Ongi truly deserves his reputation as someone worthy of the Nobel Prize; he actually came up with a very special method for purifying salt.
That involves mixing the hot spring water they discovered with salt to create brine, then filtering it, and finally boiling the brine to obtain refined salt. He said the hot springs on the island in the lake have properties that can neutralize some of the components in the salt.
He presented Chen Yang with a chemical equation and explained the underlying principles, but Chen Yang, who hadn't been exposed to chemistry for many years, couldn't understand it at all. He could only listen and nod, pretending that he understood.
After staying at the inn for two days, Wengji moved to the inn next door, just like Ding Qihan. He still came over every day to study plants with Ding Qihan at the Micro World Inn. Ding Qihan was already considering buying Chen Yang's neighbor's house, which would be much more convenient, and then providing it free of charge to the residents of the world who couldn't stay at the inn.
The numerous photos that Chen Yang and his team brought from the micro-world to the real world played a crucial role; Ding Qihan and Weng Ji could always talk excitedly about these photos for an entire day.
With Chen Yang's consent, they decided to donate some of the photos to some research institutions.
However, videos and photos of the boundaries of some climate anomaly zones cannot be released, as they are clearly not consistent with the actual conditions on Earth.
Ongji has set out a seed project. He will first collect the seeds of rare plants that appear in the photos. He has even published the seeds of several extinct plants. If these seeds are used properly, they could even effectively improve the current state of the earth.
Chen Yang won't participate in these matters. He'll just bring the seeds out when he can take things out of the micro-world next month. They won't take up much weight or space anyway.
Because of Wengji's suggestion, the three people from the Loess Plateau tried to select some salt that looked finer and had fewer impurities from the salt lake and brought it back. They then used hot spring water to make brine, which was then filtered and boiled.
Meanwhile, Xu Meng sped up her work, trying to weave a simple filter cloth out of nettles before they returned.
Everyone had high expectations for the salt lake, and no one expected to make such a discovery on the Loess Plateau. The salt lake was officially named Mirror Lake because it does indeed look like a mirror.
Now that there are many people, it is no longer fair to decide the naming rights based on the order of entry. So everyone votes collectively. The same is true for the Loess Plateau. For convenience, it was directly named the Loess Plateau by the collective. The desert has not yet been named because it has not been explored yet.
In fact, the desert was the first climate anomaly zone they discovered, but because of the western border river, they have never set foot in the desert.
If they put in more effort, there are ways to cross it, but the desert is obviously resource-scarce and unsuitable for human habitation, so there's no need for them to spend all their energy on it.
Moreover, development is more important than exploration right now. We'll consider exploring new areas once we have a larger and more stable population.
Since the salt purification work no longer needs to be carried out on the Loess Plateau, the three-person exploration team will be returning soon. Before returning, they plan to bring back the three sheep, otherwise it won't work to keep them on the Loess Plateau like this.
It's not that they don't want to take the cows, but the cows are too difficult to manage, and they haven't been trained to obey orders yet. Sheep are much easier to manage.
Because they had to take the sheep, they spent an extra day. Just getting those sheep out of Crescent Bay took half a day, but the rest of the journey was actually easier.
Goats are excellent climbers, so each person carrying one goat can move quite quickly.
While the group on the Loess Plateau was still on their way back, the cabin on the island in the middle of the lake was finally completed, and Chen Yang was very satisfied with its appearance.
Now, they can put some of the small animals they keep on the island in the lake on the first floor at night, while they live on the second floor, so the two floors don't disturb each other.
The cabin is now only in its exterior; the interior furniture and various utensils have been handed over to Hou Yu's parents, and Chen Yang and his family will no longer help.
Standing on the second floor of the wooden house, the beautiful scenery of Chenghu Lake can be seen in its entirety, which makes me feel much better.
To thank Chen Yang and his friends for their help, Hou Yu's parents prepared a sumptuous dinner for them. Hou Yu, who hadn't even left the Tianyin Mountains yet, urged the other two to hurry back, as he didn't want to miss the dinner.
There were plenty of resources on the island in the middle of the lake. After getting everyone's consent, Hou Yu's parents slaughtered a cow for the main dish, and then put the wild vegetables and fruits they had collected recently on the table. The dinner was quite sumptuous, and people from the camp also came to participate.
Hou Yu and his group finally made it to the end of the banquet. They even brought their own coarse salt.
"Sprinkle some salt on it. I did a thorough investigation, comparing it to the surrounding environment, and even personally tested it for poison. This salt is just coarse salt and doesn't contain any toxic metallic components. Eating a little bit won't hurt," Hou Yu said, holding a jar of salt.
They brought back three large jars of salt, each containing five or six liters. Even after purification, there would still be two jars left, which would be more than enough!
Everyone finally got to taste salt for the first time. Although it wasn't very pure salt, it elevated the flavor of all the food to a whole new level.
Salt is such a magical thing; even a simple sprinkle can make food much more delicious. If used properly, everyone will definitely be able to enjoy even more delicious food in the future.
"We've already collected most of the basic necessities—firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—come on, let's celebrate! Cheers!" Chen Yang said.
They even brought fruit wine brewed at the Xindu camp to celebrate the occasion.
That night, everyone ate and drank to their hearts' content. They ate a third of a cow, and they could eat as much of the rest over the next two days. Any leftovers were smoked.
Once the salt is purified, they can use it for preservation, extending the shelf life of food and keeping fresh meat for longer. This is one of the most important functions of salt.
Once they've successfully purified it, we'll bring more over next time, so we can use it without restraint. We can marinate all sorts of things, make cured pork ribs, and marinate beef.
The presence of salt invigorated everyone for a long time.
That night, everyone squeezed into the old campsite and the newly built cabins on the island in the middle of the lake, and slept on the floor. Now that the weather is gradually warming up, and the temperature difference between day and night on the island is relatively small, a fire lit up the fire and everyone was warm.
However……
The next evening at eight o'clock, when they entered the micro-world, almost everyone felt unwell and awkwardly searched for a place to relieve themselves.
"Hou Yu, didn't you test the poison?!" Everyone angrily questioned Hou Yu. Hou Yu scratched his head and said, "I did test it, I just licked it."
"After the refined salt is purified, Hou Yu cannot eat any salty food for half a month. Does anyone have any objections?" Chen Yang said.
Everyone raised their hands in agreement, including Hou Yu's parents and Li Ye.
"You can't treat me like this, it's too cruel!"
Hou Yu wanted to speak up for himself, only to find that everyone had gone to relieve themselves. His stomach also started acting up, so he immediately clutched his stomach and crawled into the nearby bushes.
(End of this chapter)
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