Chapter 37 37. Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes (Thank you all for your support!)

Author: Lan Xinlanshan

Chapter 37 37. Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes (Thank you all for your support!)

Taking a boat down, this is the Shangguanyan Canal dug by Wu King Liu Bi.

Thousands of sails are chasing the waves, people are sleeping on the river, bridges are painted with willows, wind curtains are green, and the hundred-mile canal is full of prosperity.

The terrain of our country is higher in the west and lower in the east, which determines that most rivers run east-west. In ancient times, transportation was underdeveloped, and river transportation became the most convenient method. However, east-west rivers can only solve east-west traffic, and north-south traffic has become the largest

problem.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, King Wu Fu Chai dug the first canal in history, Hangou, which connected the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River and was the origin of the north-south artificial grand canal.

King Wu Liu Bi then excavated the Shangguan Yan Canal. The Shangguan Yan River leads to Yangtai in the west and reaches the seaside in the east, connecting the eastern Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and connecting the Jianghai Plain. It is a cross-regional waterway.

Later, the Grand Canal was extended successively, connecting the five major water systems of the Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River, and eventually became the main artery of transportation between the north and south of my country.

To this day, the canal has relied on Tongbo for thousands of miles. In addition to its basic functions of military transportation, water transportation, salt transportation, and freight transportation, the canal also plays an irreplaceable and important role in flood control, drainage, and irrigation.

"General Ji, look at that salt ship. It has a heavy draft. How much does this ship of salt cost?" Wang Quan sighed, "There are so many salt ships coming and going! No wonder Wu is so rich."

"The country of Wu is rich, but it is not grateful for the divine grace. It is arrogant and superior to the imperial court!" Ji Bu said with a sullen face.

"It's not that the imperial court does not allow the land of Wu to be rich, but that the king of Wu is arrogant and covets the world. If the land of Wu prospers and the whole world shares its prosperity, it will be a great blessing for the Han Dynasty!" Wang Quan also felt regretful.

King Wu was arrogant and extravagant, while Emperor Wen was simple. If the wealth of Wu could be used to help the world, the Han Empire would surely be stable and prosperous. With the Xiongnu, how could they exchange marriage for peace? Beat them to death!

"Master Wang, do you want to go see the salt field or go directly to Guangling?" Ji Bu asked.

"Let's go to the salt field first." Wang Quan wanted to touch the bottom of King Wu's salt.

Wu Guoji County is Jiangsu and Zhejiang, including the coastal areas of Fujian.

There are salt fields everywhere here. The method of making salt is simple and crude. It is mainly made by directly heating seawater, which is commonly known as "boiling the sea with waves".

The King of Wu ordered people to make a huge iron pot, called a "lao basin". It was similar to the iron pot used for cooking large dishes in the school cafeteria, but it had a flat bottom. He set up the pot and set up the stove on the beach, filled the pot with sea water, and burned firewood.

Start cooking.

At normal temperature (20 degrees Celsius), the saturated solubility of sodium chloride aqueous solution is about 36 grams (per 100 grams of water). When converted into component ratio, the salt content of the saturated aqueous sodium chloride solution is 26.47%. The salt content of my country's offshore seawater The amount only fluctuates between 2.4~3.4%, which is not only far from saturation, but also contains a variety of salts.

When boiling a pot of seawater, about 90% of the water will evaporate before the salt begins to precipitate. This consumes too much firewood. This shows how inefficient it is!

The main salts in seawater are sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and magnesium chloride. In addition to sodium chloride, which is edible, a slight excess of potassium chloride and magnesium chloride will affect human health and taste bitter.

Wang Quan and the others stood on the beach and looked at the seaside lined up one after another. Dozens of pots were boiling sea water. Thick smoke billowed out from the firewood.

The sea breeze is rustling in autumn and the sun is shining brightly. On this beach, the smoke is steaming, the crowds are busy, and the excitement is overwhelming.

Suddenly, a fight broke out in front of several prison basins!

Ji Bu hurriedly ordered people to go and check, and there were evil people making trouble.

The people of Wu were inherently tough, and with the addition of criminals and bandits from other countries, fights often occurred.

"Dad!~~Mom!~~"

A child screamed and cried, causing Wang Quan to rush over. A mother would never listen to a child's cry!

It turned out that the fighters overturned the cell basin, and the scalding sea water splashed onto a four or five-year-old child!

The clothes on half of the child's body were wet, and he was crying and using his hands to pull off the clothes.

Wang Quan grabbed the child and ran into the sea. Zhidu and a guard also followed to pick up the child.

"Take off your clothes quickly!" Wang Quan shouted. Zhidu and the guards pushed the child into the cold sea water and took off his clothes.

"Zhu'er! Zhu'er! What are you doing?!" A woman chased over and screamed angrily.

"Slow down!" Wang Quan stopped her, "The child is covered in hot water and his skin is scalded! Soak in cold water to cool down, otherwise he will get blisters all over his body, which will be fatal!"

Only then did the woman understand the good intentions of Wang Quan and others, and hurriedly rushed to the child.

Everyone picked up the child. The child was all red, like a cooked shrimp.

"Mom! It hurts, it hurts me so much!" the child cried and opened his hands to his mother.

"Let's soak for a while longer!" Wang Quan persuaded, "You might catch a cold. It's better than being bruised all over!"

Fortunately, the rescue was timely. The child's skin was red all over and he was in too much pain to touch. He only had a few small blisters on his chest. The woman cried and thanked her profusely.

"Go to the drug store and buy some comfrey. Heat the oil, add comfrey, and fry until the comfrey becomes dregs. Let the obtained comfrey oil cool and then apply it on the burned area. It will heal slowly."

Wang Ao told the woman and was about to leave with Zhidu Jibu and the others.

"Benefactor!" The woman knelt down, "Your clothes are all soaked. Go to your house to dry your clothes by the fire before leaving!"

The woman climbed up a few times and came to Wang Quan: "Young master, I don't know where to get the oil you mentioned. Please save my child!" As she said this, she kowtowed to Wang Quan.

"This..." Wang Quan was hesitating when a group of people cooking salt gathered around him.

They are all the salt cooks here, and they just worked together to drive away the bad guys who made trouble.

"Go home! It's so windy and cold at the beach, you can't walk in these wet clothes!" everyone said in a flurry of voices.

"Benefactor!" A man also knelt down and begged Wang Quan. He and the woman were the parents of the injured child.

After exchanging glances with Ji Bu, Wang Quan nodded.

So Wang Quan and others arrived at this family's house.

The man's name is Du Feng, and his wife's surname is Yuan. She was originally a seaside resident, and her ancestors made a living by fishing. After they got into the business of boiling salt, they no longer went to the sea to fish.

Wang Quan asked his attendants to go to the drug store and buy some comfrey, angelica root, cork, etc., and taught Yuan to fry them in sesame oil to make comfrey oil.

When Lithospermum oil was applied to Zhuer's skin, the child felt pain relief and smiled happily.

Looking at Zhu'er's smiling face, Wang Quan thought of Ping'er and Shuang'er and couldn't help but feel worried.

"Benefactor! This is a little bit of my heart. Please accept it, my benefactor!"

Du Feng and his wife took out the salt they boiled and dried seafood to thank Wang Quan and his wife for their help.

"Du Feng, what's the reason for your dispute today?" Wang Quan asked.

Du Feng and his wife also saw that Wang Quan and the others were not ordinary people, and they poured out all their bitterness.

It turns out that salt boiling was done through the "civilian-official system". The household that boiled salt was called a "zaohu", and was given a basin by the government in order to boil salt. There were very few iron utensils at this time, and they were prone to corrosion and rust.

The kitchen households themselves cannot buy a prison basin.

The salt produced by the kitchen households is purchased by grade by the salt officials sent by the government. Some more domineering people collude with the salt officials to bully the kitchen households, collect the salt from the kitchen households according to the low grade and low price, and then sell it to the salt officials at a high price.

"Today they are here to collect salt. Everyone thinks that the grade they give is low and the money is small. If they refuse to sell it, they are going to smash our prison basin!" Du Feng said through gritted teeth.

I thought that Wu was rich and everyone was happy. The reality is always more skinny than imagined. Wherever there are people, there will be rivers and lakes, and wherever there is profit, there will be oppression. How can there be any paradise on earth? People are divided into three, six, and nine grades, and there are never any

It will change. Wang Quan thought.

"Your salt is indeed not of the best quality." Wang Quan opened the salt bag given by Du Feng, looked at it and shook his head.

"In their eyes, there is no good salt! They keep the price so low that they don't even have enough money to buy firewood!" Du Feng said angrily.

"It really takes a lot of energy and firewood to boil salt like this. Have you ever thought about improving your method of boiling salt?" Wang Quan asked.

The purification of salt is a part of junior high school chemistry. For a master of pharmacy, it includes medicinal chemistry, physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry...a package of chemistry. Salt making is really an entry-level, early childhood education content!

"Improvement?" Du Feng looked confused, "We have always boiled salt this way, is there any other way?"

"Then, I'm here to teach you how to save firewood and labor, and the cooked salt will be of good color. Do you want to do it?" Wang Quan asked with a smile.

"If it's of good quality, can it be sold at a high price?" Yuan asked Wang Quan excitedly as she applied comfrey oil on the child.

Happy holidays!
Chapter completed!