novelSusiti Chapter 28 What the ancients couldn't do, I will do!
Chapter 28 What the ancients couldn't do, I will do!
The gloom on Cao Jie's face finally dissipated, and he smiled again, saying, "Come on, let's shuffle the cards quickly. I refuse to believe that I, as the master, can't beat my disciple today."
Gu Cheng glanced at Da Qiao sideways, secretly admiring that this girl was indeed a lady from a noble family, very insightful in her dealings with people, and very good at pleasing Cao Jie, the mistress of the house.
He then curled the corners of his lips and began fiddling with the cards as well.
Just then, Zhou Tai returned from shopping and handed Gu Cheng a list of accounts, asking him to review and verify it.
"Just show these household expense accounts to your younger brother and sister-in-law."
As Gu Cheng spoke, he pointed to Cao Jie beside him.
Zhou Tai immediately understood his meaning, and handed the account list in his hand to Cao Jie, saying with a smile, "Sister-in-law, these are the expenses for this purchase. Please check them."
"What are you saying, Brother Youping? There's no need for any verification or checking. Do you think I don't trust you, Brother?"
Cao Jie replied with a smile, while casually taking the list and quickly glancing at the accounts on it.
Suddenly, a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes, and she asked in surprise, "Brother Youping, why did the cost of buying salt increase so much compared to usual?"
Zhou Tai sighed and said, "Sister-in-law, you don't know, the price of salt on the market has increased three or four times overnight, and the price changes every day. Luckily, I acted quickly, and this is already considered a bargain."
"Tripled?"
Cao Jie was immediately taken aback and asked, puzzled, "How could the price of salt suddenly rise so drastically?"
"I heard that the salt lakes in Hedong County have been occupied by the remnants of the White Wave Army, so the salt produced in Hedong cannot be transported into Xudu City for the time being."
"Most of the salt we eat now is sea salt transported from Xuzhou. As the saying goes, scarcity makes things valuable, so the price has naturally been rising all the way up."
Zhou Tai recounted in detail the whole story he had gathered from his inquiries outside.
Cao Jie then suddenly realized the reason.
"But I heard before that the sea salt in Xuzhou is all boiled from seawater, which is not only low in cost but also high in output. Even without the supply from the Hedong Salt Lake, it shouldn't be in such a situation of supply falling short of demand, let alone have the price driven up so drastically, right?"
Suddenly, Da Qiao spoke up and interjected.
"Who can really explain the ins and outs of this?" Zhou Tai said, shaking his head helplessly.
"With salt prices rising so sharply, the people are bound to complain. Father is probably having a huge headache over this right now..."
Cao Jie's heart clenched with worry.
"What supply shortage? This is just Liu Bei of Xiaopei trying to take advantage of this opportunity to squeeze a huge sum of money out of Cao Mengde."
Gu Cheng, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly sneered and spoke.
"Liu Da'er?"
Everyone wore expressions of surprise and uncertainty, their gazes all turning to Gu Cheng. "What does my husband mean by that?"
Cao Jie couldn't immediately grasp the hidden meaning in his words.
While shuffling the cards, Gu Cheng slowly said, "The sea salt in Xuzhou is all in the hands of the Mi family. Now the price has suddenly tripled. It's obvious that Liu Bei is behind this, trying to take advantage of the fact that the salt route in Hedong has been cut off to make a fortune."
Cao Jie finally understood. Her delicate brows furrowed tightly as she said, "With salt prices rising so sharply, it's the common people who will suffer in the end. Liu Bei always claims to be benevolent and righteous, so how could he do something so heartless?"
"Benevolence and righteousness?"
Gu Cheng scoffed disdainfully, "Benevolence and righteousness are really just a business. Whether or not you uphold those words depends entirely on how much benefit you can gain. Liu Bei currently commands tens of thousands of soldiers. Can you really use the concept of benevolence and righteousness to pay those soldiers' wages?"
Cao Jie's body trembled slightly, and she thought to herself that her husband's evaluation of Liu Bei was so different from the opinions of the world.
"Sigh, I wonder when the salt lakes east of the river will be able to resume normal salt supply."
Cao Jie sighed softly, clearly indicating that he had lost interest in continuing the game.
Suddenly.
Gu Cheng stopped shuffling the cards in his hand halfway through.
"Young master, shall we continue playing this game?"
Seeing that he suddenly stood there lost in thought, Da Qiao lowered her voice and asked cautiously.
"Splash!"
Gu Cheng reached out and shoved the cards he had just arranged into a mess, laughing loudly, "A chance to make money has come knocking on our door! Of course, making money is the priority, why bother playing cards!"
"A chance to make a fortune?"
Da Qiao and the other two girls all looked surprised and turned to look at Gu Cheng.
Zhou Tai's eyes lit up instantly, and he said with a happy expression, "Liheng, what good way have you thought of to make money this time? Tell us quickly!"
"Just two words: Sell salt!"
As Gu Cheng spoke, he held up two fingers.
"Selling salt?"
The excitement on Zhou Tai's face vanished instantly, replaced by a blank expression. He said, "Selling salt is indeed a very profitable business these days, but the road to the Hedong Salt Lake has been cut off, and the sea salt from Xuzhou is all controlled by the Mi family. We have no source of goods at all. How are we going to sell salt?"
"Who says we don't have a source of goods?"
Gu Cheng smiled and pointed towards the door: "If I remember correctly, there are several salt mines around Xu County, and the mountains and fields are full of ready-made salt ore."
"Are there salt mines around Xuchang?"
Zhou Tai was originally from out of town and was not very familiar with the local customs and geography around Xudu.
Cao Jie then spoke up, saying, "There are indeed several salt mines around Xuchang, but I've heard my father say that those mines produce brine, which is poisonous and cannot be used as everyday table salt."
Everyone then realized what was happening and showed expressions of understanding.
Let alone rough men like Zhou Tai and Xu Chu who wield swords and spears, even a young lady from a noble family like Da Qiao knows that brine salt is different from table salt. It is mostly used for medicine and cannot be used as everyday salt.
Gu Cheng, however, seemed unconcerned and said, "If brine is poisonous, then we can just extract the non-toxic edible salt from it."
Everyone present was startled, their shocked and astonished gazes all falling on Gu Cheng.
"My lord, from ancient times to the present, I have never heard of extracting edible salt from brine. Are you joking with us?"
Cao Jie stared at him intently, her face full of disbelief, and asked.
Gu Cheng smiled faintly and said, "From ancient times to the present, there has never been a person like your husband, but now there is."
Cao Jie trembled again, her eyes swirling with suspicion and surprise as she looked her husband up and down.
"Xu Zhongkang!"
Gu Cheng suddenly shouted.
"With Old Xu here, young master, please feel free to speak your mind."
Xu Chu, who had been standing silently to the side, quickly stepped forward, bowed, and replied.
Gu Cheng waved his hand and said, "Take your brothers and go to the nearby salt mines immediately. Bring back as much salt ore as you can, the more the better."
Xu Chu didn't ask any further questions and immediately cupped his hands in response, "Your subordinate will take care of it right away."
"Youping".
Gu Cheng then turned to Zhou Tai and said, "Go to the open space outside the manor immediately, set up several large sheds, prepare enough water buckets, build a dozen or so stoves, and make sure you have enough iron pots, firewood, and straw."
"I will arrange it immediately."
Although Zhou Tai was full of doubts, he accepted the order without saying a word.
Gu Cheng then asked someone to bring paper and pen, wrote down more than a dozen items of materials needed, handed them to Cao Jie, and said, "I'll trouble you, Madam, to make a trip to Xudu City to buy all of these things for me, the more the better."
Cao Jie took the list, glanced at it a few times, and his confusion deepened.
"Husband, what exactly are you asking us to do?"
Cao Jie finally couldn't hold back and asked the question.
The questioning gazes of everyone present all fell upon Gu Cheng, waiting for their young master to give them a plausible explanation.
"Didn't I already say that I'm going to extract the edible salt from the brine?"
Gu Cheng picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and spoke casually.
"Extracting edible salt from brine—something no one has ever accomplished before. Could he really do it?"
The group exchanged glances, their eyes filled with suspicion, yet also revealing a hint of anticipation and surprise.
Over the next few days, Cao Jie, Zhou Tai, and the others could only follow Gu Cheng's instructions, one by one, with a mixture of belief and doubt.
Spacious greenhouses were erected one after another, and truckloads of salt ore were continuously transported back, piling up like small mountains inside the greenhouses.
After all the preparations were completed, Gu Cheng rolled up his sleeves, ready to personally demonstrate the entire salt-making process to everyone.
He first smashed the large pieces of salt ore into small particles, then poured them into a stone mill and ground them repeatedly until they were ground into fine mineral powder.
After that, he poured the ground mineral powder into a wooden bucket, added water and stirred it continuously to dissolve all the salt in the mineral powder into the water.
Next, he poured the brine containing dissolved salt into another wooden bucket with its opening covered by two layers of burlap.
Before long, a large patch of gray-black slag and impurities was filtered out from the burlap.
After the burlap was removed, the brine in the bucket turned a murky brown.
After that, he filtered the brown brine several times with four layers of linen cloth until only a clear, light red solution remained in the bucket.
After several rounds of repeated filtration, the toxic impurities in the brine were finally initially removed.
Next, he wrapped the charcoal granules in burlap and stuffed them into the bottom of the funnel. Then he poured the filtered solution into the funnel and let the filtrate slowly seep out of the funnel, eventually obtaining a clear, light blue brine.
The final step is to pour the brine, which has undergone multiple purification processes, into a large iron pot and boil it over a fire.
Everyone worked from dawn until dusk, and finally, the first pot of fine salt, snow-white with a bluish tinge, was successfully boiled and served.
Gu Cheng scraped off a small piece of salt with a bamboo stick, put it in his mouth and tasted it. It was salty and fragrant, pure and without any off-flavors. This trip was finally a success.
"Hmm, it seems this salt-making method really works!"
Gu Cheng nodded to himself inwardly, sighing with emotion.
He turned to the crowd gathered around him and asked, "The edible refined salt has been boiled down. Who wants to try some?"
The people present looked at each other, all hesitant, and no one dared to step forward and try.
"I'll do it! The worst that can happen is death, what's there to be afraid of!"
Zhou Tai has always been bold. He immediately rolled up his sleeves, scraped off a large piece of fine salt, and put it in his mouth without thinking.
He smacked his lips a few times, his eyes widening instantly, and he shouted with ecstatic joy, "This refined salt tastes even purer and better than the sea salt transported from Xuzhou!"
These words caused an uproar in the entire greenhouse, with everyone in a frenzy.
Everyone present crowded around, eager to try the newly refined salt.
Da Qiao raised her slender fingers, gently scraped off a pinch of salt, and slowly put it between her lips and teeth. She sipped it carefully, and her clear eyes instantly filled with surprise.
"The salt that you refined, young master, not only tastes far more authentic than ordinary sea salt, but its fineness is also in no way inferior to that of Hedong Pond salt. It is truly a rare and excellent salt!"
Da Qiao exclaimed in admiration, then quickly turned her gaze to Gu Cheng with intense eyes.
Cao Jie also stretched out her slender finger, scraped off a thin grain of salt, put it in her mouth and savored it carefully. The taste was exactly as Da Qiao had described.
"I never imagined that my husband could actually refine such fine salt from poisonous brine. It's truly unbelievable!"
Cao Jie's eyes were filled with amazement and admiration as he gazed intently at Gu Cheng.
Gu Cheng, however, said calmly, "Actually, there's nothing special about it. It's just filtering out the poisonous impurities from the brine."
Gu Cheng spoke casually, but the shock and amazement in the hearts of everyone present were even greater.
Da Qiao asked with a face full of curiosity, "I wonder where you learned such a miraculous method to remove poison, young master?"
"Well..."
Gu Cheng tapped his forehead lightly with his fingertip and said with a smile, "It's just a little trick I came up with on my own when I had nothing else to do."
Did you just come up with this on a whim?
Da Qiao couldn't help but gasp inwardly, thinking to herself, "So this young master Gu not only possesses extraordinary medical skills, but he can also concoct such a miraculous salt-making method even in his casual tinkering. He is truly a genius, a rare find in the world!"
"Miss Wan'er, our Liheng is no ordinary person. He has many hidden talents. You will naturally find out in time."
Zhou Tai chuckled and spoke up from the side.
Da Qiao was even more shocked. When she looked at Gu Cheng again, there was a subtle emotion that was hard to explain.
"My lord, with your salt-making method, we can produce as much salt as we want! The salt shortage in Xuchang will be solved immediately, and Father Cao Sikong will no longer have to worry about this!"
Cao Jie's face lit up with joy, and he spoke excitedly.
Gu Cheng chuckled and said, "Whether that Minister Cao is worried or not has nothing to do with us. We just need to take advantage of the current high salt prices and make a fortune."
After that.
Gu Cheng immediately issued orders, instructing Xu Chu to lead a large-scale mining and transportation of salt ore, and Zhou Tai to expand the scale of the salt-making workshop tenfold, setting up hundreds of furnaces to operate simultaneously, working day and night to continuously produce refined salt.