At this moment, there were already a dozen or so tables of banquets set up in the main hall, and no less than a hundred people were sitting there, all happily drinking and feasting.
On a raised platform several steps up to the east of the main hall, there was also a table of banquet. Five people were sitting at the table. Besides the three leaders of Panhu Fort, there was a man wearing a silver mask. The mask didn't cover his whole face but curved over his lips, leaving his chin and lips exposed. There was also a man in black sitting beside him.
Mu Wulin raised his hand to pour a bowl of wine for the silver - masked man and said with a big laugh, "Young Master Chu, come on. This bowl of wine is from me, Mu Wulin. I'm here to thank you for taking care of our Panhu Fort's business."
The silver - masked Young Master Chu didn't look at Mu Wulin. He just glanced down at the bowl of wine. He neither drank it nor said a word.
Mu Wulin's hand that had been holding the wine bowl still hung in mid - air. Looking at Young Master Chu's masked face, the smile on his face froze a bit.
"Young Master Chu, I'll drink this bowl of wine. You can drink as you like!" After saying that, Mu Wulin downed the bowl of wine in one gulp and wiped the remaining wine droplets on his face boldly.
Young Master Chu didn't say a word about Mu Wulin's actions just now. His expression and movements didn't change at all, making it hard for others to guess what he was thinking.
Zhuang Yusheng quickly stepped in with a smile to ease the atmosphere. "Young Master Chu came to our Panhu Fort today. Let us treat you well. Why don't you stay in our fort for a few more days?"
Only then did Young Master Chu move a bit. He glanced at Zhuang Yusheng and then looked away, still saying nothing.
However, the man in black beside him spoke up and said to Zhuang Yusheng, "Thank you for your kind offer, Second Leader. But our young master has some important things to attend to next. He'll be leaving tomorrow."
Hearing this, Zhuang Yusheng quickly exchanged a look with a man wearing a bronze - colored mask. With a puzzled look on his face, he said, "We still have some business cooperation matters to discuss with Young Master Chu. If Young Master Chu leaves..."
He paused for a moment. The man in black then continued along his train of thought, "Second Leader, you can discuss all the matters of the future cooperation with me."
Hearing this, Zhuang Yusheng felt relieved. "In that case, we'll have to rely on Young Master Ji's care in the future!"
After that, he didn't mention asking Young Master Chu to stay anymore and just kept talking and drinking with Young Master Ji in black.
The banquet reached its climax. The people from Panhu Fort sitting at the tables below had started rolling dice and shouting out drinking slogans. Everyone had drunk quite a lot, and the atmosphere was very lively.
On the other side, the atmosphere at the table where the five people were sitting wasn't that high - spirited.
Wu Sixi, who had been quiet all this time, put the wine bowl on the table after drinking a bowl of wine. Suddenly, he said, "Our Panhu Fort will deliver the goods as agreed. But I don't know when the payment will be settled."
He said this while looking at Young Master Chu. Young Master Ji glanced at Young Master Chu and then said, "Don't worry, Leader Wu. As long as your goods can be delivered to us as required, we'll definitely pay every single coin."
Zhuang Yusheng continued, "We naturally trust you two young masters. But... as you can see, there are so many brothers in our Panhu Fort. We have to consider their livelihoods."
Young Master Ji smiled, picked up the wine bowl on the table, and drank it in one gulp. "Second Leader Zhuang, I remember we've already paid 30% of the deposit before!"
Zhuang Yusheng looked at him with a somewhat embarrassed expression. "Alas! Brother Ji, to be honest, because of this business with Young Master Chu, our fort has declined many other orders recently. These days, there's no business in the fort, and the brothers are suffering. So we were thinking, could Young Master Chu pay another 20% of the deposit first so that I can improve the brothers' living conditions?"
The man in black didn't expect that Zhuang Yusheng would ask them to pay another 20% of the deposit at this time. He knew that paying 30% of the deposit first was already a lot, but the Panhu Fort was still so greedy.
This thought flashed through his mind, and a look of displeasure appeared on Young Master Ji's face. "It seems that the so - called Panhu Fort is just like this!"
Zhuang Yusheng smiled instead of getting angry. "Of course, what I just said was just a suggestion. If you two young masters think it's inappropriate, we can discuss it further. After all, the price can also be negotiated."
"You..." Hearing this, Young Master Ji glared at Zhuang Yusheng angrily. He didn't expect that the price that had already been negotiated would be raised on the spot. He was about to say something else, but was stopped by Young Master Chu beside him, who raised his hand.
He glanced at Young Master Chu's expression and then said to Zhuang Yusheng again, "It's not difficult for Second Leader to find a cooperation partner. But it's not easy to find someone like us who is willing to buy all of Panhu Fort's goods for the next three years at once."
"You can either have small - scale cooperation with some small merchants or cooperate with us. After all, this single business of ours can support everyone in Panhu Fort for three years. The choice is up to you leaders."
Hearing this, Zhuang Yusheng smiled. "Young Master Ji is right. But because of this business, we've declined several old customers before, and we've suffered quite a loss! I wonder how this loss should be calculated?"
At this time, the so - called Young Master Ji in Zhuang Yusheng's words looked extremely ugly. "Second Leader doesn't think that in the whole Dongling Kingdom, only your Panhu Fort is in the illegal salt business, do you?"
"Then how many do you think can provide you with as much illegal salt as our Panhu Fort?"
Young Master Ji didn't say a word because Zhuang Yusheng was right. Otherwise, they wouldn't have directly cooperated with Panhu Fort and now been held back by them because of this matter.
Seeing that Young Master Ji didn't say a word, Zhuang Yusheng softened his tone and said, "You two young masters also know that salt has always been under the control of the court. Our Panhu Fort has spent many years building relationships to get this amount of illegal salt every year. It's not easy for us to earn this hard - earned money at the risk of our lives!"
Facing Zhuang Yusheng's act of playing the victim, Young Master Ji didn't say a word. However, Young Master Chu, who had been quiet all this time beside him, looked at Wu Sixi and directly asked, "Leader Wu, if you have a price in mind, just say it."
He didn't want to beat around the bush anymore.
The face of Wu Sixi hidden under the mask showed no expression, but there was a hint of smile in his tone. "Young Master Chu is a straightforward person. Then I'll just say it!"
"We don't ask for much, just 10%! Just raise the price by 10% on the original basis!"