In these chaotic times, salt is even more valuable than gold!
Lame Man Uncle almost fell to the ground, his face filled with shock as he looked at Bai Junjun, "This...this much?"
"Uh?" Bai Junjun was a bit stunned. Was it really that much?
In fact, for the half-room of salt she had, this little pot wasn’t much at all.
She had intended to help those suffering from goiter and was worrying about how to give them salt when Lame Man Uncle came asking for it.
So, Bai Junjun couldn’t help herself and gave too much.
This was embarrassing.
Bai Junjun was contemplating how to smooth things over when Li Wenli smiled and said, "The salt was found in a salt well that we came across while drifting these past days; we scavenged some as we went downstream. It wasn’t much, just enough to be of use."
Lame Man Uncle stared at the two of them in astonishment, suddenly feeling he couldn’t treat them like ordinary children anymore.
Li Wenli then added, "However, giving fish to a man is ultimately not a solution. Once this bucket of salt is gone, everyone will be back to square one. Whom will they turn to for salt then?"
Lame Man Uncle suddenly felt extremely embarrassed. He, too, knew that asking children for sweets was indeed shameful.
Just as Lame Man Uncle was about to graciously decline, Li Wenli spoke again.
"I know a method to refine salt. If Lame Man Uncle doesn’t mind, I can teach it to you."
"!" Lame Man Uncle never expected Li Wenli to make such an offer!
But after being taken aback for quite a while, he finally grasped what the young man was proposing.
He... was offering to teach him how to refine salt?
Could it be that these children’s ancestors were salt merchants?
"This...this wouldn’t be right, would it?" Lame Man Uncle subconsciously refused.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to learn, but he was well aware of the significance of traditional skills to a family clan.
Many craftspeople had ancestral teachings which mandated that family skills and recipes must never be disclosed to outsiders, and when passing down skills, they would emphasize rules like teaching only one child rather than many, sons rather than daughters, and within the family rather than outside it.
Something as important as salt refining, yet the young man was offering the information so readily to an outsider.
Despite the young man’s good intentions, he could not feign ignorance and seize the secret recipe for himself.
Li Wenli, realizing what Lame Man Uncle was thinking, curved his lips into a smile, "If Uncle feels uneasy, we could make a trade."
"Trade... a trade?" Lame Man Uncle was a bit slow to catch on.
"You teach me any small living skill, and it can be considered an equivalent exchange for my salt refining recipe. I think it’s a fair deal."
Lame Man Uncle was deeply moved; it took him a long while to laugh loudly and say, "Good! Then let’s make a trade. Don’t worry, I will not cheat you. The recipe I give you in exchange will certainly be of value equivalent to that of salt."
"You’re too kind," Li Wenli said as he cut another piece of meat for Lame Man Uncle, signaling for him to not be frugal and to eat more.
Lame Man Uncle repeatedly refused, saying he still had some left and lifted his hand to continue nibbling at it.
Bai Junjun watched the turn of events in silence; it was her who had distributed the salt, and Lame Man Uncle should be thanking her.
Yet this sly Fox, with a few words, had sweet-talked Lame Man Uncle, and they had even agreed on a secret recipe exchange right in front of her!
Considering Lame Man Uncle’s character, could the thing he contributed be anything ordinary?
Bai Junjun felt frustrated, wondering if this guy had just cut in on her deal.
However, the two who reached an agreement were happily discussing the details of the exchange, completely ignoring the disheartened Bai Junjun.