Chapter 230: Salt

Phield took the stone and examined it carefully.

Aside from its rough appearance, these bricks were already very close to modern red bricks.

"Very good. As long as we find limestone, we can make cement, and then we can build high walls." Phield nodded in satisfaction and pumped his fist excitedly. "Keep firing them. You’ll receive the rewards you deserve."

The low walls of Starnight Estate offered no real sense of security. They could barely keep out wild beasts, let alone withstand the coming tide of corpses.

After praising the brickworkers a few more times, Phield prepared to continue touring the territory with Tisiana.

"Also, don’t forget to train apprentices. For every person you teach, you’ll receive one gold coin."

Previously, when selecting literate individuals, Phield had taken in quite a few students. Those who couldn’t grasp academic knowledge were redirected to learn practical skills.

"I’m going to build thick walls around the estate, then connect it to Starnight City and merge them into a massive fortress."

Just describing the future plan made Phield excited.

Tisiana listened with a smile, then raised a question. "My lord, I’ve noticed that you always give monetary rewards. They are your subjects—you could simply have them contribute."

"Cough—"

Phield nearly choked on his own saliva.

As expected of someone from a power-driven Church—you really understand exploitation. Having been worshipped as the embodiment of a god for so long, she was completely detached from ordinary people.

Of course, Phield had no intention of letting her manage internal affairs anyway. Tisiana could stay by his side as a... milk cow—no, as a combat unit.

"In theory, that works. But extreme conditions aren’t sustainable, and I don’t want Nightfall Domain to turn into some ’Land of Light.’"

Listening to hollow words of gratitude every day was useless.

"I want everyone to live better lives—that’s my promise. Speaking of better living conditions, I still haven’t produced salt."

The salt industry in the Sacred Griffin Empire was severely underdeveloped, with insufficient production. They often had to import sea salt from their rival, Franveria, at exorbitant prices.

The salt Phield normally used had a bitter taste, let alone what the lower classes consumed.

Phield immediately called over workers and had them bring salt ore powder.

"My lord, you can make salt from this powder? It’s toxic—even holy magic can’t remove its impurities." Tisiana shook her head. "You mustn’t eat poisonous salt."

"Holy light isn’t omnipotent. Different fields have their own specialties—it’s normal."

Hearing that, Tisiana instinctively felt doubtful. But after a moment’s thought, she simply crossed her legs and stood quietly to the side, observing.

Before setting out earlier, Phield had already instructed workers to grind the salt ore into powder, saving a great deal of time.

"Watch closely. First, pour water into it." Phield then called over a guard. "Bring the soybeans I brought back, and prepare several large wooden barrels and some burlap."

He directed the workers to pour water into the barrels filled with salt ore powder and stir it.

The powdered minerals gradually dissolved into the water.

He wrapped an empty barrel with multiple layers of burlap.

"Next is filtration. Pour the liquid into this barrel."

As the solution slowly passed through the burlap, gravel and impurities were caught, and the water that flowed into the barrel showed visible improvement.

"Add two more layers of burlap and repeat the process."

Phield brought over charcoal. It had been burned long ago and piled up like a small mountain, unused—now it was perfect for detoxification.

"Please crush this."

He handed the charcoal to Tisiana. She paused for a moment, then took it with her fair hands and smiled. "My lord, you really don’t stand on ceremony."

"Crack—"

Her delicate-looking hands possessed astonishing strength. In an instant, she crushed the charcoal into powder.

Phield poured the charcoal powder into the burlap and compressed it with additional layers. "Pour it into this barrel."

After passing through the charcoal filter, the solution that came out had turned a pale green color.

Boiling the light green solution, white salt quickly crystallized out, forming a large pile.

"A miracle!"

The workers stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

It had been just a basin of water—yet it produced salt. There was no doubt—it had to be a miracle.

Realizing they were part of something so extraordinary, the workers became even more motivated.

Tisiana’s mouth fell open slightly in amazement. She dipped a finger into the salt and tasted it. "It’s salty—this really is salt! And I don’t feel any discomfort. You actually removed the toxins!"

"This is only refined salt. It can already crush most of what’s on the market, but it’s still not enough."

"What? Impossible. Salt of this quality could already be supplied to nobles." Tisiana looked him up and down. "You wouldn’t happen to be a prince, would you? To have such high standards even for seasoning."

"Haha, Her Majesty the Empress doesn’t even have a husband—where would a prince come from?" Phield laughed and waved it off. "If it’s not fine salt, it’s nothing special."

"Grind the soybeans into soy milk, mix it into the solution, then filter and boil again. I want fine salt—if we’re doing this, we do it right."

"Why add soy milk? These two things have nothing to do with each other."

"Because soy milk contains proteins and amino acids that can bind with metal particles."

Tisiana blinked her large eyes.

I don’t understand... but it sounds impressive.

In his previous life, Phield had heard of this method while traveling. As one of the best salt-producing techniques of ancient times, he hadn’t expected that something he casually remembered would prove so useful.

"The industrial zone is finally getting on track—especially now that we can produce salt."

Phield clicked his tongue and paced a few steps, thinking: If we’re going to build walls, we should enclose the industrial zone first. Otherwise, we’ll face theft—and worse, technological leaks.

"This needs a full set of countermeasures in advance."

After touring the territory with Tisiana, Phield returned to Starnight Castle.

"My lord, I never expected Nightfall Domain to be like this."

Walking through the courtyard, Tisiana wore a complicated expression. Not long ago, she had been a nun detached from worldly affairs. In the blink of an eye, she had become a noble’s Divine Chosen—it was like going from a shy girl who blushed at the slightest touch to someone expected to take the upper hand.

"It’s a bit poor, sure. But it’s been less than half a year since it was established—it’ll get better."

Seeing her fidget, Phield assumed she was dissatisfied.

"That’s not what I meant... It’s just... even if I told you, you wouldn’t be able to relate. Better not trouble you with it."

Tisiana walked over to a bench in the courtyard. The servants had placed it there because Phield liked to get some fresh air outside. She sat down, then patted the seat beside her, signaling for him to join.

"You built all this in half a year, and you’ve only just come of age. I’m older than you, you know. From now on, you should call me ’big sister,’ not Miss Tisiana."

"Pfft—"

Phield’s expression turned strange. If she knew that his own blood-related sister wanted him dead, what would she think?