Chapter 455 - 350, General Office of Salt Merchants
The Little Yingtai at sunset is beautiful, the falling sun just hanging beneath the eaves of Yiliang Pavilion like a dazzling red lantern.
Chen Ji walked along the stone path of Little Yingtai, while Chen Yu followed behind him, chattering, "The Chen Family Salt Shop is a tough business, as tough as a grain shop."
Chen Ji asked indifferently, "You know a lot about the salt shop and the grain shop?"
Chen Yu replied with a hum, "It’s like the court, all intertwined. Although everyone is from the Ning Dynasty, the Chen family has its own ideas, and the Qi family has theirs. The salt shop appoints one Store Manager; his name is Chen Yue, a branch of the Chen family. Below him are seven second shopkeepers, responsible for accounting, managing people, overseeing salt permits, handling official salt transportation, overseeing salt-makers, managing the store... and managing private salt, none of them is easy to deal with. You must be careful, don’t let these old foxes lead you by the nose, lest you get caught in inexplicable disputes and lose your family tree."
Chen Ji asked puzzled, "We are rivals now, why are you telling me these things?"
Chen Yu casually broke off a willow twig and played with it in his hand, "You may not be able to defeat me, but if you can firmly grip the salt shop, it won’t be a wasted effort. That’s a business of several hundred thousand taels of silver; aside from the annual profits you have to hand over, you can still keep several thousand taels for yourself, enough for wealth and prosperity."
Chen Ji sighed, "You’re actually quite nice."
Chen Yu laughed heartily, "If you just sort out these tangled relationships, it will take three years. Three years later, I’ll have firmly held the grain shop in my hands, and the difference will be obvious. So, I don’t actually need to consider you as a rival."
Chen Ji was momentarily speechless, he bade farewell to Chen Yu, "Let’s rely on our own abilities, farewell..."
As he turned around, Chen Yu stuck to him again, "What’s the rush? I still plan to go to your Silver Apricot Garden for dinner."
Chen Ji was taken aback, how could someone be so boundary-less? He had already said goodbye, yet still refused to leave.