Chapter 40 Chapter 40 I didn’t respond for a moment, and my index finger…
He didn't respond for a moment, and his index finger subconsciously rubbed the tip of his thumb.
"Let me guess," the woman said, not giving Jiang Wan much time to think. After only two or three seconds, she continued, "You added mortar as a hardener, right?"
A low hissing sounded from the crowd.
Mortar, in this time and space, is mostly used to reinforce city walls. This hardener is mildly toxic, and long-term use can affect nerves and slow reflexes. It's fine for patching walls, but it's absolutely unacceptable for food containers.
In the previous dynasty, a wealthy merchant from Jiangnan added a small amount of mortar to pottery to make it appear stronger. This caused a major food poisoning outbreak, affecting dozens of people and causing widespread panic. Pottery sales throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty plummeted, only to slowly recover three years later.
But even today, people still detest the practice of adding mortar.
Jiang Wan gritted her teeth. This woman, with distinct Western Regions features, was truly astonished at her knowledge of the affairs of the Great Zhou mainland. She had previously assumed that Western Regions people were unfamiliar with the history of the Central Plains, and she hadn't expected such a stunt.
This move was indeed clever: adding mortar was a much more serious issue than ordinary styling, innovation, or hardness issues. If Jiang Wan couldn't prove his innocence, then no matter how good his reputation or sales skills were, few customers would buy from him.
But mortar isn't just invisible on the outside; even if it's broken, the amount needed is so small that it's difficult to tell the difference inside. It requires professional inspection. The problem is, after the Duke's Mansion fell, it would take Jiang Wan, a new shop owner, a considerable amount of time to hire a professional who could convince the public. By then, the rumor would have already spread, undoubtedly dealing a huge blow to the new shop.
Even if inspectors are hired, the inspection will require special indoor equipment. We cannot allow so many customers to watch the inspection process on site, as the proof effect will be greatly reduced.
The power of this trap lies in the urgent need to prove oneself, but the inability to do so.
Jiang Wan pondered for a moment. If there were other knowledgeable people here, it would be difficult to prove herself. But now, these customers were all residents of the small town, and most of the vendors were peddlers from Dunhuang County. The only one with some expertise in porcelain was a foreigner, and he stood in opposition to her. But there was a solution that was not a solution, and perhaps it could be used.
Jiang Wan turned around and told Wang Da, "Go to Uncle Wang from the renovation team and buy some dry mortar."
The main component of mortar is quicklime, which generates heat when added to water. This was a chemical property common to middle school students in her original time and space, but in this time and space, most knowledge was still in the hands of the nobility, leaving the common people of the small town largely unaware. Complex explanations of the principles were, of course, inadequate; the best approach was a live demonstration; seeing was believing.
Jiang Wan filled half a bucket of water and placed it in the window. The young woman raised an eyebrow and, amidst the whispers, asked the people, "Boss Jiang, what's your intention in taking half a bucket of water?"
"Since you have doubts, I must prove that there is absolutely no mortar in this new formula before I can give you an explanation." Jiang Wan smoothed his hair and raised his head to smile casually at the young woman. "This is not a difficult task, right?"
Her tone sounded calm and polite, but to the young woman's ears it had a hint of provocation, as if she was mocking her for coming up with such a lame trap.
This made the young woman extremely angry, but she was also secretly puzzled. The trap was clearly set perfectly, so what went wrong?
Puzzled, the young woman couldn't help but look at her sister, who was hidden in the crowd. The sister gave her a soothing look, signaling her to wait for Jiang Wan's action.
Soon, the mortar was purchased.
Wang Da held the bag and asked, "Master, what should we do next?"
"Pour one-third of it on the ground." Jiang Wan held up the watering can and reminded everyone to stand further away amid countless confused looks. Then he poured half of the water on the mortar.
There was a crackling sound, and white smoke rose from the pile of mortar. Bubbles gurgled and a heat wave hit the face, and the audience who were a little close could not help but take a few steps back.
"Mortar heats up when it comes into contact with water, as many of our colleagues know," Jiang Wan said. "If hot water is poured on it, there's even a risk of fire and explosion. But we're in an open area, so it won't explode. Guests, please step back a little and have a look."
With the precedent of white smoke just now, the spectators all pushed the door ten steps away this time, leaving a large space.
Jiang Wan poured some more mortar on the ground, then asked the breakfast shop owner to borrow some hot water, stepped behind the window, and poured the water out with force.
With a loud bang, flames leaped up, and white smoke rose, accompanied by the sound of boiling water, quickly enveloping the entire mortar pile. Even ten steps away, the overly hot winter air made people cover their mouths and noses.
When the white smoke dissipated, only a layer of sticky white semi-solid remained on the open ground.
The customers stared in disbelief: In their understanding, water is used to put out fires, how could it actually start a fire?
Jiang Wan took advantage of the customers' momentary distraction to bring the conversation back to the porcelain. "As you can see, hot water can be used to test for mortar contamination. Simply break up the porcelain bowl and place it in hot water, and you'll know if there's any mortar inside."
"yes!"
"That makes sense! It can actually be done this way!" After a moment of stunned silence, the audience also agreed with Jiang Wan's method.
Jiang Wan poured some hot water and turned to the young woman, "Could you please help me break up the porcelain bowl and put it in the hot water?"
The woman opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but received a look from her sister. She just pursed her lips a little depressed, smashed the porcelain bowl as she was told, and put it into the prepared hot water.
The fragments lay still in the water, and the onlookers breathed a sigh of relief. Jiang Wan had become quite famous recently, and his reputation was quite good. If merchants like him were to adulterate porcelain, there would be no trustworthy sellers left.
Fortunately, Jiang Wan did not disappoint them.
Although the spectators breathed a sigh of relief, Jiang Wan did not dare to relax. Instead, he felt something was wrong.
Strictly speaking, Jiang Wan's test method wasn't feasible. Hardening porcelain required far less mortar than patching walls, and previous attempts to add mortar to pottery involved diluting the mortar. Even a small amount could produce a significant hardening effect.
If the mortar is not pure enough and is covered with mud, even if boiling water is added, the chemical reaction will be extremely difficult to detect. Therefore, this method cannot strictly prove that there is no mortar in the porcelain bowl.
As Jiang Wan had guessed before, there was actually no way to prove her innocence in this trap, and her so-called "self-proof" was only to make the ignorant spectators believe it. If there were an expert around, it would probably not be so easy to get through, let alone hide it from the young woman.
Jiang Wan originally thought that if she directly said she had no way to prove herself, it would inevitably make others suspect she was guilty, which would be a disadvantage. It would be better to first propose a seemingly feasible method, wait for the other party to raise an objection, and then ask how to verify it, thus shifting the problem back to the other party.
Even if the other party could come up with a testing method, Jiang Wan had genuinely improved the body quality and had not added any mortar, so he naturally had a clear conscience.
Who would have thought that the other party would not do things the way she expected and did not raise any questions.
This woman in leather clothing was also an expert in porcelain, so how could she not understand the flaws? Judging from her expression just now, she had clearly noticed the problem, but she didn't bring it up, allowing Jiang Wan to gain his trust. She deliberately framed him, not to make Jiang Wan lose the customer's trust, but for what reason?
"I'm so sorry, Boss Jiang, I misunderstood you just now. I'll compensate you for the broken porcelain bowl at double the price," the leather-clad woman said, her previous arrogance gone. She bent slightly, dropped a few pieces of silver on the ground, and smiled apologetically. "I'm so ignorant that I can't tell what this third material is. Could you please help me understand?"
Jiang Wan was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening. The accusation of adding mortar was only the first step; fabricating a nonexistent third ingredient was the second. Their goal was to force her to reveal a specific method for improving the body. With the leather-clad woman's keen eyesight, she knew there was no third formula. Jiang Wan guessed she simply couldn't figure out how purple gold soil and quartz alone could harden the body.
Normally, businesses won't reveal their secrets, but after being falsely accused, even those with even a little experience will have their defenses broken down, falling into a cycle of desperately trying to prove themselves, and will often volunteer their improved methods. They might even reveal their entire production process as a first step to prove they haven't adulterated their products.
This was also the reason the young woman hadn't raised any objections to the lax boiling water test. She wasn't out to frame Jiang Wan, but rather to improve the principle. The psychological pressure was sufficient in the first stage of the trap.
"This map of Yan State is really long," Jiang Wan muttered quietly. Even as an opponent, she had to admit that the other party's traps were so interconnected and designed on the spur of the moment, which was truly remarkable.
The designer of the trap - Jiang Wan's eyes swept over the woman hidden in the crowd intentionally or unintentionally, and a strange sense of familiarity came to his heart.
If there is a chance to cooperate, you might as well make friends.
However, the most urgent issue at the moment was how to deal with this trap. In the eyes of onlookers, the woman in the leather jacket was from another place and had never met Jiang Wan before. Unlike Aunt Qian and Huang Shiren, she had no vested interests and no motive to deliberately embarrass Jiang Wan. Moreover, she had just apologized and compensated the money.
What was even more difficult was that many craftsmen were eager to know her improvement methods and echoed her words:
"That's right, Boss Jiang. We've come all the way here, so please don't keep us in suspense."
Under the current circumstances, it would be inappropriate to cherish it any longer. But should I just follow the leather-clad woman's wishes and reveal everything about the new formula before it could generate any profit?
Facing the concerned faces of his disciples, Jiang Wan made a soothing gesture.
As the former leader of the antique world, if she couldn't even resolve such a minor dispute, she wouldn't be called Jiang Wan.
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