Chapter 61 Salt Wells: Then I'll be the Salt Immortal of Our Time
Lingnan.
He Qinglan, dressed in a light green silk dress, strolled slowly through the hills.
She found a grassy slope with fairly fertile land.
The young woman gazed silently down at the patch of green grass swaying in the breeze and bathed in sunlight. She raised her hand, and a shard of ice, radiating coldness, flew over the grass, struck a huge rock in the distance, and froze it instantly.
Green Grass: "..."
They stopped shaking and stood stiffly and bewildered in the breeze, not understanding why this deity would suddenly threaten them.
He Qinglan was very satisfied with the little grasses' understanding.
She said, "I've got my eye on this place; I want to grow strawberries here."
"I'll give you two choices: first, you can either freeze to death or drown; second, you can move on your own."
Green grass: "!!!"
tyrant!
Evil God!
That despicable XXXXX!
The tyrant tilted his head to the left and continued to threaten expressionlessly: "If you don't leave within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, then you're not leaving at all."
Damn it!
The green grass within the ten-acre area was shaking violently.
They were very dissatisfied.
How can someone just randomly come and ask the grass to move?
We are just grass, our roots must be in the soil!
But they dared not resist, for they could clearly sense the strong aura of water emanating from this deity.
It's the kind of water they don't like.
The green grasses quickly uprooted themselves and ran off to the nearby mountains and hills to find a suitable new home to take root.
He Qinglan smiled with satisfaction.
She looked at the green fruit in her palm.
As expected of the fruit from the mother tree of the elves, it can even temporarily give plants sentience.
Unfortunately, this one was borrowed from Ai Ke (a quick transmigrator, whose true form is an elf), and I have to return it.
When I go to a world with elves in the future, I'll go find the Elf Mother Tree and pick one myself.
He Qinglan made her decision happily. She tossed the fairy fruit into the air and said in a light tone, "Protect those grasses and help them take root as soon as possible."
The fairy fruit emitted a green light, expressing its dissatisfaction: "You're forcibly demolishing our property!"
Elves are definitely the cutest humanoid creatures; all other humanoid creatures are really annoying!
A large area of lush green grassland was quickly turned into barren red soil.
He Qinglan took out a cloth bag and tossed it into the air as well.
Tiny strawberry seeds flew out of the cloth bag, fluttering down and scattering onto the soil.
She formed a mudra with her hands.
A beam of blue light shot out from between her fingers and into the blue sky.
Before long, large patches of dark clouds gathered in the cloudless sky, obscuring the beautiful blue expanse.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared.
The wind rises and the rain falls.
Between the sky and the earth, raindrops fall in strings, connecting them together.
The heat from the ground rises upwards and mixes with the water mist in the air.
The fairy fruit emitted a green light, which enveloped the strawberry seeds that had just been planted in the ground.
The seeds took root in the soil and sprouted two tender shoots.
Bathed in the warm light of the fairy fruit, a few true leaves trembled and grew out of the soil. They stretched out in the rain, one by one, growing taller and taller, more and more, until they grew into stolons.
Clumps of strawberry stems and leaves swayed vigorously in the wind and rain.
He Qinglan looked at the strawberry seedlings all over the ground with satisfaction.
She made a hand gesture, and the clouds dispersed, the rain stopped, and sunlight streamed down from the sky, caressing the rain-soaked plants.
The leaves swayed, shaking off water droplets.
He Qinglan looked down at the results of her half-hour work and smiled with satisfaction.
The woman's smile was like a snow-capped mountain under the sunlight, and her voice was like a cold wind blowing through the snow-capped mountains.
"I'll come back to pick strawberries in ten days. You know what to do, right?"
Strawberry plant: "???"
They are confused, what should we do?
"If I don't manage to pick any good strawberries by then, I'll let the bugs eat you all."
Strawberry plant: "!!!"
Several leaves folded up in fear, trembling.
The fairy fruit flew unhappily to He Qinglan, its green light flashing to express its displeasure.
He Qinglan reached out and grabbed the fairy fruit, asking it, "Are there any lychee groves nearby?"
Elf Fruit: "..."
He Qinglan lowered her eyes. "I don't want them to move. I just want them to flower and bear fruit. I'll come to pick the lychees in ten days."
Elf Fruit: "..." But?!
Do you know what you're going to do with the money you borrowed from me, Aike?
Does she know that you're using me to threaten the plants in this world that grow, flower, and bear fruit out of season?
Guided by the fairy fruit, He Qinglan found a lychee grove.
With the help of the powerful spiritual energy of the fairy fruit, she made the lychee tree bloom and bear small green fruits.
She then successfully threatened the lychee trees, causing them to ripen in ten days so she could pick the fruit.
Seeing the lychee trees trembling fearfully in the wind, He Qinglan smiled faintly.
She returned the fairy fruit to Eike.
Then he left Lingnan and returned to Anling.
Jinzhou.
Yanjing County.
Hundreds of commoners formed a huge circle, watching the complete bamboo aqueduct brine conveying process in front of them.
The nodes of the bamboo are removed, and male and female shoots are grafted together. The bamboo is then wrapped with bamboo strips, fine hemp, and putty to ensure airtightness.
Then, the system was flexibly constructed according to the terrain's elevation differences, weaving between wells, wells and stoves, and stoves, to transport brine to the salt-making workshop. [Note 1]
This brine conveying system, built hundreds of years ahead of its time, greatly impressed the local salt workers.
They stared intently at the set of staggered, circular bamboo pipes, chatting loudly with those around them.
They were shocked: "Does this really work? Can it really get brine from the salt well to the kitchen?"
They questioned, "Is it sturdy enough? Won't the bamboo break? Can we climb to higher places?"
They hoped, "If this brine infusion device really works, wouldn't things be much more convenient for us in the future!"
Holding the blueprints in his hand, Song Li proudly watched the local salt workers chattering about the matter. They became more and more excited as they talked, and before long, some of them even started arguing.
She shouted, "Everyone, please be quiet!"
Her colleagues joined in, shouting, "Quiet! Quiet! Our Vice Minister Song is about to speak!"
The hundreds of people gradually quieted down, their expectant eyes fixed on Song Li.
Song Li said, "We will add more silos and towers later. These two facilities will allow the brine to move freely and raise the water level during transportation!"
"If done well and maintained properly, this system can transport brine from salt wells more than ten kilometers away and can be used for several years!"
The salt workers present all wore expressions of disbelief.
More than ten kilometers?
several years?
Is it true or false?
Are bamboo pipes really that useful?
But if what she said is true, it will greatly improve the efficiency of transporting brine in the future!
Song Li revealed a confident expression and laughed loudly, "Of course, this requires everyone's continuous exploration and improvement. I believe that with everyone's efforts, we will definitely be able to create the most suitable brine conveying system for Yanjing County, helping everyone produce salt faster and better!"
She casually mentioned her request: "I hope everyone can sell salt to our Anling County at a low price, is that alright?"
The prefect of Yanjing County listened with a smile as the salt farmers agreed to sell salt to Song Li at a low price, without any objection.
The clerk asked the prefect in a low voice, "Has the governor sent troops to Anling several times? Is it alright for us to do business with them?"
The prefect glanced at him indifferently. "You don't like this bamboo pipe used to transport brine?"
Gong Cao: "..." He raised his hand to wipe his forehead, "Of course... I like it."
The prefectural magistrate standing to the side clicked his tongue twice. "Song Li also said he could help us improve the well-drilling mortar, the brine-drawing crane, and enhance the processes of purifying brine, adding seed crystals, and using clear brine for washing."
He couldn't help but look forward, "In the future, our Salt Well County will be able to produce more, faster, and better salt."
The prefect nodded. "That's right. Since Anling can help us, why not cooperate with them?"
As for Hu Lin? Heh, what benefits did he give us?
He also wants to get salt from us!
The registrar's old face broke into a wide smile. "The tea, sugar, and chili peppers that Song Li brought are all excellent." He paused. "We're just doing business with Anling. Does Jinzhou City really think it can refuse Anling's goods?"
that is.
Just thinking about chili peppers made everyone's mouths water. Ah, chili peppers are so delicious in stir-fries and hot pot!
Sichuan peppercorns, black pepper, dogwood, and ginger are not as potent as chili peppers.
On the day of his first visit to the prefect, Song Li recommended chili peppers and an iron pot to the prefect.
Then they volunteered to have Wan Youyu (who also worked as a coachman), the head chef in their team, show off his culinary skills to the prefect.
Half an hour later, the prefect, sweating profusely, quickly ate mutton and chicken breast while enjoying the spicy hot pot.
After a hot pot meal, the prefect's stomach was captured, giving Song Li a chance to chatter on and on.
Song Li immediately showed the prefect the blueprints for the bamboo-lined official road for transporting brine and introduced this sophisticated new process to him.
At first, the prefect didn't take it seriously, thinking that a man from Anling could know more about salt production than he, the prefect of Yanjing.
But as he listened, his expression gradually became serious.
He ordered someone to summon the official in charge of extracting salt from the salt wells so that Song Li could explain the process.
Afterwards, the prefect sent a group of salt workers to carry out the project according to Song Li's instructions.
Song Li: "..."
She pulled out the carpentry workshop employee who had accompanied her, gave him the blueprints, and had him lead the salt workers to begin construction.
The project is now complete.
It truly amazed the officials and people of Yanjing County!
Having successfully completed the mission, Song Li whistled inwardly.
If I have the opportunity to visit the salt lake in the future, I can lead the local salt workers to boil, filter, and purify the mud salt.
They also planned to build salt fields by the sea and produce salt by sun-drying the seawater.
Song Li smiled brightly.
Her colleagues were completely bewildered: Why is Sister Song so happy?
While it's great that we can buy salt at a lower price in the future, aren't you getting a little too excited?
Is there some good thing we don't know about?
-----------------------
Author's Note: 1. Note 1: From Baidu Encyclopedia
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com