IDWBE -Chapter 76 Sitting to Observe the Sky

After walking a few more steps, they finally saw large sea-going ships hidden between the islands and fjords, with small fishing boats clustered around them.

“Why can your ships dock, but mine cannot?”

Lin Yi, thinking about how far he had walked, couldn’t help feeling angry.

Tian Shiyou hurriedly explained, “Your Highness, you may not know. This place is called Bird Release Island. There are only two places suitable for docking. One is where we landed yesterday, called Pingfeng Ao. The other is Shangshui Bay before us, where my ancestors settled. The only drawback here is the many hidden reefs. Without knowing the route, a ship can easily be wrecked. Only from the southwest, winding through seven or eight bends, can one enter safely. Coming from the northwest like we did, to dock here we’d have to make a big detour from the southwest, which would cost an extra day. That’s why I brought Your Highness directly to Pingfeng Ao to disembark.”

Lin Yi’s expression softened slightly. “Hardship? That’s clearly an advantage for you! Outsiders can’t get in easily.”

Tian Shiyou smiled, “Of course. Even someone like Du Sanhe couldn’t enter my Shangshui Bay.”

Lin Yi glanced again toward the mountains, curious. “Where are the salt fields? I don’t see a single one.”

All he saw were a few scattered fishermen, a handful of small boats, and a group of wildly playing children.

“Your Highness, please follow me,” Tian Shiyou said, leading the way down the already-trodden mountain path, along the long beach, and finally around a steep cliff.

Before Lin Yi lay a vast expanse of salt fields, terraced layer upon layer, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The fields were slightly below sea level, with openings dug so seawater could flow in.

Over twenty people were busy working—some carrying baskets, others pushing wheelbarrows, each with their own task.

Lin Yi picked up a bit of salt, tasted it, and found it not only gritty but also slightly bitter.

Tian Shiyou explained, “Your Highness, government salt is costly—ten wen per jin. Our salt costs only two wen per jin!

Even selling it as third-grade salt, it fetches twenty wen per jin!”

Lin Yi asked, “You’ve seen the salt used in the manor. Compared to yours, how is it?”

Tian Shiyou smiled, “Your Highness eats first-grade salt. On the market, it costs at least thirty-five wen per jin. My salt cannot compare.”

Lin Yi shook his head, “You’re wrong. What I eat is also sea salt. Baiyun City’s transport is poor. Even if I wanted first-grade salt, there’s nowhere to buy it.”

“Your Highness!”

Tian Shiyou shouted, feeling insulted. “I can tell first-grade salt from ordinary sea salt!”

How could a salt merchant not know the difference between third-grade and first-grade salt?

Lin Yi continued, “Then why is salt from Yong’an and Wuzhou in Jiangnan, and Qizhou in the north, considered first-grade?”

Tian Shiyou argued, “Your Highness, theirs is boiled salt. Our Sanhe salt is sun-dried—it’s naturally different.”

Lin Yi gave him a sharp look. “That’s just your poor technique. Mingyue, show them how to remove impurities from the salt.”

As a young online novelist, Lin Yi had wide interests but little mastery, mediocre at everything. Still, he knew enough to clean sea salt impurities.

After finishing the refined salt brought from the capital, he had been doing this ever since.

He couldn’t claim perfection—without scientific instruments, he couldn’t detect remaining chlorides, magnesium, lead, or arsenic—but the taste was satisfactory. Very “old-fashioned.”

Unfortunately, the older the method, the more dangerous it could be—like homemade liquor or sugarcane syrup, where methanol or bacterial contamination was common.

Being cautious, he rarely drank unless it had aged a year or two. Respecting science was always the right choice.

Mingyue bowed. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Lin Yi didn’t give Tian Shiyou a chance to speak, continuing, “Learn as much as you can from her. Find ways to sell this salt at a good price. Don’t sit in the well, watching the sky.”

Tian Shiyou blushed red, staring helplessly as Lin Yi walked away.

Looking over the mountains covered in coconut trees, Lin Yi suddenly craved coconuts.

Hong Ying performed admirably, swinging a pole to knock down a large batch.

Lin Yi watched as the guard Han Deqing cut open the coconuts—every single one was empty.

“Are these even coconuts?”

Lin Yi was perplexed. No flesh, no juice. Was this world different?

Han Deqing cut down twenty more coconuts before Lin Yi gave up.

The only consolation: the ocean he longed for was real.

For someone who had never seen the sea in two lifetimes, it exceeded all his imagination.

Wearing only his large shorts, he dove into the sea. Surrounded by guards, he quickly regretted it—sticky and uncomfortable.

The sun was harsh. After a short swim, he got out and rinsed himself in a mountain stream.

The only thing meeting his expectations was seafood—oysters, scallops, shrimp, lobster, geoduck. For lunch, he had the Tian family prepare a table full without hesitation.

After eating, lying briefly under the coconut trees, he was woken by an excited Tian Shiyou running over.

“Your Highness,” Tian Shiyou held up a burlap sack happily. “Just as you predicted—first-grade salt is truly first-grade!”

Yawning, Lin Yi said, “Enough talk. Let’s proceed according to this plan.”

Tian Shiyou laughed heartily. “Your Highness, now I have confidence! Even if sold north at just one wen cheaper than government salt, people will scramble to buy it!”

Lin Yi hiccuped in response.

Hong Ying glanced at Tian Shiyou, who shrank his neck and ran off.

After waking, the first thing Lin Yi did was wash in the mountain stream. Just as he dressed, he heard a child crying.

“Damn it, this is costly trouble!”

A man in his forties, yellowed teeth exposed, scolded and slapped a young girl with wilted hair.

The girl cried but didn’t move.

Lin Yi frowned. Han Deqing intervened, kicking the man far away.

“Someone’s killing!”

The man squealed like a slaughtered pig. Han Deqing drew his blade, and the man immediately stopped crying and fled without looking back.

Wen Zhaoyi approached the girl, wiping away her tears. “Don’t cry—your face won’t look nice if it’s all wet.”

Later, Lin Yi noticed the man tied to a tree while Liu San whipped him.

The man cried and begged, “Master, I know my mistake, please spare me!”

Lin Yi snorted coldly, feeling completely satisfied.