53 Chapter 53
◎Ice making. ◎
It would take at least half a year to produce artificial saltpeter soil, but after they had soaked the natural saltpeter soil for twelve hours to extract the saltpeter, they could start making ice.
When Ying Yue, Ying Gao and others heard that their eldest brother was going to make ice, they all came over to see what was going on. However, the people who actually made the ice were Li You and Mi Qing assigned by Fusu.
Fusu gestured with his small arms and legs, saying, "I can't lift the bucket, and I don't have the strength to stir it. I can only rely on you two, the oldest ones. Come on!"
The little ones all followed their elder brother and cheered him on, but someone in the reading group was dissatisfied: "Young Master, I can help too!"
Wang Li was the first to speak. Fusu took in his height and powerful arms and said, "Then you go with them. You'll be at the end."
As he spoke, Fusu covered Meng Hua's mouth and said to Li You, "You can start now."
Meng Hua: "Mmmmm..."
Faced with the eldest son's blatant favoritism, Li You and Mi Qing just smiled, but Wang Li glanced at Meng Hua with pride, feeling very proud that he could be involved.
Meng Hua's eyes widened: "Mmmmm!"
Fusu smiled and said, "People under the age of ten are not eligible to participate in this activity."
Meng Hua slumped his shoulders, and Fusu said again, "I'll let go of my hand, and you're not allowed to make a noise."
Meng Hua said: "Hmm."
Fusu released his hand and wiped it on Menghua's sleeve.
Meng Hua: “…”
Mi Qing and Li You had already started stirring, one adding water and the other adding saltpeter. Meng Hua was attracted by the mixture and had no time to speak for the time being.
The process of making ice with saltpeter sounds simple. After stirring, place a sealed small bucket filled with clean water into a large bucket with saltpeter added. Continue stirring, and the water in the small bucket will freeze into ice in as little as half an hour.
Perhaps the saltpeter wasn't pure enough, or perhaps the proportions weren't right, but it took them an hour and a half to make the ice. Because it took so long, Meng Hua took the opportunity to stir it for a while.
When the sealed barrel was opened, people surrounded it in three layers, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks to see the result of their twelve hours of waiting and an hour and a half of hard work.
When the ice appeared in front of everyone, the uniform "wow" almost shattered the tiles on the roof.
“It really turned into ice!”
"It's so cold! It's really ice!"
“That’s amazing!”
Everyone was still shouting excitedly, and it took a full quarter of an hour before they quieted down.
Fusu then said, "Keep the water. When it dries up, there will be some saltpeter left. You can use it next time."
Mi Qing was shocked and said, "So there is saltpeter left, young master?"
Fusu said: "Saltpeter can indeed be recycled..."
Before he finished speaking, Meng Hua asked cautiously, "Can it be recycled? Then we don't need to make saltpeter, right?"
Fusu smiled and shook his head, saying, "Saltpeter will be depleted, so we still have to make it."
"Ah." Meng Hua patted Mi Qing, "Thank you for your hard work."
Mi Qing didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and could only reply, "Thank you for your concern."
Fusu smiled and said to the children, "With this method, we can have as much ice as we want. It's late today, so I'll have them make more tomorrow. Come and get it."
There are many concubines in Ying Zheng's harem, and each person does not get much ice every day. With this method of making ice, they can get more ice, and this summer will be much better than in previous years.
Although the children were young, they could feel that it was hotter in their mother's palace than in the school. When they heard this, they cheered and surrounded Fusu to thank their elder brother many times.
After sending the children away, Fusu came back and saw Li You and the other three staring at the barrel. He smiled and said, "The saltpeter won't run away. Aren't you tired? Come back and sit for a while."
Several people felt a little embarrassed and hurried back to their seats.
Fusu said again: "Tomorrow I will go to see my father and ask for your merits."
Several people said they dared not.
Mi Qing said, "We just put in some effort. It was all the eldest master's idea. All the credit belongs to the eldest master. We dare not take credit for it."
Fusu said, "I am the one who did nothing from beginning to end. What merit can I have?"
Li You also said: "Master, we dare not take credit for it."
Seeing this, Wang Li and Meng Hua also came to persuade Fusu that there was no need to ask for credit from the king, as they really had not done anything.
But Fusu blinked mischievously and said, "No matter how much you say, it's useless. Anyway, I'm going to say something to my father, and you can't stop me."
The four people were stunned and were amused by Fusu. Although it was a joke, it would be bad to refuse it any further, so they all thanked Fusu.
Fusu clapped his hands and said, "Okay, we agree! Bring me some food, I'm hungry!"
…
The next day, Fusu got up early, had breakfast, and went to report to his father.
Fusu didn't have to worry about making ice. Li You and the other three were feeling ashamed of asking for credit, and they all said that they would guide the temple servants and let Fusu focus on his own business.
Early in the morning, Ying Zheng summoned his ministers to discuss state affairs.
He is really too busy. Even though Fusu is used to his father's busy life, he still can't help but sigh.
Fusu waited in the side hall for more than an hour before he saw the court officials coming out one after another.
Is there anything important happening recently? Fusu held the book in his hand and thought for a while in a trance.
His question was soon answered. As soon as he saw Fusu, Ying Zheng called him over and said with a smile, "The composting method is very good. The crops in all counties are growing much better than in previous years. This year is sure to be a bumper harvest!"
Fusu also smiled and said, "That's great!"
After a busy morning, Ying Zheng received nothing but good news. The composting method was effective, the new agricultural tools had been introduced to the entire Qin State, the promotion of hatching eggs and castrating pigs was also very effective, a new iron smelting plant was built, and paper and porcelain successfully captured the hearts of learned scholars and nobles of the six states. Boxes of gold, silver, pearls and jade were therefore shipped to the Qin State.
Fusu listened to his father and responded from time to time, while pouring tea for his father to moisten his throat.
After Ying Zheng finished sharing his joy with his son, he asked, "You've waited so long, do you have good news to share with me?"
Fusu nodded and smiled, "Yes, Father, I also have good news. Saltpeter has been successfully used to make ice. Li You and his companions are teaching the monks how to make it."
"Oh?" Ying Zheng was quite interested. "Bring it here and let me take a look."
Fusu smiled and said, "All ice cubes are the same. If Father wants to see it, why not have them come over and demonstrate the ice-making process? What do you think?"
Ying Zheng nodded and said, "Okay, I just need to take a break. Go and call them."
Fusu was about to get up, but his father stopped him: "Are you the only one in this room?"
Fusu was stunned for a moment, then scratched his cheek awkwardly: "Yeah."
Ying Zheng shook his head and smiled: "Silly."
A temple servant had already come to take orders. Fusu gave detailed instructions and had someone repeat them before he felt at ease and let the person go.
At this time, Fusu turned back and said to his father seriously: "Father, I am not stupid."
"Aren't you stupid?" Ying Zheng tapped his forehead. "From my perspective, you can be a bit stupid sometimes."
Fusu tilted his head and smiled, "That might be because my father always hits me on the head and makes me stupid."
"Hmm?" Ying Zheng glared at him and hit him again, "How dare you mislead me! How audacious!"
The force Ying Zheng used was no different from tickling, but Fusu covered his head and cried out, "Ouch!"
Ying Zheng couldn't help laughing: "Don't be weird."
Having said that, he pulled Fusu over, opened his hand, and looked at his forehead carefully.
Fusu hurriedly said, "Father, I was just joking with you. It doesn't hurt at all... Ouch!"
Before he could finish his words, Fusu was hit on the head, which hurt - of course, it wasn't very painful.
Ying Zheng rubbed his eldest son's forehead and said with a puzzled smile: "It doesn't hurt, so why are you still ouching?"
Fusu complained, "Father, you bully me."
"Yes." Ying Zheng admitted confidently, "It's so fun to bully you."
Fusu threw his head on his father and said, "My head hurts so much. I have to stay here with you, Father."
Ying Zheng said calmly, "Okay, when your people arrive, don't get up. Let everyone see how our eldest son acts like a spoiled child with father."
Fusu: “…”
Fusu got up and admitted defeat, saying, "Father, why don't we talk about how to make ice with saltpeter?"
Ying Zheng nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, go ahead."
As he spoke, Ying Zheng raised his hand to tidy up Fusu's hair and clothes.
So, Fusu, who had just complained about being bullied by his father, thought happily again, my father really loves me!
Soon, Li You and four other men and the monks with ice-making tools came to pay their respects to the king.
"No need to be polite." Ying Zheng raised his hand, then turned to Fusu and smiled, "Fusu, how do you do this? Do they do it themselves, or do you teach them?"
Fusu smiled and said, "They already did it yesterday. There's no need for me to teach them. Father, just watch."
After that, he said to Li You and others, "Just like yesterday, start doing it."
Li You and his three companions, who were suddenly called and were both nervous and anxious, felt a little relieved after hearing these words. After another salute, they started to take action.
Ying Zheng had already listened to Fusu's explanation of the principle, so he stood up and walked down, watching them do it with great interest.
This made Li You and the other three nervous again. Fortunately, Fusu was with his father. Seeing this, he slowly said, "Yes, Father. Just like yesterday, they did a great job."
During the process, Fusu ordered the monks to help them stir the ice. It took less time to make ice today than yesterday, only one hour.
Seeing the large block of ice appear before their eyes, Li You and the other three breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had succeeded once yesterday, this time they were in front of the king after all, so it was hard not to be scared.
However, the result of their fearful actions was obviously as good as it could be, because the king immediately praised them, gave them rewards, and encouraged them to assist the eldest prince.
When Li You and his three companions left, in addition to the excitement and high morale of being praised by the king, they also felt grateful to Fusu and were more determined to follow him. After all, if it weren't for Fusu, how could they have this opportunity?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
