"Chen Jiusi, you are pushing it too far. If I had Nan Lake’s salt field and the business of refined salt supporting me, I too would have gone in with ten and come out with eleven. This is simply bullying!"
Chen Jie chuckled and said, "Gang Leader, did you hear that clearly? Master Qin is envious of the profits from Nan Lake Salt Field. Since that’s the case, why don’t you apply to Lord Darugachi, and request he give the salt field to him; and then, Lord Darugachi’s share will also go to you!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Ying angrily slapped the table, "Gang Leader, did you hear that? He relies on Lord Darugachi’s protection and looks down on me, which I can tolerate, but Gang Leader, he even dares to disrespect you..."
Qin Ying was furious and lost his temper at that moment, with his words no longer passing through his mind.
Nan Batian certainly didn’t want to escalate the conflict now, especially turning it into one between him and Lord Darugachi, so he didn’t allow Qin Ying to finish his statement.
Qin Ying realized his mistake and bowed his head in silence.
Nan Batian glared at him and sternly said, "Hmm, what Qin Ying said was indeed improper. According to our rules, Qin Ying, you indeed don’t have the right to request Jiusi to stop offering low-priced loans in his territory."
Qin Ying was anxious after hearing this, but Nan Batian did not give him a chance to interject, and turned to Chen Jie; "Jiusi, however, this matter indeed needs discussion. We in the Fishing Guild are brothers in hardship, and Eagle Hall has hundreds of brothers to support. What you do in your territory is not for me to govern, but it’s indeed affecting the livelihood of Eagle Hall."
"How about this? Give me some face, and from now on, you manage your loans however you want in your territory, but you need to screen the borrowers. Don’t allow loans on Eagle Hall’s territory. How about that?"
Nan Batian looked at Chen Jie, who made a troubled expression on his face—though he actually didn’t really care.
Loan sharking was minor money, and Chen Jie wasn’t particularly concerned about it, especially in the less significant territory of Eagle Hall. But even if absolutely indifferent, now was the time to act pained.
Only if he made a sacrifice, would they feel happy, damn human nature.
Thinking this, Chen Jie’s face showed displeasure.
Qin Ying looked at Nan Batian, who was in no hurry, gently tapping the table with his index finger, producing a rhythmic sound.
After a while, Chen Jie said in pain, "Fine, for the Gang Leader’s face, I’ll give this up. Xiao Hu, remember to tell Zhou Chu when you get back, we will stop lending to Eagle Hall."
Xiao Hu responded, and Nan Batian suddenly laughed, "Hahaha, Jiusi is still very considerate, Qin Ying, thank Jiusi."
Nan Batian said, "Give thanks."
Qin Ying clasped his hands together, Chen Jie ignored him, sipped some tea. Chen Jie knew Nan Batian wouldn’t have called this meeting over such a trivial matter; there had to be more to discuss.
Indeed Nan Batian then spoke, "Ahem... Right, let’s consider the Eagle Hall matter settled. I called you all here today because there is another important issue."
Nan Batian took out a ledger from a table nearby and said, "Everyone, take a look."
He then threw it directly to Chen Jie, who took it and saw it recorded the transactions of the Fishing Guild’s iron mine.
Chen Jie, puzzled, looked at Nan Batian, "Gang Leader, I have already stopped dealing in the iron mine business."
Nan Batian said, "Read on."
Chen Jie immediately flipped through it, finding that the iron ore sales had been decreasing month by month, especially dramatically in the last six months.
Iron and salt were the mainstays of the Fishing Guild.
Any trouble with either could lead to financial problems for the guild.
Now with the decreasing iron ore sales, this could not be overlooked.
After scanning through it once, Chen Jie handed it to Tang Ziyue, who flipped through it and said, "Gang Leader, why has the trade in iron mines dropped so drastically? I remember our iron ore was being refined into pig iron, then sold to the Northern official army to make weapons to suppress bandits."
"With the Red Turban Army causing such turmoil in the Northern region, it should be a time of massive consumption of weapons. Why are sales of pig iron decreasing?"
Tang Ziyue flipped the ledger curiously and then handed it to Chen Jie, "Jiusi, you look as well."
Chen Jie noticed Tang Ziyue’s unease, and followed with, "Yes, this doesn’t make sense, does it?"
Chen Jie knew a bit about the Red Turban Army in the Northern region, a large-scale uprising under the banner of the Zoroastrian Sect, sweeping across over a dozen state mansions, with tens of thousands of participants. The daily consumption of weapons was immense, hence the Southern iron weapons were selling fast.
Recently, the iron mines in Mianshui County were shipping out frantically.
Nan Batian said, "Hmm, indeed, the uprising has swept across more than a dozen state mansions. The court sent the White Deer Army to suppress it, and our Mianshui County’s pig iron is mainly purchased by Lord Tute’s men. But recently, I’ve noticed that Lord Tute’s procurement has been getting lesser and lesser, and if it continues , our iron mining business is finished!"
Hearing this, Tang Ziyue frowned and said, "It shouldn’t be, the demand hasn’t decreased, but the procurement has. There must be some issue here. Could it be that they have other sources of supply?"
Hearing this, Nan Batian said, "Exactly, through my investigation, I’ve found where the problem lies!"
Qin Ying asked, looking at Nan Batian, who thought for a moment and then said, "The issue lies with Elder Liu of Guild Cao!"