Love Lock

Chapter 219 You already miss the Prince?

Han Lei quietly brought up the system interface that only she could see, and the detailed mineral map that the system had once given her unfolded on the interface.

Her gaze immediately fell on a flashing red dot in the northern mountainous area of ​​Huachang County—marked with the words "Salt Mine".

"Freshman," Han Lei pointed to a mountain range to the north and said in a low voice, "You and the sophomores go to that northern mountain immediately and bring back some stone samples. Remember, you need the kind of bluish-gray ore."

"Huh?" Da Yi was taken aback.

They were just talking about pig farms, and he didn't understand why Han Lei suddenly brought up ore.

Although the freshman was puzzled, he nodded in agreement: "Yes, Your Highness. I will take care of it right away."

He turned around and waved to the second-year students, and the two hurriedly left.

Li Laoshuan asked curiously, "Your Highness, what are you going to do...?"

“Uncle Li, perhaps we can add another livelihood to Huachang County.” Han Lei smiled mysteriously. “Take me to see the breeding farm first.”

"That's great."

Li Laoshuan and the villagers' eyes lit up, and they quickly followed Han Lei to the breeding farm.

The scale of the farm exceeded Han Lei's expectations; the pig farm alone was two to three times larger than the one in Qingshui County.

Dozens of pigsties built of stone are neatly arranged on the sunny side of the hillside, where craftsmen are pouring concrete and then smoothing the surface.

Each pigsty was designed according to the construction plans of Qingshui County, with well-ventilated windows and drainage ditches.

Since Han Lei provided the Fufeng County Cement Plant with oil-powered three-wheeled vehicles, the plant's transport team has been delivering the produced cement to various counties in Cangzhou.

The cement supply is limited because cement production cannot keep up with demand. Otherwise, with tens of thousands of people working here, the farm would have been completed long ago.

The chicken and duck farms are built a little further away by a stream for easy cleaning and access to drinking water.

The stream babbles, reflecting the sunlight and clouds.

The newly built bamboo fence of the chicken and duck farm gleamed with a bluish-green luster in the morning dew. The laborers were scattered in twos and threes throughout the farm, some tamping the foundation and others binding the thatched roof.

The scent of earth mingled with the fresh fragrance of bamboo and wood, floating in the moist air.

Li Laoshuan suddenly shouted, "Folks, the Princess Consort has come to inspect the work we've done!"

The laborers looked up and saw more than ten villagers walking towards them, surrounding a woman in plain clothes.

The woman wasn't wearing brocade; she was dressed only in a coarse indigo cloth dress, with a wooden hairpin in her hair. Wild grass seeds clung to the hem of her dress as she walked, making her look like a girl from next door who had just returned from the vegetable garden.

But upon closer inspection, her demeanor was clearly more composed than that of the most respectable lady of the town.

"She...she is the princess?" The young men whispered among themselves.

The old stonemason squinted and looked around, recalling the daughters of officials he had seen in the prefecture, those noble ladies wrapped in silk and brocade, who made people dare not look up from a distance.

The sweet-looking girl in front of me walked over with a smile, showing no airs or pretension of a noble person, but rather a friendly demeanor.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, do you think this chicken coop is well made?" a craftsman with a face covered in sawdust asked, pointing to the newly completed chicken coop.

Han Lei raised her hand to stroke the brand-new chicken coop, carefully inspected it, and nodded approvingly: "It's very well done, the edges are polished very smoothly."

As she spoke, she took out a roll of A4 paper from her sleeve and handed it out to everyone one by one.

"Everyone, here are some points to note about animal husbandry that I have compiled, including feed formulation and disease prevention. Uncle Li, could you please find a few literate young people to organize everyone to learn more about animal husbandry techniques?"

Li Laoshuan accepted the blueprints as if they were a priceless treasure, carefully tucking them into his robes: "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will definitely handle it well!"

As evening fell, Da Yi returned with his group, looking travel-worn. He unloaded the burlap sack from his back and poured out a few bluish-gray stones.

“Your Highness, as you said, we found this kind of stone in the shady area of ​​the North Mountain. There are not many people there usually, and the stone is very hard. It took us a long time to get these down.”

Han Lei picked up a piece of ore, feeling its cold, hard texture against her fingertips.

She took out a small hammer and gently tapped it, revealing a grayish-white interior where the ore cracked open. She dipped a little of the crumb in and tasted it on her tongue; the salty and astringent flavor made her eyes light up.

"It really is a salt mine," she murmured to herself.

"What? Your Highness, you're saying this stone is salt?" a young laborer asked in surprise. "Do we lick the stone after each bite of food?"

"Hahaha……"

The laborer's words made everyone burst into laughter, even Han Lei was amused.

"Hehe, what human would eat by licking rocks?" Han Lei said with a laugh. "However, some animals do supplement their salt intake by licking salt rocks. For example, antelopes, deer, or monkeys, etc."

After Han Lei finished speaking, she immediately announced to the onlookers, "Tonight I'm going to conduct an experiment. If it succeeds, our entire Cangzhou will never lack salt again!"

The news spread like wildfire. By the time Han Lei set up a makeshift stove in the open space of the farm, almost the entire village had gathered around, whispering amongst themselves.

"What? Salt? You're saying there's salt hidden in our poor mountain village?"

"Lord Luo said that our Princess is like a fairy, and if the Princess says it can be done, then it definitely can be done!"

"If salt can really be produced, that would be a wonderful thing! Salt in Jizhou is incredibly expensive; my family hasn't tasted anything salty for half a year..."

Han Lei ignored the surrounding discussions and focused on directing the freshmen and others to prepare the tools.

They smashed the ore into small pieces, then ground it into powder as much as possible, poured it into a large wooden bucket filled with clear water, and stirred it. The murky water gradually turned grayish-white.

"Everyone is watching closely. This is the first step: dissolving the salt." Han Lei patiently explained to the curious onlookers, "The salt in the salt mine will dissolve in water, while the impurities will precipitate."

She had the freshman carefully scoop out the top layer of brine and filter it through several layers of fine cotton cloth.

After repeating this process three times, the originally murky liquid became much clearer. Han Lei poured the filtered salt water into a large iron pot and placed it over a fire to boil.

Flames licked the bottom of the pot, the water bubbling and gradually decreasing. The villagers watching held their breath, the only sounds in the air being the crackling of the firewood and the hissing of the evaporating steam.

An hour later, white crystals finally appeared at the bottom of the pot.

"It's done!" Han Lei gently scraped off a layer of crystals with a wooden spatula. In the firelight, the fine white salt grains shimmered. Da Yi carefully dipped a little with his finger and put it in his mouth. His eyes widened instantly: "It really is salt! It's even finer and purer than the official salt!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd. Old Li, trembling, accepted the salt from Han Lei, tears streaming down his face.

"Heaven has eyes! Our Huachang County can produce salt now! This... this is a treasure that can feed several generations!"

"Everyone, hurry back and get your bowls. Let's divide up all the salt in this pot first." Looking at the excited villagers, Han Lei felt a surge of warmth in her heart.

The tenants who lived nearby, belonging to the Sun family, quickly turned back to get their bowls, each one so happy that they seemed to be taking off.

Han Lei turned to the freshmen and instructed them, "Tomorrow morning, send someone to the communications station to inform Lord Luo of this good news via walkie-talkie. The refugees assigned here will begin formally mining salt and establishing a salt factory. I will teach everyone the complete purification method."

“Your Highness,” a thin boy squeezed to the front and asked timidly, “May I learn the art of salt making from you? My father used to be a stonemason, and I know some stone-carving techniques…”

“Of course.” Han Lei gently patted the boy’s shoulder. “Not only you, but anyone who is willing to learn is welcome. This craft will be taught openly so that every resident of Huachang County can benefit.”

As night deepened, the villagers remained immersed in the joy of discovering the salt mine, discussing their better days in small groups.

Han Lei stood alone under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, gazing at the starry sky.

“Miss Han, you are truly a blessing to the people of Cangzhou.” Da Yi walked over, holding a freshly brewed ginger tea in his hands. “Lord Luo will be very happy to know about this.”

Han Lei took the ginger tea, her expression somewhat blurred by the rising steam: "Freshmen, everyone has gone back now. I need to provide some materials here. Please come with me."

The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the open space behind the farm, gilding this land, which was about to undergo major construction, with a layer of silvery luster.

Da Yi and the others stood around, while Han Lei stood in the center of the open space. The night breeze gently brushed the hem of her clothes. After looking around to make sure no one was there, she gently closed her eyes.

She purchased dozens of tons of cement and various materials needed for the farm through the system panel.

[Ding! Gold has been deducted; supplies are being deployed.]

As the system notification faded, a mountain of materials appeared out of nowhere on the open ground. Cement bags were neatly stacked, PVC pipes gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and various tools were arranged in an orderly fashion.

“Your Highness, when the laborers see these extra things tomorrow morning, they will be absolutely astonished.” Da Yi stepped forward, his tone calm, the initial shock gone from his eyes.

Han Lei smiled slightly: "The salt factory is about to be built, so naturally we'll need more materials. You guys, it's the same old routine."

"Understood." The freshman turned to the other guys and said, "Junior, you're in charge of recording the materials; senior, you're in charge of recording the tools. Sophomore, you go and tell the foreman to come and collect the goods."

The brothers in the large team quickly sprang into action, each performing their assigned tasks with swift and skillful movements.

Under the moonlight, only the soft sounds of materials colliding and occasional hushed conversations could be heard.

Han Lei stood aside, looking at the guards who had become accustomed to her "miracles," and felt gratified.

A few months ago, when they first witnessed her conjure various things out of thin air, they almost knelt down in worship. Now, they can accept and assist her so naturally; this trust is hard-won.

Because a salt plant needs to be set up soon, a large amount of fuel will be required.

Han Lei took out her notebook and quickly jotted down the tasks she needed to arrange for tomorrow by the bright moonlight.

She planned to have the Beiguan honeycomb briquette factory provide fuel for free for the first month, but after a month, she would have the Huachang County Salt Factory purchase it at the wholesale price.

The initial donation was to support the Huachang County Salt Factory. The subsequent purchase was to generate orders and profits for the Beiguan Honeycomb Coal Factory, enabling it to begin normal operations.

Similarly, after the salt factory was built, the honeycomb briquette factory, cement factory, breeding farm and county government would place large orders first. After making a profit and operating normally, the salt would be sold to the people at a fair price.

Various factories and mines, and so on, will gradually form an industrial chain.

Han Lei put away her notebook and said to the first-year students, "Tomorrow, send the second-year students to the Beiguan Communications Station and have them deliver honeycomb briquettes to support Huachang County. Provide them free of charge for the first month, and then purchase them at wholesale prices once the salt factory is up and running."

The freshman seemed to be thinking: "Does the princess intend to... support them first, and then let them support themselves?"

“Exactly.” A hint of appreciation flashed in Han Lei’s eyes. “Not only the salt plant, but all future projects should form a virtuous cycle. We’ll start by supporting the industry with official orders, and then sell to the people at affordable prices once the industry matures.”

She walked towards a pile of newly appeared materials and gently stroked the smooth PVC pipes: "First year, do you know why I'm so determined to make salt affordable for the people of Cangzhou?"

The freshman shook his head, waiting for the next part.

"Because salt is the most important of all flavors and is also essential for the human body every day." Han Lei's voice was particularly clear in the night.

"But now the official salt is expensive and of poor quality, while smuggled salt is too risky. Many poor families can only survive on bland food... If this continues, the people will become weak and sick, how can they live and work in peace?"

As a freshman, I was deeply moved when I recalled how my family couldn't afford salt when I was a child, and my mother could only put a tiny pinch in the food when cooking.

"The princess is very insightful," he said sincerely.

Han Lei smiled and said, "This is just the beginning. After the salt factory is built, Cangzhou will also build schools, clinics and so on. We need to take it one step at a time. Let's solve the problem of having enough to eat first."

The sound of roosters crowing came from afar, and the eastern sky was already showing the first light of dawn.

"It's almost dawn." Han Lei clapped her hands. "Let's all work harder. The laborers need to organize the materials before they start work."

The members of the Big Character Team responded and sped up their movements.

Looking at Han Lei in the night, Da Yi suddenly felt that this young princess seemed to have inexhaustible energy and a kind of dedication to the people that he had never seen in any nobleman.

“Your Highness,” he couldn’t help but ask, “how do you know so much? Building factories, salt production, aquaculture… even the old craftsmen in the Ministry of Works may not fully understand these things.”

Han Lei blinked and smiled mysteriously: "Because I've read a lot of books. None of that matters. You just need to know that everything I do is for the people of Cangzhou to live a better life."

“Yes! I believe you.” Da Yi nodded firmly. “Now I’m actually glad that I was seriously injured and couldn’t go to the battlefield, so I was fortunate enough to be by your side. In the past few months, I have learned a lot and seen a different Cangzhou.”

"Yes!" Han Lei looked up at the nearly full moon in the sky and sighed, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here. I miss my family even more during festivals. I miss home."

The freshman thought she missed the Zhao family mansion in Fufeng County and couldn't help but tease her playfully, "Hehe! The princess has only been gone a few days, and she already misses the prince?"

Upon hearing this, Han Lei blushed slightly, but she didn't say anything more. Instead, she nodded slightly in response to the freshman's teasing.

"Yes! I miss Your Highness."

Thank you so much for the red envelope, Brother V! I'll remember it forever!