People in Xidu shoot for a living and to prepare meat for the winter. Nowadays, the people will salt the prey they hunt so that the meat can be stored until winter. In this way, they will not starve to death in the harsh winter.
Already.
The unruly barbarian tribes also softened and surrendered to Yao Yun because of the salt.
However, Yao Yun, the largest slave owner in the Xi Kingdom, naturally did not have to work hard for a living. He went out to shoot for real fun. It was a joy to catch prey, and it did not matter if he did not gain anything.
No, after shooting the prey, the palace guards gathered in groups, stayed away from the hunting crowd, and started having a picnic.
Digging a pit, setting up a bronze cauldron, boiling water...
Cauldrons are used for cooking and eating. However, Yao Yun was not used to using bronze cauldrons to cook and eat, so he asked people to switch to pottery.
The palace guards had also made some achievements just now. There were more than ten pheasants, wild ducks, and wild geese arranged together, which was very spectacular.
The cooks in the palace were already busy, and Yao Yun was directing everyone from the side, moving around. Soon, Yao Yun saw Xing Ye carefully taking out a small bag of things from her embroidered robe, and opening it carefully.
This caught Yao Yun's attention. When he looked closer, he saw that it was a yellow and turbid salt block.
"Is this table salt?"
"If you tell me back to your Majesty, what I have in hand is indeed salt."
Yao Yun took the salt and rubbed it with his hands. The particles were very coarse, and then he licked it. Bah, it was bitter.
"This is coarse salt. It can only be used to pickle vegetables and meat. It cannot be eaten!" Yao Yun said dissatisfied.
Xingye was a little frightened: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have already taken the best fine salt. This is the kind of salt that everyone usually eats."
At this time, Cang Man also ran over and said: "Yes, Your Majesty, everyone eats this kind of salt. Our Xidu produces salt, and other places that don't produce salt can't even eat it!"
Yao Yun thought thoughtfully: "Made by frying salt?"
When Cang Man heard this, his expression changed. When he saw that there were only people from the palace around him, there were no outsiders, and then he nodded solemnly.
Yao Yun also nodded slightly. The coarse salt made by frying salt is actually edible and will not kill anyone. However, because of the simple process, there are still many harmful substances in the coarse salt.
For people in this era, salt is an expensive thing. Even if they are about to starve to death, who cares about the small harm in the salt they eat.
At this time, Yao Yun remembered the coarse salt purification in middle school in his previous life, so he quickly set people on fire.
At the same time, fill a large clay pot with water and add a large bag of coarse salt into it.
"Your Majesty, no~"
For a moment, everyone shouted loudly, and the king actually poured a whole piece of salt into the pottery basin, which made everyone stare.
Xiaocao, Xingye and the palace cook were all in tears at this moment. Such precious salt was poured into the basin at once, it was a waste!
Yao Yun waved his hand to signal them to be quiet and watch his performance.
Purifying salt is nothing more than dissolving, filtering, precipitating, and crystallizing. Yao Yun filtered the solution through silk. After filtering several times, he boiled it over fire. Soon, after the water evaporated, many tiny yellow-white crystals appeared on the pottery basin.
What comes out is not snowflake-like white salt.
"Your Majesty, this is still the same salt!"
"Don't you see that the salt grains are much smaller? There used to be a little bit of silt and minerals in the coarse salt, but now there is no more."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Everyone murmured, feeling miserable in their hearts. A big piece of salt has suddenly disappeared. If you were not the king, you would have been beaten to death when you went out.
In fact, Yao Yun is also quite depressed. The main purpose of purifying coarse salt is to remove water-soluble potassium ions, barium ions, etc. in coarse salt. However, his current conditions are limited and he can only purify water-insoluble sediment and a few minerals.
"You know how to mess around. You've lost so many good salt blocks. It's really a waste. We produce salt in Xidu, but we can't waste it like this." At this time, the bald dragon came over without knowing it, and there were two people behind it.
Elder Wutong.
Yao Yun was not happy when he saw the bald dragon. Now he is more annoyed with the Dragon Prince who forcibly set lofty goals for him, not to mention the mocking look on his face.
"Uncle Long, you don't understand. This is called fine salt. Did you see that it is much finer than before, much cleaner and purer, and has a much less bitter taste? This is quality. High quality can be sold at a high price!
"
The bald dragon looked disdainful and said scornfully: "Salt is a valuable thing. You are sifting it out so many times. It's a waste of natural resources!"
Yao Yun was very confident at this time and said: "Fine-quality salt is sold to noble families, not to barbarians, nor to common people. You don't understand the thoughts of nobles. They only choose good and refined ones. For
They can buy these extravagant things at a much higher price than usual, and this is how to make money!"
Yao Yun's words were clear and logical, coupled with his calm expression, the bald dragon suddenly recalled the scene when Yao Yun fought against the barbarian tribe. At that time, the prince was so confident, as if everything was under control.
The bald dragon was frightened. As a divine dragon, he is a kind of spirit monster. It is really difficult for him to understand the thoughts of human beings, let alone the thoughts of human nobles.
At this time, the second elder Wu Tong spoke: "What the king said makes sense. It is indeed possible. The nobles in the imperial capital are so extravagant and lustful. I have seen it with my own eyes. Maybe it can be sold at a high price!"
The bald dragon showed a surprised expression: "I don't believe it. Those nobles are all smart. Who would be so stupid? Your salt is just a little finer than ordinary coarse salt. There is nothing special about it!"
Yao Yun nodded: "The salt on Gu Ruo's hand is indeed coarse salt, not refined salt, but what if Gu Ruo makes refined salt like snowflakes? Then it won't be doubled or tripled, but ten times or a hundred times.
, specializing in selling to those noble people, making a lot of money!
In the eyes of the bald dragon, there is no difference between these things. After hearing this, he just thought that his little king was bragging in order to save face. However, the second elder Wu Tong's expression changed drastically:
"Your Majesty, you said you can make salt as pure as snowflakes!" Wu Tong shook his head, then unleashed the power of his mind, sealed the surrounding area, and then clasped his fists and bowed: "The method of making salt in the Xidu Salt Well came from the hands of an old man.
I wonder if your Majesty can give me some advice?"
Seeing Wu Zhu being respectful and not ashamed to ask, Yao Yun was very surprised and quickly helped Wu Tong up: "What can't you say? Let alone give me some advice, let's exchange and learn!"
Anyway, they are all from his own family. Yao Yun will also teach the salt people in Xidu in the future to let them produce snowflake-like well salt.
Yao Yun is quite thick-skinned. When he traveled to Zigong City, Sichuan Province in his previous life, he heard about an ancient well where salt was made according to the ancient method. Because of his interest, he learned about the way high-quality well salt was refined in ancient times.
The process is quite complicated. To put it simply, the brine is first prepared, usually black brine and yellow brine. The salt produced by both is bitter and contains harmful substances. However, if the two are mixed in a certain proportion, the barium ions inside will
and sulfur ions will form a white precipitate, which is then removed.
Then we use the method of "brine with tofu", wash the brine with soy milk, remove a lot of impurities again, and then boil the salt and crystallize it. In this way, you can get refined salt that has no bitter taste and is like snowflakes.
Yao Yun spoke clearly and logically, using a lot of terminology from the previous life. Wu Tong was confused when he heard it, and he probably felt like he was listening to a book from heaven.
However, Wu Tong also knows how to make salt. People who are half-informed and sloshing around with half a bucket of water are most likely to be deceived by others. Hearing what Yao Yun said was reasonable and well-founded, he quickly believed most of it and was amazed.
When the bald dragon saw this scene, he was stunned: "Does this guy really understand? Why does he look so unreliable?"