Zhu Mo knew in his heart that things had indeed changed.
Originally, hundreds of people, more than half of them merchants, would have come to place orders. But now, it seemed there were no merchants at all. Those buying salt were for their own consumption. Instead, there were many people dressed as servants.
It seemed his guess was correct—
Those merchants weren't unwilling to do business with him, but they feared Yan Shifan. Yet, they couldn't let go of the opportunity, so they sent their men to check it out…
Zhu Mo estimated the time. Liang Menglong should be making his move soon. He announced loudly:
"Gentlemen, I apologize! The process of accepting deposits will be delayed by an hour… I, Zhu, am new to doing business in the capital, and the common folk don't quite trust me. Today, I will offer open supply. Anyone willing to taste it can take a small bag. All I ask is for you to speak a fair word, whether this salt is good or real. If it's made of sand and doesn't dissolve in the mouth, I state here, I will compensate tenfold!"
"Good!"
"Young Master Zhu has courage!"
"This is a good move!"
"Rumors will be dispelled!"
"We naturally believe in Young Master Zhu, ignore those messy rumors…"
"Alright… let's watch the show…"
Amidst the babble, everyone flowed out again.
At this moment,
The stall was already surrounded by curious onlookers, and people were rushing from every street and alley. It was completely impassable.
Many people shouted—
"Is this salt being given away for free?"
"Can we take it after tasting?"
"What's the point of taking such a small amount of salt?"
"Heh, I've truly never seen such shiny salt. They say it's fake, but I'm not sure, heh, not sure…"
"I think it's real!"
"Whoever is brave enough, go taste it… Can't you tell if it's real or fake by tasting?"
"You be brave, you go! This is the Junior Senior Secretary's matter, who dares to get involved?"
"…"
Zhu Mo listened carefully. He understood clearly—
The common people were still afraid of the Yan family.
After twenty years of accumulated might, the people were inherently afraid of the arrogant Yan Shifan.
He smiled calmly and gave Xiaoxiao Sheng a look. Xiaoxiao Sheng immediately grinned mysteriously and slipped out of the crowd, heading to a back street.
Not long after,
A group of young Taoist priests from Chaotian Temple disguised as common folk began to arrive. A few who liked to stir up trouble pushed their way to the front.
"Real or fake? I think this salt is fake!"
"I think so too!"
"Where can you find such good salt?"
"So fine, what else could it be but sea sand?"
Two Taoist priests, one disguised as a vegetable vendor and the other as a fishmonger, began to shout loudly.
Zhu Mo smiled and said, "Whether it's real or not, you'll know after tasting. I, Zhu Mo, have stated it beforehand, in black and white. If it's fake, I'll compensate tenfold!"
Oh?
The vegetable vendor chuckled, "Just ten times compensation won't do! I think, if it's fake, you, this boss, will have to face a lawsuit!"
The fishmonger chimed in, "That's right! You must face a lawsuit! Do you dare?"
Thousands of onlookers immediately started to clamor—
"That's right! Do you dare?"
"If you're a swindler, you should be caned!"
"This person doesn't look like a swindler, why is he doing such strange things?"
"Face a lawsuit, do you dare?"
"Do you dare?"
"…"
The onlookers, always unafraid of a commotion, were becoming more excited.
Zhu Mo took a close look at the two Taoist priests and was overjoyed—
Where did these drama queens come from?
Did Xiaoxiao Sheng find such natural-born actors?
He immediately said loudly to the crowd, "I dare! Why wouldn't I dare? I'll state it here, if this salt is fake, I will face the lawsuit. Are you satisfied now?"
Good!
Just like that!
"I'll do it!"
The fishmonger rolled up his sleeves. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he dipped his pinky finger in saliva, slowly brought it to the salt bag, took some, and then slowly put it into his mouth.
Everyone immediately stared at his expression. The fishmonger closed his eyes, smacked his lips for a moment, then opened his eyes again, looking up at the sky as if savoring it. He wanted to speak several times but hesitated.
"Speak!"
"Damn it, speak!"
"Real or fake?"
"Fishmonger! What are you doing?"
"If you don't say it, we'll beat you to death!"
"…"
Many impatient people started to yell.
The fishmonger then took a long breath and shouted, "It's real! This salt truly dissolves, it's not sand…"
Wow~~
Hiss~~~
"Really?"
Many people immediately crowded forward. Regardless of the consequences, everyone dipped their fingers and licked them.
"Good salt!"
"It's real!"
"This salt is real~"
Suddenly,
Hundreds of people had tasted it, many of them ordinary folk who had never tasted such fine salt in their lives. As they shouted, the entire street buzzed with excitement!
"Can we really take a bag?"
"Boss Zhu, can we take it?"
"I want one too!"
"I want a bag too!"
"…"
The common people rushed forward, quickly snatching seven or eight hundred bags. Several servants were still busy packing them. Over two hundred and eighty pounds, enough to fill nearly three thousand bags.
Zhu Mo saw that people weren't in complete chaos, so he let them snatch, only shouting, "No rush! No rush! Everyone, don't rush, line up slowly!"
But how could they listen?
Before long, over two hundred pounds of salt, packed into nearly three thousand bags, were snatched up. Yet hundreds and thousands of people were still queuing, unwilling to leave.
"Alas, I'm such a fool. He's Young Master Zhu, how could he sell fakes?"
"Yes, I believed the rumors and was too slow today…"
"Tribute salt, what a pity…"
"I wonder if Young Master Zhu will give it away again?"
"Who would give it away again? He's not stupid!"
"Those salt merchants too, why would they spread rumors that Young Master Zhu's goods are fake…"
"If they don't spread rumors, their shops will go out of business!"
"…"
Thousands of people still refused to leave, gathering in groups, all regretting their timidity and slow hands.
And just then,
Clang, clang…
The sound of gongs announced their arrival. The crowd habitually quieted down.
Amidst the sounds of kicking and stomping,
Guards from the Nine Gates escorted two yamen runners to the notice board outside Jinling Ji, where they posted a notice. The two yamen runners shouted in unison, "Attention all neighbors! A batch of criminal assets, overlooked from the escaped traitor of Japanese pirates and Jiangnan Circuit Inspector He Mao Cai, has been seized. Huai salt and cash totaling nine hundred thousand taels have now been confiscated. If any further criminal assets are found, informants will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver."
The crowd surged forward to look and discovered that the seized criminal assets belonged to Jiangnan Xiandong Ji!
"This, isn't this little—"
"Shush! You want to die!"
"So it was assets from a traitor…"
"Damn it! No wonder they spread rumors, it was the thief crying 'stop thief'!"
"The salt from Xiandong Ji is very coarse, it has no flavor at all!"
"Yes, and expensive! I always found it strange…"
"Heh, it's the business of the Jiangnan Circuit Inspector, how could it not be expensive?"
"Young Master Zhu is more righteous!"
"Isn't that right? This is the caliber of a great merchant!"
"…"
Many people understood that it was the salt merchants who were spreading rumors to attack Zhu Mo, but out of fear of Yan Shifan, no one dared to speak. Now that the facts were clear and Xiandong Ji, a collaborator with Japan, had been seized, even if Yan Shifan personally intervened, it would be impossible to protect it.
When a wall falls, everyone pushes. At this moment, everyone began to criticize the salt merchants.
Over there,
Zhu Mo was already surrounded by merchants, urging him to represent their Moji Sea Salt.
After some negotiation, an agreement was reached to place orders the next morning at the hour of Si.
Upon returning to the Hanlin Academy, he immediately asked Gao Gong to find a talented individual from the Ministry of Revenue named Wang Gao. Wang Gao was to draft a memorial titled "Memorial on Business Operations and Anti-Unfair Competition," to be shown first to the Grand Secretariat, the officials, and the Directorate of Ceremonial, as a probing move. Otherwise, as had happened last time, new terms might not be clearly explained, leading to much cursing.
Furthermore, in the future, more laws and regulations would need to be established, so it was also to allow the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial to become familiar with the procedures.