Chapter 89: Changing the Kiln

Afternoon Green Cloud Lane.

One white horse slowly stopped in front of the Chen residence gate. Chen Wen Zong dismounted with light movements, and as he landed, a young family servant came up to welcome him and took the reins and whip from his hand.

Chen Wen Zong silently lifted the hem of his clothes and stepped over the high threshold, walking towards the depths of the vermilion gate.

A strong servant holding a shining copper basin came forward. "Young Master, wipe your face."

Inside the copper basin was hot water, and a white cloth hung on the edge of the basin.

Chen Wen Zong picked up the cloth, dipped it in the hot water, and wiped his face from forehead to chin twice. Only then did he feel a bit clearer and refreshed.

Chen Wen Zong folded the white cloth neatly and hung it back on the edge of the copper basin. He asked softly, "Where is Father?"

The strong servant said in a low voice, "After Master ordered that servant who embezzled money to be beaten to death with a staff, he ordered the carriage prepared to go to the yamen. It seems he still has official business to handle."

"Where is Mother?"

The strong servant replied, "Madam appointed Zhang Madam to go to the tailor shop together to select silk."

"Where is Wen Xiao?"

The strong servant continued to answer, "Second Young Master went out with friends, saying he was going to East Market to play."

Chen Wen Zong was momentarily absent-minded. A young servant had died at home today, but no one in the residence seemed to be affected. Everything was as usual.

"Where is the Housekeeper?"

"After the Housekeeper received the beating, we carried him back to his room to rest."

"I'll go see him."

Chen Wen Zong passed through the long vermilion corridor and arrived at the back residence where the servants lived.

Just as he entered the courtyard, he heard the Housekeeper cursing. "That little rabbit now relies on the Wang residence and his wings are hard. He actually dared to report to Master. Apply the medicine lighter."

With a slap, it sounded as if someone in the Housekeeper's room had received a crisp slap. Soon after, a young servant said in a panic, "I'll be lighter."

Chen Wen Zong frowned. The Housekeeper's tone at this time was completely different from what he had heard in the past, like two people.

He walked forward and lifted the cotton cloth door curtain. He saw the Housekeeper lying on the bed with his bottom bare, while a young servant applied medicine for him. A plate of dried fruits and pastries was placed on the edge of the bed.

The Housekeeper saw Chen Wen Zong out of the corner of his eye and immediately got up and pulled up his pants. With tears of gratitude, he said, "Young Master, why have you come to this backyard to visit me? This dirty place where servants live is not a place you should come to."

Chen Wen Zong said slowly, "Those ten staff blows you received were not light. You must rest well. I just went to find Chen Ji, but I couldn't bring him back."

The Housekeeper said seriously, "Young Master, why did you go to find him? Don't look at him pretending now. It's nothing more than a bitter scheme to try and make Master feel sorry for you. As long as you and Master ignore him, after a few days, he will find a way to come back to the Chen residence himself."

"Why?"

The Housekeeper swore, "Don't look at him acting like he doesn't want to come back to the residence now. Can he really give up the glory and wealth of the Chen residence?"

Yes, the Chen family had been officials for generations. The current Master, Chen Lu Chi, was still the Minister of the Household Department in the current dynasty. How many people could give up this family status?

But Chen Wen Zong recalled seeing Chen Ji just now. He clearly felt that the other party's expression was firm and calm, truly wanting to sever ties with the Chen residence.

He was silent for a long time. "Housekeeper, rest well. I'm going to read books. Instruct the kitchen not to prepare my dinner tonight."

"Yes."

Chen Wen Zong went out, passing through the deep courtyard, and returned to his own room. He sat at the desk, originally intending to review the classics. He flipped through a few pages but couldn't read them.

Tomorrow was the autumn examination. He smoothed out the paper again with a black jade paperweight, wanting to write a strategy essay. The brush was full of ink, but he delayed putting it down.

Chen Wen Zong's mind always echoed the Princess's rebuke and the laughter on the ox cart, unable to calm down.

After a moment, he actually stood up and walked outside. He said to the young servant waiting at the door, "Prepare the horse."

Chen Wen Zong quickly went to the door and mounted the horse. With a light squeeze of his legs on the horse's belly, he rode towards the south city.

He wanted to sincerely apologize to Chen Ji. His younger brother was injured, but he hadn't cared even once. As an older brother, he was indeed ashamed of the sages.

The official road after the snow melted was muddy and rough. The closer he got to Liu family village, the blacker the road surface became, full of coal slag leaked from ox carts.

Liu family village was not as quiet as he had imagined. He saw merchants coming and going at the village entrance, with endless ox carts. Some were pulling clay in, and some were pulling porcelain out.

Many chimneys stood inside the village, continuously spitting white smoke into the sky.

Laborers in the early snow day wore single clothes, stepping on leaky straw shoes, busy loading and unloading goods.

The entire Liu family village was just one huge ceramics workshop.

Chen Wen Zong rode on his horse and waved to stop a laborer, asking warmly, "Excuse me, have you seen the Prince and Princess?"

The laborer was somewhat confused. "How could the Prince and Princess come to a place like ours? Young Master, you must have come to the wrong place."

Chen Wen Zong was silent for a moment. He also thought he had come to the wrong place.

But Chen Ji had clearly said it was Liu family village at the medical hall door.

He asked again, "Then have you seen a group of eight people who came to Liu family village? There is a monk among them."

The laborer suddenly realized. "You mean them? They just used a gold hairpin to buy that abandoned kiln factory from old Zhou's family. It's the third house after you turn left."

"Thanks!"

Chen Wen Zong threw out two copper coins and continued to ride his horse in the mud.

The laborers saw his tall horse and imposing presence and all avoided the middle of the road.

Not many steps later, he heard Chen Ji's laughter transmitted from afar.

"Everyone cover your mouths and noses with a cloth strip! If you inhale the dust, you might feel uncomfortable for half a day!"

Chen Wen Zong pulled his horse to a stop at the kiln factory door. He lowered his head to look at the mud on the road after the snow melted and his clean soap boots. For a moment, he hesitated whether to dismount.

He raised his head and saw that the large gate of the kiln factory was open. The courtyard inside was filled with gray dust. Chen Ji and the others had gray faces and were pushing a huge stone mill in the middle of the courtyard, grinding pieces of porcelain into powder, with cloth strips covering their mouths and noses.

This was completely different from what Chen Wen Zong had imagined.

He thought the Prince and Princess had happily come to step in the snow and seek plum blossoms, but he hadn't expected the other party to actually gather in a dilapidated kiln factory doing dirty manual labor.

Zhou family's kiln factory occupied about two mu. On the left side was a row of low yellow earth houses, with broken and incomplete tiles. In the middle was a huge flat kiln, which was not lit at this time. On the right side was a mountain of defective porcelain, and also a huge stone mill.

Liang Dog Er lay under the eaves of the yellow earth house, snoring with a piece of dry tobacco leaf covering his face. The little monk sat on the ground with his eyes closed, chanting scriptures. Chen Ji and the others pushed the heavy stone mill together, grinding pieces of broken porcelain into slag.

White Carp held a short broom and constantly swept the ground powder into a bamboo basket for use.

At this moment, a handful of dust rose up and covered Princess White Carp's face with a layer of dust.

The Prince, pushing the stone mill, said with heartache, "Quick, brother will help you wipe your face."

White Carp heard this and raised her small face, but the Prince didn't wipe her face. Instead, he wrote the character 'King' on her forehead.

The Prince laughed heartily. "Now you look more like a little tiger."

White Carp's anger rose from her heart. She grabbed the broom in her hand and chased after him. The two of them chased and ran around the stone mill, while the others pushing the huge stone mill laughed heartily.

Liu Qu Xing looked at She Deng Ke. "I'll also help you wipe your face?"

She Deng Ke sneered. "Get lost, you're disgusting. Don't think this old man doesn't know you're up to no good again, sneakily being bad."

Chen Wen Zong sat on his horse and watched silently. He didn't know why these people with gray faces could be so happy pushing a stone mill.

Finding happiness in hardship?

But why would the Prince and Princess White Carp, with their noble identities, want to do these things like laborers?

Hesitating repeatedly, Chen Wen Zong finally jumped off his horse. As he landed, mud splashed onto the face of his black boots.

He didn't speak rashly, but just quietly walked into the courtyard of the kiln factory and observed silently.

He heard Chen Ji say, "Okay, we'll grind this much first. I have to see the results to know how to adjust later. This time, we must prepare for a long war."

His knowledge of cement came from the widely spread secret of "two grinds and one burn."

It sounded simple: calcine lime and clay to get raw materials, mix them evenly in a 75:25 ratio. Although it couldn't compare to special cement, it was absolutely sufficient in this era.

There were mountains of broken porcelain piled up in the kiln factory. These were defective products eliminated by the previous kiln factory and could be directly used as already burned clay raw materials.

As for quicklime, it was called chalk ash in the Ning dynasty and was already widely used in many fields. Buying ready-made was just a matter of course.

Looking at all the raw materials, it seemed only grinding and stirring were left.

But Chen Ji knew that like the method of using yellow mud to decolorize sugar, many things sounded simple but were difficult to do.

Making cement was simple, but manufacturing qualified cement was difficult.

At this time, no one noticed Chen Wen Zong had arrived. He just watched silently, wanting to see what the Prince and others wanted to do.

Chen Ji poured the ground chalk ash and porcelain ash onto the open ground of the kiln factory, then poured the same proportion of water, stirring a pile of powder into a paste.

After stirring evenly, he spread the cement on a blue brick to dry statically. A group of people with gray faces squatted beside it and waited. The Prince squatted with his knees hugged and asked in a low voice, "Chen Ji, how long do we have to wait?"

Chen Ji thought that the initial setting needed more than three quarters of an hour, and the final setting needed within three hours. Only then could it be considered qualified.

Three hours, so long?

Chen Ji said seriously, "Be patient. Doing great things requires patience."

"Oh, then let's play dominoes for a while? Do you play dominoes?"

"I didn't bring them. We'll bring them tomorrow."

"Okay."

White Carp laughed, "Although I don't know if this thing called cement will be as strong as Chen Ji says after it's made, working here feels much more interesting than reading books in the academy. It's very fulfilling."

Chen Ji laughed, "Princess, this is just a moment of novelty for you all. If you were asked to be like those laborers, you would definitely not be willing."

At this point, White Carp suddenly became gloomy. "I used to always ask Happy Cake and Happy Tang about the outside world and wanted to see how common people lived. At that time, I only listened to them and felt that common people lived very hard, but today I saw the laborer uncles still wearing straw shoes in winter and only understood that their hardship was beyond imagination."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment before saying, "The Princess and Prince were born wealthy, so they don't understand the hardship of making a living. But you are willing to understand these things, which is already not easy."

The Prince pouted and said, "They should also call the various officials in the court to see what kind of state the common people live in under their governance!"

Chen Wen Zong looked at this scene and suddenly interrupted from behind them. "The various officials in the court are all dedicated to the country. They exhaust their minds every day to formulate policies and save the common people from dire straits. If anyone is to blame, it can only be the years of war between the Jing dynasty and our Ning dynasty, which led to the people being without a livelihood. The Prince and Princess, being of golden branches and jade leaves, should not be wasting time in the countryside, and even less should they criticize the various officials in the court behind their backs."

The crowd squatting on the ground heard the sound and turned their heads to look at him together. "Eh, how did you come?"

Chen Wen Zong didn't answer this question, only said sincerely, "Prince, Princess, you should go back and read the books of the sages well. It will benefit one side in the future."

The Prince squatted on the ground and said carelessly, "We are now doing great military strategy. You bookworms don't understand."

Chen Wen Zong's breath hitched. "In this dirty and messy Liu family village, how can you do anything that affects military strategy?"

The Prince giggled, "I told you, you wouldn't understand."

Chen Wen Zong said seriously, "If you don't tell me, how will I understand?"

The Prince hesitated. "Mainly, I don't understand either."

Chen Wen Zong murmured, "Prince, you are quite honest."

Chen Ji on the side glanced at him. "Older brother, if you want to watch, then stand on the side and watch. Don't be pulling from east to west. Don't look down on what we are doing now. The ultimate goal of learning is to govern the world and benefit the common people. Empty talk will only mislead the country."

When Chen Wen Zong heard these words, he wanted to get angry. The Confucian way was filial piety, the elder brother was friendly, and the younger brother was respectful. But Chen Ji didn't care about these rites at all and fundamentally didn't regard him as an older brother.

But he thought of the purpose of his trip and finally endured it.

He didn't want to be like these people, squatting on the ground and humiliating culture, so he stood aside and waited quietly, wanting to see what kind of mess this group of people wanted to make.

Just...

Chen Wen Zong said doubtfully, "I heard you talking just now. It seems Chen Ji is in charge here?"

The crowd looked at each other, not knowing what kind of question this was.

The Prince thought for a moment, then asked back, "Otherwise?"

Chen Wen Zong was stunned. The Housekeeper always said that Chen Ji was a slave face fawning over the Prince and Princess, but now it seemed the Housekeeper was fundamentally wrong.

White Carp pulled the Prince's arm. "Brother, ignore him. We won't play with him."

Chen Wen Zong: ...

He didn't know how long he waited, perhaps two hours, perhaps three hours. The crowd's legs were numb from squatting, so they moved wooden chairs from the room and continued to wait.

Until the sun sank in the west, Chen Ji suddenly said, "It should be okay. Both the initial setting time and the final setting time are still qualified. It's just not clear if it's firm enough."

The Prince leaned over to check and saw that the mud paste spread on the brick just now had already solidified, sticking together with the blue brick.

His eyes brightened. He looked at Chen Ji. "How long does it take for ordinary glutinous rice mortar to solidify?"

Chen Ji said, "Ten days."

The Prince asked again, "If this thing can really replace glutinous rice mortar, Father won't need to worry. Chalk ash and clay are everywhere, so many common people won't need to starve their bellies because they collect glutinous rice."

Chen Ji carefully examined the solidified structure of the cement on the blue brick and suddenly said, "Don't be too happy too early."

After saying that, he reached out and gently poked with his thumb. The cement, which should have been solid, actually crumbled like tofu dregs.

If this cement were used to build a city at the border, it would probably collapse before the Jing dynasty even came to attack.

At that time, the Prince and White Carp might not matter, but Chen Ji would likely be beheaded.

Where did the problem come from?

Chen Ji liked to read popular science knowledge, so his knowledge was broad.

But broad knowledge usually meant only a shallow understanding of each topic, making it difficult to study in depth.

It was clear from beginning to end when explaining it, but actually doing it required taking many detours.

Chen Ji sighed, "This is definitely not usable in its current state."

The Prince asked, "Then what do we do?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment. "The porcelain powder that's ground needs to be sifted finer. Princess, take She Deng Ke and Cat Brother and go find a finer sieve net in the village. Prince, you and Teacher Liu and the little monk will go buy some more chalk ash later."

Chen Ji always felt something wasn't right. He seemed to be missing a crucial step.

Chen Wen Zong looked at Chen Ji's focused and thoughtful appearance and only felt that the other party was particularly magical.

In the past, in the Chen residence, Chen Ji lived alone in one courtyard, ate alone, slept alone, and even went to school differently from him and Wen Xiao.

Mother also always used Chen Ji's naughtiness as a reason to prevent them from associating.

Blood brothers clearly lived in the same residence, yet it was as if they lived in two worlds.

Only at this moment did Chen Wen Zong realize that he had never truly understood this younger brother.

Just at this time, Chen Ji suddenly raised his head and looked at the huge earth kiln in the middle of the courtyard. "That's not right, this kiln is not right. No wonder the boss hesitated when we bought this kiln factory."

After saying that, he took out a branch and squatted on the ground, drawing a gourd shape. "This is a climbing flame kiln. The temperature cannot reach the requirement for burning cement. It must be changed to a gourd kiln or a steamed bun kiln, so that the climbing flame becomes a half-downward flame. Prince, go summon the laborers of Liu family village to come over."

The Prince was curious. "What do you want to do?"

Chen Ji said firmly, "I want to change the kiln."