Chapter Fourteen: The Perfect Salt

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Yingtian Prefecture, Baishan Avenue.
A group of riders dressed in animal pelts, their appearance strange, spoke broken Mandarin.
Three horse-drawn carts, each loaded with seven or eight large crates.
The lids were opened to reveal piles of gleaming fine white salt, dazzling to the eyes!
The spectacle drew all the townsfolk passing by the market square.
Everyone stopped to watch but dared not approach too closely.
Such a precious commodity was clearly valuable.
If even a bit were lost, it would be impossible to make up for the loss by selling it!
“Snowflake fine salt! Come and see, the finest salt!”
The disguised Imperial Guardsman stood atop a cart, calling out to the crowd.
“Salt? Is this really salt?”
“Impossible! How can salt be this white? Not a speck of impurity?”
“Yeah! And so fine!”
“It looks so soft, softer than freshly fallen snowflakes…!”
The townsfolk shook their heads in disbelief.
Only when the guardsman handed out samples and let everyone taste a bit did they finally believe it!
“My heavens! This really is salt!”
“I never dreamed salt could taste neither bitter nor harsh, with a hint of salty sweetness!”
“Could this salt have come from the Celestial Palace…?”
The people, unaccustomed to the world, always linked anything unfamiliar to the divine.
“What Celestial Palace? This salt was brought by us brothers from the Western Regions!”
The guardsman in animal pelts explained.
“Western Regions? That’s a long journey; the price must be high, right?”
“Not much, one tael of silver for one tael of salt!”
“One tael of silver per tael of salt? That means ten taels per pound?”
The townsfolk did a quick mental calculation and were aghast.
Ten taels of silver—no matter how many men in the family work without eating for half a year, they couldn’t afford that!
“Ah! This salt is indeed good, but the price is truly steep!”
“Right, we’ll stick to the cheaper inferior salt at a hundred wen per pound!”
“Such fine salt, probably not even the palace has it; a higher price is reasonable!”
“Exactly! Coming all the way from the Western Regions, just feeding the horses and men costs a lot; all that must be factored into the price…”
Though lamenting their inability to buy, the people understood.
“Who dares sell salt at ten taels per pound?”
Just then, a loud voice rang out from the crowd.
Strong and full of power, one could tell without seeing that it belonged to a large, stout man!

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The crowd instinctively parted to make way.
Several Imperial Guards exchanged glances, a faint smile hidden from notice.
This was the person they had been waiting for: Young Master Lu of the Lu Grain Company, Lu Mancang!
He was also the cousin of the Crown Princess Lu!
With him present, how could the Lu family not receive the message?
With no obstacles, Lu Mancang strode forward, eyes widening at the sight of the carts, “This… is salt?”
“Indeed! The finest refined salt from the Western Regions!” the guardsman proudly introduced.
Lu Mancang’s interest was piqued immediately. “Let me taste some!”
He dipped a finger and sampled it, his eyes instantly shining, “Excellent salt! Excellent salt!”
“But worth ten taels of silver?”
“Yes! Yes! Absolutely worth it!”
The pride he had just displayed vanished as he praised without restraint.
Then he withdrew a hundred-tael banknote from his pocket and handed it over, “Give me ten pounds to start!”
“Right away!”
The guardsman took out a paper bag, filled it with ten pounds of snow-white refined salt, and handed it to Lu Mancang.
“Such boldness from Young Master Lu!”
“The Lu family truly is a major household of Yingtian Prefecture, spending so lavishly!”
“Young Master Lu, please look out for our Fushun Tavern’s business…”
As Lu Mancang passed through the crowd, words of praise rang in his ears.
But once he boarded the cart and departed, those praises quickly twisted into something else!
“Tch… all dirty money, what’s there to be proud of?”
“Exactly! Grain prices suddenly rising today must be led by the Lu family!”
“Right! I hope the salt chokes him to death…!”
The townsfolk had all heard about the rise in grain prices.
The cause was still unknown.
No panic or grain hoarding broke out.
“Give me two pounds!”
“I want one pound too!”
“Is the Lu family the only one who can afford this salt in Yingtian Prefecture? I’ll take three pounds!”
After Lu Mancang left, several other wealthy young men also raised their hands, eager to buy several pounds each.
“Our tavern will take two pounds as well. Anyone wanting dishes cooked with this fine salt should come to us!”
“This salt is whiter than the skin of our *** girls; we have to get some too!”
“Our Tongfu Inn wants two pounds!”
“Pack me a pound as well…!”
Soon, all the leading shopkeepers were scrambling for it.

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With the fine salt now on the market, it would spread throughout Yingtian Prefecture by the next day.
Anyone who could cook with this salt would win customers.
For the sake of business, they were willing to go all out!
Among them were also many servants and maids from noble households.
After all, few knew about the court’s refined salt production.
By the end of the day, all six thousand pounds of salt on the three carts were sold out.
When the Imperial Guard Mao Xiang reported this news to Zhu Yuanzhang, who was reviewing memorials, the old emperor suddenly stood up with a start.
Excited, he said, “How much did you say was sold just now?”
“Your Majesty, in Yingtian Prefecture alone, six thousand pounds of refined salt were sold in one day, yielding a profit of sixty thousand taels of silver!”
Dressed in Flying Fish robes, Mao Xiang reported respectfully without a word wasted.
Other prefectures and states were too far to get accurate figures.
Only Yingtian Prefecture’s data was available now.
But this could be used for an estimate!
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang’s hand trembled as he held his brush, “By this calculation, with 140 prefectures in the Ming, the total profit could be about eight million taels?”
At this time, the Ming’s annual tax revenue was only around forty million taels.
Now, one day’s earnings were eight million taels—what a staggering concept!
In just five days, they could make the equivalent of the Ming’s entire annual tax revenue!
“Your Majesty, the purchasing power in other prefectures among the nobility is certainly not as strong as in Yingtian Prefecture. An estimate of five million taels is still reasonable.”
Mao Xiang was meticulous, taking into account local conditions.
Even so, in eight days, they could make a year’s worth of tax revenue!
After the initial excitement, Zhu Yuanzhang’s expression darkened.
He slammed his fist heavily on the dragon desk, producing a dull sound, “Hmph! Eighty percent of our Ming’s annual taxes come from the common people! Those nobles quietly amass great wealth but shrink away when asked to donate to disaster relief! Now that there’s something good, they’re willing to pay a high price!”
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger! The Crown Prince’s actions are precisely helping the court extract money from those wealthy households. Please do not be angry!”
Mao Xiang spoke to soothe him.
“Yes! If not for our Crown Prince, who else could draw money from those rich families’ pockets…?”
Mentioning Zhu Xiongying, the old emperor smiled again, “What is the cost of refining this salt?”
“Your Majesty, this refined salt is currently purified from coarse salt, costing about five thousand taels. In the future, when mined salt is extracted, the cost will be nearly zero!”
The purification is done by the Ministry of Works.
The Imperial Guards handle the sales.
There are virtually no labor costs.
Even if they did nothing, salaries would still be paid as usual!