Chapter 306: 297 Tenglong Guard Engineering Team

Chapter 306: Chapter 297 Tenglong Guard Engineering Team

The next morning, Zheng Xiao left the Tenglong Guard. He came as he was and left as he was, only bringing four attendants with him.

After seeing off Zheng Xiao, Yang Zhenshan did not make any changes either; he remained busy dealing with the affairs of the Tenglong Guard.

About ten days later, Zheng Xiao sent a letter.

The Luo family had successfully become salt merchants; Luo Fu had prepared three thousand salt tokens for the Luo family, each token for three hundred catties, totaling nine hundred thousand catties, all issued by Jing’an Prefecture.

Simply put, the Luo family was now the salt merchant of Jing’an Prefecture, monopolizing salt trade in the prefecture.

After obtaining the salt tokens, Luo Shang visited Tenglong Guard again.

“My lord!”

In the teahouse, upon seeing Yang Zhenshan, Luo Shang greeted him with a joyful bow and a clasped salute.

He had not expected the matter to be handled so easily.

Although it was just the salt trade of one prefecture, the profit involved was substantial. The critical point was that the Luo family had now entered the salt industry, which greatly mattered to their future development.

Yang Zhenshan, seemingly unconcerned, waved his hand and said, “Sit down and talk!”

The two sat down, and Luo Shang poured tea for Yang Zhenshan.

“Is Mr. Zheng well?” Yang Zhenshan inquired.

Luo Shang, who went to Liao’an Prefecture to collect the salt tokens, had met both Zheng Xiao and Luo Fu.

“Mr. Zheng is well,” Luo Shang replied. “However, the Li family of Liao’an seems somewhat dissatisfied!”

Yang Zhenshan smiled, “Of course they would be dissatisfied; these salt tokens were taken from what could have been their share. It would make sense if they were pleased.”

Originally, the Li family of Liao’an was the biggest salt merchant in Liao Yuan. This time, they conceded the salt tokens of Jing’an Prefecture because of Luo Fu’s influence.

Although Luo Shang paid actual silver for these tokens, it was inevitable the Li family of Liao’an felt dissatisfied for losing the salt trade in Jing’an, which meant losing more than a hundred thousand taels of silver annually.

“Ha ha~~” Luo Shang awkwardly laughed. He didn’t bring this up frivolously but wanted to remind Yang Zhenshan to be wary of the Li family of Liao’an, in case they caused trouble for the Luo family.

Yang Zhenshan, drinking tea, said, “The salt pans of the Tenglong Guard should be completed next month, and the first batch of salt is expected by mid-June. Just come and haul the salt away!”

Due to the good relations between Zheng Xiao and Luo Fu, the Luo family’s path to becoming salt merchants was smooth, and this also meant they faced fewer restrictions.

Although there were only three thousand tokens, nobody monitored how much salt the Luo family sold.

As long as Jing’an Prefecture could consume it, it didn’t matter how much salt was sold.

Moreover, it became much more convenient for the salt pans of Tenglong Guard to sell salt. They only needed to pay the Liao’an Prefecture a thousand taels of silver annually, and then they could sell salt in the name of the tax-collecting salt pans.

This also meant that not only the Luo family seized profits from the Li family of Liao’an, but the Tenglong Guard’s salt pans also gained what was initially the tax-collecting salt pans’ profits.

If the salt sold by Jing’an Prefecture was all from the tax-collecting salt pans, their earnings would surely far exceed a thousand taels.

If it hadn’t been for Luo Fu to win over Zheng Xiao and suppress the opinions of the Li family and tax-collecting salt pans, this matter would not have been so easily accomplished.

“Is the salt price the same as previous years?” Luo Shang asked.

The monopoly over salt made its price naturally high. When Yang Zhenshan was still with the Yang family, he lamented the expensive salt, recalling that salt in Anning County used to cost thirty copper coins per catty.

“Let’s sell it at the price of previous years for now, and consider lowering it once the salt pan’s output increases,” Yang Zhenshan replied.

The salt pan’s initial output would not be very high, but as the salt pans expand and improve, the future output will definitely increase.

Yang Zhenshan, not being a businessman, would not pursue profits at all costs.

He hoped that Tenglong Guard could increase its income through the salt pans, wished the Luo family to make money from the salt trade, and more so, hoped the common people could afford cheaper salt.

“Set your profit margin at five copper coins per catty of salt,” Yang Zhenshan directly fixed the profit for the Luo family.

At five copper coins per catty, for about nine hundred thousand catties, the profit would be around four to five thousand taels of silver.

This profit margin could only be considered modest for the Luo family.

But what is the true cost of salt?

Besides the cost of building the salt pans, there are labor costs – the cost of one catty of salt is likely only around two to three copper coins. If it follows Yang Zhenshan’s mandate, the salt pans earn the major share.

However, as mentioned before, Yang Zhenshan isn’t a profiteering businessman.

“Once the salt pan’s output increases, bring the salt price down to around twelve or thirteen copper coins per catty. When the salt becomes cheaper, sales volumes will naturally be high, and your profits will increase too!”

“Understood,” Luo Shang agreed without hesitation.

This was not a bad deal for him; a lower profit from salt didn’t matter much, as the Luo family had many profitable businesses and didn’t lack silver.

His willingness to become a salt merchant wasn’t solely for the sake of earning silver. Salt merchants hold the highest status among traders because they often represent strong personal connections.

Simply put, becoming a salt merchant could elevate Luo Shang’s social status, which would be beneficial for conducting other businesses.

So even if he couldn’t earn much from the salt trade, he was willing to become a salt merchant.

After finalizing their discussion, Luo Shang left Tenglong Guard, as he had many other matters to attend to.

Meanwhile, Yang Zhenshan continued to stay busy handling the affairs of the government office.