Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 512 Fifty thousand... ten thousand
  Gu Xun didn't know whether Qi Wangjian was telling the truth. Logically speaking, as the king of Qi and someone who knew clearly about the existence of Canglong Qisu, it was impossible for him not to know some valuable inside information, but... He doesn't want to say it, and there's no need to bother himself by saying he doesn't know anything...

The atmosphere between the two of them was quite good. He could have just said that it was not convenient for him to answer, just like Gu Xun did when he answered his origin. Deliberately deceiving with lies would be a worse approach.

After a moment of silence, the atmosphere between the two became slightly awkward. Finally, it was Gu Xun who broke the silence first:

"Well...since His Majesty doesn't know, forget it. It just so happens that Gu has another business that he wants to discuss with you."

"Business?" Qi Wangjian smiled, to ease his stiffness, and asked with interest, "Mr. Gu, what business do you want to discuss with me? Uh... it's like when he was in Xinzheng, he made... medicines Business?”

If it's that kind of business, don't say anything.

Qi Wangjian didn't say this sentence, but the look in his eyes and the polite smile expressed this meaning.

It's not that he doesn't want to earn this money, on the contrary, he is very clear about the benefits of the small pill. It is a huge profit for Qi Guo, the richest man in the seven countries, and everyone is greedy for it.

But the problem is... there is a saying that this thing is not on the table. If you want to do this business, it is best to go to the people below. It would be inappropriate to talk directly to him, the King of Qi.

Qi Wangjian felt that his attitude should be easy-going, not casual...

Gu Xun quickly explained, "It's not that thing. The one with limited output cannot make a business."

"Huh?" Qi Wangjian waited patiently for Gu Xun's next words.

"It's salt."

Gu Xun told the real answer, but it aroused even greater doubts from Qi Wangjian, "???"

"Mr. Gu, do you want to buy salt?"

You can't ask him, the number one salt dealer in the Seven Kingdoms, to sell salt, right?

"No, no," Gu Xun quickly explained, "It's a better technology for refining salt from seawater."

"What I want to trade with His Majesty is this kind of technology."

"Technology..." Qi Wangjian showed an incomprehensible smile. Salt production is the largest source of income for our country of Qi. The technology for refining salt still needs... "Can you tell me more specifically?"

Well, Qi Wangjian found that he didn’t understand any technology at all. Isn’t salt just what’s left after boiling sea water? How else can it be excellent?

"Uh..." Gu Xun organized his words and roughly explained, "It basically means that salt can be precipitated from seawater more efficiently, and the quality of the salt will also be improved to a considerable extent. To put it simply, it can be more efficient. It produces better salt more quickly and makes it easier to further refine the salt.”

The refined salt Gu Xun mentioned is of course not the modern quality of table salt, but in this era, compared to coarse salt with more impurities, table salt is much finer. The most straightforward difference is that in appearance, coarse salt Salt is yellowish, while refined salt is much whiter. It is mainly obtained by purifying coarse salt using various stupid methods, and it is very difficult to make.

There is no shortage of food in this world, and spices are surprisingly abundant. Naturally, there is no shortage of necessities such as salt. However, most people still eat coarse salt with an average taste, and refined salt is much more expensive.

What Gu Xun uses on weekdays, or uses in large restaurants when eating out, is the highest quality refined salt. Basically, it tastes no different from modern table salt. Of course, the price is very impressive, and so on. The weight of gold is about the same...

After hearing the explanation, Qi Wangjian's eyes lit up and emitted a light called wealth. As a monarch, he would naturally not study the issue of salt production, so even if Gu Xun explained it, the concept in his cognition was still very vague, but he could calculate the most basic accounts clearly, let alone the improvement of quality. Just the increase in output means that salt profits can directly increase by a percentage.

Even if it can only increase by 10%, it can bring at least tens of thousands of gold in additional income every year!
  "Sir, please tell me in detail, by how much can the output be increased?" "Ah... this..." Gu Xun scratched his head, how could this make any sense?

He is not a professional in salt production, nor is he a student of history, so how would he know the efficiency gap between the salt frying method and the salt drying method?

"I'm not sure how much the specific improvement will be, but it's definitely a lot, at least 10% to 20%." Gu Xun assured.

Although I don’t know the details, the frying salt method is thousands of years behind the sun-dried salt method. Even if the salt production in this world is already high, the gap is definitely not small, and there is also a quality gap.

It's shameful to say that the dozens of 'essential tips for time travellers' that he memorized when he was bored back then have now forgotten only the salt-making method, which is simple in process and closely related to high school chemistry, uh... and... The simpler method of making ice with saltpeter will have to find a customer to sell it later.

"Uh..." Gu Xun's words were so vague that Qi Wangjian didn't know how to respond.

Logically speaking, he didn't think Gu Xun would use such troublesome methods to defraud him of Qi State's money, but after all, Jade Tiger had a history of being defrauded, and this was not a small business, so he couldn't make a decision casually.

King Qi Jian wanted to let Gu Xun give the proof first, but he couldn't say it. Fortunately, Gu Xun took the initiative himself:
  "Well, His Majesty King Qi, I can tell you the salt-making process first, and you can go find the salt-making craftsman to test the effect. How about it?"

Qi Wangjian was confident and laughed, "Mr. Gu is so generous, so I won't be polite to you, but don't worry, even if the business is not concluded, I will absolutely guarantee that your technology will not be leaked."

In fact, this is a vague and beautifying statement. Qi Wangjian just ensured that he would not directly kick Gu Xun aside after acquiring the technology.

Gu Xun grinned, noncommittal.

He doesn't care at all whether Qi Guoguo will have some evil ideas - if you are willing to do this business normally, then I will be a serious businessman, with one hand of money and goods, and both money and goods. If you don't want to... I have a lot of collections. Final payment method.

After finishing what he said before, Qi Wangjian began to ask about Gu Xun's charging standards. After all, he looked so sworn in, so he was probably reliable, and he could tentatively decide on a transaction plan in advance.

"I don't know about this technology. How much does Mr. Gu plan to price it for?"

Gu Xun spread his hands and kicked the ball back, "How much does your Majesty think this skill is worth?"

Qi Wangjian squinted his eyes and thought for a while, stretched out a hand, spread his fingers, and replied word for word, "If it is as Mr. Guo said, the output can be increased by 10% or 20%, and the quality will be improved." Raise the price, I am willing to make a one-time offer - five hundred thousand gold!"

　About salt production

　　In the pre-Qin period, there should be three main sources of salt: sea salt, well salt, and lake salt. Cliff salt also existed, but there should be very little.

　　Among them, well salt is mainly produced in Shu, which is returned to the Qin State. It is basically enough, but it cannot be sold for much money.

　　The lake salt mainly belonged to the Jin State. Later, the three Jin Dynasties were divided. Later, the three Jin Dynasties lost most of the land in the west, and the lake salt also belonged to the Qin State.

　　Haiyan belongs to Qi State, and Chu State seems to have a small amount of output, but not much.

　　If you are interested in the method of making salt, you can check it out in detail. I just mentioned it very briefly and crudely in the article, so don’t go into the details.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)