Chapter 33 : Everyone was stunned!!

After lunch, Song Shiwei began processing the seawater she had brought back.  

She used the firewood she had collected to heat up a large pot.  

Zhou Wei and Zhou Xinxin stood by, watching curiously.  

They found it all very strange.  

“Why are we boiling seawater?”  

Song Shiwei smiled. “Because Mommy can do magic! I’m going to turn seawater into pure white salt!”  

Zhou Wei’s eyes widened. “No way! How can seawater turn into salt?”  

Even Zhou Lin and Zhou Cheng couldn’t help but come over, clearly skeptical.  

Song Shiwei didn’t explain, she just told them to wait and see.  

The fire blazed under the stove, and the seawater in the pot began bubbling.  

This stove was much more powerful than a coal stove. If she had a clay pot, she could stew a chicken and even bake some pancakes on top, now that would be delicious.  

About half an hour later, Zhou Wei noticed something.  

“The seawater is getting cloudier, and there’s white stuff around the edges of the pot!” He suddenly shouted, “I see salt!”  

The other children quickly crowded around to look.  

Song Shiwei chuckled. “This isn’t salt yet. This is calcium sulfate. It’s insoluble in water, so it separates out first. To get actual salt, we need to go through several more steps!”  

By this point, most of the seawater had evaporated, leaving only about one-tenth of the original amount.  

She carefully scooped out the concentrated brine, poured it into a bucket and a large basin, then used toilet paper and gauze to filter it.  

As she filtered the brine, she took the opportunity to teach the children some science explaining how water evaporates and how salt crystals form.  

The filtered liquid was now highly concentrated saltwater. If left alone, it would eventually crystallize on its own.  

But Song Shiwei didn’t want to wait, so she poured the brine back into the pot and simmered it over high heat.  

Another half-hour passed. The liquid thickened, turning into a paste-like consistency. Song Shiwei poured it out and filtered it again.  

The children were stunned.  

“I never thought there was really salt in seawater!”  

Zhou Lin scrunched up his nose. “No wonder that one time I accidentally swallowed seawater, it was bitter, astringent, and salty! There’s so much salt in it!”  

This time, Song Shiwei didn’t throw away the filtered water.  

Because this was brine, it could be used to make tofu!  

They happened to have some soybeans at home that Zhou Tingyue had bought. If she borrowed the neighbor’s grinding wheel, she could make fresh soy milk and tofu.  

Meanwhile, the gauze held damp sea salt. To dry it out, she poured it back into the pot and roasted it until it became fine, snow-white salt.  

Zhou Xinxin clapped excitedly.  

“Yay!! We made salt from seawater!!”  

Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin were just as amazed. It was like a door to a whole new world had been opened.  

So this was how salt was made?!  

Zhou Wei pointed at the small bowl of salt. “Does this mean we don’t need to buy salt anymore?”  

Song Shiwei smiled and shook her head.  

“No, the salt I made still contains many impurities and trace elements. Eating too much of it isn’t good for your health. We still need to buy salt for cooking!”  

Zhou Lin frowned in confusion.  

“Then why did we go through all this trouble to make salt if we can’t eat it?”  

Song Shiwei found a small jar, carefully stored the salt inside, then glanced outside at the sky. Her smile deepened.  

“You’ll see soon enough!”  

Then she turned to Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin.  

“Grab the buckets, we’re going to collect some food!”  

By now, the children had seen her do so many amazing things that none of them even questioned her anymore.

Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin obediently picked up the buckets and followed along.  

Meanwhile, Zhou Wei and Zhou Xinxin cheered excitedly.  

“Yay! We’re going to have something delicious again!”  

Song Shiwei gathered a pair of coal tongs, two pairs of wool gloves, and a small shovel before setting off with the children.  

By the time they passed the sentry post and arrived at the beach, the tide had just begun to recede.  

Many villagers from the nearby areas had already gathered, busy catching seafood.  

Song Shiwei glanced at the shallow waters, noticing the many small holes dotting the sand, spurting water from time to time.  

But strangely, no one was digging there.  

As soon as she started digging with her shovel, an elderly villager passing by couldn’t help but warn her.  

“Young lady, those things aren’t easy to dig up. They burrow away before you can catch them, just a waste of effort! You’d be better off trying your luck up ahead for shrimp and crabs.”  

Song Shiwei smiled and nodded. “Thank you for the advice, sir, but I still want to dig here!”  

Seeing that she wouldn’t listen, the old man could only shake his head helplessly and prepare to leave. But just then, he saw her take out a jar from her coat and pinch out a handful of white powder.  

Looking closer, he realized it was salt!  

His expression changed instantly.  

Was this girl stupid?  

Salt was so precious, yet she was sprinkling it on the ground?!  

Zhou Cheng frowned as well.  

She had worked so hard to make that salt, and now she was just tossing it away like this? Was she out of her mind?  

The passing villagers also wore the same disbelieving expressions.  

But what they didn’t expect was  

Puff!  

A small stream of water spurted from one of the holes.  

Then, a soft, fleshy thing resembling a pig’s snout poked out.  

Before anyone could react  

Swoosh!  

A large clam, as thick as a finger, suddenly popped out of the hole and jumped straight onto the sand!  

The crowd gasped in shock!  

Song Shiwei grinned as she grabbed the clam and tossed it into the bucket Zhou Cheng was carrying.  

Everyone was completely stunned.  

Was this… magic?!  

How did she do that?  

Were the clams stupid? Or were they the stupid ones for never thinking of this?  

But Song Shiwei didn’t waste time worrying about their reactions. She wanted to catch as many as possible before the tide rose again.  

So, she continued digging and sprinkling salt, working efficiently.  

She even instructed Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin to follow behind her and collect anything she missed.  

The villagers, still in disbelief, trailed behind to watch, unsure whether to believe their eyes.  

But the more they watched, the more unbelievable it became.  

Their eyes grew as wide as saucers.  

Everywhere she dug and sprinkled salt, clams popped out one after another just like bamboo shoots sprouting after spring rain!  

Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin had no time to do anything else, they just kept scooping up clams nonstop.  

Even Zhou Wei and Zhou Xinxin clapped joyfully, picking up any that had been missed.  

In less than half an hour, they had filled an entire bucket.  

The villagers had originally followed behind out of curiosity, but now, watching the clams seemingly offer themselves to be caught, they were green with envy.  

Even more than the clams, they were envious that Song Shiwei had so much salt to spare for catching them.  

After all, in these times, salt was incredibly precious.  

But seafood? It was free, nature’s gift from the sea.  

No one in their right mind would waste money on salt just to catch clams.  

If they tried that, their families would surely break their legs when they got home.  

Yet Zhou Cheng, Zhou Lin, and the others knew the truth that Song Shiwei hadn’t bought that salt.  

She had made it herself, by boiling seawater.  

Seawater was free.  

Firewood could be gathered.  

The only cost was time and effort.  

As he processed this realization, Zhou Cheng gazed at her back, deep in thought.  

A new feeling slowly surfaced in his heart.  

Maybe… she was actually pretty amazing.