Chapter 48: Discovering the "treasure"

Since Zheng Qing met Chen Wanrong, she has never seen him be so surprised and has been so lost. Zheng Qing blinked her beautiful eyes and looked at Chen Wanrong, shocked and didn't know how to speak.

If Zheng Qing hadn't known Chen Wanrong and knew that he would never do something strange, otherwise he would have thought that the tendons on the back of his neck would have been in the wrong direction.

However, Chen Wanrong kissed a stone hard, which was quite embarrassing. Any girl would feel embarrassed when she felt this way. Zheng Qing's pretty face turned red and she looked shy. She hurriedly turned her head. Even so, her heart was still pounding, like a bouncing deer, which would break out of her chest at any time.

Chen Wanrong looked at the sun for a long time before turning his head to Zheng Qing and said, "Do you know what good thing this is?"

Zheng Qing turned her head, her face was still ashamed, and she didn't dare to look at Chen Wanrong. She looked directly at the blue stone and said softly: "Brother Chen, what is this? You are so excited."

"This is a gallbladder!" Chen Wanrong answered her question, and without waiting for her to ask, she explained to her with a smile: "This thing can make sulfuric acid. Senior Hu Gangzi used this gallbladder to make sulfuric acid decades ago."

The alum is copper sulfate pentahydrate. In the seventh century AD, the alchemist Hu Gangzi of the Tang Dynasty produced the first sulfuric acid in human history through burning, hundreds of years earlier than the West. This incident was only a few decades away from Jingyun.

Sulfuric acid is known as the "mother of industry" and is widely used in all walks of life. If there is no sulfuric acid in modern society, our comfort in life will decrease a lot. With sulfuric acid, Chen Wanrong's chemical industry will be more vivid, and Chen Wanrong can't help but be excited: "With the alum, I can make sulfuric acid and do a lot of things. It's just that there are too few, and I can only be used for experiments."

Even if it was done, it would be enough to make Chen Wanrong excited for a long time.

"Congratulations to Brother Chen!" Zheng Qing's wonderful eyes were filled with affection and congratulated Chen Wanrong.

Chen Wanrong put the gallbladder into his arms and touched his chin and pondered: "Cbladder usually appears near the mine deposits, especially in copper mines. There are gallbladder here, and there must be mine caves nearby. This should be thrown here if you are tired of playing."

Copper pentahydrate in nature generally exists in the oxidation zone of the ore deposit. When alum is found here, there must be an ore deposit nearby. Chen Wanrong's eyes are particularly bright: "Let's look for it carefully, maybe you can find it."

Look at Chen Wanrong's appearance, if you find him, you will definitely not go back. Zheng Qing smiled and said, "Okay!"

Chen Wanrong got on the horse again, looked around, rushed inside. Zheng Qing rode the horse and followed. After walking in for a while, the path had disappeared, and weeds were everywhere, and it was actually coming to the wasteland.

"Brother Chen, someone has been here before." Zheng Qing pointed to the wasteland without roads and explained: "Brother Chen, look, the ground here is very hard, and even though weeds grow on it, it is hard to hide its traces. This should be a road."

The analysis made sense. Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "That's right! Let's walk in the road and look." He rode the horse. He didn't walk far away and found a piece of alum lying in the grass. Chen Wanrong shouted excitedly: "That's right, the mine deposit is nearby!" He jumped off the horse and picked up the alum.

Zheng Qing stretched out her jade-like little hand: "Brother Chen, show it to me!" Her face was curious.

Chen Wanrong handed it to her, Zheng Qing held it in her hand, shone in her eyes, and praised it: "Wow! So beautiful! It's blue and faint, like a sapphire! Brother Chen, I'll give it to me." Before Chen Wanrong could speak, he put it in his arms before talking.

Although the current calcification and alum are precious, it is not bad. Chen Wanrong has no doubts about it. The two of them led their horses and walked in. From time to time, they would find that calcification and alum were correct. Chen Wanrong's judgment was correct.

"Brother Chen, look, there is a hole here!" Zheng Qing pointed to the left hand in surprise.

When Chen Wanrong saw that it was not only a hole, but a mine. The entrance of the hole was supported by wood, and the wood was already decayed. Chen Wanrong ran over and saw several pieces of alum on the side of the road before he reached the entrance of the hole. When he came to the entrance of the hole, he looked inside, and there were dozens of alums of different sizes, lying quietly in the grass.

Copper sand can occasionally be seen in the cave, which should be a copper mine. Look at this situation, it has been abandoned for decades.

In ancient China, the metal that dynasties most valued in history was not iron, but copper. Because copper was used to cast coins, of course iron coins were also cast, but it was not as widely used as copper coins. Money was related to the tax revenue of the court and the rise and fall of the dynasty, so it was attached very much.

There is often a very strange phenomenon, that is, copper coins are not as valuable as copper. Once this happens, someone will melt the copper coins in exchange for gold and silver, and they will get rich.

Having more copper has always been the most thought of the court. As long as it can be mined, the court will spare no effort to mine it. I don’t know how many abandoned copper mines are like this.

"Brother Chen, so many!" Zheng Qing arrived, looked into the cave, looked at the beautiful alum as sapphire, and was surprised.

Chen Wanrong pointed to some gray stones and laughed so hard that he couldn't close his mouth: "Look, this stone is also a treasure."

Zheng Qing blinked her eyes and smiled and said, "Brother Chen, when this stone is burned with fire, water will come out, making a sound of boring sound, which is quite fun. When I was a child, I picked it up in the field and burned it to play with it."

This is a zeolite. When the temperature rises, the water will evaporate. What's so strange about it? Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "Yes!"

There are more than 30 zeolites, which are widely present in nature. It is not surprising that zeolites are found here. It should be that those mining people think that zeolites are useless and thrown on the ground.

Using the water absorption of zeolites, Chen Wanrong can not only prepare sulfuric acid, but also concentrate sulfuric acid, and its concentration can be close to 100%. Today's harvest is really rich, Chen Wanrong entered the cave to check it out.

Zheng Qing followed Chen Wanrong. The hole was very deep. After walking for a while, the light was dim and I could no longer see clearly. Zheng Qing was a little scared and hurriedly approached Chen Wanrong. Her jade hand couldn't help but reach out to Chen Wanrong. Chen Wanrong knew that in this situation, the woman needed the most was a sense of security. She held her hand and comforted her: "It's okay! I see that there are dozens of kilograms of alum here. Let's go back now, and I'll ask someone to move the alum."

If Chen Wanrong didn't move back, he would definitely not be able to sleep. Zheng Qing understood him. The two of them got out of the hole, rode on their horses, and rushed back.

As soon as he entered the yard, Chen Wang's complaints sounded with care: "Wanrong, where have you been? You don't have to eat. We can't wait for you, we've eaten." Seeing Zheng Qing standing beside Chen Wanrong with a smile, she thought Chen Wanrong had gone out for a date early in the morning, and she couldn't close her mouth. She grabbed Zheng Qing's hand: "Miss Zheng, come often in the future. This is your home, don't be polite."

"Thank you aunt!" Zheng Qing greeted her with a blessing.

What a polite girl, Chen Wanrong really has a good vision. Chen Wang took Zheng Qing into the house and asked about her health: "Miss Zheng hasn't eaten breakfast yet, right? There are still some, just eat some."

Chen Wangshi was so caring that Zheng Qing rarely saw her mother a few times a year, and she benefited from her: "Thank you, aunt."

Letting go of Zheng Qing, Chen Wang hurriedly served the food. Zheng Qing thanked her and took the bowl and tasted it carefully. Chen Wanrong thought about the alum, and his throat became much thicker. He finished eating in a few strokes. He threw the bowl and ran out.

Chen Wangshi was confused, looked at Chen Wanrong's back and muttered, "What's wrong with this Wanrong today? It's so popular!" She thought it was her first date.

"Auntie, Brother Chen is in trouble." Zheng Qing helped Chen Wanrong explain and put down the bowl: "Thank you aunt." She followed her out.

If it were in the past, Zheng Qing would definitely help clean the dishes. It was the first time that she would run away after putting the bowl like today. Chen Wang thought she was tender and cleaned the dishes with a smile.

Chen Wanrong picked two strong men, brought torches, and asked Xiao Shangrong to drive the ox cart to set off. The two men took the ox cart, Zheng Qing and Chen Wanrong each rode to discover the treasure.

Xiao Hei is a natural athlete. He ran wildly to his preferences. He ran very fast, not worse than blue and white. He soon arrived at the ground and moved the alum and zeolite to the car. After moving the light place, he lit the torch and went deep into the hole to pick it up.

The hole was abandoned for a long time, and the copper sand oxidized well. It took half an hour to move it clean. Looking at a cart of alum, which had more than 100 or 200 kilograms, Chen Wanrong was excited that Mo Ming wanted to make sulfuric acid now.

There are also many zeolites. If you pick them all, there will be at least 100 kilograms. The zeolite can be regenerated. After using them, it can be used again after burning them over a fire. There is no need to move them all, just enough. Chen Wanrong only had forty or fifty kilograms.

Xiao Shangrong and the two friends were extremely curious, but they still chose to make a wise move and did not ask.

Xiao Shangrong drove the ox cart, and the two guys took the ride. Chen Wanrong and Zheng Qing rode on horseback and went home.

As we got on the road, more and more pedestrians were. The alum sparkled in the sun, looking from a distance like blue crystal, which was particularly beautiful and attracted the attention of pedestrians. If it weren't for the too-shot shape of the alum, just by its beautiful colors and soft light, people might have regarded Chen Wanrong as a "jewelry thief".

This matter was incredible. As soon as Chen Wanrong and the others returned home, the hired workers gathered around to see Xiqi, and they were talking and speculating about Chen Wanrong's intention.

Even Han Huahua, who was shy when she saw Chen Wanrong, asked boldly: "Cousin, what do you want to do?"

Zheng Qing whispered a few words in her ear, then stopped talking and looked at Zheng Chen Wanrong in surprise.

Chen Wanrong asked someone to help, and the hired workers rushed over to help move the alum and zeolite into the house to pile it up. If there wasn't something going on today, Chen Wanrong would have done sulfuric acid now.

"Wanrong, what are you doing when you come back to bring the stones? You have nothing to do after dinner." Chen Laoshi complained very much.

Chen Wangshi continued to maintain Chen Wanrong: "Old man, why do you care about so much? Wanrong did useless things at all?"

This makes sense, Chen Houshi will no longer ask.

"Mom, I'm going to the winery." A big stall in the winery was waiting for Chen Wanrong to deal with it. He brought the contract and went to the winery with Xiao Shangrong. Zheng Qing also said goodbye and went home.

Today’s winery is different from yesterday. Yesterday was deserted and there were no one in and out, but today there were people coming and going, no different from the usual ones and have returned to normal.

When he entered the workshop, he saw Xiao Zhizhong and his friends busy and sweating profusely. Sun Zhengping was also busy directing, with sweat beads hanging on his forehead. When he saw Chen Wanrong coming in, he wiped a handful of hot sweat and came forward: "I have met Manager Chen."

It took a lot of time to move the alum. Chen Wanrong came very late and smiled and said, "I have something to do. I'm late, so I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Today is the first day after Chen Wanrong officially took over. Although Sun Zhengping had an urgent matter, he couldn't wait and smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Chen is so serious, this is what I should do."

"Shopkeeper Sun, if you have an urgent matter, you can do your business. You will be done after you finish it." Chen Wanrong understood Sun Zhengping's mood to deal with urgent matters. Chen Wanrong is here, and he doesn't have to stay here anymore.

Sun Zhengping smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Chen, I appreciate your kindness, but I don't have to worry about it at this moment. Today is your first day, and I have to hand over the matter before I can leave. You have helped me so much, if I just left like this, I will be uneasy for the rest of my life."

Chen Wanrong really couldn't resist his affection, so he had to let him go, clapped his hands and said, "Come here, come here!"

Xiao Zhizhong and the guys put down the work they were doing and greeted Chen Wanrong. After a brief greeting, Chen Wanrong distributed the contract to them and said, "This is a contract. Your rights and responsibilities are written on it. If you agree, just sign a letter and mark it. If you don't want to sign it, I will give you a salary and give it away."

Xiao Zhizhong said, "Shopkeeper, where did you say you have gone? How could we not want such a good thing? Brothers, sign it quickly."

Yesterday, I heard Chen Wanrong talk about the content roughly. The guys had already wanted to sign. When they heard this, they responded in unison and wanted to sign. They were happy to play. As Chen Wanrong expected, if they didn't read it, they would sign it. It was reasonable and reminded them: "I'll sign it after reading it."

"Shopkeeper, we have to work after signing, so we can't lose work!" Xiao Zhizhong explained the reason.

`Chen Wanrong reminded them: "This is what you should know, and you can't bear much time."

"Shopkeeper, we can't read! We can't understand it even if we read it." A guy was embarrassed.

These guys are honest country people, so it is normal for them to be illiterate. Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "That's better. Whoever you knows literacy, read it to them."

Everyone looked at Xiao Zhizhong, and the matter fell on Xiao Zhizhong's head. Xiao Zhizhong coughed and read it according to the contract. He knew a few words, and even his reading level was too slow. Chen Wanrong frowned and let them discuss the contract, and followed Sun Zhengping aside.

"Shopkeeper Sun, there is nothing to do here. Go and do your business." Chen Wanrong didn't urge him to leave, but seeing his appearance that he wanted to leave but couldn't, it really made people feel uncomfortable for him.

Sun Zhengping thought for a while and then said, "Thank you, the shopkeeper, to fulfill it! Then I will say goodbye."

Chen Wanrong accompanied him back to the house and saw that his clothes were packed. Sun Zhengping brought his clothes up and said, "Shopkeeper, I will come back at least ten days or half a month. Shopkeeper, you will be worried about the matter here."

"Don't worry, you'll get back after you've done it." Chen Wanrong sent Sun Zhengping away. He really wanted to ask him what was urgent, but he was afraid that he would be sad, so he had to give up.

After seeing off Sun Zhengping, Chen Wanrong returned to the workshop and saw that the guys were working again. After a while, they were busy again. They were really good employees.

Xiao Zhizhong handed the contract to Chen Wanrong: "Shopkeeper, brothers have signed it, please check it out."

"Have you finished reading it?" Chen Wanrong asked.

Xiao Zhizhong smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, I don't read much and I don't know much about it, but I understand one thing. If we don't sign this contract, we will be blind."

This contract is very ordinary in modern times, but it is very kind in the Tang Dynasty. There is no other company in the world except Chen Wanrong. Chen Wanrong briefly reviewed it, and there was no problem, so he put it away.

The guys surrounded the wine jar, with their necks stretching long, as if there were treasures in the wine jar. Chen Wanrong was curious and walked over quickly. When he came to the wine jar, he saw that the wine jar was piled with mountain-shaped wine mash, and the clear wine mud was seeping out of the wine jar.

Although the word "sauce" appeared in the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty did not have the souvenir we are familiar with, but used low-alcohol wine such as rice wine and sake. The brewing method was not obtained through distillation, but grind the rice into powder and steamed it, and spread it out and cold. Sprinkle the rice flour on the rice flour, sprinkle a layer of chorus and spread it with a layer of rice flour. This was repeated until it was almost done before it was built into a mountain shape. In order to facilitate fermentation, it was also necessary to tighten it.

Then cover it with a clean cloth and let it ferment. After a while, the wine will seep out. In order to prevent the alcohol from evaporating, clean water should be added to the wine tank to dissolve the alcohol in the water for storage.

After fermenting and processing, you can get drinking wine.

The wine has already oozed out of the wine, and the fermentation time has not been short. Although it is only a little bit of wine, the aroma is so scented and very attractive. Chen Wanrong twitched his nose. A guy scooped up half a bowl with his hands, held it in front of Chen Wanrong: "Shopkeeper, this is the first jar of wine we brewed today, please try it!" He looked at Chen Wanrong, a little nervous.

Xiao Zhizhong and the others also looked at Chen Wanrong, hoping that Chen Wanrong would affirm it, and smiled and said, "Then I will try it." After taking a sip, it tasted good, and said, "It tastes good, the wine you brewed is good!"

Chen Wanrong's affirmation made Xiao Zhizhong and the others feel excited. They all looked happy and kept saying, "Thank you, shopkeeper!"

A flash of inspiration passed by, and Chen Wanrong slapped his head excitedly, shouting in his heart, "Wine, sulfuric acid, and zeolites can make a drug. This drug appears in the Tang Dynasty, which must be considered a milestone in the history of medicine! As a catalyst, sulfuric acid consumes not much, and ten kilograms of sulfuric acid will produce hundreds of kilograms. Today, we can make so many alums. However, we have to increase the concentration of the wine first, so we can make wine like this. We must make distilled liquor first." Needless to say, Chen Wanrong can make it with his eyes closed.
Chapter completed!