Chapter 143: The Sensation Caused by Refined Salt and Rest
"Dad, Mom, hahaha, I'm back!!"

With a loud shout, a tall and strong man, wearing coarse cloth clothes and carrying a small bag, walked into Caojia Village on the outskirts of Xianyang.

"Ah? Tie Niu? Why are you back?"

Tie Niu's family lived a few houses ahead of the village entrance. Tie Niu's father was weaving hemp ropes in his yard.

Listening to this slightly strange yet extremely familiar voice, when he looked up, he saw his eldest son whom he had been thinking about day and night.

"Dad, haha, look, the military leader said that Master Yuan saw that we were training hard, so he rewarded us with some things, and then everyone was given a day off, and told us to go home and have a look!"

Looking at his eldest son who was gradually walking towards him, Old Man Cao was silent for a moment after hearing these words, and then he slapped him on the face with a pair of big, calloused hands.

"I'll stop you from talking nonsense!"

"I've never been a soldier?"

"Hugh Mu?"

"What kind of shit can we soldiers have?"

"reward?"

"I didn't fight in the war and didn't make any achievements. How can I get the reward?"

Old man Cao was indeed a tough guy who had fought in the battlefield. He beat and kicked Tie Niu so hard that he started screaming.

The key point is that he still has to protect the bag of refined salt in his arms that he was rewarded with.

"Dad, dad, dad, stop hitting me!"

"What a rest day! What a reward! I brought all my things back!"

"Stop hitting me. If you keep hitting me, my things will fall and you'll regret it later and end up lying on the ground!"

Seeing that Tie Niu was still being stubborn, Old Man Cao's eyes turned red and he turned around to find a stick to beat this rebellious son to death.

Fortunately, Tie Niu's mother came out and kicked Old Man Cao without any hesitation.

"Cao Ergou, you have become more capable. My son has returned openly. Do you not believe it?"

"Did my son hide anything? It's obviously because you, an old man, are incompetent!"

"Get out of here! I want to see the reward my son brought back!"

Tie Niu couldn't help laughing when he saw his mother, who was born a hunter, suppressing his father with one hand as she did in previous years.

Then, under the increasingly sharp gaze of Old Man Cao, he closed his mouth angrily, and finally revealed the small bag in his arms.

"Dad, Mom, look at this!"

"Gong Ziyuan arranged for the Shaofu to deliver this directly to the military camp, and then distribute a copy to each person."

"My goodness, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. This is actually salt!"

"Don't even mention eating it. I've never heard of such good salt!"

"Mom, try some!"

Tie Niu's mother looked at Tie Niu blankly as he opened the small bag in his arms, revealing layers of refined salt that was as delicate and white as snow.

At Tie Niu's signal, she stretched out her little finger, carefully dipped a tiny bit of it, and then took a sip.

Then, she became more and more confused.

"Tie Niu, I used to believe what you said."

"But now I feel like you're talking nonsense!"

"Is this something people like us are worthy of eating?"

"You must have stolen something and came back as a deserter!"

"Or else, go and turn yourself in!"

Hearing his mother's sudden questioning, Tie Niu really didn't know whether to laugh or cry. And this kind of farce is not only happening in Caojia Village.

This was constantly happening throughout the city of Xianyang and in the surrounding villages.

First of all, this so-called rest day!

This is the first time in the history of the world.

In the past, unless something serious happened at home and the news reached the military camp, people would have to get the general’s personal approval before they could come out.

But now, we are given the holiday in an orderly and open manner.

When countless families see their father, husband, or grown-up son appear in front of their doorstep, they are first shocked, then question, and finally feel grateful.

It’s true that the pillar of the family who I had missed for a long time suddenly appeared, even if the holiday was only one day.

Even if you heard that it was a one-day holiday, you still have to make up for it during your normal rest time after you go back.

They are also grateful!
But when they saw the refined salt brought back by the soldiers on vacation, they were no longer filled with gratitude, but with fear.

Countless people had the same first reaction as Tie Niu's parents in Caojia Village.

Is this thing suitable for people like them to eat?
After confirming the source again and again, it was determined that even if the salt distributed to the soldiers was used sparingly, it would only be enough for a family to eat for a month.

But countless people also knelt down willingly and then kowtowed towards Xianyang.

This is the most sincere and practical way of expressing gratitude they can think of.

Ying Yuan naturally couldn't ignore the situation of these soldiers returning home on leave.

No matter how good the starting point of a policy is, if something goes wrong during the implementation stage, it will inevitably go astray without anyone knowing.

Therefore, almost all the Jinyiwei were mobilized.

He was not only monitoring the movements of merchants and nobles in Xianyang City, but also paying attention to the feedback from the soldiers.

As this information was delivered to Ying Yuan like a stream, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

In his previous life, he hated taking time off.

After all, isn't it disgusting that you are holding something that should belong to you, pinching it and then changing its shape to give it to yourself, and you still have to be grateful to it?
But now, I gave them the things that should have belonged to them, but what I received was worship and praise.

I can only say that the people of this era are really simple and honest.

A little kindness can bring a huge reward
Next to Ying Yuan was Chen Ping, who was in charge of the salt and iron monopoly.

At this moment, he was also constantly organizing and summarizing information from various places, and then constantly analyzing it in his mind.

"Sir, there are two small matters at the moment."

"First, the salt shops are ready. The salt will be shipped over tonight and can be officially sold tomorrow!"

"Secondly, many salt merchants have been complaining about the ban, and are now trying their best to come to the palace to plead for mercy."

"Chen Ping dare not make a dictatorial decision on this matter. I hope you can give me your instructions on how to deal with it!"

Chen Ping said it lightly, but in fact there were all kinds of wind, frost and swords behind it.

He only mentioned those who begged for mercy, but did not mention that there were some who were arrogant and noisy. Those who should be killed have been killed and those who should be arrested have been arrested.

After all, in this era, salt is a huge source of money that can not only make huge profits but also continue to make huge profits.

Countless nobles, aristocratic families and even officials have participated in this lucrative business to varying degrees.

Now, Ying Yuan’s behavior has cut off the roots of countless people.

It would be strange if I didn't jump up and down!

However, since Ying Yuan had already made his decision, would he care about the so-called "plea?"

(End of this chapter)