Chapter Fifty: Setting Up a Card Game

  Li Meng finally became somewhat interested, recently the news from Hou Shan's side reported that the salt merchants from Pingdu Prefecture had not come for a month. He was still pondering the reason why, as Laizhou Prefecture is also adjacent to the Bohai Sea in the north and can produce salt by boiling seawater, it seems they went to buy salt from other households instead.

  As he watched Li Meng put down his chopsticks, the attention shifted over, Ning Qiangui felt a sense of relief in his heart, and then became more excited, it seemed that what he had been racking his brains for several days was not in vain.

  "Lord Li, our family's salt farm is producing a large quantity of salt. If we sell as much as we produce, it will be a rich source of wealth, enough for my brothers to spend. However, there is one condition for this sale: the salt from other families must not be allowed to enter."

  At this point, not only Li Meng, but also Chen Liu and Wang Hai put down their chopsticks and listened carefully. Ning Qian's heart was excited, but he still had to keep his calm demeanor and said:

  "Block the traffic artery, control the salt fields of Haicang and Yuer town. The two salt fields on that side were closed for two years during Kong Youde's rebellion in Dengzhou, and they have not recovered to this day. Sir, we should make an effort to make them never open again."

  Upon hearing this, Li Meng slightly furrowed his brow. What Ning Qiangu said was something he had thought about before, but many details were impossible to resolve. Although Ning Qiangu seemed to analyze things clearly, there was no concrete method of implementation, which meant it was all just empty talk. Just as he was pondering this, Ning Qiangu pulled out a piece of paper and said calmly:

  "Adhesives, ink, large and small Guhe River, large and small Bahe River, major salt transportation, human and animal power are all huge expenses. The most convenient way is to take the waterway. As long as we control the waterway, set up checkpoints for inspection, the salt business in Laizhou Prefecture will be under our control. As for how to defeat the Hai Cang and Yu'er Town salt fields, adults naturally have a plan!"

  "Good!"

  Li Meng let out a low, excited hiss and slapped the table lightly with his hand. As someone from modern times, he had a general idea of the geography of this era, but details like waterways were hard to grasp. To be honest, the few rivers Ning Qian mentioned earlier had either dried up or become small ditches in modern times.

  As for this large-scale transportation, the consumption of manpower and animal power is huge. It's still more convenient to take the waterway. This concept was truly unheard of to Li Meng, and when he first heard it, he really had an epiphany.

  The two people on the side heard Master Ning's analysis, Wang Hai had a bit of a childish heart, hearing this plan, felt that the future was so grand and exciting, rubbing his hands together repeatedly. Chen Liu's expression became somewhat solemn, silent for a moment, then opened his mouth to say:

  "Brother Li, the master's plan is not bad, but we don't have that many people. Currently, there are over 350 of us, and guarding the salt fields and the hundred households, as well as transporting and delivering salt, is already very tense. Why not take another batch from the prefectural city?"

  After hearing Chen Liu's words, Ning Qian also found that he hadn't considered so much, and with one more person, it would cost one more cent. In the past, Mu Xun's inspection team had only five or six necessary family servants, and the rest were all bought with money as maidservants and servants, who were unwilling to spend an extra penny on subordinates.

  Li Meng was the same, his salt workers were all paid, and he never owed them a single cent. If he added one more person to the workforce, it would cost him an extra silver coin. Wasn't the purpose of being a patrol officer to make money? Who would spend more money unnecessarily? Ning Shifu chuckled twice, just about to speak, when Li Meng opened his mouth without hesitation and said:

  "It doesn't matter if no one is here, we'll just practice. After tomorrow's banquet, we'll immediately start recruiting soldiers, oh, and also recruit salt workers."

  After saying this sentence, Li Meng seemed to know what Ning Shiy was thinking, and smiled to tease:

  "Don't worry about the cost of food, with one more person, we'll occupy one more place, and with one more place, we'll earn a bit more money. No matter how you calculate it, we still make a profit."

  Everyone at the table burst out laughing when he finished speaking, and Li Meng continued:

  "Lao Ning has been talking for half a day, you must be hungry too, Xiao Hai, go get some chopsticks."

  Ning Qian Gui was about to refuse, but he felt really hungry. Looking at Chen Liu Zi's sincere invitation, he smiled and took the steamed bun from him, opening his mouth wide to take a big bite. All elegance was thrown aside, it was more comfortable being straightforward.

  After eating a few bites, Ning Shigong, who had just made a suggestion, suddenly pondered Li Meng's words from earlier, "One more person, one more place to occupy". This didn't seem like something a patrol inspector would say, but rather a military commander in charge of marching and fighting. Connecting this with the salt workers being trained under martial law, could it be...

  Ning Shiyeye lost his smile and shook his head as if he wanted to throw the thought out of his mind, then started eating with big mouthfuls.

  The next day, Shaohai Building, the best wine house in Jiaozhou City, apologized to many guests and said that the second floor had already been booked by someone. Please come another day.

  Jiaozhou small town, the only decent place to invite guests for a meal is Shaohai Building. It's said that the second floor has been booked by someone, and immediately some wealthy and noble people got angry, saying who doesn't understand human feelings and social norms, scolding the restaurant and the shopkeeper not to block them, they must go to the second floor to sit.

  When the shopkeeper of Shao Hai Lou said that this wine house was under the control of Patrolman Li Mengbao, even those with the worst temper became as silent as cicadas in winter and obediently went downstairs. Those who had scolded severely also gave some silver to the apprentices and begged them not to tell Patrolman Li about this matter.

  The owner of the Shaohai Building was also worried, as there were no customers at noon. It was said that Inspector Li Erlang came to eat here, and even the streets in front of the wine building were deserted. However, yesterday's deposit was paid in full, and besides, Jiaozhou City was a place where rumors spread quickly. Although Li Erlang was a ruthless star, he was also a chivalrous and righteous man who would not bully the common people, and he was reasonable. The owner of Shaohai Building, Lin, could only comfort himself like this. In the past, that corrupt Inspector Mu loved to cause trouble and stir up incidents.

  According to the rules of treating guests, the host should arrive first and greet the guests at the door. However, before it was time to eat, many guests had already arrived.

  The Shaohai Building received officials and merchants from the city of Jiaozhou, who were either wealthy or noble, and dressed decently. However, among the guests who arrived at noon today, only two looked like merchants, wearing long shirts, while the others wore short jackets with rolled-up sleeves, and had a rough and loud demeanor. If it weren't for the fact that it was daytime, they would have been reported to the authorities, as they looked like either bandits or robbers.

  After these people sat down, they were also restless, shouting loudly in the hall, talking about all sorts of illegal things, either smuggling salt or gambling dens. Lin Zhanggui and several apprentices from the Shaohai Building were pale-faced, thinking to themselves that after this banquet was over, they might be taken away by the authorities. Moreover, these people were so fierce, would they pay for their meals? This business was really troublesome. Lin Zhanggui and his apprentices were nervous and carefully served upstairs, enduring the rough scolding of those rough men at the slightest mistake.