Chapter Thirty-Three Tavern

  At noon, there were still a few people in the store. As soon as Li Meng entered the door, he blocked the sunlight coming from the doorway, and the light in the room dimmed. These people suddenly looked over here at the door. When they saw who had come, the two tables by the door immediately stood up.

  The boss behind the counter was about to greet him, but immediately shut his mouth. The people who come to this store to drink are all rough men, and after a few cups of yellow soup, scolding and fighting are common occurrences. Maybe the new person is blocking the sunlight, making others dissatisfied, and when they're done making trouble, he'll go out and clean up himself.

  All these people who wanted to see the excitement did not expect that the two men standing at the table would have a smile on their faces, their waists bent as if they were about to kneel on the ground. Their voices were even more sour than the old vinegar stored in the shop, and they laughed and said:

  "Brother Li, what brings you here today? With Chinese New Year approaching, the brothers here still have a few gifts to send over to your place."

  A few men stood up, and the people in the store were also familiar with them. They were salt merchants from Changyi who came to Fengmeng Town to sell salt. It is said that they were sent by a certain big village, with more than 20 people, all of whom had practiced martial arts and were considered a local tyrant in Fengmeng Town, and no one dared to offend them.

  The result was that Li Meng led a group of forty people to block the way home, and as soon as they met, more than a dozen were knocked down. When they wanted to fight again, the bamboo pole on the other side had already been replaced with a sharp head. Seeing the dark color on the bamboo pole made anyone's heart cold, and Li Meng's conditions were immediately agreed to.

  Simply fighting the most is to agree on the condition, after finishing that fight, when these salt merchants from Changyi go to Lingshan Salt Field to sell salt again, halfway through, two people suddenly fall ill, Lingshan Salt Field doesn't care, Pingmeng Town has no doctor, in a state of anxiety and helplessness, they can only grit their teeth and go to the nearby village to ask Li Meng.

  Who would have thought that Li Meng was not ambiguous, went to other thousand households to find a doctor to see a doctor, and arranged for someone to take care of him. The urgent illness may not be a serious illness, and timely treatment will not cost his life. The leader of the salt merchants in Changyi was truly grateful, wanting to give Li Meng this batch of salt goods for free, but was rejected by Li Meng, who smiled and said:

  "We've made a rule that whoever gets sick will be treated with this money, no matter who it is, and we'll do it without hesitation."

  Not everyone did this, the salt merchants of Changyi begged and pleaded until only Li Meng's family lent a hand. After this transaction returned to Changyi, the owner of the village also knew about it and felt that Li Meng was not only strong but also righteous, so he ordered his men to show respect, which led to today's encounter in the hotel.

  Li Meng smiled and waved his hand, saying:

  "Don't be polite, I have an appointment with someone, you guys just use it yourselves!"

  Now Li Meng's words and deeds gradually have the style of this era, Changyi's salt merchant has a respectful attitude, which makes people in the store, whether they know or not who Li Dage is, feel that Li Meng is an extraordinary person. The shop owner also walked out with a smile on his face and said politely:

  "It's Old Man Li, come on in, your seat is already reserved."

  Li Meng nodded and smiled in thanks. The boss, clearly not expecting the person in front of him to be so polite, was momentarily at a loss for words. Just then, someone nearby whispered:

  "This man is so polite, could he still be some kind of role model? I think he's about the same as that Hou Shan."

  "Shut up, you don't want to live anymore, this is Li Erlang, the big brother of Yan Gunzi."

  "...pay up and leave quickly, I don't dare stay here..."

  What is called the inner room is actually the owner of the shop who has converted his living room into a single room, in other words, it's just a closed room with a table inside. Li Meng sat there, ordered some peanuts and dried fish, a pot of wine, and waited for the two salt merchants from Wang's and Kong's families.

  Before long, the two shopkeepers walked into the house together, laughing and chatting. The Wang and Kong families, who were salt merchants, although they were only shopkeepers in Fengmeng Town, still looked different from the military and civilian households in this area. People here were busy with their lives, dark and thin, almost everyone was like that, but these two shopkeepers were white and chubby, with a well-bred look, which was quite rare.

  A few months ago, these two shopkeepers wouldn't have deigned to meet a private salt merchant. Although they were just shopkeepers themselves, now they are the gods of wealth for these salt merchants, salt workers and salt yards. Even that arrogant Magistrate Mu has to be polite to them.

  The salt depot spends several thousand taels of silver every year, and with this silver spent, why can't it be considered a god of wealth.

  But now it's different, whether it's the Wang family salt merchants or the Kong family, they all found that recently, those who came to deliver salt here, except for the salt ponds and salt fields, were only those who came to Xue Jiaqian's place.

  The salt sent by Yan Ding and Yan Chang contains sand, so it's already good if we can sell it at a flat price. The reason we still buy from them is just to spend money for convenience.

  The salt brought by the Xue family's thousand households was of good quality and increasing in quantity. The Wang and Kong families' salt had their own sales channels, but Li Meng's salt was abundant. As a businessman, he had this sensitivity: Li Meng controlled all the sources of goods, and since it was set up in Fengmang Town to collect salt, it must be aimed at the coastal households in this area. Li Meng held all the sources of goods, and they had nowhere else to buy salt. This clearly meant that the buyer and seller could switch positions at any time, and the price was no longer determined by the buyer.

  In fact, these two salt merchants had thought of other ways, such as buying salt from outside salt traders halfway and selling it at a slightly higher price. In short, they wanted to let the salt traders run errands for them, but these salt traders who were usually bold and lawless shook their heads one after another, fearing that they would not be able to escape.

  It's not easy to offend Li Meng, and if he were just a big salt merchant, it would be easier to deal with. The two shopkeepers have dozens of capable apprentices, but Li Meng is the notorious leader of the salt gang. There are rumors that they know about several groups of salt merchants from outside who were beaten until they fled in disarray, and more than a dozen salt workers whose whereabouts are unknown, which is enough to make people fearful.

  Today, Li Meng invited them. Although they were nervous in their hearts, they still had to come politely. As soon as the two entered the house, Li Meng immediately smiled and stood up with a fist, saying:

  "Today I've invited two bosses here to gather together, the place is a bit simple, don't mind it."