While Li Qingtong was fighting desperately on the battlefield, Pan Jinhua, far away in Kyoto, was also doing something important.
—She is making salt.
When she first arrived here, the Li family was convicted of smuggling salt, a matter that had lingered in her mind for years. Now that she had come into the emperor's sights, if she didn't produce something to impress him, the Li family would be in trouble at any moment in the future.
It's not good to be coveted, but it's not bad to be both coveted and respected. In short, she deserves the respect she deserves.
Coarse salt was popular in this era not because it tasted good, but because it was cheap.
But in reality, many families in the world couldn't even afford coarse salt and could only use rock salt. This stuff is a mixture of mud and sand, with a slightly salty taste. Dishes made with this kind of rock salt were hardly presentable.
For ordinary people, eating is not for enjoyment, but simply to fill their stomachs. Whether the food tastes good or not is not important; as long as it allows them to survive, that's enough.
After Pan Jinhua and the others were exiled, they also lived a period of time when they could only afford to buy coarse salt to eat. She still vividly remembers the salty, bitter, and astringent taste of it.
She didn't dare taste the rock salt, as it contained too many minerals and some of them were poisonous.
As long as the salt problem is not solved, illicit salt trade will never disappear; this is what Chinese history tells her.
She made fine salt not only to gain the emperor's respect, nor just for the greater glory of the Li family, but also to benefit the people of the world, so that these poor people could live a little better, even if it was just a tiny bit better than before.
The salt here is mostly well salt. High-quality salt is reserved for the tables of high-ranking officials and nobles, and rarely reaches the common people. The extremely wealthy can also enjoy it, but the cost will be at least twice that of the nobles.
Pan Jinhua naturally thought of salt production, and Dazhao happened to have coastal areas. After Pan Jinhua intentionally gathered information, she learned that the people in these places used to fish and dry their nets under the sun and wind, relying on the water for their livelihood.
If salt fields could be systematically established, then these coastal residents would have another way to make a living.
With the impact of sea salt on the private salt market, if the emperor manages it properly and further lowers the price of salt, the private salt trade will become unprofitable and will inevitably collapse.
However, she, the "culprit" who produced the sea salt, is about to face the wrath of those who profit from smuggled salt.
Pan Jinhua did not want to die a violent death. She could accept dying of old age, but she could not accept dying like this.
However, everyone must die eventually, and all the extra years we live are a bonus. Being able to eliminate smuggled salt makes even death as weighty as Mount Tai.
Pan Jinhua lay on the bed, sighing softly. In recent years, as she had grown older, she often felt that she was no longer able to do what she needed to do.
Having died once, she naturally knew that her time was running out. But she had done so little, it seemed like she hadn't accomplished anything yet, and there wasn't much time left. That's why she was thinking of getting the sea salt out as soon as possible.
"What's wrong, Madam? Do you want some water?"
Bai Xue was sleeping on the couch in the inner room when she heard Pan Jinhua sigh, and she quickly asked her what was wrong.
Pan Jinhua shook her head, then, remembering that Bai Xue couldn't see, she answered her loudly.
"It's nothing, go to sleep."
Since arriving in Kyoto, the girl sleeping in her room at night changed from Yao Niang to Bai Xue. Pan Jinhua wasn't one to cause trouble; she rarely called for help except when she needed to get up at night. However, Bai Xue was honest and had sharp ears; she could immediately detect even the slightest movement from Pan Jinhua.
Pan Jinhua quickly gathered her scattered thoughts, closed her eyes, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Pan Jinhua is currently working on purifying crude salt. If successful, those salt rocks will become valuable.
It sounds simple, and it's actually quite easy to do.
There are only a few methods for purifying crude salt: boiling, precipitation, and distillation.
Pan Jinhua abandoned the distillation method, making it difficult to manufacture distillation equipment. Ultimately, Pan Jinhua addressed these two aspects.
Boiling salt: As the name suggests, this method involves boiling coarse salt in a pot to evaporate the water, then sifting out impurities to obtain refined salt. After boiling, the fishy and astringent taste of the salt is greatly reduced.
The precipitation method involves dissolving crude salt in water, adding lime to the water, letting it stand until impurities settle to the bottom, filtering out the impurities, and then boiling and evaporating the brine to obtain salt crystals.
Pan Jinhua prefers the precipitation method, where lime reacts with various minerals in coarse salt, facilitating the removal of impurities. After filtration, the salt crystals obtained through boiling and evaporation are whiter and have a less pronounced odor than those obtained by directly boiling salt.
"My God! This...this coarse salt can actually be turned into refined salt!"
"Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable, Lady Liang, I truly do not know what to do with you."
Pan Jinhua's salt refining was carried out entirely under the emperor's nose. She was already on the emperor's guard. The Li family now has people in both the civil and military fields, so it's best if their descendants don't get involved in these things. If they find out, they might face the emperor's executioner's blade.
Pan Jinhua was not summoned to the palace. One morning, when no one was home, she had someone prepare a carriage and went straight to the palace. As soon as she entered the palace, she summoned a eunuch to inform the emperor.
"Your Majesty, Lady Liang requests an audience!"
"Oh? Please come in."
Ying Hao was surprised, but also curious about Lady Liang's purpose in coming. He could tell that Lady Liang disliked going to the palace. What could possibly make her come to the palace on her own initiative?
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
"Rise, Madam. Is there something important to discuss?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I have come here for salt."
Ying Hao narrowed his eyes, and his previously lazy posture instantly became upright, his sharp eyes scrutinizing the old woman in front of him.
Salt and iron are of vital importance to the nation. Did Li Qingyao tell Pan Jinhua after he returned that he intended to have her handle the smuggled salt?
"Does the old lady know what she is saying?"
After a long pause, Ying Hao finally spoke.
"Your Majesty, I have a method that can turn coarse salt into refined salt. Would you be willing to try it with me?"
Suppressing her fear of the ruler of this feudal dynasty, Pan Jinhua spoke with a trembling face.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhou Daban, who was standing to the side, suddenly knocked over his teacup and knelt down immediately.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Ying Hao waved his hand; he too had been stunned, almost forgetting to breathe. He could understand if Da Ban had accidentally knocked over the teacup. But he was equally shocked—coarse salt turned into refined salt? Was it a fantasy?
But then he remembered the strange things about the old lady, and his eyes darkened.
"What does the old lady need me to do?"
Pan Jinhua noticed the surprise of the master and servant. Her fear dissipated, and she knew that her time to show her skills was coming soon. So she became calm and composed.
"Your Majesty, I need to arrange some manpower and prepare some things for me."
"Lady Liang, please tell this old servant what you need, and this old servant will arrange it perfectly for you."
Zhou Daban quickly offered to take on the task.
Ying Hao didn't blame him. Zhou Daban had been by his side for decades and understood him best. If this matter could come to fruition, it had to be carried out in secret. Only when Daban arranged the manpower, venue, and materials would he feel at ease.
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