The wind howled in the wilderness.
All you can see are flat salt pans.
Longwu County is located in the northwest of the continent, and is clearly a remote place far from the coast. However, at this moment, there was a strange sound of surging waves. The wind blew and the waves rolled, and it seemed like the sea was boiling. With Shen Tang as the center, a strong wind with the salty smell of seawater was raised for no reason.
The hem of her clothes fluttered and her hair flew.
Everyone held their breath and looked up at the sky. The sky that was originally sunny was covered by dark clouds in a few breaths. The thick clouds were so close that they seemed to be within reach. The roaring waves gave people the illusion that they were almost aware of it.
“Here it comes!”
Everyone focused their attention, but in the blink of an eye, a huge wave several feet high, riding on the strong wind, poured down from the sky.
It fell right in the salt field.
At the same time, sea water also splashed half of Shen Tang's body.
The seemingly fierce waves became docile as soon as they touched the ground, without any of the ferocity they showed when they first appeared, and obediently filled every salt field. The excess flowed along the dug ditches and into the artificial pools dug by humans. She intentionally controlled the output of her literary energy, and barely used up the reserves of the Dan Mansion. After all, Shen Tang was still the head of a county, and it was impossible for him to come here every day.
If the artificial pond is filled up, it will be enough to supply the salt fields for a while.
He bent down, dipped a little with his finger and put it in his mouth.
Taste the saltiness: "Ah, it's quite salty."
It is indeed sea water and the taste is very authentic.
However, since it was made of literary energy after all, she had no idea whether it could last as long as the wine made by Shen Tang.
The specific situation will have to be observed for another two days.
Shen Tang clapped his hands: "Let the salt workers do their work."
He added: "I will take a break first and recover my literary energy."
When the salt fields were being dug, Shen Tang also asked Chu Yao to post notices to recruit enough common people to work as salt workers. Salt workers' work was relatively light in terms of physical exertion, and ordinary people could do it. This move could also be considered as increasing employment opportunities.
The salt workers were already on standby at one side.
Although they all knew that the Word Spirit was magical, they had no chance to see it. This time, seeing Shen Jun summon seawater with their own eyes, this unprecedented magical method made them excited. Therefore, they worked extra hard, carrying wooden rakes and carefully raking the salt pan mud soaked with seawater. Each one was more skillful than the other, and they were competing with each other invisibly.
Shen Tang wanted to sit down and take a rest.
Who knew that in the next moment, the Dan Mansion would gradually fill up.
She looked at the several streams of spiritual energy surrounding her in silence: "... There's no need to rush... I can recover on my own..."
You can also take the opportunity to slack off.
"It is our duty to share the worries and troubles of the superiors."
With so many talented scholars present, all of them very capable, how could they allow their lord to recover his literary spirit on his own
Shen Tang: “…”
While she was muttering to herself, she secretly took note of these literary masters and would assign them more work later!
As soon as the thought came to mind, one thing was missing.
You can tell it's Gu Chi without even looking.
Shen Tang stood up and brushed off the mud stuck on his hem, saying, "If the salt workers can successfully make brine, remember to report back as soon as possible."
"Whether we can get rich depends on it."
In terms of output and cost, salt fields are actually much lower than salt wells, but salt fields have not yet been put into use and will not be able to play their original advantages for a while. The former can be evaporated by the sun, while the latter needs to be boiled by fire, wasting a lot of charcoal.
Previously, well salt was produced using straw and firewood, which was very expensive and produced relatively low yields. Shen Tang naturally would not do something that would increase costs, so he decided to use natural gas, or "fire wells." It is said that one dou of water can produce five dou of salt.
However, this method is relatively dangerous. In order to ensure the smooth operation of the salt wells and the safety of the salt workers, several warriors must be stationed there for long-term inspections to nip the danger in the bud as much as possible. There is no such worry in the salt fields.
Shen Tang: "By the way, did Wen Zhu reply?"
Ning Yan retracted her gaze from the salt field and said, "Not yet. Considering the speed, it will take at least three days to get a reply."
Shen Tang rubbed his hands nervously and anxiously.
"Still that long? Time is really hard to wait."
Ning Yan smiled and said, "There will be good results."
Based on her understanding of Xu Wenzhu, if he didn't reach out to catch such a huge piece of meat pie falling from the sky, he would be a nobody.
Why does Xu Jie keep pestering Wu Xian
Because the latter's pond salt has huge profits.
For the sake of interests and family, Xu Jie had no reason to refuse to be loyal to Wu Xian, but a person's appetite will continue to grow. People always say that merchants pursue profits, and in fact, the same is true for aristocratic families. Wu Xian's appetite at this moment is a little beyond Xu Jie's expectations.
The lord handed over this meat pie...
How should he choose
Should I eat? Or should I eat? Or should I eat
The facts were just as Ning Yan expected.
Xu Jie could not refuse Wu Xian, nor could he refuse Shen Tang - the latter not only brought benefits, but also a favor of recognition.
That day, the sky was clear.
Fugu City is as peaceful as ever.
Xu Jie temporarily forgot his worries, and sat in the courtyard with a cup of tea, basking in the sun, flipping through the book of words that he had memorized by heart. Just as he was getting a little tipsy and sleepy, he heard familiar footsteps approaching, so he closed the book and put it away.
"Another letter from home?"
"Wen Shi gets more clingy as he gets older..." Xu Jie seemed to be complaining about his cousin, but in fact, the corners of his mouth had already curled up quietly, "... Considering his age, he is also a man who can stand on his own feet. Why is he still so unstable and not afraid of Shen Junsheng's opinion..."
The attendant said, "Not only are there letters from Xiaolang, there are also several letters from the Longwu County government office that need to be read by the parents themselves."
Sent from the Longwu County government
This is a very formal official negotiation.
Xu Jie was puzzled, but he still opened the letter from his talkative cousin. As expected, it was all nonsense, and he could barely extract one core sentence - the runaway wife of the Zhao family came to Longwu, and asked him to help convey a message of safety and not to worry.
"Dayi can rest assured now."
As he spoke, he opened the letter with the seal of the Magistrate of Longwu County. The curve of his lips gradually stiffened until it solidified.
The attendant was a little curious about what was going on, because he had been following the parents for so many years, and he had never seen the parents' eyes open so wide!
Yo-ho-
Not only did his eyes widen, but his breathing also quickened.
Xu Jie suddenly stood up and crumpled the letter into a ball.
He looked around and said sternly, "Did you bring all these letters here? Did anyone else get involved in the process?"
Attendant: "I am watching, no outsiders have contact."
"That's good. That's good."
Xu Jie's face turned red due to excitement.
I don't know when I started sweating.
The letter started with a simple greeting, asking if he could sell some silkworm seed and leaf materials at a friendly price. Although the quantity was large, there was no big profit from it. If the labor cost was included, it was estimated that there would be a big loss.
What really excited Xu Jie was what happened next!
Salt!
Shen Jun has a method to refine refined salt at low cost. There is a huge profit gap between crude salt and refined salt.
Several abandoned salt wells were found in Longwu County. Shen Jun wanted to restore them, so he asked his brave warriors to repair them. They accidentally dug a deep well. Not only was there abundant brine, but there was also a fire well to help with combustion, so there was no need for high-cost and low-efficiency straw charcoal fires.
It won't take long to produce a large amount of high-quality refined salt, and Shen Jun is worried about how to deal with it.
Then I wrote to ask him if he was interested.
She was now tied up in the government affairs of Longwu County and had no full-time staff to deal with this thing. It would be a pity to leave it in her hands, and she couldn't finish it herself. At present, she was short of money. So she simply sold it at a friendly price for convenience, giving Xu Jie 40% of the profit!
Forty percent!
That’s 40%!
If those salt wells were really high-yield and low-cost, a 40% profit would be a figure that would make Xu Jie's breathing quicken. The key point was that this profit could be eaten right away without any additional expenditure... It was hard for Xu Jie not to be tempted.
But he still had his sanity.
Although the meat patty is large, it is risky to eat.
The risk was not on Shen Tang's side, but on his lord Wu Xian's side. For a moment, Xu Jie was in a dilemma.
Although it is a dilemma, the balance in my heart has already reached a conclusion.
The attendant was concerned about him: "Why is the parent in trouble?"
Xu Jie sighed: "Because of the lord."
The attendant knew the parent's temper best and knew that the other party just needed a step up, so he pretended to be confused.
"But - the head of the family is loyal to Lord Zhaode and only has business dealings with Lord Longwu Shen. Why should he make things difficult?"
Xu Jie burned the letter from Longwu County with his own hands.
He murmured, "Yeah."
Merchants pursue profits. If there is a profitable business, why not do it
I am not changing the door or the wall...
Xu Jie didn't want to change, but some people couldn't wait.
Even my teeth were chattering with excitement.
"Mr. Shen, Mr. Shen... do you want me to smuggle this salt... no, sell it for ten wu?"