Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 13 Cooperation
Tianji Salt Shop.

In the backyard, a large iron pot sits on a makeshift stove.

Ten catties of coarse salt produced by Tianji Salt Shop, several large buckets of water, a basin of crushed charcoal granules, and several layers of finely folded gauze were neatly arranged to one side.

Only Lin Xuan and Tian Qingluan were inside the courtyard; even Tian Kun was forbidden from entering.

Tian Qingluan looked at Lin Xuan eagerly and said, "Mr. Lin, we can begin."

Lin Xuan nodded, poured ten catties of coarse salt into the large pot, and added enough water.

The firewood crackled and burned under the stove, and Lin Xuan stirred it slowly with a wooden stick in his hand.

The coarse salt gradually dissolved in the warm water, and the clear water quickly became somewhat turbid, turning grayish-yellow in color and emitting a faint earthy and bitter smell. At the same time, some visible mud and sand particles appeared in the water.

Lin Xuan learned about the Tian family's salt-making methods from the files of the Jingbian Division.

Salt production in the Tian family, or rather, the common salt production method in Dayong, was very simple.

Taking mineral salt as an example, after the ore is crushed, it is simply filtered to remove the sand and gravel, while all soluble impurities are retained. Then, the coarsely screened mineral powder is put into a salt pond, water is introduced into the pond to dissolve it, and after being exposed to sunlight and the water evaporates, the crystals at the bottom of the pond are scraped off, and it can be directly taken to the shop for sale.

The coarse salt produced by this method not only contains a small amount of mud and sand, but also fails to remove soluble impurities such as calcium and magnesium, resulting in a bitter taste and coarse, gritty particles.

Even so, it can still sell for fifty coins per pound.

If it is official salt, the quality is not much better than that of private salt, but the price is more expensive, often costing more than one hundred coins per pound.

In his previous life, Lin Xuan had observed the salt-making process during his grassroots investigations, gaining a deep understanding of modern scientific salt-making techniques and the evolution of the salt industry throughout history.

The brine in the pot began to boil. Tian Qingluan stood quietly to the side, her eyes intently following Lin Xuan's every move, patiently waiting for his next step.

After the water boiled, Lin Xuan took the stack of fine gauze, unfolded it, covered the mouth of a clean wooden barrel, and poured a thick layer of crushed charcoal into the center of the gauze.

Then, he carefully poured the boiling, murky brine from the pot onto a wooden bucket lined with charcoal and gauze.

The grayish-yellow, turbid brine flowed through the carbon layer and gauze, gurgling out from the small hole at the bottom of the wooden barrel and falling into a clean basin below.

In just a moment, the previously murky brine became as clear and transparent as a mountain spring.

The earthy smell from before had completely disappeared, leaving only a pure salty and savory aroma.

Tian Qingluan couldn't help but take a deep breath, her beautiful eyes shining.

Without pausing, Lin Xuan poured the filtered, clear brine back into the cleaned large iron pot.

A gentle fire was reignited under the stove, and Lin Xuan stopped stirring vigorously, only occasionally scraping the edge of the pot with a wooden stick to prevent it from sticking.

As the clear brine is heated over a low flame, the water begins to evaporate slowly, and a ring of tiny white crystals gradually forms around the edge of the pot.

As time passed, the brine in the pot became thicker and thicker, and the bubbling bubbles became denser. Finally, when the water evaporated to a certain extent, a layer of fine, white crystals began to appear at the bottom of the pot.

Lin Xuan turned off the fire and waited for the heat to dissipate slightly before carefully using a wooden spatula to scrape up the crystals from the bottom of the pot.

The freshly made salt, presented to Tian Qingluan, was as white as snow, with uniform and fine grains that shimmered with a crystal-clear luster in the sunlight, just like the refined salt he had taken out before.

Lin Xuan placed the freshly shoveled salt into a clean plate and handed it to Tian Qingluan.

Tian Qingluan extended her slender fingers and gracefully picked up a small pinch of salt.

It feels dry and smooth to the touch, with no stickiness whatsoever.

She leaned closer to examine it; the salt grains were crystal clear and without any impurities.

Finally, she put the salt grains into her mouth again.

A pure, unadulterated salty and savory flavor instantly fills the mouth.

She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. When she opened them again, her eyes were filled with shock and uncontrollable joy.

Become!

It really did!

In less than half an hour, she witnessed the young man transform the coarse salt she sold into high-quality refined salt. The process of refining this coarse salt was so simple, eliminating the tedious steps of repeated boiling, sedimentation, and washing, greatly reducing water consumption, and shortening the time by several times…

She slowly opened her eyes, her gaze towards Lin Xuan filled with shock.

After calming down, she looked at Lin Xuan, clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Mr. Lin, you are truly talented. Qingluan is completely convinced!"

Lin Xuan said politely, "Miss Tian, ​​you flatter me..."

Tian Qingluan's eyes sparkled as she asked curiously, "How did Mr. Lin come up with such a wonderful method?"

Lin Xuan was silent for a moment, then said honestly, "The salt I bought from your store is too bitter, and the dishes I made with it are inedible, so I came up with a way to purify the coarse salt..."

Tian Qingluan: "..."

After a moment of silence, an awkward yet elegant smile appeared on her face, followed by a troubled expression. She said, "Mr. Lin, Qingluan was previously unaware of the refined salt process, which requires a large amount of firewood. This will significantly increase the cost of refining the salt..."

Lin Xuan knew that she was trying to lower the price again.

He smiled slightly and said, "Miss Tian, ​​there's no need to worry. That was just a demonstration to speed up the process of purifying refined salt. We don't need firewood. Although it will take a little longer, it will still save at least half the time compared to the previous process..."

Therefore, Tian Qingluan could not say anything more.

At the same time, she secretly admired Mr. Lin, who, despite his young age, was meticulous in his work.

What he meant was that the truly low-cost refined salt production process was still in his hands, and if the Tian family wanted to obtain it, they would probably need to give something substantial first.

Regardless of whether his new salt-making method is as miraculous as he claims, the crude salt purification process he just demonstrated is worth a thousand taels of silver.

Her smile remained unchanged, and her voice was still gentle: "Mr. Lin, a thousand taels of silver is no small sum. I'm afraid the Tian family's salt shops in the city can't raise enough. Could you wait until I go back to the village and raise the silver for you?"

Lin Xuan nodded slightly: "Of course."

After pondering for a moment, Tian Qingluan added, "Regarding this deal, the Tian family has one more condition."

Lin Xuan said, "Miss Tian, ​​please speak."

Tian Qingluan looked at him and said, "Mr. Lin must not disclose this method of refining salt to anyone else, especially my Tian family's competitors. If he violates this rule, our contract will be void immediately!"

Lin Xuan thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay."

A moment later, the two left the courtyard and went into the inner room.

Tian Qingluan gently instructed Tian Kun, who was waiting there, "Third Uncle, please take good care of Mr. Lin. I'll go back to the village first."

Tian Kun seemed to realize something, and a worried look appeared on his face. He said, "Miss, the people from Baishi Village are still surrounding the village. If you go back now, it might be dangerous..."

Tian Qingluan smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, I'm going back this time to resolve this matter. With the new salt-making method, we no longer need to compete with Baishi Village for water resources, and detaining their people is pointless..."

Lin Xuan took a small sip of tea. From beginning to end, he did not mention the Black Stone Village, nor did he reveal his identity as the Jingbian Division.

Although his initial goal was to mediate the conflict between the two villages and complete the task assigned by Wu Baihu.

But as things progressed, this task became something that came along incidentally.

Tian Qingluan bowed gracefully to Lin Xuan and said, "Mr. Lin, please excuse me for a moment."

As soon as she finished speaking, she hurriedly left.

While Lin Xuan was leisurely drinking tea in the shop, a somber atmosphere prevailed in a mountain village outside the city.

Black Stone Village is built against the mountain, and its walls are made of huge black stones, making it look sturdy and rugged.

At this moment, the gates of Black Stone Village were tightly closed, and figures holding bows and knives could be faintly seen behind the battlements, each with an unfriendly expression and a murderous aura.

Not far in front of the village gate, a large group of people, numbering no less than a hundred, had gathered. They were the villagers of Baishi Village.

Armed with machetes, hunting forks, sharpened bamboo poles, and even hoes, they were now in a state of high anger, shouting insults towards the village gate.

The leader, a tall man with a full beard and bloodshot eyes, brandished a heavy machete and his voice boomed like thunder: "Old dog Tian, ​​release my son and the others, or I'll raze your Black Stone Village to the ground today!"

(End of this chapter)