I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 234 Bait

Cao Tingyun was from the capital city. He had learned storytelling since he was a child from a famous storyteller in the capital. Although this storyteller was famous, he was quite harsh in treating his apprentices. Normally, it would have been fine if he had not paid them for three years of apprenticeship. However, after three years, when the apprentices officially started to tell stories, the wages he paid them were still very meager.

At first, Cao Tingyun didn't take it seriously, but later he got married and became famous as a storyteller, but his wages were still very meager and he could barely support his family.

Cao Tingyun felt that he had grown powerful enough, and he repeatedly asked for a pay raise in private, which made the other apprentices become interested. Naturally, his actions caused dissatisfaction among their master.

Just when Cao Tingyun was about to formally discuss wages with his master, before he could even open his mouth, his master's wife knelt down in front of him, putting him in an extremely passive situation.

The master was furious and expelled him from the sect, and also commented that he "betrayed his teacher and ancestors, went against human ethics, and betrayed his loyalty when faced with difficulties." This comment was extremely harsh, especially in a feudal society like the Ming Dynasty, where respecting teachers was extremely important. Cao Tingyun became a person despised by everyone, died socially, lost his job, and could no longer stay in the capital.

Cao Tingyun kept saying that he just wanted a raise in wages, but people in the capital didn't believe that his master would expel his favorite disciple for a little money and made such a harsh comment. With this comment, he couldn't survive anywhere. They speculated that Cao Tingyun must have slept with his master's wife, which led to such a disaster.

Cao Tingyun was like a dumb person eating bitter herbs, he had no way to express his suffering. It happened that the Propaganda Department was recruiting people in Beijing. Cao Tingyun was really desperate. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and went to the Propaganda Department in the heavy snow. The Propaganda Department valued his talent and accepted him. Considering his situation, they sent him to Shunde Prefecture.
Cao Tingyun recalled all the past events and was filled with hatred, so he went out to gather the seven or eight disciples he had brought with him.

All the salt shops in Shunde Prefecture suddenly changed the price of salt, raising the price by 10 cents per pound, which made the people wail. Rumors about the Changlu Salt Field began to spread among the people.

This rumor dealt a heavy blow to the Royal Group's reputation. Even at night, people threw rotten eggs on the door of the Shunde Mansion branch and dumped garbage in front of the door.

The business of the Shunde branch was greatly affected, but He Kui endured it because he knew that the railway had been built to Shunde and batches of salt would be shipped there soon.
A new day began. The guys silently cleaned up the garbage and dirt at the door and put up a new price tag: 20 cents per pound of Changlu salt.

Before any customers came, He Kui walked around the street with a sneer on his face. When he arrived in front of Shen's shop, he saw a woman squatting at the door crying.

He went up to her curiously and asked about the situation. When the woman saw the logo on He Kui's clothes, she cried even harder.

The people around couldn't stand it anymore, "Bah! Stop pretending to be sympathetic. It's all your Royal Group's fault for raising the price of salt. The young lady brought 70 coins to buy a pound of salt, but the price of salt increased by 10 coins, so she couldn't buy a pound of salt. Her husband has a bad temper, so he will probably get beaten again when he gets home."

He Kui's face darkened, and after a moment's hesitation, he said to the woman, "Come to my shop. The Changlu salt in my shop is only 20 coins per pound."

As soon as these words were spoken, the woman stopped crying immediately and looked at He Kui in disbelief with red eyes.

The people around were also shocked, and then they started talking about it.
"Impossible. I have lived here for more than 40 years and have never come across salt that costs 20 cents per pound."

"This official must be lying."

"A few years ago, the price of a pound of salt in the Royal Store was 100 wen, and there was a lot of sand mixed in it."

"."

He Kui felt helpless. Although many people in Shunde Prefecture had changed their views on the Royal Group, many people still regarded the Royal Group as the former royal store.

"Dear neighbors, our store is not far away. You can tell whether it is real or fake at a glance." He Kui said in a loud voice.

The people around thought the same thing and walked towards the Shundefu branch together, and the crying woman followed them.

At this time, some people had already noticed the price tags posted at the Shundefu branch, and some had entered the store, made purchases, and walked out with bags of salt.

Now everyone rushed into the store and took out their copper coins to buy.
"Can you sell half a pound?"

"It can be sold!" the clerk said affirmatively.

"Then weigh me three and a half catties of salt." The crying woman took out several layers of copper coins wrapped in a handkerchief and handed them to the clerk carefully. "Okay!" The clerk quickly weighed three and a half catties of salt and handed it to the woman.

The woman quickly took the salt bag and put it away carefully. When she left, she gave He Kui a look of gratitude.

He Kui looked at the bustling scene in the store and felt very excited and happy.

Many people from Shunde Prefecture who received the news also rushed over and surrounded the Shunde Prefecture branch.

But the good times didn't last long. A group of people rushed over and surrounded the Shundefu branch to prevent more people from approaching the branch. The people didn't dare to bump into them and just watched from a distance.
When many people who had just bought salt saw this scene, they quickened their pace and walked out with their heads down. The team did not stop them and let them leave.

In just a short period of time, the branch became deserted.

He Kui had a sneer on his face. He found a chair and sat at the door, quietly waiting for the real person to appear.

Half an incense stick later, a green cloth sedan chair was carried over and Master Shen got off the sedan chair.

As soon as he saw He Kui, he smiled and said, "Hello, Manager He! Shen Yi from the Shen family is sorry to come and visit me."

"I've heard a lot about you! I've heard of Mr. Shen's name for a long time. I wonder why Mr. Shen made such a big fuss today?" He Kui also smiled and bowed.

"I haven't visited this imperial store since it reopened. How about the shopkeeper showing me around?" Mr. Shen said calmly, with the demeanor of a well-read scholar.

"Then please come in, Mr. Shen." He Kui stood up.

As soon as the two entered the store, they tacitly dismissed their attendants and found a place to talk alone.

"Manager He, you and I hit it off right away. So I'll be frank with you. Why is this imperial store suddenly selling salt, and selling it at such a low price?" Master Shen looked at He Kui with a burning gaze.

"Mr. Shen, the former Royal Store could sell salt, and the current Royal Group can also sell salt. As for why it is sold so cheaply?" He Kui paused deliberately.

"Please give me some advice, Manager He!" Mr. Shen asked eagerly.

"I heard that the Changlu Salt Field managed by the group produced a lot of salt today. In addition to the salt merchants from all over the country taking salt to introduce salt, there is still a lot left, so we just put it in the store to sell. The higher-ups want to sell it out quickly, so the price is set relatively low." He Kui looked at Mr. Shen meaningfully.
Mr. Shen looked embarrassed, as if he had been seen through. He felt that He Kui already knew that he had spread rumors, but he quickly returned to normal. He quickly thought about the pros and cons, and after a long while he slowly spoke: "Brother He, I feel very close to you when I see you, like an old friend I haven't seen for a long time."

"Now that Brother Shen mentioned that, I have the same feeling," He Kui immediately said tacitly.

"Since Brother He said so, we should visit each other more often in the future," said Mr. Shen enthusiastically.

After they had established a relationship, Master Shen felt that their relationship had improved a lot, so he said, "Brother He, you have been working so hard to sell this batch of salt. Why don't you just sell it to me? This way, you can save a lot of trouble and effort."

"That would be great!" He Kui slapped his thigh and said, "I'm just worried about how to sell this batch of salt. If Brother Shen can take over this batch of salt, it will be a great help to me. If the salt is sold so quickly, I can show my face to my superiors."

He Kui's attitude made Mr. Shen feel puzzled. He thought for a moment and asked carefully, "I wonder how much salt you have in this batch, brother?"

He Kui smiled slightly and said, "Not much, just one million jin."

(End of this chapter)