Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 761 Penalty

At this time, the two county magistrates had been imprisoned in the cell by Yao Zhizhou. Seeing Hua Lei coming in person, the two county magistrates kowtowed and begged for mercy.

He said that he had no idea that the court had issued a notice prohibiting the resale of corn seeds, and Yao Zhizhou, who was standing aside, immediately turned pale.

After investigation, it was found that the two county magistrates did not know that the decree was issued by Emperor Shengwu, but they did know that Hualei had issued a notice prohibiting the sale of corn seeds.

However, they thought it was just a local government order, and Hualei didn't know anything about it even if they sold a little. The magistrate of Dashu County who asked them to buy corn seeds was a relative of theirs.

This person didn't even know the decree issued by Hua Lei, let alone the temporary "Corn Order" issued by Emperor Shengwu.

In order to please Governor Cheng, the magistrate of Dashu County spoke up. The two men thought it was just a small favor and they could take the opportunity to make some money, so they agreed.

However, if you want to keep it a secret, you must not do it yourself. This matter was passed on to the ears of Yao Zhizhou. He knew about the "Corn Order".

Originally, he wanted to suppress it, but after three or four days, he became more and more scared the more he thought about it, so he gritted his teeth and brought the matter to Hua Lei.

Looking at the three people in front of her, Hualei felt a little tired. But what should she do? Just follow the government order. So, the two county magistrates were taken to the border with Dashu County.

In front of the whole county, they were each caned thirty times, and all their illegal gains were confiscated. However, Hua Lei also gave a signal to the caning men, asking them to show some mercy.

Although the two were guilty, their crimes were not punishable by death. Therefore, although the two county magistrates were beaten to pieces, their lives would not be in danger. However, they might have to stay in bed for several months.

As for Magistrate Yao, because he failed to convey government orders effectively and failed to provide adequate supervision, Changyouzhou suffered a loss of 800 kilograms of corn seeds for no reason, and was fined half a year's salary by Hualei. But the matter was over.

As for the county magistrate of Dashu County in Xining Prefecture next door, it was not within Hualei's jurisdiction, so she ignored him. However, Hualei took the initiative to write a letter to inform Cheng Zhifu of the incident.

At the same time, he also told him about Emperor Shengwu's "Corn Order". As for the rest, Hualei couldn't do anything.

After writing the letter, Hua Lei reiterated the "Corn Order" issued by Emperor Shengwu himself to Yao Zhizhou and the two county magistrates.

He asked them to spread the word in their respective areas to prevent similar incidents from happening again, and then he and Rong Jin prepared to return to the government office.

On the way back, he also inspected the planting conditions of several states he passed by. At this time, the late rice had been harvested and a lot of wheat had been planted in the fields.

Because it would take more than three days to get there, at noon that day, after traveling for most of the day, the group found a shady place at the foot of a shallow slope to rest and have lunch.

The sun in mid-to-late October was still a bit hot. After lunch, Hualei leaned against a tree and took a nap. The guards around him were scattered around.

After resting for a quarter of an hour, Hua Lei was about to get up and go on her way when Rong Jin's guard Tie Ying came hurriedly and said to Hua Lei and Rong Jin.

There are a lot of Rhus chinensis growing on the southern hillside. A few people are picking Rhus chinensis and asked Hualei if he wanted to go and take a look.

Hualei nodded. You know, salt was very expensive in the Great Sheng Dynasty. People in many places who couldn't afford salt would use other substitutes to add flavor to their dishes.

One of them is Rhus chinensis, which absorbs salt from the soil and forms a layer of white salt frost on the surface of its trunk.

Use tools to gently scrape off the salt frost on the trunk, which can be used directly for seasoning. In addition, salt can also be extracted from saltwort.

In Xichang, when many people faced a shortage of salt, they often extracted salt from the Rhus chinensis tree to meet their daily needs.

Although Rhus chinensis cannot completely replace table salt, it is undoubtedly a precious supplement in Xichang where people cannot afford salt.

Rhus chinensis likes to grow on sunny wasteland slopes, has strong adaptability, is not strict with climate and soil, and is drought and moisture resistant. It can grow on dry and barren hills and gravel.

This plant is the host of the gall aphid. Galls are formed on the young branches and leaves of Rhus chinensis, which can be used for tanning and medicine. The roots, leaves, flowers and fruits can all be used for medicine.

However, Hualei had never eaten the salt from Rhus chinensis in her two lifetimes. When she heard that some people were picking it, she became very interested and decided to go and take a look.

At this time, the salt on the trunk of the Rhus chinensis tree has been scraped away. However, the Rhus chinensis has matured. Because the location is a bit remote, the Rhus chinensis grows a lot.

Hualei saw several people picking saltwort. At this time, several large bamboo baskets beside them were already full, and they were preparing to go home.

Upon inquiry, it was discovered that the family that picked the salt mulberry was a family named Zheng. Because the family was poor, they could not afford to buy salt. Now was the season when the salt mulberry was ripe, so they planned to pick some and take them back to extract salt.

So, Hualei decided to follow this family home to see how they collected salt from the saltwort.

The family's residence was not far away, and Hualei followed them for two cups of tea before arriving at their home. They first washed the saltwort they had picked with clean water to remove the dust and sand on the surface.

Then pour it into a large pot, add appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil, remove the salt husk, and simmer over low heat, stirring the remaining water constantly.

When the water is boiled dry, only a layer of gray salt is left at the bottom of the pot. However, after boiling a large pot of water, only half a bowl of salt blocks will be left at the end, and then grind it into powder.

Cooking with this salt still tastes salty. I heard from Mr. Zheng that they often pick some in autumn and use it as a supplement when there is not enough salt at home.

Looking at the somewhat dilapidated walls and the gray salt in the bowl, Hualei sighed softly. It might be okay to eat the salt of the Rhus fructus occasionally, but it would definitely not work for a long time.

I wonder if we can ask the court to apply for more official salt to be sold here at a fair price? In the Great Sheng Dynasty, salt was expensive because of its low production.

Here, the main way to obtain salt is to make sea salt. A small amount of pond salt and well salt. In the southeastern coastal areas of the Great Sheng Dynasty, salt factories have a long history of taking seawater, scraping soil and soaking brine, and then boiling and refining salt.

More than 30 years ago, salt making workshops changed the ditch and beach method from frying to drying in the sun, and the seawater salt drying method appeared. However, due to technical reasons, the effect was not very good, so frying salt is still more common than drying in the sun.