Meirui Building.
Chen Ji stood under the lamp, flipping through the ledger.
Shen Ye, reeking of alcohol, stumbled down from the second floor and said with a smile, "No wonder earlier Brother Chen advised me to go upstairs for a bit; turns out it was to say such harsh words to Brother Huang. I did all the hard work of writing letters to so many salt merchants for you... I made it clear in my letters—two taels for a salt permit, how am I supposed to wrap this up now."
Chen Ji turned back and sincerely said, "I apologize to Brother Shen, but whether it's the salt merchants called by Brother Shen or Brother Huang, I will provide an explanation afterward."
"I don't mind these things," Shen Ye said, holding a wine jug, "after all, the salt merchants have already made a fortune, letting them bleed a little is not a problem, just don't let me bleed," he continued, "but your way of doing things, Brother Chen, seems a bit too ruthless, unlike a scholar."
