After swapping bodies with the princess, this prince slaughtered his way through the court and becam

"I plan to buy the bitter salt mine in Beishan, then boil salt and sell it."

After Ren Jingxing finished speaking, the young girl Shen Shumin thought she had misheard:

"Buy...buy bitter salt mines?"

"That's right, I only have a little over five hundred taels of silver here."

Ren Jingxing didn't exchange these items for money at all; instead, he used them directly for trading.

Shen Shumin accepted the banknotes, silver, jewelry and other valuables in a daze.

It's not that the money isn't enough, but...

Xuanwei Manor originally belonged to Xuanwei Prefecture, so why would the young marquis need to spend money to buy it?

Could it be that the young marquis is an idiot?

At first, Shen Shumin was on guard because she was worried that Ren Jingxing would sell the things on the estate.

For example, selling off the farmland, trees, and other things in the estate.

Unexpectedly, the young marquis did not sell anything; instead, he sent money to the estate.

Shen Shumin immediately blushed and quickly shook her head to explain:

"Young Master, everything in this estate is yours; you don't need to buy it!"

After saying that, Shen Shumin pushed her hand over again, wanting to return the money, silver, jewelry and other items to Ren Jingxing.

Ren Jingxing did not accept it and pushed Shen Shumin's small hand back to him.

Although Shen Shumin's skin was tanned to a wheatish color, her small hands were still very delicate.

"Take it, this is all Chu Huaiyu's, Han Jin's, and Yan Huai's money."

They provide the capital, I provide the mine, and together we'll build a new salt field!

"Put this money into the public account, use it as capital, and immediately organize the miners in the village to start mining and salt production!"

Shen Shumin was immediately stunned.

Well, the young master is still the same playboy; he's even using his bad intentions on his friends...

Shen Shumin has extremely strong execution skills.

After Ren Jingxing gave the order, Shen Shumin immediately gathered the miners in the village.

However, the news that the prince had cheated his friends out of their money to buy his own salt mine also spread quickly throughout the estate.

In fact, most people in Zhuangzi looked down on Ren Jingxing.

They themselves or their fathers came from the battlefield, and they all believed in earning a living through their own abilities.

Over the years, Ren Jingxing has not only failed to demonstrate any real talent, but has also continued to squander his wealth.

If it weren't for Shen Shumin, who gave the order, having considerable prestige in the estate, and also because of the money involved, it would have been a different story.

The salt miners in the village were unwilling to come.

"Sigh, this young master, he's screwed over his family and then his friends. Once he inherits the title, let's see who'll still be willing to help the Marquis's mansion!"

"No matter what, he is still a prince."

Even if we squander the Marquis's manor, our estate will still belong to them, won't it?

"The young master was born into a good family..."

Standing at the front, Shen Shumin frowned as she listened to the discussions behind her.

These people are right; if the Crown Prince breaks off relations with his friends...

Once the heir apparent inherits the title, he will truly be all alone.

The slightest mistake could lead to demotion.

At that time, even Zhuangzi might suffer.

So Shen Shumin said to a middle-aged man dressed in burlap next to her:

"Uncle Li, quickly send someone on horseback into the city and tell the Marquis everything that has happened here."

Uncle Li frowned:

"Master Shen, isn't this unnecessary? Anyway, this estate will belong to the heir in the future..."

"Go now!" Shen Shumin interrupted and shouted.

"All right……"

Shen Shumin still holds a very high position.

Uncle Li had no choice but to send someone to the Marquis's residence.

Although Shen Shumin also didn't think highly of Ren Jingxing.

However, as the person in charge of the estate, she was also a servant in the Marquis's household.

She has an obligation to think about the future of the Marquis's mansion.

Soon, Ren Jingxing, Shen Shumin, and the workers from the village arrived at the bitter salt mine.

Shen Shumin and some farmers who were watching the spectacle were watching Ren Jingxing with great interest, wanting to see what tricks he was up to.

Ren Jingxing sized up the workers in the manor.

These people were all emaciated and dressed in rags, and they didn't look at Ren Jingxing with much respect.

Making money by mining salt mines?

This young master knows nothing and is just here to make fun of them, isn't he?

Although the farmers in the village do not have to pay taxes, they only need to pool their money and hand it over to Xuanwei Prefecture.

However, the land in the Xuanwei Prefecture estate was barren, and the crops grown were not even enough to feed the villagers themselves.

It was inevitable that they would be thin and sallow-skinned, and dressed in rags.

"Manager Shen, are all these workers from our estate? What are their character traits like?"

"Your Highness, these people have been from our village since their grandfathers' generation."

As for character, although everyone lived a hard life, no one ever stole or robbed; they were all honest and hardworking people.

Ren Jingxing nodded:

"That's good!"

The purification of bitter salt involves classified information, and he must ensure that these people are all loyal and upright members of his own team.

At this moment, Shen Shumin couldn't help but ask:

"Young Master, you can't eat too much bitter salt, and there aren't many people buying it anyway, so we won't make much money."

"Why have we gathered so many people to dig up bitter salt? What exactly are we trying to do?"

Ren Jingxing waved his hand:

"We don't sell bitter salt, we sell refined salt!"

"Refined salt? We don't have any refined salt here."

"I have a way to extract refined salt from bitter salt!"

After Ren Jingxing finished speaking, Shen Shumin looked surprised, and the workers who came over sighed.

This prince is really unreliable!

Shen Shumin secretly made her plans.

When the Marquis arrives, the money the heir spent on buying the mine will likely have to be returned.

In the end, he and his workers would have wasted their time with the prince for nothing.

However, the young master is the master of the estate, so even if they are just playing with him, they must play with their hearts!

Then Shen Shumin loudly gave the order:

"Everyone, get to work!"

The methods of extracting bitter salt vary from place to place.

Zhuangzi's bitter salt is somewhat like mineral salt.

When mining, the salt soil needs to be extracted like a proper mining operation.

Then soak the saline soil in water.

After mixing thoroughly, filter out the soil and other impurities.

The remaining water is bitter salt water.

If you're not in a hurry to use it, you can simply put the water in a bucket and let it dry slowly in the sun.

But if you need it urgently, you have to boil it bucket by bucket.

The steps for extracting bitter salt in Zhuangzi are the same as those required by Ren Jingxing.

Ren Jingxing's refined essence lies in the latter half.

After a moment, the dusty-looking worker walked up to Ren Jingxing carrying a bucket of bitter salt water:

"Your Highness, the bitter brine has been extracted. Do you think we should boil it or slowly sun-dry it?"

Sunbathing, although it takes time, doesn't require any other expenditure.

If you were to boil it, it would consume a lot of firewood.

"cook!"

After Ren Jingxing gave the order, the worker sighed, but had no choice but to comply.

At this time, Ren Jingxing found Shen Shumin again:

"Steward Shen, send someone to fetch some wood ash and lime. These are crucial for extracting refined salt, so you mustn't let anyone know!"

"Yes, sir!"

Shen Shumin relayed Ren Jingxing's orders, then looked south with a worried expression.

Why hasn't the Marquis arrived yet?