Chapter Eighty: Beating the Salt Seller to Death

Wu Yi and Tiger Lei had not expected their names to be called and were momentarily at a loss.
The salt peddler's face turned deathly pale. "What do you want?" he demanded.
Xu Wenshan tapped his shoulder with his riding whip. "Was I not clear? Leave the salt behind. You may go."
Tiger Lei asked cautiously, "Young Master Xu, doesn’t this count as robbery?"
"It does, of course it does."
Tiger Lei rolled up his sleeves, grinning. "Then what are we waiting for?"
The two of them walked up to the salt peddler, and right in front of him, began unloading sack after sack of salt. The salt peddler shouted, "I’ve traveled all over for years and never encountered someone as lawless as you!"
Xu Wenshan replied, "And you think it’s fair to raise the price whenever you please?"
The salt peddler sneered, "The salt belongs to us. Our boss sets the price. If you don't want to buy, then don’t. Isn't that how the world works?"
Xu Wenshan waved his hand at Wu Yi and Tiger Lei. "Carry it."
The two immediately began to drag the sacks off the peddler’s cart. In a panic, the salt peddler lunged forward, bellowing, "You’re rebelling! Aren’t you afraid of Windstone Village’s vengeance?"
"Not at all," Xu Wenshan answered without hesitation.
The salt peddler’s expression changed. "If you steal my salt, our village will never sell to you again. No one from Deer Crane Ravine will get our salt—not even if you crawl to us on your knees!"
Xu Wenshan said, "Fine."
The salt peddler turned to the villagers. "Did you hear that? If there’s no salt in the future, don’t blame us—blame him! He’s the reason you’ll have none! Are you still going to help him?"
The villagers looked uncertain. The salt peddler pressed on, "I know you’re all decent folk. If you stop him now, I’ll go back and tell my boss to bring more salt to your village in the future. Otherwise, you’ll all go without!"
Some of the villagers began to waver.
After all, Xu Wenshan was the landlord’s son. Why would he dare take Windstone Village’s salt? The villagers didn’t know. If Windstone Village truly stopped selling to them, it would be disastrous.
How could they live without salt?
The salt peddler seized the moment, tempting those nearby. "If you help me stop them, I’ll give you a few coins off the price. The more you help, the bigger your discount."

It had to be said—the salt peddler was clever to come up with this.
Xu Wenshan raised his voice: "I’m keeping his salt to sell it to you at the original price. If you help him, you’re going against the whole village!"
"You’re the one going against the village!" someone shouted. "You rob him today—what about next time? What if we never get salt again?"
Xu Wenshan narrowed his eyes at the speaker, seeing Guo Decai standing behind him. He understood at once.
The man continued, "You’re the landlord’s son. You’ll never lack salt. What about us poor folk?"
The crowd started murmuring, some even nodding in agreement.
The salt peddler seized the chance to rally them to retrieve the salt. Tiger Lei and Wu Yi hesitated, putting the sacks down.
Seeing the villagers waver, Xu Wenshan suddenly shouted, "Are you all brainless pigs?"
The crowd fell silent.
"If you take his salt, you survive a few more days. After that, we can figure something out. As long as we’re alive and have money, we’ll find salt somewhere. But if you let him raise the price, how much money does your family have? How many days can you afford? Sooner or later, you’ll starve! If we’re doomed either way, why not take the damn salt now?"
The villagers said nothing. Xu Wenshan added, "All I ask is that you stay out of this. Let me handle it. I guarantee you’ll get salt at a fair price from now on!"
Still, the villagers kept quiet. Xu Wenshan gave Tiger Lei and Wu Yi a look; they resumed carrying out the salt.
The salt peddler was stunned. With Windstone Village’s monopoly, nothing like this had ever happened before when they sold salt.
As the saying goes, the ruthless fear those with nothing to lose. To him, Xu Wenshan was clearly reckless.
"You little bastard! Scoundrel!..."
The salt peddler cursed furiously, but it didn’t stop his salt from being taken.
Raising the price was indeed possible, but such a steep hike was suspicious.
Xu Wenshan’s guess was right. Windstone Village was poor, and the salt mine was their only lifeline. The village was close-knit, ruled by a single leader. Salt peddlers like this one were mere lackeys, with no say in pricing.
The price hike was the village leader’s decision. A new trade route had recently opened, so the salt was selling well. Mathematically, the price was bound to rise.
Ironically, Xu Wenshan himself was part of the reason for the new trade route—when he’d cleared out a bandit lair. Windstone Village didn’t know who had done it, but it gave them an outlet for their salt.

But that was not how the game should be played.
Xu Wenshan was still pouring money into developing Deer Crane Ravine, yet now other villages were trying to take advantage of him. How could he stand for that?
The salt peddler’s cart was emptied. He tried to reclaim his salt, but whenever he grabbed one man, another ran to grab a sack; hold on to that one, and another would snatch another sack. Alone, he was helpless, and finally collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
"I’m warning you, you’ll all die! I’ll never bring salt to your village again!"
But no one paid him any heed. The villagers instead lined up outside the Xu family home to buy salt.
"This village is ruthless—truly ruthless!" the salt peddler muttered, on the verge of tears.
He’d seen plenty of dark dealings, but never someone stealing in broad daylight and selling the loot right in front of him.
"The Xu family was never like this before. What happened? How will I explain when I get back and the salt is gone?" The salt peddler was distraught.
"Don’t worry, brother—come to my place for a sit-down." Guo Decai suddenly appeared, blocking out most of the sunlight.

...

Over fifty men stood in neat rows before Xu Wenshan.
They were the newly selected soldiers, twice as many as Xu Wenshan had planned.
"This time, I meant to recruit twenty-five men," Xu Wenshan said slowly, pacing before them. "But now I have fifty. Don’t be pleased—it’s not because you all performed well. Half of you weren’t even qualified!"
He pointed at them as he spoke, making some villagers frown, though no one dared object.
"But that’s all right. In time, you’ll become the most elite force on this land."
Wu Yi’s eyes widened. Was the young master of the Xu family joking? The most elite force?
He turned to look at Li Dazhuang beside him, only to find the other man’s expression utterly earnest, as if he truly believed it.