Zheng Quchi went to look for Wei Yao again, but he didn't see anyone. Instead, he met the guard who arrested her as a suspicious person last time.
The guard told her that Wei Yao was interrogating the Mo family's spy overnight, so he was sent to escort her to Fu County.
When Zheng Quchi heard this, he knew he was talking about Qu Shi and Shan Bian. He didn't know whether Qiu Zai was among them.
She intended to build a good relationship with the guards, and the first step in establishing a relationship was to exchange names.
This simple young man may have apologized to her because of the misunderstanding last time, but he happily reported himself to her.
He said that his surname was Wu, and his name was Wu Yu. He was now serving as a soldier commander in the camp. He was just a janitor the size of a sesame seed. The last time he captured her, he thought he could catch a "big fish" ashore, and then he went up. He was working as an official, but he didn't expect that everything was just a misunderstanding.
He apologized, but Zheng Quchi was not surprised at all, and both of them laughed it off.
After that, she asked Wu Yu: "Is it the Mo family who assassinated the original master and the others?"
Wu Yu nodded.
"Yes, I heard that the general has confirmed it. Wei Qinqin and Adjutant Wang have ordered the four camp gates to be guarded. Everyone must be alert and not let any disciples of the Mohist family come to the rescue."
"Then will General Yuwen kill them?"
Wu Yu thought for a while and shook his head. Zheng Quchi thought he meant "no", but he heard him say: "I don't know, no one can know the general's thoughts. The general has his own decision whether to kill or to retain." , we gatekeepers cannot worry about that."
"..." Zheng Quchi, you are so relieved.
"Brother Sang, you don't know how vicious these Mo family people are. They actually want to blow up the foundation of the city wall in Guixuanling. If someone hadn't secretly reported it and arrested and brought these Mo family members to justice, we don't know how big a disaster would have happened. What a disaster."
"Really, I don't know which kind-hearted person would do such a good deed. Yes, some people can do everything without caring about anything just for some personal grudges." Zheng Quchi sighed.
Wu Yuqi said: "How do you know it's because of personal grudges?"
Zheng Quchi replied calmly: "What terrible things can happen between the Mo family and our Fu County? I must have done all this to move General Yuwen to the country, but this is just my guess. Who knows whether it is accurate or not." "
After Wu Yu heard this, he felt it was very reasonable.
"In order to defend Ye State, our generals have long become a thorn in the side and common enemy of the other six countries, but we didn't expect that even the Mohist family, which has always not participated in the political wars of various countries, would take action." He said angrily.
Zheng Quchi thought of the man who had almost gone through one killing after another. In the past, he only thought that his way of dealing with enemies and wrongdoers was dictatorial and terrifying, but now he suddenly felt a little sympathy for him.
"I'm afraid that in the future, his life will only repeat the crisis-ridden life he has now. If he stops, what awaits him will be an irreversible end."
After hearing this, Wu Yu's face became gloomy.
"How long can our Ye country... last? Fu County, how long can we last?"
Zheng Quchi thought that Yu Wensheng was even willing to squander precious grains such as rice for Yuan Sui and the others. It can be imagined how much he attached importance to the repair of the city wall.
She composed herself and said softly: "As long as we are determined to protect it at all costs, Fu County will not collapse."
Wu Yu listened to the advice, and he looked at her and nodded vigorously: "You are right, Ye State is our country, and Fu County is our hometown. We have to help the general to support it."
Zheng Quchi couldn't help but laugh when he heard his passionate words like swearing.
She stood up on her toes and patted his shoulder: "I feel so enlightened, but it's getting late now. Let's take care of the things at hand first and send me to the county seat."
After Wu Yu sent Zheng Quchi to Fu County, he also had to run an errand for Wei Yao. Before they split up, they agreed on a time to return.
Zheng Quchi went to the workshop market alone and asked stall owners about Hanshui Stone.
After a round, few people knew about it, and just when she suspected that she might be unsuccessful tonight, she finally found a stall.
There were various colorful stones of different values on the stall, but she could only see the white transparent crystal.
She restrained her excitement and reached out to pick it up: "I want this!"
"I want this."
A bare hand stretched out and bumped into Zheng Quchi's fingers.
This modified little hand is very beautiful, as white as jade, and has a faint fragrance lingering around it, which is in sharp contrast to Zheng Quchi's little black hand.
The two of them grabbed a piece at one end, then raised it up at the same time, and met their eyes.
Just... a pretty girl.
Just... a pretty dark and thin boy.
"I have been looking for a long time, and I have never seen such a piece until now. Can you give me this cold water stone?" The woman smiled gently, neither snobbish nor mean, but just a decent gesture. The request showed her confidence in her own advantages in all aspects.
Normally, it would be difficult for Zheng Quchi to refuse the request of such a beautiful woman, but... this is very important to her right now, and she has no extra time to waste.
Zheng Quchi smiled and refused: "How about I let you do it next time?"
woman:"……"
"I really need this cold water stone. It is related to the imperial court and the country, to countless lives, and to the stability of the country." Zheng Quchi said with a serious look.
Why don't you say it? It's also about the people of the world?
The woman seemed to have never met someone who could talk nonsense like her, but she also knew that this person would probably not be able to make sense by relying on "literary" persuasion.
She did not continue to argue with the other party, but turned her head and said to the stall owner: "I will offer you ten times the original price of this cold water stone, and you can sell it to me."
When the boss heard this, his eyes lit up. He completely ignored the fact that Zheng Quchi picked it up first. He slapped his thigh and was so excited that he was ready to seal the deal.
"Wait a minute!" Zheng Quchi stopped quickly. She leaned over and said to the woman: "If you give him a discount, you might as well take advantage of me. I won't argue with you anymore. Please give me the ten times difference in price."
The woman looked at her in disbelief.
"What did you say?"
The boss's mouth twitched and he looked at her speechlessly.
"Hey, I haven't sold it to you yet."
In other words, this thing still belongs to him. Why didn't he make all the money, but was snatched away by her, the "middleman"?
"Oh, really? Then if you raise prices here, I will report it to the official." Zheng Quchi threatened.
There is a sign on the side of the workshop, which clearly states that merchants must conduct transactions according to market prices and must not maliciously raise prices. Otherwise, if someone reports it to the official, they will be caught and put in jail once the investigation is confirmed.
The boss was about to burst into tears: "...I didn't promise her!"
Zheng Quchi added: "Everything is done on a first-come, first-served basis. If you sell to her first because she outbids me, then I will report it to the official and say that you are selling the monopoly with others privately."
The boss's face suddenly turned green, he looked like he was suffering from epilepsy, and he was shaking with anger.
Seeing this, the woman didn't want to cause more trouble, and finally lost to Zheng Quchi, who paid the price difference to her as she wished, and then successfully obtained the Hanshui Stone.
After installing the cold water stone, the woman discovered that Zheng Quchi had been standing nearby and did not leave.
She asked in confusion: "Why don't you leave?"
Zheng Quchi asked her with a smile: "Are you done?"
The woman didn't know what she meant by asking, so she nodded hesitantly.
"Okay." Zheng Quchi clapped his hands together, turned around and waved boldly to the stall owner: "Boss, there can't be only one piece of Hanshui Stone left in the mine. There should be some in stock. Take it out and I'll buy them all. "
The boss's eyes widened when he heard this.
"You...how do you know?"
"I asked all over the street, and you are the only one who has Hanshui Stone here. Needless to say, you are the dealer of Hanshui Stone here. You are the only one selling it, and there are very few buyers. That product The quantity should be sufficient.”
"So what? If I don't sell you, why don't you go and report it to the official?" the boss said angrily.
Zheng Quchi smiled kindly and said: "No, because the buyers of your cold water stone are usually medicine shops. Its functions are to clear away heat and reduce fire, sharpen the orifices, and reduce swelling. But who still gets angry in this winter? I guess You won't be able to sell cold water stones for a long time, and you will be annoyed by the backlog of this stuff for a long time. Will the boss really give up the real gold and silver business because of some verbal disputes?"
Convinced, he is really convinced!
He wanted to give up his position and give up the stall to her.
In the end, Zheng Quchi succeeded in getting a sack of cold water stones without spending a penny by relying on the price difference earned by the "middleman".
The woman never left. She watched Zheng Quchi coax her dissatisfied boss into submission with just a few words, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.
Before leaving, Zheng Quchi tilted his head and said to the woman sincerely: "Thank you."
The woman was startled.
She couldn't help but be angry in her heart. Although this amount of money was just a drop in the bucket to her, she had always thought very highly of herself, and now she was fooled by such a rogue. Although she maintained a lady-like smile on her face, her eyes were It's starting to get dark and foggy.
"No need to thank you, it's just that we... will see you later."
Zheng Quchi knew that she had offended someone, but there was nothing she could do about it. When the other party bullied someone for money, he had no intention of leaving her any room.
In fact, what she just told the boss was all nonsense. If her sharp eyes hadn't seen some cold water stones piled in the corner of the boss's shop, she would be in a state of distress now.
With an indifferent smile, she nodded towards the other party, turned her head and disappeared into the crowd like a fish spirit fish.
——
Back at the blacksmith's shop, she borrowed tools and a crucible from the blacksmith, took out the cold water stone from the bag, and smelted it in a smokeless fire until it turned red.
"It must be over a hundred degrees before it can turn into plaster..."
When she saw that they were almost done, she took them out and let them cool, then gave them a violent meal, crushed them into powder, and then fried them in a pot.
After the semi-hydrated gypsum was dried and turned into yellowish gray, she estimated that it would be almost ready for use.
She poured them out and set them aside to cool.
Then take out the slag ash and quicklime that had been accumulated previously.
She had taken out the slag ash before. It was originally mixed with many other impurities. She sorted it first, and after removing the organic impurities and sand, she added the ash that had been cleaned, dried, and ground again. After the process, the slag ash that can be used directly is obtained.
She has done this before, so she can skip this step today.
There is also quicklime. She specially chooses fresh lime from the kiln. After spraying water, it pulverizes itself, and then sieves it with a basket she weaves herself from bamboo pieces.
In short, the finer these materials can be ground, the better.
She has done her best to back up the raw materials. Fortunately, firstly, she is strong enough, and secondly, she only made small batches for testing, so the results are quite satisfactory to her.
The last step was the blending of several materials. She really couldn't remember the ratio clearly.
But what you probably know is that the most slag and ash should be added, followed by the amount of lime added, and finally the gypsum used to adjust the solidification and hardening time, which is the minimum amount.
In short, if you don’t know, give it a try.
She mixed several samples at one time according to different proportions. To save time, she placed them directly next to the stove to heat them and speed up the solidification.
She tested each sample through hardness, solidification speed, and stability. In the end, she successfully mastered the optimal ratio.
She also found river sand to match the cement mortar. Generally speaking, the most commonly used ratio of cement to water and sand is 1:0.6:3.
But her local cement is probably not as strong as orthodox cement, so at this time, the proportion must be based on the actual situation.
She went outside and picked up a few stones. Ordinary stones were basically irregular in shape, as if they were random.
Zheng Quchi squatted down, picked up two stones, and glued their barely flat sides together with cement mortar version 1.0.
Since there were many stoves in the blacksmith shop and the temperature was high enough, it only took about half an hour. When she let go of her hands, she found that they were already stuck together.
Under normal circumstances, Zheng Quchi speculated that it would take at least a day or so to solidify firmly.
She went to the shelf and got a bladeless knife, and slashed hard at the place where the stones were glued together.
Click!
There are no gaps, but cracks are left, which shows that the hardness needs to be improved.
Maybe the ratio of cement and sand is wrong, or maybe she forced the high temperature of the furnace to evaporate the water too quickly, or maybe the cement mortar is not stable enough...
Let's try one of them first. She used all the remaining cement mortar, re-mixed part of it, and kept part of it in the original ratio to paste the stones.
This time she planned to wait for it to dry naturally and then see how it went.
In the past two days, because the construction site had to deal with the assassination of Yuan Sui and Yin Xiao, the craftsmen basically stayed in the shanty town during the day without working. However, because of the "small stove" opened by Wei Yao, she could sneak in and out freely. As soon as she had time, she sneaked back to Fu County to see the results.
She nervously looked at the stones after they had dried naturally and found that they were basically glued very firmly.
Especially one group, no matter how she threw or smashed them, it was difficult to separate them.
"It's done! As expected of me!"
Just when Zheng Quchi was feeling happy, a hand reached out from behind and took away the stone in her hand.
"Sang Xuanqing, is this what you asked Wei Yao to do for his own benefit and guarantee that he would enter the military workshop to make it for you?"
(End of chapter)
