Xiangbei unfolded the silver bills in her hands, encountering the circulating currency of this era for the first time. The bold regular script read: "Five hundred taels whole," easily recognizable. A vivid crimson cinnabar seal impressed with "Yunmeng Imperial Approval" and bearing a blue ink stamp of "Cheng Tong Bao Gui" on top. Wow, it even has anti-counterfeiting measures. Apparently, it's called the Yunmeng Dynasty now, and from what Uncle Zhong mentioned, it's only been over fifty years since its founding. The previous dynasty was the Tang Dynasty, indicating a historical turning point from late Tang to early Song. Who is the emperor of this Yunmeng era? This silver bill is royal authorized, and Cheng Tong Bao Gui seems to be a nationally certified major bank. There are also two bills, one for three hundred taels and another for one thousand taels. After carefully studying them, North handed them back to Cheng Mo, "Thank you, I don't need this much money. It's enough for me to sell herbs tomorrow and go home. I want to rest now. Good night."
North pushed him out and closed the door almost leaving Cheng Mo in a daze. It wasn't until he stood in the corridor that he reacted, his face turning iron blue with anger. Just as he was about to raise his hand to knock on the door again, he saw Uncle Zhong coming up, his face flushed with excitement. Giving him a secret signal, Cheng Mo had no choice but to lift his steps and leave with Uncle Zhong, entering a large house within the Zebei Mountain Villa, where shadows loomed over every corner.
Here is the main entrance to the villa's main courtyard. Two people are excitedly discussing next to a large iron pot outside the study. Cheng Mo picked up a small pinch of the snowy white salt from the pot, placed it on his tongue, and savored it carefully. Not bitter, not astringent, with a hint of fresh sweetness from the sea.
"How many buckets of brine did you use for this pot of salt?"
"Time is short, so we directly used self-dried coarse salt for the brine. Originally, we used five buckets of coarse salt, but with this refined white salt, it's still filled with four buckets."
"What? Are you sure!? Can you calculate the fuel consumption, alkali, and lime expenses?"
"The lime and alkali are both produced in our Crystal Cave. According to our usual practice of using coarse salt to mix with snowflake refined salt in the market, it should be one-fifth."
"Uncle Zhong, Mo Mo, I want to send a letter inside. Let's use the five to three exchange to get this year's salt supervision permit!" Cheng Mo's eyes sparkled with excitement. He took a few long strides to the table, rubbing his fingertips, planning eagerly on how to reveal this news in the letter while securing the recipe to control the nationwide salt production regulation.
"Young Master, it's already past March. If we want to get the national salt supervision permit in August, we need to adjust the salt supply quota required for at least fifteen prefectures in the autumn. Do you think I can ask Miss Tong for confirmation now and inquire if there is a convenient way for bulk production?"
"You're right. I'll go see her." After saying this, Cheng Mo couldn't wait to meet her. This little girl could infuriate him to death, but deep down, he cared about whether she had eaten, if there was something to eat, and whether she would be hungry. Before going upstairs, Cheng Mo turned into the back kitchen. The chefs and apprentices, who were resting under the stove because of the few customers, all stood up in amazement, unsure if they would be punished.
"Uh, I'm here to see what ready-to-eat food is available. Pick a few items casually."
"Master, we just made chicken and mushroom soup cakes on the stove, ready to be delivered to the top-tier rooms as a late-night snack. Do you want a portion, or would you like another portion of cold-mended lamb?"
"Give me two portions of each, and send them to the side hall on the third floor."
"Yes, we'll bring them up right away." The head chef responded in unison. Seeing Cheng Mo leaving, everyone in the kitchen started to get busy, sighing with relief.