In ancient times, salt was almost a monopoly material, and people were brutally exploited by salt merchants. Monopoly led to the high price of salt. But three meals a day cannot be without salt. In addition to seasoning, salt is also an important mineral to maintain human daily activities.
Poor people who can't afford salt have to find ways to replace salt with other substances. The poor buy mostly unprocessed soil salt, mostly raw salt dug from saline-alkali land. These soil salts have not been dug up by salt merchants, and they are in the most primitive state, and the price is very low, which greatly reduces the burden on the poor.
After the poor bought the raw salt, they processed it in their own local way. Their method is to treat it with water because salt is soluble in water. Dissolve these soil salts in hot water, stir constantly during the dissolution process, and finally filter out the insoluble ones. The poor will crystallize the dissolved salt water into salt, and if it can't crystallize, they will cook three meals a day directly with salt water.
Another way is to go to the black market to find smugglers to buy smuggled salt. Some people may say that smuggling salt was not allowed in ancient times. How can there be a salt dealer? It is true that the government stipulates that people are not allowed to sell salt, but people die for money and birds die for food. Some people have to take risks when their survival is not guaranteed.
Because private salt is not taxed, it is much cheaper than official salt. You don't have to process smuggled salt yourself, but there are hidden dangers. After all, smuggling salt is not allowed by the government. If it is found out, it is a crime of destroying property.
Salt has always been an important source of tax revenue in past dynasties. In fact, the rulers also know that some people use salt privately, but in order to prevent excessive intensification of social contradictions, the rulers sometimes turn a blind eye.