Yuanyang thus entered a phase of restructuring.
During this period, the Second Prince received a letter from his Ninth Brother.
The contents of the letter… The Salt Bureau is selling refined white salt?
The Second Prince was shocked by what Wei Yu had written.
White salt—one of the five-colored salts priced at a thousand coins per jin—could actually be extracted from poisonous salt?!
He hadn’t been informed in advance; it was only at the last moment that he was told.
The Second Prince was full of questions, but before he could even reply to Wei Yu, the salt transport team had already arrived!
Bottled white salt priced at only three hundred coins per bottle, packed into box after box. Over a hundred oilcloth-covered carts entered the city, instantly revitalizing this newly liberated place.
“Which merchant caravan is this? Goodness, it’s been a long time since a major caravan came to Yuanyang.”
“Merchant caravan? Are your eyes failing you? Don’t you see the escorts carrying sabers? Clearly government officials!”“They must be from the court. With Lord Prince here, it’s probably some kind of imperial reward…”
Ordinary people loved speculating. Seeing that the leader of the convoy wasn’t driving them away, they got bolder and eagerly followed, curious about where the team was headed.
They followed the group all the way to the Salt Bureau.
The crowd looked at each other.
Was this government salt delivery?
Someone immediately denied it. “Didn’t officials deliver salt just three months ago? There’s no way they’d be delivering again so soon. Besides, this is over a hundred carts! I’d say at least twenty more than last time.”
Salt delivery times varied by region. In Yuanyang, it usually happened once every six months. Local people were frugal—only using salt for cooking, and even then, in minimal amounts. So every shipment to Yuanyang rarely exceeded 70 or 80 carts.
By the time the Second Prince arrived, the front of the Salt Bureau was bustling.
People were constantly hauling boxes in and out, while a crowd of chattering townsfolk gathered around the entrance—including a few bored Oxhead bandits mixing in during patrol.
Once inside, the Second Prince had a box opened immediately.
Inside was a bright white mass.
Glass bottles of nearly identical size and shape were neatly arranged, all filled with snow-white refined salt.
The Second Prince stared silently at the contents.
Behind him, Gongsun Yi shook his head in astonishment. “This is the white salt the Ninth Young Master extracted from poisonous salt?!”
It was too white!
Completely beyond his expectations.
The Second Prince quietly inhaled, turned around, and looked blankly at the workers still moving crates in and out.
“…What exactly did he used to do in the palace?”
He suddenly murmured to himself, voice so low that even Gongsun Yi didn’t catch it.
As for the nature of his Ninth Brother, the Second Prince was completely baffled.
Once a completely obscure figure—now he could make glass, extract white salt… If he had this ability, why didn’t he use it earlier?!
Too many thoughts—his head began to ache.
After standing there for a while, he finally decided to drop it. No matter how much he thought, it was useless. It was Father Emperor who should want to know the truth!
Sometimes, you had to learn to give up. Once you did, you’d discover how wonderful the world beyond the confusion could be.
Now that the salt was already here, and with Wei Yu’s next plan needing explanation, why bother figuring things out himself? If he could bring down the price of sugar effortlessly, he’d be a fool to say no!
So, the day after the white salt arrived, the people of Yuanyang heard an announcement from the government.
—The Salt Bureau is selling white salt, two jin for three hundred coins!
White salt—something that only nobles and officials could afford—was now available to commoners?
Whether skeptical or just curious, many idlers in the city headed to the Salt Bureau to see for themselves.
Song Liu was a scholar.
His family was moderately well-off, normally using green salt and occasionally buying colored salt to entertain guests.
When he heard about the white salt selling for three hundred coins per two jin, he rushed to the Salt Bureau without a second thought.
True or false, he’d go check. If it wasn’t true, he could walk away. But if it was true and he missed his chance, he’d regret it deeply.
On the way, he ran into a few fellow scholars.
“Brother Song, heading to the Salt Bureau?”
“Brother Zhu, you too?”
They shared a knowing smile.
Since they were headed the same way, they all hurried on in silence—it was more important to get their hands on the white salt!
For every skeptic who thought the announcement was fake, there were those who believed such doubts were spread to reduce competition!
Song Liu and his companions rushed as fast as they could, but they were still a step too late.
The Salt Bureau was surrounded by people loudly asking if any white salt was left.
“Sir, is there really no white salt left? Didn’t you deliver over a hundred carts yesterday?”
“I’m not asking for much—just one jin! Sir, I’m begging you!”
“…What!”
Song Liu, hearing the commotion from the outside, was stunned. “It’s all sold out? Didn’t the government just make the announcement? How could it be gone already?!”
Even the clerks at the Salt Bureau could hardly believe it—but the truth was, it was sold out.
Only 3,000 bottles of white salt had arrived—and the three richest merchants in Yuanyang bought them all in one swoop!
After hearing that the city’s three biggest merchants had bought everything, Song Liu was both puzzled and frustrated.
“They’ll be eating that much salt until the end of time! Couldn’t they have left some for others?!”
Leave some? Impossible.
The Liu family of textiles, the Qi family of grain, and the Ruan family of restaurants—these three heads of household were now gathered in one room, lovingly cradling bottles of white salt, enraptured.
Liu: “This is exquisite—clearer than the colored glass vases in my home! No wonder the official said it was something used only by nobles of Western Qi. We’ve really lucked out!”
Qi: “Luck, perhaps. But who knows what the officials are planning—selling white salt so cheaply, and even including such luxurious bottles for just three hundred coins. Strange indeed.”
Ruan: “Who cares what they’re planning! I adore these bottles. They’re perfect for flower arrangements, fish tanks, or just decoration in the restaurant! You two want to sell? I’ll give you two hundred coins apiece!”