"By the way, Uncle Fu! How many of the glazed utensils we asked you to produce have been made?"
Just when Uncle Fu was about to go out to organize people, Li Zexuan suddenly asked.
Previously, the workshop developed glass mainly for use on the front cover of compasses. Later, as the fleet moved south, the demand for compasses slumped. However, the glass caves could not be idle, so Li Zexuan ordered the workers to continue producing various types of glass. Although the output of growing various types of glasses and other glassware is not very high, it must be quite a lot after accumulating it for so long.
This stuff is hugely profitable~!
If cement can't be produced, selling these glassware might be able to alleviate the urgent need~!
"Master~! You finally remembered~!"
Uncle Fu was stunned for a moment, then said with a grimace: "According to your instructions, the glaze kiln in the workshop continued to produce, and now, the glassware has been piled up in a room! At least there are more than a thousand pieces~! "
Speaking of this, Uncle Fu's expression flashed with a hint of complexity. Before this, for all of them, colored glaze was a high-end luxury product. If any family had a colored glaze cup, they wouldn't treat it as a treasure. Offer it up? But now, the glassware in the workshop has been overrun, all piled up in the warehouse like garbage. The world is really changing too fast~!
"Haha~! That's just right~! Uncle Fu, you will arrange a group of people to pack these glass utensils in a moment. The more exquisite the packaging, the better! I will sell them at a good price recently~!"
Li Zexuan said excitedly.
He knew that rare things were more valuable. If he took out so much glass at once, the average price would definitely be lower, but he couldn't wait any longer. He needed a lot of money.
"Yes, Master~!"
Fu Bo also breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands.
"Hmm~! That's not enough~! Uncle Fu, I have another way to make a glass mirror. The process is very simple. You can have someone make fifty mirrors first~!"
Li Zexuan roughly calculated that these more than a thousand pieces of glassware could only be sold for 50,000 to 60,000 yuan under the best circumstances, so he thought of a very important derivative of glass-mirrors.
I believe that no lady from a wealthy family can resist its charm, so it will naturally make more money.
"Oh~? Master, tell me~! I will remember it."
Uncle Fu's eyes lit up and he said quickly.
"Haha~! This is very simple. Uncle Fu, ask someone to stick tin foil on one side of the glass, and then pour mercury on it. The tin foil will dissolve in the mercury and turn into a silver-white liquid, and stick it tightly to the glass plate, so that it It will turn into a glass mirror that is a hundred times clearer than a bronze mirror~!"
Li Zexuan said confidently.
Speaking of mirrors, they have a history of more than 3,000 years. At first, people used bronze mirrors. It was made by casting bronze into a disc and polishing it flat and smooth. The figure reflected in this bronze mirror is not bright. It also rusts and must be polished frequently.
In more than 1,700 AD, glass mirrors were born. The first way people made glass mirrors was to stick a piece of tin foil tightly on the glass, and then pour mercury on it, because mercury can dissolve tin and turn it into a viscous silver-white liquid - tin amalgam, which is tightly glued on the glass. Attached to the glass plate. Glass mirrors were a big step forward compared to bronze mirrors and were very popular. For a while, they became treasures that princes and nobles competed to buy.
At that time, only factories in Venice could produce this new type of glass mirror. Countries in Europe bought it, and wealth poured into Venice like a tide. The mirror factories were concentrated on Murano Island, surrounded by sentries and sealed tightly. Later, the French government paid heavily to four Venetian mirror craftsmen and secretly smuggled them out of the country. Since then, the secret of the mercury glass mirror has been made public, and its value has become less noble.
However, the ability of mercury-coated mirrors to reflect light was not very strong, it was time-consuming to make, and the mercury was toxic, so they were later eliminated.
Modern mirror with a thin layer of silver on the back. This layer of silver is not painted on, nor does it require electroplating. It is painted on by the chemical "silver mirror reaction". Add glucose water to the ammonia solution of silver nitrate. The glucose reduces the silver ions into silver particles, which are deposited on the glass to make a silver mirror. Finally, a layer of paint is applied.
Li Zexuan also wanted to make this kind of silver mirror, but it would take a lot of effort to prepare nitric acid. He wanted to leave this arduous task to his future students.
As for tin foil, the key material for glass mirrors, it already existed in the Tang Dynasty. Tinfoil paper is a handicraft product unique to Shaoxing in the early years. In ancient times, its main use was to make money to worship ghosts and gods. It first appeared in the Han Dynasty.
"This is actually possible~? Can it really be done~? Young Master~?"
Hearing Li Zexuan's words "a hundred times clearer than a bronze mirror", Uncle Fu got excited and asked quickly.
"Of course, I don't have time to explain some of the principles here to you, Uncle Fu, but as long as you follow what I say, you will definitely be able to create such a high-quality glazed mirror~!"
"Haha~! Okay, okay~! I'll make arrangements now, I'll make arrangements now!"
Uncle Fu couldn't wait and planned to go out and lead people to do experiments soon.
Li Zexuan quickly grabbed him and said, "Uncle Fu, wait~!"
"What's wrong~!"
Li Zexuan said seriously: "Mercury is extremely volatile. Once inhaled into the lungs, it will definitely poison people. If the workshop wants to use this method to make glazed mirrors, it must first solve this safety problem! In this way, you can have someone sew a batch of special A mask, add several layers of carbon powder inside the mask, and then separate it with coarse cloth, the thicker the better! Those involved in the manufacture of colored mirrors must wear this special mask."
Uncle Fu asked strangely: "Master, can't you just use the same mask as before? Why bother?"
"Of course not~! You must use this kind of mask~! Uncle Fu, listen to me~!"
Li Zexuan said decisively.
Ordinary masks only protect against particulate matter, which is what we usually call dust, but mercury vapor is a poisonous and harmful gas, so you must wear a protective tool that contains a filter device. If the conditions were not insufficient, Li Zexuan would have wanted others to do it. Gas mask!
"Yes~! Young Master~! Let me arrange these things now~!"
Uncle Fu had no choice but to act as he was told.
"Hmm~! Uncle Fu, go and do your work~! I'll go to the editorial department of Houya~!"
Li Zexuan thought for a while and followed Uncle Fu out.
In order to sell this batch of glass at a good price, necessary publicity is essential, so he had to let Ma Zhou design the advertisement in advance.
At this time, the superiority of "Datang Daily" is fully reflected! You can advertise yourself anytime!
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