Chapter 43 The Fish Has Taken the Bait

Lu Chuan observed Zhen Jiang's expression, yet he remained silent.

He was certain that Zhen Jiang would immediately deduce that the issue lay with the salt, so he waited.

He waited for Zhen Jiang to bring it up of her own accord.

Salt was not a mere everyday commodity; it was an absolute necessity for human survival.

From the Son of Heaven himself down to princes, nobles, influential clans, and the common folk, who did not consume salt? Since ancient times, the importance of salt had been on par with grain; otherwise, the state monopolies on salt and iron would never have existed in the past.

Although the policies regarding the salt and iron monopolies had since shifted, the imperial court still maintained strict control over the salt and iron trade.

However, for a colossal entity like the Zhen family, they possessed numerous ways to cooperate with official authorities, secure licenses for salt and iron trading, and thereby reap immense profits.

Precisely for this reason, nearly every massive mercantile family derived enormous benefits from the salt and iron trade.

Now that Zhen Jiang had discovered that the bitter, crude salt of the past was no longer the optimal choice, and that Lu Chuan possessed a far superior grade of salt, what would she think?

Therefore, Lu Chuan was in no rush at all.

At this moment, it was a battle of patience to see who would crack first.

Had Lu Chuan spoken first, it would have seemed as though he were eagerly thrusting the refined salt business into the hands of the Zhen family.

Although inviting Zhen Jiang to dinner was precisely intended to make her aware of the refined salt's existence, Lu Chuan had no intention of breaking the silence first.

Only if Zhen Jiang brought it up herself would the favor from yesterday be considered repaid; otherwise, it would be truly difficult to say that the debt of gratitude had been cleared.

The current situation could be viewed as Lu Chuan casting a baited hook, simply waiting for Zhen Jiang to take it.

If she refused to bite, it mattered little, for Lu Chuan could easily find someone else to partner with.

As long as the technique for purifying refined salt was not leaked, Lu Chuan held absolute control.

Everything else, such as workshops and distribution networks, was secondary.

Once Lu Chuan whispered a hint of it to the wind, countless merchants would trample the threshold of his residence flat just to vie for the opportunity.

Zhen Jiang set down her chopsticks and looked up at Lu Chuan.

"Lord Lu, might I ask for a detailed explanation as to why these dishes completely lack the bitter taste characteristic of crude salt?"

Lu Chuan replied, "With Lady Zhen's remarkable intellect, surely you can figure it out?"

"This concubine can deduce it, but I find it somewhat difficult to believe."

"Since that is the case, please follow me, Lady Zhen."

Lu Chuan rose and led Zhen Jiang and Zhen Mi to the back courtyard.

The refined salt produced by Lu Shui yesterday was stored entirely in this place.

Lu Chuan casually grabbed a handful of the refined salt, slowly opening his palm as the snow-white crystals cascaded downward like fine sand.

Gazing at the snow-white salt granules, Zhen Jiang's eyes widened in utter disbelief.

Could this truly be salt?

From her youth until the present day, she had never laid eyes on salt of this caliber!

She extended a finger, gently pinched a few grains from Lu Chuan's palm, placed them on her tongue, and instantly, her eyes began to gleam.

"Lord Lu, how on earth was this achieved?"

"Commercial secret, confidential!"

Lu Chuan was hardly foolish enough to disclose the refinement technique to Zhen Jiang.

There were no technical barriers to speak of in the refinement process; anyone given clear step-by-step instructions could transform crude salt into refined salt. Consequently, the technology must never be leaked.

Besides, if he handed the technology over to Zhen Jiang, what would be left for Lu Chuan?

Crude salt was already a daily necessity for the populace. Once Lu Chuan unleashed refined salt upon the world, would not the princes, nobles, and powerful gentry fight tooth and nail to acquire it?

Even ordinary citizens with a shred of disposable income would yearn to consume this pristine salt rather than the bitter, crude variety.

With such a vast demand, just how enormous was the market for refined salt?

Handing the refinement technique over to Zhen Jiang would be equivalent to surrendering this colossal market to the Zhen family on a silver platter.

This market could not be measured by a mere hundred and fifty million coins; it was likely in the tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions of coins!

Even if Lu Chuan wished to repay a favor, this was certainly not the way to do it.

Hearing Lu Chuan's words, the wild look in Zhen Jiang's eyes slowly settled back into composure.

"So Lord Lu invited this concubine here merely to let me catch a glimpse of this snow-white..."

"Refined salt."

Lu Chuan timely supplied the term, preventing Zhen Jiang from inventing another name for it.

"Ah, yes. Refined salt. Then did Lord Lu merely wish to broaden this concubine's horizons?"

"Of course not! This is simply a gift prepared for Lady Zhen!"

Lu Chuan gestured toward the heaps of refined salt in the courtyard, saying, "All of this refined salt was extracted from the ten dan of crude salt Lady Zhen delivered yesterday. Now, I am presenting these finished goods to Lady Zhen. They should prove quite sufficient for your household's needs for a long time."

Zhen Jiang stared at the sheer volume of refined salt in the courtyard. A rough mental calculation revealed there was nearly seven dan of it!

Ten dan of crude salt yielded seven dan of refined salt after processing. Given its vastly superior quality, even if it were sold at several times the price of crude salt, countless buyers would still flock to it like ducks to water!

A simple calculation of transforming crude salt into refined salt and selling the finished product revealed profit margins that were nothing short of terrifying!

Precisely because of this realization, hearing that Lu Chuan intended to gift her these seven dan of refined salt brought her not a shred of joy.

"Does Lord Lu intend to operate this refined salt business himself?"

Lu Chuan shook his head. "I have no such plans for the time being. My primary focus remains the construction of the northern outer city, and I lack the time and energy to manage distribution channels. Trivial, small-scale ventures yield little profit, so I might as well forgo them."

"Why must Lord Lu speak in such a manner? If Lord Lu's only concern is the distribution network, our Zhen family would gladly shoulder that burden for you."

Lu Chuan turned his head to look at Zhen Jiang. It was now certain that she had swallowed the hook, but he could not reel her in just yet; he needed to play the line a bit longer.

"That will not do! Your Zhen family expended countless efforts to establish your sales channels; how could I simply take advantage of your labor so casually? Furthermore, I truly have no intention of expanding into this sector right now. Had Lady Zhen not lavished one hundred and fifty million coins yesterday, contributing immensely to the development of Lu County, I would never have brought out this refined salt to present to you."

Anxiety gnawed at Zhen Jiang. She had already calculated the astronomical profits of the salt trade in her mind—how could she possibly let it slip through her fingers now?

"Please do not speak thus, Lord Lu. To relieve your burdens is this concubine's greatest honor. Moreover, should Lord Lu be willing to utilize our Zhen family's sales channels to market the refined salt, our house would likewise share in the profits. I beg Lord Lu to consider my conduct at yesterday's auction and grant the Zhen family this opportunity!"

For Zhen Jiang to utter such words meant she had lowered her stance, virtually begging Lu Chuan to entrust the salt business to her, while making it clear she was cashing in yesterday's favor.

Zhen Jiang understood all too well that regardless of what Lu Chuan claimed aloud, from the very moment he displayed the refined salt, the salt trade was destined for the Zhen family.

Otherwise, why bother showing it to her?

Could he not have shown it to Lady Mi just as easily?

Delving beneath the surface, was it not because her stellar performance at yesterday's auction had saved face for Lu Chuan?

Therefore, no matter how reluctant Zhen Jiang felt to part with that favor, she had no choice but to use it today.

And this, too, was precisely what Lu Chuan desired.