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

"Oh... really?" Lin Ping replied casually, his eyes already fixed on the kitchen, seemingly about to show off his culinary skills again.

A thousand bushels of salt! How could anyone not be tempted?

Zhou Yecheng was extremely anxious and kept pacing around in circles, wondering whether he should ask Zhou Xiyin for help.

If she nods, Lin Ping will most likely agree.

Regardless of how this daughter treats him, she has at least firmly captured Lin Ping's heart. Based on that alone, she is very filial.

"Husband, I want to go and see." Zhou Xiyin's voice came through the crack in the door.

How could she not understand Lin Ping's thoughts? She clearly wanted to go, but was afraid of upsetting him.

Zhou Yecheng was overjoyed and almost jumped for joy.

Although it would be difficult to consume all 1,000 shi of salt, there was still hope of buying 1,000 or 1,000 shi, which could then be resold for a profit of at least 10,000 taels.

"Alright, let's go take a look, but my wife should dress up nicely." Lin Ping readily agreed.

Zhou Yecheng was ashamed. He had pleaded with Lin Ping for a long time but couldn't persuade him. Zhou Xiyin could make him obedient with just one sentence. She really was a... henpecked husband.

Even if Lin Ping didn't say anything, Zhou Xiyin would still dress up as beautifully as possible, so as not to embarrass him in public.

She was still somewhat pleased. Did this mean that Lin Ping liked her beautiful appearance?

Would Lin Ping be so superficial? My wife is beautiful even without makeup!

He didn't want Zhou Xiyin to dress up so extravagantly, as she would inevitably attract some lewd glances. He couldn't very well kill all of them, could he?

The reason he made her dress up was to buy time; he needed to appear at the right moment, otherwise a good show couldn't be put on.

It has to be said that girls take a really long time to get ready. Zhou Yecheng was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet, and even Lin Ping was afraid of missing the best opportunity.

A full half hour passed before Zhou Xiyin finally emerged, dressed in a bright red embroidered dress.

The powdered face looked more even, and the blush gave her a youthful look.

Lin Ping stared in disbelief, his keen dog nose darting close to the other's cheek.

"This, this, this, sigh... these young people." Zhou Yecheng shook his head helplessly and quickly turned his back. He couldn't very well watch the young people being all lovey-dovey.

Even Zhou Xiyin was terrified by Lin Ping's actions. Couldn't they have waited until nighttime when no one was around? It's not like he wouldn't let her be intimate with him.

A pretty face flushed crimson, head bowed, exhaling a delicate fragrance, "My husband..."

Just as their cheeks were about to touch, Lin Ping suddenly stopped, reached out and wiped her face to confirm that the face powder contained the heavy metal lead.

He had heard that women in ancient times would go to any lengths to become beautiful, and that some well-known face powders contained large amounts of lead.

"What a troublesome and silly woman." Lin Ping took her small hand and walked back to the room, personally helping her wash off her rouge and powder.

“That’s the most beautiful way,” Lin Ping said with a smile.

This was not a perfunctory act. The purpose of applying rouge and powder was to make the skin whiter and more even, and Zhou Xiyin's skin was naturally like that. When she was shy, two blushes would appear, making her even more alluring.

If there's any slight flaw, it's probably the solid color. Although her thin lips, as delicate as cicada wings, are pink from the inside out, they're not an alluring bright red and need the embellishment of lipstick.

"Don't use this face powder anymore," Lin Ping said, pointing to her dressing table.

“Oh…” Zhou Xiyin nodded like a child who had made a mistake.

This was a treasure she bought at a high price, one she rarely dared to use, but now she threw it away because of Lin Ping's words.

I didn't feel bad at all; I was even a little happy.

When the three of them went out, the sun was already hanging high in the southern sky.

Zhou Yecheng had already prepared the carriage, intending to speed away.

"Drive slowly, my wife doesn't like bumpy rides," Lin Ping said to the driver.

Zhou Yecheng was speechless. He really wanted to tell Lin Ping that at this time, the thousand shi of salt had probably already been sold out, and if they went there, they wouldn't even be able to eat dirt.

At this moment, chaos reigned outside the city gates of Yingtian Prefecture.

Before Zhu Xiaoji could even speak, several wealthy businessmen had already begun bidding against each other.

Originally, a liter of salt cost fifty or sixty copper coins, but now the price has increased tenfold to five hundred copper coins, and a stone of salt is worth fifty taels of silver.

This price is reasonable; retail prices would be four times higher, making it profitable.

"Boss, give me a straight answer, will you sell it for fifty taels of silver per shi?" the fat man in brocade robes asked anxiously.

He was one of the major salt merchants in Yingtian Prefecture. If he hadn't stockpiled a lot of goods not long ago, he would probably be bankrupt by now. He continued to purchase another batch.

I recently went to the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office, but was turned away at the door. The officials who had received bribes from him were too embarrassed to show their faces.

There was nothing they could do; the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office was also short of salt, and the shortage was severe.

Zhu Xiaoji looked up at the man. He had a kind and benevolent face, and he wasn't a particularly wicked person. At most, he was just a cunning businessman.

"Sorry, I won't cheat you." Zhu Xiaoji thought to herself, then shook her head slightly.

The man jumped up and down in a panic, shouting, "How about sixty taels of silver per shi? No one else can afford that price, and even if they could, they wouldn't be able to buy much salt."

Clearly, this man was going to eat all one thousand stones of salt.

Other salt merchants simply didn't have that kind of courage.

“Not so good.” Zhu Xiaoji slowly stood up and said, “As far as I know, the price of salt in Yingtian Prefecture has soared to two hundred taels of silver per stone. Even after deducting shop rent, labor costs, and taking into account the fluctuations in market prices, it can still sell for at least one hundred taels of silver per stone.”

Since Little Sheep Hot Pot has come to us willingly, Zhu Xiaoji has no reason not to accept it.

Wouldn't 100,000 taels of silver be tempting?

The man gritted his teeth, feeling an itch in his heart.

Zhu Xiaoji is right. Even if it's one hundred taels of silver per stone of salt, it's still profitable, even if it's just a little less.

However, it might be difficult to come up with 100,000 taels of silver in one go.

He only had 60,000 taels of silver in his account; the rest of the money was used for investment.

"One hundred taels per shi is fine, but could you pay a deposit of sixty thousand taels first?" The fat man looked at Zhu Xiaoji with pleading eyes.

"If you don't want to buy, then don't bother the others." Zhu Xiaoji walked past him, her gaze sweeping across the crowd.

As Zhu Xiaoji said, other merchants were already itching to do the same. They didn't have the boldness of the fat boss, but they were discussing it in private.

The idea was to combine the efforts of five or six people to consume all the salt, then raise the price and speculate further, hoping to make some profit.

"Get out of the way, all of you get out of the way!" Just then, a rude voice came from outside the crowd.

Dozens of soldiers, armed with knives, cleared a path ahead, startling everyone who readily made way for them.

In the middle was a luxurious carriage, and a middle-aged man with an extraordinary bearing slowly stepped down from it.