Chapter Eleven: The Bitterness of Salt Production

  A few people walked and sized each other up, to say that these military dependents were nominally considered garrison troops, but in reality they were no different from ordinary old farmers, and even worse than peasants. The land in Majiatun was scarce, and the land under their names had all been occupied, so these military dependents could only cling to this identity, generation after generation bound to this land as slaves and servants.

  "How many people are there in Shidu?" Yang Bo asked.

  "The Shitou division has seven troops stationed here, and several civilian settlements, with a total of around 6,000 people. In recent years, some have escaped, and others have drifted in from outside, so it's hard to say exactly how many are actually here." Han Xiao'er was originally the personal steward of the former hundred-household leader, so he was quite familiar with these things.

  After watching the salt-making process, I went to see the labor of the mountain-dependent households. The trees here are tall and large, with each trunk as thick as several people embracing. They have to use primitive tools to fell the trees, cut them into small segments, and transport them to the seaside. The amount of labor involved is unimaginable. Many of the military households here are working with their families, and they all look pale and weak, I don't know when they will collapse to the ground...

  The next day, Yang Bo just sat in the yard, lost in thought, and from time to time walked to a large vat, dipped up a few drops of seawater and put them in his mouth, making others confused.

  "Master must be thinking of some way to cheat the silver out." Zhang Dogson imitated Yang Bo's style, scooped up a handful of seawater and took a sip.

  Tie Niu shook his head, "Big brother is definitely thinking about cooking seafood."

  The calf was waving a long knife on one side without a care, after being scolded by Yang Bo several times, he didn't dare to touch those bows and arrows again.

  "Where do you want me to look?" Xiao Yulan sat on a large stone, sewing clothes. She smoothed her hair with the needle and said, "It's still Brother Tie Niu who is right, Young Master wants to help those military dependents who are suffering..."

  "Come on!" A sudden burst of noisy footsteps sounded at the door: "The scholar has fainted..."

  Several people were frightened and quickly threw away their work and ran out.

  The scholar's face was pale, his eyes tightly closed, but fortunately his nostrils were still flaring. Han Chaoer and several soldiers quickly fetched a wooden board and rushed him towards the door on it.

  "Big Brother Han, what's going on?" Xiao Yulan asked, looking at Han Ye with an embarrassed face.

  "This one, that one..." Han Ya'er hesitated and stuttered, unwilling to speak.

  "Xiucai is going to die soon." The servant grinned foolishly: "I think the ox-headed and horse-faced gods will come for him tonight..."

  "Pfui! Wait till Master comes out and tears your mouth apart!" Xiao Yulan spat at the servant.

  "Let's just drop it," Iron Bull said in a low voice.

  Several people immediately dared not to speak, Tie Niu was different from them in status, only he called Yang Bo big brother, and Yang Bo always treated him as his younger brother. Tie Niu rarely spoke, but when he did, others were somewhat afraid.

  The sound of slamming doors came from inside the house, and Yang Bo walked out after hearing the noise.

  Adult

  Young Master

  Yang Bo waved his hand and pointed at the scholar, saying: "What's wrong with him?"

  "Sir, just now when the scholar was working, he suddenly fainted and fell to the ground..."

  Yang Bo walked up to the front of the scholar and took a closer look, then turned his head and whispered in Han Chao's ear: "Didn't I tell you to find some light work for him to do?"

  "Sir, sir! I assigned him to stir the iron pot of lard, this is the lightest task, usually only done by the elderly, weak, women and children..."

  As the two were talking, the scholar lying on the wooden board slightly opened his right eye, blinked twice at Xiao Yulan and then quickly closed it again.

  Zheng stared at Xiao Yulan, who suddenly burst out laughing and covered her mouth.

  Yang Bo looked up at Xiao Yulan with a puzzled expression and walked to the front of the scholar, "I'm afraid it's because of the hot weather, the scholar has heatstroke..."

  "Sunstroke? Shouldn't we find a doctor to take a look?" Han Xiao'er hastily asked, Yang Bo had entrusted the person to him, didn't expect it to turn out like this, his heart has been somewhat uneasy.

  "No need, I have a secret recipe passed down from my ancestors" Yang Bo rolled up his sleeves and pinched the scholar's Renzhong acupoint with a series of fierce pinches.

  "Ah?" The scholar sat up straight, he could no longer pretend.

  "Look... " Yang Bo proudly showed off his Korean-style BBQ

  "Sir is indeed very skilled..."

  The scholar cursed in his heart: "Do you two want to be a bit more shameless? Still talking about ancestral recipes, any old farmer from the mountains would know this trick."

  Yang Bo quickly stripped off half of the scholar's clothes and stood to one side. Xiao Yulan's face turned bright red with shame, she cursed and hastily ran away.

  "Go, sit under the tree and take a break, Doggy. Go get him some water." Yang Bo stood up, patted his hands and instructed.

  The scholar lowered his head, not daring to look into Yang Bo's eyes, but in his heart he was relieved. Unexpectedly, Yang Bo continued: "Since you can't do the work, starting tomorrow, go with Dog Er and the others to stand guard..."

  The scholar looked at that foolish guy and almost fainted again

  When Xiucai was about to fall asleep, the dog ran over and said that Yang Bo was looking for him.

  "You've been on the beach for two days, I suppose you're familiar with this boiled sea?" Yang Bo asked directly.

  The scholar was startled and thought that Yang Bo was going to ask him to cook the sea again. He hesitated and didn't dare speak up.

  "I was wondering if you could tell me, what are the procedures for cooking seafood?" Yang Bo was somewhat impatient. "Procedures, yes, procedures mean steps, it means doing this first, then doing that..."

  "When Yang Bo wanted to ask him for guidance, the scholar shook his head and said: "The matter of boiling the sea is easy, every two months, the tide rises and falls, and the water flows back into the earth. When it encounters a fierce wind, white flowers bloom, and when they are swept away, they gather in the hills. Take the real ones from the hills, and then take the salty water to rinse them. The hills are made of holes in the ground, with a pool below, connected by a pipe, using a bamboo tube to guide it. When the water is poured into the hills, it flows through the pipe into the pool, add chicken eggs and apricot kernels, if they float, then you can use them. Make another earthenware stove beside the stove, slightly higher than the stove, pour out its contents, guide it with a bamboo tube, and pour it from high into the pan. The pan is made of woven bamboo, coated with oyster shell ash, the large pan can boil 200 kilograms in one night, the small pan half that..."

  He looked at Yang Bo with a self-satisfied glance, who was staring coldly at him.

  "Speak human language..."

  The scholar shrank his neck: "The method of salt boiling is roughly like this, mixing a moderate amount of brine with it, and quickly boiling it into salt over high heat. The process has five steps, the first one..."

  Yang Bo listened and walked around the house with his hands behind his back, still unable to understand. He turned his head and saw the scholar standing aside with a shrunk head and body, then said: "I asked you to write a new poem earlier, is it done?"

  The scholar cried with a sad face, thinking of the hardships of these two days. After talking to other military households, he gained some insight and also felt some heartache.

  At this moment, Yang Bo's prestige was forgotten, and he slowly paced a few steps in the room.

  "Salt drying is bitter, salt drying is bitter. The public and the wife are often hungry and lack regular meals. The sons and daughters are all over their bodies without a complete thread. The corvée follows the example and no longer sympathizes. Who in the world thinks of the hardships of the salt workers..."

  "Good!"

  Yang Bo's heavy slap landed on the scholar's shoulder, bringing him back from his wandering thoughts outside the nine heavens.