Start Being a Vassal King Today - Chapter 5

[Chapter 5 Making Ice with Saltpeter]

“Liu Fu, are you going to buy some bitter saltpeter?” The

sun was past noon.

Zhao Xu was thinking that people from the rich family of Yan County might be coming soon.

So he asked Qin’s accountant to take out ten taels of silver and ordered Liu Fu.

Zhao Xu nodded.

In ancient times, bitter nitrate was a laxative medicinal material, which was sold in pharmacies.

In modern times, bitter salt is called saltpeter.

The way he pottered silver from the Hao family in Yan County this time was to use saltpeter to make ice.

In ancient times, people in the north used to store ice in the cellar in winter and take it out in summer to cool off.

There is also an institution in the imperial city that specializes in managing ice storage.

In summer, ice was among the rewards given by the emperor to his courtiers.

So ice has always been expensive in ancient times.

But for Da Song, ice is even more precious.

The reason is that the imperial city of Dasong is Jinling, which is the contemporary Nanjing known as the Four Great Furnaces.

It is different from the north, it is not too cold even in winter, and there is no thick ice layer to mine in winter.

In his memory, Jinling City didn’t even have much snow in the past two years.

So when the heat comes, Jinling City, or the whole south will fall into ice drought.

Rich people want to buy ice to cool off, but they can’t get it.

And this has also led to the saying that summer ice is the same as gold prices in the south.

It is very hot right now.

If you can sell a lot of ice in Jinling City, you will definitely be able to earn a huge amount of wealth.

“Buy three catties, go and return quickly.” Zhao Xu instructed Liu Fu to hand over ten taels of silver.

Liu Fu nodded, and came back with a small bag of saltpeter in the time of a stick of incense.

The heat drenched his clothes completely.

After wiping off his sweat, he gasped and said, “Your Highness, is the bitter salt coming?”

Zhao Xu nodded and asked Liu Fu to find two porcelain basins of different sizes.

Not long after, the servants came to report, and some people from the wealthy family came.

Zhao Xu asked Liu Fu to lead them to the front yard.

“Why did Your Highness ask us to come here?” said a rich man dressed in silk and satin with a big belly.

Looking at the dilapidated palace, he couldn’t help but have some contempt in his eyes.

The majestic palace is so shabby that it is not even as good as the courtyard where their servants live.

But it’s normal for him to think about it. No prince has visited this place of Yan County since Dasong founded the country.

This King Yan is the first one, and the prince who can come here is basically no different from being exiled.

The emperor will not give such favorable conditions.

“Your Highness said to perform a skill for you when everyone is here.” Liu Fu copied the original words.

“Hahaha…”

Everyone burst into laughter.

“Is this King Yan’s madness really cured?”

“Probably not, otherwise how could such absurd things happen?

”

At this moment, Zhao Xu came out of a room.

“I have seen His Highness King Yan.”

Seeing Zhao Xu, everyone began to salute.

But many of them are slightly bent over and put on a show.

Zhao Xu saw it and didn’t get angry.

One day, he will make these people kneel and sing to him the song of conquest.

“Excuse me.” Zhao Xu waved his hand.

He had asked Liu Fu to memorize the names of these people.

He knew exactly who the servant came from and who the master came from.

In the future, we will know which wealthy families can be wooed.

“Everyone, be safe and don’t be impatient. This king is not fooling you. After a while, you will learn about a chance to make a fortune.” Zhao Xu said.

Seeing that King Yan appeared in person, everyone stopped and decided to take another look, at best for fun.

Forty or fifty people stood together and waited.

At this time Zhao Xu entered the room.

He put the small porcelain bottle in the big one and filled it with water.

Wrapped again with cotton cloth.

The principle of making ice with saltpeter is that when saltpeter dissolves in water, it will absorb a lot of heat, theoretically it can drop to minus two degrees, and finally turn water into ice.

The purpose of the large basin and the small basin is to cool down the temperature with the saltpeter in the large basin and turn the water in the small basin into ice.

The ice in the small basin is ready to eat.

After all, saltpeter is poisonous.

The cotton cloth is to insulate the heat from the outside.

After the ice making is over, just dry the water in the big basin, and the saltpeter will be precipitated again, and the lost part can be removed, and the rest can be reused.

After all this is done, it is time to wait.

“It’s almost there.”

After waiting for a quarter of an hour, Zhao Xu lifted the cotton cloth.

The moment the cotton cloth was lifted, a white mist rose inside, and the cold air was overwhelming.

A thick layer of ice had formed in the small basin.

Overjoyed in his heart, he came to the yard with the ice in the small basin.

“Everyone, please look, this is the show that the king said.” Zhao Xu took the ice and walked around in front of everyone.

“It’s ice.” Someone exclaimed.

“It’s scorching summer, where is the ice?”

“Unbelievable.”

“…”

There was a whisper.

Liu Fu also opened his eyes wide in disbelief.

Apart from buying bitter nitrate, Zhao Xu didn’t let him participate in any process.

He also didn’t know how Zhao Xu got out of it.

“King Yan not only recovered from his madness, but why did he become so severe.” He exclaimed in his heart.

“Your Highness, is this the ice in the ice cellar?” Someone asked.

This is what other people think too.

If not, then does this King Yan have immortal spells?

“No, this king did it, it’s the art of turning water into ice.” Zhao Xu straightened his chest.

After saying this, the rich people immediately went crazy.

“Could it be possible that Your Highness knows immortal spells?” A person was shocked.

“No, it’s just an ordinary skill. If I teach you, you will know it too.” Zhao Xu glanced over the faces of the people to see their reactions.

Now, many people have completely lost their contempt for him.

Some people are thoughtful,

while others have bright eyes, obviously thinking of ways to make money.

“Dong An, the son of Dong’s eldest son in Xiayan County, is visiting His Highness. I hope His Highness can teach this technique.” A young man stepped forward.

This person is fair-skinned and looks very elegant.

“At the Yang Family in Xiayan County, I hope His Highness will support you.” Another person came forward.

Among the crowd, many people have figured out the taste.

Some shrewd servants have already run home.

Those stupid ones looked confused.

Zhao Xu nodded secretly, there are many smart people in the rich family of Yan County.

After all, they have a lot of resources, and they have been studying and doing business since they were young.

It is easy to understand Zhao Xu’s intentions.

At this point, he didn’t hide it anymore.

“As we all know, ice is expensive in the summer of Jiangnan. It’s June, and the summer has just begun. If you understand this ice-making technique, you will be able to earn a huge amount of silver in the imperial city, or even in Jiangnan.” After a

pause, he said, “This king came to you to teach you this technique. After all, this king has no imperial order and is not allowed to leave the fief. Naturally, he cannot return to the imperial city to earn this money. However, such secret techniques cannot be in vain. Here.”

Zhao Xu said so bluntly that everyone came to their senses.

Someone asked: “Ice in the south of the Yangtze River is expensive, but how much does it cost to make ice?”

“It can be said to be profitable.” Zhao Xu said.

At this point, everyone can no longer calm down, they are all smart people.

Da Song’s Jiangnan is the most wealthy in the world, if he really masters this ice-making technique, he can definitely get rich.

At that time, they will greatly increase in strength.

So, someone shouted excitedly: “Your Highness, may I ask how much silver do you need to learn this secret technique?”

(End of this chapter)