"Huh, there's actually a salt well."
Qin Ziwen let out a light sound of surprise. A salt well was a really good thing.
Previously, Zhang Bo had relied on this salt well to create a monopoly, raising prices everywhere. Now I have one too.
With this thing, any game caught in the future can be pickled freely without worrying about running out of salt.
The salt well didn't take up much space, requiring only 2*8 meters.
The Resource Card for the stone quarry required a much larger area, similar to the iron mine, needing a 10*10 meter footprint.
He walked over to the mining zone in the side bedroom.
This area was originally expanded using a 20*20 Sand Expansion Card.
Now, the top left and top right corners were already filled with two 10*10 mining sites. The bottom left corner was the location of the Porridge Shed, leaving a large empty space conveniently in the bottom right corner.
He silently recited the command to use it.
Once the light faded, a sunken pit appeared before his eyes.
From a distance, it looked like an inkstone that had been chiseled open. The central part was sunken 1-2 meters below ground level, with uneven earthen slopes forming the walls. Uncleared weeds and clumps of dirt still clung to the slopes.
The most eye-catching feature was the bluish-grey granite half-embedded in the earth in the middle.
Beside it was a crude large wooden table, on which sat two baskets.
Moving closer, he discovered the baskets were filled with chisels, hammers, and crowbars.
In addition, there were three sturdy iron-wheeled wheelbarrows for transporting the quarried stone.
Now he had three mining sites: a coal mine, an iron mine, and a stone quarry.
But the core problem was still a lack of workers.
Currently, the main workers for the mines were still Qin Ziwu and Li Tieshan. When iron needed to be forged, they would come over to do some mining for a while. When it wasn't needed, the site would just sit idle.
It was truly a bit of a waste.
After inspecting his stone quarry for a while, Qin Ziwen moved next to it and used the salt well card beside the Porridge Shed.
The light faded.
A row of horizontal structures appeared on the spot. First was an earthen well with a diameter of one and a half meters.
The well had a rain shelter above it. A crooked wooden pole was mounted over the well mouth, with a broken wooden bucket tied to one end with a hemp rope.
He approached the well. A mixed odor of saltiness and astringency wafted towards him.
Squinting, he peered into the well. The salt well was deep, with brine at the bottom.
Shifting his gaze, beside the salt well was the salt evaporation field.
It was like a pig feeding trough, but this trough was very square, a full 2*2 meters in size.
The ground of the evaporation field was covered with a layer of semi-dry yellow earth. Qin Ziwen had seen videos about ancient salt-making methods before. He knew that after drawing the brine from the well, it would be poured onto this field for the sun to evaporate. Once the water dried, the layer floating on top was the crudest form of coarse salt, which was inedible.
To the right of the evaporation field, there was also a large pot.
This was used for a second round of boiling and purification. Only after this second purification could the salt be barely consumed. Because it contained rich minerals and had a bluish tint, it was also called blue salt.
He used Insight to examine the salt well.
[Level 1 Salt Well: Level 1 Rapid Evaporation, Level 1 Rapid Purification]
Qin Ziwen pondered. This salt well was similar to the blacksmith shop. Just leaving it there wouldn't produce iron. It needed someone with the corresponding skills to enter and bring out its maximum value.
Of course, salt workers were different from blacksmiths. Blacksmithing was skilled labor plus physical work. Salt-making was physical work plus experience-based work. As for mining, that was purely back-breaking labor.
He looked at the Porridge Shed. Since he was short on people, was it feasible to recruit refugees from the shed?
He set a pot to boil porridge. Soon, two refugees arrived together.
One man and one woman, both looking sallow and emaciated from hunger.
"Do you know how to make salt?"
"Sir, this humble one is a farmer."
"This humble one knows how to farm."
The two quickly replied.
Qin Ziwen waved his hand, signaling for them to leave.
"Huh? Sir, isn't this a porridge shed? We're so hungry, can we have a little?" The two, like starving ghosts, clung to the wooden posts, their faces full of pleading.
Qin Ziwen had no choice but to scoop a bowl of thin porridge for each of them.
After eating, they wanted more, licking their lips and eyeing the fragrant white porridge in the pot.
Qin Ziwen's expression darkened. "Du Yu."
Hearing the call, Du Yu hurried over.
Seeing the burly Du Yu, the two panicked and immediately scampered away like streaks of smoke.
This was also the first time Qin Ziwen witnessed with his own eyes how Porridge Shed refugees disappeared.
They ran towards the side. After a few steps, their bodies gradually grew faint, ripples appeared around them, and they vanished from sight.
These cards... were truly magical.
"Sir, so you were distributing porridge." Du Yu looked around and reminded, "These refugees are all people who have left their homes and have nowhere to go. A few are fine, but if there are too many, they might resort to other things. You must be careful, sir."
Qin Ziwen looked at Du Yu strangely. "You actually understand these things?"
Du Yu said solemnly, "I've just seen scenes before where refugees looted porridge sheds and clashed with officials."
Qin Ziwen said, "Alright, I'll be careful."
"I was planning to find some skilled workers who know how to make salt." Qin Ziwen pointed to the salt well beside them. "So it doesn't go to waste."
Du Yu understood. "Sir, professional salt workers in salt factories are usually registered salt-making households, with official salt-making status. They rarely flee. However, some villages dig their own crude salt wells, and villagers might make salt during their spare time from farming."
Three more groups of people came after that, but none knew how to make salt. Just as the small pot of porridge was almost finished boiling, finally, someone arrived who had previously worked in a village drawing brine and making salt. But he was quite old, already fifty-three.
So, Qin Ziwen also kept a man who had come with him.
"What are your names?"
The man who was kept behind said without hesitation, "Sir, I didn't call out."
"I'm asking what your name is!"
"Oh, oh, this humble one is called Dazhuang."
"This old man is Liu San."
"Mhm. You say you know how to make salt. Then you two stay. Make salt every day, and I'll ensure you're fed."
Liu San quickly knelt down. "Thank you, sir."
Dazhuang was stunned for two seconds. Seeing Liu San kneel, he hurriedly knelt down too. "Thank you, sir!"
"Get up. Don't kneel so casually. Let me ask you, if the two of you use these things every day, how many catties of salt can you produce for me?"
Liu San hesitated for a moment. "Replying to you, sir, probably about twenty to thirty catties of coarse salt. If it's the twice-purified blue salt, probably only about ten catties."
"That much."
Liu San patted his chest. "Even more. Salt-making is a three-step process: drawing brine, sun-evaporating, and boiling. There are only two of us. If we could have two more helpers, the daily output could double! But... boiling salt consumes a lot of firewood, sir..."
"Don't worry about the firewood. I'll take care of it."
At this point, Qin Ziwen understood. If Zhang Bo's salt well was the same model as his, it could probably produce between forty and fifty catties of coarse salt per day.
That guy had produced at least several hundred catties of coarse salt. He was really dripping with fat.
"Alright, I'll recruit two more helpers. You two get started for now."
Subsequently, Qin Ziwen selected two refugees who looked honest. Upon learning he was willing to provide food and shelter in exchange for just working as salt workers, the two were extremely grateful.
Turning around, Qin Ziwen began to calculate in his mind. Since he now had a salt well and wasn't short on salt,
he needed to properly plan the hunting matters.
While they were still in the forest with abundant game, he should stockpile more meat. To avoid reaching the Gobi Desert where the prey was either scorpions or Western diamondback rattlesnakes, creatures with little meat.
......