Han Zhongyu, upon hearing Xie Yushu send someone to customize eyeglass frames, asked, guessing...
"You want to use this glass to make a mirror?"
This thing is good, but it's too transparent; it probably won't reflect as clearly as a bronze mirror!
Xie Yushu pulled Han Zhongyu to the glass, picked up the glass, and covered one side of it with a black cloth.
"Now you understand, right?"
"This...it's so simple!"
"No, I'm just showing you that it can reflect people. To make a real mirror, it needs to be polished and silvered."
Silver plating involves adding glucose solution to an ammonia solution of silver nitrate. The glucose reduces the silver ions into silver particles, which are then deposited on the glass to create a silver mirror.
Mirrors made this way reflect objects exceptionally clearly, more than ten times better than bronze mirrors!
When it's ready, I'll send you one as a gift!
Xie Yushu said in a very generous manner.
Han Zhongyu had heard her say things he couldn't understand several times already. He'd been a top student since childhood, knowledgeable and erudite, and thought there was nothing he didn't know. But in front of Xie Yushu, he felt like a complete idiot. This feeling was truly frustrating, so he couldn't help but ask...
"What do you mean by ions, reduction, and what they just said about sheep and turtles?"
What does this have to do with sheep and turtles?
When Xie Yushu explained to Zheng Dacheng and the others, she had considered that they might not understand, but that was just how the process was. She was just expressing it out of habit. She thought that even if they didn't know about these chemical reactions, as long as they trusted her and followed her instructions, it would be fine. She never expected that they would understand it as a sheep and a tortoise and then directly convey it to Han Zhongyu.
Upon hearing Han Zhongyu's words, Xie Yushu was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing so hard she was almost rolling on the floor clutching her stomach. Only then did she realize Han Zhongyu was looking at her with a sullen expression, and she tried her best to straighten up and regain her composure.
"Ahem! Um, I wasn't laughing at you, it's just, it's just..."
Uh! The sheep I was talking about is a chemical element, scientifically known as oxygen.
The turtle in question isn't the turtle we're talking about; it's silicon dioxide.
There are more than a hundred such chemical elements on Earth, such as hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, argon, potassium, and calcium.
They each have different characteristics, and when they meet, under certain conditions, they will produce different reactions or produce a new substance.
What we often see today is, for example, some sorcerers burning talisman paper, which will produce images of so-called snake demons and fox demons. In reality, the sorcerer has drawn the shapes of the monsters on the paper in advance using a saturated potassium nitrate solution.
After drying, potassium nitrate remains on the paper, invisible to the naked eye. Potassium nitrate has a combustion-supporting effect. Once ignited, it decomposes rapidly at high temperatures, producing oxygen. The lines where the pattern was drawn will burn faster than other areas, which, to others, looks like a monster has appeared!
There's also the story of retrieving copper coins from a boiling oil pot. In reality, the surface of the pot is oil, and the bottom is vinegar. Vinegar has a low melting point, so the pot of oil that looks like it's boiling is actually only about 50 degrees Celsius inside. You can put your hand in and it won't burn you!
There's also the so-called blood test for kinship. If you put alum in the water, even if you're not related by blood, the blood will mix!
These are all just chemical reactions!
"The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits!" It turns out that all of these things can be explained!
It was my narrow-mindedness that led me to this conclusion!
Seeing that Han Zhongyu looked somewhat regretful, Xie Yushu quickly comforted him.
"As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise. Your strength lies in how to solve cases. A person's energy is limited, and it is impossible to know everything. Just do what you are good at well, and that is already remarkable!"
I only have a superficial understanding of chemistry, but what does it matter? It doesn't interfere with my happy little life!
Han Zhongyu felt comforted after hearing this!
However, as he watched Xie Yushu talk to him eloquently and confidently, explaining the charlatanry tricks that no one else understood in a very clear and logical way, and how she could make glass by simply giving a few pointers using her so-called rudimentary knowledge of chemistry, he was truly captivated by her.
He felt that this petite woman seemed to have a treasure trove in her mind, and who knew when she would surprise him!
Han Zhongyu really wished time could stand still, so he could listen to her novel knowledge a little longer, and see her radiant spirit a little longer. Being with her made his rigid and boring heart come alive!
Han Zhong and Han Yi looked at their master's infatuated expression and thought, "Great! His obsession level has increased by another ten points!"
Since it was a rare opportunity for Han Zhongyu to take a break, and there was nothing else to do if she went back early, Xie Yushu invited him to stay for dinner before leaving, because she had the cook at the estate make tofu today!
Speaking of which, I have to mention that there's no tofu here. The only ways to eat beans are boiled beans, stir-fried beans, bean sprouts, and pickled beans.
Xie Yushu had been so busy buying beans that she completely forgot about making tofu. It wasn't until the New Year was approaching that she suddenly remembered that she hadn't eaten tofu in a long time and suggested making some tofu.
As a result, nobody knew what tofu was!
So Xie Yushu simply drew out the tools for making tofu and asked Nanxing to find a carpenter to make two sets, which were just picked up today, and she planned to make tofu today.
After breakfast, the kitchen staff started cooking beans.
Xie Yushu instructed them to cook the beans until they were soft, grind them into a paste using a stone mill, and then boil the paste in a pot. She told them that they might not know how to do the rest, so she told them to go and do it herself and let them watch first.
Seeing that it was almost time for them to start boiling the syrup, Xie Yushu said to Han Zhongyu...
"I'll treat you to something new today! I'll make it, do you want to come along?"
"Since we've got nothing else to do, let's go together!"
Han Zhongyu seemed very interested in the food and enthusiastically followed Xie Yushu to the kitchen.
Just as Xie Yushu had predicted, the two large pots of soy milk had already boiled, and the cook was about to send someone to fetch Xie Yushu!
Upon seeing Xie Yushu arrive, everyone made way for her and bowed to Han Zhongyu.
Qu Xiaodie, Nanxing, Xiao Haitang, and Chu Jinyu all came to see what was going on when they heard that Xie Yushu was going to make tofu, and the kitchen suddenly became lively.
Xie Yushu directed people to set up the cross, hang a cotton net bag on it, and place a large vat under the net bag. She then instructed the cook to scoop the soy milk from the pot into the net bag for filtering, thus removing the bean dregs from the soy milk.
After this step, what comes out after filtering is the kind of soy milk we drink. Since there was plenty of soy milk, Xie Yushu had someone ladle out a large basin, add white sugar, and give everyone a bowl.
Homemade soy milk with added sugar has a rich aroma, is sweet and warm. On a cold day, a sip warms you right to the heart, making it the perfect drink for winter!
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