and report to Zhang Tong of the state government. The judge's proposal for marriage seemed like a windfall.
The house Luo Shengdong bought was only a few houses away from Wei Ping's brother-in-law's house. Wei Ping estimated that the price should not be less than three hundred taels of silver. It's no wonder that he could muster up the courage to propose marriage in just one move. The daughter of the Tongpan family. It is said that Luo Shengdong also promised that as long as Zhang Tong approves the marriage, he will buy another house and 100 acres of land for his father-in-law in his hometown in Guangzhou, so that his father-in-law can return to his hometown to become a squire and landlord when he becomes an official in the future. Enjoy peace and happiness. This naked nouveau riche behavior has undoubtedly told everyone that Luo Shengdong, who could barely survive by drinking the blood of soldiers in the past, has disappeared and been replaced by a rising upstart in Yazhou. Although Luo Shengdong was just a military attache and was not very successful in the Ming Dynasty officialdom where civilian officials were the most important, no one would ignore the financial resources he had displayed in a short period of time, including the state office official who usually seemed very dignified. Including Zhang Tongsuan - it is said that the two families have reached an agreement on the marriage and are now entering the stage of discussing the wedding date.
Seeing Luo Shengdong getting rich, it is impossible to say that no one is jealous. Luo Shengdong can do the private salt business, and the people in the Inspection Department believe that they can do the same. We all belong to the privileged class in this society, but the division of labor is different. The only difference is that Luo Shengdong has convenient sea transportation conditions, and due to his status as a border soldier, no one dares to inspect his ship. Even a local coward like the Inspection Department can only look at it itchingly. With.
For the inspection department, another obstacle to the private salt business is establishing relationships with the Haihan people. Luo Shengdong and the Haihan people once "fought side by side". This kind of relationship was naturally not easily established by the people in the Inspection Department, but this was not a problem. Wei Ping and several other colleagues from the Inspection Department went directly Cliff office.
The Haihan man surnamed He in the cliff office was very polite, but his conversation was impeccable. He just shied away from the inspection department's request to "share profits" from the private salt business, claiming that there is currently only one agent in Hainan Island, Luo Shengdong. If the inspection department is interested in doing this business, they can discuss it directly with Luo Shengdong. The Inspection Department will never accept this argument. As long as Luo Shengdong's brain is not broken, how could he give up his lucrative business to others? Even if he is really willing to divide it, he will give it directly to his boss or a big shot in the state government in exchange for greater benefits. How could he give it to a group of ninth-grade inspectors who can't give him any benefits?
Despite the hard work of several people from the Inspection Department, they still couldn't make any progress in the end. They just got two wine glasses as gifts when they went out. Wei Ping was so angry that he almost dropped his cup, but after talking to Tongzhi's brother-in-law, he slowly changed his mind. Offending these Haihan people in the Cliff Office is a small matter, but delaying the money making is a big deal. Even if these Haihan people are arrested on any charges, in the end there will still be no salt, and the jealousy will continue. The top priority is to establish a higher level of contact with the Haihan people, and the newly established Yulin Inspection Department is obviously a good opportunity.
Wei Ping had no hope of selling private salt for the time being, so when he consulted Luo Shengdong on the ship, he naturally did not consider that there would be other projects to make quick money. After being mercilessly despised by Luo Shengdong, Wei Ping became angry and couldn't help but retorted: "Mr. Luo, of course you won't take one or two hundred taels of silver seriously. Now everyone I know you have a way to traffic illegal salt for the Haihan people, but our inspection department has no such way, so we can only find ways to make a little money.”
Luo Shengdong didn't pay much attention to Wei Ping's resentment. During this period, there were many more people who disliked him than in the past. Of course, the number of people who changed their attitudes and hugged him angrily because of his sudden wealth also increased a lot. He naturally knew that this was the result of the private salt business in cooperation with the Haihan people. Luo Shengdong originally did not want to be so high-profile, but the Cliff Resident Office asked him to try his best to play the role of an upstart in order to attract more local people to willingly work for the Haihan people - of course the Cliff Resident Office hoped that he could attract The targets were not ordinary people, but officials of the Ming Dynasty "within the system." Although Luo Shengdong couldn't understand why the Haihan people had such a strange request, for the sake of the Haihan people's always being correct and the money, he finally chose to do what the Haihan people wanted.
Luo Shengdong smiled and said: "Inspector Wei, do you think it's so easy to make money from private salt? When I went out on the sea, there were thirty or forty sailors and soldiers on the ship, and dozens of mouths were all in need of food. I want the official ship to be used for personal use. Should my superiors and colleagues take care of it? Do I want vendors everywhere to sell only the private salt I transport? Do you think all the money from selling salt should be left to them? How could I accept it all by myself? There are at least dozens of people involved in this business, both inside and outside.”
Wei Ping argued strongly: "Since you can still spend so much money to open up various relationships, it shows that this business is very profitable and the money is easy to make." Luo Shengdong said: "If you are willing to be a private agent, , how about I give you some salt and let you try it?”
Wei Ping didn't expect Luo Shengdong to be so easy to talk to, and immediately asked in shock: "Is this true?"
"Of course it's true." Luo Shengdong nodded: "But I also have conditions."
"What are the conditions? Luo Ba might as well tell you first." Wei Ping was not stunned by the pie falling from the sky, and his eyes immediately became wary.
"The salt I give you cannot be sold in Yazhou itself, nor in places like Lingshui, Wanzhou, or Wenchang. It can only be sold in Danzhou, Lingao, and Qiongzhou Fucheng. Of course, if you have the ability, , you can also transport it to Leizhou and sell it." Luo Shengdong made his conditions without hesitation.
Regarding how to build a private salt sales network, Schneider had already given him preliminary training. Luo Shengdong would naturally not give up the market he was already sure of, but if Wei Ping had the ability to open up the private salt channels in the north, Luo Shengdong didn't mind sharing part of his profits - anyway, there was no way to sell the private salt to the north of Hainan Island, and every extra price was worth a penny.
After hearing this, Wei Ping's enthusiasm immediately felt like a basin of cold water had been poured on him: "Mr. Luoba, if I had a boat, why would I need to find you here? Wouldn't it be faster to go straight to Victory Port to find the Haihan people?"
< br>
Luo Shengdong smiled and said: "Even if you find the Han people in Shanghai, their conditions will be the same as what I told you. There is a Mr. Shi among the Han people in Shanghai who is very smart in business. He said this is called... yes, it's called ' To avoid vicious competition, one salt merchant is enough in an area. If there are too many, it will be self-destructive. ”
Wei Ping scratched his head and said: "Although I don't understand what you mean by this, I think it is quite powerful. But without the private salt business, wouldn't my inspection department have nothing to gain?"
"Who told you that you didn't make a profit?" Luo Shengdong shook his head and said: "The Haihan people's money-making business is not just private salt. As long as you follow their arrangements, these people will never treat you badly!"
< br>
"What? My majestic Ming Dynasty Inspection Department, the Ninth Grade Inspection Inspector Wei Ping, needs to obey the arrangements of these Haihan barbarians?" Wei Ping stood up suddenly, as if he had been greatly insulted.
(End of chapter)