The place where the smuggled salt was sold was in a very remote alley. The shop even sold tea as a disguise. The original owner had come here with Father Jian before, so she still remembered how to get there.
Jian Qingqing came to the outside of the alley, took out a piece of cloth to cover her face, and swaggered in.
Although the alley was hidden, there were a lot of people inside. There were three long lines in front of the counter.
However, Jian Qingqing attracted a lot of attention when she entered. Without a doubt, she was too young. Although she was eight years old, she was only about 1.1 meters tall. In modern times, she was only the height of a first-grader.
The people who came to buy salt were all adults. The sudden appearance of a child was still very eye-catching. Moreover, that child was wearing a mask.
When the steward saw that it was a child who had accidentally barged in, he wanted to chase her away.
"Go, go, go. This is not a place for you to play."
Jian Qingqing waved his hand and said in a low voice, "Manager Ding, I'm not here to play. I want to do business with you!"
Manager Ding thought it was hilarious. What business did he have with a child? He just thought that Jian Qingqing was here to cause trouble.
He rolled up his wide sleeves. "Hurry up and leave. If you come here to cause trouble again, I'll get someone to beat you up and send you out."
Jian Qingqing was not afraid of him. She opened the small basket that she carried with her, revealing the three bamboo tubes inside.
"Manager Ding, I really have a business to do with you. Why don't we find a quiet place to talk?"
Manager Ding looked at her sincere eyes. She did not speak and act like a child. Could it be that she really had a business to do?
He said hesitantly, "Then follow me."
Jian Qingqing followed Manager Ding into the backyard and came to a tea room that served guests.
"Tell me, what business do you want to do with me?"
Jian Qingqing took out a bamboo tube and poured out some salt.
"Manager Ding, look."
Manager Ding was shocked. "What, what is this?"
Jian Qingqing smiled slightly and did not try to be cryptic. "Salt."
"What! This, this is salt?"
"Manager Ding, you can try it."
Manager Ding used his finger to crush a little of Jian Qingqing's palm and pressed it into his mouth.
This salt was not only thin and white, but it did not feel bitter at all. The taste was also much stronger than other salts. He had seen a lot of official salt and private salt, but none of them could make such perfect salt.
Manager Ding asked in surprise, "Little brother, how do you make your salt?"
Jian Qingqing only smiled and did not speak.
Manager Ding could only ask in embarrassment, "Little Brother, then can I talk to your Master?"
As Jian Qingqing was dressed in rags and her voice was low, Manager Ding thought that she was a servant of some family.
This time, Jian Qingqing did not ignore his words and cleared her throat, she said, "My Master doesn't want anyone to know his identity. He said that there are two catties of salt here, give it to Manager Ding to try. If Manager Ding thinks it's good to sell, he will come back to you in the future. You just have to decide the price of these two catties of salt."
Manager Ding hurriedly said, "This will definitely sell well, but I don't know your surname, Little Brother. How can I contact you? When will the next batch of goods be delivered?"
"Don't worry. My surname is Zhuang. When it's time to contact you, Master will call someone to contact you. Manager Ding, don't worry. We only looked for you in Cairo City."
Zhuang was Mother Jian's surname.
Hearing her words, Manager Ding no longer insisted on seeing her Master. "Okay, then I'll wait for Little Brother's good news."
Manager Ding went to the inner room and took a silver ingot. After thinking for a while, he took another ingot.
He handed two silver ingots to Jian Qingqing. "Little Brother Zhuang, if you have any news, please tell me."
Jian Qingqing looked at the two silver ingots. Although she was very surprised, her expression did not change.
"Okay, okay."
"Little Brother, do you want to stay for lunch?"
How could Jian Qingqing stay? The more she said, the more mistakes she made, so she refused, "No, I have to go back to report."
"Then I'll send you out."