Our neighborhood has been transported again.

Chapter 101 Salt Wells (Fourth Update)
"Huh, there's a salt well."

Qin Ziwen exclaimed softly, "Salt wells are a good thing!"

Previously, Zhang Bo used this salt well to monopolize the market and raise prices everywhere. Now I have it too.

With this thing, we can pickle any game we catch without worrying about running out of salt.

The salt well does not require a large area, only 2*8m.

Resource quarries require a much larger area, similar to iron mines, needing a footprint of 10*10m.

He arrived at the side-lying mining area.

This area was originally expanded from a 20*20 sand dune expansion card.

The top left and top right corners are now filled with two 10x10 mineral deposits, the bottom left corner is where the soup kitchen is located, and there is still a large empty space in the bottom right corner.

Silently recite "use".

When the light faded, a sunken area appeared before them.

From a distance, it looks like a chiseled inkstone, with the middle part sunk 1-2 meters deep into the ground, and the four sides are uneven earthen slopes covered with weeds and loose soil.

The most eye-catching feature is the bluish-gray granite that is half-embedded in the soil in the middle.

There was a simple large wooden table next to it, with two baskets on it.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the basket was filled with chisels, hammers, and crowbars.

In addition, there were three sturdy iron wheelbarrows used to transport the chiseled rocks.

I now own three mines: a coal mine, an iron mine, and a quarry.

But the core issue is still a shortage of workers.

Currently, the main workers at the mine are still Qin Ziwu and Li Tieshan. They come to mine for a while when iron needs to be forged, and leave it untouched when not in use.

It is indeed a bit wasteful.

After inspecting his quarry for a while, Qin Ziwen went to the side and used the salt well next to the soup kitchen.

The light dissipated.

A row of horizontal buildings appeared on the original site, the first of which was an earthen well with a diameter of 1.5 meters.

The well has a canopy over it, and a crooked wooden pole is placed over the well opening, with a broken wooden bucket tied to one end of the pole with a hemp rope.

He arrived at the well, and a salty, astringent smell wafted towards him.

Squinting to examine the well, I saw that the salt well was very deep, with brine at the bottom.

Looking away, beside the salt well, are salt-drying fields.

It's like a pig trough, but this trough is very square, measuring 2*2 meters in size.

The ground of the salt field was covered with a layer of semi-dry yellow soil. Qin Ziwen had seen videos of the ancient salt-making method before and knew that after the brine was drawn from the well, it was poured onto the salt field and left to dry in the sun. Once the water dried up, the layer floating on top was the most basic coarse salt, which was inedible.

To the right of the salt-drying area, there is a large pot.

It is used for a second boiling and purification process. Only after this second purification can the salt be barely palatable. Because it contains rich minerals and has a bluish color, it is also called green salt.

Use Insights to view salt wells.

[Level 1 Salt Well: Level 1 rapid evaporation, Level 1 rapid purification]

Qin Ziwen pondered to himself that this salt well was similar to a blacksmith's shop; it wouldn't produce iron if left there, and only people with the relevant skills could enter it to realize its greatest value.

Of course, salt workers and blacksmiths are different. Blacksmithing is a combination of skill and physical labor, while salt work is a combination of physical labor and experience. As for mining, it is pure animal labor.

He looked at the soup kitchen and wondered if it was feasible to recruit refugees from there since there was a shortage of people.

As soon as they started cooking porridge, two refugees arrived.

The man and woman were both emaciated from hunger.

Do you know how to boil salt?

"Sir, I am a farmer."

"A petty person knows how to farm."

The two quickly said something. Qin Ziwen waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

"Ah? Sir, isn't this a soup kitchen? We're so hungry, can we have some?" The two men clung to the wooden stake like starving ghosts, their faces full of pleading.

Helpless, Qin Ziwen ladled a bowl of congee for each of them.

The two wanted more after eating, licking their lips as they looked at the fragrant white porridge in the pot.

Qin Ziwen's face darkened. "Du Yu."

Hearing the adults calling, Du Yu rushed over.

Upon seeing the burly Du Yu, the two panicked and quickly ran away.

This was also the first time Qin Ziwen had witnessed firsthand how the soup kitchen refugees disappeared.

They ran to the side, and after a few steps, their bodies gradually faded, ripples spread around them, and they disappeared from sight.

These cards are truly amazing.

"Sir, so you were distributing porridge." Du Yu looked around and reminded him, "These refugees are all people who have left their homes and have nowhere to go. It's fine if there are only a few, but if there are too many, they might do something else. You must be careful, sir."

Qin Ziwen looked at Du Yu strangely: "You actually know about these things?"

Du Yu said in a deep voice, "I have only seen scenes of refugees looting soup kitchens and clashing with officials before."

Qin Ziwen asked, "Okay, I'll be careful."

"I'm planning to find some skilled workers who know how to boil salt," Qin Ziwen said, pointing to the salt well next to him, "so as not to waste it."

Du Yu suddenly realized, "Sir, professional salt workers in the saltworks are usually salt producers with salt registration, and they rarely run away. However, some villages dig their own simple salt wells, and villagers will come to boil salt during their spare time from farming."

Then three more groups of people arrived, but none of them knew how to boil salt. Just as the small pot of porridge was almost finished cooking, a skilled worker who used to work in the village drawing brine and boiling salt finally arrived. However, he was quite old, already fifty-three years old.

Therefore, Qin Ziwen also left behind one of the men who was traveling with him.

"What are your names?"

The man who was left behind said without hesitation, "Sir, I didn't call for help."

"I'll tell you your name!"

"Oh, the little one's name is Dazhuang."

"This old man is Liu San."

"Well, you said you know how to boil salt, then you can stay here and boil salt every day. I'll make sure you're well-fed."

Liu San quickly knelt down, "Thank you, sir."

Da Zhuang was stunned for two seconds, then saw Liu San kneel down, and quickly knelt down as well, saying, "Thank you, sir!"

"Get up, don't kneel down so easily. I ask you, if the two of you use these things every day, how many kilograms of salt can you produce for me?"

Liu San hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Sir, we can probably get twenty or thirty catties of coarse salt. If it's refined green salt, it will only yield about ten catties."

"so much."

Liu San patted his chest, "Not only that, but salt production involves three steps: drawing brine, sun-drying the salt, and boiling it. There are only two of us. If we could have two more helpers, our daily output could double! However, boiling salt consumes a lot of firewood, sir."

"Don't worry about the firewood, I'll take care of it."

At this moment, Qin Ziwen understood that if Zhang Bo's salt well was the same type as his, it could probably produce between forty and fifty catties of coarse salt a day.

That guy produced at least several hundred kilograms of coarse salt; he was really rolling in fat.

"Okay, I'll hire two more helpers. You guys keep doing this for now."

Qin Ziwen then selected two honest-looking refugees. When he learned that he was willing to provide them with meals and only required them to work as salt workers, the two were extremely grateful.

Turning his head, Qin Ziwen pondered to himself, "Now that we have salt wells, we don't lack salt."

Then we'll have to plan the hunt properly.

While still in the forest where prey is plentiful, stock up on plenty of meat to avoid encountering scorpions or low-meat rattlesnakes in the Gobi Desert.

(End of this chapter)