Li Mai said with a smile, "Mordant is something that is added to these dye baths to produce different colors. That added substance is called mordant."
"For example, the two mordants that Mother prepared today, alum and vinegar, are mordants when used to dye cloth. There are many other things that can be used as mordants, such as oxalic acid, lime, and straw ash," Li Mai explained to Zhu Zhu earnestly.
As for the fact that mordants are mostly acidic or alkaline substances, she said that it would only confuse Zhuzhu and others, so Limai didn't plan to say it either.
"Wow, Mom, you know so much!" Zhuzhu said to Limai with admiration.
Li Mai patted the books on the table. "It's not that Mother knows more, it's that the book knows more. And the knowledge in the book is the result that our ancestors and forefathers obtained step by step through experiments like ours today."
“Just like what Mother is doing now, we do it step by step, record each step, and when we succeed, the recorded process will be the formula for the dye. When we compile all of this into a book, our descendants can also dye like we do today,” Li Mai said to Zhu Zhu with a smile.
“Wow, that’s great! I want to be like Mom when I grow up,” Zhuzhu exclaimed.
Li Mai laughed heartily, "Haha, good, our Zhuzhu is so smart. Zhuzhu, tell me, what should we name this book after we've finished organizing it?"
She teased Zhuzhu, a four-year-old child, without expecting her to come up with a suitable name.
"Mommy, let's call it Dyeing Diary!" Zhuzhu said in her childish voice.
“Dyeing Diary, hmm, not bad, Pearl, Mother thinks this name is good!” Li Mai agreed with a smile.
The book on medicinal herbs that Zhuzhu carried was called "Herbal Records," which must have gotten its name from.
Sure enough, Zhuzhu then humbly said, "The book on medicinal properties that Zhuzhu memorizes is called 'Herbal Records,' and the book that Mother will use for dyeing in the future can also be called 'Dyeing Records.'"
The family looked at Zhuzhu with smiles. This child was really smart. At only four years old, she had already learned to apply what she had learned to other situations.
Li Mai instructed Zhao to light two more stoves. Instead of pots, iron stove plates were placed on the three stoves.
Then he instructed Zhou Quan to divide the dye into three porcelain basins and then write the numbers one, two, and three on the outside of the three basins as a mark.
Next, mordants were added. The first basin contained the original broth without mordants, the second basin contained vinegar, and the third basin contained alum.
Li Mai wanted to see how different the colors produced by the three dye baths were.
When the temperature dropped to a level that was slightly hot to the skin, Li Mai put the pieces of cloth that Zhu Zhu and Xi Que had cut into the three basins and stirred them with the short stirring sticks they had prepared beforehand.
After stirring for a while, the dyeing temperature dropped. Li Mai asked Zhou Quan to put the three porcelain basins on the stove to heat them, stirring them slowly while heating to ensure the cotton cloth was evenly dyed.
The temperature should be just warm enough to scald the skin. The fire must be kept very low, preventing it from rising further or going out. Stirring should continue throughout the process, keeping an eye on the time. The entire dyeing process takes a little over the time it takes for an incense stick to burn (approximately forty minutes, maintaining a temperature between fifty and sixty degrees Celsius).
While Li Mai and Zhao were watching the dyeing process, Li Mai asked Zhou Quan to wash the large wooden basin clean and add half a basin of water.
When the time is up, take the cloth out of the dye bath, wring it dry, put it in a large wooden basin and wash it thoroughly with clean water to remove the excess dye, wring it dry again, and then take it out to dry.
The first basin is the original color of the soup. It was made of pure cotton cloth, and the resulting color is lighter than purplish-red. The Li Mai storybook calls this color a light purplish-red!
Li Mai took a look and said that the color was close to rust red, but it was like rust red with purple added. If you were to describe it using something from everyday life, it would be like the color of a ripe red date that has lost some color.
After recording the color of the quinoa in pot number one, we moved on to pot number two.
The second basin contained vinegar, and the cloth used was cotton. The resulting color was an earthy yellow, just as described in the book.
If this yellow were any brighter, it would become the royal yellow.
Li Mai made a note and said to Zhao Shi, "Mother, we will not dye this color again."
Ordinary people rarely wore yellow clothes, precisely to avoid the royal color and prevent bringing misfortune to their families.
Zhao nodded and noted it down.
The third basin contains Mingfan dye, which produces a color that is lighter than rust red and has a hint of pink. The book calls it "tuyan," which is a reddish-brown color.
But the color "rubber red" is closer to this color.
In reality, the color they sell in their shop now, which is close to this, they call light peach, because that was the color designated by the dyeing bureau at that time.
Therefore, if Li Mai wanted to be called "rubber red," she had to apply for the name of the color, just like the pomegranate red color that Zhang dyed. There was no such name in that era, but Zhang applied for the name, and later when people talked about the color of the fabric as pomegranate red, they said it came from Zhang.
Standing in front of the drying rack looking at the three pieces of cloth hanging up, Li Mai felt a great sense of accomplishment; at least she succeeded on her first attempt.
(The vertical columns represent the quality of the fabric, and the horizontal columns represent the dyeing solution number.)
They didn't plan to continue dyeing the second color, yellow, but Li Mai thought the other two colors were good, so they decided that these two colors should be included in the red family.
"I'll go find a few more pieces of cloth." Li Mai showed the three pieces of cloth to Zhao Shi, and then pulled Zhou Quan towards the storeroom.
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