As the largest salt field in the south of the Yangtze River, there are almost more than 600 salt people living in the Lianghuai Salt Farm, which can form a small village, less than five miles west of the Lianghuai Salt Field, a tun fort was built, and this team of soldiers was stationed on the fort, one was used to supervise the salt people refining salt, and the other was to prevent outsiders from entering.

After Su Xiaolou and his party rode over several small hills, a silver-white tidal flat was divided into small squares of different sizes, which were magnificently displayed in front of everyone.

As soon as everyone dismounted, there were immediately soldiers who impatiently stepped forward to drive away: "I can't get the salt out now, hurry up!" Let's go! ”

Why did he stubbornly ask: "I saw a lot of salt in it from afar, how can there be no salt?" ”

"Why can't you salt merchants understand human words, and if you don't walk on the horse, you will drag down the rod and ten sticks, and you salt merchants will have a lot of things to do every day." The garrison soldiers threatened viciously, and immediately more garrison soldiers surrounded him and looked at him with ill intentions.

The attitude of the little soldier was so arrogant, why did he angrily reprimand: "Who dared to abuse your private deeds against the common people, who gave you the courage?" "Who gave it? Naturally, it's the people on top!

"I see that you don't shed tears when you don't see the coffin, hold him down, give Lao Tzu thirty big boards, and throw them out." A group of soldiers stepped forward before they touched He Bi's shirt and were kicked out by Zhen Dexiu's Foshan shadowless foot, and there was a wail on the ground in an instant, why bother to take out the waist card of Lord Qincha, the leading soldiers were instantly dumbfounded, their legs were weak, and they knelt on the ground with a plop: "The adult spares his life, the villain has eyes and no beads, and he collides with the adult, and the adult spares his life." ”

Why stand with your hands in your hands, and spit out three words lightly: "Open Tuen Mun!" ”

The leader of the soldiers knelt on the ground and his body stiffened, and his eyes were dripping: "My lord and his party have come from afar, and they are already exhausted, so let me prepare a table of good wine and food, and then go to patrol the salt after you eat." "I'm going to report it.

The soldiers knelt on the ground, baring their big white teeth, and looked at He Bi flatteringly, causing He Bi to be disgusted: "No need, open the door, this official will go to the salt field to have a look." As he spoke, he turned over his horse and ignored the leading soldiers.

Lord Chincha commanded again, and he could only open the door with a hard head. Why bother to lead the crowd towards the distant village, the leading garrison Malier climbed on his horse and humbly followed.

After approaching, I found that in the village in front of me, there was a large pot at the door of each house, and at a glance, most of them were a middle-aged woman leading a few squatting in front of the stove, adding two handfuls of firewood from time to time, and of course there were many sick and weak old people. As for the men, who rolled up their trouser legs high and stepped on the sand to extract brine, and some carried their poles back and forth between the sand and the water, almost all of the people who worked here were tanned and red, and their faces were full of fatigue.

Why bother to ask about the method of making salt on a whim, the leader of the soldiers stepped forward and talked endlessly: "This salt making! To put it simply, it is simple to say that the salt farmers carry the flat pole to borrow water from the sea, and then sprinkle the sea water evenly on the sand made by the volcano by the sea, after the sea water is almost splashed, it begins to dry, and after drying for more than an hour, the sand on the ground will dry, and a large amount of salt will be attached to the sand, and the surface layer will form a salt mixed with sand, and the salt people will scrape them together with a plow and collect them into wooden barrels, and then they will throw them into the cauldron, add a lot of fresh water, and boil all the salt in the sand, just like this. Why bother nodding, it turns out that these women are boiling the salt in the sand.

"Then filter these salts with gauze, and get pure saltwater, and finally transfer these salts to the salt pool, after the water evaporates, the coarse salt is ready" Several people walked to the salt pool, the sun scorched the earth, and the strong light was reflected by the salt in the salt pool.

Suddenly, I heard someone make a 'bah' sound Su Xiaolou followed the prestige, and his face was paralyzed and his head was covered with a pain mask at this time, there was always a person with a particularly strong curiosity in the group of people, this child looked at it from a wealthy family, and he had never seen coarse salt, it was a pity not to take such a commemorative moment and keep it to laugh at him later, but it was a pity that there was no mobile phone.

"My lord, this can't be eaten, these coarse salts taste bitter, and they have to be purified to be edible fine salt." The technology of purifying fine salt in the Ming Dynasty was relatively mature, and if it was put before the Ming Dynasty, Su Xiaolou relied on the technology of refining coarse salt single-handedly, and he could not make a lot of money.

Bao Zhutou saw that everyone turned around to look at him, and he was embarrassed for a while, and angrily reprimanded the leader of the soldiers: "Why didn't you say it earlier." "The soldiers looked aggrieved, and you didn't ask! Besides, a good man grabbed salt and stuffed his mouth.

"Can't eat it?" Why bother sighed: "The poor people in remote areas can't even eat low-priced coarse salt now, so they can only eat the crystalline nitrate on the stones of the thatched houses at home." If it's a little better, you can only eat soil salt, that is, grab the soil and mix it into the dish. ”

Why bother looking at the busy fishermen, they are dressed in patched coarse linen clothes, each skinny but still has to pick up the flat burden that has been bent by the sea, the salt service in the south of the Yangtze River is supported by this group of hard-working people, one flat burden, one pot and one pot, every drop of sweat and tears.

Lu Datong was also shocked, he has always disliked his father's nest, he has never cared about his father's government affairs, and he is even more reluctant to engage in salt affairs, and he is bent on dreaming of Jinyiwei showing off his power in front of hundreds of officials.

Why bother asking: "How much money can these salt farmers get every month for boiling salt so hard?" ”

The eyes of the soldiers were full of contempt: "These salt people stay here almost all the year round, and they can't spend any silver, as long as they make the prescribed fine salt, each person can receive three buckets of grain per month, which is enough for food and clothing." ”

"Enough to eat?" Why did he ask angrily, "Why are the salt people here all skinny, ragged, and even the houses they live in are dilapidated?" ”

"This ......"

The soldiers were choked by He Bi's words and were speechless for a while.

Why do you continue to ask: "This official asks you again, but they really received three buckets of grain every month?" ”

The soldiers were so frightened that they hurriedly knelt on the ground and nodded again and again: "Lord Hui, as long as you are not lazy and slippery, there will definitely be no shortage of three buckets of grain per month, otherwise you will starve to death This group of salt people is still good to recruit new ones, the new salt people's salt making technology is not mature, and they can't produce so much salt every month, which is also troublesome for us." ”

Su Xiaolou felt that although this garrison soldier was hateful, what he said was indeed reasonable, but why didn't he believe what this group of watchdogs said, walked up to a man who was collecting salt and sand, and asked, "Little brother, can you get three buckets of grain every month?" Is there enough food to eat at home? ”

The little brother put down the flat burden, looked at the soldiers, looked at the soldiers on the right, with obvious fear in his eyes, he turned his head to the left sluggishly, and when he wanted to tilt to the right, he then began to nod again, and then picked up the flat burden and hurriedly went to work.