The black and heavy briquettes were placed in the blazing charcoal fire. The originally very warm charcoal basin suddenly became less warm after part of the sparks were blocked!
"Xuan'er, we don't lack charcoal at home. Why did you bring so many briquettes? It's hard to burn this thing!"
Li Jingmo frowned.
Although the shape of the briquettes Li Zexuan picked up was a little different, coal was coal. In Li Jingmo's opinion, no matter what shape it was, there would be no charcoal to burn.
Li Zexuan said with a smile: "Dad, it's true that our family can afford charcoal, but most people's homes can't afford it! Your son is practicing good deeds! Besides, this briquette is not just for heating the fire. You see All right!"
When Li Jingmo saw that his son was going to be stubborn to the end, he shook his head and stopped trying to dissuade him.
Mrs. Li, on the other hand, was very attentive. She asked softly: "Xuan'er, are your briquettes and stoves designed specifically for poor people? If that's the case, mother supports you! I don't know how many people freeze to death in Chang'an City every year. You This is a matter of immeasurable merit!”
Women generally believe in cause and effect. Besides, since Li Zexuan was rescued by Master Lingxu, Mrs. Li has become a loyal Taoist believer. At the end of every month, she will go to Xuandu Temple to pray for the safety of her family!
"Xiao Xuan, grandma also supports you! As the saying goes, if you have three good deeds in one day, blessings will come in three years; if there are three evils in one day, disaster will come in three years! The Li family is now also a wealthy and noble family. Only by accumulating more virtue Only by doing good deeds can you continue to be rich and prosperous!"
Mrs. Ye patted Li Zexuan's arm and smiled kindly.
Four generations of the Ye family have practiced Taoism. Mrs. Ye has been influenced by her ears and eyes, and many of the teachings of Taoism have been engraved in her heart. She believes in the cycle of cause and effect more than Mrs. Li!
"Ha! Thank you, mother! Thank you, grandma!"
Li Zexuan smiled.
He actually doesn't care about the cycle of cause and effect and good deeds. He just does good deeds to give himself peace of mind!
Gradually, after a while, blue-yellow charcoal flames shot out along the coal hole, and the inner wall of the coal hole was burned red. Li Zexuan looked slightly excited and shouted: "Okay!"
Then he used tongs to pick up the briquettes in the charcoal basin and carefully put them into the coal stove. Then he piled another briquette on top of the briquettes, so that the coal holes between the two briquettes overlapped.
After everything was done, he looked at Li Jingmo and said with a smile: "Dad, how's it going? This briquette doesn't burn much slower than charcoal, right?"
Before Li Jingmo said anything, Ye Guozhong stared at a few briquettes scattered on the ground in surprise, and said in wonder: "It's amazing! This seemingly useless piece of coal can burn so easily after being manipulated like this by Xiaoxuan!" This can really be regarded as a way to turn stone into gold!"
The price of charcoal in the Tang Dynasty was not cheap at all, especially in the early Tang Dynasty. There is a record in the "Old Book of Tang Dynasty" that "there are tens of thousands of volunteers in the capital, and firewood is expensive but cloth is cheap." This refers to the early Tang Dynasty, when the country was first established, and all the rebels from all over the country gathered in the capital, which caused Rising fuel prices.
Although prices were cheap during the Zhenguan period, the price of charcoal was basically around 700 to 800 yuan per stone (100 kilograms). The price of good smokeless willow charcoal was even more expensive!
Don’t think that seven or eight cents per pound of charcoal doesn’t seem expensive, but this thing is a consumable! How long can a pound of charcoal burn?
For a wealthy family like the Li family, they don't care about the charcoal money, but for the common people, burning charcoal is equivalent to burning money! How many can afford to burn it?
Cao Tang, a Taoist poet of the late Tang Dynasty, described the kitchen in a fairyland in his "Ninety-Eight Poems on the Immortal Journey": "What are the cooking maids cooking? The stove is full of smokeless jade charcoal red."
In Cao Tang's view, using charcoal for cooking is just a wonderful fantasy in fairyland. This poem just proves the reality of the use of charcoal at that time, that is, it is not easy for ordinary people to use charcoal for cooking. matter.
In fact, during the Tang Dynasty, charcoal consumers were mainly the upper class of society. Charcoal was provided in the salaries of the royal relatives and first- to fifth-grade imperial officials at that time. During the Tianbao period, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty even set up positions such as Accountant in the palace to be responsible for related charcoal affairs. In addition, there was also a special position of charcoal envoy in the court to be in charge of related affairs.
It is precisely based on this that Ye Guozhong said that the briquettes made by Li Zexuan were the means of turning stone into gold! After all, those coals were difficult to burn in the past. How are they any different from stones? But now that Li Zexuan has done this, he has turned waste into treasure and turned stone into gold! There is some great wealth behind this briquette!
"What does it mean to turn stone into gold? This is obviously a meritorious service! Xiaoxuan, this briquette should be cheaper than charcoal, right?"
Mrs. Ye patted Ye Guozhong's arm, then looked at Li Zexuan and asked.
Li Zexuan smiled and nodded: "Of course it's cheap, and it's a lot cheaper! Grandma, even if this briquette is sold for only a penny, my grandson won't suffer a loss!"
He is now a real tycoon who "owns a mine at home". For him, the cost of briquettes only needs to be considered in terms of manpower and transportation. If the costs are spread equally among each briquette, the cost is pitifully low! At a penny a piece, he really couldn't bear the loss!
"Yo~! One penny each? That's really cheap~!"
Old Mrs. Ye is also very discerning. Based on visual inspection, she feels that one briquette weighs at least a pound. The price is less than a penny per pound, which is not cheap compared to charcoal!
"Ah! Brother! The briquettes on top are also burning! It's so warm~!"
Lan'er stared at the coal stove for a long time and suddenly screamed. Her little hands were touching the outer wall of the coal stove to keep warm. Her little face was full of excitement!
Li Zexuan took a look, picked up a piece of briquettes from the ground and put it into the coal stove. Finally, he said: "This stove usually requires three briquettes to be put in at the same time, so that the heat inside can be transferred to the furnace mouth! Now below The two briquettes are already burning, the one on top will burn faster! Xiaohe, go to the kitchen and help me get a copper kettle and fill it with water~!"
"...Yes, Master~!"
Xiaohe responded and quickly opened the door and went out.
Ye Fashan guessed Li Zexuan's intention and asked: "Cousin, are you going to boil water on this stove~?"
"Yes! That's right! In addition to being used for making fires and keeping warm, the biggest use of this briquette is to boil water and cook rice! And its advantages in this regard cannot be replaced by charcoal~!"
Li Zexuan responded with a smile.
After a while, Xiao He came back carrying a copper kettle.
Kettles of this era were either made of pottery or copper, but their appearance was still very different from modern kettles. Li Zexuan is too lazy to care about these things now. For him, as long as they can be used to boil water, that's it.
He placed the copper kettle on the mouth of the coal stove and opened the cover of the ventilation hole of the coal stove. After a while, the fire became more intense.
In less than half an hour, a "squeaking" sound came from the kettle.
Mrs. Li was surprised and said: "This briquette can burn water really fast, much faster than firewood!"
Li Zexuan responded: "Mom! This thing not only boils water quickly, but also lasts a long time. Don't look at it. There are only three pieces of briquettes in it. But if it is only used to boil water, one piece of briquettes can burn for more than three hours at most, which is only a total of 3 hours a day. Four briquettes need to be replaced!
If you just keep the briquette fire burning and leave only a small hole in the ventilation hole of the briquette, one briquette can burn for about six hours, and you only need to replace two pieces of coal a day. This saves you the trouble of starting a fire every time! "
Combustion requires a certain environment: combustibles, oxygen, and temperature. A single briquette cannot burn because it cannot maintain its temperature. Briquettes can burn normally in a stove, and at least two briquettes are needed in the stove. Generally, three briquettes are needed at the same time in a household stove to boil water for cooking.
What Li Zexuan said is all based on his experience.
In his previous life, his family had burned briquettes for at least ten years, so he knew the characteristics of briquettes very well!
Ye Yuzhu, Mrs. Ye and others were shocked when they heard what Li Zexuan said!
To burn the coal stove for a day with full fire, only four pieces of briquettes are needed, which is four cents! If you burn charcoal for a day, it will cost you at least several hundred pennies! Four pennies versus several hundred pennies, that's a nearly hundred-fold difference!
And even if you don’t use charcoal, you still have to use firewood! The people outside Chang'an City can indeed go to the mountains to chop firewood themselves, but the people inside the city have to pay to buy firewood! Calculating the cost of firewood for this day is actually about the same as burning coal!
I have to say, this briquette really saves money! Moreover, this thing has no smoke and is many times easier to use than firewood!
"Xuan'er, this is a good thing! You don't know how much easier it will be to boil water and cook with this coal stove and briquettes! If this thing is sold, people will not care whether they have money at home or not. Definitely rush to buy it!”
Mrs. Li said with a cheerful smile.
When she married Li Jingmo in her early years, she changed from a wealthy young lady who had no fingers in the sunshine to a virtuous wife who could work both in the hall and in the kitchen. She understood the difficulties of the kitchen best.
Before the large-scale development and application of coal and oil, few energy sources were as important as fuel. Among them, firewood is mainly used for cooking! That smoky smell is really painful!
"Cousin! How much does this coal stove cost~?"
Ye Fashan asked suddenly.
Li Zexuan pondered: "This coal stove is made of pure iron, so the cost is naturally more expensive. The cost of each stove is about one hundred and fifty yuan~! But the lifespan of each stove is at least five years. Five years There will basically be no problems within it!”
"One hundred and fifty coins...five years! After careful calculation, it is indeed very cost-effective to use coal stoves and briquettes to cook water! But it is estimated that many poor people are reluctant to spend so much money to buy coal stoves at once!"
Ye Fashan, who has a precocious mind, knows much more than his peers. He immediately saw what the biggest obstacles he would face if the coal-burning method were to be implemented on a large scale!
"Xuan'er, can we sell this stove to the common people at a loss? Anyway, our family is not short of money now, so we should do good deeds!"
Mrs. Li was kind-hearted. After listening to Ye Fashan's words, she couldn't help but suggest something to Li Zexuan.
"Mom! Although my child doesn't care about money, doing good is not the way to do it! There are millions of poor people in the world. Even if all our money is scattered, it won't make a few waves! In my child's view, doing good is We also need to pay attention to sustainability. If you don’t do it this time, there will be no next time! Regarding the price of coal stoves, I will find another way, mother, you don’t have to worry~!”
Li Zexuan shook his head.
Those world-class rich people in previous lives, such as Bill Gates, donated almost all of their wealth to funds in their own names for charity after leaving office! At that time, they also persuaded Ma (yun) to donate all his property like them, but Ma's father did not agree, because Ma's father felt that if the money was donated and distributed to the poor, it would become dead money, and the poor would use it up. That part of the money is completely gone, but the money in his hands is living money, which can be used to create more job opportunities, help more young people start their own businesses, and even help more poor people!
Li Zexuan thinks what Dad Ma did is very clever!
And he is indeed very rich now, but he is not rich enough to help all the poor in the world! Only by constantly accumulating strength can we continue to do good deeds!
"Xuan'er is right! There are too many poor people in the world. If you try to help all the poor people even if you lose money, it will be like killing the goose that lays the eggs, which will not last long~! But Xuan'er, you said there are still more A better way, what is that way~?”
Li Jingmo has been a businessman for half his life, so he certainly understands the stakes. He first agreed with Li Zexuan's view, and then asked.
Except for Lan'er, everyone in the family turned their attention to Li Zexuan.
Li Zexuan frowned and thought for a while, then smiled and said: "Well, let's wait until I come back from the palace tomorrow! Now that we have a coal stove, let's have hot pot tonight~!"
In the middle of winter, the whole family eating hot pot together around the stove is probably the happiest thing in winter!
In Li Zexuan's mind, he couldn't help but recall the scene in his previous life when his family had hot pot during the Chinese New Year, and he felt a little sour in his heart.
"Hot pot? What is this hot pot? Can it be eaten?"
Ye Guozhong had lived his whole life, but this was the first time he heard the word hot pot, so he couldn't help but ask.
Li Zexuan was startled and thought, is there no hot pot in this era? After searching the memory of his predecessor, he quickly changed his words: "Ahem! This hot pot is similar to antique soup, but the hot pot I make will be more delicious! Madam, let's go and help my husband prepare some vegetables~ !”
"Book of Wei" records that during the Three Kingdoms period, when Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor on behalf of the Han Dynasty, hot pots made of copper appeared, but they were not popular at the time. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, people used hot pot to cook various meats such as pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, and fish. Later, as the domestic economy and culture became increasingly developed and cooking technology further developed, various types of hot pot also appeared one after another. By the Northern Song Dynasty, hot pot was available in taverns in Kaifeng, Bianjing, in winter.
However, the hot pot at that time was not called hot pot, but called antique soup. It was named after the "dong" sound it made when adding boiling water. It is an original delicacy of our country. In Bai Juyi's poem "Ask Liu Nineteenth", "Green ants newly fermented wine, red clay small stove. It is snowing in the evening, can you drink a cup?" It vividly describes the hot pot eaten at that time. situation.
"Okay! Sir!"
Han Yuxi smiled and quickly stood up and followed Li Zexuan towards the kitchen!
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