Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

"Fellow villagers, brothers and sisters, in recent years, there have been more cloudy days than sunny days, and salt is in short supply. The people are suffering terribly. I, Su Hongxin, though I am not talented, have risked everything to buy a batch of salt from foreign merchants at an extremely high price. Today, I will sell it to you at a low price!" Su Hongxin raised his arm and shouted, speaking with great passion and fervor that made people want to urinate.

How dare a mere unscrupulous merchant who hoards salt speak so grandly? If this were true, Su Hongxin would truly be a savior.

Of course, there were some truths mixed in, such as the fact that he bought a batch of salt at an extremely high price, but only a fool would believe the last sentence about selling it at a low price.

As the saying goes, "When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head." Now that Su Hongxin has salt in his hands, he's the boss. The crowd regained their senses and stopped cursing. Instead, they patiently waited for him to announce the price of the salt, hoping to buy a bushel even if it meant going bankrupt.

Seeing the expectant looks on everyone's faces, Su Hongxin nodded in satisfaction and said loudly, "I, Su Hongxin, will sell this to you all at the incredibly low price of two taels of silver per dou."

Two taels of silver?

Everyone gasped in shock. Previously, a peck of salt had cost no more than ten coins at its cheapest price, but Su Hongxin had increased the price by two hundred times and still had the nerve to call it an ultra-low price.

In the Wu Kingdom, the dou (a unit of dry measure) is divided into two sizes: a small dou is equivalent to one sheng (a unit of volume), a large dou is equivalent to ten sheng, and one shi (a unit of volume) is equivalent to one hundred sheng.

Because salt was expensive, it was naturally measured in small measures.

Therefore, two taels of silver can only buy two catties of salt.

However, do the people have any room to resist?

The answer is naturally no.

Let alone two taels of silver, even if it were twenty taels a bushel, we would still buy what we needed.

Salt is an essential food. If you don't eat it for a few days, you will feel weak all over. If you don't eat it for a longer period of time, you will experience edema and it may even be life-threatening.

Two taels of silver per dou (a unit of dry measure) was expensive, but most families could afford it. They could just eat less each day, which was better than nothing.

Su Hongxin seized upon this psychology of the common people, which is why he dared to hoard salt with impunity. Clearly, he succeeded, not only making a fortune but also winning the position of president of the Chamber of Commerce.

Upon receiving the order, dozens of servants quickly unloaded the salt from the carriage, and the Su family steward took out a thick ledger and began selling it.

"I want a thousand bushels!" said a restaurant owner first.

A thousand bushels of salt is no small amount. Even if a restaurant is doing brisk business, it doesn't use a bushel of salt a day. The reason for wanting to buy so much is simply out of fear that the price of salt might skyrocket in a few days.

Su Hongxin was most pleased with this outcome: if these wealthy merchants bought more, ordinary people would naturally buy less, and some people would still be unable to buy salt, causing the price to double again.

"What a bold move! He can talk about anything, this boss must be rolling in money." Lin Ping's loud voice broke the silence, arriving just before the transaction.

The man shuddered, fearing that Lin Ping would ruin his business deal with Su Hongxin. He thought to himself, "Being rich as oil doesn't make you rich; being rich as salt is what makes you a true tycoon."

"Thirty thousand taels of silver, and I'll take all four carts of salt!" A deep voice shook everyone's hearts. Upon closer inspection, it was the city lord who stepped down from the four carriages.

Four cartloads of salt amounted to only 150 shi (a unit of dry measure), which was exactly 30,000 taels of silver. This also shows the city lord's determination.

Su Hongxin's eyes narrowed and his heart tightened. He was naturally unwilling to sell the salt to the city lord, but he couldn't raise the price on the spot.

Once the city lord has these four carts of salt, he can win over the people and even hinder his election as chairman.

"When did Father arrive in front of us...?" Lin Ping asked helplessly, naturally not wanting the city lord to waste the 30,000 taels of silver.

However, words spoken are like water spilled; they cannot be taken back, and besides, the city lord's word is law.

Just as Su Hongxin was struggling with his decision, Lin Ping stepped out of the car with an arrogant and domineering air, his nostrils practically pointing to the sky. He declared, "That's right, the City Lord's Mansion has bought all four cartloads of salt, and they will be distributed to these bosses for free immediately."

"Free distribution?" This time it was the city lord who was surprised. He had clearly bought these for his private army. When did he say he would distribute them to the common people?

Seeing that the city lord was about to speak again, Jiang Yunying hurriedly stopped him, saying seriously, "Father, don't worry, my husband will have a way."

The city lord glanced at Lin Ping with a complicated expression, and surprisingly chose to believe him.

"I'm not selling anymore!" Su Hongxin said coldly. If Lin Ping were to distribute the salt for free, these business owners might not be able to follow his orders anymore.

"Very good, very good, well done!" Lin Ping nodded in satisfaction and said loudly, "As you all know, Su Hongxin maliciously hoarded salt and raised prices arbitrarily, causing the people to suffer from salt shortages. His intentions are despicable!"

"That's right, kill the unscrupulous merchants and divide the salt!" The exhausted people shouted with their last bit of strength, and many of them even collapsed to the ground, dizzy and disoriented.

Now, everyone is pinning all their hopes on the City Lord's Mansion, and only the City Lord's private army can easily kill Su Hongxin.

Lin Ping waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and said passionately, "However, a country has its laws, and a family has its rules. Even if Su Hongxin is unrighteous, the City Lord's Mansion cannot be unjust, much less kill innocent people indiscriminately!"

Hearing this, everyone fell silent. Even if Su Hongxin was a cunning businessman, it didn't warrant the death penalty, and he hadn't even broken any laws.

"I bet you wouldn't dare!" Su Hongxin glanced at Lin Ping with disdain, his expression becoming even more arrogant, and shouted, "Five taels of silver for a bushel of salt, anyone want to buy?"

Faced with Su Hongxin's unreasonable price gouging, the crowd was helpless and even blamed Lin Ping for appearing, otherwise they probably would have already spent two taels of silver to buy a bushel.

"I...I'll buy it..." It was the same shopkeeper from before, but his voice was trembling even more, and he looked at Lin Ping with pleading eyes, hoping that he would stop causing trouble.

"My lady, they're bullying me... Waaah..." Lin Ping took the opportunity to snuggle into Jiang Yunying's arms again, even sounding like he was about to cry.

This trick never fails. Jiang Yunying is most afraid of men crying in front of her, especially her lovely husband. So she said angrily, "I'm going to get revenge for my husband right now!"

Jiang Yunying thought this was a secret signal from Lin Ping. How could the dignified city lord's mansion be so aggrieved? It was time to kill him out of his spirit.

The immense killing intent emanating from him startled Su Hongxin, and the dozen or so timid constables had already scurried away in disgrace.

"What...what are you going to do?" Faced with Jiang Yunying's murderous aura, Su Hongxin's legs trembled with fear.

"Your Highness, are you planning to indiscriminately kill innocent people?" At this moment, the prefect arrived angrily, accompanied by dozens of burly yamen runners, all of whom were pointing their curved swords at Jiang Yunying.

Moreover, the crowd was surrounded by hundreds of constables, who would fire arrows at Jiang Yunying if she dared to kill anyone.

The situation became extremely tense, and a major battle could break out at any moment.

The city lord regretted not listening to Jiang Xiuwen's advice; he should have led his troops to raze the government office to the ground.

"This humble man, Hu Ba Zi, greets Your Highness, the Prince Consort!" Just as tensions were about to rise, a man with a mustache respectfully knelt before Lin Ping.