Chapter 140

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, all were stunned, and then they all bowed respectfully in unison:

"Greetings, Family Head!"

"Greetings, Master!"

"Greetings, Father!"

"Father!" Pei Suiwan also called out toward the person on the attic.

"Uncle Pei!" Du Shuying said with a smile.

Yuwen Yuan did not bow, but nodded in greeting.

"Greetings, Pei Imperial Steward!"

Chen Yan stood up unhurriedly, bowed toward the direction where Pei Xun was, and performed a salute.

"All of you, dispense with the formalities!"

Pei Xun stood on the attic, waved his hand casually, and his gaze fell on Chen Yan, "Chief Mirror Officer Chen?"

"Naturally." Chen Yan nodded and made a response.

"Then this old man will wait for you at the top of the attic!"

Pei Xun did not linger, walked straight toward the top, and disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Suiwan, Your Highness, Miss Du, since Pei Imperial Steward has invited me, I must excuse myself first!"

Chen Yan looked at the three women, cupped his hands, and apologized.

"No matter, Brother A Yan, you go ahead; I will take care of things here..." Pei Suiwan heard this, smiled, and said softly.

"Alright."

Chen Yan responded and immediately headed toward the entrance of the attic.

"I didn't expect that even Father would be alarmed by this fine salt refining..."

"Since Father invited him alone, I'm afraid that..."

Pei Suiwan looked at the man's departing back, and guesses arose in her heart.

This time, her father, who had eyes higher than the top, was afraid he had been completely moved...

Pei Suiwan quickly withdrew her thoughts and efficiently began to disperse the people at the scene.

Top of the attic.

Outside the quiet and elegant room.

"Lord Chen Yan, please this way!" The Pei mansion guard made a gesture of invitation, signaling Chen Yan to enter the door.

Zhu Yi and You Xian remained outside the door with the guard; Chen Yan entered alone, walked slowly forward, stopped not far from Pei Xun's side, and said respectfully: "This official, Chen Yan, greets Pei Imperial Steward!"

"Chief Mirror Officer Chen, no need for formalities!"

"Sit."

Pei Xun pressed his hand and smiled.

Then he looked at Pei Xilou, who was standing to one side, and ordered: "Serve tea."

"Many thanks, Pei Imperial Steward!"

Chen Yan nodded, knelt and sat opposite, and reached out to take the hot tea handed to him.

"Chief Mirror Officer Chen, this is our first meeting, right?" Pei Xun turned the teacup in his palm, examined the young man before him, and asked.

Pei Xun had already heard this boy's great name countless times, but this was his first time seeing him in person.

He was indeed dignified and had an extraordinary bearing.

"Yes."

Chen Yan lifted the corners of his mouth slightly and flattered: "But this official has long admired you, Imperial Steward, and has long wanted to visit and listen to your teachings, but I have always been troubled by the lack of opportunity..."

This was the truth, not empty words.

Therefore, a certain someone specially created an opportunity to meet...

"You really know how to talk..."

Pei Xun put down the teacup, his sharp gaze looked straight into Chen Yan's eyes, and asked: "With your intelligence, you should have already known why this old man wanted to see you alone, right?"

In his words, it was full of profound meaning.

This kid before him was exactly the same as what Pei Xun had learned...

Glib-tongued, worldly-wise, deeply versed in the ways of the world, and also possessing outstanding ability.

"Because of the method of refining fine salt!" Chen Yan did not hesitate, almost blurting it out.

"Precisely."

Pei Xun restrained his smile, his face full of seriousness, and said in a deep voice: "If there is your refining method, the people of Great Zhou will no longer suffer from coarse salt, and there will be tens of thousands of people who will no longer lose their lives because of coarse salt!"

"Chief Mirror Officer Chen, are you willing...?"

Pei Xun, as a high-ranking Imperial Steward of the Heavenly Office and also the Family Head of the Hedong Pei Clan, had long since looked past his own selfish interests...

But wanted to benefit the people of the world while creating revenue for the Imperial Court!

But Chen Yan was silent and did not make any response, not knowing what he was thinking...

"Being silent like this, are you unwilling...?"

After waiting for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Pei Xun was slightly disappointed and asked.

He paused, then continued: "Rest assured, with your status and position today, this old man would not dare to coerce you!"

Although there was a significant distance in the power content of the official positions between the Mingjing Si Chief Mirror Officer and the Heavenly Office Imperial Steward.

But this young man before him, backed by the Great Chancellor and deeply favored by the Great Chancellor, even he, this Imperial Steward, had to befriend him rather than coerce him.

"No!"

"Pei Imperial Steward, you have thought wrong..."

Chen Yan shook his head and gave an intriguing answer: "This official is not unwilling!"

"But rather..."

Speaking to this point, his voice stopped abruptly.

"But rather what?" Pei Xun pursued, puzzled, "What do you mean by this?"

Pei Xun did not understand; since he was not unwilling, why was this his attitude?

"The refining method in the courtyard just now was too rough and simple, and it is not suitable for large-scale promotion and application..."

Chen Yan's gaze was burning, meeting Pei Xun's puzzled eyes, and he said in a deep voice.

The refining method under the eyes of everyone was purely for showing off skills, but it was not practical, so he was not worried about being plagiarized by someone with a superior memory.

And large-scale promotion required simplicity, practicality, and efficiency...

Pei Xun caught the subtext and asked: "So, Chief Mirror Officer Chen, the implication of your words is that you have a refining method suitable for large-scale promotion?"

Suiwan's sweetheart is really not simple... Pei Xilou, who was quietly listening to the conversation between the two, made a judgment in his heart.

Even with his experience, he could not see through the depth of this boy.

"Imperial Steward has eyes like torches; that is exactly it!" Chen Yan smiled.

"Then I would like to hear the details!" Pei Xun raised his hand and said.

"This official needs some paper and a brush!"

"Go get them." Pei Xun heard this, turned his head to look at Pei Xilou, and ordered.

"Yes."

A moment later.

Paper and brush were retrieved.

Chen Yan spread the paper on the table, picked up the brush, and first introduced the production of well salt:

By drilling wells, brine is drawn from the underground brine layer. (Brine is an aqueous solution containing salt, which is the raw material for refining well salt.)

Then the drawn brine is introduced into a sedimentation tank, allowing insoluble impurities such as silt to settle naturally. (Simple tools such as filter nets and gauze can also be used for filtration to initially remove larger particle impurities.)

Put the initially treated brine into a large pot and heat it to boil.

During the boiling process, the water constantly evaporates, and the concentration of the brine gradually increases.

To prevent local overheating and salt crystal scorching, the brine needs to be stirred constantly.

When a large amount of salt crystals precipitate, stop heating.

Use tools such as a skimmer to scoop the salt crystals out of the remaining brine, then place the scooped salt crystals in a well-ventilated place to air dry, or use a small fire to slowly bake them dry to remove residual moisture, finally obtaining fine salt.

After Chen Yan explained the production of well salt with both pictures and text, he immediately talked about the production of pond salt and rock salt production. (Because Great Zhou is not near the sea, he did not list the sea salt sun-boiling method commonly used in the Ming Dynasty.)

And he listed the detailed operation procedures one by one.

"No wonder the Great Chancellor would value you so much!"

"It is indeed extraordinary!"

Pei Xun, after listening intently to the three major batch salt production methods, let out a long sigh of relief and sighed.

Given the ability displayed by this boy, if it were any other clear-headed superior, they would make the same choice...

Especially when you still don't know what other things he still hasn't revealed...

"Pei Imperial Steward, you flatter me!" Chen Yan put down the brush, cupped his hands, and said modestly, "This official only roughly understands some fur, it is difficult to ascend to the hall of elegance..."

Pei Xun stared at the flow chart on the table, smelled a hint of intriguing flavor, and smiled: "But Chief Mirror Officer Chen, your preparation is really not generally sufficient!"

"Sending such a great merit, I don't know what you want to get..."

Pei Xun had seen too many people; how could he not see Chen Yan's intention?

Such a detailed analysis, even specially drawing a diagram, was just for fear that he wouldn't understand...

If this wasn't a disguised way of sending merit, what was it?

And it was a great merit!

"What does Pei Imperial Steward think this official wants to get?" Chen Yan smiled, did not answer directly, and asked back.

Pei Xun heard this, stared at Chen Yan's eyes, was silent for a long while, then spoke word by word, and said in a deep voice: "You want to befriend the Pei Clan!"

"Your purpose from the very beginning was actually this old man!"