Chapter 82: The Grand Plan for Salt Production

Liu Zheng did not waste words, offering only a faint smile.

Shen Xing walked over, feeling strange, and asked the old farmer, "Old man, do the sheep often lick the stones?"

The old man glanced at him and chuckled, "This official, why they lick them, I do not know. But if they don't lick them for a few days, the sheep become listless. Look, just a while ago, the heavy snow blocked the roads, and after being penned up for a month, I lost several of them!"

"These past few days have been better; the sun is out, they can eat grass, and they can lick the white stones again!"

"Next year, it will be a good harvest again!"

The old farmer laughed heartily and drove his sheep away.

Shen Xing clicked his tongue in wonder; having lived for so long, he only now learned that sheep needed to lick white stones to grow fat and strong. Although he did not know the reason why, he felt in his heart that all things in heaven and earth were full of wonders, difficult to put into words.

When he looked back at Liu Zheng, he was still wearing a look of shock: "Young Master, is this truly salt?"

Liu Zheng did not know how to explain it to him.

Many animals and livestock in the natural world will seek out the trace elements their bodies require, such as salt, alkali, acid, and so on. This is an instinct, an innate ability; whatever the body lacks, it will seek to replenish.

This is nature.

And the reason Yinzhou is called "Yintan" is because it is famous for this vast expanse of Lake Salt.

Currently, the Longyan Dynasty, or rather the entire world, consumes almost exclusively Sea Salt. There is no need to elaborate on Sea Salt; it uses the basic "Sun-Drying Method," also called the "Beach-Drying Method," which utilizes coastal mudflats to build dams and open salt fields, drawing in tides and pumping water to fill the pools, then using solar evaporation to turn it into brine. When the brine concentration reaches 25 degrees Baumé, sodium chloride precipitates, which is Raw Salt. The production process for Raw Salt using the Sun-Drying Method generally consists of four major steps: tidal intake, brine production, crystallization, and salt harvesting.

As for the Lake Salt and Well Mineral Salt of later generations, they are something else entirely.

Lake Salt is a modern mineral deposit formed since the Quaternary period, where soluble salts gathered in salt-forming basins, and mineralized water gradually concentrated and deposited salt minerals.

Well Mineral Salt is formed when salt substances on land are carried by surface water or groundwater and accumulate in inland basins; under conditions of hot, arid weather where evaporation exceeds water replenishment, the saline water in the basin continuously evaporates and concentrates, depositing into massive salt mineral beds.

What is truly surprising is!

This Yintan not only has Lake Salt, but even Well Mineral Salt! Yinzhou is located in the Chaidamu Basin, and due to the arid weather, the extreme difference between winter and summer, and the presence of this inland lake combined with specific terrain, it has actually produced a massive Well Mineral Salt deposit!

Lake Salt plus Well Mineral Salt.

Isn't this the best opportunity for him to make a fortune?

Shen Xing just said that the current commercial income of Yinzhou and Yangzhou barely covers the agricultural taxes! So, if Liu Zheng wants to scheme for anything else, he can only place his hopes on this Lake Salt and Well Mineral Salt.

Liu Zheng nodded excitedly.

Shen Xing gasped in excitement: "Doesn't that mean, doesn't that mean..."

Halfway through his sentence, he covered his mouth with a look of horror.

One must know that in this era, privately producing and selling salt is a crime punishable by death!

Liu Zheng laughed heartily: "What are you thinking? This salt all needs to be processed, otherwise, if people eat it, they will surely be poisoned! Go quickly, call Wei Tiezhu to me, and bring one hundred craftsmen! And one thousand soldiers!"

Shen Xing was shocked, knowing the gravity of this matter, and dared not waste any more words; he mounted his horse and galloped away.

Soon, Wei Tiezhu brought people over, and Zheng Yue Ru also came along.

Because Shen Xing had been anxious... and excited the whole way, he knew that if Yintan was truly salt, what it would mean for Yinzhou, what it would mean for this world! And what it would mean for the Liu Family father and son.

Therefore, when he received the order for Yintan, Wei Tiezhu asked why, but Shen Xing knew nothing at all.

Seeing that a thousand soldiers were being mustered, Zheng Yue Ru, who was busy at the Shen Gong Workshop, was also startled. Every time Liu Zheng did something, it was a grand affair. But she had never seen him require soldiers for protection before; curiosity got the better of her, and she followed along.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Liu Zheng pointed over there with high spirits: "Do you see this Yintan?"

Several people nodded.

"Within half a year, I want this entire Yintan fenced off! Do you understand? I want this place to become a Factory just like the Shen Gong Workshop!"

Upon hearing this, the group's expressions changed, and they were confused.

This Yintan in Yinzhou was boundless; how much work would that be?

Shen Xing knew, but he dared not speak, feeling stifled. Zheng Yue Ru had not spoken to Liu Zheng for many days, so naturally, she did not ask questions either; she snorted coldly and watched from the side. Since Liu Zheng arrived in Yinzhou, this Yintan had been the thing he longed for! Now, it would also be his greatest source of future income! Whether he could build his territory into an Empire capable of contending for the world depended on this place. So he did not waste words, directly fencing off the land to build a city!

This project would be massive, but it would also be worth it.

He would not allow anyone to lay a finger on his salt-making factory!

That day, the one hundred craftsmen and one thousand soldiers immediately got to work. It was impossible to keep this matter top secret. So Liu Zheng simply had the thousand soldiers divided into three teams: one team responsible for security, and two teams alternating between resting and working.

Soon, three days later, Liu Zheng's "project department," a simple building, had been erected near Yintan.

While others were busy, Liu Zheng naturally could not remain idle.

He specifically brought ten trusted, quick-witted core craftsmen to study how to make salt. For the extraction of Lake Salt, the Mining Method or Beach-Drying Method is mainly used.

As for mining, Yintan had already undergone long-term evaporation, with salt deposited at the bottom of the lake, which could be harvested directly without processing. Salt lakes like Yintan in the Chaidamu Basin had undergone tens of millions of years of changes, forming dry lakes with salt exposed on the surface. Therefore, it was not particularly complex; the process flow was roughly: stripping the cover, salt mining, transport, washing, dehydration, and finished product!

The Beach-Drying Method is similar to the Sea Salt production process.

This was also Liu Zheng's first attempt, and fortunately, it was not very complex.

Three days later, the first batch of salt finally appeared before everyone's eyes, sparkling.

Everyone was stunned.

On the scene, there was no more breathing.

*Clatter. *

The tools of those craftsmen fell to the ground, one by one, in their shock. Wei Tiezhu and Zheng Yue Ru also stared blankly. At this moment, Shen Xing also rushed back from outside, so excited he was stumbling: "Did it succeed? Did it succeed? I said I wouldn't say, but you insisted I say! You tell me, dare we say this? Dare we say this?"

The sparkling salt blinded everyone's eyes.

Zheng Yue Ru was somewhat tongue-tied: "Brother Liu, Brother Liu, this..."

Liu Zheng smiled slightly: "Afraid?"

The ten core craftsmen's faces turned pale. This was a crime punishable by death! How could they not be afraid? Before coming here, no one had thought that their Young Master Liu would actually concoct salt! A few of the timid ones even started to tremble in their legs.

Liu Zheng laughed heartily: "If any are afraid, you may leave on your own, but you must never mention the matters here to anyone!"

Several people turned to run.

However...

Liu Zheng continued: "As the saying goes, wealth is sought in danger... if you ten stay, your monthly wage will be one hundred taels!"

The ten people simultaneously forgot to breathe, looking at one another.

One hundred taels of silver!

Shen Xing's salary was a mere twenty taels!

Liu Zheng watched the reactions of the people on the scene and was suddenly caught between laughter and tears. Why did he have the feeling that what he had produced wasn't salt, but crystal meth...

"Young Master, I'll do it! To hell with being afraid!"

"Exactly, in years past when we couldn't get enough to eat, what kind of capital offenses haven't we committed?"

"If not for Young Master, how would Yinzhou be where it is today? Why wouldn't we do it!"

"Do it! Let's see who dares to leave this place today! Young Master is kind-hearted, but I'm different! Whoever dares to leave, I'll take their life!"

Out of the ten people, four immediately stood out and roared with fierce, menacing expressions. One reason was the temptation of the hundred taels of silver, and the second was their loyalty to Liu Zheng. When they looked at those who were still hesitating, they already carried a murderous aura, as if they were certain that if those people tried to leave now, they wouldn't live past tonight.

Liu Zheng gave a wry smile.

"Exactly, what is there to be afraid of!"

"Nowadays, Yinyang is under the protection of the State Marquis and Young Master, who could get in?"

Very quickly, the ten core members reached a consensus: they would do it!

"Good!"

Liu Zheng was very satisfied, but he was immediately pulled aside by Zheng Yue Ru. The latter looked grave; at this moment, she couldn't even bother to be angry at Liu Zheng anymore and said, "Brother Liu, do you know what you are doing? This private salt production is a capital offense!"

Liu Zheng smiled faintly: "Poverty is the original sin."

Zheng Yue Ru wanted to say something but hesitated.

Liu Zheng added another sentence: "Otherwise, why do you think I chose to cooperate with the Baiya Army instead of Chen Ping?"

Zheng Yue Ru's delicate body trembled. Only then did she realize that Liu Zheng had actually been planning this grand salt-production scheme for a long time.

"But, but..."

Zheng Yue Ru remained deeply worried.

Liu Zheng laughed heartily: "Enough with the 'buts', this isn't even the finished product yet, keep working!"

The group of people looked at each other in dismay.

This sparkling salt was of much higher quality than what they usually ate, and it wasn't even the finished product?

Liu Zheng smiled: "If there is no advantage, where would the competitiveness come from? If we are going to produce salt, we must produce Refined Salt; what use is Crude Salt?"

At this, even Zheng Yue Ru became curious—what exactly was this Refined Salt?

In fact, this process was not particularly complicated. Purifying Crude Salt into Refined Salt only involved four steps: dissolving, filtering, removing impurities, and evaporating. The first step, dissolving, was because Crude Salt contained many soluble and insoluble impurities. After dissolving the Crude Salt, the insoluble substances were filtered out. As for some of the Chemistry agents that would be added in later ages, Liu Zheng certainly couldn't manage that. He could only repeat these four steps over and over.

Another three days passed.

March was the season for salt production in the north; otherwise, this process might have taken even longer.

When this first batch of Refined Salt was produced and piled up under the sunlight.

Everyone present stared with wide eyes.

Is this salt?

Who would have the heart to eat salt like this?