Fushicheng.

Government office.

The clerks in the yamen frowned, but they did not dare to move. Even these unlucky guys had to show a flattering smile when the second master of the yamen glanced over, and they didn't look like scholars with kindness.

However, the yamen runners laughed from time to time, but no one dared to laugh out loud when Li Kui was present.

Yan'an Prefecture, to be precise, plus the Fuyan Road Xuanfu Envoy, the four most prominent people gathered together. However, the four of them had their own expressions. Fan Chunren stared at Zhou Yuan with big eyes. Zhou Yuan was a little confused. He seemed to have said that he would rely on Li Kui for promotion and wealth, but... he also had difficulties!

Li Kui's confident look is not confident.

However, Zhong Jianzhong's eyes kept looking at Fan Chunren, Zhou Yuan, and Li Kui, and there was a little anger between his eyebrows. He never thought that it was just the black oil used by ordinary poor people, and Li Kui was regarded as a treasure. He even said arrogantly: "The people of Yan'an Prefecture are rich and the treasury is full, so they all rely on it!"

While speaking, Li Kui pointed at a large jar of black oil with half a jar and bewitched Fan Chunren and others.

Obviously, Li Kui wanted to collect taxes. If the treasury is full, it would definitely be a heavy tax. Zhong Jianzhong's evaluation of Li Kui was suddenly lowered a little, and he was even afraid that he would see Li Kui's arrogant and domineering spirit with a proud face, and the word "dog official" broke out.

The honest man felt justice again. After Zhong Jianzhong was confused, he still reminded Li Kui: "Prime Minister Li Tong, if he collects taxes, the people cannot afford much tax."

Tax collection?

If Li Kui was not a judge of Yan'an Prefecture, he would have wanted to occupy several mines that collect black oil. Yanchang oil fields! If he occupied it, who would dare to be richer than him? Unfortunately, he was delayed by an official. If he really occupied the mines that contain black oil, it would not matter if the price would not be sold at the price. But if the price soared, he would be at the forefront and wait for the hearing of the Censorate. This is not a well, a treasure well that sprays gold. Li Kui really did not mean to look down on Zhong Jianzhong. He had such a temper and was unforgivable: "Charge taxes? Isn't it good to mine it yourself? I'll tell you, don't look at this thing as inconspicuous, but it's very expensive, even if it's gold?"

Zhong Jianzhong looked dark. Although he ranks the lowest among the masters in Yan'an Prefecture, he is also the only civil servant who has not passed the Jinshi. But his teacher is Zhang Zai!

Well, compared to Teacher, Zhang Zai and Su Shi, they are not on the same level, and the gap is a bit far.

But he still couldn't help but fight for the honor of his master and said honestly: "Occupying minerals is a serious crime."

All under the world is the king's land; all the king's ministers are the king's ministers.

This is not as simple as saying. In fact, underground minerals belong to the emperor, which has been a practice for thousands of years. Since Li Kui wants to occupy the oil well, it naturally contains huge wealth and interests. Of course, Zhong Jianzhong did not see that this black smelly oil could really turn into gold as Li Kui said.

"This black oil is cheap and not popular. Can it be sold at a high price?" Fan Chunren felt that there was a way. Of course, he would not believe it easily if others said they made money, but Li Kui was different.

That's right, just half a jar of black oil, more than 20 kilograms. They bought it from the city for only 40 cents, and the price is less than a kilo of good sea salt.

If the price is subject to heavy taxes, the poorest people in Yan'an Prefecture can't even afford to light the oil. Who wouldn't want to buy more than 100 pounds of sesame oil to light the lamp? You have to use this black oil that doesn't smell bad, and it's not easy to use?

Isn’t black oil worth two cents per pound fragrant?

Not only is it not fragrant, it is also very smelly.

There is nothing we can do about this, otherwise the serious lamp oil costs more than 100 yuan per pound, so why does black oil cost only 2 cents per pound?

Price is the bottom line.

But in fact, no matter whether it is experienced Fan Chunren or Zhou Yuan who is knowledgeable, he does not think that Li Kui will sell black oil as lamp oil. Almost all the goods that the poor in the world promise can't be sold at a price. But Li Kui is the saint of making money. Although Li Kui is not old, he has made snowflake salt since he was fourteen years old. It's nothing to just make snowflake salt. The key is that Li Kui wove a large net with snowflake salt, which makes the originally cheap salt sell at a sky-high price, and makes millions of dollars crazy.

Such a person takes out black oil and says it is black gold, and asks if he is panic?

Even though this kind of thing looks very difficult to sell, the smell is still bad, especially the ones, but Li Kui can't hold back his chest to ensure that this thing is a treasure. Of course, Li Kui also has enough courage to make such a guarantee. It turns out that the oil in Yan'an Prefecture does not need to be mined at all, and it directly rises to the surface. At most, it is blocked. It is cleared and a vertical shaft is not deep, which is shallower than a drinking well. If you are afraid of not making money with such mining conditions?

Otherwise, when Shen Kuo was an official in Fuyan Road, he would not have recorded the black oil. But Shen Kuo was just recording and did not think that this thing was good. If it was really useful and cheap, Shen Kuo would not only record it in miscellaneous notes, but should write a poem - Black Oil Praise.

Of course, Li Kui couldn't point to the black oil that was black, saying, "I hope people believe this is a baby. But it doesn't prevent him from quarreling in a confident tone: "Everyone, you don't understand that this black oil can be refined into clear oil, and the smell will not be so irritated after refining."

"Can you replace sesame oil for cooking?"

Fan Chunren finally understood, but at the same time he also thought it a little bit. He always had a worry, but some people couldn't say what was worried about.

"Mr. Fan's words are reasonable. Maybe the people in the capital will be fine!"

Zhou Yuan felt that he should flatter Mr. Fan at this time. After all, he was just a disciple of Su Shi. In fact, he was a poor person who had never attended Su Shi's family banquet. If he had not been a Jinshi, no one would care about his inheritance, and he would even mock him for deliberately complying with Emperor Wenzong Su Shi.

Fan Chunren just said casually that he could not even spend money on food outside, so he naturally did not have the opportunity to attend a banquet in the capital. He could not understand what the officials and nobles in the capital liked. Zhou Yuan was different in his eyes. This was a rich rich man! The old Fan family was stingy, which was due to family style, but Zhou Yuan was different. He came to the northwest to be an official entourage, slave, manager, and a large group of cooks. Zhou Yuan’s salary was not enough to pay these people. He said that the people in the capital were used to eating black oil-made dishes, and they were basically the same.

Fan Chunren and Zhou Yuan were not clear about it because they didn't understand it at all.

Frying is already popular in Beijing. Because high-end restaurants are expensive, they naturally need to provide matching cooking methods.

Using expensive sesame oil to increase the price of dishes is not considered a disaster. Of course, private kitchens and top-notch cooks in Beijing basically know how to cook a few of them.

It seems that if the oil condensed by black oil can be as clear as sesame oil, it seems to be able to replace sesame oil.

But Li Kui is messy. Can oil be eaten? If you ignore it and lose hope for life, you can try it. But this thing has a heavy metal that exceeds the standard, contains sulfur, and contains various impurities that are very unfriendly to people. Even pure gasoline and diesel, I'm afraid you can't eat it?

Diesel fried croquettes?

Diesel fried small fish?

Li Kui raised his head in confusion and looked at the serious Fan Chunren, thinking: "Uncle Fan, how much resentment do you have towards the powerful people in the capital? You just want to harm them like this!" He also knew that he was blamed for this matter, but who told him not to explain it clearly?

"Uncle Fan, teacher, you're not thinking about it. The oil after condensation cannot be eaten, it can only be used to light the lamp." In fact, during the Song Dynasty, lamp oil could be really eaten. Sesame oil was used for cooking, and sesame oil was also used for lighting the lamp. However, middle-class families were reluctant to use sesame oil to stir-fry vegetables. After all, the price of more than 100 pounds per pound is very expensive. As for why sesame oil is used?

Because sesame, that is, sesame, has the highest oil yield, and it is the most convenient to press oil.

Light the light?

It seemed that it was OK. Fan Chunren was even a little excited. Lao Fan, who couldn't even bear to buy meat and vegetables, finally felt that he could light the lamp comfortably in the future. After all, lamp oil is very expensive, and it would be uncomfortable to use too much as it would cost him his life. The senior officials of the Song Dynasty were very comfortable. At his level, the emperor gave him twelve sets of clothes every month, which was not bad at all. He gave away food, even mung beans, not to mention rice and flour, but unfortunately he didn't give away meat, and he didn't give up lamp oil at the same time. This made Fan Chunren quite resentful about these two luxury goods in his eyes.

Now that Li Kui is finally going to attack lamp oil.

Fan Chunren took out a bold tone and asked Li Kui with a stance of buying ten kilograms of lamp oil: "Renjie, how many cents do you think this kind of lamp oil condensed with black oil is suitable for buying?"

"How many cents per pound?" Li Kui thought to himself that if he sold it so cheaply, he would be thinking nothing more! Besides, if he really sold it so cheaply, how could the 100,000 people in Yan'an Prefecture become rich?

Li Kui certainly couldn't agree to the fact that the oil used for lighting lamps could only be sold for a few cents per pound. He worked so hard that he didn't come to earn these three melons and two dates.

Li Kui immediately said that it was impossible: "Brother Fan, sesame oil is sold for 120 cents per pound, and you are always using it. Why can't the new lamp oil be sold for a few cents per pound? Why can't it be sold for 100 cents?"

"Can you eat sesame oil when you are hungry, is this OK?"

After all, Lao Fan is Lao Fan, and the questions asked were almost soul-sentenced. Li Kui was speechless and had to step back and said, "Sir, can you sell 80 ounces?"

"Prime Minister Li Tong, is it too early to say this? After all, it is not clear what quality of condensed lamp oil is. If it is really not satisfactory, it will still not be able to buy it!" Zhong Jianzhong raised doubts on the side. As a descendant of the old Western Army, he always felt that Li Kui, the boss, was unreliable. Of course, fighting was not counted. Zhong Jianzhong asked his uncle Zhong Yan to survive, and he might not be able to compare with Li Kui. This fight was too incredible, and he fought all the gods and fairies that were incomprehensible.

Oil has appeared, and Li Kui never thought that he would not be able to make new oil products.

He remembered that there seemed to be a method of refining oil in the country, but he didn't remember whether it was gasoline, diesel or kerosene.

In addition, Li Kui had a bad temper and did not accept advice at all. He immediately promised Fan Chunren: "Old Mr. Fan, give me a month to make lamp oil for you. And the official also promised that the lamp oil extracted from this black oil must be more useful than sesame oil, not worse than candles."

"Take it seriously!"

Fan Chunren was shocked. In fact, he didn't need to use any sesame oil to light lamps. According to Fan Chunren's salary, he couldn't afford any kind of lamp oil, but he was just a little stingy. At most, his heart could withstand the result of lighting the lamps at home. Candles were so luxurious that they could only use them. If they used candles, they would use a knife to cut his heart.

But Li Kui's words suddenly made him excited. If sesame oil turns into lamp oil and then the cost-effectiveness is better than that of candles, it would be simply too happy.

"Good boy, if you go do it, you will leave the official duties to those who don't worry." Fan Chunren waved his hand and made a decision. He is now the highest official in the northwest of the Song Dynasty.

Grand Secretary of Guanwen Hall, a second-rank official post.

The key is that this position is the prime minister's position, and no one dares to challenge him in the northwest.

As for Zhong Jianzhong, he was immediately injured by abandonment. He worked diligently and became a person that Shangguan said. Isn’t it good to build the city wall and build hard work?

Two days later, a notice was posted at the city gate.

The yamen collected black oil, four hundred minus one stone.

Black oil is not rare in Yan'an Prefecture, and the price is always two cents per pound, and one stone is four hundred cents, which has doubled. Especially for "one stone", when can black oil be shipped so much at once?

After all, although this thing used to cost two cents a stone, it would not be sold if it was mined for life. No one wanted it. Hoarding black oil not only had a very bad smell at home, but also had to free up utensils. Basins and jars that had black oil were basically not required to fill in food. The smell would not be dissipated for several months.

For a time, the poor people in Yan'an Prefecture all saw the opportunity to get rich.

Li Kui also officially began his path as a scientist.

His direction is kerosene.

As for collecting crude oil, he was not panicked at all.

However, in Yanchang Oilfield, even if the deep oil cannot be extracted, the shallow oil is enough for him to waste. When the people of the Song Dynasty are really used to kerosene, then there may be a turning point when social resources are invested?

He had no worries at all, so he decided to let go and do something big.

As for the oil refining equipment in later generations?

Don't be stupid, he couldn't understand this thing at all. But it wasn't that he had no choice. The refinery seemed to have a high temperature and high pressure plus catalyst, but Li Kui remembered that he saw it in that book that Sichuan had a way to refine kerosene in the late Qing Dynasty. However, oil was an accompanying mine for coal mines at that time, and the amount of mining was not large. But it was also enough to use it locally.

Moreover, during the Red Army period, oil was also mined in Yan'an to refine kerosene.

The solution is definitely a local method.

Others can do it, but Li Kui can't do it if he doesn't believe it.

The first thing he thought of was the steamer, the guy who made high-altitude wine.

But after all, oil is more dangerous than wine. Li Kui is cautious and asked a copper smith to make a steaming barrel. As for the temperature and how to increase the pressure, this thing can only be fought by luck.

The first pot of black oil was more than 100 kilograms and entered the steaming bucket. Li Kui stood by the big pot with a torch. He hesitated for a moment. If this thing exploded, no matter how high his martial arts skills were, he seemed to be unable to escape!
Chapter completed!