The threshing machine was buzzing, and Lin Yinan couldn't hear what she was saying clearly. She looked up and smiled at her, holding the rice in her hands and stomping hard with her feet.
Watching the grains being threshed by the threshing machine fills my heart with an indescribable joy.
Seeing that she hadn't heard her, Qianwu took off her shoes and ran into the field to her side.
He cupped his hands around a megaphone and shouted, "Third Madam, my brother is back!"
Lin Yinan was slightly taken aback. Did Yun San's return mean that the salt had been produced?
She finished threshing the rice and tossed the rice stalks aside.
"Let's go back and take a look."
She walked to the edge of the field, washed her feet by the ditch, and without caring that her feet were wet, she put on her shoes and hurried back.
Back in the council chamber, Lin Yiheng, Lin Yuanzhi, Pan Qingfeng, and the others gathered around the two baskets, chatting and laughing.
"Third Madam." Yun San and the guards around her saw her enter and quickly stood up to greet her.
"Sit down, no need for formalities," Lin Yinan waved to him.
Lin Yiheng waved to her, "Anan, come here quickly."
Lin Yuanzhi and Pan Qingfeng hurriedly made way for Lin Yinan, who stepped forward and couldn't suppress her smile when she saw the two baskets of snow-white salt.
The salt in the baskets has two different grains: one with coarser grains and the other with finer grains.
She picked it up with her fingers, put it in her mouth and tasted it; the saltiness was just right.
"Yes, the salt is of very good quality." Lin Yinan nodded happily.
She turned to Yun San and asked, "How much salt did you produce?"
Yun San was a shade darker than before, his skin a bronze color, and he rarely smiled. "The first batch yielded two hundred jin."
"How's the situation over there?" Lin Yinan asked.
Yun San said, "The beach there isn't very big. We cleared out less than a thousand acres of land. After nearly two months of practice, we mastered the tides and weather conditions of that beach. After repeated experiments, we found that the complete salt-making process takes four to six days."
“During the breaks from salt production, we found many stones of different sizes and heights scattered on the mudflats. When we had free time, we would polish those stones into the shape of inkstones, fill them with seawater, and use them as salt troughs.”
"Through experiments, we found that salt produced by sun-drying in salt pans is finer, whiter than salt produced in salt fields, as fine as snow and as fine as cotton, with a moderate salinity and smaller particles."
After Yun San finished speaking, Pan Qingfeng couldn't wait to ask, "Approximately what is the monthly output?"
"It should be around 500,000 jin," Yun San said.
"If we sell it, won't we be rich?" Lin Yiheng murmured.
He was in charge of the accounts, so he naturally knew the current price of salt.
Lin Yinan's gaze swept across everyone's faces, and finally he said to the guards outside the door, "Go and invite Wu Xingwang and his son here."
The guards obeyed and left.
The Wu family's house was built not far from the county government office. When they weren't going out, Wu Xingwang and his son would either be in their own general store or wander around the county town.
In no time at all, the Wu family father and son rushed over.
Upon entering the council hall, Wu Xingwang saw Yun San and immediately greeted him, "Greetings, Lord City Lord!"
The father and son bowed to Lin Yinan, who pointed to a basket placed against the wall and said, "Mr. Wu, take a look."
When Wu Xingwang saw the two baskets in the direction Lin Yinan was pointing, his eyes lit up.
He strode forward, pinched some into his hand, put it in his mouth and smacked it a few times, then his hands began to tremble involuntarily.
"The salt has been...the salt has been produced?" He could barely speak properly.
Lin Yinan nodded and invited him to sit down for a detailed discussion. "Mr. Wu, what do you think of the salt we've produced?"
"Great, that's fantastic!"
"What does Mr. Wu think about the salt on the market right now?" Lin Yinan wanted to ask him about his understanding of the salt market in the south.
Having traveled extensively before, Wu Xingwang had naturally taken note of the salt in the south.
He cleared his throat and said, "Because of the war in the Central Plains, the price of grain has risen rapidly, as has the price of salt. And all the salt in the South is controlled by the Yu family of Nanzhou Prefecture."
"The price of salt has risen from twenty or thirty coins per catty before the war to nearly two hundred and fifty coins now. Not only has the price increased, but the Yu family also frequently imposes purchase restrictions."
Lin Yinan had a deep understanding of this. When they first arrived in the South, even Yun Zhenchuan couldn't buy more for them.
Finally, Wu Xingwang, his face gaunt and wrinkled, asked with a fawning smile, "May I ask how the city lord sets the price of salt?"
After considering it over in his mind, Lin Yinan said, "You are in charge of selling all the salt produced in Longtan. I will give you a price of 60 wen for coarse salt and 80 wen for fine salt. You can control the profit. Just remember one thing: the market price cannot exceed 130 wen."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone except Wu Xingwang and his son gasped in astonishment. Salt was made by sun-drying seawater, a process that required no cost whatsoever.
"Lord City Lord, have you thought this through? Salt is currently selling for over two hundred coins on the market." Wu Xingwang felt that the price was too cheap.
Lin Yinan smiled slightly and looked up at the Wu family father and son. "It's alright. Our goal is to make salt affordable for ordinary people and take this opportunity to promote the reputation of Longtan."
Her tone was calm, but her words carried weight. The Wu family father and son felt awe and at the same time, a burning desire ignited in their hearts, wishing that the entire southern region could immediately use the affordable salt produced in Longtan.
“Okay, my son and I will set off tomorrow.” Wu Xingwang said confidently.
Lin Yinan took a sip of water, put down the cup, and said, "No rush. Longtan's foundation in the South is not yet stable. We cannot be eager to show off now. If it attracts the help of the powerful families to join forces to suppress us, then we will suffer losses."
"We need to make money, but we also need to know how to avoid risks in a timely manner."
Wu Xingwang's smile faded, and he asked solemnly, "What does the City Lord mean?"
"Let's ask the Chen family in Yongqing City to act as a go-between." Lin Yinan stared sharply at Wu Xingwang.
Lin Yinan, who had just given birth, still had a youthful face, but her eyes and words left no room for argument.
After a moment's thought, Wu Xingwang understood Lin Yinan's meaning. "Then tomorrow I will go to Yongqing City with Yuan'er to visit Old Master Chen."
Just as everyone had finished discussing their plans, as if on cue, Cao Cao appeared.
A guard rushed in to report, "Reporting to the city lord, the young master of the Chen family has delivered 500 shi of grain and has already entered the city."
They exchanged glances, feeling like someone had just delivered a pillow when they were about to fall asleep.
"I'll go greet Young Master Chen."
Wu Yuan stood up and followed the guards out of the council hall.
Wu Yuan strode out of the county government office and met Chen Gu who was walking towards him.
Chen Gu saw that not only were the flat ground covered with dried rice, but even some streets paved with bluestone slabs were covered with dried rice.
He frowned in confusion and asked Wu Yuan, "The new grain has already been harvested, have you bought any more grain?"
Wu Yuan replied with a smile, "Buy it, we'll take whatever Young Master Chen brings. You know, we fled the famine, and we were terrified of going hungry."
Chen Gu shook his head. Were these people in Longtan starving? They're spending money to buy grain even though it's readily available.
After looking them over carefully, he asked, "How much land do you cultivate? Are you still short of food?"
Wu Yuan said, "There are 1,500 mu in the county town and several thousand mu outside the town."
"Have you collected them all?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com