But it looks like the color of this sugar is very dark. (зZcn capsule talk stunned twilight blanching cavity hanging, trance   limp  descending g ang cha thin.)

The things that flow down from the clay jar are black in color, and Wen Tong knows that this is "sugar mi" - cane juice in the refining process, with the continuous crystallization of sugar, zuihou left behind is a dark mother liquor, which still contains a lot of sugar, but it cannot be separated by economic means, and the sugar in it can not be recycled until the seventies of the 20th century. Earlier, sugar mi, as a scrap, could only take the road of comprehensive utilization. One of the most promising uses is to make wine – the raw material for rum is sugar.

Workers say that the leakage is called "water sugar", which can be boiled into a kind of black sugar, and can also be used to make food, but it cannot be exported.

Wen Tong shook his head, it doesn't matter if you don't make this kind of brown sugar, the economic value is too low, it's really better to make wine. He asked:

"Is there any white sugar or rock candy here?"

Several workers only shook their heads when they heard this, and Liao Dahua translated that no one in Xuwen, Haikang and other places made white sugar rock sugar, and all sugar houses made such red sugar, and some made sugar bricks, the method was to boil the cane juice until it was pasty according to the boiling method for making red sugar. Take it out and pour it into a large iron basin, stir it frequently with a wooden stick, and pour it into a checkered candy frame after crystallization, and cut it into pieces with a knife to make brick sugar. The brick candy is packed in dried cane leaves in large bamboo baskets, each basket is 50 pieces.

Wen Tong remembered that the real sugar manufacturing method appeared in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, using the method of pouring yellow muddy water, this method is not difficult on the jishu, and no one uses it locally?

Wen Tong calculated the entire sugar production process, and calculated that the daily output of red granulated sugar in this sugar house was about 100 kilograms. The scale is really pitiful, and from the whole process just now, although the leading fire master is very familiar with the whole process, but in the specific operation is obviously inexperienced, whether it is the size of the fire, the time to grasp the sugar or how much lime is added, it seems very hesitant, and the quality of the sugar is obviously not high. And because the stove is not well constructed, the heat is difficult to adjust, and the sugar liquid has been boiled in a few pots. After adding lime, the precipitate is discarded before it is filtered, and a lot of sugar is lost. There is still a lot that can be improved here.

While pondering, someone brought several nearby sugar farmers with them. Wen Tongtong asked them about their situation, and the planting area of these cane farmers is very small, as small as only a dozen acres, and as large as only thirty or forty acres. According to them, there are about three stone of sugar per mu, and they grow sugar cane. After harvesting, it is sent here to process the sugar. This sugar house adopts the method of sharing the processing of incoming materials: the sugar house is divided into 40%, the cane farmers are divided into 60%, and in some places they pay for processing, and the products are all owned by the cane farmers, and the cost on both sides is about the same.

According to the sugar farmers, whether it is produced by the sugar cane or commissioned by the sugar cane farmers, most of the zuihou is transported to Hai'an Street in Haikang and purchased by the sugar store. Most of these sugar shops were opened by Chaozhou and Cantonese people, specializing in the export of local sugar. Packets of sugar were loaded and shipped out of Hai'an Port.

"How much money do you get from growing sugar cane like this?" Wen Tong was more curious.

"One mu can net six or seven thousand dollars," said one of the sugarcane farmers, "although the tax is heavier, and the interest rate is not bad, but the interest is high, and after the principal and interest are repaid, there will not be a few dollars." ”

"Interest?" Wen Tong thinks it's strange, can't you borrow money to grow sugarcane?

"That's why the old man doesn't know the difficulty of our farmers." The sugarcane farmer smiled bitterly, "Although the yield of sugarcane is not small, it consumes too much water and fertilizer. Just buying fertilizer is a big expense, when it doesn't rain, you have to hire people to drive water, and when you harvest sugarcane, you have to hire small workers, and the cost of one acre of land is four or five thousand yuan. If the countryman has no cash, he has to find someone to borrow. ”

The interest on the loan is 15 to 20 percent, which may not seem high, but after the sugar is processed, it has to be divided equally with the creditor. In this way, the income is reduced by half out of thin air, and Wen Tong and Chang Shide both feel that this usury is really black enough.

"Got it." Wen Tong nodded and said, "I'm a new takeover here, and I still want to give you some benefits. ”

"Thank you for the kindness of the shopkeeper!" Several sugarcane farmers were so grateful that they almost knelt down and kowtowed, which was equivalent to a loss of 10% out of thin air, and each family could leave a lot of money.

After sending everyone away, Wen Tong returned to the hall, and Liao Dahua and others followed.

"Shopkeeper Liao, you are the shopkeeper of the semicolon here, and you have been delayed for several days, Haikang's semicolon--" Wen Tong didn't want to go.

"It's okay, it's okay," Liao Dahua hurriedly said, "Isn't this Haikang's semicolon just for Guo Dongzhu, and his old man took care of it." The little ones are naturally going all out. "Although he should be the shopkeeper of the Qiwei branch, he is actually not a martial arts master, he was a bankrupt small businessman, and the original intention of Qiwei's branch in Leizhou was not to be a bodyguard, but to cooperate with Guo Dongzhu to do business, and it is appropriate for a person like him to preside.

"He's an old man". Wen Tong thinks that this Guo Yi is really coaxing now. At the moment, he said: "There is no one here at the moment, you have to ask someone to help, you have to find a long foreman, and you have to hire a master who cooks sugar." These are the top priorities, and if we are not familiar with the people here, we will favor you. ”

Although I have just seen a lot of shortcomings in the process, but the technical transformation is not a day or two things that can be done, not only to have equipment, but also to transform the basic facilities, I don't have this effort at the moment, the crushing season is about to begin, for the time being, it is still Xiao Gui Cao to follow the old method of sugar as soon as possible is serious.

"Well said, well said." Liao Dahua nodded again and again, "It's all on the small body." It will be done within three days. ”

"Don't worry too much about the salary, now is the time to employ people, by the way, if you can recruit long-term workers or someone sells yourself, the people who choose Lao Cheng Ke Kao are accepted in."

"Yes." He took a step. lowered his voice, "If there are suitable girls, do you want to buy a few to take care of the lives of Shopkeeper Wen and Master Chang?" Now Guangzhou has only sent two rough women, rough hands, I am afraid that they will not serve the two well. ”

"Okay." Chang Shide hurriedly said, "Don't be too young, and your body can't be thin." ”

Wen Tong glanced at him in embarrassment, this guy was too anxious. It's not that he didn't have this idea, and the Executive Committee had also given them the power to recruit natives in the local area, but now they were in a hurry to find a woman just after they had settled. The image is not very good to pass back.

"I think this matter is still slow," Wen Tong said, "we just came to Leizhou, and we have to go to all over the place to have a look, I'm afraid that we will have to run for a few weeks, and it will be troublesome to buy a maid on the road, so it is more convenient for the pair of servants to follow." When the two servants standing next to them heard this, they blushed and hung their heads silently.

Liao Dahua was stunned, his eyes scanned, and his face suddenly showed a look of "sudden realization":

"Yes, yes, it's a little abrupt."

The two of them didn't understand what he had "suddenly realized", but there were too many things to do now, and they didn't delve into it. At this time, it was getting late, Liao Dahua and the others had resigned, and the men he brought were all living on Zhuangzi to guard, Liao Dahua did not dare to take it lightly - Xu Wen was the most chaotic place in the entire Leizhou Mansion, and all kinds of bandits and strongmen were rampant. Sugar cane farms and sugar squatters, which had a lot of property, were the targets of their robbery. Zhou Shizhai and Li Biao lived outside the two-person house and took care of them at any time.

In the evening, two servant women sent from Guangzhou came to say goodbye, although these two servants were not healthy women with big shoulders and round waists, they looked thin and shriveled, but Liliang was very big, first sent a new deep and large bidet tub, and then there was a steady stream of hot water and a lot of soaphorns. The two of them ran back and forth for two days, dusty, so it was necessary to take a bath, Wen Tong immediately dragged a fine light, soaked in hot water for a while before crawling out, sitting on a bamboo stool and smearing his body with soap beans, although the soap horn has some feeling that it can't be smeared, but the place where it is applied is slippery and greasy, and it also has a fragrant smell, which is much better than the soap distributed in the Lingao Office.

"Chang, help me apply soap." Wen Tong said to Chang Shide, who was soaking in hot water and closing his eyes to recuperate.

"Your name is Wenxiu, brother and sister in this job, aren't you our little guy. That's what I do, and you let me enjoy it again. Chang Shide soaked in the hot water, with a look of desire to die.

Wen Tong is right to think about it, and by the way, you can rub your back or something. He straightened his throat and shouted. Wenxiu came in from next door. He had changed into a shirt and trousers and was barefoot.

"The master's body is really strong." Wen Xiu rubbed her back vigorously and said.

"Hmph, just his thin appearance, still strong?" Chang Shide made a loud splash of water, "Look at my pectoral muscles—the ghost head knife is not for nothing." ”

Wenxiu didn't dare to speak. Wen Tongdao: "Who did you learn Mandarin from?" ”

"I learned it from Butler Sun."

Wen Tong and Chang Shide already knew before setting off that Sun Da's housekeeper was Sun Chang, who was the main indigenous staff of Guangzhou Station.

"Xiao Guo has a lot of people there."

Wen Xiu hesitated for a moment, not daring to confirm that the "Xiao Guo" in the old man's mouth was the proprietor Guo they regarded as a god, and hesitated for a moment before replying:

"Yes, there are no less than a few dozen people." Wen Xiu was very attentive and thorough, "They all follow Steward Sun to learn Mandarin, and Guo Dongzhu said that this is all prepared for the old men who will come in the future——"

Chang Shide laughed a few times: "Xiao Guo is really good at doing things." As soon as we arrived in Leizhou, the servants were complete. Otherwise, there is not even one who can make a speech. He yawned, "It's been boring today, it reminds me of watching a folklore show." By the way, what are the improvements in sugar production? ”

"There are improvements, but it's too late to make big changes for a while, so let's deal with it first." Wen Tong signaled, Wen Xiu scooped out water from the bucket next to him to rinse, the warm water washed his body, very comfortable, "Tomorrow I will go to the field to have a look, and then I will go to other Zhuangzi and sugar mills to see the situation." ”

"Come on, rub my back too!" Chang Shide climbed out, his body is much stronger than Wen Tong, although he is a fat man, but he usually exercises a lot, and after D day, he does a lot of physical work, and his chest, abdomen, and thighs are all muscles. Wen Xiu glanced at his body with awe and envy, and said with a smile:

"My lord really has a good physique." Rubbing his back for him as he spoke.

"I think there are too many sugar squatters, so I simply merge and cancel it, and come to an intensive production factory to transport all the sugarcane for unified processing. It is easy to scale, and bagasse is easy to utilize. ”

"I want to, too, but farmers like to process nearby, who wants to travel through mountains and rivers to sell sugarcane? Trouble is dead. It's not easy to walk here. Wen Tong said, "Look at the distribution of these sugarcane farms, if they are very dispersed, the sugar industry in Leizhou will be a coffee table." ”

He thought the problem was much more complicated. The sugar industry in Leizhou has a general situation today, and what to do next remains to be investigated. As for the improvement, it is far from just a matter of processing equipment and production technology, in the sugar liao he has already checked the sugar cane used to extract juice, which is actually bamboo cane. This is a type of sugarcane native to China, and although it is a specialized sugar extraction variety, it is not as good as "Kunlun cane" in terms of sugar content, although the latter is actually fruit cane. Even in Leizhou, a unique place where sugarcane is blessed, the sugar content of bamboo cane is only 9%, far lower than the standard of 14% for modern sugar varieties. The agricultural sector has a number of seedlings of sugarcane varieties that can be planted here. Not to mention field management, there should be more room for improvement.

"It's too—oh, oh, it's comfortable. Is your massage good? Chang Shide was very comfortable being served, and he couldn't help moaning.

"The little ones have learned the whole craft of serving people." Wen Tong massaged his back like a flattering man.

"Or is it rough processing everywhere, and brown sugar is transported here to be aggregated and processed into white sugar?"

"I think so too, but I have to look at the situation in various places."

After the two of them had finished bathing, the servants came again to drain the dirty water and clean up the house, and to wash the clothes they had changed. After a while, dinner was set up again. The wine was also served, and it was Xu Wen's local "Xu Wen Liquid", a kind of local wine made from pineapple mi, accompanied by Liao Dahua and Zhou Shizhai on the banquet, and both of them symbolically drank a glass. Wen Tong didn't drink much in the first place, and all the wine was basically drunk by Chang Shide. Although it is not drunk, it is also a little drunk. Wen Tong couldn't, so he had to ask Wen Xiu to help this guy back, originally he wanted to talk to him about things at night, but now it seems that he can only sleep after dark.