The little girl Zhen'er hurriedly returned to Xianrenli. When she walked in, she didn't even care that she was still holding her baggage. She went straight into the upper room and frightened little Qian who was licking the colors and preparing to write on the unfinished peony picture. Jump.
"Hey, what the hell is this reckless guy doing like this?" she said in annoyance, stroking her heart.
"Grandma, it's a big event. I'd like to congratulate you first!"
"Ah? Where does this joy come from?" Xiao Qianshi looked confused.
Zhen'er pursed her lips and smiled, pulled her into the back room, and asked in a low voice, "Grandma, does she know where I went today?"
Xiao Qian looked at her deeply: "You know what you are asking. I didn't ask you to borrow the turquoise green paint from the eldest aunt Su, so why are you asking me?"
"Exactly, exactly." Zhen'er helped her sit down with a smile and said:
"Aunt Su told me that Changjing heard the news from somewhere that our brother Dan had captured and killed several famous thieves and generals. The prefect of Guangxin was so happy that he asked him to do something. Inspecting the Northland, he is from the ninth rank!"
"Ah? Really!" Xiao Qian stood up suddenly in surprise: "Did I hear you correctly? I am only fifteen, can he be capable of capturing a giant bandit?"
"Chang Jing told Aunt Su personally, and said that the eldest master is very unhappy!"
"Amitabha!" Xiao Qian was so happy that tears rolled down her cheeks: "Hurry, buy some incense and candles quickly, I'm going to White Horse Temple to offer incense for my brother...!"
"Hey, grandma, this can't be done."
"Why?"
"On my way back, people said that the rebels had arrived in Dongxiang, and they were clamoring to close the city gates!"
"This..." Xiao Qian was both happy and worried. The good news is that if my adopted son can really get an official position, he will have someone to rely on for the rest of his life, and he won't be afraid of being bullied by others.
What's worrying is that this group of rebels seems to be powerful and has taken over Dongxiang. I'm worried that nothing will happen to Li Dan. There are so many rebels, what's the use of him being able to do it alone?
"Oh damn girl, you might as well not have told me, it made people's hearts confused!" She complained, stamping her feet.
"Grandma, don't worry. My brother is so powerful, and there are many people like Xiao Song and Uncle Ma Jiu around to help him. Everything will be fine! Maybe in two days, the ninth grade will become the eighth grade, and the eighth grade will be promoted to the seventh grade..."
"Bah!" Xiao Qian was very angry at him: "You are given the title of official in the imperial court casually, just say it?" Although he said it, he was still happy and worried in his heart.
As a result, I couldn’t sit or stand that day. When I woke up the next day, I was still unhappy. After thinking about it, I suddenly remembered what Li Dan said before leaving. After much hesitation, I finally called Zhen'er and told her:
"Go and ask Sister-in-law of the Ma family to prepare the car, and let's go out."
"Where to go?"
"Don't ask, I haven't decided yet whether I want to go or not. Let's walk first and decide later on the way!"
The little donkey pulled the cart and walked aimlessly through the streets and alleys. Ma Jiu's wife in front couldn't help but ask: "Madam, we can't just wander around the streets. Where are you going?"
After listening to her urging, Xiao Qian finally made up his mind and said softly: "Sister-in-law, take me to the small school ground behind the Chenghuang Temple where my brother trained before...!"
Li Su hoped that Li Dan would be trapped in a tight siege, and Xiao Qian was worried about his adopted son. Little did he know that Li Dan himself was enjoying himself drinking to the moon on Nanshan Mountain.
The fortifications at Fengqiguan and Nanshan were basically completed. Even the Chinese military tents were replaced by huts with rammed earth walls. The soldiers also lived in rows of barracks that were dry, sheltered from rain, and well-ventilated.
Engineering construction was limited to completing the fortifications of Xishan. Even the brewery in Liantang was built with the cooperation of more than 400 people from the renewal brigade.
More than 70 laborers recruited from Lingyan Temple, Ma Youping, Sanjialong and other places, led by Chen Sanwen and a dozen of his Du Gong and Zangtou, worked in the ground pond every day, happily steaming the distiller's grains. Stir together with raw materials such as glutinous rice, taro, polished rice, crushed wild rice, and rice husks that have undergone the first fermentation, then steam them in a drawer, add water and ferment again, squeeze out the wine, and use high-temperature steamed and washed charcoal. After filtration and clarification, it is put into urns with a "original pulp" seal and transported to the winery in the town.
This is a process set by Chen Sanwen and Wu Mao. It is actually what later generations called the steaming and mixing method.
The current production capacity can already produce more than 20 stones of puree every day. After going to the winery in Fengling Town, it is added with water to reduce the temperature, re-steamed and graded into vessels.
Compared with the current common folk wine-making process, this method uses more types of raw materials, making the wine softer and richer in taste; the clarification method is more clever, making the wine almost as clear as a spring.
The main method is to mix the distilled lees after primary distillation with the fermented lees and conduct secondary fermentation. First, the 40-degree "phoenix milk nectar" is steamed, transported to the winery, and then the 20-degree "phoenix milk nectar" is obtained through water replenishment, reduction and re-steaming. Phoenix spring nectar".
Wu Mao suggested abandoning the method of re-steaming the collected wine because the quality and taste of homemade wine vary from house to house, making it difficult to obtain stable wine.
So he drew on his previous experience in making "Xinghuaxi", combined with Li Dan's suggested raw material formula and provided filtration methods, and finally formed a stable finished wine.
"I think this winery and its people should be preserved so that even after the war is over, we can still produce and sell these two wines."
Li Dan held a porcelain vase of "Phoenix Milk" in one hand and a clay pot of "Phoenix Spring" in the other. He nodded appreciatively and said, "The containers are well made, thanks to Maocai's hard work."
It turns out that Chen Sanwen and his people were making wine, but Wu Mao was in charge of the containers. After hearing this, he waved his hands humbly:
"The inspection is still well-informed and well-informed. If you didn't tell Xing'an that there is a kiln and produce coal, we can't make the wine or the container. That's why you are really awesome!"
"Yes, to be honest, I was afraid that the people around me would come and fight for my life. If you hadn't divided the charcoal you brought from the front of the shop into three trucks of the winery, we would have had to cut down all the surrounding trees!" Squatting beside the fire pond Chen Sanwen waved his hand.
"I heard someone say something by chance, and I remembered it. It was a fluke." Li Dan grinned and thought to himself, Hengfeng Kiln will be famous in the archaeological world in later generations. Who doesn't know?
He placed the two utensils in his hands on the windowsill, stepped back and looked at them for a moment:
“But we can’t keep using this kind of thing in the future. It needs to be more delicate and beautiful than it, so that people can’t bear to throw it away or smash it.
We are now urgently using Hengfeng kiln, but their quality is not good enough and the glaze color is single. It was barely enough to make practical folk utensils, but it could not catch the eyes of scholar-bureaucrats. "
He turned around and said: "When I was passing by, I saw that the city gates in Xing'an County were all made of waste porcelain and debris. The prosperity of Hengfeng Kiln must have been greatly reduced.
Since the previous dynasty, Jingdezhen has been far ahead of other kilns in bold attempts and innovations in the materials used for clay and glaze color. Coupled with the convenience and advantages of water and land, it is a foregone conclusion that the kilns will fall behind.
Although Hengfeng kiln owners are still continuing to produce, they are stuck with ancient wares and outdated materials. If they still cannot keep up with the times, they may have to struggle and linger. "
Wu Mao applauded: "The inspection and discussion of porcelain is really wonderful. He has a unique vision. Looking at the whole century, it is really thought-provoking from the beginning to the overall situation!"
"Sanlang is saying that the porcelain produced in Hengfeng is only for civilian use and cannot be sold on the table, so we have to use better ones in the future?" Chen Sanwen looked up and said: "Then, can't we just let them change it?"
"It can be changed." Wu Mao said: "But it is difficult. Whether they can accept it and whether they can see the gap with others and catch up is hard to say.
If people are only willing or satisfied with making ordinary cups and dishes, and just want to continue making this kind of celadon without trying anything else, then sooner or later Jingdezhen's red, blue, and white glazes will become popular all over the world, and eventually they will be squeezed out of their place. ! "
"Brother Maocai is right." Li Dan nodded: "We only make simple wine vessels, and we can barely ask them to support us. But if Phoenix Milk Manna wants to enter the door of the scholar-bureaucrat's house in the future, I am afraid that the vessels produced by Hengfeng will not be enough. After seeing it, I have to find a better kiln to build it in."
"I still have a question," Chen Sanwen suddenly frowned and thought: "When the war is over, we will go back, and the wineries and wineries will have to move back. But where can we find coal at that time? We can't return the hundreds of miles of land we used to build. Pull back one car at a time, right?"
"No need!" Li Dan waved his hand and told him: "There is coal in Lilin Town and Shuangtian Town in the north of Wannian, but I don't know if anyone is mining it now.
In fact, if you want to say that the coal is the best, it has to be from Anyuan, Pingxiang, or from Le'an or Yongfeng, Fuzhou, but it's a bit far to the west, and I don't know if it's An Ning. "
Speaking of Yongfeng, he suddenly remembered: "Hey, where do the steel rods and iron ingots you usually use to make cars come from?"
"Iron is the best in Fujian!" Chen Sanwen immediately replied: "However, the output of Fujian iron has recently decreased and the price has increased. I wonder if it is because of the war? For steel, Suzhou steel is mostly used, but the quantity is small and the distance is long and very expensive."
"Whether it's due to war or travel, we can't rely on them for our sources of iron and steel in the future." After Li Dan finished speaking softly, he walked between them and pulled a bamboo stool to sit down, and continued:
"Actually, most of the materials used for Fujian iron come from Jiangxi. There are mines in Shangrao, Qianshan, and Geyang. They are only used for sorting and smelting. The iron ingots produced are of good quality and have few impurities. What's more, The selling value is reasonable.
So since everyone uses the same materials, why can't we sort and smelt them ourselves? "
Chen Sanwen and Wu Mao looked at each other. Chen Sanwen said in surprise: "What does Sanlang mean, that we will open an iron factory in the future? But this requires skills, and it must be an old craftsman!"
"It's not that complicated!" Li Dan waved his hand: "I have seen the techniques recorded by the Taixi people. They are unique and follow rules.
Their small country does not use that much steel, but in China, the same method can produce thousands of kilograms of molten steel in one furnace.
In addition to Guangxinfu, there are large amounts of iron ore along the three lines from Ji'an to Yongxin, from Xinyu to Pingxiang, and from Jinxi in Fuzhou to Nancheng.
I intend to use this wine, carriage, pencil and other businesses to earn capital, and then I can build iron and steel plants. We have a new type of carriage, which will make transporting ore faster and more convenient.
If we could perfect the methods of iron and steel making in Europe and the West and make our own Gan iron and Gan steel, we would be able to compete with Fujian and Jiangsu for the market and achieve great success! "
After he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered the topic of porcelain: "By the way, there is a special kind of gray talc in Xinyu. I heard that when mixed with porcelain stone and kaolin, it can save coal or charcoal. If it is used to make paper, it can make paper Whitening.”
"Then...where can we get the black lead for making pencils?" Chen Salmon still couldn't forget the pencil he was most interested in.
"It seems that there are them in Xingan, Fuzhou or Jinxi, but we have to send people to inquire and search. I don't know the specific places and whether they are mined." Li Dan spread his hands and said: "There are many places where these minerals are found, and some are mined. There are few places. They are all left by earthquakes and volcanoes in ancient times. Rich ores can be used, but poor ores are thankless and meaningless. Oh, by the way, there are some small coal mines and iron mines at the junction of Yugan and Wannian. I heard that There is something called gray stone powder accompanying it, which can turn purple when sprinkled in water. That stuff is great! It can make sewage clear and make steel more flexible..."
He rambled on for a long time. Chen Sanwen grabbed paper and pencil from somewhere and hurriedly wrote down for fear of missing a word. After finally waiting for him to stop for a drink of water, Wu Mao sighed and said, "I only know what heaven has to offer today. I have grown so many years in vain, but in front of Sanlang, I look like a three-year-old child, and he still thinks he is a great talent. Oh, it's really ridiculous !" After he finished speaking, he suddenly saw Li Dan in a daze, and quickly reached out to touch him: "What's wrong with the inspection? It's scary to suddenly stop talking."
"I remembered something." Li Dan said: "Since Hengfeng kiln produces porcelain clay and marble, doesn't it also produce quartz?"
"Quartz?" Chen Sanwen is good at carpentry, but has no experience with minerals. However, Wu Mao often deals with porcelain kilns, so he knows about it. "This thing is awesome. I saw it in their place when I went to talk about making wine bottles." He said: "But it is rarely used in the kiln. I heard that there are people who come here to collect it. The price is very cheap. What are you using it for? What?"
"I also need other things, alkali, limestone, kaolin, feldspar - anhydrite, and thenardite. If there is any, gypsum and the black lead I just mentioned are also needed."
"These are not difficult." Wu Mao said with a smile: "I can get them by just walking to the kiln, but what on earth are you going to use them for?"
"I want to make two things for you to see." Li Dan said mysteriously with a smile: "And they are the two things we need most right now!"
"Oh? What is most needed right now?" Wu Mao looked at Li Dan seriously to confirm that he was not joking, and then nodded: "Okay! Since it is an inspection mission, I will leave for the kiln immediately."
"No, no need," Li Dan waved his hand: "I want to discuss it with you at any time. Even if I go by carriage, it will take at least three days to go back and forth. If you are not around these three days, if something happens, why should I die in a hurry?
Just send someone there. Besides, these things are not expensive. By the way, I took two more carts of their discarded kiln bricks. After speaking, he turned to Chen Sanwen:
"Ziru help me make some tools, such as sieves, pedal grinders, grinding wheels and rollers, and crucibles. Alas, I need several things anyway. I'll draw a picture and show it to you!"
"Okay!" Chen Sanwen heard that something new was going to be on the market and he was eager to try it.
Unexpectedly, Li Dan ordered a few "small" things that kept him and his two men awake at night for almost three days. Just the grinding wheel had to be made with three or four different fineness.
Not to mention building mills, smelting furnaces, and animal-powered blowers.
Fortunately, Li Dan had already sent the drawings and they didn't have to think about how to implement it. Otherwise, let alone three days, even three months might not be successful.
Three days later, the people who were sent finally came back. The four-wheeled carriage was filled with bamboo baskets and baskets, all of which were the things Li Dan wanted.
Li Dan became happy and first crushed the limestone, mixed it with clay, ground it, sieved it and then calcined it in the kiln;
After secondary crushing, add the crushed pebble slag and gypsum, mix and grind, then add sieved river sand and water and stir to form gray plaster.
He personally demonstrated to the workers how to use this mud and old kiln bricks pulled back from the kiln to build a smelting furnace and animal-powered blower.
"Hey, this thing is much smoother and more delicate than plastering the wall with yellow mud." Some people said this, but most people still don't understand why it takes so much trouble.
"Come back tomorrow, and when it dries, you will know the beauty." Hearing what Li Dan said, everyone gradually dispersed with doubts. Only the thoughtful Chen Sanwen still looked at the newly built stove with his hands behind his back. .
Some people died, but not completely...
