novelraw Chapter 426: Too Extravagant
Chapter 426: Too Extravagant
The salt craftsmen pushed the salt-laden carts slowly.
They had only traveled a few miles when dawn nearly broke.
Everyone was tired and decided to find a place to rest.
The salt craftsmen took the initiative to lead the way, guiding Xing Honglang and Iron Bird Flies slightly off-course in the northwest direction.
They arrived at an inland lake much smaller than Jie Pond, only about ten miles long and as narrow as two miles wide.
This was Nitrifying Pond.
Since ancient times, the salt produced here had never matched the quality of Jie Pond’s, tasting slightly bitter.
Neither the government nor the common folk produced salt here.
Because the pond water contained too much salt and nitrates, no fish could survive, leaving no fishing villages along its shores.
The area surrounding Nitrifying Pond was utterly desolate.Xing Honglang took one look at the place and loved it immediately!
Secluded from the main roads and devoid of inhabitants, it meant less vulnerability to attacks by officials or marauders.
Here, one could hide and grow discreetly.
Though a bit barren, this wasn’t an issue.
Having lived in Gaojia Village for so long, she shared the mindset cultivated there.
Barren land wasn’t terrifying.
One just needed to summon some laborers, pay fair wages, and before long wasteland could transform into bustling settlements.
This kind of creation out of nothing was precisely what the Deity most delighted in seeing.
The Deity loved seeing people build and build.
Every time something new sprang up, the Deity would beam with happiness.
Would a salt pond count as something new?
…
At the ancient ferry dock that morning!
The common folk sprang from their beds and rushed straight to unload the three large cargo ships…
They cherished this unloading work dearly!
Not only did the employers provide meals, but three jin of flour served as their wage.
More importantly, when they carried the grain from the ships into the dock’s warehouse mound by mound, they felt deep comfort.
Years of drought and starvation had instilled constant dread—fear not just of their own hunger tomorrow, but even that the employers might run out of supplies.
But now, seeing the employers possessed such formidable strength, how could they not rejoice?
As the laborers toiled energetically, the elderly and weak, women and children were equally busy.
The day prior, they had drawn water from the Yellow River into wooden buckets.
By morning, the mud had settled.
They could now scoop the clear top layer to boil for the noodle paste.
Though flour was their sole ingredient, merely eating one’s fill of such fare felt like immeasurable grace.
One deft woman kneaded dough, stretched it, twirled it, then looped it into a shape resembling coiled pastry before dropping it into the pot…
An elderly man beside her couldn’t help laughing and teasing.
“What nonsense are you making? Why form it into twisted pastry? We’re boiling plain water here, not oil!
“Twisted pastry needs frying.”
The woman chuckled awkwardly.
“Haven’t had twisted pastry for years. I craved it, but without oil it can’t be cooked anyway.
“Just shaping it like this for a little fun.”
The old man nodded knowingly.
“Fair point! Let’s pretend this water is oil then.
“Consider boiled noodle paste our twisted pastry—it’ll taste just as fragrant.”
The woman sighed.
“Ah, I truly hope this drought ends soon.
“We could plant rapeseed, press canola oil…then fry us some proper pastry.”
Just as this thought lingered, a roar of cheers erupted from the laborers unloading the ships.
The elder asked in surprise.
“Huh? What happened over there?”
The woman set her dough aside to peer toward the ships.
Then, a burly man leaped down from one vessel clutching an immense jar.
His cry cracked with delighted disbelief.
“Everyone! Look! One ship holds jars—this one’s full of canola oil! Such a huge jar!”
“WOW!”
The others roared in astonishment.
Then, another porter jumped off the boat, carrying two loads of cured meat on his shoulder, with an expression of disbelief on his face. He shouted loudly, “Everyone, look what I’ve unloaded from the boat. It’s meat, cured meat, so fragrant!”
The people nearby made a commotion again.
Not only them, but other porters also gradually discovered that this time the cargo wasn’t just flour. There were only about two and a half boatloads of flour, and on half the boat, they had actually transported some sugar, vegetables, lard, canola oil, cured meat, beef jerky, chicken jerky…
When these things were being unloaded from the boat, the common people of Shanxi stared with eyes wide open.
Was it a mistake?
Several large boatloads of grain already showed an incomprehensible display of strength, but how could Boss Xing have transported these too? What terrifying power was this?
One porter excitedly rushed over to Master Zhan Sheng and laughed heartily, “Master, Master, look quickly, such a big piece of beef jerky, so big, so fragrant, take a sniff…”
“Bang!” Master Zhan Sheng knocked the man to the ground with his staff and scolded, “Poor monk I am a monk. What do you mean by bringing meat for poor monk to sniff?”
The man got up from the ground, looking embarrassed, “Ah, I forgot.”
Although Master Zhan Sheng didn’t eat meat, he knew this much meat represented immense power. He glanced from afar at the cargo ship and looked at Old Nan Feng calmly commanding not far away. He thought to himself: If these people were really salt smugglers, poor monk I would offer my head for them to kick as a ball. That salt smuggler Xing Honglang was just a front they pushed out openly. That became increasingly clear, though he didn’t know what exactly they were plotting.
Sigh! Whatever they were plotting, as long as they weren’t harming people but saving them, it was a deed more virtuous than building a seven-story pagoda.
At that moment, Old Nan Feng carried a large jar of canola oil down from the boat and walked over to the woman who was shaping dough twists. He placed the oil jar into her hands and smiled, “I saw from a distance, you seem to know how to make dough twists?”
The woman nodded quickly, “Military Gentleman, little girl I was born in Yongning Village of Zhangying Township, and everyone in my whole village is skilled at making dough twists.”
Old Nan Feng was overjoyed, “So what are we waiting for? This jar of oil is yours. Hurry up and fry those dough twists. Damn it, I’ve wanted to eat dough twists for many years.”
The woman said, “Military Gentleman, have you also not eaten dough twists for many years? Ah, little girl I haven’t had them for four years now.”
Old Nan Feng laughed, “Only four years? That’s nothing. I haven’t had them for almost ten years.”
The woman said nothing.
Old Nan Feng looked wistful, “It’s been almost ten years since I left this bustling Central Plains… I even dreamt about it… cough… Why am I telling you this? Hurry up and get those dough twists made.”
The woman quickly got to work, setting up another wok and pouring canola oil into it.
Half a wok of oil! So extravagant!
The woman felt a bit nervous. If the oil wok accidentally tipped over, even beheading herself wouldn’t cover the loss. The people nearby clearly thought the same; they all stood far away, afraid their clumsy movements might knock over the wok.
Burn injuries were minor; wasting half a wok of oil was definitely a capital crime! A capital crime!
The oil boiled up.
With trembling hands, the woman stretched the dough, twisted it, formed it into dough twists, and dropped them into the wok, sizzle…
An aroma so delicious it could kill instantly spread everywhere. The sound of Old Nan Feng swallowing his saliva could be clearly heard several yards away.