Chapter Fifty-Two: Fine Salt—Meeting Violence with Violence

"All right, begin the heating and crystallization!"

Chu Feng was feeling a touch of anticipation himself. Logically, the entire process should go off without a hitch, but whether it would truly succeed remained to be seen.

At this moment, all the filtered brine was poured into the kettle for boiling.

The boiling process was rather lengthy, but the wait was essential. Everyone watched with bated breath, for if this succeeded, it would mark a historic moment.

After a long while, the filtered brine had evaporated completely. Inside the kettle, a layer of salt crystals had formed—each grain fine as golden sand, uniform in size.

And they were as white as freshly fallen snow!

"It worked! It actually worked!" The one who spoke was Yan Xiang, whose breathing was rapid with excitement, his voice trembling.

He could hardly believe it—such pure and flawless salt, as fine as sand. It was far superior to the coarse salt produced by evaporating seawater.

The key was that this salt had been extracted from poisonous mineral salt.

A miracle, truly a miracle! Their lord was nothing short of a divine being!

"Quick, let me taste it!"

Yan Xiang, heedless of the kettle’s lingering heat, pinched up a bit and placed it in his mouth.

"Ha! Salty and mellow, exquisite! This salt is a hundred—no, a thousand times better than even the imperial salt of the Han court!"

Yan Xiang squinted joyously, his wrinkled face breaking into the mischievous grin of a delighted old child.

Lu Su, Liu Ye, Zhao Fan, and Xu Chu also came forward to taste it. They, too, had witnessed the process, and their admiration for Chu Feng only deepened.

"My lord, you are truly a man of wonders. Salt that has baffled the world with its poison is transformed by your hands—not only harmless, but refined to purest salt,"

"Words fail me," Yan Xiang managed, his beard trembling with emotion, still unable to calm himself.

Astounding—simply astounding.

Those who tasted it, Liu Ye among them, gazed at Chu Feng with admiration and excitement, exchanging glances before bursting into hearty laughter.

"This salt, upon its introduction, will be a blessing to the people of the realm!" Liu Ye exclaimed, then turned to Chu Feng and asked, "Has my lord given it a name?"

"It’s nothing more than table salt," Chu Feng replied with a wave of his hand.

"My lord is too modest. This salt surpasses the sea, lake, and well salts, and marks a revolutionary moment in history—how can it be dismissed so lightly?" Lu Su protested gravely.

The advent of such a thing brought not only profit, but renown—renown to rival the sages.

"My lord, I find this salt as fine as golden sand and whiter than snow—why not call it Snowflake Salt?" Yan Xiang proposed eagerly, his face alight with excitement.

Once this name was accepted, his own would be inscribed in history.

Surely, future chronicles would read: "In the second year of Jian’an, General Chu Feng crafted refined salt, his achievements eclipsing the ancients. His registrar, Yan Xiang, suggested the name: Snowflake Salt!"

"Snowflake Salt it shall be," Chu Feng nodded, indifferent, while the others were beside themselves with delight.

"My lord, we must at once begin production of Snowflake Salt to overcome our current crisis. And the refining process must be as tightly guarded as that of the artisan corps—no information must leak," Liu Ye advised urgently.

"Only to get through the present difficulty?" Chu Feng smiled coldly, eyes narrowing. "Sun Ce of Jiangdong seeks to entrap me—how can I let it go at that? What was the market price of salt before?"

"My lord, with years of war, salt prices have only risen. Add to that the private minting of small coins by Dong Zhuo and others, and the street price of salt now stands at six thousand cash per shi!"

"In the countryside, it’s perhaps a little cheaper, but still over five thousand. Most people now barter goods rather than pay in copper," Lu Su explained.

"So high?" Chu Feng frowned.

A shi was a hundred liters, one liter cost sixty cash, and if he recalled correctly, a family of five would need fifteen liters a month—about 3,300 grams today.

That meant yearly salt expenses would run to nearly ten thousand cash.

"What about grain prices?" he asked.

"Ah, my lord, with disasters and war, what price can grain have? Were it not for your relief efforts, grain in the Jianghuai region would fetch tens of thousands," Lu Su sighed, shaking his head. He added, "Previously, millet was about two thousand five hundred, barley and sorghum around two thousand, but in these troubled times, food is scarce at any price."

After Lu Su finished, Chu Feng stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"I understand. Zijing, the mining and processing of mineral salt is yours to manage. Use the method I just described—immediately begin boiling, sun-drying, and filtering. We must increase production at the fastest pace possible to meet the needs of every county for Snowflake Salt, and ensure both greater yield and supply," Chu Feng instructed solemnly.

"Understood! I’ll see to it at once!" Lu Su replied.

"Oh, and during production, you can filter one to three times, creating slight differences in the salt’s fineness. Thus, we can classify Snowflake Salt into superior, medium, and lower grades."

"Superior grade is best—sell it to the great families at ten thousand cash per shi. Medium grade goes to local gentry at eight thousand, and lower grade to the people at five thousand."

"As for distribution, the common folk under our rule may work for salt rations, while the families and gentry must barter with grain, iron, weapons, or warhorses of equal value."

"In addition, once Snowflake Salt is launched, immediately arrange for agents to spread the word far and wide—let it be known in every street and alley that tasting superior Snowflake Salt is a mark of status."

"I want Sun Ce of Eastern Wu and Chen Deng of Guangling to understand what true strategy is, what true profiteering is, and what it means to turn an opponent’s tactics against him!"

Chu Feng’s voice was icy, his fingers curling into a fist.

Since Sun Ce had come looking for trouble, how could he let it go unpunished? Now that the fight was on, he would show no mercy—one blow to cripple the enemy.

"Understood!" Lu Su nodded, though he hesitated. "My lord, I don’t quite understand. Filtering is easy, but why divide Snowflake Salt into three grades? Wouldn’t that reduce profits?"

"And what is the purpose behind a massive promotional campaign? Isn’t it unnecessarily elaborate?" Lu Su finished, looking at Chu Feng in puzzlement.

"In business, one must think as a merchant. There’s no need for you to understand—just carry out my orders," Chu Feng waved him off. Some things could not be explained in a few words.

But he knew that when Land Rover was on the brink of collapse, a single advertisement—portraying the car as the choice of real men—had revived the brand overnight, making a fortune in China.

All high-end goods symbolize status—class distinction is everywhere. As for cost-effectiveness, that’s a concern for those at the bottom.

"Understood," Lu Su said, bowing.

He realized, to his surprise, that he could no longer quite see through this young man—he almost seemed like a merchant in disguise.

"Ziyang, you’re in charge of reassuring the people. Also, have all county officials open the salt stores immediately," Chu Feng instructed Liu Ye.

"Yes, my lord," Liu Ye replied solemnly.

"Yan Xiang, as for the agents and other details, I leave them to you. Enough talk—see to it all at once," Chu Feng commanded in a deep voice.

PS: I spent a lot of time researching today—will be writing late into the night and will make it up tomorrow. Brothers, if you have recommendation tickets, please vote! And many thanks to Brother Legend for the generous tip!