The people looked in the direction pointed by the guy, and saw a few salt shops quietly opening opposite, with plaques of Huitong salt shops hanging on them.

The people soon flocked to the city, fearing to fall behind.

"Give me a pound of salt!"

"I want it too, give me two pounds!"

In the face of the crowd of people, the guys at Huitong Salt Shop were a little at a loss, so they had to persuade them vigorously.

"Don't worry, take your time, we have salt here!"

At this moment, the shopkeeper of the salt shop walked out with a leisurely pace, with a smile on his face, and said slowly.

"Everyone, stop, I have something to announce!"

"As we all know, there is a shortage of salt at the moment, and we are also trading at a loss! There is only so much salt in stock, and it will be gone when it is sold out. ”

Hearing the shopkeeper's words, a trace of ominous premonition flashed in the hearts of everyone present.

"It's not going to go up!"

Subsequently, the words that came out of the shopkeeper's mouth confirmed everyone's speculation.

"So, if you want to buy salt, you have to add money!"

"The price of salt will rise from the original 7 yuan a pound to 16 yuan a pound."

Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper's words aroused resistance from the people at the scene.

"Wow, something!"

"Profiteers, taking advantage of the lack of salt, have increased the price by more than two times!"

"I don't believe it, you are the only one in the city who can't make a salt shop? Let's look elsewhere. ”

Soon, more than half of the people at the scene left.

The shopkeeper didn't seem surprised by this, but looked at the rest of the people and spoke comfortingly.

"Right now, there is only one salt shop in the city! If you want to buy, you can buy it while the price is low now, otherwise, it will be one price a day at that time. ”

In the face of this naked blackmail, the people present were all indignant and glared angrily!

Just when some people were hesitating whether to buy it, I saw a fellow running over quickly, whispering a few words in the shopkeeper's ear, and then leaving quickly.

After hearing the news, the shopkeeper also shared it with the people present.

"Everyone, I'm sorry, the owner just sent someone to deliver the news, and the price of salt has to rise again! Now a pound of salt has to be sold for seventeen wen. ”

"However, I can pretend that I didn't hear the news, and sell it to everyone at the price of 16 wen a pound of salt!"

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he took the hot tea from the hand of the guy on the side and took a sip.

In the face of this news, the people present were shaken, and they were not sure whether the price of salt would continue to rise tomorrow!

Looking at the fearless shopkeeper in front of him, someone has already begun to grope for money on his body.

"Give me a pound of salt!"

I saw a man in a coarse linen coat gritted his teeth, took out the silver money from his pocket, slapped it on the table, and said loudly.

"Okay, wait a minute!"

Seeing this, the guy on the side hurriedly put away the silver money and hemp, and soon packed a pound of salt for the man.

"Walk slowly!"

The man took the bag of salt, weighed it roughly, and walked away quickly.

"You can rest assured, we are a big salt, and we will never be able to do anything short of two pounds!"

Seeing this, the shopkeeper on the side immediately assured the people present.

If there is a first, there will naturally be a second, a third! Soon, the emotions of the people present were mobilized.

"Give me a pound of salt!"

"I want a pound too!"

"I want two pounds!"

Looking at the endless stream of people who spent high prices to buy salt in front of him, the shopkeeper's face couldn't help but smile.

"It's going to happen!"

……

And the group of people who couldn't accept the high price of salt before, only to find out after going to all the salt shops in the city that the salt shops in the city either had no salt or had increased in price!

And the price increase is exactly the same as that of Huitong Salt Shop, and it is hard not to believe that this is not a deliberate collusion.

"How can that really be done? Let's go to the government and sue them! ”

"Yes, let the government give us justice!"

"Let's go, let's go to the official mansion!"

Soon, the excited people gathered in front of the government, and they wanted the government to come forward and punish the salt merchants.

In the palace, just as Cao Shunhe was thinking about how to pass on the news.

I saw a subordinate hurriedly break in and report to him.

"Lord Governor, it's not good, there are people gathering outside to make trouble!"

"What, what the hell is going on, why are people gathered outside the palace?"

Cao Shunhe was also quite surprised when he learned the news, and then asked.

"Report to the governor, the people outside are clamoring for the government to come forward and punish those salt merchants!"

"I heard them say that the price of salt in the city has risen from the original seven yuan to the current sixteen yuan!"

Faced with Cao Shunhe's question, the subordinate hesitated for a moment and replied.

"What? From seven to sixteen! This group of profiteers, this official can't spare them! ”

"Take the official over!"

Cao Shunhe was also quite annoyed after listening to the news brought by his subordinates, so he commanded.

"Yes, Governor!"

After the subordinates answered, they took care of themselves and led the way in front.

After learning the news, the local prefect Zheng Shizhong immediately left his official duties and rushed to the place of the incident without stopping.

"If you let this group of Diao people disturb the governor, then you will be finished!"

Zheng Shizhong thought so, and couldn't help but speed up.

At this moment, the guards of the government are confronting this group of people.

"What are you doing here, do you want to rebel? It's not going to go away quickly! ”

I saw that the guards of the government formed a human wall, stopped the people outside, and pulled out the long knife at his waist, so threatening.

"Lord Lao went in and reported, we are about to lose our lives, and now a pound of salt has risen from seven yuan to sixteen yuan!"

"Please ask the governor to make the decision for me!"

In the crowd, someone soon stood up and pleaded with the guards.

"No, the governor is busy with official business every day, how can I waste time on you?"

"Let's go to the prefect!"

And the leading official said this after listening to the appeal of the people.

"But my lord, we just came from the prefect's side, and he said that he is not capable of handling this matter, so let us come to the governor!"

"The prefect can't do it, and neither can the governor, so who should we go to!"

"Hmph, they just don't want to solve the problem for us! Let's rush in and meet the Governor directly! ”

"That's right, let's rush in and let the governor make the decision for us and punish those salt merchants!"

After listening to the official's words, the crowd became even more agitated, and even gradually began to push.

"What do you want to do here, you people? Want to rebel? ”

"If you disturb the governor, this official will definitely not spare you!"

At this moment, the local prefect Zheng Shizhong hurriedly rushed to the scene, along with a large number of guards.

Under Zheng Shizhong's orders, the group of guards under him soon surrounded the common people.

"Hmph, you people gathered here for no reason today, there must be someone behind it!"

"Wait for this official to escort you back, have a good trial, and find out the mastermind behind the scenes!"

"Come, bring them all to the prison for the officer! Strict interrogation. ”

Zheng Shizhong squinted, looked at the group of people in front of him, and commanded.

"Wait!"

I saw Cao Shunhe walking out of the mansion with his hands behind his back and said loudly.

(End of chapter)