Chapter 17
Amidst the busyness, wheat and other crops that can survive the winter have been planted. The temperature has gradually dropped, and the once lively forests have returned to silence.
I clearly feel that there is still a lot to do, but it seems that my previous enthusiasm has been exhausted in the work. Most of the time I just lie on the homemade recliner to rest, listening to the rustling sounds coming from the woods not far away.
I am processing the newly harvested cattails next to me so that I can have something to do in winter.
Click.
When Shu heard the noise, he turned his head and saw that the wood chip in Wen Yi's hand had fallen to the ground. The man had fallen asleep in the warm light.
The black-haired cat nestled in her arms also closed its eyes, and the person and the cat seemed to be living in peace and tranquility.
Everyone was very tired after the recent work, but Shu and others recovered quickly. However, Wen Yi seemed to have been drained of energy. He had been falling asleep unconsciously these days and occasionally talked in his sleep at night.
During that last period of time, almost everyone was guarding the fields for food and accommodation. Wen Yi had been guarding for many nights and his nerves were always tense. Now he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Salty porridge was warming in the stove, and anyone who was hungry could help themselves to a bowl, no matter what time it was. In previous years, even in good harvests, they wouldn't have been so extravagant, but now they had such a large harvest that they even used up the rest of last year's grain to make vinegar and other things.
Shu shook his head.
When Amuti came back with the basket, he lowered his voice. After putting the things next to the stove, he turned around and went out again, taking the other two baskets with him. He thought he couldn't carry everything back in one go, so he asked the other two to guard it over there while he ran back.
In the era without electricity, there was always nothing to do at night. Even if you twisted the thread and put it in soybean oil to make a small oil lamp, the weak light was not enough to do delicate work and it would hurt your eyes. Despite Wen Yi's reminder, no one insisted. Since most of the work had been done last night, it was just the right time to take a break.
In previous years, this time of year was when everyone was free to do labor service, but this year it was not the case. Shu, Qingping and others were even a little uncomfortable with it, and even started doing the work that was done after previous years in advance.
"You feel uncomfortable having time to rest?"
Shan smiled and put down the half-woven basket in his hand. "But it's good that we can live in peace like this now."
Shu put down the cane in his hand and said, "Yeah, I can't remember when I had this much free time."
Maybe it's because I was very young that I had this feeling of not knowing what to do. But after thinking about it, I think this doesn't seem so bad.
When she was bargaining with the vendors for lower prices, she talked for a long time with the guy with the injured hand. Pingyi still hadn't gotten it back, but things were a little more settled. After all, everyone had to eat, and looting was only a temporary solution, not a long-term one.
Most of the soldiers stationed around had already left, leaving only a few bandits who harassed the area from time to time, so they also bravely set off.
If they really meet an enemy, they will fight if they can defeat him, otherwise they will spend money to avoid disaster. They will not bring all their belongings with them every time they set out. As long as they can reach Pingyi, the looted things will be nothing at all.
Wen Yi woke up after sleeping for half an hour. He and Yuwan in his arms stretched at the same time, then stood up and stretched his muscles and bones which were a little stiff due to not moving for a long time.
At this time, I miss those soft pillows and quilts so much, but unfortunately the linen I have can't cover the fluff.
He moved the stone slab covering the ceramic bowl beside him and moistened his dry throat.
Some time ago, when Amu and his friends were exploring the mountains, they brought back a lot of stones. Among them was something called ice stone, which can clear away heat and reduce internal heat. Wen Yi thought for a while before remembering that this thing should be gypsum.
Although this thing is mostly used in traditional Chinese medicine and food according to records, it is also extremely important in architecture. With this previous thing, we can go a step further and make derivative soy products.
Thinking of this, Wen Yi, who was originally a little depressed, became excited and took a few little kids to walk around the mountains and collect a lot of ice stones.
A portion is kept for future use, and the rest is cleaned of impurities and placed in a jar to be burned into gypsum, thereby transforming the original cement made previously.
Add the iron ore brought back a few days ago, mix the limestone clay in a ratio of four to one, add a little iron ore and sand, crush and mix evenly, then calcine according to the previous steps, grind the result and add gypsum powder to make something similar to modern cement.
Add water and pour it into the mold. After a day, pry open the mold and you can get parts of various shapes. After grinding off the burrs, put them aside. It's quite fun. The original wooden fence around the courtyard also uses this thing to reinforce the bottom.
She also made a few flower pots and transplanted a few fruit-bearing plants into the house, adding a bit of greenery.
While life was peaceful here, Yao Wenjun, who had left, was facing a difficult situation on the other side.
That day, she followed several merchants towards Pingyi and met many refugees on the way. Although she had lived in the mountains for so long, she did not stop exercising. She picked up the weapons of the shop assistants and repelled many attacking enemies, which made the originally indifferent merchants much more enthusiastic. She was very aware of the current situation.
The group separated near Pingyi. The vendors went into the houses on the edge of the city through their own channels, while Yao Wenjun quickened his pace after exchanging some food.
It took half a day to reach the nearest village. The people who were supposed to set up the sentry post here were no longer there, and it seemed that it had been robbed several times. When walking outside, one could only see figures hiding behind the wall.
Yao Wenjun entered the building with a mark on the entrance through the open door and left his belongings and letter in the secret compartment at the back of the house.
After unfolding it and taking a look at it, he put the letter back and waited for the next person to come and check it.
"You left so early."
Yao Wenjun sighed. Although he had anticipated this, this small stronghold was now deserted. Fortunately, he had obtained the token and the object proving his identity. Looking at the time left on it, he should be able to meet up with them at the next place if he rushed to it.
But you can't travel at night without a weapon in your hand. You can't escape from the wild wolves. It's a little safer to take things during the day because you will be a little afraid of people.
It's impossible to survive a life-or-death chase only to fail on the way back. That's too dramatic.
After a good rest, Yao Wenjun didn't care about his sore legs the next day and prepared to rush to another place as soon as possible.
This is a larger stronghold. I could hear a commotion before I even got close, as if someone was arguing about something.
"I've already said that the situation isn't good right now. I know you're loyal to the City Lord, but right now we have to prioritize the overall situation. We can't let the remaining people continue searching everywhere."
"If we haven't found it one day, we'll search for it another day!"
The quarrel did not end happily. One of them pushed the door open in anger, only to see the person at the center of their argument suddenly appear before them. Frightened, they took three steps back, looking her up and down, their once fluent speech becoming stammered:
"You...you...you...are?"
Although I still held on to hope, the feeling of disbelief when I saw Yao Wenjun's somewhat disheveled figure far outweighed the surprise.
After so long without any news, everyone assumed she was buried in the mountains and forests. Their persistent search was simply to find her remains or belongings, so she could return to the underworld. Now it seemed she was living a better life than they were, even taller.
Of course this must be an illusion.
Yao Wenjun patted the shoulder of the man who had fled with her, not having the energy to exchange pleasantries. The man, sensing her fatigue, led him back to the house, where he was allowed to sleep soundly.
No one dared to touch the things she carried on her back until Yao Wenjun finally recovered, washed up, and went to see the leader of the remnants.
She had met this person before. Although they had different ideas at the time and he had been preventing his subordinates from looking for her when she first came, she would have made a similar decision if she were in his place, and it wouldn't be wrong.
But now the city has been broken and these are the only people left. The two of them tacitly ignored the previous unpleasantness and began to discuss their next plan.
*
Throwing the last piece of crushed and washed coal into the kiln and sealing the entrance with mud, Wen Yi waited for two days before knocking down the cooled earth kiln. Then he used a branch to poke around for a while and found what he needed from the ashes - a few lumps of black, charcoal-like stuff.
This is coke.
"It's really difficult. I can't imagine how that group of people did it." Wen Yi muttered to himself.
While other things can be processed using special methods based on existing equipment and materials, metal processing is not something that can be accomplished easily.
First of all, the smelting furnace had to be rebuilt. Both the pouring steel method and the frying steel method required the most primitive iron smelting workshop, and charcoal made from oak was needed as fuel. This was also the difficulty faced by many dynasties when they moved their capitals. The smelting of weapons has always been bound to forest resources.
If you want to rub out metal with your bare hands, the conditions are limited and you can only use coke to strengthen the air blowing method to perform the initial smelting of the crushed ore.
Placing a fan with blades into a rattan basket can barely serve as ventilation equipment for heating. After covering it with mud to create a narrow air outlet, it can be regarded as a simple blower, but it cannot be moved.
Another method is to drain the water. Now the conditions are available. Wen Yi wrote and drew on paper, listed the required parts, and then took Amu's strange parts and tried to assemble them.
After showing their needs and a rough sketch, Amu and the others became very interested in it. The three little ones often huddled together, whispering to each other, and even ignored Yuwan who was squatting next to them.
Yuwan raised his paws to wash his face, seemingly uninterested in what they were busy with, but his tail kept moving.
Wen Yi entrusted this matter to Amu and the others, and began to clean up the vinegar and sauce he had made earlier.
A faint aroma of wine can be smelled in the vinegar vat, mixed with some unfamiliar sweet and sour tastes. The sauce on the other side doesn't taste very good, even the fish balls will avoid that area.
The research progress of the blast equipment is slow, but Zhongji has already used the coke and iron ore obtained.
Red stones knocked off the rock face, translucent stones picked up from the stream, and white clay were ground separately, washed with water, and filtered. The liquid was then poured into a ceramic jar to settle. Lime, hay, and wood were mixed and burned, and the resulting ash was treated in the same way.
After a period of time, it will be separated into layers. After washing and filtering several times, wait for sedimentation. After pouring out the water on the top, wrap the solids at the bottom with fine cloth. When it is half dry, throw it into a tank to age. After a few days, take it out, mix it with water and make it into glaze.
The manual embryo pulling machine, which has no electricity and metal bearings and is rotated by a wooden stick, is difficult to use, but the resulting tool is really beautiful.
After the clay utensils are dried, they are fired at low temperature. After being taken out, they are clamped with clips and the surface is covered with glaze. After drying, they are fired again with coke. The original red color will turn into light blue, and the knocking sound will become crisp. Most importantly, you no longer have to worry about tasting the clay when drinking porridge.
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