Chapter 54: The next morning at the East China Sea Dragon Palace, Fu...
The next morning, Fu Li went to teach everyone how to purify well salt, and Ling Zhuzi followed closely.
Well salt is called salt, but it is actually brine washed out from the salt well. It is packed in wooden barrels and pulled back in wheelbarrows.
The first step is to let the brine sit and settle. After pulling the brine back last night, we placed it in the straw shed and let it sit overnight. This step has been completed.
The second step is to filter out the various impurities that have settled at the bottom. Although those impurities also contain salt, they are too troublesome and costly to handle. With current technology, it is simply not worth it.
Then comes the third step, which is to remove calcium ions from the brine using sodium carbonate.
High-purity sodium carbonate is difficult to obtain, but wood ash containing sodium carbonate is much easier to obtain.
Fu Li first asked someone to bring a bucket of brine as a demonstration. The amount of wood ash needed was limited, so it was done quickly.
The next step is concentration and evaporation, which is often called "boiling salt".
Put the marinade that has been decarbonated into a large iron pot, light a fire with firewood and boil the marinade until white crystal particles appear on the surface.
Then use gauze to separate the solid and liquid, and then dry the obtained salt crystals.
Under Fu Li's command, everyone worked for half a day and only got half a can of salt grains.
But the quality of the salt was truly exceptional. Not only was it white as snow and as fine as dust, it also had no bitterness at all. Not even the nobles of Bo, let alone those in an uncivilized land like Shu, had ever tasted salt so fine.
If you take salt of this quality to Boyi and find a wealthy nobleman, one pound of salt is enough to exchange for three stone of grain.
Ge, who had just returned from hunting with her tribe, heard the news and rushed over. She trembled with excitement as she looked at the fine salt in the jar, which was more precious than gold.
But as the leader of the tribe, she was bound to think more than others. She suppressed her excitement and said, "Quickly bring a sheep over here and let it test whether the salt is poisonous."
Ling Zhuzi didn't like what he heard and couldn't help but sneer, thinking they were ungrateful. Fu Li had been so kind as to help them get salt, yet they were still suspicious.
Fu Li hugged his arms and shook her head at him in amusement.
So Lingzhuzi stopped talking.
Ge explained shamefacedly, "Sir, it's not that I don't trust my sister. It's just that the brine in that well has killed many people, and even the beasts that live in that area don't want to touch it. If anything happens... I have to be responsible to my people."
Lingzhuzi is a person who always responds to soft words and does not tolerate harsh treatment.
The other party's frank and direct explanation made him feel a little embarrassed. He cupped his hands and said, "The leader did nothing wrong. It was my fault that I was reckless."
In fact, he understood this principle, but he just couldn't stand the fact that Fu Li had good intentions but the other party was too cautious.
Fu Li quickly tried to smooth things over: "Okay, okay, the sheep is here, let's feed it salt first."
With a bleating sound, a newborn lamb was led over. Ge personally pinched a pinch of salt in his palm and brought it to the lamb's mouth.
The lamb first lowered its head and sniffed. Feeling that this was the smell it needed, it stuck out its tongue and licked it. After a while, it had licked all the salt off her palm.
The reason we picked the lambs is because the smaller they are, the faster they will show up when there is a problem.
Ge was still worried about it being unsafe, so he fed another handful.
But Fu Li knew that extracting and filtering salt in this way must be safe.
She had other things to do, so she gave them some instructions and told them to wait until tomorrow. If the lamb was fine, they could continue to boil salt according to the method she taught them.
"Lingzhuzi and I are going to the East China Sea and our return date is uncertain. For the salt that is cooked, store it properly for the tribe's own use and I will deal with it after I return."
When they heard that she was leaving, everyone became anxious and surrounded her, asking her what she was doing in the East China Sea and whether she would really come back.
Fu Li raised her hand to suppress the crowd's voices and said soothingly, "Don't worry, everyone. When I come back, I will teach the children in the tribe to read."
Although everyone was still nervous, they knew they couldn't stop her, so they went home to pack their things and let her take them with her on the road.
"No, no." Fu Li was both touched and amused. "The Five Elements Escape Technique is very fast. It won't take long to get from here to the East China Sea. There are all kinds of treasures in the East China Sea Dragon Palace. How could they possibly lack a bite of food for me?"
Seeing that everyone was a little at a loss, Ge smiled and said, "That's right. I often hear the elders say that the Dragon Palace has the most treasures. Don't worry, my sister will definitely come back after she finishes her business."
After the leader spoke, everyone felt more at ease. When he spoke again, he reminded them to be careful on the road and to go and come back early.
"Everyone is saying exactly what I want to say: Be careful on the road, and go home early." Ge took Fu Li's hand and said solemnly, then smiled, "When you come back, I have something important to discuss with you."
Fu Li asked curiously, "What's the matter?"
Ge refused to speak now, but just smiled and said, "It's a good thing anyway, I'll tell you when you come back."
Seeing that she refused to speak, Fu Li did not force her any more. After saying goodbye to everyone formally, he flew to the East China Sea with Ling Zhuzi.
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At this time, the East China Sea had just suffered a robbery by Lingzhuzi, and was in a miserable state.
The Dragon King's favorite red coral, the Dragon Queen's favorite gold-threaded white jade mat, the Dragon Princess's beloved shell bed, and Prime Minister Turtle's favorite star-feather pearl wine, none of them were spared and all became Lingzhuzi's spoils, causing heavy losses to the Dragon Palace.
Dragon King Ao Guang was just being tormented by the Dragon Queen and the Princess crying when two shrimp soldiers ran in, trembling and saying, "Great King, that evil star has returned, and brought a female evil star with him."
"What?"
The family of three was horrified. The Dragon King stood up in shock. The Dragon Queen and the princess no longer cared about crying for their lost beloved things. They held the Dragon King on both sides and asked anxiously what to do.
The princess complained, "Last time, only one evil star came and took away my beloved shell bed. Now there are two, and I'm afraid all the treasures in my palace will be lost."
"Yes, yes." The Dragon Queen nodded in agreement.
At the critical moment, the Dragon King was still reliable. He took a deep breath to suppress the fear and anger in his heart, and ordered the two shrimp soldiers: "You, quickly go and invite Prime Minister Turtle. You, go and invite those two evil stars... no, go and invite those two immortals to the flower hall to serve tea."
"Yes, my lord." The two shrimp soldiers took the order and left.
Not long after, a large turtle shell rolled in, rolled in front of the Dragon King, and suddenly flattened out. The thick turtle legs and snake-like head stretched out from the shell, struggling hard to turn over.
The princess laughed and said, "Turtle Chengxiang, why did you turn yourself over again?"
The big turtle flapped its wings and begged for help: "Oh my princess, please stop laughing at me, old minister. Come and help me."
The princess stepped forward with a smile, grabbed one side of the big tortoise shell and gave it a strong lift. The tortoise Prime Minister cried out "Ouch" and finally turned over.
The giant tortoise crawled a few steps on the ground, its limbs transformed into human arms and legs, and its head took on the appearance of a human face. It stroked its sparse whiskers and asked flatteringly, "Your Majesty, I wonder what you want from me?"
The Dragon King coughed and winked at the princess. The princess immediately turned grim and tugged at Prime Minister Turtle's sleeve, shaking him: "Prime Minister Turtle, that evil star has returned from last time. What should we do?"
"Oh, princess, don't cry, don't cry, I will think of a solution."
Prime Minister Turtle is a true veteran of the East China Sea, having served as Prime Minister during the reign of Ao Guang, the current Dragon King. He has raised Ao Guang's children under his watch, loving them like his own.
Especially the youngest second princess, who, as soon as she hatched from the egg, climbed up and down on the back of the turtle prime minister all day long, treating his big turtle shell as a rockery to play with.
The one that Prime Minister Turtle loves the most is the Second Princess in front of him. How could he bear to see her look sad?
The second princess said coquettishly, "Prime Minister Turtle, think about it! The big evil star and the female evil star he brought with him are sitting in the flower hall."
"Ah?" Prime Minister Turtle was horrified and complained, "Oh my God, why did you invite people in?"
Ao Guang sneered, "You're talking as if they can't come in if I don't invite them."
Didn’t anyone invite him last time, but he still came in?
It was like being in a deserted place. I could just move into anything I liked. It was more comfortable than being at home.
The Second Princess was anxious. She stepped forward and grabbed Prime Minister Turtle's sparse beard, saying coquettishly, "Think quickly, think quickly, don't dawdle. My shell bed has been taken away. If my pearl bed is taken away too, how will I ever sleep peacefully in the future?"
"Oh, oh, princess, don't worry, princess, don't worry, I'm thinking about it right now, right now."
While Prime Minister Turtle was trying to save his precious beard, he tried hard to use his brain, and he actually came up with a solution that was not a solution at all.
“Oh, I got it!”
The family of three asked in surprise: "What's the solution?"
Prime Minister Turtle said: "The reason why the evil star came to our East Sea is to ask for a few treasures. We don't have much else in the East Sea, but the treasures passed down from ancient times are unknown to ordinary people.
Since the king has already invited them into the flower hall, why not discuss things carefully? Give them some treasures and ask them not to cause trouble in the East China Sea in the future. Consider it a loss of money to avoid disaster."
The second princess's face fell. "Ah? How is this a good idea?"
But the Dragon King and the Dragon Queen looked at each other, as if thinking about something.
The Dragon Queen said, "Your Majesty, I think this method is feasible. No one in the entire East China Sea can defeat that evil star. If we can avoid disaster by sacrificing our wealth, it would be a good strategy."
The Dragon King needed a step, and the Dragon Queen directly handed it over.
Ao Guang stroked his green dragon whiskers and nodded, then said to the Second Princess, "Daughter, come with me and serve tea and water to the two Immortals."
Since the rise of the Lich and the Witch, the Dragon Clan has learned to bow their heads. Over the years, they have become accustomed to it.
It's just one more time of bowing your head, no big deal.
Although the second princess was unwilling in her heart, she also knew that it was related to the safety of the East China Sea and she could not allow herself to be willful. She had to restrain her temper, ordered the clam girl to make a pot of good tea and brought it herself, and followed her father to the flower hall.
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