He changed Tiwat

On the day Baiwen went to investigate, he also witnessed the saltworks workers "pulling salt" for the fishermen.

The process was fine, the weighing was fine, the bag of salt that Baiwen saw showed 108 jin on the scale... But Baiwen was someone who had been trained by Ningguang, had presided over auctions of Ningguang Merchant Guild, and had weighed many gold and silver utensils, so his eye for quality had been honed to some extent.

According to Bai Wen's estimation, that bag of salt probably weighed close to 120 jin (60 kg).

So Baiwen stopped the bag of salt and weighed it herself. The result was that the weight she weighed was 115 jin... What happened to the extra 7 jin?

Baiwen's gaze was fixed on the weighing scale.

According to her investigation, the weights used at "Yaoguang Saltworks" were 17 liang to 1 jin. In other words, the salt weighed out here was 1 liang more than 1 jin. For every 100 jin of salt they sold, they actually gave away 6 jin more than 1 jin!

And most importantly, there are actually normal weights in the salt fields.

This shows that the scale varies from person to person. For some, it weighs sixteen ounces per pound, while for others it weighs seventeen ounces per pound.

Chapter 359 It's not scarcity that's worrisome, but inequality [4k]

The person in charge of managing the "Yaoguang Saltworks" is named Fan Zongcheng. He is over fifty years old and is a senior steward in Yinyuan Hall. He has been managing the "Yaoguang Saltworks" for twenty years. He is a portly man with a kind face.

Upon hearing that there was a problem with the weights on the saltworks' scales, he immediately rushed to the scene. The first thing he did upon seeing Baiwen was to slap the clerk in charge of "drawing the salt," followed by an apology: "It is my fault for neglecting my duties and failing to notice the problem with these weights. I am willing to accept the punishment..."

"And you, all of you..." he said, pointing at the group of petty officials around him and shouting, "What have you been doing all this time? How could you let such substandard weights slip in? Tell me, did you illegally mint weights and collude with the fishermen for profit?"

The clerk who had been slapped was named Jin Weian. Upon hearing this, he covered his face and protested, "Sir, how could I dare to forge weights? The weights in our saltworks have been used for hundreds of years! I've always followed the established procedures. You can ask everyone if you don't believe me!"

Jin Wei'an seemed to be a leader among the clerks, and the clerks around him nodded in agreement, with some even picking up other weights to compare.

Liyue doesn't have electronic scales or anything like that. The weighing tools they use are still the steelyard balance and platform scale that have been passed down from ancient times. Small bags of salt are weighed with a steelyard balance, while large bags of salt are weighed with a platform scale.

The scale that malfunctioned was a platform scale, a simple mechanical device that works based on the principle of an unequal-arm lever.

Workers placed the salt-filled "bags" on a load-bearing plate on the ground, while the clerk in charge of inspection suspended the weight on a cantilever about half a meter off the ground. By manually adding or subtracting the weight of the weight and moving the sliding weight, the weighing lever was kept balanced, and the weight of the salt bag was calculated.

Those weights were all cast in brass, made from a complete set of molds, consisting of two 100-jin weights, two 50-jin weights, one 25-jin weight, two 20-jin weights, one 10-jin weight, and one 5-jin weight, for a total of nine.

The bottom of each weight is marked with its casting date; they are all products from the 35XX year of the Liyue Calendar, which is over two hundred years ago.

Of these nine weights, three were faulty: one weighing 100 jin, one weighing 50 jin, and one weighing 20 jin. One of each of these was cast according to the standard of 17 liang per jin.

Looking at these weights, Baiwen remained outwardly calm, but sighed inwardly—she knew this would be the outcome.

If we were to investigate this matter—we would have to investigate the craftsmen responsible for casting the weights two hundred years ago, the officials responsible for inspecting the weights, and the subordinates of the Ginhara Agency who used the weights over the past two hundred years… Obviously, Hyakumon can’t dig people out of their graves to hold them accountable.

Fan Zongcheng repeatedly claimed dereliction of duty, naturally indicating that he would only take responsibility for oversight. His reprimands of his subordinates were, in reality, a way of pinning the blame on the problematic weights, shifting all the blame onto a predecessor who had died two hundred years ago. This group, using this method of fraud, had clearly already planned how to deflect responsibility should the scheme be exposed.

In other words, the saltworks have been doing this for over two hundred years, and they are very experienced. Moreover, this "large scale in, small scale out" method may have already been an old tradition two hundred years ago.

Saltworks officials used faulty scales to sell salt to their partners, smuggling out seven extra pounds for every hundred pounds sold. These extra pounds were then given away at the low price of fish salt, becoming smuggled salt. Smugglers used this salt to sell as smuggled salt or to pickle fish, but always at the official price, making huge profits.

The practice of sharing profits with officials of the Ginhara-no-Taiwan government has long been a stable system of vested interests.

As for why Baiwen knew all this, it was naturally because she had intelligence—information that her good friend Baishi had told her. And Baishi knew this, naturally at Ningguang's behest.

The reason she was able to spot the problematic "salt-picking" process so accurately was because Ningguang had planted spies in the salt field long ago.

Among the saltworks clerks present was a man named Li Zhongzhao, who was Ningguang's informant. It was he who spread the word about the smuggled salt deal that was taking place today.

Li Zhongzhao was not an intelligence agent like Phil Gaudette of Wangshu Inn. In fact, he was just a civil servant who had studied hard for years to pass the unified examination, racked his brains to pull strings, and finally got assigned to the Yinyuan Hall.

In terms of benefits and salary, civil servants in the Ginhara Agency are actually much better off than those in the other eight agencies. Many people come here seeking stability and are content with their secure jobs, without caring about anything else.

—But if you have even a little bit of "ambition" in your heart, especially if you have a wife at home who urges you to "be ambitious", then living in the Ginhara Hall can be quite a torment.

As a department controlled by the descendants of the Salt God, the Ginwon Hall has a distinction similar to "bloodline." To put it bluntly, those with the bloodline of the Salt God's descendants are superior and are given administrative roles. For example, Fan Zongcheng is a descendant of the Salt God's descendants. Even a minor official like Jin Weian, who is responsible for specific tasks, has a higher status than outsiders like Li Zhongzhao because of his lineage as a descendant of the Salt God's descendants.

As for the profit-sharing of the smuggled salt, regardless of who gets the lion's share or who gets the scraps, it never ends up with the migrant workers, and of course, they won't spread the word. These are all things that Li Zhongzhao has secretly observed and analyzed over the past ten years.

Li Zhongzhao never expected that after working so hard to get into Yinyuan Hall, he thought he had landed a lucrative position, but instead he was discriminated against. Not only was he not eligible for promotion, but he was also constantly being bossed around, which fueled his resentment.

He reported the saltworks fraud not for the sake of legal fairness and justice, but because if he could get rid of those salt god's descendants, he would have a chance to take the vacated positions.

Human nature is like this: people are not worried about scarcity, but about inequality. Unequal distribution of spoils is the most deadly thing.

Several years ago, he wrote several anonymous letters of denunciation and sent them to the General Affairs Department, attempting to bring down Fan Zongcheng's faction. These letters ended up in Ningguang's hands. After Ningguang discovered his identity, she secretly contacted him, instructing him to gather intelligence and wait for the right opportunity—now, that opportunity had arrived.

Baiwen clapped his hands and summoned the Qianyan soldiers who had come to inspect the area. He spoke with an air of official business: “Steward Fan, I need to close the Yaoguang Saltworks for a few days. All these tokens need to be confiscated. You, the clerk in charge of salt distribution, the workers carrying the salt, and the fishermen who bought the salt all need to come with us back to the General Affairs Department for investigation.”

“This… cooperating with the investigation is of course the proper course, but closing the saltworks requires the order of Director Yinyuan… As you know, the saltworks are closely related to the people’s livelihood. If closing them causes any losses, it will be difficult for me to bear the responsibility.” Fan Zongcheng gave Bai Wen a hard but not soft rebate. The problems in the saltworks were certainly not limited to just the weight. Who knew what the closed investigation would find out? He had to buy time to clean up the mess.

Bai Wen snorted coldly and took out an official letter from his pocket.

“I have Lord Tianquan Ningguang’s warrant. Deacon Fan should know that Yinyuan Hall is also one of the eight gates under the Seven Star Government. Yinyuan Hall is no bigger than the Seven Star Government, is it?”

Upon seeing the warrant, Fan Zongcheng knew perfectly well that Ningguang had planned this all along and was clearly after the "Yaoguang Saltworks." Otherwise, why would she have even prepared the "arrest warrant" in advance?

But he still tried to make a last-ditch effort to salvage the situation.

Fan Zongcheng leaned closer to Baiwen, his small eyes narrowing into slits on his round face, and said in a low voice, "Miss Baiwen, you may not know, but I have been in charge of this salt field for over twenty years. Back then, Lord Ningguang resided in Yaoguang Beach, and I developed some acquaintance with him. I believe Lord Ningguang will understand my difficulties. Could you please make an exception and allow me to arrange the salt field affairs before cooperating with the investigation..."

He was referring to the time when Ningguang was still the fishmonger at Yaoguang Beach, but what he was implying was not about selling fish.

Baiwen shook his head.

"We can talk when we get to the General Affairs Department. Take him away."

With a wave of her hand, soldiers stepped forward and detained those involved.

Fan Zongcheng could only give a wink to his subordinates in the distance, signaling them to quickly inform the higher-ups of Yinyuan Hall. He knew in his heart that "Yaoguang Saltworks" and he were probably only the beginning.

Han Fulai closed the newspaper, lost in thought.

The newspaper was delivered to him yesterday, while the "Yaoguang Saltworks" incident must have happened a few days earlier.

Judging from the dates, the problem was discovered a few days after Ningguang announced that she would be in charge of the tax audit—Han Fulai would not believe it wasn't premeditated.

Then, recalling what Ningguang had told him at the "Heyu Teahouse"—"to pluck three stars in a month"—based on his understanding of Ningguang, if this woman decided to take action, the "Yaoguang Salt Field" incident was merely a prelude, and there must be a long series of follow-up plans behind it.

It's unclear how far Ningguang has prepared—rumors and a minor saltworks corruption case alone probably won't be enough to shake the stance of a Seven Stars; this is merely a stick used to stir up trouble.

When a snake is startled, it will bare its fangs and bite.

But Ningguang must have already anticipated this step.

—So it seems that what Ningguang wants is probably a counterattack from her opponent?

As he was thinking, someone knocked on the door of his temporary office.

The visitor was the secretary's assistant at Yuehai Pavilion, who brought him today's newspaper and documents.

As the Deputy Director of the Moonlit Pavilion, reading newspapers and internal documents to understand the current events in Liyue is one of Han Fulai's daily tasks. If Liyue had a television, Han Fulai's work would probably include watching local news and paying attention to public opinion every day... In ancient China, this would be called "reading the official gazette," and in modern times, it would be called "studying internal reports."

In Yuehai Pavilion, there was someone specifically assigned to deliver these messages to him. But now that he has gone to the "Guili New District" and is living in temporary prefabricated houses with the workers, the secretary and assistant in Yuehai Pavilion who are responsible for delivering documents will have to work harder and travel much farther.

The makeshift prefab houses were hardly an office environment; at best, they were just cramped single dormitories. Han Fulai didn't need to make things so difficult for himself, as both the food and accommodation were far inferior to those at Yue Haiting's place—but Ke Qing insisted on eating and living with the workers on the construction site, so he had no choice but to accompany her.

Of course, from his perspective as the founder of the "Liyue Laborers' Association," living, eating, and working alongside the laborers would also be beneficial for him in gaining popular support.

He flipped through the newspaper, the headline of which was sensational: "Yaoguang Saltworks Supervisor Embezzlement Case: 68.1 Billion in 23 Years."

This refers to Fan Zongcheng, the manager of the Yaoguang Saltworks, who colluded with officials at the saltworks to embezzle salt taxes, totaling 68.1 billion Mora.

Han Fulai clicked his tongue and casually asked Yue Haiting's secretary and assistant, who was delivering the newspaper, "What was your annual salary again?"

The visitor honestly replied, "Including the year-end bonus, it should be over 11 million Mora."

Han Fulai nodded. This was the salary of a junior secretary at Yuehaiting, 800,000 Mora per month, plus a double salary and bonus at the end of the year, which amounted to about this.

"If you want to earn 60 billion Mora, you'd have to work for over 6,000 years."

The secretary gave a wry smile: "Deputy Minister Han is joking. The Emperor's lifespan is only a little over six thousand years..."

Han Fulai laughed as well: "That's right. If just one saltworks manager has embezzled so much, how much would it be if the entire Yinyuan Hall did the same? Tsk, it's terrifying to even think about."

Even with his salary doubled and the generous subsidies from Keqing, his annual income is still less than 30 million Mora. 68.1 billion Mora would take him over two thousand years to earn...

Just think, he's now a successor of the Salt God, so why are the Salt God's followers in Ginhara Hall doing better than him, a successor of the deity? He'll feel resentful!

However, the salt god's followers were unaware that their god's legacy had already fallen to him.

The secretary shook his head and didn't say anything, so Han Fulai let him go back to work.

He then flipped through the documents, one of which recorded the investigation process of Fan Zongcheng and others.

At first, Fan Zongcheng and his accomplices refused to admit to embezzlement. It wasn't until Bai Wen found a cellar under his ancestral tablets and unearthed a mountain of Mora from it that they confessed. The amount of cash he had hidden alone was over 10 billion Mora. The source of this enormous wealth was unclear and could not be denied, so they finally confessed.

As the manager of the saltworks, Fan Zongcheng's annual income, including his salary, subsidies, and management dividends, was over 50 million Mora. Although it was not as much as those wealthy merchants, it was still much better than that of ordinary businessmen. The annual net profit of grocery store owners like Bolai and Dongsheng might not even be as high as his income.

In addition to his benefits as a civil servant and manager of a state-owned enterprise, his standard of living was already quite high in Liyue. But people are never satisfied.

For over twenty years, Fan Zongcheng's methods of embezzling salt taxes were quite simple, falling into two categories. One was to use the method of using large and small scales to collude with fishermen and merchants in related industries, collecting kickbacks on smuggled salt; the other was to use the fishermen's "deposits" like a bank to create a pile of smuggled salt that was not recorded in the Yinyuan Hall's records.

Chapter 360 A Sigh, a Self-Laugh, a Single Word of Stupidity [4k]

Speaking of this second method of embezzlement, it was quite creative. Even Han Fulai thought it was a waste of their talents not to be bank managers.

The annual salt production of the salt fields is recorded, and every transaction must be reconciled. The Baishui Hall will check these records. All the procedures involved are documented and cannot be altered arbitrarily.

However, if the sold salt is returned, there are loopholes that can be exploited.

Fishermen receive a fixed amount of salt based on a ration coupon. Any overpayment is refunded, but any underpayment is not collected. That is, if a fisherman receives 300 jin (150 kg) of salt but only uses 200 jin, the remaining 100 jin can be returned to the saltworks, which will store it for him and he can retrieve it later. Since fishermen pay salt tax and fish tax on their salt, fraudulently claiming salt will result in financial loss and fines.

The storage conditions at the salt fields are certainly better than at fishermen's homes, so honest fishermen would indeed return any excess salt they received to the salt fields for storage.

The fish salt that is deposited back is equivalent to the fishermen's savings in a bank.

Fishermen's fishing is dependent on the weather; sometimes they catch a boat full of fish, and sometimes they go for many days without catching a single fish—this is the norm. Therefore, the time when fishermen use their "savings" is unpredictable, just like when people deposit money in a bank and don't know when they will withdraw it.

Different fishermen have different fishing times and catches, so it's impossible for them all to flock to the salt fields to "exchange" for salt.

This made it easier for the salt fields to use the fishermen's "savings".

Just as bank depositors cannot know exactly how much reserve money is in the bank's vault, fishermen have no idea where the "deposits" in the salt fields are being used. These fishermen's "deposits" are being smuggled out by the salt field managers and sold as smuggled salt.

Most importantly, these stored fish salts have already been issued from the warehouse according to the accounts. When the Baishui Hall comes to check the accounts, they can only find the records of issuance. Safeguarding the fishermen's stored salt is a public service and does not count as "entry into the accounts," so there is no record of it in the accounts.

These stored salts are only recorded by the fishermen who are "depositors" and the salt field managers. As long as the salt field managers do not report or expose them, the salt field will have an extra batch of "non-existent salt"—just as banks make money from money, salt fields make money from salt.

As for why this loophole has remained undiscovered for centuries, it's not because it's particularly ingenious, but because it facilitated the "official-to-private salt trade."

When the "Salt Inspector" of Baishui Hall goes to check the accounts, he just goes through the motions and pockets a few red envelopes. He might just have enough money for a down payment in Liyue Harbor. Who would bother to take it seriously?

—This time, however, the "Salt Inspector" Bai Wen came specifically for this matter, clearly intending to target Yinyuan Hall.

Han Fulai closed the file, sighed, and knew that the reason this corruption case was exposed was because of political struggle, not because of any fairness or justice.

This is just one move by Ningguang. How will her opponent, the Rou Ran of Tianji Star, the actual controller of the Salt God's remnants in Yinyuan Hall, respond to this move?

The Rouran were playing chess in a pearl-adorned boat.

As a scion of a prominent family and the renowned owner of the Pearl Pavilion, it was only natural that he would meet with refined scholars and gentlemen regularly and be proficient in the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

The chess set used by this noble young master to entertain his distinguished guests must be extraordinary. The chessboard is made primarily of century-old fragrant cypress trees from the Fallen Star Valley in Mondstadt, mixed with the finest wood from the Azure Plains. The board has a beautiful color, unique wood grain, and a subtle, elegant fragrance, making it truly refined.

Yunzi is made of obsidian and giant clam shell. The black pieces are shiny and the white pieces are very lustrous. The cost of making this set of chess pieces alone is more than 20 million Mora. Of course, for people who can play chess with such chess pieces, money is the least important thing.

Rou Ran held a chess piece between two fingers and gently tapped it down, making a "tap" sound on the chessboard.

This move, placed diagonally opposite another black stone, is a "sharp" move.

In Go, there is a saying: "Gold corners, silver edges, grass belly." The two players are now vying for control of the layout in the lower right corner of the board.

Rouran responded to this "sharp" move precisely because of Bai Zi's earlier aggressive attack from the small corner of his eye. His response was solid and stable; although it seemed slow, it was flawless upon closer inspection.

The middle-aged scholar sitting opposite him, fanning himself with a folding fan, let out a soft "Eh" upon seeing this move.

This person was none other than Song Zutao, the Star of Heavenly Pivot.

He was fond of dabbling in culture and had put in a lot of effort in chess. When he made that flying hook move, he had anticipated several common responses from Rouran. He thought Rouran would directly confront him head-on and engage in close combat, or open up two spaces with a high clamp and take control of the outside. He had his own corresponding variations to follow. However, he did not expect Rouran to make a move that was beyond his expectations.

—If this move were in another world, it would be called "Shusaku's Sharp Move," a famous move by Honinbo Shusaku, the Japanese Go master, which influenced the opening strategies of later Go players for over a hundred years.

Zu Tao hesitated for a moment, then launched a horizontal attack from the outside, while Black responded without hesitation.

The three black pieces surround the star point, forming a triangular shape in the lower right corner of the board, resembling both an open pocket and a tiger's mouth ready to devour its prey.

In Go terminology, this type of move is called "Tiger".

With just two moves, Rouran had already stabilized their position against Zu Tao's attack.

Zu Tao cupped his hands and smiled at Rou Ran, saying, "I have learned a lot from you. When you defend, you can take the territory; when you attack, you can take the outside influence. With just this one move, your chess skills have far surpassed mine."

Rou Ran waved his hand and said, "Brother Zu Tao, you are too modest."

Zu Tao then asked, "So, the subsequent ko fights are also governed by the same principles?"

Rouran nodded: "The situation is like a game of chess."

Jiang Ziyuan, the Kaiyang Star, who was watching from the sidelines, touched the back of his bald head, looking somewhat impatient: "What kind of witty banter are you two exchanging?"