Chapter 137 Honeycomb Coal: Songyang County Bathhouse.

Regardless of how Zhao Er was dealt with, Zhao Kuangyin finally felt relieved and could finally start making honeycomb briquettes.

After all, he was new to Songyang County, so he naturally had to make some contributions; otherwise, how could he establish himself?

You should know that the eunuch made far greater contributions than him.

During his interactions with the eunuch, Zhao Kuangyin learned that he actually came from a dynasty after the Song Dynasty, and was a eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, who was even called "Nine Thousand Years Old".

this….

Really…

Zhao Kuangyin remained silent, but his eyes were filled with disgust. Indeed, he couldn't give eunuchs too much power, lest they cause trouble.

He then remembered the honeycomb briquettes.

When Magistrate Jiang Ge gave his instructions, he was distracted, only remembering the name and general purpose, with all the details vague. But now, calming down, the pragmatic nature and exploratory spirit of a founding monarch took over.

"To bring more warmth to the homes of the poor, and to prevent fewer people from freezing to death..."

Django's words echoed in his mind. He recalled his own youth, when he had endured the cold and freezing temperatures, and the frozen corpses he had witnessed on his campaigns. Beyond the machinations of an emperor, there was ultimately a genuine sense of compassion.

"Let's start with these honeycomb briquettes," Zhao Kuangyin told himself. This matter had nothing to do with imperial ambitions, but it concerned the well-being of the people, and thus had a unique and practical significance.

Having made up his mind, Zhao Kuangyin immediately took action. He first sought out Jiang Ge and carefully inquired about the details of the day they had missed.

Jiang Ge was delighted to see that Zhao Kuangyin had finally taken practical matters to heart. He tried his best to recall how honeycomb briquettes were made: "I only know that they are made of coal dust, shaped like a honeycomb, with many holes, hence the name honeycomb briquettes. They need to be pressed into shape using a special mold and then dried before use. It is said that they are much more economical than burning firewood and charcoal, and they also burn longer."

Django never spends money in the system store if he can avoid buying something; he waits until he can't figure it out before considering buying it.

Coal dust? Mold? Hole?

Zhao Kuangyin noted down these keywords.

Songyang County does not produce coal, but there are coal mines in neighboring prefectures and counties, and coal is sold in the county seat, so it is not difficult to find. The difficulty lies in how to transform this black coal dust into a regular honeycomb shape.

He took the money and went to the coal depot in the west of the city himself.

Seeing the visitor's distinguished bearing, the coal shopkeeper dared not neglect him. Zhao Kuangyin didn't want the good chunks of coal; he only wanted the leftover coal dust, which was cheap and perfect for large-scale trials. He bought several large bags in one go and hired people to transport them back to a corner of the county government's backyard—a place he had designated as his "experimentation field."

The primary challenge is the mold.

Django is only mentioned by name, but his appearance is never shown.

After pondering for a moment, Zhao Kuangyin summoned an old craftsman from the county government workshop. Based on his understanding of "honeycomb" and "holes," he drew a diagram on the ground with a twig and explained: "An iron cylinder is needed, with several iron pillars inside. After coal dust is pressed in, it can eject shaped coal. It is hollow and has holes."

The old craftsman was confused, but seeing the man's earnest attitude, he tried to make it according to his description.

The first mold was crudely made, with iron pillars of varying thickness, resulting in crooked and clogged "honeycomb briquettes" that crumbled at the slightest touch.

Zhao Kuangyin was not discouraged.

He was an emperor who had conquered the country on horseback, and he knew that everything was difficult at the beginning. He patiently discussed and improved the system with the old craftsman, adjusting the thickness of the iron cylinder, the spacing between the iron pillars, and their length.

For three days in a row, there was clanging and banging in the backyard, and piles of coal ash were everywhere. Finally, a barely usable mold was made.

With the mold initially formed, the next step is to mix the coal powder. Dry coal dust is loose and cannot be shaped.

Zhao Kuangyin remembered that water needed to be added to the mixture. He fetched some water, poured it into the coal powder, and stirred it by hand.

Black water splashed all over his body and face, but he didn't care at all. If there was too little water, the coal dust would still be loose; if there was too much water, it would turn into mud that couldn't be shaped.

"I need something to increase the binding force," Zhao Kuangyin pondered. He recalled that when builders mixed mud to make bricks, they seemed to add loess to increase its adhesiveness.

He immediately sent someone to fetch loess and mixed it with coal dust in different proportions to test the process.

If the ratio is not right, it will either still easily break apart or burn poorly, producing a lot of choking smoke.

Failure after failure, starting over after starting over.

Zhao Kuangyin rolled up his sleeves and did the work himself. His face, hands, and official robes were covered in soot, but he enjoyed it. This kind of focused work allowed him to experience a pure pleasure that was different from the scheming and intrigue of dealing with court affairs.

Zhuge Liang happened to pass by and, seeing the former emperor in such a state, gently waved his feather fan, smiled without saying a word, but his eyes showed approval. Generals like Huo Qubing and Yuchi Jingde came to see him out of curiosity, only to be conscripted by Zhao Kuangyin to help move coal and mix mud, complaining bitterly.

After countless experiments, Zhao Kuangyin finally figured out the golden ratio of coal dust, loess, and water.

The well-mixed coal sludge is black, shiny, and moist; it clumps together when squeezed but crumbles easily when touched—just right.

The coal slurry was filled into the improved mold, tamped down with a wooden mallet, and then carefully pushed out—a well-shaped, clearly perforated, and solid honeycomb briquette was finally born!

Holding this first successful "work," Zhao Kuangyin looked as if he had obtained a treasure, and a rare, genuine smile appeared on his face.

Forming is only the first step; the key is whether it can burn and whether it burns easily.

Zhao Kuangyin built a simple stove in the courtyard, put in the honeycomb briquettes that had been drying for a day, and lit firewood to ignite them.

Initially, thick black smoke billowed out and the smell was pungent, clearly because the proportion of loess or the drying time was still insufficient.

Zhao Kuangyin coughed repeatedly from the choking, but he still insisted on staying by the stove to observe and record the fire, the color of the smoke, and the burning time.

Once, twice, three times... the burning effect was never satisfactory. It either didn't burn for long, the fire wasn't strong, or it crumbled very easily.

Zhao Kuangyin refused to give up.

He repeatedly adjusted the raw material ratio, tried adding a small amount of fine sand to improve breathability, and experimented with different drying times and degrees of dryness.

He even noticed that coal dust from different sources has different properties, requiring fine-tuning of the formula.

This process requires a great deal of patience.

His colleagues at the county government office often saw this "Brother Zhao" squatting in the backyard after get off work, deep in thought, staring at the pile of black lumps and a small stove, sometimes adding firewood, sometimes taking notes, sometimes shaking his head, and sometimes nodding.

When Jiang Ge inquired about the progress, Zhao Kuangyin always replied, "There are some leads, but we still need to consider them."

Finally, on a cool autumn evening, the latest batch of honeycomb briquettes was lit. The flames steadily emerged from the holes, a clear blue color with very little black smoke, and the heat was continuously and evenly distributed.

"It's done!" Zhao Kuangyin slapped his thigh, his excitement overflowing. He tended the fire for over an hour before the honeycomb briquettes slowly burned out, leaving only a small amount of white ash.

While honeycomb briquettes are good, they require a matching stove. Zhao Kuangyin once again demonstrated his practical skills by designing a simple coal stove that was well-ventilated, easy to add coal, and capable of both heat retention and dissipation. He drew up a sketch and had it made by craftsmen.

On the day the furnace was completed, he personally demonstrated it in the courtyard.

Place a red-hot honeycomb briquette inside, cover the stove, and in a short while, the stove will become warm. Place a pot of water on top, and it will soon boil.

"Wonderful! This thing is indeed more convenient than a wood-burning stove, yet it provides ample heat!" Zhuge Liang exclaimed upon hearing the news. "If it were widely adopted, it would make it much easier for the people to keep warm and cook in winter."

Zhao Kuangyin nodded, already having a plan in mind. After consulting with Jiang Ge, he decided to first test the system in the county government office and the homes of the yamen runners, collect feedback, and further refine it.

The results were surprisingly good.

Those who had used it all said that it burned well, saved money, and kept the house warm. The news spread like wildfire, and people from all over the county came to inquire about it.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Zhao Kuangyin made the craft public free of charge and organized blacksmiths in the city to produce molds and coal stoves, encouraging people to make their own using coal dust. For poor families who could not afford to make their own, the county government workshops sold them at low prices, and some even used them as work relief.

For a time, a craze for "coal mining" swept through Songyang County.

Coal dust went from being unwanted to being a hot commodity.

As autumn deepens, people preparing for winter feel a greater sense of warmth than in previous years.

"Brother Zhao, the honeycomb briquettes you made have really helped the people a lot." Jiang Ge got straight to the point, her eyes shining with excitement. "I've been thinking these past few days, since honeycomb briquettes are so durable and inexpensive, why don't we take this opportunity to do some practical things that benefit the people?"

Zhao Kuangyin was quite interested upon hearing this: "What insightful opinion does Magistrate Jiang have?"

Jiang Ge pointed to several locations on the map of Songyang County: "The first thing is to open public bathhouses. In previous years, it was difficult for people to take baths in winter, especially for the elderly and children. They often could not take a bath more than a few times a winter, which was not only unhygienic but also prone to causing diseases. If we could use honeycomb briquettes to power boilers and supply hot water, it would definitely benefit the people."

Zhao Kuangyin's eyes lit up: "Brilliant! This is excellent."

In late autumn, the wind in Songyang County carries a biting chill. After the Frost's Descent, the river water is icy cold, and even well water exudes a chilling aura. For the ordinary people of Songyang County, the most difficult season of the year is approaching, and one of the most embarrassing yet real difficulties is—taking a bath.

Grandma Su, who lives in the west of the city, is seventy-three years old, and she dreads winter the most. Not only because of the cold weather and her rheumatism, but also because taking a bath becomes an extremely difficult task.

In previous years, she would start worrying about taking a bath as soon as autumn arrived. Her son had died young, her daughter-in-law had remarried, leaving her with only a thirteen-year-old grandson to depend on for survival.

The children are mischievous and run around outside all day, getting covered in sweat and mud, but taking a bath becomes a big problem.

I remember last winter, my grandson Amao came back from playing in the snow, covered in mud. Grandma Su boiled half a pot of water and bathed him in a wooden tub in the small room. The doors and windows were tightly closed, but a cold draft still seeped in through the cracks. Amao shivered from the cold, his lips turning purple. Halfway through the bath, the water had cooled completely, so Grandma Su had to add more firewood and heat the water again. This back and forth used up quite a bit of firewood.

After washing up, Amao still caught a cold and had a fever and cough for a full two weeks.

The medicine cost two hundred coins, which was equivalent to more than half a month's worth of food expenses for the grandfather and grandson.

As Granny Su brewed the medicine, she wiped away tears, saying, "This bath was absolutely excruciating..."

The same was true of the Li family, the carpenter's family in the south of the city. The Li family had five members, crammed into two small rooms. Bathing was always a problem. First, Mrs. Li would boil a large pot of water, then the men would step aside to let the women of the house bathe first. After the women quickly washed themselves, the men would come in.

Often, by the time the last person washes, the water is already ice cold. Carpenter Li always laughs and says, "It's alright, I'm thick-skinned and can withstand the cold." But every time he finishes washing, he sneezes several times in a row and feels dizzy for several days.

The hardest hit are the single men who live together.

They have no family or room, making bathing even more difficult.

They would often wait until the weather was slightly warmer before mustering the courage to go to the river to wash themselves. Sometimes they would be seen by passing women, inevitably leading to an embarrassing situation. Over time, many people simply didn't wash at all during the winter, which inevitably resulted in an unpleasant odor, earning them the nickname "stinky men" in secret.

One day in early November, news suddenly spread throughout Songyang County: the county government was going to open a public bathhouse!

At first, people didn't believe it.

Inside the teahouse, several longtime tea drinkers were discussing the matter.

"Have you heard? The county is going to open a public bathhouse, and they say they'll use... honeycomb briquettes to heat the water? And a really big boiler too!"

"Nonsense! Why would the government care about ordinary people taking baths?"

"Exactly, and besides, where would we get so much hot water? Boiling water requires firewood, which would cost a fortune."

However, the more the news spread, the more believable it seemed.

Some said they saw the official buildings on the west side of the county government office being renovated, with a large stove being built; others said they saw blacksmiths forging a specially made large boiler; still others said that the yamen runners were personally testing some kind of honeycomb briquette stove.

People only truly believed it when the county government posted a notice.

A crowd had gathered in front of the notice, and Zhang, a literate scholar, read it aloud: "The Songyang County Bathhouse will open on the fifth day of this month. It is divided into men's and women's sections, each with its own designated area to avoid interference. Each bath costs only two coins..."

"Two coins?" The crowd gasped.

"So cheap? Even buying firewood to boil a pot of water would cost more than that!"

"They even have separate halls for men and women? That's quite thoughtful."

The most appealing part is the following: "Seniors over sixty years old and children under ten years old can take a bath for free on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month."

Upon hearing this, Grandma Su's hands trembled with excitement: "Is...is this true? This old woman can take a bath for free?"

On the fifth day of the eleventh lunar month, the public bathhouse officially opened.

Early that morning, a long queue formed outside the bathhouse.

People were both curious and expectant, all wanting to see what this government-run bathhouse was like.

Two large red lanterns hung in front of the bathhouse, with "Men's Hall" written on the left and "Women's Hall" on the right. The entrance was also separated into two passages by a screen, so that men and women were indeed separated and did not interfere with each other.

Zhao Kuangyin personally greeted the guests at the entrance, while Jiang Ge directed operations from inside.

The first to muster the courage to go in were a few single men. After paying, they received a wooden number and a clean cloth, and were then led to the changing area.

"Wow! It's so warm!" someone exclaimed as soon as they entered.

Inside the hall, wardrobes were neatly arranged, and in the middle was a huge honeycomb briquette stove, burning brightly and making the whole room warm and cozy.

After changing, stepping into the bath area was even more astonishing. Two large pools were steaming, with crystal-clear water. There was also a shower area next to it, where hot water was piped through bamboo tubes and sprayed from the showerheads.

"How much firewood will this take?" an old man murmured.

The person next to him laughed and said, "Uncle, we use honeycomb briquettes, which burn longer and are cheaper, so we can offer this price."

After the first group of guests finished their baths, they all walked out looking radiant and refreshed.

"So comfortable! This feels so good!"

"Worth it! It's totally worth it! Two cents for such a nice hot bath!"

Seeing this, the people queuing outside became even more impatient.

In the afternoon, Grandma Su arrived with her grandson, Amao. Today is the fifteenth, and admission is free for seniors and children.

The old lady was a little reserved and hesitated at the entrance of the women's hall. Seeing this, Jiang Ge personally stepped forward to greet her: "Grandma, are you here to take a bath? You and the children don't have to pay, please come in."

The women's chapel specially arranged for several female workers to help. They helped Grandma Su change her clothes and led her to the bath.

As the old woman immersed her frail body in the warm water, tears suddenly streamed down her face.

"Grandma, what's wrong? Is the water too hot?" the female worker asked hurriedly.

Grandma Su shook her head, wiping away her tears and smiling, "No, no. It's just that I was thinking about how much firewood would be used if we could take such a refreshing bath every day..."

The warm water enveloped her wrinkled body, dispelling the chill of the past years. She washed herself slowly, each joint relaxing.

On the other side, Amao was having a great time in the men's pool. The little guy had never bathed in such a large pool before, and he excitedly splashed around in the water. The male worker next to him didn't stop him, but just smiled and reminded him, "Be careful not to slip."

After washing, the female worker helped Grandma Su dry off and handed her a cup of hot ginger tea: "Grandma, have a cup of ginger tea to warm yourself up."

Holding the warm ginger tea, Grandma Su's eyes welled up with tears again: "This...this is too much to ask..."

"Please drink it. This is what Magistrate Jiang instructed. He said that if the elderly and children drink a cup of ginger tea after taking a bath, they are less likely to catch a cold."