AWB Chapter 33 begins the manufacture of cement.
Chapter 33 begins the manufacture of cement.
After Ying Wuyou arrived at the estate, she had someone summon Zhao Ran. She took out a piece of paper and handed it to Zhao Ran, asking, "Take a look. Do you know what these things are?" Zhao Ran respectfully took the paper, glanced at it, and saw the words: limestone, clay, and sand written on it.
Zhao Ran said, "Miss (Ying Wuyou instructed everyone in the manor to call her that), I know all of this, but I'm afraid this limestone will be hard to find." Ying Wuyou nodded and said, "I know that."
Ying Wuyou then asked, "Zhao Ran, do you know if there are any ceramic kilns near Xianyang City?"
Zhao Ran thought for a moment and said, "Miss, I know there's a ceramic kiln about 20 kilometers away from the manor. Are you looking to buy the ceramic kiln?"
Ying Wuyou nodded and said, "Here's what we'll do: send someone to ask if the boss can buy the ceramic kiln from him. If he can, it doesn't matter if the price is a bit high."
Upon hearing Ying Wuyou's words, Zhao Ran quickly replied, "I'll take care of it right away. Please wait a few days, Miss." Ying Wuyou nodded, and Zhao Ran dashed off.
Zhao Ran was overjoyed upon receiving the order; he finally had a chance to prove himself! Back when the young lady bought them, she specifically asked who could read. Zhao Ran pulled his sister forward and said they could read. At that time, the young lady only glanced at them and said nothing. Zhao Ran had assumed he would be doing the hardest and most tiring work like everyone else.
Who would have thought that while he was sweeping the floor, he would hear his mistress calling him over? Zhao Ran's heart skipped a beat, sensing that his mistress must have something important to discuss with him. Sure enough, his mistress took out a piece of paper. Zhao Ran knew perfectly well that this was his mistress's invention; he had even followed her to find tree bark. He never imagined that tree bark could be turned into paper—this paper was truly amazing! Zhao Ran thought his mistress was incredibly talented. [With paper, so many people could read!] Thinking about all this, Zhao Ran felt that following his mistress was wonderful.
Zhao Ran couldn't help but recall his past: his father used to be a county magistrate, and his mother died giving birth to his younger sister. He and his sister were raised by their father alone, and they received a lot of education from him. Unfortunately, his father later violated the laws of the Qin Dynasty and was beheaded. He and his sister had nowhere to go and were forced to wander, even being tricked by human traffickers. At that time, Zhao Ran felt his life was destined to end like this. When the young lady bought them, he was filled with fear and unease. Who could have imagined that after arriving at the estate, Zhao Ran would find that the servants here were well-fed, their clothes were brand new, and their meals included not only vegetables but also meat? Such a life was something Zhao Ran had never dared to dream of before. Even more unexpectedly, the young lady entrusted him with such an important task as finding a ceramic kiln! Zhao Ran was so excited he almost jumped for joy!
Zhao Ran shook off the jumbled thoughts in his mind and led the two people toward the ceramic kiln. Along the way, Zhao Ran had no mood to appreciate the scenery. He just wanted to get to the ceramic kiln as soon as possible, do what the young lady had asked him to do, and then hurry back to report to her.
Zhao Ran learned that the owner of the ceramic kiln was surnamed Liu. After explaining his purpose to the workers, Zhao Ran followed Mr. Liu into the kiln. Mr. Liu looked at the young man in front of him with some curiosity. Usually, those who came to discuss business were middle-aged men. Why was there a young punk today?
"Mr. Liu, I don't think your ceramic kiln business is doing very well," Zhao Ran said bluntly.
"You should tell me why you're here. As for how my ceramic kiln business is doing, that's none of your business," Boss Liu said angrily, looking at him.
Zhao Ran said to Mr. Liu, "Our young lady wants to buy a ceramic kiln. I wonder if Mr. Liu is interested in selling one?"
Mr. Liu glanced at Zhao Ran and said, "Oh? I don't want to sell my ceramic kiln."
Zhao Ran smiled and said, "I've heard that your ceramic kiln is almost going out of business. You've been behind on your employees' monthly wages for several months now. To tell you the truth, our young lady wants to buy a ceramic kiln. It doesn't matter whether it's yours or someone else's. There are quite a few ceramic kilns around Xianyang City. Think about it carefully, Manager Liu."
Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Mr. Liu's eyes. He asked, "How much money can your young lady come up with?"
After some haggling between Zhao Ran and Boss Liu, the price was quickly agreed upon. Zhao Ran returned to the estate with a joyful heart.
Ying Wuyou returned to the palace and sat in a chair, deep in thought: [Building a cement road is much more difficult than I imagined. First, there's the preparation of materials; limestone is only found in specific regions.] Actually, Ying Wuyou knew that wood ash could be used as a substitute, but wood ash requires a large quantity and is not easy to collect. Therefore, Ying Wuyou decided to prepare for both possibilities.
After some thought, Ying Wuyou decided to first send people to find limestone. As for clay, it would be easy to obtain in places with ceramic kilns. On the other hand, Ying Wuyou sent people to the villages to buy ash from cooking fires. One jin of ash cost one qian (a unit of weight), which sounded like a small amount, but every household had a few jin of ash, so it was practically free money.
When the villagers from nearby villages heard that someone was buying ashes, they were stunned, thinking they had misheard. However, when they watched as someone actually bought their ashes and earned a fortune, they erupted in excitement. Like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey, they rushed home, hollowed out their stoves, and carefully collected the ashes, delivering them to the buyer. After the entire village had received their money and watched the buyer disappear into the distance, they all felt as if they were in a dream, finding it all unreal. But when they touched the heavy silver coins, they were overjoyed, their laughter ringing out like silver bells.
Ying Wuyou had been going to the manor every day for the past few days. When she learned that Zhao Ran had reached an agreement with the owner of the ceramic kiln, Ying Wuyou was overjoyed. She immediately completed the formalities with Boss Liu. After acquiring the ceramic kiln, Ying Wuyou treated all the ceramic craftsmen as treasures and kept them all, as these were all invaluable talents! She arranged for them all to work at the manor and successfully obtained the location of the clay from the owner.
After several days of repeated experimentation with the ratio of wood ash and clay to cement, the perfect proportion was finally determined. Ying Wuyou ordered someone to bring a hammer and smash it hard against the cement tile. With a "bang," only a crack appeared in the cement tile, which greatly satisfied Ying Wuyou.
Meanwhile, the people who went out to search for limestone finally brought back fantastic news: the limestone they had been dreaming of was very likely hidden in a mountain outside Xianyang. So, Ying Wuyou immediately sent people to collect some. Several strong young men from the village volunteered to go and collect the limestone, and Ying Wuyou readily agreed.
When the limestone miners returned, Ying Wuyou gazed at the superior quality limestone, her excitement akin to seeing a rare treasure. Without hesitation, she ordered everyone to break the limestone into pieces and fire it in a ceramic kiln. After firing, she mixed the limestone with clay, experimenting repeatedly until she finally determined the optimal ratio. Watching the cement gradually harden, Ying Wuyou again ordered hammers to be brought and pound it vigorously. This time, no matter how many times the hammers struck, the cement remained as hard as a rock, showing no signs of cracking. Ying Wuyou knew she had succeeded!
Next, Ying Wuyou ordered people to mix stones, coarse sand, and fine sand into the wood ash cement and lime cement respectively to conduct experiments. Finally, Ying Wuyou neatly arranged all the experimental results, waiting for the King of Qin to come and inspect them.