The bricks at the kiln entrance were being dismantled one by one, and everyone's eyes seemed glued to them, staring intently at the kiln entrance, eager to see what was inside as soon as possible.
After the last brick was cleared out, Lu Da lit the candles he had prepared beforehand, and then went into the pottery kiln by himself.
Lu Da went inside, and Lu Qiqi also approached the kiln entrance and peered inside.
The high temperature of the cave dwelling had dissipated. She placed her hands on the edge of the cave entrance for some support, making it easier to maintain a semi-squatting position on the uneven ground.
Lu Qiqi focused her gaze inside. The cave was pitch black, and she could only vaguely make out the things piled on the ground by the candlelight in Lu Da's hand.
After the plague, the lime provided by the government, according to Lu Qiqi's understanding, was all made by calcining oyster shells, and limestone firing was not yet widespread.
She didn't know if the lime had been successfully burned, since she had never actually done it herself and the methods she knew were only theoretical.
After all, this technology has been used for thousands of years in her time, and even later, it has always been carried out using advanced technology for calcination.
Whether it will succeed now, relying solely on firewood for calcination, depends on today.
Lu Da crouched down in the dim light, as if collecting something, and then walked out of the pottery kiln with a candle in his hand.
Seeing him come out, Lu Qiqi stood up and made way for him.
Before long, under everyone's gaze, Lu Da unfolded the white cloth in his hand and showed it to everyone.
Lu Qiqi looked at the grayish-white lime in Lu Da's hand, which was in powder form and contained small particles.
It should be impurities that were not completely calcined under high temperature.
It's not a big problem. We can just use a sieve to remove the excess impurities later.
Lu Qiqi exclaimed happily, "It's done!"
Her words, "It's done," caused an uproar among the villagers. All their hard work over the past few days had finally paid off.
There were even two or three villagers huddled together, jumping around like three-year-old children.
Looking at the lime in Lu Da's hand, Lu Qiqi felt as if she were seeing piles of silver.
With these two mountains, used for calcining lime, it would be hard not to get rich.
Even if oyster shells were piled up into mountains and used to calcine lime, the amount produced would be insignificant compared to the amount of limestone produced.
Now she owns two mountains of limestone. If she can cultivate them, calcine the limestone, and sell it, wouldn't that be like having two mountains of gold?
After all, the high-ranking officials and nobles of this era all needed to use lime when building houses, and the amount used was not small.
While she was happy, Lu Qiqi did not forget the important matter. "Brother Lu, now that the lime has been calcined, follow the recipe I gave you, take the bamboo out of the stream, soak it in lime water, and then boil it."
Lu Da nodded, then said loudly, "Everyone, pack up and don't get too excited yet. Let's get the lime out first."
Lu Da's words had a great effect. The villagers immediately stopped dancing and gesturing, but their smiles didn't fade at all; they looked as if they had won the lottery.
Transporting lime doesn't require too many villagers, since the earthenware kiln isn't very big, and having too many people inside would be inconvenient.
So Lu Qiqi divided the villagers into two groups: one group followed Lu Da to transport lime out of the kiln, and the other group followed her to retrieve bamboo from the stream.
The bamboo, which had been soaked in the stream for several days, turned a darker yellow when it was pulled out again.
Lu Qiqi then instructed the villagers to mix lime and water evenly, and then soak the bamboo in the lime slurry so that the bamboo was completely coated with lime slurry.
Then put the bamboo into the newly built pool and boil it for three days and three nights before it's ready to serve.
The pond was built by Lu Da and his men. There were no pots that big in the village, so building the pond was a one-time solution that saved a lot of effort.
Therefore, Lu Qiqi simply had a large new pool built, since it would be needed once the paper mill was completed.
The bamboo is being boiled, so there's nothing for Lu Qiqi to do right now.
She took out three sheets of paper from her bosom and handed them to Lu Da, saying, "Brother Lu, these three sheets of paper are the key tools for papermaking."
This first one is used for pounding bamboo.
The picture shows a stone mortar, next to which is a wooden piece shaped like the number 7, with a rope hanging from the top of the piece.
To pound the bamboo in the stone mortar, simply step on one end of the wooden block; using the lever principle, the bamboo will naturally break.
"The second sheet is used to squeeze out excess water from the bamboo paper."
It also uses the lever principle, using a piece of wood to lift and squeeze the paper, forcing out the water from the paper.
"The third sheet is for papermaking. This requires skilled craftsmen to weave it with bamboo strips. It needs to filter water quickly while ensuring that the pulp can be scooped up. I have already written down the size."
The first two drawings only require a few carpenters to make the item.
The last drawing will test the craftsman's skills; there are very few people who can weave something so intricate.
Hopefully, we can find such craftsmen in Tianxin Village, where generations have made their living from bamboo and wood.
Lu Da thought for a moment, "The first two are easy to handle, I'll have Xiao Dong ask about the last one."
Upon hearing Lu Da's words, Lu Qiqi suddenly looked up at him, only then realizing that Lu Da did not stay in Tianxin Village all year round and knew less about the village's situation than Zhao Xiaodong.
Lu Qiqi couldn't help but ask, "We previously said you would temporarily serve as the village chief of Tianxin Village. Have you decided whether to continue as village chief or re-elect a village chief?"
Her question actually had two meanings. The first was obvious, but the second was actually asking Lu Da whether he still wanted to leave Tianxin Village.
In her opinion, Lu Da would not stay in Tianxin Village for long, but now it was probably because of something that he had to stay in Tianxin Village temporarily.
In the end, Lu Da did not answer Lu Qiqi's question, so she did not press him further. After all, everyone has secrets in life.
While Lu Qiqi was farming and making paper in Heshun Prefecture, Lu Changping, far away in the new capital, was having a much harder time.
She has been taken back to the Chen family for several months now, but has only met the old lady once. Most of the time, she lives with her nominal uncle and aunt.
On her first day at the Chen residence, she was captivated by the exquisite and luxurious mansion, and dreamed of how she would squander this immense wealth in the future.
Unexpectedly, I was met with a cold shower on my first day with the old lady.
The old lady showed her no respect, despising her for being uncouth, and directly assigned two nannies to teach her etiquette and manners.
Every day is filled with endless dogma, and my palms are never free of redness and swelling.
Although she had servants to attend to her in the Chen household, she couldn't go anywhere, and her monthly allowance could only be used by the servants to buy things.
Not being able to spend money herself or feel the adulation made her feel that being a young lady from a wealthy family was truly stifling.
What's even worse is that her aunt has a daughter who often mocks her.
Today, in front of everyone, they laughed at her for being a country bumpkin who was shallow and wore everything on her head.
Lu Changping sat in front of the bronze mirror in her boudoir, fiercely pulling out the gold hairpin from her hair with her right hand, holding it in her palm, and gritting her teeth, she said, "Just you wait, I'll make you pay!"
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