The grassroots level has been straightened out, Zhuang Yi can actually go back to Liucheng to sit in the office, but he can't be idle, Yingzhou is such a fat black land, he has to look around.

On this day, together with Duan Zhongzhong and the others, Gao Hongxun led a hundred veterans of the original Dushan Battalion as escorts, and went to the seaside of Juluo to guard more than 200 miles southwest. There is a small fishing village here, about 100 or so families, and the villagers are all engaged in fishing, hunting, and boiling sea salt.

Zhuang Yi stayed in the village that night and was warmly received by the whole village, of course, because his soldiers brought their own tents, and they were relatively honest, they did not drill into other people's houses, nor did they rob and take indiscriminately, otherwise these villagers in the bitter cold border land would also be very strong.

The elder in the village is an old man who is over the age of six, known as "Guo Wengbo!" "Although his hair is gray, his face is wrinkled and old-looking, but his body is very stable, and he speaks loudly without knots.

After a night of silence, the next morning, Zhuang Yi asked Bian Wu to lead the soldiers to stay in the village, led Duan Zhongzhong and Gao Hongxun to accompany him, and Guo Wengbo led the way to inspect the villagers' salt cooking workshop.

There were many kinds of salt in the Tang Dynasty, which can be roughly divided into six types: sea salt, pond salt, well salt, earth salt, cliff salt and sand and gravel salt, and sea salt is the main source and the main income of this small fishing village.

The salt-boiling workshop was located in a small col on a leeward hill by the sea, and seventeen or eighteen dilapidated houses with rough stone walls appeared in front of them, and the smoke rose and was scattered by the fierce sea breeze. More than a dozen shirtless and dark-skinned strong men were carrying buckets back from the beach two miles away, and when they saw Zhuang Yi and the others, they immediately stood and watched vigilantly.

"This is the Zhuang military envoy from Liucheng, what do you see...... Go all by yourself! When Guo Wengbo saw it, he greeted him with a smile. When the men heard this, they muttered all the way to the workshop.

Guo Wengbo took Zhuang Yi and others into a courtyard, where firewood and dead wood were piled up in the corner, and two strong men were digging firewood. When I entered the house, there was a thorough house with roof beams, and six stoves were built in the house, and the firewood was burning, and the white steam was filled with white steam on the stoves.

"How much salt can be boiled in a month with this soil method?"

Zhuang Yi only took a cursory glance and knew that this was the most crude way to boil salt, that is, to let the water in the seawater evaporate, leaving behind salt. It's not that the method is bad, but that without equipment, the efficiency will certainly not be high.

"Okay...... As long as the firewood is abundant and the weather is good, all the students in our village will be dispatched, and two or three hundred stone salt can be produced in a month. Guo Wengbo said with a smile.

"Oh......" Zhuang Yi replied casually, and made a silent calculation in his heart.

Not counting the consumption of firewood, fifty loads of water a day for one person, and then calculating the ratio of seawater to salt, as well as the time required to evaporate water, it is good for a person to have thirty catties of salt a day, but the cost of labor and firewood is still too high.

This problem must be solved, if Haiyan is well managed, it will definitely be a source of money. Naturally, if you rely on the sea, you will eat the sea, and there are not only fish in the sea, but also countless wealth.

If you want the country to be rich and strong, you can't ignore the ocean. Wealth comes from the sea, and danger comes from the sea. Who said this, Zhuang Yi doesn't remember much, but he understands this truth, and at this time he silently thought about the future development path in his heart.

"In the coming year, the Yingzhou Military Government will invest more manpower and financial resources to cook salt, Guo Weng is doing it first, I don't know if there is a stock of salt in the village?" Zhuang Yi asked.

"Oh...... That's a good idea! There are some stocks in the village, and the military envoys have other goods that can be exchanged. Guo Wengbo said with a look of hope.

"The goods are also available, but not complete. Of course, there are also copper coins...... If Guo Weng can trust me, you might as well hand over all your salt storage to me, and I will send it to Youzhou to sell, or you can sell it to the Shanbei grassland, so that the profit will be greater, Guo Weng may wish to consider it. Zhuang Yi said with a smile.

"This ...... I asked my eldest man to take the caravan of the descendants of the village with the military envoys, I don't know if it's okay? Guo Wengbo was a little entangled, lowered his head and thought for a while, and finally agreed.

"Okay...... Then Guo Weng go back and prepare, I have to go back to Liucheng! ”

"It's still far back to Liucheng, it's not too late to leave after lunch!" Guo Weng Bo said.

Zhuang Yi declined Guo Wengbo's kindness, and immediately had no interest in watching it further, so he asked Guo Wengbo to lead him back to the village and pack up. Guo Wengbo also sorted out thousands of stone sea salt, loaded it on the back of a pack horse in a sack, and the group said goodbye to the villagers and embarked on the road back to Liucheng.

That night, he stayed in Juluo and was captured, and the next day he took the road to the northwest and no longer went to Yancheng. After a day of rapid travel, this evening, Liucheng was finally in sight. As soon as he entered the city, Zhuang Yi heard bad news from Ira, who was guarding the city, that the Bohai Kingdom had sent someone.

The one who should come always has to come, so Zhuang Yi ignored it, settled the entourage, and went straight home. After arriving at the mansion and entering the side door, Bian Wu took the saber that Zhuang Yi untied, and pulled the horses to the stable, and the old servant who guarded the door was from the Madu Mountain Diexiu Village, and saw this and hurriedly went in to report, Zhao Qiuling heard the news and took Mei Xiang and a group of maids to welcome out.

"It's been six or seven days, are you tired? Have you sorted out your household registration in various places? Zhao Qiuling asked with a smile with a smile on his face.

"Sort out a rough idea, and it will be next year that all the townships will complete the report, and there will be no tax revenue within three years. This winter's grain and grass reserves are insufficient, which is a bit sad! Zhuang Yi replied casually, stepped forward and took Zhao Qiuling's hand, and the two entered the courtyard gate.

"Don't worry, there should be food in Youzhou, my father has a letter, do you want to see it?" Zhao Qiuling glanced at him and said with a smile.

"Haha...... Is it for me? You don't have to look at me to know that your father must be scolding me again, isn't he? Zhuang Yi was amused by Zhao Qiuling's eyes, and reached out to wrap his hand around her slender waist, and began to be hairy, and put his mouth over.

"You're still a little self-aware...... Don't move your hands and feet, you stink, go get some rest. I'll ask the maid to prepare hot water, you bathe and change your clothes first, come back for dinner, and then I'll show you the letter later!" Zhao Qiuling turned his head sideways to avoid it, chuckled and pushed Zhuang Yi away, turned around and went quickly.

Zhuang Yi smiled and walked around the small garden in the atrium to the back house. The whole back house is a large quadrangle, which accounts for almost three or four percent of the entire government area. In addition to the main residential hall, there is a small garden covering an area of more than ten acres at the rear, with a rockery and a small fish pond, as well as a pavilion flower garden and a few bare weeping willows. In the middle of the interior is a small two-story building that divides the two sides into left and right compartments. On either side are the quarters of the servants, and the front row is near the atrium and is used to store miscellaneous items.