Xu Fengwu laughed and said,"I won't hide it from you, Heavenly King. This is a wonderful technique that I came across by chance." One catty of coarse salt could be used to make five to six taels of refined salt, and the cost was very low.”
Chao Gai and Wu Yong were shocked.
During the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, the lowest price of coarse salt in Jingdong was 20 wen per jin, and the highest was 40 to 50 wen.
And the best refined salt cost more than a hundred coins per catty. Ordinary people could not afford it.
This was also because Shandong had the advantage of fish and salt since ancient times. Other places had even higher prices.
Chao Gai and the others bought and sold illegal salt. A pound of coarse salt only cost about ten wen, and the profit was very considerable. Even if there were sand and stones mixed in, it was far from being as crazy as official salt.
If it was really as Xu Fengwu said, a pound of coarse salt could produce five to six taels of refined salt, and the cost was not high, then there would definitely be huge profits.
Chao Gai calmed himself down and said,"May I ask how Chief Xu wants to cooperate?”
Xu Fengwu said," I want to buy coarse salt from the Heavenly King. Then, I want to make refined salt in Liangshan and sell it to the Heavenly King at a suitable price. The Heavenly King will sell it himself. How about that?"”
As time passed, more and more people would come to Mount Liangshan. Other than settling the people and training the minions, they would also need to forge weapons, armor, warships, bows, and crossbows in the future. All of these would cost a lot of money.
Although Liangshan had the merchants 'money to pay for the passage, the surrounding villages' respect, and the occasional robbery of tyrants and evil gentry, their monthly income was very considerable.
However, Xu Fengwu couldn't keep his eyes on what was in front of him, and he never complained about having too much money. Therefore, he definitely had to get involved in this profitable salt trade.
As such, Chao Gai, who was the big boss of Jing Dong, was naturally the best partner. This was a win-win cooperation for both parties.
Xu Fengwu believed that Chao Gai had no reason to refuse.
Sure enough, Chao Gai hesitated for a moment before agreeing. After all, this kind of white and high-grade salt would be able to sell even if it was transported to Bianliang in Tokyo.
In the Song Dynasty, the commoners at the bottom were indeed poor, but the people at the top were extremely rich.
After some discussion, Chao Gai sold the coarse salt to Xu Fengwu at five to six copper coins per catty. After it was refined, he would sell it to Chao Gai at ten times the price.
To Xu Fengwu, refining coarse salt into refined salt only required some labor and firewood. The cost was relatively small, but the profit was huge.
Chao Gai bought refined salt from Xu Fengwu at a price of 50 to 60 copper coins per catty. Even if he couldn't sell it for more than 100 copper coins, he could sell it for 80 to 91 catty, which was still more profitable than coarse salt.
After the two sides discussed the cooperation, they did not sign any contract. Both sides were big shots in the martial arts world. They said that they would keep their promises and would not do anything that went against their conscience.
In fact, other than refined salt, Xu Fengwu also had white sugar, which was more expensive than refined salt.
One had to know that the so-called sugar at this time was red with a hint of yellow or black brown sugar. Even the white sugar from Lingnan had a yellow color.
Even sugar of this quality was very precious. Only the rich and powerful could afford it.
Xu Fengwu knew how to make white sugar. He only needed to boil the sugar cane juice into black syrup, pour it into a tiled funnel after it coagulated, and then pour yellow mud water from the top. The black residue flowed from the funnel into the tank below, and the rest was white icing.
This was the Ming Dynasty's yellow mud water rinsing method. The white sugar obtained was very white. It was definitely unique in the Northern Song Dynasty, and there was no difficulty in operating it.
Of course, regarding the sale of white sugar, Xu Fengwu planned to handle it personally. He had a good impression of Chao Gai, but he couldn't put all his eggs in one basket.
The current Liang Mountain was still very weak. Although they had defeated the government army for a while, they could not compare to the Great Song. Therefore, Xu Fengwu needed a lot of money to make Liang Mountain stronger as soon as possible.
This way, Xu Fengwu would have the confidence to protect himself and even take down a family business to give an explanation to his brothers on the mountain.
Otherwise, even if he could be loyal for a moment, he still had to face reality. Although Liangshan did not lack food and clothing, he could not be a bandit for his entire life.
Just look at Song Jiang in the original novel. If he didn't mention the amnesty, Qin Ming, Guan Sheng, Huyan Zhuo, and the other generals of the imperial court, who would be willing to pay attention to him?
After the banquet, Xu Fengwu sent Chao Gai and Wu Yong down the mountain. He thought of the two people in the original novel. Just because they robbed Cai Jing's birthday, they abandoned their family business and went up the mountain. He wondered what would happen in the future.
"Birthday certificate…"
Xu Fengwu's heart skipped a beat. How could he have forgotten about this? That Grand Tutor Cai's birthday plan was to travel from Jeju to Tokyo by water every year.
In the past, he had been content to be a rich second-generation heir and had never thought about the birthday plan. Now that he had become the king of the mountain, how could he let go of this hundred thousand strings of gold beads?
Immediately, Xu Fengwu came to the Hall of Righteousness and called over the leaders. He then said,""The discussion with Heavenly King Chao just now reminded me of something.”
"What are you talking about, brother?" Du Qian asked.”
Xu Fengwu smiled." Do you know that every year on the 15th of June, Secretary Liang of the Daming Manor will present Cai Jing with a birthday gift?"”
Du Qian, Song Wan, and the others 'eyes lit up. One hundred thousand strings of strings was not a small amount. For the current Liangshan Lake, it would take three to four months to get this much just by relying on the merchants' money.
"Brother, how come we don't know about this birthday plan?" Du Qian asked. It's just that when Wang Lun was around, he didn't want to provoke the government, so he didn't dare to rob the birthday scroll. Could it be that brother wants to…"
Xu Fengwu nodded and said," These hundred thousand strings of gold and pearls are all the people's fat and grease that Minister Liang plundered. They are the ill-gotten gains. How can we not rob them?"”
"Since it's ill-gotten gains, there's no need for us to say anything more. We'll immediately bring our brothers and rob them.”Ruan Xiaoqi immediately shouted.
"Naturally, I have to rob this birthday scroll, but…"
Xu Fengwu paused for a moment and looked at everyone before continuing,"Right now, our Liang Mountain needs to accumulate strength. For the time being, we must not attract the attention of the imperial court. Therefore, we must be extremely careful this time.”
Xu Fengwu wasn't afraid of being surrounded by the government troops, but he didn't want to cause more trouble. Now, Liangshan needed time to develop. After the development period, he could slowly come and play.
Everyone nodded when they heard this. Du Qian asked,""As for the arrangements, please tell me what to do.”
Xu Fengwu looked at Zhu Gui and said," Brother Zhu Gui, immediately send a few trusted aides to inquire about the birthday plan. It's already the 5th of June. The birthday plan should be here soon."”
"Don't worry, big brother. I'll do it now.”Zhu Gui immediately nodded.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]