Chapter 74 Gunpowder
As soon as I arrived at the door of Caiyun Manor, before I stepped in, the staff of Caiyun Manor came to greet me with a smile.
"Dear guests, please come in——"
There were quite a lot of people on the first floor. Ji Zheng looked around and felt that there was nothing he liked. He whispered to Ji Hean, "Do you like anyone?"
Ji Hean shook his head, "No."
"Let's go upstairs and take a look." Ji Zheng said to his staff.
"Okay." The waiter responded happily and took the two of them to the second floor.
Caiyun Manor is divided into three floors, and the prices on each floor are higher than the previous one.
When they reached the second floor, there were fewer people. Ji Zheng held Ji Hean's hand and looked at them slowly.
The clothes on this floor are much better than those on the first floor in terms of both fabric and workmanship.
Since the second floor is so good, wouldn’t the third floor be even better? So they went to the third floor.
Sure enough, as soon as he went up to the third floor, Ji Hean fell in love with an apartment at first sight.
"I want to see that." Ji Hean pointed at a set of light yellow clothes hanging on the wall and said to the guy next to him.
The waiter quickly took the clothes down and handed them to Ji Hean.
"Do you want to give it a try?" Ji Zheng suggested.
The clerk quickly said, "We have a place here specifically for trying on clothes."
Ji Hean thought about it, nodded, and followed the waiter to a small room.
After a while, Ji and An changed their clothes and came out.
This is a long gown made of the finest silk, its color as soft and warm as the sunlight penetrating the mist in the early morning.
The collar of the gown is embroidered with delicate cloud patterns, as if light clouds are floating in it.
The cuffs are trimmed with silver threads, gleaming with a faint glow, like the bright stars in the night sky.
A gem-encrusted belt tied around her waist not only added a touch of color to the overall look, but also highlighted Ji Hean's slender figure.
When he put on this outfit, he exuded an elegant and noble temperament that was eye-catching.
Seeing the surprise in Ji Zheng's eyes, Ji Hean asked a little embarrassedly: "Is it good-looking?"
Before Ji Zheng could answer, the waiter next to him immediately praised: "It's so beautiful! This dress is tailor-made for you. I have never seen anyone who is more suitable for this dress than you."
"It looks good! Very good!" Ji Zheng also quickly followed suit.
This made Ji and An's ears turn red.
"We want the clothes." Ji Zheng spoke directly without even asking the price, causing the staff to grin so much that their mouths almost reached their ears.
Facing the generous guests, the waiter enthusiastically recommended: "Dear guests, we have other clothes, you can take a look."
On the recommendation of his partner, Ji Zheng bought several sets of clothes for Ji Hean, and of course a lot of shoes as well. If Ji Hean hadn't stopped him, Ji Zheng would probably have bought more.
Shopping is a pleasant thing, especially shopping with money.
....
"Why were you transferred to the Gunpowder Department for no reason?" Gao Ji followed Ji Zheng and walked towards the Ministry of Industry.
Ji Zheng sighed, thinking back to what happened that day, and said quietly, "Because I deserved it."
"What's the meaning?" Gao Ji didn't understand.
He looked up at Gao Ji and said, "Listen to my advice. No matter what you do, remember to think twice before you act."
Gao Ji still didn't understand and his eyes were a little confused, but when he saw Ji Zheng's obviously sad expression, he suddenly thought of something.
He lowered his voice and approached Ji Zheng and asked, "Did you offend someone?"
Ji Zheng was silent for a moment, then said, "If you insist, it is true."
"Really?" Gao Ji's eyes widened, and then he lowered his voice and asked, "Who did you offend?"
Ji Zheng didn't say anything, but pointed to the sky.
In ancient times, the emperor was the heaven.
“What!!” Gao Ji’s voice suddenly rose, and he froze in place. The look in his eyes when he looked at Ji Zheng changed. He pointed at Ji Zheng and stammered, “You, you, you you you…”
Seeing how scared he was, Ji Zheng laughed unkindly, "Gao Ji, you are too timid. It was just a joke."
Gao Ji was speechless, "You are mentally ill, right?"
Ji Zheng retorted, "Lao Gao, I am not the one who said this. If I really offended the person above, would I still be alive? You don't even need to think about it."
Gao Ji was choking on his words, not wanting to discuss the topic anymore, and said, "Then why did you go to the gunpowder department? Don't tell me you are also knowledgeable about gunpowder."
Ji Zheng looked at him with a look of "No way" and said with a smile: "It's true."
"Just brag." Gao Ji didn't believe it.
"If you don't believe it, forget it." Ji Zheng said indifferently.
Ji Zheng came to the gunpowder department leisurely. Before he stepped in, he heard another explosion from inside.
I walked in quickly and saw Ding Mao doing the experiment again.
But judging from the looks on their faces, they seemed to have failed again.
"What exactly is the problem?" Ding Mao frowned and looked distressed.
The people around him also looked very unhappy, and all they saw was worry.
Seeing Ji Zheng coming, Ding Mao's eyes lit up. When he returned home last night, Emperor Ren told him about Ji Zheng's fireworks.
"Master Ji is here, come here quickly."
The boss called so urgently that Ji Zheng quickened his pace and went forward, "What's the matter, Lord Ding?"
"Do you know anything about gunpowder?" Ding Mao asked with anticipation on his face.
"A little."
After hearing this answer, Ding Mao's originally bright eyes dimmed a lot in an instant.
"I heard that you made fireworks that day that were very similar to gunpowder?" Ding Mao asked again, unwilling to give up.
Ji Zheng still gave the same answer, "It was just an accidental success."
Ding Mao: “….”
Seeing Ding Mao's obviously disappointed expression, Ji Zheng thought for a moment and changed the subject, "Master Ding, I seemed to hear the sound of gunpowder at the door just now?"
Ding Mao was in a very depressed mood at the moment. He waved his hands and said, "Don't mention it. We failed again."
"What is the specific reason for the failure?" Ji Zheng asked again.
"The explosive force is too weak. You can hear the sound but the actual killing power is not enough." Ding Mao replied, "There is another problem. It is unstable and always explodes for no reason."
Ji Zheng nodded. There are usually two reasons for insufficient killing power. One is that the proportion of saltpeter is too low, and the other is that the raw material purity is not enough.
Seeing that Ji Zheng didn't say anything, Ding Mao shook his head in disappointment. It seemed that he didn't understand either.
"Sir, can I see the saltpeter we use?" Ji Zheng asked.
"Sure." Ding Mao said, "Let Master Chen take you to see it."
Then he turned to Lord Chen who was standing on the other side and said, "Chen Zi, take Lord Ji to see the saltpeter."
"Yes." The official named Chen Zi answered with a bow, turned to Ji Zheng and said, "Master Ji, follow me."
"Sorry for the trouble, Lord Chen." Ji Zheng bowed to Chen Zi.
Mr. Chen took Ji Zheng to a dry and ventilated house and said, "This is where we store the saltpeter."
Saltpeter is easily soluble in water, and its preservation mainly considers waterproofing and moisture-proofing.
Entering the room, there were neatly stacked pottery jars and leather bags.
Some charcoal was also placed around the clay pot and the leather bag.
The ceramic jar can effectively block external moisture and is relatively sturdy. The leather bag is not only light but also has a certain moisture-proof function.
Charcoal can absorb excess water.
Looking at this scene, Ji Zheng couldn't help but sigh that the ancients were really smart.
Chen Zi put on gloves and opened a leather bag, then poured out some saltpeter and put it in his hand. "Master Ji, look at this."
Ji Zheng concluded that the saltpeter was slightly yellowish and of very poor purity.
"I've taken good care of it. Master Chen can put it away now."
After Chen Zi collected it, Ji Zheng said, "The purity of this saltpeter is not high enough. It needs to be purified."
Chen Zi didn't understand what was said. He looked at Ji Zheng blankly, "What does this mean?"
He waved to Chen Zi who was standing there, "Let's talk while we walk."
The two walked towards the office. "It means that the saltpeter we have now is not just saltpeter, it is mixed with other things, so it will have a certain impact when making gunpowder."
"I see." Chen Zi nodded, not quite understanding. "Then how do we purify the saltpeter?"
"The crystallization method will do."
Chen Zi didn't understand what he was saying at all. Ji Zheng was too lazy to explain, so he just said, "You will understand when you see me do it."
Chen Zi nodded.
Ji Zheng returned to his workstation, picked up a charcoal pencil and began to record the formula and production of gunpowder.
Saltpeter is the oxidizer in gunpowder, sulfur is a combustion aid, and charcoal is the fuel that mainly provides the carbon element required for combustion.
The most important thing about a high-quality gunpowder formula is the ratio of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal.
Among them, saltpeter is the most important, and its amount determines the explosive power and burning speed of gunpowder.
After looking through Ding Mao's previous experimental records, Ji Zheng discovered that the proportions of saltpeter and sulfur were the same.
Although sulfur is an oxidant, too much sulfur can cause the stability of gunpowder to decrease, leading to a dangerous situation of premature explosion.
Seeing that Ji Zheng was writing very seriously, Chen Zi couldn't help but step forward to take a look.
"Master Ji, what is this that you wrote?"
For the sake of convenience, Ji Zheng mostly wrote using chemical and mathematical symbols, and his notes were a bit disorganized, so they looked messy to Chen Zi.
If Chen Zi had not just heard Ji Zheng's analysis of saltpeter, which made sense, he would have almost thought that Ji Zheng was just scribbling.
Ji Zheng paused for a moment in response to Chen Zi's question. How should he explain it?
Just when he was considering what kind of explanation to give, Ding Mao arrived.
"What are you doing?"
Seeing Ding Maoji Zheng's eyes lit up, he was just about to look for Ding Mao.
Ding Mao approached, and before Ji Zheng could speak, he saw Ji Zheng's messy writing on the blackboard, frowned and asked, "What did you write?"
"An improved version of the gunpowder formula." Ji Zheng replied.
"!?"
Ding Mao and Chen Zi's eyes widened slightly, and they looked at each other, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.
"Wait a minute, I'll change the language so you two adults will understand." Ji Zheng said as he pulled out a piece of clean rice paper from the side and rewrote the text.
Seeing Ji Zheng being so serious, Ding Mao and Chen Zi inexplicably felt a little bit of anticipation in their hearts.
"First of all, the purity of our saltpeter is not enough, and the proportion is too low, so the gunpowder we developed is relatively weak..." Ji Zheng explained as he wrote.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
