Grandpa Ahu Misses His Hometown
Grandpa Ahu was sick.
Grandpa Ahu wasn’t a local ant; he was brought to Anhui by tourists when he was young.
Little ant Aya asked, “Grandpa Ahu, what would you like to eat?”
Grandpa Ahu shook his head, “I can’t eat anything.” Tears welled up in his eyes, “I really want to go back to my hometown, but I’m old, often sick, and my memory is so poor that I can’t remember where my hometown is.”
Aya comforted Grandpa Ahu, “Don’t be sad. We’ll find you something delicious to eat, and maybe you’ll feel better!”
Aya immediately gathered all the ants, and they split into two groups to search for food.
After a while, Aya returned with a team of ants carrying a bowl of fragrant and spicy boiled beef.
Aya crawled into the bowl, tore off a small piece of beef, and handed it to Grandpa Ahu.
As Grandpa Ahu ate, he nodded, “The salt in this dish is just right. Did you know? Salt is very important for the health of animals; it helps maintain the balance of water in our bodies and keeps us strong.”
Aya nodded repeatedly, “I must say, you look much better after eating the beef!”
Aya stuffed a small piece of beef into his mouth, chewing and saying, “It’s so tasty! Humans really know how to eat. Do they also need salt?”
Grandpa Ahu nodded, “Of course! If humans lack salt for a long time, they can get dizzy, weak, and even fall into a coma. There are four main types of salt that Chinese people eat: well salt, mineral salt, sea salt, and lake salt. This dish uses well salt.”
Aya waved his hands quickly, “I’m confused; such a small thing as salt has so many types?”
“Of course,” Grandpa Ahu said, but then he suddenly started coughing because the boiled beef was a bit too spicy and it choked him.
Aya quickly patted Grandpa Ahu’s back, “Don’t eat the beef anymore. We’ll find something else for you.”
The ant team set out again, and soon they returned with a roasted prawn.
Aya peeled off a piece of prawn meat and gave it to Grandpa Ahu. Grandpa Ahu smiled and said, “This prawn was roasted with sea salt.”
After eating the prawn, Grandpa Ahu felt much better and slowly began to talk about the four types of salt he mentioned earlier.
Well Salt and Mineral Salt
Drill a well to bring up natural underground brine. By repeatedly boiling the brine to evaporate the water, you get pure white well salt.
Ancient seawater or lake water formed salt mines after drying up, usually located several hundred meters underground. A well is dug in the salt mine, and water is injected to dissolve the salt mine into brine. The brine is brought up and dried to get mineral salt.
Well salt and mineral salt are buried underground, avoiding the pollution from seawater, making them healthy and environmentally friendly.
Sea Salt
Collect seawater, remove impurities, and let it evaporate in pools. After the water evaporates, what remains is sea salt.
Lake Salt
As lake water evaporates, it leaves thick salt layers on the lake bed. People collect the salt layers, wash and dry them, and get natural lake salt.
Salt lakes are often found in arid areas, and because the lakes contain different algae, the lake water looks colorful and beautiful.
Aya rubbed his chin, “With over 1.4 billion people in China, is there enough salt for everyone?”
Grandpa Ahu laughed, “Yes! The people of the country consume about 10 million tons of salt annually. Even though that’s a lot, just the reserves of well salt and mineral salt in Ye County, Henan Province, are as high as 330 billion tons, enough to feed the whole country for 33,000 years!”
At this moment, the other ant team returned, bringing a golden piece of salt and pepper potato.
The salt and pepper potato was crispy on the outside and tender inside. Grandpa Ahu took a bite, and the savory flavor filled his mouth, opening a memory pathway in his mind.
Grandpa Ahu exclaimed, “This is the taste of lake salt! I remember now, my hometown is at Qarhan Salt Lake in Qinghai Province!”
The ants gathered around, tasting the salt and pepper potato.
“This is the taste of lake salt, so fresh!”
“It feels like I’ve tasted the colorful water of the lake, so beautiful!”
“It feels like I’ve tasted the blue sky reflected in the clear lake water.”
“It feels like I’ve tasted the shadows of wild animals, camels, antelopes, and wild horses coming to the lake to graze.”
Grandpa Ahu, moved, said, “That’s exactly what my hometown looks like!”
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
