Restart:Untalented Man

Chapter 143 Salt Factory

?His lack of sleep doesn't slow down his work. The more he delays, the longer it gets to achieve his goal. Moreover, he is not a person who loves to postpone his work. In the end, he finished drafting in a week or so.

Riz let out a long exhausted sigh.

Simultaneously, his body begins to loosen up, resulting in his eyes becoming heavier before completely closing.

He doesn't know how long he has fallen asleep until he hears the creaking sounds of the door opening.

Riz woke up from his sleep and found a figure of Charlotte standing at the door.

"Milord, why don't you sleep in your room if you're tired?" said Charlotte while staring at his face. Her master had dark circles under his eyes for a couple of days now.

Riz dismissed his personal maid's suggestion. "I just accidentally fell asleep. What did you come here for?"

"I returned to the mansion and the maids told me you didn't come for lunch. You didn't answer their knocking either. So, I'm checking up on you."

"It's already lunchtime?! Oh shit! I have somewhere to go." Riz stood up in a hurry. His hand scrambled to find relevant documents. But then, his stomach grumbles.

"Eat your lunch first, milord" Charlotte reminds him. Although it was supposed to be her job to take care of Riz, she was busy with the SIN as of late. Many reports come to her office, especially from the north. SIN is still a new force in the region. She needs to ensure they proceed cautiously or else everything there will crumble apart.

"Yeah, let's do that. Are you free right now? Wanna accompany me?"

"Sure, I am free for the rest of the day."

....

After Riz enjoys his lunch, the two move in the black carriage to the undeveloped northern area. The journey is not as boring as she taught it to be.

She saw many people cutting down the trees, taking advantage to earn some extra money.

"Where are we going?"

"Near the coast. To see the progress of my sea salt factory project."

"Did the development in the north have begun? I thought it wouldn't start until next month." Charlotte asked with a surprised face.

"No, not yet. This area is still dense with trees. I simply set up an essential industry because I can't delay the salt matter."

As Ryntum doesn't have many salt mines, they had to be imported from other nations which causes money. Tons of money.

In his opinion, it doesn't make sense to continue exporting salt when he had total access to the abundant seawater in the Gulf of Napuna.

Salt or sodium chloride is very important in human life. Not only does salt add flavour, but it is also used in food preservation. Without the presence of a refrigerator in this era, food preservation is a very important daily life activity here.

Sea salt in particular is said to be more beneficial to human health than table salt due to the trace of minerals it retained such as sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium. Some gourmets believe sea salt has better texture and taste. In terms of health, sea salt was said to have effects against heart disease or prevent muscle cramps.

He doesn't know how far the truth is. Aside from watching documentaries, he never actually had hands-on experience in saltworks.

Whether it's true or not, he doesn't give a damn.

To him, salt is salt. Even if the salt's flavour changes, the one responsible to adjust the taste to match his palate is the chef.

Ten minutes later, the carriage stops. "Milord, milady, we had arrived at the salt factory." informed the coachman to the distinguished couple inside.

As soon as Charlotte stepped outside, her nose inhaled the stale and sulphury smell coming from the sea. Due to her rare occasion coming near the sea, the smells make her uncomfortable and her face frowns, "Urrghh, I'll never get used to this smell. How come you're fine?"

"Maybe because I'm used to it." Riz brushed it off. He can't say that he formerly lived on an island.

The two moved their feet along the coast to the salt factory. To produce salt on an industrial scale, Riz dedicated a relatively large and shallow flat land far from the future industrial park as an evaporation pond.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows for him, some sections need to be altered to allow for more ponds to be created.

By taking account of the ocean waves, Riz designed an irrigation system by playing around with slope value. Each time the wave comes, the seawater enters the irrigation line, it will naturally flow from the coastal sections to the inland section of the evaporation pond. This way, the workers don't have to waste time transporting seawater.

Sea water trapped in the pond was then left to evaporate efficiently by the sun and wind.

As easy as it sounds, harvesting salt from seawater can only be done in a place where the rainfall is low. The seawater needs enough time to evaporate.

Their sudden arrival was warmly welcomed by the manager of the factory. He gave them a tour of the factory while explaining the extraction process to them. Since the manager is so passionate about saltmaking, Riz simply lends his ears to him.

Like the steel industry, the salt factory here had an alchemist assigned with the task of improving the quality of the salt. If they want to grab customers, the salt produced by Ryntum needs to have some edge.

Looking at the salt accumulated inside the factory, Charlotte asked the manager. "Did our own produced salt has entered the market?"

The manager explains, "We gradually increase the presence of our salt in the market. Salt trade was majoritively controlled by big nobles from various kingdoms. They sell the salt as a luxurious item. I'm sure our cheaper price salt can gain attraction from people."

"I've no opposition with us trying to grab some market share in the salt trade. It means another source of revenue for the kingdom. However, make sure to prioritise our people first before setting your eyes outwards." Riz reminded the manager with a firm tone.

"I'll hold tight to your words, your majesty."

Riz give a simple nod before continuing his tour. He doesn't take the manager's word to his heart but waits for the manager to prove it with his action.