National color raw owl

Chu Huan ran for a week in the study according to the luck method of Baoxiang Dao. After practicing, it was the same as after practicing Baoxiang Dao many times before. He didn't feel much. He knew that there should be no progress today. After finishing his work and going out, he went to the outer hall and saw his grandson sitting on the ground, leaning against the table, staring at the fire in the stove.

There was a stabbing sound coming from inside the iron pot. Chu Huan passed by, guessing that he had practiced for a long time, and the heat in the pot was about the same. He opened it and saw that the light blue solution had disappeared. The water has been evaporated, but in the iron pot, there is a layer of blue hard shell.

Chu Huan took the knife, pried it twice on the blue hard shell inside the iron pot, and it shattered immediately. Chu Huan took a small piece, put it to his lips, and sipped it, as if he was feeling something. Immediately, his eyebrows were raised, and his eyes showed an unconcealable joy. Sun Zikong looked in his eyes, he was very surprised, and couldn't help asking: "Master, you...you said these are for food?"

He stretched out his hand, wanting to imitate Chu Huan and take a piece to taste, but Chu Huan had already raised his hand to open his hand, and asked, "How many cooks are there in the back kitchen?"

"Two cooks from the capital." Sun Tzukong said: "The Su family also sent two cooks, who are specially used to cook Northwest dishes. Adding up, there are already four cooks, not counting those who help with lighting the fire."

"Go and call all four of them." Chu Huan ordered immediately.

Sun Zikong listened to Chu Huan's orders, and didn't know how to ask more questions, so he hurried to find him.

Soon, Sun Zikong brought the four cooks from the back kitchen. Chu Huan had already put a few of the blue hard shell-like things in the pot into the bowl at this time, and when he went out, he saw several people outside looking at each other. Doubtful, the governor seemed in a good mood, but he sat down on the stone steps in front of the door, and waved to a few people. Sun Zikong and the four cooks approached, and they all looked at Chu Huan holding the cup. Chu Huan had already said to his grandson, "Is the salt from the kitchen still on you?"

Sun Zikong nodded, and took out the yellow-brown salt. Chu Huan put down the bowl in his hand first, broke off a few small pieces of the salt handed over by Sun Zikong, and then gave a piece to each of the cooks, including Sun Zikong, Said: "Taste it and see how the salt tastes?"

The cooks were all confused by Monk Zhang Er.

This salt is very expensive now, even the Governor's Mansion, it can't be used openly, when cooking, it should be put as little as possible, I don't understand why the Governor-General divides the salt at this time.

But cooks know best, if there is no salt in the body, the limbs will soon become weak and the body will be swollen. At present, salt is not a bad thing. Since the governor has ordered it like this, several people are not welcome, and each person has a small piece of salt Throw it into your mouth, although it is very salty and has some other weird tastes, but the cooks seem to have a fine nectar in their mouths, and they are not willing to waste a little bit.

"How does it taste?" Chu Huan picked up his porcelain bowl and looked at them with interest.

Several cooks looked at each other, and one of them smiled and said, "My lord, this salt is a rare item nowadays, and the taste is not very good, but... it has to be a good thing."

Chu Huan said solemnly: "I'm asking you, is the taste of this salt pure?" From the clothes, he knew which two of the four came from the capital and followed him, and said: "You two came from the capital. Yes, I have used fine salt from Beijing, what do you think of this salt?"

One person already said: "Sir, this salt is of course not comparable to that in the capital. The salt eaten in the capital is refined salt passed from the southeast. When we were in the capital, we always used refined salt for cooking in the capital. The northwest side is too The salt comes all the way here from the east, and the northwest is the farthest, this good salt is bought by other places along the way, and it’s the turn of the northwest, so there’s nothing good about it.”

A cook next to him nodded and said: "This brother is right. My lord, this villain is a native of Northwest China. I have been a cook for more than 20 years. I have seen good wine and good food. I have also seen high-quality refined salt. However, there is too little refined salt in the northwest, and you can’t buy high-quality refined salt in grocery stores. Only high-ranking and wealthy families can get some refined salt from the official salt department. Ordinary people, let alone eat refined salt, have never seen it .”

Seeing that Chu Huan was young and dressed in a pleasant appearance, sitting on the threshold without the slightest airs, the other cook was not very afraid at once, and said, "My lord, there is a brother in my family who is a soldier, but he said However, compared with soldiers in other places, the conditions for soldiers in the northwest are much worse, and the salt they get is the worst...!"

Chu Huan is clear that not only will the frontier soldiers receive military pay every month, but they also have a benefit, that is, they will also be given some salt every month. .

The northwest is located in a remote area with no sea on all sides, and it is the farthest from the sea. Although the mainland has been supplying salt to the northwest, the mountains are high and the roads are long, and there are many places along the way that require a lot of salt. There are salt officials responsible for adjusting the salt, but the Northwest has always been the last to get the salt, and the salt quality is also extremely poor, so people often say that the environment in the Northwest is difficult. In addition to the climate and resources in the Northwest itself, another reason is the diet in the Northwest. It’s hard to compare with Guannei. The same dishes, but due to the difference in the quality of the most basic salt, the taste is also different. The Daqin has a vast territory. If you really want to count it, the people in the northwest not only need it all the time. The salt transported from the customs is supported, and the salt that is eaten has always been the lowest quality of the empire.

In fact, Chu Huan didn't know that the yellow-brown salt that Sun Zikong brought from the kitchen was specially sent by the seven surnames of Xiguan the day before yesterday. Chu Huan has not had the chance to see even lower quality salt.

"Do you know the market price of the salt you tasted just now?" Chu Huan asked, "Just a few of you just ate it. If you go to buy it, how much money does a catty of salt cost?"

The two cooks from Beijing didn't know the market of groceries in the Northwest, so they didn't dare to talk nonsense. The other two cooks glanced at each other, and one of them finally explained: "My lord, the salt just now is of solid color, and it is not sold in the market. It’s easy to buy, all you can buy in the market is gray salt, the taste is much worse than what we ate just now, but if you want to buy those gray salt, it will cost thirty to forty yuan a catty...!"

Chu Huan said "Oh". Although he doesn't know the market price very well, he also understands in his heart that a catty of salt costs one hundred thirty or forty Wen, which is really not cheap, and what the cook said, Still poor quality gray salt.

"If the salt we just ate, the price would be much higher. It would not be less than two hundred Wen per catty. The important thing is that it has a price but no market. Even if you have two hundred Wen in your hand If you want to buy a catty of salt, you may not be able to find it." The cook ate a piece of salt just now, and his mouth was a little salty, but at this time he explained himself, thinking that salt is more expensive than rice now, and he just bought a piece of salt. Putting salt into his mouth is a very extravagant thing in the northwest where there is a shortage of salt and rice. When he thinks about it, the cook doesn't feel the slightest salty taste in his mouth.

Chu Huan had the bottom line in his heart, so he said with a smile: "You guys, take a look, what's in this bowl?"

In fact, several people never took their eyes off the porcelain bowl. The contents in the bowl looked very pure, blue in color. Seeing that, the cooks felt familiar in their hearts, but they were not sure.

"Don't know?" Chu Huan raised his eyelids.

"My lord, this...!" A cook said cautiously: "It really looks like salt, but... I've never seen this kind of salt before, so it shouldn't be...!" He hesitated, but he didn't dare to make random guesses. .

Chu Huan laughed, and ordered several people to take a small piece from the bowl, and said: "You can try it, but the best way is to rinse your mouth with water first, just eat salt, and put the salt in your mouth. The taste is gone, let’s taste how it tastes...!"

The governor has an order, how dare they disobey, grandson Kong entered the house and brought out the bucket, first used a wooden ladle to drink a ladle of water, rinsed his mouth to clean the salty taste in his mouth, and then handed the wooden ladle down, the few of them They rinsed their mouths one after another, and waited until several people felt that the salty taste was gone in their mouths, then looked at Chu Huan, who smiled slightly, raised his hand and said, "You can taste it now."

Sun Zikong was the first to throw something into his mouth. Today he was busy with Chu Huan for a long time, and the cold stone finally turned into this blue thing. He saw what Chu Huan meant. This thing is obviously edible, but he really doesn't know What kind of taste is it? Chu Huan tasted it with his mouth in the house before, and Sun Zikong naturally had no scruples. After throwing the small piece into his mouth, Sun Zikong first showed a savoring expression on his face, but soon, His expression became more exciting, his brows twisted, the corners of his mouth twitched, he had already spat out the contents of his mouth into his hand, and exclaimed, "I'm dead...!"

Seeing his appearance, Chu Huan remained calm, and several other cooks also threw things into their mouths, and soon two of them spat out, with unbearable expressions on their faces, but the remaining two had obvious expressions on their faces. They made abnormal expressions, but they didn't want to spit them out. These two people happened to be cooks from the Northwest. The flesh on their faces twitched. Soon, there was an incredible expression between their brows, and one of them was vague. Unclearly said: "This... this is salt... so salty...!"

Sun Tzu held the spit out in his palm and looked at Chu Huan eagerly. At this moment, he was speechless, but his eyes showed a questioning expression.

Holding the porcelain bowl in one hand, Chu Huan nodded and said, "Yes, this is salt, Northwest's own salt!"