He changed Tiwat

Han Fulai quietly took a step back. Although he didn't know exactly what the dish tasted like, there was one thing he was very clear about—radishes that were only stewed for ten minutes and then taken out of the pot definitely wouldn't taste good...

Patrick and Lu Tong each picked up a small bowl and took a bite.

"Ugh... this taste..." Even though he came from the romantic city of Fontaine, Patrick couldn't describe this strange taste. The sour, sweet, and salty flavors were mixed together, plus the slightly spicy kick of mint leaves, making it feel like drinking some kind of alchemical potion.

Lu Tong was silent for a moment, then said heavily, "...Sir, I think these radishes need to be cooked a little longer..."

There were still a few strips of radish stuck between his teeth.

Garcia frowned, picked up the bowl, and took a bite of the "masterpiece" he had instructed, only to choke. It was Lu Tong who patted his back to help him recover: "Cough, cough... How could these mints be cooked like this? I clearly calculated the optimal cooking time!... This soup doesn't even taste as good as last time!"

Lu Tong lowered his eyebrows: "I completely agree with you, sir..."

Oh, it seems I don't need to drink it. Han Fulai secretly rejoiced.

"Ahem... Step two, let's review this." Galcha slapped his forehead in frustration. "Damn it... There must be some missing parameter in the formula, or the calculation precision isn't enough... I need to go back and adjust the algorithm. Lu Tong, did you record all the data from this cooking session?"

Lu Tong pulled out a small notebook at some point, which already contained a long string of words. "I've written it all down, sir."

“Very good, it seems we have taken another step towards success.” Galcha nodded, then turned to Yanxiao. “Next is step three, please have the chef demonstrate the cooking process for us again.”

With a "smack," it was the sound of Yan Xiao slamming her hand on the table.

With a loud "bang," the sound of a cleaver striking a cutting board was heard.

"Get lost." That was Yan Xiao's voice.

Garcia, who was slunk out of the kitchen, was not discouraged. He was prepared for failure; it was just, well, a small obstacle on the road to success.

He earnestly summarized the lessons learned with Lu Tong: "Judging from the experimental results, the taste of a dish is affected by too many variables, such as the amount of seasonings, the amount of vegetables... If you want to calculate precisely, you have to invest more in calculations."

“I agree, sir,” Lu Tong added, “Also, I think we stewed it for a little too little time this time.”

“…Hmm, you’ve found the blind spot, Lu Tong.” Galcha stroked his chin. “But theoretically, the timing should be just right. Since we’ve reduced the ingredients by one-tenth, the stewing time should also be reduced proportionally…”

“Although I can’t cook, sir, I think the stewing time ratio is not a simple geometric sequence; it may involve more precise calculations,” Lu Tong replied.

Garcia nodded. "You make a good point, Lu Tong. Perhaps we should experiment with each ingredient individually and record the different flavor changes produced by different stewing times. Experiments should 'control variables'."

“I agree, sir, but I must remind you that our remaining funds may not be enough to support this experiment…”

Patrick coughed lightly, drawing their attention: "Gentlemen, can you tell me now what the connection is between your experiment on radish and vegetable soup and the 'calculation machine'?"

In his view, these were two completely unrelated things. Even if they did manage to develop a "foolproof process" for making radish and vegetable soup, how would that help the "pushing machine" constructed with gears and bearings?

Galcha pushed up his glasses and explained earnestly, “This is ‘language,’ dear Patrick. Just as we humans have human language, machines have machine language. If we want machines to work according to human intentions, we need to make them understand our language. Just as someone who doesn’t know cooking skills can make delicious dishes by following a standard procedure, a machine that doesn’t know mathematics can also perform complex calculations using a standard procedure.”

“Mr. Galcha calls this ‘programming,’ which means writing operating procedures, Mr. Patrick,” Luton added.

“When I first arrived at Wangshu Inn, in order to save money, I ate the cheapest ‘radish and vegetable soup’ three times in a row. Then I found that, even though it was made by the same chef, the taste was slightly different every time I ate it. So I wondered what variable was affecting the taste of the food?” Galcha said.

"So I decided to observe and understand the relationship between temperature rise and fall and cooking time during the cooking process, and then add different substances to make the food undergo various changes... After I fully master these data, I can deconstruct, reorganize and apply them to create cooking procedures!"

"In fact, just as mathematics is the essence of everything, I think cooking also contains the essence of mathematics. By converting the cooking steps into the simplest numbers, such as how many grams of sugar, how many grams of salt, how many liters of water, how long to heat... as long as we can control these variables and convert them into fixed parameters, we will inevitably get a fixed result, just like 1+1=2."

“Oh, oh!” Patrick exclaimed unconsciously. He thought of his research on “oscillator mapping”. If the methods of exciting “resonant oscillators” and “response oscillators” are understood as the steps of making a dish, his “oscillator mapping” experiment is actually a kind of “programming”.

Seeing that Patrick understood, Galcia's eyes gleamed with excitement: "My goal is to explain all cooking techniques and results using scientific methods and to control them precisely with numbers. We can use scientific theories to break down and rebuild this repetitive labor that has been going on for thousands of years."

“Let me give you an example. For instance, I think you’ve eaten ‘cotton candy’ before.” Galcha waved his hands in the air, tracing the shape of cotton candy from his memory.

Patrick nodded. Cotton candy is a popular snack in the town of Fontainebleau, and he loved it when he was a child.

"The process of making marshmallows involves melting granulated sugar into syrup at high temperatures, then spinning it into extremely fine sugar strands in a high-speed rotating machine. These sugar strands cool upon contact with air and form a cotton-like texture... Think about it, isn't this just food made by 'changing the structure of ingredients and then recombinizing them'? It's like cutting radishes and vegetables into chunks, adding seasonings to create different flavors... Every dish is actually made by changing and recombining the structure of ingredients in this way!"

"So the essence of the world is hidden in cooking... You're a genius!" Patrick patted Garcia on the shoulder.

Han Fulai, who was listening in, couldn't help but sigh in his heart that Patrick was right, this Garcia was indeed a genius.

He not only invented the precursor to the computer, the "number calculator," but he also discovered the "molecular gastronomy" that would become known in later generations while cooking.

In fact, in Han Fulai's original world, French mathematicians and physicists had already tried to use similar ideas and technological instruments to make food in the 18th century. Later, the French Academy of Sciences even established the "Institute of Gastronomic Science" for this purpose, and physicists from various countries also began to study how to use physics and chemistry to influence the taste of food.

He interrupted the three's enthusiastic academic exchange, saying, "Mr. Galcha, I want to tell you that the 'cooking programming' you want to verify has already been researched and developed in our 'Liyue Academy of Arts,' and someone has even created a 'mechanical cooking machine' using mechanical arts."

"This...it's actually..." Galcha didn't know whether to be happy or annoyed.

This news indicates that his research direction is correct, but it also shows that his research progress has fallen behind.

Of course, if Garcia is a genius among humans, then Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun is a genius among immortals who is praised even by the gods. It is actually quite normal for him to lose to that woman.

Galcha was slightly frustrated for a moment, but his enthusiasm for research quickly overcame his slight disappointment. "Mr. Han, please be sure to introduce me to this genius inventor!"

“Actually, it’s a woman,” Han Fulai said with a smile.

"It's a lady! That's really surprising." Not only Galcia, but Patrick also gaped.

In Fontainebleau, scientific research is largely a male-dominated field, as most scientific work is tedious, arduous, and physically demanding. Women tend to work in the arts or administration, and Fontainebleau's judicial system is almost entirely staffed by women. As a local joke goes, "Men control the world, women control men."

“Please…no, please introduce me to this lady!” Garcia nervously rubbed his hands on his trouser leg.

"Of course." Han Fulai still had a smile on his face. In fact, he was thinking that, in a way, this was also a kind of fateful coincidence.

In his original world, Ida, the "programmer" who accompanied Charles Babbage in inventing the "Difference Engine" and helped him design the world's first computer control program, was also a woman.

However, the "programmer" Liu Yun Zhenjun is much more skilled.

"But I have one condition: I hope Mr. Galcha can first help me with the 'secret salt drainage' work in the 'Guili New Area'."

"I...we'll set off right now to investigate Guiliyuan!" Galcha was practically impatient.

And so, "Teyvat Babbage" became a member of the Liyue research team.

Chapter 358 The Yaoguang Saltworks Scandal [4k]

Before leaving Wangshu Inn, Han Fulai made a detour to visit Xiao to confirm the effectiveness of his immortal power barrier in protecting Xiao.

With this barrier in place, Xiao is no longer affected by the resentment after fighting the remnants of the demon god, and his overall mental state has greatly improved. If Xiao used to look "bitter and resentful," now he can barely be considered a "spirited young man."

Afterwards, Han Fulai led the "engineering and technical team" consisting of Patrick, Garcia, and Lu Tong to Guiliyuan and introduced them to Ke Qing.

With the addition of these two Fengdan technicians, the "water conservancy improvement" in the Guili New Area proceeded very smoothly. The small-scale desalination experiment was very successful, and Keqing naturally increased investment, gathering more workers to build dams and lay pipelines in Guili.

Meanwhile, Han Fulai's efforts to establish the "Liyue Labor Association" are also progressing steadily.

The "rewards" he received for helping Xiao last time are already beginning to show.

Although the immortals do not interfere in Liyue's politics, they only exert some influence on the families in Liyue Harbor who have immortal lineages without offending the immortals, and they are happy to see the well-being of the people of Liyue.

The Liyue families that worship the immortals have recently received "imperial edicts" from the immortals, which generally express the hope that they can contribute to the livelihood of the people of Liyue.

Now that the immortals have this attitude, and that contributing to the well-being of the people is a "politically correct" thing, the resistance to the formation of the "Liyue Labor Association" has been greatly reduced.

Xingqiu, representing the "Feiyun Chamber of Commerce," secretly provided considerable assistance for this matter, not only providing start-up funds but also sending some capable members of the chamber to help with administrative tasks. In return for the opening of the Cengyan Juyuan, Shenglu Hall and Huishan Hall mobilized, openly or covertly, many workers to participate in the construction of the "Guili New District."

For the Liyue Labor Association, this can be considered as having the perfect combination of timing, location, and people.

So on May 1st of that year, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the "Guili New District", Han Fulai announced the establishment of the "Liyue Labor Association" on the spot, and many laborers joined enthusiastically.

Everything seems to be moving in a positive direction.

The groundbreaking of the "Guili New District" should have been a major event that dominated the headlines in Liyue for a long time. However, it was a bit far from Liyue Harbor, and for the people in Liyue Harbor, the major events happening around them were obviously more important. So its headline position was quickly replaced.

Yes, in early May, two major events occurred in Liyue.

The first task was the tax reconciliation and payment for Liyue, led by Ningguang, the star of Tianquan.

The second matter was the salt administration case involving the Yaoguang Saltworks.

As per usual practice, Liyue will conduct a tax reconciliation and payment for the entire previous year starting from March 1st each year.

Generally, this task is carried out by the Liyue Finance Department, also known as the Whitewater Office Joint General Affairs Division.

According to Liyue's laws, Liyue merchants, regardless of whether they made a profit or loss in the past year, must submit a pre-payment tax return, an annual chamber of commerce income tax return, financial statements, and other relevant documents required by the Whitewater Hall to the General Affairs Department within the prescribed time limit.

The accounting process will continue from March to June, and tax refunds and supplementary tax payments will also be processed during this period.

Due to the many events that have occurred in Liyue this year, including the death of the Geo Archon, the invasion of the Demon Gods Oser and Barz, the rumors of the depletion of the "Golden House" Mora, and the counterfeit money scandal, the entire Liyue has been in turmoil. As a result, the tax accounting for this year was delayed until April.

Normally, the accounting work would be extended to July as usual, but according to Lady Ningguang, she seems to be planning to finish the accounting at the end of June. For this reason, she personally stepped in to urge the tax collection work.

But this is actually quite unusual.

After all, businessmen know the principle that "a horse won't get fat without night grass," and the officials in charge of finance in Baishui Hall understand it especially well.

The tax reconciliation process takes so long because of the sheer volume of business, but it also gives businesses a buffer period. For example, if Han Fulai discovers that the owner of "Rongfa Shops" in Dongsheng was evading taxes, he can avoid jail time by paying the taxes and fines within the stipulated time. This one-month reduction in the reconciliation period means one less month of buffer time.

When Tianquan Xing Ningguang first took office, her most celebrated achievement was revising the tax law and strictly investigating taxation, which led to the exposure and punishment of many wealthy merchants who evaded taxes. Although this move offended some people, it also earned her praise from many ordinary citizens. Even the storytellers in teahouses praised her ruthless methods and wrote about it in their stories.

Of course, Ningguang also understands the principle that "if the water is too clear, there will be no fish." So after the initial three fires of a new official taking office, Liyue's tax accounting entered a stable period, and generally Ningguang did not need to personally handle it.

Therefore, when Ningguang personally took the lead in tax accounting, any businessman with a keen sense of smell could realize that a storm was brewing behind the scenes.

This story begins with the book "Treasures of Pearls and Gems" that suddenly began circulating in Liyue in April.

Leaving aside the contents of the book "Treasures of Pearls and Gems," the author remains a mystery. Two versions circulate in Liyue Harbor. One version, which is the most popular, is attributed to an anonymous author, while the other, rarer, is signed by Rouran of Tianji Star, one of the Liyue Seven Stars.

If it was written by an anonymous author, that would be fine, but if it was written by one of the Liyue Seven Stars, then it represents the future policy direction of Liyue!

As a result, the book became an instant bestseller in Liyue Harbor, with everyone vying for it and causing quite a stir.

In response, the Tianji Star Rouran sent someone to publish a denial notice in the Liyue newspaper, stating that the book had nothing to do with them. However, this had little effect—after all, many people believed the rumors that Ningguang had made counterfeit coins. For many, only official denials are credible.

As for the viewpoints presented in this book, opinions have been divided into two camps: one side supports them wholeheartedly, while the other side firmly opposes them. Occasionally, one can see people arguing heatedly or even fighting over them in teahouses.

Soon, the book's circulation brought forth another rumor—the power struggle on Jade Palace had reached a fever pitch, and after the departure of the Geo Archon, the Seven Stars had begun vying for the throne of Liyue's de facto ruler. This book was part of this struggle.

The origin of the rumor is now lost to history, but the ripples it has created in people's hearts have grown larger over time.

If this is Tianquan Star's move, how does Tianji Star plan to respond?

Today, many people have begun to observe or place bets—those who bet correctly in this struggle will inevitably reap huge profits afterward.

Under these circumstances, Ningguang's announcement of a tax settlement audit took on a different meaning in the eyes of the world.

—Perhaps the Seven Stars will soon undergo a major reshuffle.

This understanding is clearly reasonable, and the salt administration fraud case that occurred at the Yaoguang Saltworks happened at this time.

For Liyue, the salt industry and mining are the two major pillars of tax revenue. Ningguang personally presided over the tax accounting this time, and the first thing to be done was the salt tax accounting of the Silver Plains Office.

In Liyue, salt comes from four main sources: rock salt, well salt, pond salt, and sea salt.

Salt fields are distributed in Tianheng Mountain, and there were also salt fields in the area before the closure of the Layered Rock Abyss. The salt mined were the halogenated minerals in the mountains. These are basically salt deposits formed by the evaporation of brine in the closed area. Although people generally believe that the minerals are treasures bestowed upon Liyue by the Emperor, if they know that the Layered Rock Abyss was once submerged by seawater, they will know that these salt deposits are naturally formed and have nothing to do with the Emperor.

Well salt is the best embodiment of Ginhara's technological prowess. It is extracted from underground brine discovered by the descendants of the salt god of Ginhara over a thousand years of history through well digging. Besides fresh water, groundwater also contains brine, and well salt is the product of extracting this brine from wells. Among various salt-making processes, well salt is the most complex, a closely guarded secret of Ginhara, and its greatest asset in ranking among the Eight Gates.

Salt Ponds are naturally formed salt lakes, also known as brackish lakes. In Liyue's legends, they are said to be formed from the blood of gods... Although the legends are exaggerated, they illustrate their rarity and preciousness. In Liyue, there is only one such lake, "Salt in the Earth." It is said that when the Salt God was alive, the salt sold to various places came from here. Later, due to the Emperor's seal, the Salt Ponds of "Salt in the Earth" were no longer mined.

However, the largest source of salt for people's daily consumption is still sea salt.

Liyue Harbor is located by the sea, and there are many salt fields under the jurisdiction of the Silver Plains Agency along the coast, including the shallow waters of Guyun Pavilion. Zhongli once suggested to Xiangling that she use the sea salt from there to enhance the flavor of the dishes.

The largest of these sea salt fields is the Yaoguang Salt Field, located on Yaoguang Beach. It is a vast tidal flat with a muddy bottom, which is conducive to the development of salt fields. The area is windy with little rain and plenty of sunshine, which is conducive to seawater evaporation. The salt produced here is abundant, of high quality, with uniform grains and a pure white color, and is known as "Yaoguang Jade Sand".

Based on the aforementioned advantages, the Yaoguang Salt Field has developed tens of thousands of acres of salt fields, occupying more than half of the coastline of Yaoguang Beach, with an annual salt production of more than one million tons. The Yaoguang Salt Field is known as the "Hundred-Mile Silver Plain".

Due to the special status of the people of the Salt God in Yinyuan Hall, they have always maintained their own territory under the protection of the Emperor for many years. The taxes they pay every year are quite substantial, and the tax inspections by the Seven Stars have basically never reached Yinyuan Hall.

But now the Emperor is no longer here.

So this time, Ningguang's spearhead was suddenly turned against Ginhara Hall.

The accounts of the Ginhara Office are actually without problems—or rather, in any world, in any dynasty, when tax audits are conducted, there are never any problems just by looking at the accounts.

The commissioner sent by Baishui Hall went to "Yaoguang Saltworks" to check the accounts, and the account books he brought back were also clean and clear.

However, for some unknown reason, Bai Wen, the executive deputy director of Baishui Hall, went to the Yaoguang Saltworks in person and found out the problem.

The whole affair at Yaoguang Saltworks started with a small weight.

As is well known, the salt industry is a state-owned enterprise in Liyue. All merchants who distribute salt in Liyue are actually so-called "official merchants." To put it bluntly, they are all civil servants of the Silver Plains government.

The Yaoguang Saltworks also sells salt on a regular basis, but the main buyers of salt from the saltworks are actually the fishermen living in Yaoguang Beach. The fishermen in Yaoguang Beach buy their salt for pickling fish wholesale from the Yaoguang Saltworks.

One of the daily tasks of the civil servants stationed at the salt fields by the Silver Plains Office is called "Salt Selection." "Selection" means drawing lots, and in the context of Liyue's salt administration, it refers to randomly selecting and weighing salt.

The procedure involves fishermen reporting their planned catch in exchange for salt coupons. They then register at the saltworks, pay the fee, and receive their salt. Fishermen don't simply take away loose baskets of salt; the wind would easily disperse them. The salt is packaged, and this packaging process, called "packaging," is handled by the saltworks workers.

For example, if fishermen need 100 jin of salt to pickle fish, they will apply to the salt field for 100 jin, but the salt they actually receive is usually more than 100 jin.

Obviously, most workers don't have the skill to weigh things accurately. They won't fill a bag of salt exactly 100 jin (50 kg) with any error. If it's too much, that's fine, but if it's too little, the fishermen will complain. Besides, some fishermen live far away, and there will be some losses during transportation. It's not that 100 jin is necessarily enough for them.

Therefore, the Ginhara Prefecture had another policy called "salt allowance," which meant that if you bought 100 catties, you could only get a maximum of 110 catties, and the extra 10 catties were given to the fishermen as salt allowance. This was, of course, a good policy that the fishermen supported.

The "salt-picking" system in Ginwon Prefecture was designed to prevent people from bribing workers to take away dozens of kilograms more salt during the packing process. Officials in Ginwon Prefecture would randomly select one "pack" to weigh, usually one in ten. The selected pack would weigh a maximum of 110 kilograms; it could only be less than that, not more. If it exceeded the weight limit, not only would the salt be confiscated, but a hefty fine of molars would also be imposed.

The key problem lies in the "salt-picking" project.