Chapter 325
Chapter 325
They returned directly to Beizhen City with some salt.
Shen Qingzhu was surprised by it and immediately caught several rabbits for experiments.
Several days later, the results showed it was not poisonous.
“It is no different from ordinary salt except in color.”
Ji Yan’an relaxed at the news.
They now had a salt source and could package the unusual color as something special to sell at high prices to wealthy buyers.
“Then I can arrange for people to extract it.”
But firewood was difficult to obtain there.
“I checked on our return. There are almost no trees within fifty li. Boiling salt requires enormous quantities of dry wood…”
“You don’t need that.”
Jiang Yunsui had appeared without anyone noticing.
“You can dry it in the sun.”
Everyone immediately looked at her.
“But you’ll need special salt pans…”
She explained how to evaporate the brine in the sun, though even she did not fully understand it.
Nanshu was already frantically taking notes.
He had learned not to ask why when Jiang Yunsui described such methods, because she did not know either.
They only needed to record her words and try them. Success was best; failure meant learning from experience and continuing.
Jiang Yunsui gave them shortcuts in many matters, but whether those paths worked depended on their own effort.
Jiang Yunsui was perfectly satisfied with this.
Do not ask. She did not know.
Later, she would instead bombard Ji Yan’an and the others with endless questions.
And she did not want to repeat herself!
After finishing, Jiang Yunsui hugged Milk Tea and buried her face deeply in its feathers.
Nanshu finished writing and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Fortunately, he was quick enough with his pen.
If he asked later, the little girl would lose her temper.
Ji Yan’an extended a hand, and Nanshu immediately gave him the written method.
After a quick glance, Ji Yan’an issued orders.
“Send several craftsmen together and assign more trustworthy hands. Keep the location secret for now and build the salt pans first.”
The field was important. It would determine future output and represented a new extraction method. If it worked without firewood, everything would be far easier.
Drying salt remained bitter, exhausting work.
Fortunately, she did not have to do it.
With her hands behind her back, Jiang Yunsui strolled away.
She was going to eat peaches.
Some peaches would be gifted and a few kept for eating, though not many, since the fruit near the residence was enough for them.
She would not sell the rest. She wanted to make wine.
She could not make Monkey Wine, but she could try various fruit wines.
The Monkey Wine they had brought back had been divided. She did not know how much Ji Yan’an had left, while Fat Chef’s old friends occasionally came to share his.
Even drinking sparingly, they had almost none left.
Fat Grandpa and his friends loved wine, so Jiang Yunsui planned to make plenty of fruit wine.
After making peach wine according to her Inherited Memories, the grapes were nearly ripe too.
“Are the cups I ordered ready?”
Jiang Yunsui ran to the glass workshop.
She had drawn modern wine bottles and stemmed glasses from her previous world.
Wine jars worked well enough, but they were less beautiful than glass bottles.
Glass bottles fully displayed wine’s color.
So did stemmed glasses.
One jar of last year’s grape wine remained. This year’s was not yet brewed, but there was peach blossom wine.
Peach blossom wine was pale pink, a youthful color girls would surely like.
At least Jiang Yunsui loved its color.
She could now drink a little rice wine but dared not drink anything strong.
Yet she loved the colors of wine. Simply admiring a successful brew satisfied her.
By contrast, strong clear liquor looked like water and did not appeal to her.
“They’re ready. Fifty bottles: thirty tall and twenty short, plus twenty glass wine cups.”
After so much practice, the craftsmen could now shape glass into flowers and animals.
Bottles and cups were not difficult.
Delighted, Jiang Yunsui summoned Ji Si to carry everything away, but Master Yang stopped her.
“Miss Jiang, may I ask you something?”
At such a sincere request, Jiang Yunsui immediately assumed the manner of a little adult.
“Ask first.”
Let me see whether I can answer. If not, I will pretend I did not hear.
Master Yang said, “We can make glass flowers and animals now, but transparent glass alone always seems lacking. Can anything change its color? Other colors would make our work more lifelike and beautiful.”
Jiang Yunsui stroked her chin. “Let me think.”
She was actually searching her Inherited Memories.
Fortunately, she soon found the answer.
“Got it. Try adding ores. Gold, silver, copper, and iron could all work. Find several ores and fire them with the glass. You can see for yourselves what colors result.”
Under Master Yang’s grateful gaze, she strutted away with her head and chest held high.
The moment she arrived home, she had Ji Si take out the bottles.
“Quick, wash them. I want to fill them with wine.”
Once filled, she would give Ji Yan’an an enormous surprise.
Ji Si spoke little and silently worked.
Shuqin and Shuhua came to help.
After washing the bottles, they opened the final jar of last year’s grape wine.
She had specially saved it and refused to sell everything.
A funnel prevented spills.
As the purplish-red liquid flowed into clear glass, everyone’s eyes widened.
“So beautiful!”
Shuqin and Shuhua loved it.
“The clear glass shows every bit of the wine’s beautiful color.”
“If we’d had these bottles last year, Purple Jade Dew could have sold for even more.”
After all, the glasses alone were valuable now.
Jiang Yunsui planted her hands on her hips, bursting with pride.
“I’m amazing, right?”
Shuqin and Shuhua nodded at once. “No one is more amazing than you, Young Mistress.”
Huohuo was hardly the only vain creature who loved praise. Jiang Yunsui was the same.
The grape wine filled all thirty tall bottles.
They kept the remaining wine in its jar until more bottles were made.
The short, round bottles resembled little wine jars and looked rather cute. They were meant for peach blossom wine.
Stoppers had also been made. Once a bottle was filled, they only had to press one in.
Perfect!
“All done!”