Previously, Suo Lun’s understanding of Rocky Island was still rather superficial.
After actually arriving here, he discovered that the natural environment was even better than he had imagined. Moreover, there was not much rainfall throughout the year in this place, and the conditions for sun exposure were extremely high.
Although it was now late summer, this place was located in the southeast. Even when it reached late autumn, the temperature would still remain at a high of twenty to thirty degrees.
Furthermore, there were constant sea breezes all year round, so salt could be dried by the sun almost throughout the four seasons.
Therefore, opening up salt drying fields here was the best choice.
Suo Lun was a liberal arts student and did not have much understanding of science and engineering subjects. His knowledge of salt drying fields came only from a very accidental opportunity.
Because he was an art student, he had to go everywhere for sketching. Perhaps because he felt his own mind was not broad enough, he particularly liked open and empty places such as grasslands and seashores.
Once, he unintentionally passed by a large salt field. Looking at the vast expanse of white salt on it, which looked like a blanket of pure white snow, he was immediately moved.
Therefore, he not only painted at the salt field but also shot many short videos.
However, at that time his attention was entirely focused on visual impact. For example, the spectacular sight of the salt field, or how the white salt looked like accumulated snow, or the wonderful moments of salt crystallisation.
As for the structure of the salt field or the theory of sun drying salt, he really had not paid much attention.
As a result, when he was now planning the salt field blueprints, he had to try hard to recall the scene at that time and even add his own imagination.
However, the so called sun drying of salt was more of a conceptual breakthrough and did not involve any very profound theory.
It was simply a matter of channelling seawater into ponds, then one pond after another, divided into evaporation ponds and crystallisation ponds. The further back the ponds, the more concentrated the brine became. Finally, when crystallising, it seemed one had to wait for the salt sediment to settle, the brine to rise, and then drain the water away.
As for how to purify the final coarse salt and make it snow white, he could not quite remember either. It seemed there was recrystallisation involved, and one had to use alkali or similar substances.
Also, the final crystallisation ponds definitely needed to be protected from rainwater, and the bottom needed to be protected against leakage and so on.
And so on. In short, Suo Lun wrote down everything he could think of and arranged a reasonable construction schedule for the entire salt field construction.
Moreover, regarding salt field output, Suo Lun roughly understood that on modern Earth, the annual output of a ten thousand mu salt field was over tens of thousands of tons. Even in the nineteenth century, it was still over several thousand tons.
And how many salt fields could be opened up in the northern part of Rocky Island? No less than one hundred thousand mu!
Therefore, even using the most backward method, the final output would still be tens of thousands of tons.
…
Upon hearing Suo Lun propose changing from boiling salt to sun drying salt, the salt slave leaders present said nothing out loud, but in their hearts they completely could not believe it.
This master before their eyes was simply indulging in wild fantasies. For over a thousand years, from their ancestors onwards, it had always been boiling salt. They had never heard of any sun drying salt. Besides, how could the sun dry up seawater? How was it possible to produce salt by sun drying?
Not only did the salt slaves present not believe it, but even Suo Mu and the other family warrior leaders did not dare to believe it much either.
However, this master of theirs had already performed too many miracles, so although they did not dare to believe it, they also did not dare to doubt him.
They would only think that if salt could really be produced by sun drying, then why had no one ever done it before?
But Suo Lun did not need them to believe right now. He was the supreme master. Even if nothing was gained, as long as he gave an order, the one hundred family warriors and the more than one thousand salt slaves here must obey unconditionally.
“I know you do not understand and are full of doubts, but that does not matter. You only need to obey orders.” Suo Lun said: “Did you hear that?”
“Yes!” Whether the family warrior leaders or the salt people leaders, everyone shouted in unison.
“I order that from today onwards, the first batch of experimental salt fields shall be opened up, with a total area of five hundred mu. It must be completed within twenty days.” Suo Lun gave the order directly: “Can it be completed?”
The family warrior leaders and salt people leaders present had no concept at all of the so called five hundred mu salt fields.
But as long as the master gave an order, even if it could not be completed, it must be completed.
“Yes!” Everyone shouted in unison.
Of course the so called five hundred mu salt fields sounded like a lot, but in reality most of the salt fields only needed a large flat pit to be dug.
The most difficult part was the final crystallisation ponds. To prevent seepage, they needed to be paved with flat stone slabs.
Next, Suo Lun began a detailed division of labour.
There were now a total of one hundred family warriors and more than one thousand five hundred salt people on the island. So Suo Lun divided them into one hundred small groups and ten large groups.
One warrior leading fifteen salt people formed one small group. Each mid to high level warrior managed ten small groups.
Construction tasks were specifically assigned to each small group.
Some were responsible for digging ditches, some for digging salt fields, some for transporting soil, and some for quarrying stone slabs.
In short, the division of labour for each group was very clear, and the tasks were very clear. Whichever group could not complete the task would be punished.
This division of labour meeting lasted a full day and night.
Fortunately these family warriors had received advanced education since childhood and were almost equally skilled in both civil and military affairs. Managing more than a dozen salt people was completely easy for them.
And these salt people were of slave origin. Although they were not clever, they obeyed orders completely and unconditionally.
Therefore, this kind of team was the most reasonable and perfect match.
…
On the third day, he still let these more than one thousand salt people, whose bodies had been injured by hunger, rest for a full day and do a small amount of strength recovery training.
On the fourth day, although these salt people’s bodies had not fully recovered, under Suo Lun’s order the entire Rocky Island entered a frenzy of construction.
Everyone joined in, more than one hundred family warriors and more than one thousand adult salt people.
The remaining old, weak and young salt people were responsible for logistics and cooking.
The entire northern part of Rocky Island completely turned into a bustling primitive construction site. Everyone was sweating profusely and working desperately.
Moreover, under the command of more than one hundred high quality warriors, everything was in perfect order.
These family warriors had an almost abnormal pursuit of honour. Although they did not know what use the master had for digging these salt fields or whether the so called sun drying salt method would actually work.
But they only knew one thing: the lord’s orders must be completed, whether understood or not.
Once they could not complete it, they would have to make a public self criticism and receive punishment from the lord, which was completely unacceptable.
On that isolated mountain on the south bank of the Nu River, in order to wash away their disgrace they had even been willing to die. Now, for the honour of warriors, they drove every salt person almost frantically and also took on the most difficult parts of the work themselves.
And these more than one thousand salt people had long been trained to the extreme and only knew how to obey orders. Moreover, under the temptation of three full meals a day, every single one of them worked as if staking their lives on it.
Furthermore, this place was all saline alkali land with loose soil, so digging ponds was the simplest thing.
The most difficult part was the final crystallisation ponds, which needed stone slabs laid underground to prevent seepage. But on Rocky Peninsula there was no shortage of anything else, only stones in abundance.
At this time, the opportunity for those dragon strength type warriors to show off had arrived. Holding gold plated black gold greatswords worth over one hundred gold coins, they slashed down fiercely at the stones and produced complete smooth stone slabs.
…
In this almost frenzied state of work, more than one thousand six hundred people opened up the first batch of five hundred mu experimental salt fields in just thirteen days.
Although it was very crude, all the necessary functions were present and all the necessary ponds were there.
The final crystallisation ponds were all paved with smooth stone slabs, and the gaps between the slabs were tightly sealed.
This was the power of the collective. In fact, everyone present did not know what the master wanted to do, and they completely did not believe that the so called salt fields they had opened up could produce salt.
But they had still completed the task assigned by Suo Lun well ahead of schedule.
After the first batch of salt fields was opened up, most of the people immediately went to open up the second batch of salt fields.
One hundred people were left behind to begin the first sun drying of salt on this batch of salt fields.
Under Suo Lun’s order, taking advantage of the high tide, dozens of people chiselled open the ditches and channelled seawater into the evaporation ponds.
Looking at the surging seawater pouring into the evaporation ponds, Suo Lun murmured to himself in his heart: “My gold coins, my foundation, will all come from here.”
In this way, the first batch of sun dried salt on Suo Lun’s territory officially began!
Everyone on the entire Rocky Island paid full attention around the clock. Because whether sun drying salt could succeed was completely related to the survival of the Suo clan.
…
Time passed day by day. These more than one hundred salt people, completely following Suo Lun’s orders, channelled the brine step by step into new salt ponds. They continuously filtered it, continuously evaporated it, and continuously introduced new seawater.
Although many mistakes occurred in the middle, most of them were because Suo Lun’s orders were wrong. But everything proceeded in an orderly manner through exploration.
In less than ten days, the highest concentration brine finally entered the final crystallisation ponds.
These crystallisation ponds had consumed everyone’s greatest effort and were all paved with flat stones.
Whether it would succeed or not depended on these two days.
Even Suo Lun could not help but pray secretly that it must not rain, because he had not even prepared a large amount of protective tarpaulin yet. If it rained, all previous efforts would be wasted.
Whether it was because heaven was giving face or because it simply would not rain even if it wanted to here, the following time remained clear for ten thousand miles with not a single drop of rain.
The sun exposure conditions these few days were really explosively good. Not to mention no rain at all.
The sun blazed fiercely and the sea wind blew wildly. The daily temperature was at least around thirty to forty degrees.
The middle of the night was when the temperature was lowest each day, and also the best time for the brine to crystallise. The salt sediment gradually settled and the brine gradually rose.
“Drain the water.” Under Suo Lun’s order, dozens of salt people immediately used bamboo tubes to drain the floating brine into the ditches dug beside.
Whether salt could be successfully produced and crystallised was completely related to the survival of the Suo clan. Therefore, at this moment the entire salt field was filled with a suffocating tension.
And Suo Ningbing and Ye Jingyu were already so nervous that they could not sleep. Ignoring Suo Lun’s urging, they sat by the crystallisation ponds overnight.
It was as if in this way heaven would sense their sincere devotion and allow Suo Lun to succeed.
Moreover, not only Suo Ningbing and Ye Jingyu, but also the family warrior leaders and the salt people leaders, regardless of having to work early the next day, all waited by the crystallisation ponds.
Waiting, it was anxious waiting.
“I will go to sleep first. Wake me up when the salt crystallises and comes out.” Suo Lun said, then walked towards the small castle.
As for Suo Ningbing, her beautiful eyes stared fixedly at the crystallisation ponds. She was unwilling to go back to sleep no matter what.
…
Suo Lun was sleeping soundly when he was suddenly awakened by Ye Jingyu’s voice. He looked up and saw that the sky was just beginning to brighten.
“Salt has come out, it really has come out.” Ye Jingyu’s voice carried incomparable excitement and wild joy.
Suo Lun immediately got up and rushed towards the salt fields.
At this time, the edge of the crystallisation ponds was already surrounded by people. Dozens of people were already inside the ponds, continuously pushing the salt.
Under the pushing of the wooden boards, layers upon layers of snow white salt piled up, more and more, more and more.
Everyone around the salt fields was completely stunned.
So the sun really could produce salt by drying. So this was how it was done.
Immediately, the gazes that the Suo clan family warriors and the salt people directed at Suo Lun were filled with infinite fanaticism.
Once again, once again, their master had once again created a miracle.
Dozens of people, carrying疯狂 joy, began to harvest sea salt on the crystallisation fields.
Two hours later, the final output came out. It immediately left everyone completely stunned. This, this was simply too unbelievable!
This was not white salt at all, but shining yellow gold coins.