Dominate the ancient academy

Shu Xiaoxiao was stunned when she heard that the emperor asked her to be in charge of selling salt. She didn't expect that the emperor trusted her so much. She originally wanted to just make some suggestions directly. There are so many people in the court!

But since she has the emperor's backing, she might as well sell it. Having been cheated so many times by those capitalists in modern times, she is familiar with this routine!

Soon, rumors spread throughout Kyoto that there was a kind of snow-white fine salt, as white as snow, without any impurities, so it was called "snow salt". It was said that eating this salt regularly would not only strengthen the body, but also prolong life. People who heard this sneered.

A teahouse

"Hey, did you hear about it? It's the 'snow salt'."

"You've heard about it, too. I heard that 'snow salt' is not only as white as snow, but it can also prolong your life!"

"You know, we've been eating salt for decades, but why haven't we heard of salt that's like snow? Like snow, or salt? I can't imagine it."

"We have seen green salt, black salt, and the better one is yellow salt. Has anyone seen snow-white salt? It can't be a lie."

"I'm not lying. My cousin's second uncle's cousin's wife's brother said they saw an old Taoist priest who ate this kind of salt. He was over 70 years old. Now he can easily hunt pheasants and rabbits in the mountains. Looking at his physique, he can live another 30 years without any problem."

Wow! If you live another 30 years, you will be a centenarian. In ancient times, most people got married in their teens, and marriage in their early twenties was definitely late. Here, early marriage and early childbearing are common. It is really common to become grandparents before the age of 30 or 40. People in their thirties are definitely old here.

Those who live to fifty are considered long-lived. Now, to hear that a person in his seventies may still live another thirty years is a bit surprising.

But if there really is a lot of this snow-white salt, they would really like to try it.

In order to sell fine salt at a high price, Emperor Jingming secretly ate the salt that Yun Qinghan brought him. Even the people who went to explore the sea salt were his confidants, and the confidentiality work was done very well. The maidens in the palace were all from wealthy families. If they leaked the news in advance, what would happen if no one bought it? Scarcity makes things valuable. The rarer something is, the higher its price will be.

So for the sake of his own small treasury, Emperor Jingming protected the fine salt in his hands very well.

Unlike ordinary people who were curious about fine salt, civil and military officials scoffed at the news. The talk of snow salt prolonging life and strengthening the body was simply nonsense.

If there really is such a good thing, how could they not receive any information about it? Maybe it was spread from somewhere, just to deceive those ignorant people.

If such salt really existed, they would certainly know about it.

No matter what the common people or the court officials thought, when the rumors became more and more intense, a store with the best location and the most reputation on East Street reopened after closing for a few days.

The name of the shop is "Snow Salt", which is very similar to the salt discussed before. No one was interested in it at the beginning because the decoration of the shop was too magnificent, even more luxurious than that of the gold shop. People without much wealth would not bother to go in.

However, there were some brave people who could not resist their curiosity and gathered a group of people to come over to inquire about the situation. The shop assistants also greeted them with a smile.

"Sir, please buy some snow salt."

“Is there really salt as white as snow?”

Seeing someone questioning him, the guy immediately became unhappy, opened a large vat, and pointed at the snow-white salt grains inside: "Look for yourself, this is snow salt, we are doing a legitimate business, how can we cheat you?"

The large vat of snow-white water was a bit dazzling to the eyes. Someone was surprised and said:

"Is this salt? It's too white!"

There are also smart ones: "You can't say it's salt, it's salt, can we taste it?"

The worker rolled his eyes and said, "You wish. This salt is precious. You said you wanted to taste it, so I tasted it. What if you cheat me later?"

"But if you don't let us taste it, we can't know if it's salt. How can I buy it? And how do you sell this salt?"

The clerk said proudly, "This salt is unique in the whole Daning, and eating this salt will not only make you strong, but also prolong your life! Thirty taels of silver per pound, how can you just try it. I can't afford to compensate you if you lose it later."

"Hiss! Thirty taels of silver per pound? That's too expensive!"

"Who can afford to eat this?"

"Our normal salt is only thirty coins per pound, but now it's too expensive at thirty taels of silver per pound. I can't afford it. I can't afford it."

After hearing the price, several people shook their heads, saying it was too expensive.

The man retorted, "Is this ordinary salt? The rumors before are not false at all. Our 'snow salt' not only has no bitterness, but it can also strengthen the body. Our young master was so weak that he couldn't get out of bed. After eating salt for a few days, he can now run around without any problem."

Someone in the store was hesitant because the price was too expensive. At this time, someone was hesitating whether to leave, and then he saw Doctor Zhang passing by.

He immediately said, "We don't know whether this salt is good or not, and we can't just believe whatever you say. Why don't we let Doctor Zhang try it? If he says it's good, we'll buy it."

Others immediately agreed: "Yes, yes, let Doctor Zhang take a look."

Several people immediately went out and surrounded Doctor Zhang: "Doctor Zhang, this shop says that their salt is not only not bitter, but also can strengthen the body and prolong life. You are a good doctor, can you help us to distinguish the truth?"

Doctor Zhang said with a righteous look on his face: "I have also heard about this 'snow salt'. Hearsay is absolutely not credible. I want to see if this salt really has this effect."

"My friend, this is Doctor Zhang, who is highly regarded by the Emperor. He has superb medical skills. Do you dare to let Doctor Zhang taste your 'snow salt'?"

Seeing that Doctor Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief, the waiter said with embarrassment, "Our salt is genuine, let Doctor Zhang take a look."

As he spoke, he scooped a pinch of salt with a spoon and put it into Doctor Zhang's hand.

Doctor Zhang took a deep breath: It's time to perform!

He first put a little bit of it into his mouth, pretending to be surprised, and then smelled it, and then exclaimed: "This 'snow salt' has no bitterness or astringency, it is pure salty. I have never tasted such pure salt before."

As he spoke, he put all the remaining salt in his hand into his mouth, muttering: "Good salt! Good salt!"

Some of the onlookers asked anxiously, "Doctor Zhang, can this salt really prolong life?"

Doctor Zhang savored the salt in his mouth for a moment before saying, "I don't know if it can prolong your life, but it can certainly help you stay healthy."

He was not lying. The coarse salt they used daily contained too many impurities and trace amounts of toxins, which would definitely be harmful to the body over time. But this fine salt was different. All the impurities had been removed, leaving only the pure taste of salt without any toxins. If they didn't eat poison, wouldn't that help them stay healthy?

"Hey, how much do you sell this 'snow salt' for?"

"Thirty taels of silver per pound, how much do you want, Doctor Zhang?" the waiter asked cheerfully.

"Give me three pounds!"

Thirty taels per catty, this Prince Yun is really evil. It seems that he will have to find Prince Yun to discuss his remuneration when he has time.

He is the most skilled imperial physician around the emperor, so he must pay a premium for acting!