coobybook Chapter 187 Glass Making (1)
Chapter 187 Glass Making (1)
Shi Wanxia stretched. The government office started its annual holiday today, which meant there were only two or three days left until the New Year. She left work early today and walked briskly home.
These past few days, business at home has been suspended, and everyone is busy with spring cleaning and welcoming the Kitchen God, creating a lively atmosphere as the Lunar New Year approaches.
Shi Wanxia returned to her room to change out of her official robes and into a neat casual outfit. She then went to the main hall to help Shuyun and the others tidy up. While they were busy, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen Lin Yu for the past two days. That guy was leaving early and returning late, as if he was hiding some secret.
"Shuyun, where's Lin Yu? He's been elusive all day, what's he up to?" Shi Wanxia asked, frowning.
As Shuyun wiped the tables and chairs, she replied with a gentle smile, "Sister Shi, Lin Yu said he wanted to send a letter home, and these past two days he's been doing something rather mysterious."
"By the way, sister, we still can't make that glass according to your method. It's still early, why don't we go to the workshop and try again? I'll leave the housework to Shuying and Qinglan."
After a moment's thought, Shi Wanxia realized it made sense. If she couldn't make the glass, her planned vegetable greenhouse would lack a crucial material, let alone the opportunity to make glass cups to support her family.
"Alright then, call Qin Xin, Xiao Yu, Shi Qing, and the others. We need manpower. Oh, and remember to tell them to keep this a secret. This core formula can only be kept by us."
"We are still very weak right now, and having exceptional skills makes us easy targets for others. By the way, we also need to keep a close eye on these people. Although we have kindly given them a home, people's hearts are unpredictable, so we still need to be careful. If anyone shows any disloyalty, kick them out immediately and never hire them again."
Shuyun nodded solemnly, making sure to remember these words. The two walked quickly to the backyard, where there was a workshop of more than 100 square meters that they had specially built. This place was not only for making soap and other soap products, but also for making glass.
Shi Wanxia held the production method she had written a few days ago, looked at the black lumps she had just produced, frowned, and was full of confusion, wondering which step had gone wrong and caused the production to fail.
The raw materials for making glass include quartz sand, limestone, feldspar, and soda ash. Quartz sand and feldspar are important raw materials for making ceramics, and they are not difficult to find; Lin Yu has already asked someone to buy a large quantity of these materials.
Limestone is a common material for bricklaying and plastering walls, and she asked Magistrate Wang to buy some. Soda ash, also known as baking soda, is mainly found in salt lakes, and she also asked Cui Zhihao to help her buy a large quantity of it.
Shi Wanxia picked up a wooden spoon, carefully scooped out some of each ingredient, placed them in a wooden basin, stirred them evenly, and added alkali grass juice to it in order to refine colored glass.
The next step is the solution preparation, which is extremely difficult. In order to achieve a firing temperature of around 1200°C, she asked someone to buy a large amount of coal. This step, which involves refining these raw materials into molten glass, takes a full eight hours.
Shi Wanxia stayed by the stove, adding coal from time to time, and the fire burned hot and strong thanks to her efforts. The scorching heat baked everyone present, who were all drenched in sweat and wearing only a thin shirt, yet they continued to work hard to burn coal, their eyes filled with a desire for success.
In the steamy workshop, Shi Wanxia's face was flushed red by the firelight, and sweat dripped from her forehead, but she was completely unaware. She devoted herself to glassmaking, not only for a living, but also for the small dream in her heart.
Under her protection, everyone in this family has their own mission, and the making of this glass may become the key to changing their fate.
At this moment, Lin Yu appeared out of nowhere. He looked at the busy crowd, a complex expression flashing in his eyes. He quietly walked behind Shi Wanxia and gently patted her shoulder.
Shi Wanxia was startled. She turned around and saw Lin Yu. She scolded him, "Where have you been these past two days? You've been so mysterious."
Lin Yu smiled, revealing two attractive dimples: "Wanxia, I'm going to prepare a surprise for you. Guess what it is?"
Shi Wanxia rolled her eyes at him: "I'm not in the mood to guess your surprise right now. If this glass can't be made, our plans will all fall through."
Lin Yu looked at the flames in the furnace and the ingredients being stirred, his expression turning serious: "I know this is important to you. Actually, I've been working on the glass issue for the past two days, and I've found someone who might be able to help."
Shi Wanxia's eyes lit up: "Really? Who is it?" Lin Yu kept her in suspense: "Don't worry, you'll know when he arrives. But before that, we still need to finish this round of firing."
Everyone continued working, and time slowly passed amidst the heat and sweat. The raw materials in the furnace, licked by the flames, seemed to undergo subtle changes, as if slowly transforming into molten glass.
Shi Wanxia rolled her eyes at Lin Yu, not wanting to pay him any attention. This guy was getting more and more unreliable.
Shi Wanxia wiped the large beads of sweat from her forehead, picked up the fan on the table, and fanned herself vigorously, trying to dispel the unbearable heat. Lin Yu, standing to the side, felt somewhat uncomfortable, his eyes darting away, not daring to look at Shi Wanxia.
She was only wearing a thin garment, and in the high temperature, her exquisite figure was faintly visible. Although Lin Yu was sweating profusely from the heat in the room, he maintained the demeanor of a gentleman and dared not be as casual as she was.
Shi Wanxia had no time to ponder Lin Yu's thoughts; her entire attention was focused on the blazing fire, her eyes never leaving it, and she frequently shouted instructions to everyone to add coal. Her focused expression made it seem as if the fire was her whole world.
Lin Yu looked around and saw that everyone else was also sweating profusely from the heat, and both men and women were only wearing undergarments. Shi Wanxia frowned and immediately ordered someone to open the windows and doors.
In an instant, a cold wind howled in, and the temperature inside the room began to drop slowly, but the high temperature inside the boiler was not affected, and the fire remained fierce.
"Bring the people you brought in! It's not like there's anything shameful about it. Don't always act like you're trying to help the weak and being coy. This is a good thing, why would I mind?" Shi Wanxia's gaze was sharp as she looked directly at Lin Yu.
Lin Yu was speechless after being rebuked by her words. After a moment of stunned silence, he called out to the outside, "Chen Ping'an, come in!"
As the voice faded, a burly man strode in with steady steps. His muscles were bulging, as if he contained boundless power, and his strong physique was enough to inspire fear just by looking at him.
Shi Wanxia looked at him, and a strange sense of familiarity welled up in her heart, but she couldn't remember who he was for a moment.