CHAPTER 459: 352, FOUND THE RIGHT PERSON_2

Shopkeeper Chen laughed heartily, "No need. He thinks he can do as he pleases by gathering a few martial artists, but what use is an Executive Officer when it comes to doing business? Even if you bring Lu Yang from the Jing Dynasty Martial Temple, without our support, he won’t understand the intricacies of the salt trade here."

As he spoke, Chen Yue picked up an ivory card, and without looking, slapped it onto the table, "Mahjong."

...

...

Six carriages left Luoma Market Street and then split up, driven by the Yulin Army in circles, finally converging in a small alley east of Zhengyang Gate Street.

There was only one household in the alley. Upon alighting, the Yulin Army immediately guarded both ends of the alley, their eyes scanning like hawks, leaving nothing unchecked.

Chen Ji arrived at the door of that household, lifted the beast-head knocker on the brown wooden door, and knocked three times quickly, then three times slowly.

With a creak, the wooden door opened.

Inside, Qi Zhenzhuo whispered, "Master, everyone has arrived."

Chen Ji stepped over the threshold to find a spacious courtyard several feet wide, where Zhang Xia was sitting on a long bench, eyes closed in meditation, muttering words under her breath.

Today’s Second Miss Zhang was still wearing a white archer’s robe, but the pattern on it had changed from twining lotus to a pale green broken branch pattern.

Beside Zhang Xia stood nine middle-aged men dressed in silk clothes.

Upon hearing the door open, Zhang Xia opened her eyes and stood up, disregarding the scripture she was chanting, and said, "These nine are the bookkeepers of the Zhang Family, skilled in accounting. Let’s begin."

The Yulin Army brought in nine tables, setting them in a long row in the courtyard.

Curiously, the bookkeepers brought out three sets of abacuses from the house, laying them flat on the tables. Each abacus was nine feet long, shared by three bookkeepers.

Boxes were opened, and ledgers were taken out, the sound of the bookkeepers’ abacuses clicking like a waterfall, powerful and smooth.

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xia, "How long will it take to finish calculating all these ledgers?"

Zhang Xia thought for a moment, "Seven days, these old accounts are full of complexities, you absolutely can’t finish in less than seven days."

Chen Ji nodded, "Seven days is already very fast, if it were me, I fear it would take a year to go through it all."

Zhang Xia pointed to the dozens of salt permits, curiously asking, "What do you plan to do with these, are you intending to break away from the Chen Family Salt Shop and start anew?"

Chen Ji nodded slightly, "Indeed, I plan to start anew. The shopkeepers think I must conform and rely on them to gain a foothold, hence they are overconfident, but I do not intend to waste time on them."

The shopkeepers hoped that Chen Ji would grind down his edges and meld with the earth and dust.

But what Chen Ji wanted to do was already in sight, he had no time to entangle with those old eagles in human relations, nor was it necessary.

Zhang Xia pondered, "Are you planning to use these salt permits to open a new salt shop? That’s not feasible. Obtaining the permits is just the beginning, next you have to go to the saltworks to draw salt, then arrange with the Salt Transport Envoy and canal officials to transport salt to various places. After shipping, you still have to open a salt shop, hire shopkeepers and clerks, only then can you sell the salt."

She looked at Chen Ji, "To start a new salt shop, you need at least three years, and you can’t wait that long... could it be that you plan to sell the permits directly to those Big Salt Merchants? Only they can handle so many permits, but they’ll surely drive the price down."

Zhang Xia contemplated, "But with your nature, you wouldn’t be content with such a loss."

Chen Ji appraised Zhang Xia, this Second Miss Zhang seemed to possess a seven-orificed exquisite heart, having thought through all facets so quickly.

He pondered for a moment, "I have an immature idea, but since I’ve never done it before, I don’t know if it’ll work."

Zhang Xia asked, "What are the odds?"

Chen Ji replied sincerely, "Twenty percent."

Zhang Xia inhaled deeply, "You’ll gamble with a twenty percent chance?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

Zhang Xia was silent for a long time, "Then gamble it is, if it fails I’ll find a way to let my father cover for you."

Chen Ji smiled, "It’s not that risky, but before doing this, I need to meet someone first."

Zhang Xia asked in confusion, "Who?"

Chen Ji turned to leave, "Brother Pao. Please watch over this place for me, I need to meet with this Brother Pao to confirm if he’s the right person for the job."

Zhang Xia followed after him, "I’ll go with you."

Chen Ji turned back, and the two met eyes, Zhang Xia’s gaze was unwavering, "One’s energy is ultimately limited, I can help you share some of the burden, but first, I need to know each step of your plan."

After a moment of thought, Chen Ji agreed, "Alright."

The two got on the carriage at the door, Lin Yanchu raised the whip, driving the carriage toward the Eight Great Hutongs.

In the carriage, only Chen Ji and Zhang Xia remained; Chen Ji closed his eyes to rest, while Zhang Xia muttered the teachings of Shrouding Cloud, the cries of street vendors filtering through from outside, which made the carriage feel particularly serene.

After thirty minutes, Lin Yanchu said softly, "Sir, we’ve arrived."

Zhang Xia lifted the seat in the carriage, taking out two gray cloths and two bamboo hats from a hidden compartment beneath.

Chen Ji chuckled, "Why does the Zhang family carriage even have these things prepared."

Zhang Xia raised her arm to cover her face with the gray cloth, tying a loose knot behind her head, "Most things you need to do are not for the light of day; it’s better to be prepared."

Chen Ji slightly averted his gaze, donned the bamboo hat, and got off the carriage.

...

...

Baishun Alley, Meihua Ferry Crossing.

Meihua Ferry Crossing was a Qingyin Small Class, which had produced two renowned leaders in the Imperial Capital. One redeemed themselves and disappeared; another, a leader surnamed Yun, was ransomed by the Qi family, and later given away.