Before coming to Yindao, Qin Zheng, Wang Yunpeng and others made up some knowledge about salt making. The top novel, because salt making has always been one of the killers of time travel, the relevant knowledge is very rich. In the database established by time travelers, there are detailed process instructions whether it is the salt cooking method or the salt drying method. I know that this process is called "piling ash and sucking brine".

Because the salt content of seawater is not high, the average concentration is only 7‰, seawater cannot be used directly whether it is boiling salt or drying salt. This is too low in salt yield. Therefore, the seawater must be made into a brine with a higher salinity before the next step of salt making and crystallization is carried out to increase the efficiency of salt production. The process of making brine is called "piling ash and swelling".

In the salt production data, the process of "piling ash and swelling" is explained in detail. It is to soak sea water with wood ash to absorb enough salt. Of course, fine sea sand can also replace wood ash and spread it in the sun to dry out salt flowers. Then lay a layer of straw on the brine pool, and pile the wood ash or mud sand that has absorbed enough salt on the straw. This is called "piling ash". Then, the clean sea water that has been precipitated and treated is poured onto the ash. This process is "piling ash". The sea water absorbs the salt in the ash sufficiently, and filters out impurities through the straw and flows into the brine pool. It becomes the raw material for salt making - brine, which can be used to cook salt or dry salt. Sometimes, in order to increase the salinity of the brine, two or three times the "piling ash and swelling" process is carried out. However, Qin Zheng also noticed that the salt field used to drain the brine field is not sea water, but the well water dug from several wells in the salt field.

After watching for a while, Qin Zheng walked to the stove to take a closer look. He saw a large iron pot with a diameter of about one meter was installed on each stove. Some were filled with water and steaming, while others had crystalline salt in it. Two people took turns to shovel and kept shoveling it in the pot. In addition, some people added firewood to the stove, some added water to the pot, some put the salt into the stove, and some people put it next to the stove, and some people transported it to the warehouse door to store. Although it was the end of December and the weather was cold, the temperature in the shed was quite high, and coupled with heavy labor, the people who fryed the salt were shirtless and sweating all over. Some people sat on the side to rest and drink water.

After looking at the stove for a while, Qin Zheng looked at the several buckets of salt that had been made on the side. The salt was white in color, which was not much different from the salt in the old time and space. He dipped it a little in his mouth to try the taste, and felt that it seemed to have a little bitterness in the salty taste. This is also a normal phenomenon, because the salt also contains other mineral ingredients, so it has some bitterness.

Of course, this is not a problem in the old time and space. The salt produced can be processed and purified by chemical processes to eliminate the bitterness in the salt. In this era, it can only be solved by people. It is said that experienced braised makers can control the brine to the advantage and reduce the bitterness of salt to the minimum.

However, the yield of salt is low, the labor amount is large, and the resources are consumed. Because salt boils consumes a lot of firewood or coal, if you want to produce salt on a large scale, you must use the salt drying method to make salt. Of course, the quality of salt boils is better than that of salt drying. Since the main component of salt is sodium chloride, the solubility of sodium chloride is similar in boiling water and room temperature, while other impurities are much more solubility in boiling water. This leads to the fact that when the brine is boiled, sodium chloride is preferred to crystallize, while most of the other impurities are still in the mother liquor. However, if it is in the drying method, due to the low temperature, the solubility of sodium chloride and impurities is similar. At this time, the crystallized salt is mixed with many impurities, and the purity is lower than that of boiling.

According to the information provided by Cheng Shishuo, Yin Island should have a salt drying process. Yin Island was finally connected to the mainland, and from an isolated island in the sea to a peninsula, it was directly related to salt drying. Because salt drying requires the construction of a large number of salt fields on the seaside, the salt fields continued to expand to the seaside, slowly filling the strait between Yin Island and the mainland, and Yin Island was connected to the mainland.

At this moment, Han Gaocheng attracted an old man about fifty years old. When he met Qin Zheng, he said, "Qin Junmen, this is the manager of the salt field, named Han Yuqing. If you have anything to do with this salt field, just ask him."

Han Yuqing gave Qin Zheng a bow and said, "Xiaomin has seen the military gate."

Qin Zheng nodded and smiled, "Old man, you have lived a long life this year. How many years have you worked in this salt farm?"

Han Yuqing said: "If you go back to the army, the villain is fifty years old this year. He worked in the salt farm at the age of fifteen. He worked for thirty-eight years. He started from an apprentice, fetching water, chopping firewood, burning fire, pile ash, and pouring brine, and he did the main work step by step."

Qin Zheng couldn't help but feel a little respectful and said, "It's not easy to work for thirty-eight years. Who else is there in the family? Are your wife okay? How many children do you have and Sun Jie?"

Although Han Yuqing was a little surprised, because Yin Island is located in a remote location, it is generally difficult to see a high-ranking official. The county magistrate has not been here for several years. The Book Office is an amazing official. According to Han Gaocheng, Qin Zheng is at least an admiral. It can be said that this is the largest official who has been to Yin Island in the past. However, such a big man is much easier-minded than the Book Office. He actually got married with him. But he still honestly replied: "The villain's wife is at home, with two sons, who have been married for several years. Each of them has a boy. Now one works in the salt, the other goes to sea to fish for fishing, and a daughter. She gets married the year before and will have a baby next year."

Qin Zheng laughed and said, "You are so lucky to have a lot of children and grandchildren?"

Han Yuqing hurriedly said, "There are all blessings for the military lords."

After a while of family matters, Qin Zheng turned to the topic and said, "How many salt fields are there like this on this island?"

Han Yuqing said: "Reporting to the military gate, our Yin Island has produced salt for more than 2,000 years, with more than 50 salt farms of all sizes and sizes. Our Hanjia Village has 8 salt farms. Each other village has salt farms, but the number is different. Some villages have three or five salt farms, and some villages only have one. However, in terms of scale, it is our Langjun salt farm with the largest salt farm and the most salt production."

Qin Zheng said again: "How much salt can you produce in your salt farm in a day?"

Han Yuqing said: "We have a total of 112 stoves in our salt farm. However, it is less than two months before the New Year. Many people go to Jiaozhou to buy New Year's goods. In addition, this year, there are fewer merchants coming to buy salt. Therefore, there are less than 60 stoves now, and less than 10 stones of salt can be produced per day. If all stoves are used, brine can be supplied at most. The salt production can reach more than 20 stones per day. The villain remembers that the most salt production is 23 stones, 7 buckets and 3 liters a day."

After hearing this, Qin Zheng took out his mobile phone and calculated that one stone is about 65 kilograms. The salt farm produces about 240 tons of salt per year. There are 50 salt fields in the island. The output of each salt field is equivalent to that of Langjun Salt Field, and it produces 12,000 tons of salt per year. Considering that this is the largest salt field in Yindao, the overall output must be reduced by at least 30%. In this way, the estimated salt production is about 7\8,000 tons per year.

If this output is eaten, it will be acceptable, but salt is not just eaten. In the chemical industry, such as making chemical products such as chlorine, bleaching powder, caustic soda, soda ash, etc., a large amount of salt is required. Although industrial salt is different from edible salt, it is still processed from edible salt. Therefore, in the near future, time travelers will need a large amount of finished salt.

According to the information provided by Cheng Shishuo, after Yindao fully popularized salt drying, the annual output could reach about 35,000 tons during the Republic of China period. After the liberation, the introduction of machine production could reach nearly 100,000 tons. Therefore, there is still a lot of room for improvement in salt production in Yindao now.

Wang Yunpeng said, "I think the water you use to drip is well water, not sea water. Why is that?"

Although he did not know Wang Yunpeng's identity, seeing him and Qin Zheng standing side by side, he was obviously not a small official. Han Yuqing smiled and said, "Reply to this master, the well water here is mostly connected to the sea water. The salt in the mud and sand is absorbed in the well, and the salt in the mud and sand is saltier than the sea water, and it is cleaner than the sea water after being deposited in the well. Therefore, boiling salt with well water requires more salt to make the sea water, and the quality is better than the salt boiled in the sea water."

Wang Yunpeng nodded, and had to admire the wisdom of the working people in ancient times. Although they did not understand any scientific knowledge, they still could not underestimate the wisdom they had accumulated for thousands of years.

At this time, Qin Zheng asked again: "Is there all salt on the Yin Islands boiled? Is there anyone who drys salt?"

Han Yuqing was stunned and said, "Our ancestors have been cooking salt for generations, and no one has ever done anything to dry salt." After a meal, he said, "Drying salt requires good weather. Only the climate in the south can dry salt. Our Yin Islands are distinct in four seasons, summer is hot and winter is cold. There are only 4 or 5 months of salt in a year. Just like in the current season, although it is not dripping water to turn into ice, it is also cold. How can we dry salt?

Qin Zheng heard that although Han Yuqing's words made some sense, the cold weather was not a reason for not being able to dry salt, because in the old time and space, Yin Islands actually used the salt-salt method to make salt. Many northern cities in China also used the salt-salt method to make salt, which means that in cold temperate areas, the salt-salt method can also be used. Moreover, Yin Islands have a marine climate, and are actually not cold in winter, with an average temperature above zero degrees. The current daily temperature is still above 4 or 5 degrees. In theory, such weather can also dry salt, but the speed of salt-salt is slower. However, Qin Zheng only has theoretical knowledge of the salt-salt method, but lacks practical experience, so he can't explain the reason.

At this moment, a young man next to Han Yuqing suddenly interrupted: "Uncle Qing, didn't the two boys from Uncle Eight build salt fields in Changmen Beach to dry salt? They have built two pairs of Douzi salt fields, and salt was released last month."
Chapter completed!