Chapter 745: It’s not good to suddenly have money

After the brine production is completed, crystallization will occur. The brine crystallization will occur in the eleventh salt pond. At this time, the brine concentration is at 24 degrees, reaching the standard for salt production.

Every half hour, salt residents will drag a rope and walk along both sides of the salt pool to stir the brine. This is called "brine beating". The purpose is to mix the fresh brine and old brine to make the salt crystals more uniform and delicate.

When the brine enters the last salt pond, it begins to evaporate, and white salt will appear. When the salt reaches a certain thickness in the crystallization pond, the salt pile can be collected.

From the introduction of seawater to the crystallization of salt, the sea salt drying cycle takes about twelve days.

Chao Buzhi introduced to everyone: "Today's Luli Salt Farm can produce 7,000 jins of salt per day. Based on normal production for 100 days a year, the annual output is about 700,000 jins."

"Part of the sea salt produced was crushed, washed, screened, dried and transported to various parts of the Song Dynasty. A considerable part was used as industrial salt to produce soda ash, caustic soda and other chemical products."

Yan Jidao felt a little dizzy after hearing this: "How much revenue can a salt farm bring to the court in a year?"

Chao Buzhi said: "There are about 24,000 guans, half of which will be returned to the court."

Zheng Xia asked: "Can the salt field earn 12,000 gold?"

Chao Buzhi nodded: "Absolutely. Now Luli Salt Farm has organized all the former salt households into employees of the salt farm. The more salt they produce, the higher their income will be."

"The income from the salt farm and the court is basically 50-50. The court's income is 10,000 yuan, and the salt farm's income is also 10,000 yuan."

"Excluding maintenance costs, the income from the salt farm is around 7,000 guan, and the family's annual income can reach 100 guan."

"However, the labor intensity has been much lower than before. After the most arduous work of collecting water has been replaced by irrigation machines, all that is left is to clear the beach, return it to the soil, transport salt, and introduce brine. Normally, the family can cultivate the land and raise crops.

Chickens raise ducks.”

Su You took notes while listening: "Wujiu, please explain in more detail."

Chao Buzhi bowed and gave a salute: "After a long period of soaking in sea water, the soil at the bottom of the salt flat will become soft and have gaps. At this time, the beach needs to be consolidated. The beach consolidation machine is similar to the Bianjing road roller, which hardens the soil in the salt pond.

, can increase the salt production; the entire beach is used twice a year, once in winter, the off-season for salt production, and once in March before summer, the peak season."

"Summer, when the temperature is high and evaporation is high, is the most suitable season for drying salt in the Luli Salt Field. However, the weather at the seaside is changeable during this season, and there are often heavy rainstorms."

"Salt ponds are all open-air. Once it rains, the brine in the salt pond becomes dilute, and the brine production work will be in vain. At this time, it is necessary to introduce the brine into the brine pond next to the salt pond before the rain and cover it with a covering.

"

"When it rains, you also need to check the salt pond to ensure that the rainwater in the salt pond is drained smoothly; after the rain, the brine is introduced from the brine pond into the salt pond to continue making brine."

"In addition, the accumulated salt lumps must be reinforced, compacted, and covered."

"Production matters are roughly these."

Su You nodded: "So now is the season to renovate the salt field?"

Chao Buzhi said: "Exactly, look, they are tamping the salt pond."

On the salt pond, workers were dragging the huge stone roller to crush the salt. Zheng Xia looked at the stone roller and felt very strange: "What kind of stone is that?"

Su You said with a smile: "That's concrete. You need to make a mold first and then mix it with cement slurry and pebbles to cast it. It has to be quarried in the mountains. I'm afraid it still hasn't been completed yet."

Liu Erli is now both the supervisor and the main labor force. When he heard what was said here, he ran over and knelt down: "May I ask which noble person is Su Shaobao?"

Everyone quickly moved away, and Liu Erli kowtowed several times: "Erli thanked Shaobao for saving his life. Shaobao, you saved my life and my mother's..."

Su You quickly helped him up: "It's too far off topic. It's hard to tell. The one who saved you was Chao Buzhi."

Erli said: "Don't worry, Mr. Bao, I will do a good job!"

Su You smiled: "The scale of the salt farm in Luli is still small. Learn the craft quickly. Maybe you can become a member in the future."

Liu Erli waved his hands repeatedly: "If someone like Lu Peipi is a member of the Communist Party of China, Erli would rather not be a member of the Communist Party of China."

Su You said: "Okay, they say that poor people plan to get rich but have a conscience. If I can keep my heart in mind, then I will be truly rich. How is my wife at home now?"

Liu Erli wiped away his tears: "Okay, now I don't have to boil salt. I can lead my family to cook the meals. The work is much easier."

After speaking, he asked again: "Shaobao, Luli should be one of the largest salt fields in the Song Dynasty now, right? Why did you just say that it is still... very small?"

Su You looked at the people around him: "Erli, do you know how many people there are in our Song Dynasty?"

Liu Erli shook his head.

Su You said: "As far as I know, at least 90 million."

Not only Liu Erli was dumbfounded, but everyone else was dumbfounded: "So many?"

Su You said: "One pound of salt for adults and half for children. Based on this calculation, the Song Dynasty had to produce 900 million pounds of salt a year to meet normal needs."

Liu Erli's eyes were full of circles: "Nine hundred million catties, how much is this..."

Su You was too lazy to explain and patted him on the shoulder: "Anyway, do your best."

After comforting him a few words and sending him to continue clearing the beach, Yan Jidao asked: "Mingrun, how much salt does our Song Dynasty produce in a year now?"

Su You said: "In a good year, it can reach 300 million kilograms a year, so in places like Luli Saltworks, more than 800 kilograms can be eaten by the consumer market."

Yan Jidao was a little frightened: "Then...how much...is that?"

Chao Buzhi said: "If we calculate thirty-five liters per catty of salt, 600 million catties is a gap of 21 million guan."

"No wonder I am so rampant in salt smuggling!" Yan Jidao nodded, and then suddenly realized: "Twenty million guan! Then...then...the half-profit of the imperial court is also a surplus of 10 million guan?"

Su You laughed loudly: "How can it be so simple?! If we have to rely on Zhejiang salt to enter Sichuan, the imperial court's extra income may not be enough to fill the road!"

"This is a very complex issue. Now that salt prices are linked to banknotes, a sudden burst of production capacity will lead to too much banknotes on the market and rising prices."

"This will also create a serious economic imbalance between the east, west, north and south regions. If there is only one pound of salt per meter in central Zhejiang, but there is still one pound of salt per meter in Shaanxi and Hebei, what will happen?"

Yan Jidao felt that his brain was not strong enough: "What's going on?"

Su You looked at Cai Jing: "Yuan Chang, please tell me."

Cai Jing held up his hands and said: "It will cause central Zhejiang to exchange a large amount of salt for a large amount of resources across the country, causing all resources to concentrate towards the already wealthy southeast. But what will happen to the northwest and the Hebei front line that are really urgently needed? What will happen to the Song Dynasty?

?”

"The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer; the south is getting richer, and the north is getting poorer; on the enemy's side, there is a lack of food and clothing, the people's livelihood is poor, and the military is difficult; the counties in the east of the Yangtze River are far away from worries, and they are in peace and luxury, and the civil and military are active...

""

Yan Jidao thought for a moment and his face turned pale with fright: "It's too scary."

Su You spread his hands: "So, suddenly getting rich is not a good thing, right? The consequences of uneven development are sometimes even more terrifying than widespread poverty."

After speaking, his eyes flickered: "Especially when the places where poverty is common are still under the eye of enemy countries..."

Yan Jidao became anxious: "Shaanxi is fine. Hebei! Now I'm heading towards Hebei!"

Su You said: "Yes, so when you publish newspapers, you must also make a good appeal to let the court pay attention to the last major shortcomings of the Song Dynasty."

In September, the territorial negotiations in Daibei were overdue and the Liao State sent Xiao Xi back to speak.

Jiayin ordered the Privy Council to discuss border defense.

Wang Shao and Li Xian returned to the court, and Zhao Xu worshiped Wang Shao as the Deputy Privy Envoy. The people in the capital called Wang Shao the "Three Wonderful Deputy Envoys" because of his "wonderful strategies, extraordinary achievements, and extraordinary rewards."
Chapter completed!