novelaction Chapter 346 The Treasure Reappears
Chapter 346 The Treasure Reappears
"This is..." Lin Ping suddenly became excited, holding the pure white stone in both hands, his eyes shining brightly.
"Could it be a treasure?" Zhu Xiaoji also started to get excited. If it really was a treasure, they would definitely become rich.
"What is it?" Lin Ping asked back, unable to give a clear answer.
Zhu Xiaoji was speechless, once again witnessing Lin Ping's acting skills.
Lin Ping thought it was just an ordinary stone, but he didn't believe that Zhu Xiaoji would go to such lengths to bring back a broken stone; there must be something fishy going on.
"This was dug out of a salt mine, and the more you dig, the more you find, even more than the salt mine itself," Zhu Xiaoji explained, genuinely hoping it was a treasure, so that the group could get on the fast track to instant wealth.
"More than rock salt mines?" Lin Ping racked his brains, then suddenly screamed, "It's mirabilite! That's right, Jiangcheng has more mirabilite than rock salt!"
Lin Ping had put a lot of effort into understanding the mineral resources, and knew that Jiangcheng had three major mines: rock salt, mirabilite, and oil.
Of the three, rock salt and petroleum have the greatest impact, which led Lin Ping to overlook mirabilite, which has the largest reserves.
Glauber's salt is very different from saltpeter. Before this, Lin Ping really didn't know what Glauber's salt was used for, but at this moment he suddenly thought of another substance: soda ash!
"Alkali" is a general term; any alkaline substance can be called an alkali.
Alkali played a significant role in ancient times, covering almost all manufacturing industries, and its usage was exceptionally large. Even so, the Wu Kingdom still did not have true soda ash, and mostly used wood ash as a substitute.
This is not hard to understand, since China's largest natural alkali mine is buried underground in Tongbai County at a depth of five or six hundred meters, which was not possible to mine with the technology available at the time. This resulted in an extreme shortage of alkali in ancient times.
Why did Lin Ping think of soda ash?
The answer is simple: soda ash can be produced by burning sodium sulfate, limestone, and coal at high temperatures.
Limestone and coal have never been scarce resources; the only thing Linping lacked was sodium sulfate. Now that they have an inexhaustible supply of sodium sulfate, they also have an inexhaustible supply of soda ash.
If ordinary people cannot live without salt, then industrial production cannot do without soda ash.
Once soda ash is produced on a large scale, it will inevitably disrupt many manufacturing industries, including textiles, papermaking, and even ceramics.
"Chicken breast, hurry back and start mining this substance. Also, buy some limestone and coal. Wait for my news!" Lin Ping said hurriedly, his shining eyes understanding Zhu Xiaoji's doubts.
"I knew this stone would be useful!" Zhu Xiaoji slapped his thigh again and hurriedly returned before it got completely dark.
Is sodium sulfate important? Absolutely!
Is there a rush to produce soda ash? No way!
Lin Ping simply wanted to get rid of Zhu Xiaoji as soon as possible, so as not to disturb his time catching up with the two young ladies. What if he overheard them having some kind of spark during the night?
Moreover, the backyard of Xuanji Hall is not spacious. If Zhu Xiaoji stays, he will have to sleep in the same room as him. Who knows if this guy is gay? In order to protect Daisy, Lin Ping must deceive her.
Of course, Lin Ping was also thinking about how to open up the market for soda ash. He figured that if he sold it directly to weaving workshops and paper mills, they probably wouldn't accept it.
The best solution would be to open a few manufacturing workshops ourselves, but now is not the best time, so this matter needs to be put on hold.
After Zhu Xiaoji left, the night deepened, and Lin Ping, who was alone in the empty room, couldn't bear the loneliness.
He regretted letting Xiao Hui and Xiao E share a room, as neither of them felt comfortable taking the initiative to look for Lin Ping.
There was nothing they could do; Xuanjitang only had a few bedrooms.
Lin Ping stood up, staring intently at the two people's room, adopting a charging stance.
He was calculating the consequences, and almost burst out laughing in the end.
Neither of them would refuse him; rushing in would mean a double kill. However, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to handle the erotic scene.
"You naughty thing, I must remain chaste for my wife!" Lin Ping scolded one of his younger brothers.
The other party was exasperated. "Lin Ping, stop shifting the blame! If it weren't for your excessive testosterone levels, would I have made a move?"
And so, the two remained locked in a stalemate all night. In a fit of rage, Lin Ping grabbed the other man by the neck and gave him a brutal beating...
The next day, Lin Ping quickly treated thirty patients, then hurriedly took Wang Xiao'e to the Zhou residence.
Zhou Xiyin was pleased with Lin Ping's arrival, but she stared at Wang Xiao'e with a hostile gaze, then kept looking herself up and down, clearly making a comparison.
"Her name is Wang Xiao'e. She's an excellent seamstress, and it would be best if she could be in charge of ready-made clothing," Lin Ping said hastily, hoping to quickly break the awkward silence and prevent the two from clashing.
"Oh... so it's just needlework." Zhou Xiyin responded with a smile.
After all, she was a young lady from a wealthy family, and deep down she looked down on inferiors. Naturally, she felt that Wang Xiao'e was not good enough for Lin Ping, and her attitude towards her improved considerably.
"Xiao'e greets Miss Zhou," Wang Xiao'e said respectfully, showing Lin Ping a great deal of courtesy.
She knew her lowly status; even if Lin Ping favored her, she would only be a concubine, and she would not provoke Zhou Xiyin.
"So it's Sister Xiao'e. This guy always talks about how good your needlework is. Now that you're here, I can finally relax." Zhou Xiyin's attitude became even more amiable, and she even took Wang Xiao'e's hand.
"Is this still the same willful and capricious Zhou Xiyin?" Lin Ping glanced at her with disdain, confirming that all women have the potential to become innocent and scheming.
Lin Ping also entered the mansion. Zhou Xiyin discussed the clothing workshop with Wang Xiao'e, while he chatted with Zhou Yecheng.
After Zhou Xiyin brought back 20,000 taels of silver yesterday, Zhou Yecheng was overjoyed and became increasingly afraid that his daughter was not good enough for the man.
"Boss Zhou, you should sell the salt in your mansion in the next few days," Lin Ping suggested.
He knew Zhou Yecheng wanted to sell at a higher price, after all, salt prices were soaring, even reaching astonishing levels.
Lin Ping doesn't object to businessmen making money, but this is the way they should make it. How can they not feel guilty taking the hard-earned money of ordinary people?
Moreover, Lin Ping is about to lower the price of salt behind the scenes and doesn't want Zhou Yecheng to lose everything.
“Since Young Master Lin has spoken, I, Zhou, can immediately send someone to sell the salt.” Zhou Yecheng readily agreed, and guessing that the price of salt would be reduced, he was simply trying to get closer to Lin Ping.
You tell me to sell, and I'll sell, even if I earn less. That's such trust. How could you, Lin Ping, not take a step closer to the Zhou family?
Before long, several servants had already pulled a cart of salt out of the gate, their trust in the servants was overflowing.
"Young Master Lin..." Zhou Yecheng suddenly stammered, as if he had something to say.
"Please speak freely, Mr. Zhou." Lin Ping smiled brightly, as if he had already guessed Zhou Yecheng's purpose.
“Alright, then I’ll ask.” Zhou Yecheng mustered his courage and asked with a serious expression, “Does Young Master Lin already have a wife?”
Lin Ping had anticipated this question and nodded without hesitation, saying, "We already have one."