Chapter 3

Three days passed, and the servants in the castle's approval of Xia Zuoyi rose to a new high.

Once his reputation points finally reached twenty, he immediately exchanged them for the "Seawater Solar Salt-Making Method and Detailed Illustrations."

[Ding, exchange successful. Downloading... Download successful. The "Seawater Solar Salt-Making Method and Detailed Illustrations" has been saved in the host's Stickman Universe mailbox and may be read at any time.]

The three-page "Seawater Solar Salt-Making Method and Detailed Illustrations" appeared on the list alongside a detailed map marking the location of the natural asphalt mine.

Xia Zuoyi used the hours he spent sleeping at night to study it thoroughly.

Next, he needed to make preparations for presenting the seawater salt-making method without seeming abrupt.

After Xia Zuoyi moved the alchemy laboratory to the attic, he spent nearly half of every day inside it.

Rumors began spreading through the castle that the young count had also been unable to resist the allure of alchemy and had started immersing himself in it like the old count.

The kitchen was bustling as lunch was prepared.

Two kitchen maids whispered to each other, talking about how the young count had once willfully refused porridge, boiled bread, and roasted fruit, and how he had asked the chef for another jar of salt today.

"Chef Phili is going to be heartbroken. He only has two jars of salt left, and he doesn't even dare stop him..."

"What does the young count want a jar of salt for?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's curious. The day before yesterday, the young count even asked me how much a jar of salt cost..."

Just then, Chef Phili banged on a bowl and shouted, "What are you dawdling for?! Plate the food, quickly! Can you bear the responsibility if you delay the count's meal?!"

The kitchen maids did not dare continue talking and quickly got to work.

After lunch, Xia Zuoyi returned to the attic.

Following some adjustments, the attic had been completely transformed.

The experimental equipment and vessels were neatly arranged in cabinets, while items that needed to be kept away from light were placed in cool corners.

"Judith, do you know where salt comes from?"

Xia Zuoyi sat in a chair, lightly swinging his little legs.

He seemed very curious about the origins of salt. His caramel-colored eyes sparkled as he turned the new salt jar he had requested over and over in his hands. The crude salt grains rustled inside.

Judith said, "Salt is boiled, my lord. Brine is carried through wooden pipes, then boiled in square iron or lead pans."

"The salt in your hands is sold throughout various places by the Nagabi Merchant Guild."

"The Nagabi Merchant Guild?"

Xia Zuoyi looked at the image carved into the salt jar—two neatly dressed people standing face to face, one holding coins and the other holding goods. They were making a trade.

Clearly, it was the emblem of the Nagabi Merchant Guild.

Judith said, "The Nagabi Merchant Guild belongs to the Anas Empire."

"The Anas Empire possesses the largest salt lake—Betara Lake. Because of this, the Nagabi Merchant Guild controls nearly sixty percent of the salt trade routes."

Salt was a necessity, and selling it brought enormous profits.

With the Anas imperial family secretly backing it, the Nagabi Merchant Guild had kept salt prices high.

That was why Chef Phili had been so distressed when Xia Zuoyi took three or four jars of salt from him in a row.

"Is boiling salt the only method?"

"I believe so, my lord."

"What about drying it in the sun?"

Xia Zuoyi casually pointed toward the long table beside the window.

Four shallow wooden basins, each half a meter square, sat on the table. The salt he had previously requested had been poured into them separately and was slowly dissolving.

When he looked again today, the water in the basin where salt had been added first had decreased, and smaller salt crystals had formed again.

"My father's Alchemy Manual recorded his process of searching for metals in seawater. It mentioned that after seawater evaporated under the sun to a certain extent, salt crystals would appear..."

Xia Zuoyi hugged the salt jar in both arms, his two short legs obediently pressed together. Tilting his head with an innocent expression, he said, "Judith, can we try making salt by drying seawater in the sun?"

"If we have salt, we can sell it. Then I'll have lots and lots of money."

Matt Desinia had indeed left behind an Alchemy Manual, and his long years of obsessive research had not been entirely fruitless.

At the very least, his search for metals in seawater had been real, though it had ultimately failed.

Xia Zuoyi had forged a few scant records about solar salt-making from seawater in the Alchemy Manual.

His behavior over the past few days had led the castle servants to naturally conclude—the young count had become interested in alchemy—he had read the old count's Alchemy Manual—he had grown curious about how salt was obtained—and he was conducting experiments.

Judith said, "Naturally, we shall follow your wishes."

Craftsmen were gathered at the castle. After continuous discussions and adjustments, they finally succeeded in building a reasonably complete salt-making field along the eastern coast of the Cogit Sea.

When Xia Zuoyi decided to test whether seawater solar salt-making was feasible, many servants remained skeptical.

How could salt possibly be dried out of seawater?

The young count was surely just fooling around... Once he failed, he would stop making such a fuss.

Yet time slowly passed.

They began to realize that things were not turning out to be the pointless mess they had initially expected.

The servants watched as seawater was first led into one basin, then, after a period of sun exposure and evaporation, diverted into another basin to continue drying.

After waiting for another period of time, white grains gradually precipitated from the seawater.

"Salt—it's salt!"

The first cry of surprise was full of disbelief.

They could not believe that such a huge quantity of edible salt could be obtained with only a few pools.

Although the salt currently produced was rather coarse, after further processing and purification, the refined salt was even finer than what they bought outside.

Not to mention the manpower and resources required for boiling salt.

But from beginning to end, seawater solar salt-making relied only on "wind and sunlight," and its cost was nearly negligible.

Chef Phili nearly cried again when he saw more than ten jars of refined salt placed before him.

This time, he cried with joy.

After the "experiment" succeeded,

Judith brought up the necessity of "controlling salt" to Xia Zuoyi.

The royal family would never overlook the enormous profits brought by salt.

Although salt could be sold through merchant guilds, the royal family still had to secretly control a portion of it.

Given Visas's current state, it was like a young bird whose wings had not yet fully grown. No matter how widely it spread them, it could not protect the "treasure" behind it.

Besides, Xia Zuoyi's original plan had been to present the seawater solar salt-making method to the king as a "gift," in exchange for territorial rights to Par Mountain.

The Cogit Sea could not be moved.

At most, Xia Zuoyi would give up most of the profits from selling salt to the king.

The salt production itself would still take place in Visas, which meant that after making a roundabout turn, it would return to his own hands.

Giving it away voluntarily would yield far more than being forced to relinquish it.

In time,

Xia Zuoyi was confident he could develop Visas into an important city and the primary channel controlling salt sales throughout the Gadayat Kingdom.

Xia Zuoyi said, "Judith, I want to go to the royal capital myself."

The morning sun cast brilliant golden light. Accompanied by the cries of seabirds, the Desinia convoy set out for Kaies, the royal capital of Gadayat.

The Thorn Rose banner fluttered atop the carriage. Behind it followed the craftsmen who had built the salt-making field, while a small squad of knights guarded their lord at the front and rear.

Beyond Par Mountain lay Komoy Fort, the nearest territory neighboring Visas.

Komoy Fort's lord was also a count—Bevis Elliot.

He was in the prime of his life.

Though both were counts, Komoy Fort was wealthier than Visas, larger in territory, and more populous.

Bevis Elliot even commanded a valiant cavalry force.

As he passed through Komoy Fort, Xia Zuoyi deeply felt the disparity between the two cities.

He was a little jealous.

After passing through three more major cities, they arrived at Kaies, the royal capital.

The Gadayat Kingdom was not especially large, so the journey did not take much time.

After entering the royal capital, Xia Zuoyi soon received an opportunity to meet the king.

The old king, Duke Patch, was distantly related to Xia Zuoyi Desinia.

The previous king's cousin had married Xia Zuoyi Desinia's grandfather.

The current old king was around the same age as Xia Zuoyi's father. He had one prince and two princesses, loved beauties, and was neither particularly accomplished nor particularly inept in state affairs. He was gentlemanly and kind, not cruel.

It could be said that Old King Duke Patch's personality had also been part of Xia Zuoyi's considerations and plans.

When Xia Zuoyi entered the royal hall, the old king was discussing state affairs with the finance minister, Bass Riches. Seeing him enter, the old king raised a hand in acknowledgment. Bass Riches stepped aside but did not leave.

The old king asked, "What gift have you brought?"

"Your Majesty, the gift is in here."

Xia Zuoyi presented a scroll of parchment containing the seawater solar salt-making method and the results of the experiment.

The old king looked somewhat surprised and had an attendant take the gift.

He remembered Desinia. After Matt Desinia's accidental death, he had even sent people to offer condolences.

Xia Zuoyi Desinia's sudden arrival had puzzled him, but after reading the contents of the parchment, that confusion began transforming into immense delight.

He even rose from his throne, excitement apparent on his face.

"Your Majesty?" Bass Riches asked with a frown.

The old king calmed himself and handed the parchment to his favored minister. "Riches, take a look."

Xia Zuoyi also turned his head curiously.

The finance minister had brown hair, green eyes, and a stern, rigid face. His brows were raised, his nose broad, and he looked utterly unapproachable.

After reading the parchment, a flash of surprise crossed his face before he immediately concealed it. His sharp, gleaming eyes fixed on Xia Zuoyi.

"Are you certain this is real and feasible?"

Xia Zuoyi pretended to be frightened by him and nodded a little timidly. "Yes. I also brought the salt produced by the experiment."

Judith presented the salt jar in his hands.

The old king eagerly accepted it from the attendant.

He opened the stopper of the jar containing refined salt and poured snow-white grains into his palm. After examining them carefully, he pinched some between his fingers and put them in his mouth. His delight deepened. "It is salt!"

The salt jar was then passed to Bass Riches.

After confirming it, Bass Riches asked Xia Zuoyi several questions.

They were nothing more than, "How did you discover this?" "Who else knows?"... "What do you want in exchange for presenting the seawater solar salt-making method to the king?"

Xia Zuoyi answered each one "truthfully."

At the final question, he clasped his small hands before his chest. Two patches of red appeared on his fair cheeks as he said shyly in a childish voice, "I want my territory to be a little bigger."