Looking at such white and delicate salt, the two salt masters Liang and Xu were stunned.

They had never seen such shining fine salt. Mr. Liang's hands were trembling as he looked at the salt in his hands and was speechless.

Master Xu was the same way. He looked at the refined salt with the same embarrassment.

What Ling Xin'an said was too embarrassing and uncomfortable for them.

If I have to say something, the vegetarian corpse meal is about them.

Even so, after a brief period of confusion, Master Liang came back to his senses and said immediately: "Master Ling, where did this thing come from?"

You must know why table salt is called official salt. It is because only what the imperial court can do is called official salt. Therefore, in the entire Zhou Dynasty, all that can be seen is official salt. As for what cannot be seen, it is smuggling. Once found out,

That's a head-turning thing.

That's why Mr. Liang asked this question.

Ling Xin'an smiled and said: "Mr. Liang, the coarse salt was bought from the Salt Road Department, and this refined salt was improved by me."

As soon as these words came out, Liang and Xu were stunned, staring at Ling Xin'an with twinkling eyes.

"Haha, Master Ling is worthy of being the rising star of our Great Zhou Dynasty. I congratulate you, Your Majesty, and congratulate Master Ling." Master Xu suddenly said with a smile.

Ling Xin'an was startled, and then smiled: "Mr. Xu, you are really complimenting me. To be honest, the two adults are about the same age as my father. Logically speaking, my nephew should have visited his two uncles long ago."

Hearing this, Liang and Xu looked at each other, then laughed, and the previous angry atmosphere in the air disappeared.

Mr. Liang gasped and laughed and said: "Nephew Ling Xian, as a county government official, you are a busy man and have no time to do anything else. As an uncle, you won't mind."

Ling Xin'an smiled and said: "You two, please come inside!"

The two looked at each other, laughed and stepped in.

In the hall, three people sat down in order. A maid lowered her head to bring tea. Ling Xin'an discovered that there was a new person. She was a little girl, about fourteen or fifteen years old. Her thin body looked thin and drooped.

He didn't dare to look at the three of them, but he looked very nervous at the moment. He poured the tea carefully and stood far away from Ling Xin'an, his head lowered and motionless.

Ling Xin'an smiled slightly.

Xia Xiaoyu was really nervous at this time. This was the first time she had given Master Ling tea. He looked very young and always had a faint smile on his face. He was not as serious as Miss Shuang'er said.

But why do I feel inexplicable fear when I see him from a distance?

Xia Xiaoyu's head was in a mess. Standing next to the adults, her days felt like years. At this time, a voice as thin as a mosquito rang in her ears: "Don't be nervous, relax!"

Xia Xiaoyu's whole body tensed up immediately, and she almost shed tears. At this time, she heard Master Ling's voice again.

"Two adults, you have also seen this refined salt. My nephew would like to hear the advice of my two uncles."

Mr. Liang stroked his long beard and said: "Nephew Ling Xian, this matter is big or small. If it is not handled well, it may be easily taken advantage of by people with ulterior motives."

Ling Xin'an was slightly surprised: "My nephew is willing to hear the details."

Mr. Liang pondered for a long time before speaking: "Uncle Yu believes that this matter should not be brought to justice, and Uncle Yu also knows that it is absolutely impossible for my nephew to sell official salt privately behind the back of the court, but you have the ability to turn coarse salt into refined salt.

Once the secret recipe is leaked, it will bring a lot of trouble to nephew Ling Xian or the Ling family."

Ling Xin'an nodded.

Mr. Liang: "Personally, I think that whether it is coarse salt or refined salt, it is the wealth of our Zhou Dynasty. We are just managing this wealth for the emperor. Naturally, we have to leave it to the emperor to decide."

Ling Xin'an smiled lightly and said: "Then based on Master Liang's suggestion, I want to contribute the secret recipe of refined salt to the Holy One?"

Mr. Liang shook his head: "Nephew Ling Xian, I don't know. The Salt Road Department has its own system. Let me tell you the truth, nephew. Each government reports to the court every day how much it sells and how much it needs to supply. The court sends a report

The amount of delivery by the exclusive caravan is of course not delivered every day, but based on the sales speed of each prefecture."

Ling Xin'an nodded, this supply model is the most normal and simplest.

Mr. Liang: "We received coarse salt from the imperial court. Each government made it into different sizes, packages, and prices according to local conditions and distributed it for sale. The imperial court did not have a unified style for this."

Ling Xin'an understood in her heart, but she still looked puzzled: "Then Mr. Liang..."

Mr. Liang stroked his long beard and said, "Nephew Ling Xian, you don't have to pay tribute to the secret recipe to the court, but you and I can cooperate."

Ling Xin'an frowned slightly: "Master Liang, Master Xu, I'm afraid..."

Master Xu said at this time: "Nephew Ling Xian, Uncle Yu has an idea, what do you think?"

Ling Xin'an immediately said: "Master Xu, it's okay to say it. My nephew is all ears."

Mr. Xu cleared his throat and said: "If Nephew Ling Xian tells the secret recipe to me, and at the same time, the two of us go to the court, we will say that you and I are colleagues and have discovered a way to improve coarse salt. When it matures,

Pay tribute to the Holy One."

Ling Xin'an pondered.

Seeing Ling Xin'an's silence, Mr. Xu continued: "At the same time, we produce a large amount of refined salt and sell it. The prices of refined salt and coarse salt are skyrocketing. Taking advantage of this period, we will vigorously produce and sell, and we will soon occupy Qingzhou.

The government office area."

"When we sell it for a year and a half, when the Holy One asks about it, you and I will contribute the secret recipe. This way we won't anger the Holy One and we can take advantage of the opportunity."

Ling Xin'an looked at Mr. Xu with a smile in her eyes.

"As expected of Mr. Xu, you have thought so carefully. My nephew, I agree. There is just one thing that needs to be discussed."

Mr. Xu said anxiously: "What's the matter? Tell me."

Ling Xin'an sighed bitterly: "Our government is in urgent need of silver now, and taxes are far from enough."

Mr. Liang and Mr. Xu looked at each other, and then Mr. Liang smiled and said: "Nephew Ling Xian, I have decided on the tax on refined salt. From now on, 30% of the tax on refined salt will be handed over to Jiangzhou Prefecture."

Ling Xin'an immediately smiled and said: "Thank you two adults! Then it's settled."

Master Liang and Master Xu both smiled and said, "It's a deal!"

From then on, the three of them talked in detail. Despite Ling Xin'an's repeated attempts to stay, Mr. Liang and Mr. Xu still said goodbye and left, saying that they still had official duties and could not stay for a long time.

After seeing the two of them out of the backyard, Ling Xin'an's smile immediately dropped and she sat on a chair, looking exhausted both physically and mentally.

In the Salt Road Department, Master Liang and Master Xu were sitting in order, and the air was filled with an unspeakable aura.

"Brother Liang, what do you think of this guy?" When there was no one around, the two of them were not divided into superiors and subordinates like outside.

Liang Ruiwen, director of the Salt Channel Department, and Xu Haitao, deputy director, are in charge of the official salt in the Qingzhou Prefecture. Qingzhou Prefecture governs Jiangzhou, Ezhou, Huangzhou, Xinzhou, and Yuanzhou, a total of five prefectures, but only Jiangzhou is the closest to the river, so

So the Salt Road Department was located in Jiangzhou City.

In terms of official positions, Liang Ruiwen and Xu Haitao are both higher than Ling Xin'an, but they only manage official salt and have no qualifications to manage local affairs.

The same goes for Ling Xin'an. He has the right to manage local affairs, but he does not have the qualifications to sell official salt. This is why he wants to find the Salt Road Division.

Liang Ruiwen supported Chang Xu and said: "I don't know what this son is like now, but he is the grandson of that gentleman, so you and I have to pay attention to him."

Xu Haitao nodded: "It's just Brother Liang. Since he has the secret recipe for refined salt, he can directly submit it to the court. After the emperor's experiment, he will definitely be promoted to an official. He has many generals, and he may be able to surpass that lord.

"

Liang Ruiwen said slowly: "Brother, I am also thinking about why I don't do this, but I want to tell you and me the secret recipe."

Xu Haitao paused and said, "Is it really because of money?"

Liang Ruiwen said: "Do you think it is credible?"

"If it is said that he is doing it for money, Yudi is totally untrustworthy. When he does this, the only thing I can think of is what he said and did before."

Liang Ruiwen looked at Xu Haitao in surprise and said, "Don't you think so too that he really wants to make Jiangzhou Prefecture the most beautiful and livable capital?"

Xu Haitao cried and laughed, "What if? Do you think this kid really did this for his own pocket? Don't forget, there is a man named Ling Mansion in Jinling."

Liang Ruiwen was startled for a moment, then slumped down.

Ling Xin'an was not familiar with the two people from the Salt Road Division, but she just asked Sun Wu to do some research and got the most basic information, so he took the risk to invite them over.

Ling Xin'an is going to carry out the second plan, and this plan is salt. As mentioned before, Ling Xin'an is not qualified to sell official salt. If he wants to sell refined salt, he has to find someone from the Salt Road Department to cooperate.

Now it seems that those two are also very experienced and capable. It is right to think about it. The Salt Road Department is a very high-risk department in any dynasty. Liang Ruiwen and Liang Ruiwen have been immersed in it for nearly twenty years and have not failed.

Xu Haitao and Ling Xin'an can tell with their toes how simple these two people are.

It can be said that they are throwing stones to ask for directions, but the advantage is that they also understand the pros and cons.

Because the profits from refined salt are so huge and astonishing, Liang Ruiwen and Xu Haitao must be aware of this. Otherwise, when they saw the refined salt, they quickly put down their faces and started talking and laughing with Ling Xin'an about cooperation.

.

Ling Xin'an rubbed her forehead and sighed: "Now that you've come, let's make peace with it."

In the next few days, technicians were sent from the Salt Road Department. Liang Ruiwen and Xu Haitao did not show up. Ling Xin'an didn't care. Then he taught them step by step in the backyard how to refine coarse salt from grinding, dissolving, filtering, evaporating, etc.

After the fine salt is produced, different layers of gauze are used to filter the salt of different sizes. Then there are fine salt and refined salt. Even coarse salt is much whiter and more delicate than the official salt now.

Naturally, Ling Xin'an would not teach them every day. After passing it on once or twice, he would just throw the production process he had written to them, not knowing how to look for him again.

At night, Ling Xin'an was sitting in the study. There was a huge map spread out on the table. The map was rough, but it allowed people to clearly see the outline of the entire known world. Ling Xin'an kept inserting marks one by one on it.

There are countless densely packed maps. On the other side of this map, there are the terrain and towns around Qingzhou Prefecture. Ling Xin'an kept looking back and forth between the two maps while writing and drawing on the paper.
Chapter completed!