In the Qin Dynasty, and even extended to the entire feudal era, salt dealers were a profession that was scolded every day for having a son who did not have such-and-such.
There is no other reason,
Too expensive!
Ordinary people simply cannot afford salt! To replenish salt, you can only buy something like vinegar cloth.
This is why Ying Che immediately loosened his sleeves when he heard Liu Bai say 'selling salt'.
It's shameful enough to make money as a young master of Da Qin, but now he wants to sell salt?
"Teacher, selling salt is a bad thing. Your idea...is really..."
Ying Che hesitated, feeling too embarrassed to directly say that Liu Bai's idea was too wicked.
Of course, what he said euphemistically was not much different from saying it directly.
"Immoral?"
Ying Che's reaction seemed to be what Liu Bai had expected. Even for this somewhat unpleasant remark, Liu Bai just laughed it off:
"Sir, what you said is exactly the opposite. This is a great virtue!"
After saying this, Ying Che was a little confused.
Whether it is the royal education he received or the common understanding of ordinary people, the salt dealer is a bastard who will not die well.
Why did Liu Bai say that this act was a great virtue?
"What does the teacher mean by this?"
Ying Che glanced at Liu Bai and found that he, a teacher who had only taught one class, had a confident light in his eyes. He suddenly felt that there must be some mystery in it, and he quickly asked.
"It's very simple. We want to lower the price of salt in Daqin so that the people of Daqin can eat salt! We in Daqin want to realize the freedom to eat salt!"
Liu Bai spoke lightly, looked at Long Qie, and ordered: "Long Qie, go get the salt from the kitchen."
"yes!"
Long Qie responded respectfully and ran directly to the kitchen.
Although Ying Che was puzzled by such behavior, he didn't rush to speak and just waited quietly.
About tea time, Long Qie fetched the salt.
Seeing Da Qin's table salt, Liu Bai instinctively frowned, then relaxed:
"Have you ever been to the market, Master?"
"Master, do you know how much a pound of salt costs on the market now?"
Liu Bai stretched out his right hand, then stretched his palm, and suddenly slapped the desk with his left hand, and the salt on it shook out of the jar with a bang and was sprinkled out.
"Fifty bucks!"
"Fifty big bucks buy food that can't even be loaded into a hundred small carts!"
At this point, Liu Bai suddenly stood up, his expression mixed with unparalleled anger: "When the people can't even guarantee their lives, and even have to lick rocks like wild beasts to replenish salt, war... Just plan in the hearts of the masses!”
"It is never the so-called dignitaries who destroy huge empires!"
"It's the people, it's the masses! They are a little spark. When this anger is ignited, it becomes a prairie fire!"
"Sir, please tell me, when a person works hard day and night, but can only take a family to lick the rocks, this fire is not enough to burn everything!"
Liu Bai's eyes were fixed on Ying Che, like a wild beast!
Oppression, exploitation!
In this era, especially in the eyes!
The high-ranking officials and wealthy families are stinking of wine and meat, while ordinary people are freezing to death on the roadside and no one hears them!
He was angry about this status quo, and he was roaring in his heart, so he wanted to change it!
Not just for Great Qin, but for these people!
He, Liu Bai, had been poor since he was a child, and he came from among the common people. Now that he is in the position of Zuo Cheng, he has to care about the people!
These passionate words burst out suddenly.
Long Qie on the side has eager eyes!
This...is their Mr. Liu!
It seems like he doesn’t care about anything, but he is actually very passionate inside!
Even Ying Che, who has always been bohemian, was shocked by Liu Bai's words!
It’s not so much a conversation as it is a speech!
An impassioned speech!
"But...Teacher, we have actually never made salt before. We jumped in so rashly, and even if we started, our efforts would be meager!"
Ying Che said with a look of embarrassment on his face.
He admitted that the moment Liu Bai said these words, his blood became hot.
However, the reason in his mind told him,
This must be done, but...it can't be done!
"The conversation between you and me today will be forgotten in the long river of history, but..."
"What you and I have done will go down in history!"
Liu Bai's eyes were bright and he said in a deep voice: "Young Master, I have a plan for this matter!"
As he spoke, Liu Bai casually pushed the salt on the desk to the corner of the desk, took out a piece of brocade silk, and then started to draw on it with a brush.
The dragons and phoenixes are dancing. Although it is a bit ugly, you can still tell that this is a vessel with a high-temperature fire underneath.
"This is a common sea salt extraction method. You use fire to bring the salt with water, distill it out, and then dry it in the sun."
"This takes a long time and consumes a lot of fire energy, plus the transportation, so the price of salt remains high!"
Liu Bai explained to Ying Che, who nodded slightly.
Although he was not proficient in these things, Ying Che had some understanding of them.
"The price of sea salt has no room for price reduction at all. The target we want to look at is..."
"Mineral salt!"
Liu Bai spoke in a deep voice and finally expressed his thoughts.
After saying these words, Ying Che's expression suddenly changed: "Teacher, mineral salt is poisonous and should not be eaten by humans!"
Just kidding, being a salt dealer is outrageous enough, but now you have to sell poisonous salt?
If this kind of thing were really done and harmed the people, maybe my father could beheaded directly!
If Liu Bai really cares about money and ignores the lives of the people, then Ying Che will never be complicit in it.
even,
At this moment, Ying Che felt a little lucky that he and this teacher hadn't really gotten to know each other yet!
"Sir, this is the mineral salt extraction method I developed before!"
"To put it bluntly, with some raw materials, the toxins in the mineral salt can be removed."
Liu Bai frowned slightly, thought about the words, and then explained.
The so-called mineral salt extraction method, in fact, in ancient times, the most difficult step was the brine purification step!
It can be completed by using soda ash and caustic soda. The subsequent steps of steam crystallization, separation and drying are relatively simple.
However, there was no such thing as chemistry in this era, and Liu Bai didn't bother to become the 'originator of chemistry' in later generations, so he just explained it in the simplest way.
"Removing toxins?"
"Is the teacher lying?"
Hearing this, Ying Che was slightly startled, his expression was extremely weird!
If one could really remove the toxins from worthless mineral salt, it would be equivalent to having endless wealth! After all... Daqin's salt mines cannot grow crops at all, so it's all for nothing!
And salt... is more valuable than money!
"Whether it's a lie or not, when you do it, those Zhao Party officials who are on death row can test it for you!"
"Zhao Gao is a loyal castrate, and his party members must be very willing to be loyal to the country."
Liu Bai said calmly.
He has his own unique experience in recycling waste!
After saying these words, even Ying Che felt a chill in his heart!
My teacher... is so cruel! People who are obviously going to die are not willing to let them die peacefully.
"If it is true as the teacher said, this move will definitely solve the problem of my father's treasury being empty!"
Ying Che's face beamed with joy and he exclaimed in surprise: "Even...it really allows the common people to eat cheap salt!"
Liu Bai looked at Ying Che's surprised expression, smiled and said nothing, and just nodded slightly.
These bursts of smiles made Ying Che feel a little numb.
"Teacher... you are smiling... and you keep looking at me. Why... is that?"
"It's very simple! Master, pay for it and set up a factory! You can't expect me, a prime minister from a poor family, to have the money to set up a factory, right?"
In one sentence, Ying Che, the Sixth Young Master of the current dynasty, spent 30,000 yuan for Liu Bai!
