Chapter Eighteen: Out of Salt

  On the third day, all the military dependents of Maojia Village gathered on the beach, saying that salt was to be produced today...

  These days, the rumors that have been circulating among most of the military households have already given them some idea, but when they arrived at the salt-drying pool, they almost didn't dare to believe their eyes!

  Thirty mu of salt pans are all white flowers, all crystal clear large blocks of salt, and here two days ago was still a piece of water...

  "It will really work"

  "There's so much salt, even bigger chunks than when it was cooked"

  "This block of tofu is probably over a hundred catties already?"

  Looking at this magnificent scenery, the military households could not hold back their excitement and began to discuss it in a flurry.

  "Come over... " Han Zong pointed to a salt drying pool in front of him and said, "First, let's take a look at how Master Bi harvests the salt blocks. Everyone learn from it."

  Bi Fangji wore a short garment, with a tattered hat on his head to shield the sun, holding a broken-bladed vegetable knife in his hand. As he scraped, he explained to the soldiers: "Don't scrape off the salt bed at the bottom, the thicker the salt bed, the shorter the time it takes to dry the salt. This method produces granular salt, eliminating the need for refining. All the labor can be used for irrigation or farming, and can also alleviate poverty..."

  Many military households have slowly accepted Bi Fangji, a kind-hearted red barbarian, a red barbarian who not only is kind but also speaks the official language of the Great Ming, and it's not difficult to accept him if one ignores his appearance. Some soldiers gathered around Bi Fangji, listening to him explain the key points of salt production.

  Yang Bo waved his hand and all the soldiers rushed into the divided salt pools, starting to scrape out the salt.

  Tie Niu and others also joined the ranks of labor, only Yang Bo took the Xiucai to hide under the tree shade, Xiucai held a pen and paper, counting the number of reports coming in.

  Because it was the first time to scrape salt, most of the military households only scraped a thin layer on the surface of the salt pan. The bottom of the salt pool was compacted with impermeable three-soil soil, and many salt pans were laid out, so the first scraped salt contained a lot of sand and soil, and the quality was generally poor.

  Yang Bo's eyes gazed at the bustling labor scene, his thoughts had already flown to another distant place, he was considering whether it was time to establish a fire brigade.

  Yang Bo had to be on guard, and the powers he could rely on in official circles were too few to count. In the Ming Dynasty, this feudal and ancient era, without external forces driving it, it was so cruel and resistant to all abnormal appearances. Any innovation or pioneering work might lead to his destruction together. The salt pool, this high-efficiency salt-producing machine, did not have the corresponding power to protect it, which is the way to invite disaster? And the Salt Protection Team was just the first step in all his plans.

  After the last salt pan was harvested, the statistics came out soon

  The scholar held a paper full of numbers and read aloud, shaking his head and tapping the abacus "Four retreats six advances one, nine retreats one returns one, sir, the total is two thousand five hundred sixty-eight kilograms more, each salt pool yields about ninety kilograms of salt..."

  Yang Bo nodded, although it was his first time producing salt, the output had already reached more than half of the monthly quota. He still needed to wait a few more days before he could get the average production value of a salt pool.

  The military dependents drinking water and resting in the shade of trees around them also seemed to have reached this conclusion, they whispered to each other, discussing it heatedly. The military dependents were not foolish, originally working hard for a day could only yield two or three hundred catties of salt, many clever people had already begun calculating, if the salt pans produced salt smoothly, completing the quota would take at most three days, and the remaining twenty plus days' worth of salt would be pure income. Except for the hundred households, the commander, and the small flags taking away the majority, how much silver could they get? This was a very complicated calculation for them, one thing that was certain was that it absolutely wouldn't be less than before.

  Felling trees and boiling seawater, not only burns a lot of firewood, but also consumes a huge amount of manpower and material resources. After deducting the head, each military household can only get a few silver coins. These military households all have a large family to support, especially those who do heavy labor, eat more, and this income is not enough to buy rice, they can only rely on catching some fish and shrimp, adding some wild vegetables and miscellaneous grains, barely not starving to death. Such treatment is already much better than some surrounding areas.

  Many people picked up branches and scribbled randomly on the sandy ground, or else consulted with those around them. Once life had a direction, their original numbness and dullness were immediately swept away...

  In the sea-view room, Yang Bo was listening to Xiao Mo Chou's report. For the past two days, he had been running around in Maojiatun, actually counting the number of people.

  "Sir, currently in Maojiatun there are 102 registered military households. Among them, there are 210 males between the ages of 13 and 60, 167 robust men, 68 young boys, 195 women, and 82 girls under the age of 13. Additionally, there are 8 households of refugees who have not yet been registered, consisting of 6 adult males and 17 children..."

  Yang Bo nodded and decided to register those few households of refugees as well, turning them into military households. This was far from enough people.

  The soldiers of Maojia Village soon heard some good news. The new hundred-household leader was planning to expand the salt-drying pools, and what made the soldiers most excited was that the hundred-household leader was going to allocate those salt-drying pools to them!

  These days, wherever Han Xiao'er went, he was surrounded by people. Looking at the eager faces of the military dependents, Han Xiao'er had no choice but to continue repeating what he had said countless times: "I've told you all before, Master Yang is still considering it, and won't let you suffer losses, so why are you in such a hurry? Since Master arrived at our Ma Family Village, ask yourselves, has he ever treated you unfairly?"

  Several soldiers smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say for a moment. Then, an old soldier with seniority squeezed forward and asked: "Hey, has the officer thought about how to divide it? If we divide it by household, there are several households in the village with many people..."

  Han Er looked at the old general and said, "Sir has his own considerations, Uncle Han, just wait for good news."

  The old soldier asked again: "And how about that quota? And, sir, when you divide up these salt evaporation ponds, do you have to pay taxes on them?"

  Han Er shook his head: "Uncle Han, the quota is definitely to be shared. Now that there's a pool, it's not a big deal to share it among each household. However, I really do know about collecting taxes..."

  The military households were packed more tightly, this was their concern, just like the fields, originally except for the fixed amount of two dou to be handed over, there were also other large households, and the descendants of these small and large officials also fell on them, so many people would rather abandon them than cultivate the land.

  "The adults have spoken......" Han Xiao'er cupped his hands towards the air "The divided ponds, no taxes will be collected for three years. After completing the fixed quota, all the salt produced is yours. Three years later, the adults will collect a 30% tax."

  The military dependents were suddenly in an uproar, no one had ever thought that there was still an official in this world who did not accept bribes.

  "That old soldier asked a question that everyone had thought about but didn't dare to say out loud: 'If we go to the seaside and open our own salt pans to make salt, will it work?'"

  Han Yuer's eyes flashed, and his tone was somewhat stern as he said: "Uncle Han, I advise you not to be so muddled. Without rules, there is no square or circle. Privately setting up a saltworks will get your whole family beheaded! If someone reports it, even the adults won't be able to protect you. The adults have said that from now on, all these coastal areas are going to be regulated, and everything will be divided among you people. Why bother doing something so unwise?"