C174 Salt and the Lifeline of the Nation (1/2)

Although Xiao Wen's food was very sumptuous, having meat and food, he could even eat some pickled vegetables. In ancient times, where there was no refrigerator and no unseasonable vegetables, it was a good life.

Xiao Wen even spent a huge sum of money to buy a bottle of whale oil to replenish his vitamins.

Although Xiao Wen, the five little fellows and Li Zi Cheng, a young man, had a good life, the other guards were not as good.

The guards who were out hunting today were alright, they were all given half a roasted rabbit – the other half would be taken away by the chef to smoke as a reserve.

Those guards who did not go out, or who gained nothing after leaving, could only eat the smoked meat and drink the porridge cooked by the millet.

This was something that they could only eat during festivals in the past.

”Only when I am with Young Master will I be able to make a huge meal of myself!” A guard said with his loud voice to Xiao Wen.

As he said this, he even picked up a bowl of wine and paid his respects to Xiao Wen.

Xiao Wen also raised his glass and politely responded to the guard.

”Speaking of which, Cloud City is far away from the coast, and also far away from Shu County. Where did Mister get so much salt from?” The sensitive Zhuge Liang looked at Xiao Wen. He knew that the reason why everyone was able to be so big was because there were a total of five carriages in the caravan, each with two hundred catties of salt.

Zhuge Liang didn't understand. Every year, the merchants that came and went through the clouds rarely sold salt here.

Every year, in the Cloud County, the amount of salt traded was not even enough for the people there to eat every day.

Many poor families are weak because of a chronic salt deficiency in their diet.

But capital pursues benefits from birth.

In the eyes of those merchants that sold salt, as farmers, the citizens of the cloud did not need that much salt, so it was difficult for them to sell it for a good price.

But nomads were different.

The need of the herdsmen for salt was urgent.

For not only the herdsmen themselves, but also their cattle and sheep, need salt to keep them healthy.

Without salt, their milk production would definitely be reduced.

It could be said that to the herdsmen, salt was equivalent to fertilizer to the farmers.

Because there weren't many salt mines in the Inner Mongolia Great Prairie, the salt needed by the herdsmen was largely dependent on the imports of the merchants of the South.

Therefore, if the merchants were to transport the salt to the grasslands north of the clouds, although there would be some dangers, the profits from selling the salt would also increase by several times.

As a result, Xiao Wen Ming saw that due to the war this year, Shang Jia did not head north, but the herdsmen were anxious about the situation with salt. They took the opportunity to prepare a large amount of salt, planning to make a fortune on the way to Dragon City.

However, this salt was not produced by craftsmen in Song and Ming countries near the sea, but was slightly bitter due to the poor treatment process.

It was also not produced in the Han State of Shu, and was regarded as the well salt of luxury goods that only nobles could afford.

Considering that Zhuge Liang would also be managing the country's internal affairs in the future, Xiao Wen didn't hide his craftsmanship.

He said magnanimously, ”Do you remember the salt I bought earlier, which was used to make ice?”

”Of course.” Back when Xiao Wen had yet to reach great heights, he had worked as an ice maker for He Shen.

At that time, Zhuge Liang had also helped a lot.