205. Studying Things to Gain Knowledge: Light Industry Innovation Starting with Sugar (Part 2) (Page 1/2)
But in fact, Cui Xian can really turn brown sugar into frosting.
This method is recorded in a rare book called "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature", and its name is: Yellow Mud Water Sugar Sprinkling Method.
However, modern evidence has shown that the yellow mud water sugar sprinkling method is actually not capable of producing frosting.
It's missing a crucial step: activated carbon.
Fortunately, activated carbon is a very easy problem to solve.
Facing the family's incredulous gazes.
Cui Xian raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Why, you don't believe it? I have read a lot of books over the years, and I don't just study the subject."
"I have also learned some practical knowledge that benefits the country and the people, so it is time for you to see the miracle of 'studying things to gain knowledge'!"
Cui Yu frowned when he heard this and asked, "To study things and acquire knowledge? Brother, this sentence comes from The Book of Rites: The Great Learning: To acquire knowledge, one must study things. Only after studying things can one acquire knowledge."
"Zheng Xuan annotated it as follows: If you know good deeply, good things will come. This is the theory of moral cause and effect."
"What does this have to do with your brown sugar turning into frosting?"
Upon hearing this, Cui Zhongyuan and Cui Boshan also looked at Cui Xian.
Now, all three of them have passed the examination and become scholars, and like Pei Jian and others, they are studying at Kaifeng Prefecture School.
To be exact, among the group of people, only Cui Xian, who has the highest knowledge, is currently only a student.
Cui Xian was stunned when he heard this, and then he smiled bitterly.
His brother's doubt made him realize once again how difficult it was to attempt to carry out ideological reform.
Because as far as "investigating things and seeking knowledge" is concerned, it has undergone four changes.
The first one is what Cui Yu said, and Zheng Xuan commented on it as: If you know good deeply, good things will come.
In the time and space where Choi Hyeon once lived.
Zhu Xi rejected Zheng Xuan and annotated the idea of "investigating things to gain knowledge" as: seeking the physics of things to realize the truth. He advocated that one should study the principles of things and suddenly understand everything.
Later.
Wang Yangming denied Zhu Xi and annotated the idea of "investigating things to gain knowledge" as: there is no reason outside the mind, so seek within. He advocated that "investigating things" means correcting things.
Until later.
Yan Yuan, a Ming and Qing Dynasty practical scholar, proposed that practice leads to true knowledge. He annotated these four words as: practice precedes knowledge, emphasizing empirical evidence. He advocated that one can only know something after experiencing it by hand.
This is also the real meaning of what Cui Xian said just now, "Investigate things and acquire knowledge."
This shows.
The study of things and the extension of knowledge was originally a step in Confucian self-cultivation. After being interpreted by Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming, it was differentiated into two paths: "extroverted cognition" and "introverted self-cultivation".
Eventually, a practical view close to the scientific spirit was born in the practical learning of the Ming and Qing dynasties, which became a bridge connecting Chinese philosophy with modern science.
Cui Yu's doubts made Cui Xian realize the difficulty of ideological reform.
And, he has to consider and come up with his own "ideological program".
It is totally inappropriate for Daliang today to rigidly copy Zhu Xi's thoughts or Wang Yangming's thoughts!
The path to sainthood cannot be copied or replicated.
Then, let me walk my own path, Cui Xian!
And his confidence comes from the thousand kilograms of brown sugar in front of him!
Is ideological innovation too difficult? Industrial innovation opens the way!
I thought so in my heart.
Cui Xian raised his eyebrows and looked at Cui Yu, smiling particularly wantonly: "Is Zheng Xuan's annotation necessarily correct? I have a different understanding of the study of things to gain knowledge. I will tell you about it some other day."
"Today, let's turn this thousand kilograms of brown sugar into frosting!"
ah?
No... can it really change?
Old Cui's heart was beating fast, and she said with a red face, "Xian'er, you decide what to do. All of us will obey your orders!"
If it were really possible to turn brown sugar that costs 100 wen per pound into icing sugar that costs 5,000 wen per pound—
A full fifty times profit!
Oh my god!
In this way, you can really become the Cui family of Henan!
Facing the expectant, excited, anxious and incredulous eyes of the family, Cui Xian smiled and said, "Okay, next, I need our family to work together to help me find tools and materials."
"First, we need brown sugar. We have already bought it. But in order to make brown sugar, we need to prepare a large ceramic jar and two or three small ceramic jars."
"Secondly, we need Songjiang standard cloth. Go to the cloth shop and buy it. It has to be double-layered. In addition to Songjiang standard cloth, we also need ramie cloth."
"Prepare fifty fresh free-range eggs, remove the yolks and only keep the egg whites."
"Then, we need bamboo charcoal, and it must be granular charcoal. Let's order 100 kilograms first and tell them not to mind the trouble. From now on, all the charcoal shops in Kaifeng will have to rely on our family for business."
"If bamboo charcoal is difficult to make, you can use Kaifeng's specialty jujube charcoal instead, the effect is the same."
"Next, we'll go dig up yellow mud, which is the Guanyin soil from Hangzhou... Well, there's no such thing in Kaifeng. But it doesn't matter, we can replace it with the Yellow River mud, which is more effective than the Guanyin soil."
"In addition to the Yellow River mud, we also need Yellow River sand."
"Let me think, we also need palm leaves... I don't have any of this stuff even after opening it, so let's use reeds instead!"
“But the gaps between the reeds are too big, so we need to get another batch of rice husk ash.”
"Oh, by the way, we also need a batch of bamboo baskets. We need to choose three-year-old hairy bamboo. The holes in the bamboo baskets... are about the size of mung beans!"
"Also, go to the wine shop and buy some conical funnels!"
These requirements may seem onerous.
But actually it’s not that difficult.
Under the leadership of Mrs. Cui, the family quickly took action.
In less than an hour, everything was ready.
In the Cui family courtyard, everyone looked at Xiang'er with anticipation and excitement.
Cui Xian looked at the large pottery jar that was set up with firewood piled at the bottom and said with a smile, "Dad, uncle. First add ten dan of well water, then pour in the brown sugar and start stirring."
"Then light a fire until the water temperature... er, is slightly hot to the touch. Throw a copper coin into the jar. If it sinks to the bottom and then slowly floats up, it means it's passed!"
In fact, the water temperature is just right at 60 degrees, but there are no instruments now, so we can only feel it with our hands.
The concentration also needs to be calculated, but it can be measured with a copper coin.
Brothers Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan quickly poured ten loads of water into the large vat.
However, when pouring the brown sugar into it, the whole family's heart was trembling.
That’s eighty taels of silver!
Although I believe in Xiange'er, but... this seems to be no different from skipping stones on water!
Finally, Old Cui gritted her teeth and said, "Pour it in!"
Just eighty taels of silver, what's wrong with taking a chance!
One thousand kilograms of brown sugar were quickly poured in.
Cui Yu is responsible for stirring.
Soon, the temperature and concentration were enough.
Next comes the second step: filtering.
The sisters-in-law Lin and Chen worked together to pour the hot sugar liquid into the filter rack while it was still hot - the upper layer was Songjiang biao cloth and the lower layer was kudzu cloth.
Below the filter rack is a slightly smaller ceramic jar.
This step is to filter out impurities.
Next, it is still necessary to filter out impurities, but this step is more critical.
Beat the separated egg whites until foamy and pour into the sugar solution.
After that, you need to stay still for three full hours.
Each step in this process is well-reasoned!
For example, the earliest filtration was done with cotton cloth. "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" records: The sugar clearing device uses dense cloth.
(This chapter is not yet finished, please click on the next page to continue reading) 205. Studying Things to Gain Knowledge: Light Industry Innovation Starting with Sugar (Part 2) (Page 2/2)
The egg white double deep filtration is the result of the Jiajing imperial pharmacy using egg white to clarify liquid medicine. The "Essentials of Materia Medica" states: "Take the egg white and stir the turbid water to make it clear."
But this step is too time-consuming.
The Cui family was already exhausted, so even the most hardworking old Cui couldn't bear it anymore and went back to her room to rest.
The next morning.
Chen, who got up first, exclaimed excitedly: "The impurities are all floating up!"
The family members, who had not slept for long, got up one after another, and then excitedly discovered that it was true!
The egg white carried away the impurities in the syrup and all floated up.
After skimming off the brown foam, the black syrup in the jar becomes much lighter in color!
At this moment, the whole family was truly dumbfounded, their hearts were pounding, and they saw hope!
Old Cui covered her chest and said to Cui Xian, "Brother Xian, what should we do next?"
Next, it is bamboo charcoal filtration, which is the key to decolorization.
This step also has a source.
The late Ming Dynasty's "A Brief Knowledge of Physics" records: The color of bamboo charcoal and clear water is like air.
Reed mats, rice husk ash, granular carbon and Yellow River sand are spread on the bottom of the bamboo basket.
Pour the syrup in and filter it through activated carbon.
The shocking and exciting scene is coming!
The syrup that was filtered for the second time became much whiter in color!
Oh my god!
While Old Cui was busy working, she kept calling out "Mom" and trembling with excitement.
The rest of the Cui family wasn't much better off.
Really...right under their noses, brown sugar turned white?!
But at this point, it’s not over yet.
The charcoal-filtered sugar liquid should be boiled again until it becomes viscous, that is, stringy.
Pour it into the funnel while it is still hot, and then cover it with wheat straw to keep it warm and allow it to crystallize.
After completing this step, you need to wait another three days.
Three days later, remove the wheat straw stalks and water them with the clear muddy water from the Yellow River.
The pouring of yellow mud water here is what is recorded in "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature": the method of pouring sugar with yellow mud water.
After pouring yellow mud water, you can get grayish-white sugar blocks.
The sugar cubes are then crushed and dried in the sun for seven days to allow the surface to harden, the water to seep out, and the sugar cubes to dry deeply, completing the transformation from hard grayish white to hard, brittle, and translucent white.
Finally, it becomes snow-white "icing".
After pouring all the syrup into the funnel, the family, who had been busy for a day and a night, were exhausted and out of breath.
But their eyes were particularly bright and their expressions were very excited!
Although they have not officially seen the "icing sugar" yet, they have witnessed with their own eyes the fading of brown sugar step by step!
It's simply a miracle!
Old Cui said excitedly: "The brown sugar has turned into icing sugar. My God, our family is really going to get rich!"
Just to get rich?
Cui Xian wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile: "Grandma, our family is not just about making money."
One sentence makes the whole family excited and come to watch.
Cui Xian explained seriously: "It's just that the sugarcane is not on the market yet, so we can only use expensive brown sugar to make frosting."
"When sugar cane is available, we won't have to buy brown sugar, but cheap sugar cane instead."
"The area that produces the most sugarcane is in southern Fujian."
"We will first buy brown sugar, make white sugar, and accumulate capital. After another month or two, we can hire a canal boat to go to southern Fujian and buy a large amount of cheap sugar cane that matures in October."
"After we bring the sugar cane back to Kaifeng, we can start building sugar mills."
"Kaifeng is next to the Yellow River and has natural water resources, so we can build water-conservancy sugar mills to increase production. A large sugar mill can support hundreds or even more craftsmen."
"We will open dozens of sugar mills. I can't say anything else, but at least we can increase the tax revenue of Kaifeng Prefecture by half! We can support tens of thousands of craftsmen!"
hiss!
Hearing this, the whole family was stunned.
But, what shocked them even more was yet to come.
Cui Xian continued: "Sugarcane can be used to make more than just frosting."
"In terms of food processing, we can make rock sugar, sugar sculptures, candied fruit, sugar wine, candy, and fruit vinegar."
"In light industry, discarded sugarcane bagasse can be used to make paper. Honey can be used to make alcohol, and the residue can be used to make fertilizer."
"As for medicine, we can make cough syrup and use it as wound disinfectant. The former benefits people's livelihood, and for the latter, we can cooperate with the military!"
"From now on, all the boats on the Yellow River will belong to us. They will transport sugar cane, icing sugar, candy, paper, and cough syrup."
"We can even cooperate with southern Fujian to reclaim wasteland and plant large quantities of sugarcane."
"Or we can cultivate sugarcane in southern Fujian and transplant it to Kaifeng to create a new Central Plains sugarcane production area."
"We can form a sugar support industry chain from Henan to southern Fujian."
"By then, not to mention the entire Kaifeng, the economic tax revenue of the entire Henan Province will be increased by at least 10 to 20 percent!"
"Our family can provide jobs for tens of thousands of craftsmen and civilians. The industries involved are countless."
"The name of the Henan Cui family must be reserved for our family!"
Oh my god!
Cui Xian's words made the whole family speechless and their eyes blank.
Old Cui swallowed hard and managed to regain her sanity: "Such a big business... I'm afraid our family can't afford it."
Cui Xian glanced at his grandmother approvingly.
Then he said, "Of course we can't handle such a big business. Fortunately, my grandson has a great master who is the chief minister, and even a pen pal who is the emperor."
"The world is bustling with people, all for profit. Master's faction needs money, and the emperor's private treasury naturally needs money as well."
"When the time comes, I will share the profits with Master. Then even if I overturn the scriptures and the imperial examination system, I will not make things difficult for Master. Because the people behind Master have to rely on me for their livelihood!"
"If I share the profits with the emperor, he will naturally stand behind me unconditionally and support the new learning reform!"
"If the emperor's appetite is too big, then I will go a step further and export sugar! Make sugar the third pillar product after Daliang silk and porcelain! The return of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of silver coins will not only be enough to feed the emperor."
"It can also feed hundreds of thousands of troops!"
"At that time, who would dare to tell me that new learning is not possible?"
"Of course this step is too far away and will take many years to achieve, let's just talk about the present."
Cui Xian smiled and said, "Before the imperial examination next year, our family will have opened at least seven or eight sugar mills, supporting thousands of craftsmen."
"The industry is spread all over Kaifeng, and the tax revenue of the entire Kaifeng Prefecture can be increased by 20%."
"The new Henan Provincial Governor will probably take up his post soon. If he doesn't cause me any trouble, I will give him this achievement."
"If he causes trouble for me - and dares to give up 20% of Kaifeng Prefecture's tax revenue, I will report him to the emperor right away!"
"Anyway, I'm going to stuff this achievement into his mouth!"
"He has taken this credit, so he has to do things according to my wishes!"
"I'll tell him—"
"Next year's Henan imperial examination will ban the examination on the Mao Shi Xu."
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