Chapter 58
The Youngest Son of Eunhaesang Trading Company Chapter 58
Chapter 58. Let's Catch the Rat (3)
The captain of Dan Trading Company was listening to a report from his subordinate.
“Salt?”
“That's the information he gave us. He said he heard it from the third son of Eunhaesang Trading Company. He said he got information from his superiors that buying salt in advance would make a lot of money.”
“Really?”
“An epidemic has begun in the Hadong region, and it is said that bathing in salt water is very effective against it.”
“Then the price of salt will go up.”
“Eunhae Trading Company says it will take about ten days to secure the funds to buy salt, so they want Dan Trading Company to buy salt first.”
The captain of the Dan Trading Company smiled at his subordinate's words.
“It was worth giving them more than usual.”
“I agree.”
All the information Yeong-po had gathered was accurate.
Therefore, he did not think that Yeong-po had given him false information out of spite.
Moreover, what they had given Yeong-po was undoubtedly five gold bars.
Still, merchants are always cautious people.
“Send someone to find out.”
“Yes, sir.”
On the third day, it was confirmed that the information about the work and salt in the Hadong region was true.
As a result, the price of salt began to rise slightly.
This was proof that the price of salt would continue to rise in the future.
“How much money do we have now?”
Captain Dan asked about the amount of remaining funds.
“I see. If I had known this would happen, I should have started buying salt as he said.”
“It's not too late. The epidemic is said to be spreading rapidly.”
After thinking for a moment, Captain Dan made a decision.
“Let's invest half of our remaining funds.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
I was in my uncle's office.
“How did it go?”
My uncle smiled at my question.
“They finally made their move.”
“They fell for our plan after all.”
I smiled wryly as I recalled what had happened a few days earlier.
Because of the gold I had stolen, Yeongpo became dissatisfied with the Dan Trading Company.
There was a reason why I replaced only four of the five gold bars with fake ones.
If all of them were fake, Yeong-po would have rushed to Dan Trading Company, and then our plan would have failed.
Of course, we could have changed our plan, but that would have been too much trouble.
However, one of the gold bars was real, which would cause misunderstanding.
Therefore, Yeongpo Hangsu, who was filled with hatred, was looking for dirt to throw at Dan's Trading Company, and my uncle and I provided him with that dirt.
When we were talking, Yeo Eung-am was watching his movements from under the roof.
He listened quietly to our conversation and smiled.
And Dan's Trading Company moved as I had expected.
“But,”
“Yes, uncle.”
“Is what you said before really true? That there will soon be major restrictions on selling salt?”
“Yes, it's true.”
“But with the price of salt rising, it seems like you could make a huge profit if you buy salt now, right?”
“Of course, it seems that way. But there are two things to consider here.”
I moistened my throat with some tea and continued.
“One is that the reason salt is needed is because of the epidemic, and the other is that salt is the item whose price is rising.”
My uncle thought about what I said for a moment, then looked at me with a look of horror.
“The imperial palace!”
“As I thought, you are my uncle.”
Yes.
The imperial palace will soon make a move.
“I anticipate that a salt monopoly will be implemented.”
Anticipate?
No, it will definitely be implemented.
That is why I had to come to Sichuan.
Salt is essential not only for sustaining life but also for everyday life.
If the price of salt rises, it is only natural that the lives of the common people will become more difficult.
If the price rises moderately, the imperial court will probably just watch and see what happens.
They will think that the merchants are just causing trouble again.
However, this time was different.
Rumors of an epidemic spread throughout the Central Plains, causing many people to search for salt more eagerly than usual. Merchants competed to buy salt, causing the price to skyrocket.
The merchants had a point, as they had to add a profit margin to the price of the salt they bought.
In that tense situation, an incident occurred that lit the fuse.
A scholar who had been living in obscurity submitted a petition to the emperor.
To summarize...
I need salt to support my elderly mother. His mother had no teeth, so the only thing she could eat was salt. However, he couldn't buy salt even with money, so he was sad that he couldn't take care of his mother. He asked the emperor to solve the problem.
That was the gist of it.
This incident became a very good excuse for the emperor to intervene in the matter.
The emperor immediately ordered an investigation, and as a result, a law was enacted.
That was the Salt Distribution Law.
First, salt is sold exclusively by a trading company directly under the imperial family. However, this only applies to wholesale.
Second, retailers must purchase salt from the trading company directly under the imperial family and have a sales permit issued by the trading company in order to sell salt.
Third, there is no limit to the amount of salt that can be sold wholesale, but there is a maximum amount that can be sold retail.
Fourth, violations of these regulations were punishable by national law.
To put it more bluntly, the salt monopoly system was a way for the imperial court to control salt and pocket the profits.
There were other minor details, but with the promulgation of this law, not only the trading companies that had been selling salt since before, but also the numerous trading companies that jumped into the salt market during the salt crisis, suffered enormous losses.
This was because they had invested a considerable amount of money to purchase salt, but were now unable to sell it.
There was only one option for disposing of the salt.
They had no choice but to hand it over to the trading companies directly affiliated with the imperial court.
Naturally, the trading companies directly affiliated with the imperial court purchased the salt at the price set by the emperor.
As a result, many trading companies went bankrupt.
This is the famous “tears of salt” incident that I experienced in the future.
Of course, those who had connections to the imperial palace knew about this move in advance and disposed of their salt.
However, those who did not have such connections had no choice but to suffer the consequences.
And there was no way that the Dan Trading Company had connections to the imperial palace.
Other merchants would never share such information.
In a world where there is no mercy, who would spread such information for the benefit of others?
The Dan Trading Company, which had just started buying salt, would buy even more.
And a month later.
There would be blood.
Our Eunhae Trading Company was safe from the storm caused by the salt incident.
That was thanks to my father's decision that “it is not right to profit from salt in this situation.”
The footnotes of Eunwolgak also supported my father's decision.
I love our trading company.
But this time, things had to be different.
Isn't a true merchant someone who can sell goods even to a tiger?
“Ah, but we need to be a little deceptive. If we make a move, the Dan Trading Company will follow without suspicion. So let's buy some salt ourselves.”
“Even if it's just for deception... In this situation, it's difficult for us to start buying salt. Won't people suffer even more because of us?”
My uncle shared my father's concerns.
“We will invest this salt elsewhere.”
“Where else?”
“We will distribute the salt, even if only a handful, to the poor people in the slums who are desperate for salt.”
“For free?”
“Yes, for free.”
My uncle thought about my words for a moment, then looked at me with admiration.
That's right.
Money isn't the only asset of a trading company.
Reputation is also a great asset.
This was a chance to restore our reputation, which had been damaged by false rumors about martial artists.
Furthermore, I was the only one who knew about this opportunity.
I couldn't let this chance slip away.
But why did my uncle look at me with such a burdened expression?
“Um, uncle?”
“I understand. I will do as you say.”
.
.
.
A short time later.
I led the branch office staff to the slum.
Behind me, several carts loaded with salt followed in a line.
Today, we would be distributing salt for free.
Behind me was Lee Jang-sung, the leader of Eunpungdae.
“Are you really going to give all of that away for free today?”
I nodded in response to Lee Jang-sung's question.
“Yes.”
“....”
Seeing that he had something to say, I smiled slightly.
“You feel sorry, don't you?”
“You're asking the obvious.”
“Don't feel sorry. It's all an investment.”
I continued.
“I'm a merchant, not a philanthropist. I'm doing this because I think it will all be profitable.”
Today, I plan to earn dozens or even thousands of times more than the value of the salt we are giving away for free.
“By the way, Sichuan is really hot. Aren't you hot, young master?”
“I'm fine.”
I had mastered the art of ice-making, so I didn't feel the heat much.
In contrast, the others were sweating profusely due to the hot and humid climate unique to Sichuan.
That is why Sichuan is one of the places where salt is greatly needed, so I can imagine how people will react to the free salt distribution today.
Soon, we arrived at the location we had scouted out in advance.
We set up tables and installed guide ropes so that people could line up in front of them.
This was something I had seen in the future, where wooden poles reaching waist height and red ropes were used to guide people to line up.
By setting up the guide ropes in a snake-like pattern, we were able to proceed with the event quickly and safely, rather than having people rush forward.
Bags of salt were piled up on the tables.
We placed small bags for the salt and filled them directly from the bags.
These bags were so small that they could only hold two spoonfuls of salt.
This was because we had to distribute it to as many people as possible.
We also made containers that could hold a fixed amount of salt to prevent complaints that the amount was different.
When we had collected a certain amount of salt, we distributed it first to the police officers who had come to help us today.
We asked the county magistrate for his cooperation in advance by telling him about today's event.
When doing something like this for the public, it is important to talk to the county office in advance to avoid any problems later.
Of course, a little money and salt changed hands in the process.
That is why Jihyeon Dae-in supported the police officers.
The police officers also value salt, so it is important to grease the wheels in advance to avoid problems in the future.
“Thank you for your help today.”
“Hahaha! Don't worry.”
“We will do our best.”
The people leading today's salt distribution event are my cousins.
My sister Hyang-ok asked me,
“But why do we have to be at the forefront?”
“It's for the good of everyone.”
“You're smart, so it can't be wrong to listen to you.”
With that, I stood at the place where the salt was being distributed.
Putting them at the forefront is for the future of the Sichuan branch.
By showing that the people of the Sichuan branch of the Eunhae Trading Company are working for Sichuan, we can inspire their loyalty.
Most of the people working in the Sichuan branch are from Sichuan, and the people they do business with are also from Sichuan.
And the people of Sichuan have a tendency to stick together.
In that situation, even though I married my aunt, who is from Sichuan, and accepted my uncle and his children as family, there was still a slight sense of distance between us.
The biggest reason I saw for this was the perception that they were “people who would take Sichuan's wealth to other regions.”
However, this perception can be changed by showing that the wealth earned in Sichuan is being used for the benefit of Sichuan.
Therefore, the people working in Sichuan had to be at the forefront of this effort.
It wasn't me, who would soon be leaving.
Everything was ready.
I ordered them to raise the flag I had prepared in advance.
Flutter!
The flag with the name Eunhae Trading Company fluttered in the wind.
I have a very good feeling about today.
.
.
.
“We are giving away salt!”
“We are giving away salt for free!”
“Come and get some!”
People hesitated.
They must have been suspicious that it was really free and that the salt was real.
They knew how much salt cost.
It is the poor who are most sensitive to the price of water.
“My goodness! Is that all salt?”
“They're giving it away for free? Are they crazy?”
“Come on, no way.”
I could hear their voices in my ears.
What was needed at that moment was a distraction.
Soon, the distractions we had arranged in advance appeared. They approached slowly and asked,
“Are you really giving away salt for free?”