Datang: The prince of salted fish was overheard by Li Er

"No, I have to hide the salt quickly!"

Wei Zheng was very familiar with both the voice and the footsteps.

It was his sworn brother Cheng Yaojin who spoke, and the other footprints were undoubtedly Qin Qiong and Li Ji.

Back then, they worshiped at Jialiu Tower, known as the 46 Friends of Wagang Village, and vowed to uphold justice and defend the common people together.

Now that the troubled times have passed, these 46 friends have already become the past like Wagang Village.

Although Wagangzhai has passed away, the brotherhood of those years is still there.

Now Cheng Yaojin and others have been promoted one after another, but Wei Zheng, the boss, is only a fifth-rank official, so Cheng Yaojin and others often come to visit him.

Wei Zheng was also happy to be accompanied by these old brothers, and also told the porter that there is no need to notify these people when they come.

Unexpectedly, when he got the refined salt today, he was bumped into by people like Cheng Yaojin.

Cheng Yaojin and the others were all warriors, when they heard Wei Zheng laugh just now, they felt that there must be something good going on, so they quickened their pace again.

When they walked up to Wei Zheng, Wei Zheng still held the salt and didn't think about where to hide it.

"Brother, what are you holding in your hand?"

Cheng Yaojin asked.

Rarely, a trace of hesitation appeared on Wei Zheng's face.

He was not a stingy person at first, but Li You's fine salt was really hard to come by.

But soon, Wei Zheng made a decision, he gritted his teeth and said, "Come and see, three virtuous brothers, this is the refined salt that big brother got!"

When he heard that it was refined salt, Cheng Yaojin didn't care too much.

"I thought what a good thing, my old Cheng still has a lot of tribute salt at home!"

A few days ago, the three of them went to Luo Yi to conquer Youzhou. Li Shimin was overjoyed and rewarded them with a lot of things, including a lot of tribute salt.

Not only Cheng Yaojin, but also Qin Qiong and Li Ji who were on the side were a little careless, and instead of looking at the things in Wei Zheng's hands, they found a place to sit down by themselves.

Then Qin Qiong took out a big bag and said, "Brother, leave the salt to the kitchen. Look what we brought!"

It turned out that the three brothers did not go to court today, but went hunting in the countryside.

The three of them worked hard for a long time, and after killing two pheasants, they brought them over to honor the elder brother.

Originally, Wei Zheng felt that the salt in his hand was precious and wanted to hide it, but the disdain of these brothers caused a slight change in his heart.

"Didn't you say that there is tribute salt, then I will show you what is the best refined salt!"

Thinking of this, Wei Zheng didn't say anything, walked over silently, opened the salt bag and put it on the table.

Li Ji is the one who is the best at observing among the three, he has already seen that Wei Zheng's complexion is not good.

He thought it was because several of his younger brothers had already been promoted to nobles, and he was a bit of a big brother.

He opened his mouth and said: "Brother, don't worry. Now the sage is wise, and my elder brother is quick-witted, loyal and unparalleled. There will be a day when he will be reused."

Wei Zheng understood what he meant, and said: "Mao Gong is right, His Majesty has appointed me as Minister Zuo Cheng today."

Li Ji's original name was Xu Shiji, and his courtesy name was Maogong. After he surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he was given the surname Li, so he was also called Li Shiji. In order to avoid the taboo of Li Shimin's name, he changed his name to Li Ji.

Wei Zheng's tone was extremely flat, as if this matter was as normal as eating and drinking.

After hearing this, Cheng Yaojin and others were extremely happy.

"Let me just say, the emperor is not blind, he must be able to see the strengths of eldest brother."

"Now that eldest brother is promoted to Shangshu Zuocheng, the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty is just around the corner!"

"It's a pity that we didn't go to court today, and we didn't witness this moment. Fortunately, we brought pheasants, just in time to celebrate for eldest brother."

Several people cheered happily, they were even happier than being promoted to a noble.

This atmosphere also infected Wei Zheng, who felt like a child and lost his temper just now.

He picked up the pheasant with a smile and said: "You guys wait a moment, I'll let them send the pheasant to the kitchen. My brother got a good salt today, just to use it for barbecue!"

After finishing speaking, Wei Zheng gave the pheasant to the servant, and took a large spoonful of salt and gave it to the servant.

At this time, Li Ji discovered the salt in Wei Zheng's hand.

Wei Zheng's movements were too fast, and he didn't see clearly for a while, so he immediately moved closer.

"Brother, what is this? Refined salt!"

Seeing Li Ji's surprised look, Wei Zheng couldn't help smiling, and nodded proudly.

Then he put the salt on the table again and said, "That's right, this is the refined salt that elder brother got today, how is it compared with your tribute salt!"

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound came.

Wei Zheng looked up, but it was Cheng Yaojin.

"Brother, it's my old Cheng who made a mistake!"

"Brother, this refined salt is ten million times better than my tribute salt."

"Brother, where did you get it?"

Cheng Yaojin looked at the salt in Wei Zheng's hand, and took a mouthful of salt, which made Wei Zheng feel a little embarrassed.

He quickly opened his mouth to talk about the whole thing, and the three people around him were amazed.

"So we'll be eating salt like this soon?"

"Thanks to big brother!"

Qin Qiong is also a smart person, and he understood it all at once.

Wei Zheng nodded with a smile and said, "Your Majesty has set up a salt supervisor under the Shence Mansion. I think this refined salt will be sold in Chang'an soon."

"Thanks to His Royal Highness King Chu for this matter, it has nothing to do with me!"

Wei Zheng said it had nothing to do with him, but Qin Qiong shook his head: "How can you say that it has nothing to do with elder brother!"

"If it wasn't for the eldest brother who loves the people like a son, how could the king of Chu intervene in this matter!"

Hearing this, Wei Zheng was also happy for a while.

When I thought about it in my heart, it was really the same thing.

Just at this time, Mrs. Pei delivered the first round of dishes.

"Wow, it smells so good!"

Cheng Yaojin smelled the strong fragrance and immediately couldn't help picking up the chopsticks.

"Is this the dish made with refined salt? It's really delicious! And it's much more delicious than usual."

He tasted every dish and was full of praise.

Rao, Mrs. Pei was originally planning to prepare for Wei Zheng today, and she didn't expect such three big men to come suddenly.

After a few dishes, my stomach was eaten quickly like a storm.

Not long after eating, Mrs. Pei took out the roast chicken again.

The already plump pheasant, together with Li You's refined salt, burst out with a different kind of delicacy.

The two roasted chickens were quickly divided among several people.

Today's meal was particularly fast, not to mention the three warriors Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin, even Wei Zheng ate very fast today, as if he couldn't lose to others.

After eating, Cheng Yaojin was still not satisfied, he smiled and said to Wei Zheng: "Brother, your salt is really delicious, can you give me some!"

"I see that big brother just got such a big bag, how about sharing it with me?"

Wei Zheng drank some wine while eating, and now he is a little bit over the top.

After personally eating the taste of this refined salt, he cherished it even more.

Wei Zheng shook his head, and said, "Isn't this salt going to be sold by Shence Mansion soon? Why are you in such a hurry!"

"Now you are the Duke of the state. Your eldest brother doesn't have as much money as you. If you want to eat salt, you can buy it yourself!"

When Wei Zheng said this, Cheng Yaojin became dumbfounded.

According to his usual temperament, Cheng Yaojin might have fought with other people at this moment, but for this big brother Wei Zheng, he can only admit that he is cowardly.

"Brother, I, Old Cheng, can't wait any longer."

"Why don't I take some back first, and wait until the Salt Supervisor starts selling them, then I'll buy them and pay you back."

However, this time Wei Zheng shook his head firmly.

Cheng Yaojin was about to plead again with a shy face, but found someone pulling his clothes.

He looked back and saw that it was Li Ji who was pulling him.