A dou was a unit of measurement. A dou was about six catties. Half a dou was about three catties, which was about three taels of silver.
One tael of salt per catty was equivalent to an ordinary person's monthly income. This price was indeed expensive.
He remembered some nutritionists on Earth said that an ordinary person should consume five grams of salt a day. That was three taels of salt a month. A family of three would consume about one catty of salt a month. This was very cheap for people on Earth, but it was extremely expensive for people in Dayao.
Even the chefs in the beast park used less salt in their food. In Dayao, meat was a main dish and also a staple food. On one hand, salt was expensive. On the other hand, it was inedible if it was too salty.
From the food that Ren Baqian ate in the beast park, people in Dayao ate at most half of the amount of salt that people on Earth ate. It could be seen that people in Dayao were very frugal with salt.
An ordinary family in Dayao could barely afford to eat half a catty of salt a month for a family of three. Even so, salt was indeed a huge burden.
It wasn't the first time that something like this happened in the shop, and it wouldn't be the last.
People had to eat salt, but Dayao didn't produce salt. They could only be at the mercy of these merchants.
Similarly, people in Dayao didn't know how to tan fur. If the fur wasn't sold, it would rot in a short period of time.
With these factors added together, the foreign merchants in Dayao seemed to have formed a tacit understanding. Whether it was the price of fur or the price of salt, they were almost the same. This way, they could obtain the biggest profit.
Ren Baqian stood at the entrance of the shop and looked at the dispute inside. He shook his head slightly. This was the consequence of a country lacking in resources and technology.
"Let's go," Ren Baqian said.
He brought Teng Hulu and Tie Dao to the entrance of the shop. There was nothing much to see inside, so they turned to the Chen family's shop.
Chen Zisheng had been anxiously waiting for Ren Baqian for the past few days. He couldn't understand a single word of the three books in his hands. This made him extremely anxious.
After seeing Ren Baqian, his eyes lit up, "Mister Ren, you are finally here. I have been waiting for you these few days. "
"I promised you that I would definitely translate for you." Ren Baqian laughed.
After Chen Zisheng finished treating the patient, he asked his disciple to take his place. He pulled Ren Baqian into the inner room and carefully took out three books from a box.
Ren Baqian picked up "Various Treatises on Typhoid and Diseases" and asked Chen Zisheng to prepare a pen and paper to record the contents.
Following Ren Baqian's reading, Chen Zisheng's hand moved quickly on the paper like a chicken's claws. It was so fast that it looked like an illusion.
Ren Baqian couldn't help but admire the speed at which he wrote. Looking at his handwriting, he was even more impressed.
He reckoned that even a cryptographer wouldn't be able to crack it.
After reading for less than two hours, Ren Baqian felt hungry. However, it wasn't easy to come here. Seeing that Chen Zisheng had no intention of resting, Ren Baqian gulped down water with all his might. If you're hungry, drink more water to fill your stomach.
After reading for three hours, Chen Zisheng's eyes were wide open and his body was drenched in sweat. Ren Baqian had no choice but to stop.
If copying this thing tired him out, it would be a great sin.
When Ren Baqian stopped, Chen Zisheng immediately threw away his pen. His hand was trembling like a chicken's claws.
"I'm so tired." Chen Zisheng shouted loudly. He grabbed a jar of water and poured it into his mouth.
After Chen Zisheng finished drinking the water, his right hand was still trembling. He didn't forget to raise his head and ask Su Wen, "How much have you written?"
"About eight more times." Ren Baqian looked at the thickness of the book and said.
Chen Zisheng clenched his teeth and shook his hand, "I'll get my disciple to come in and write."
"Forget it, I still have something to do. I'll come back another day." Ren Baqian said.
When Chen Zisheng heard this, it was as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He heaved a sigh of relief, "Alright, alright."
It seemed like he was really exhausted after reading for more than two hours just now.
Ren Baqian reckoned that if he had to write continuously for more than two hours, which was equivalent to three hours, he would probably tremble even more than Chen Zisheng.
He brought Teng Hulu and Tie Dao, who had long fallen asleep on the bed, to the blacksmith shop. Just as they walked out of the medicine shop, they heard an indignant voice from the side, "Our animal hides were only exchanged for one and a half bushels of salt. The stronghold can't even last a few days. We might as well rob that shop tonight."
When Ren Baqian heard this voice, he was elated. They were really fated to meet again.
He turned his head and saw Na Gu and a burly man standing at one side. Na Gu's face was pale and her mouth was hanging so much that one could hang a soy sauce bottle.
"Don't talk nonsense. You should go back and see if you can hunt for more prey these few days. "The burly man was carrying a bag and lecturing her. The bag should be filled with the salt that the two of them exchanged for.
"It's a pity that we can't eat the salt water in the mountains. Otherwise, we wouldn't need to buy salt from them."
"How is that salt water? That is poisonous water. Even animals don't eat it. In the past, some people have eaten it. Although it has a salty taste, they would get goosebumps and vomit after eating it. Some people would even faint and die. If we want to eat that, we might as well rob their shop at night. "The burly man snorted coldly.
Ren Baqian was about to walk past the two of them. When he heard this, he was startled and immediately stopped.
"Both of you!" Ren Baqian turned around and cupped his hands.
"Who are you?" The burly man looked over with a fierce look.
"Ah, you are that …" Na Gu recognized Ren Baqian.
"I heard both of you talking about salt water just now. May I know what it is like?" Ren Baqian inquired.
When the burly man heard his question, he snorted coldly and ignored him. He had just suffered a bellyful of anger from those few shops and had no place to vent it.
"I am not from the Yun Nation, nor am I from the Chen Nation. I am also not from Great Xia. I am currently working in the beast park. The matters between the two of you and those merchants have nothing to do with me. Logically speaking, I should be considered a Dayao citizen now. "Ren Baqian looked at the attitude of the two of them. He didn't need to think to know the whole story.
"This is Caretaker Ren of the beast park," Tie Dao interrupted from behind.
The beast park was attached to the palace. When the two of them heard that Ren Baqian was working in the beast park, their expressions became better. They turned around and sized up Ren Baqian. "Why are you asking about salt water? Someone has already thought of a way to make it edible. Even the wild beasts in the mountains don't eat it. "
"If it's poisonous, it really can't be eaten. However, perhaps we can refine it to remove the poison. Then, you won't have to worry about eating salt anymore," Ren Baqian said.
"Impossible," the burly man said resolutely.
"Don't bother. Someone has already thought of that," Na Gu said. Her attitude towards Ren Baqian was much better than the burly man. Perhaps it was because she had bumped into Ren Baqian before, so she didn't feel so unfamiliar with him.
"Can I know after listening to both of you talk about the salt water first?" Ren Baqian asked.
"That water comes from a pool on the mountain. The water is salty, bitter and smelly. We call it the Black Pool," Na Gu said.
"The water is black? Is it the smell of rotten eggs? "Ren Baqian quickly asked.
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