Chapter 209: The sea water is drying salt, Chen Lingfei is here again

Compared with artificial salt cooking, salt drying in seawater is undoubtedly a way to be cheaper and more efficient. Laizhou Bay also has a salt farm, which adopts the same method of salt drying. Compared with manual salt cooking, the output of Laizhou Bay Salt Farm is still very large. However, the salt farm there is not advanced enough, because when building Laizhou Bay Salt Farm, there was no cement. Without cement, the area of ​​the salt farm could not be large. It is the emergence of cement that makes the construction of salt drying yards simpler, larger, and more advanced.

After investigation, all the unique natural conditions in front of Xiahe Village can build a large salt drying field. The rainfall here is very small, but the sea breeze is very strong. Almost twelve hours a day, the sea breeze is whispering. Wearing wet drying clothes, standing on the shore for half an hour, you can blow all the clothes drying. The sea breeze brings a strong evaporation, which can evaporate sea salt faster.

Generally, the salt content of seawater is about 3%. A 15-acre salt drying field has a total area of ​​10,000 square meters. If it is placed in 0.15 meters (15 cm) deep seawater, the total capacity of seawater is 1,500 cubic meters, that is, about 1,500 tons. Calculated at 3% content, after all the seawater is evaporated, at least 45 tons of sea salt can be obtained. Calculated at 2,000 kilograms per ton, 90,000 kilograms of sea salt can be obtained.

These salts that are exposed will be further purified through supporting facilities such as filter tanks, sedimentation tanks, purification tanks, crystallization tanks, etc., and turn them into refined salt. Calculated from the current weather conditions, the seawater can be evaporated in about one month. With the subsequent work, it can be up to one and a half months. In other words, in the case of everything going well, in just one and a half months, a 15-acre salt farm can get 90,000 kilograms of refined salt.

If there are more salt fields...

Of course, the above is just theoretical values. In fact, due to the influence of weather changes, the output of the salt field cannot be so large. If it encounters the plum rain season, there may not even be a single or two of salt. Most salt fields only have half of the time each year and can be used for production. Therefore, if you want to expand the yield of refined salt as much as possible, you must open up more salt fields.

At the same time, as a large amount of fine salt pours into the market, it is absolutely impossible to maintain the price of more than 100 cigarettes per kilogram. The price of fine salt will definitely be reduced to less than 100 cigarettes per kilogram. However, since the cost of salt drying in seawater is very low, the profit will not be reduced too much. The reduction in unit price can be completely compensated by a rapid increase in quantity.

Judging from the current situation, the more refined salt, the more market it can seize and the greater the profit it will earn. The current refined salt market is far from saturated. The salt consumed in the Ming Dynasty every year was more than hundreds of millions of kilograms. Even if Zhang Zhun opened a hundred salt fields, it was just a drop of water in the sea. Therefore, there was no need to worry about the saturation of the market.

In fact, the fine salt produced in Yangjiatun is mainly sold in Shandong, and partly sold to Huai'an Prefecture in the south through Huang Silang and Guo Mingtai. The fine salt sales in these places are still far from saturated. From a long-term strategy, the fine salt produced in Xiahezhai should be mainly sold to Jiangnan and other places, where there is a larger population and requires more salt consumption. Millions of kilograms are not enough to see.

If the domestic market is saturated, it can also be shipped overseas directly. Whether it is North Korea or Japan, it is relatively salt-deficient. Even the Nanyang region also needs fine salt. Of course, the most salt-deficient areas are Liaodong and Mongolian grasslands. Areas with prosperous animal husbandry have a great demand for tea and salt. However, if salt is sold to the Tartars and Mongolians, it is a capital enemy. This is definitely not something that can’t be done.

The initial investment in the salt drying field is not a small number. A 15-acre salt drying field, the cement that needs to be consumed is an astronomical figure. The cement produced in Fushan needs to be used for urban construction and port construction, and it is still a bit difficult to squeeze out to make a salt drying field. Therefore, this involves another question, whether to build several new cement kilns in Lingshanwei locally to provide cement on site.

However, building a new cement kiln also requires initial funds. If you don’t have too much money for a cement kiln, you still need five hundred taels of silver. A few cement kilns are only a few thousand taels of silver. With the workers’ wages and other wages, this number will only increase and not decrease. No matter what you are building, it will be money. If you didn’t rely on glass to obtain some extra profits, Zhang Zhun would not have the funds to build a salt drying yard.

It’s really not easy to start from scratch!

"Sir, Miss Shen Lingfei is asking for a meeting."

Zhang Zhun suddenly received a report while inspecting the salt field.

"Shen Lingfei?"

Zhang Zhun was a little strange.

How could she appear in Xiahezhai? Shouldn’t she return to Jiangnan? She came back from Jiangnan so soon? I don’t know how the sales of glass is? If the sales of glass is ideal, it is necessary to increase productivity. Zhang Zhun is really short of money now.

"Please come over."

Zhang Zhun said in contemplation.

Soon, the group appeared in front of Zhang Zhun.

The one who leads the lead is tall, dressed properly, pretty and charming. Who is not Shen Lingfei? Today, Shen Lingfei is obviously dressed up deliberately. She is dressed up in a small silk jacket with green lake water, decorated with streamers of the same color, and a white silk silk skirt with a white silk silk skirt with complex patterns on her waist. She is tied with a high bun on her head, but she is tied with only a jade hairpin. She is dressed in luxurious and dignified, without the slightest dissolute taste.

Moreover, her skin is as white as jade, and her facial features are delicate, especially her eyes that look at her, who are calm and casual when she smiles faintly, and she has a certain and dignified power of superiority. She feels so happy when she is happy, and she looks quite good. When she arrived in Fushan City, she did not have this kind of joyful smile from the heart. It seems that the business of glass is very good!

What made Zhang Zhun a little strange was that Huang Silang and Guo Mingtai came together with her. A beautiful and enchanting young woman, a fake scholar who was trying hard to be gentle, and a powerful man in a big and thick place. No matter how you look at each other, it was so awkward. But the three of them were chatting and laughing, as if they were very speculative. It was really strange.

"grown ups."

The three of them came to Zhang Zhun and said hello to Zhang Zhun together.

"Why are you here together?"

Zhang Zhun asked strangely.

Shen Lingfei actually mingled with Huang Silang and Guo Mingtai, which shows that the world is really too small. Huang Silang and Guo Mingtai are definitely not able to take the initiative to find Shen Lingfei, and they cannot find it with their abilities. Therefore, it must be Shen Lingfei who took the initiative to find them.

"I invited them."

Sure enough, Chen Lingfei said intellectually.

Her smile was faint, quite professional, just right, like a spring breeze, giving people a very comfortable feeling. Of course, in the eyes of some people, they may feel a little hypocritical and a little artificial. Zhang Zhun suddenly had an illusion that Chen Lingfei was like a young version of Ji Yuqing. However, she was not as charming and tempting as Ji Yuqing.

"Go back and talk."

Zhang Zhun nodded.

The three of them got together must be for business matters, and most of them were related to private salt. Because Huang Silang and Guo Mingtai's main business was to sell private salt. Chen Lingfei took the initiative to come to them, and naturally came for private salt. Sure enough, after the group returned to Xiahe City, Chen Lingfei explained her purpose straight to the point: she also wanted to get a share of the salt business.

"You Shen family never does a salt-like business?"

Zhang Zhun frowned and said in a deep thought.

"Start with me!"

Chen Lingfei said firmly.

Zhang Zhun still shook his head gently.

Isn't it said that he is unwilling to sell the salt to Chen Lingfei. Who is selling the salt to? As long as you have money to buy it, no matter who you are. However, Chen Lingfei is different. Zhang Zhun was mainly worried that Chen Lingfei could not control the situation and caused her to kill herself. Her glass business is doing well, is it necessary to go to the muddy water of Jing Yan? Yes, the private salt business, but the real muddy water also has a strong smell of blood. If you are not careful, all your wealth and life may be dissolved in it, and even the slag will not be left behind.

Everyone knows that the profits of smuggling salt are huge and jealous. Since the profits are huge, the competition between each other is naturally very fierce, and fighting is the most common. The salt owls often fight for territory and supply. Not to mention the distance, Huang Silang and Guo Mingtai used to fight for the past. Everyone in the ancient town knows that in the past, hundreds of thugs died and injured in the past due to fighting every year.

In addition, the court spared no effort to attack the salt owl. If it was caught, it would be the result of a family being killed. With the turmoil in Shaanxi and the Tatars continued to invade, the tax revenue from various places decreased rapidly. At present, the relatively stable income of the court is the salt tax. It can be said that the salt tax is the last straw of the court. If the last straw is also broken, the court will definitely collapse immediately. Unless there is a background and a backstage, it will be a dead end to catch it.

In the salt market in Jiangnan, it is naturally controlled by the eight major salt merchants in Yangzhou. Their control over the Jiangnan market is very strong and they will not easily let outsiders get involved in this cake. In fact, in a sense, the salt merchants are the biggest salt owls. In order to protect their own interests, they even actively attack other salt owls than the court. There is no doubt that they cannot watch Chen Lingfei intervene in this market. Behind the eight major salt merchants, they all have strong strength. Faced with the double blow from the court and the salt merchants, does Chen Lingfei have the ability to resist?

Zhang Zhun shook his head inadvertently.

No, it's too risky.

A woman can do some other small business, so why bother with private salt? The glass business is easy and comfortable, and there is not much risk yet. Isn’t this good?

Huang Silang noticed Zhang Zhun's meaning and said tactfully: "I have told Miss Chen that outsiders can't do this industry, especially girls, they can't do it. The water inside is too deep, but..."

Chen Lingfei said proudly: "As long as I have salt on my hands, I can sell it."

Zhang Zhun said thoughtfully: "Why is Miss Chen so confident?"

Chen Lingfei said confidently: "I don't do retail, I will sell it directly to the Han family in Xin'an."

Guo Mingtai was moved in a panic and said slowly: "The Han family you are talking about is Han Minghua?"

Chen Lingfei nodded and said, "That's right, it's Han Minghua."

Huang Silang pondered for a moment and said slowly: "In this way, you can try it."

Chen Lingfei briefly introduced Han Minghua to Zhang Zhun.

Speaking of which, Han Minghua should be one of the backbone figures of Hui merchants. At the beginning, he started his business by relying on the pawning industry. Many Xin'an merchants (i.e., Hui merchants) started their business by relying on the pawning industry. After becoming rich, they switched to other businesses. After Han Minghua became rich, the business he changed to was the salt industry. Although the scale was not as large as that of Yangzhou's eight major salt merchants, they were almost the same. Han Minghua's biggest problem was that he started too late. Even if the development was very fast, it would not be easy to catch up with other salt merchants.

The core of Hui merchants is actually Confucian merchants. While doing business, Xin'an merchants also constantly open private schools, invite famous teachers, train their own family children, study and take the imperial examinations, and make a name for themselves. If there are poor disciples in their hometown who are good at studying, they will try their best to solve their worries. Even when Hui merchants are doing business outside, if they find children who have the potential to study but have no money to go to school, they will also take out money to help them complete their studies.

Over time, the children who were funded by them gradually entered the officialdom and formed a considerable force. Of course, they would repay the grace of the original waters. Therefore, as long as they were within their own power, they would definitely open a door to convenience for Hui merchants. At the same time, for those officials with potential for progress, Hui merchants would also vigorously sponsor and help them climb to a higher position. When you go back and forth, a strict system of combining official and business was gradually formed.

However, the main salt merchants in Yangzhou are indeed very strong and their background is quite scary. Their monopoly cannot be easily broken by others. In the past, Xin'an merchants tried to challenge the salt merchants in Yangzhou, but they returned in a big defeat. However, as the officials trained by Hui merchants gradually reached the top, their strength became stronger and stronger, and they began to have the strength to challenge the salt merchants in Yangzhou.

For example, the Han family in Xin'an is a typical example of gradually rising. Han Minghua's brother is the prefect of Suzhou Prefecture. Suzhou is famous for building the world and rich in the world. People from the Han family can climb to the position of prefect, which is even more difficult than those of the Minister of Rites in Nanjing. Even if such a prefect is well-mannered and abide by the rules, his income will not be less than 100,000 taels of silver in a year. A Qing prefect and 100,000 snowflakes were actually the first to be seen in the Ming Dynasty.
Chapter completed!