Episode Summary
Ruilin forces Li Qin and Gu Pingyuan to reorganize the salt trade within ten days. Li Qin tries a price war, while Gu Pingyuan resorts to smuggling cheap salt from Sichuan to compete. Li Qin uses the Cao Gang to hijack Gu's salt shipments. Gu goes to negotiate with the gang and is held captive. Chang Yuer arrives to rescue him and, in a desperate move, takes the Gang Leader hostage.
Spoiler Alert
Legend of the Magnate Episode 35: Salt Wars and a Knife to the Throat
Things are getting desperate in the salt business. Ruilin has lost his patience. He gives Li Qin and Gu Pingyuan a strict deadline. They have ten days to reorganize the Huai salt fields into a government-supervised operation. If they fail, they face severe punishment. It’s a classic impossible task.
The Business Battle
Li Qin is in a tough spot. His father, Li Wantang, is bedridden after that emotional reunion with his first wife. Li Qin doesn’t have the respect of the other salt merchants. He can’t talk them into cooperating. He decides his only option is a brutal price war. He wants that monopoly bad.
Gu Pingyuan can’t afford a price war. He doesn’t have the cash reserves to fight Li Qin head-on. He decides to get creative. He plans to buy cheap well salt from Sichuan.
This is risky. Transporting salt without permission is illegal. Chang Si and Mr. Liao warn him immediately. They tell him to drop the idea. Gu Pingyuan ignores them. He refuses to lose to Li Qin. He decides to take the risk.
Marketing Genius vs. Brute Force
Gu Pingyuan plays a smart game here. He doesn’t hike prices. Instead, he improves the product. He filters his salt again to make it purer. He also hands out small bags of fine salt as free samples to every customer. The quality speaks for itself. Word spreads fast.
Ruilin is watching all of this closely. He needs stable prices to keep the peace. The region just suffered a disaster. Hungry, angry people riot. If the salt is cheap and the rice is stable, the people stay calm.
The Financial Squeeze
Ruilin visits the salt fields personally. Li Qin tries to bring up buying the salt fields outright. Ruilin dodges the conversation. He makes excuses and leaves Li Qin fuming.
Gu Pingyuan moves forward with his smuggling plan. He borrows ships from Wu Caishen. Wu Caishen is generous and sends sixteen boats to haul the Sichuan salt.
Then the bill comes due. Ruilin demands 40,000 taels in salt tax from both merchants. Gu Pingyuan pays up immediately. Li Qin is in trouble. He’s out of cash. He decides to sell off the Li family shops to pay the tax. The Butler loses it. He tries to stop him. He can’t watch Li Qin destroy the empire Li Wantang built from nothing.
The Interception
Li Wantang finally wakes up. He is weak and can’t move. The Butler wastes no time. He tells the old man everything. He reveals Li Qin is losing money and that Gu Pingyuan is smuggling salt.
Gu Pingyuan’s sixteen ships are on the water. Su Yuhua worries about the government finding out. She tells Gu to stop. He doesn’t want to drag anyone else down with him.
The Butler wants blood. He tells Li Qin to report Gu to the authorities. That would mean a death sentence for Gu. Li Qin hesitates. He wants to win, but he doesn’t want Gu dead. He compromises. He hires the Cao Gang to intercept the ships and seize the salt.
A Change of Heart
Back at the Gu residence, Chang Yuer has been a saint. She watched over Gu’s mother for fifteen days straight. The mother finally wakes up. She gives Yuer some advice. She says happiness isn’t about money or status. It’s just about being together.
Li Wantang has a similar realization. He hears about the hijacked ships. His reaction is surprising. He tells Li Qin to back off. He doesn’t want to drive Gu to his death. He orders Li Qin to get the salt back from the Cao Gang. Li Qin is confused, but he listens to his father. The old man seems done with the fighting.
The Standoff
Gu Pingyuan finds out his ships are gone. He grabs Blackie and heads straight to the Cao Gang headquarters. The Gang Leader is arrogant. He won’t let Blackie inside. Gu goes in alone.
The Leader gives him two bad options. Pay 20 million taels or give the gang a 30% cut of all future smuggling. Gu refuses both. The Leader threatens to drown him. Blackie waits outside too long. He tries to bust in and save his boss. He gets beaten up for his trouble.
Yuer Takes Charge
Blackie limps back to tell Chang Yuer. She wants to storm the place. Chang Si tries to stop her. He knows it’s a suicide mission. He decides to go with her to protect her. He sends Blackie to find Su Zixuan for backup.
Chang Si tries to use his reputation. He’s an old-school gangster. He meets the Leader and asks for Gu’s release. The Leader doesn’t care about Chang Si’s past glory. He threatens to call the cops on the salt smuggling.
Chang Yuer steps up. She takes a valuable hairpin from her hair. She offers it as a deposit. She just wants to see Gu Pingyuan. The Leader agrees.
Gu is furious when he sees her. He yells at her for coming to such a dangerous place. Yuer ignores him. She tells the Leader she wants to explain the history of the hairpin. She steps closer.
Then she makes her move. She grabs the Leader and holds him hostage.
