Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1195 Epilogue : You still have to go to the pharmacy to find the ore

Zhu Tangxi was afraid that she would be laughed at if she frequently took the initiative to see her lover, so she finally came to Nanjiao for the third time.

She covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, feeling uncomfortable with the dust here.

"Put this on." Xie Yan handed over several pairs of cotton masks and distributed them to the princess and her maids.

Zhu Tangxi put it on obediently and said distressedly: "You are in a place like this all day long, it is really hard."

Xie Yan pointed to the Lijia cement kiln in the distance and said, "Those workers are the ones who have a hard time. I paid for a lot of masks and gave them to them. Some of them refused to wear them. Especially those who do heavy physical work, they said it's hard to breathe wearing masks."

Zhu Tangxi stood by and watched Xie Yan busying himself for a while: "I asked many people about the fluorite you wanted, and they all said they had never heard of this kind of ore."

"Maybe it's called differently." Xie Yan was very troubled by this.

Not only did he ask the princess to inquire about fluorite, he also asked the Ministry of Works and the Li family, but they all said they had never heard of it.

But a pen pal who was a naturalist suggested that Xie Yan go to a drugstore or jewelry store based on his description of fluorite.

Xie Yan took off his mask and put it in his pocket, then said to Li Dunshi, "I'll go into the city to take a look. According to the original plan, you will be in charge of today's experiment."

"Yes!"

Li Dunshi was overjoyed, he could finally stand on his own.

Xie Yan said to the princess again, "How about accompanying my sister to go shopping in the city today?"

"Okay." Zhu Tangxi smiled slightly.

Shopping was just a side activity, the main purpose was to look for fluorite.

The two got on the carriage and sat opposite each other in the compartment.

Qingluan did not act as a light bulb and took the initiative to walk outside the carriage.

As the carriage wobbled forward, Zhu Tangxi asked, "We're sitting so far away from each other, have we become strangers after not seeing each other for a few days?"

Xie Yan pointed at his clothes and said, "There is dust on my body, and I am afraid that my sister will get dirty."

Zhu Tangxi glanced at him and leaned lazily in the car.

That look, those eyes, that figure, and all the charm made Xie Yan stunned.

Seeing how fascinated he was, Zhu Tangxi couldn't help but tease him, "Idiot!"

Xie Yan's heart was burning with excitement, and he quickly sat over, holding the princess's hand and said, "Sister is so beautiful."

Now it was Zhu Tangxi's turn to be nervous. It was the first time she held hands with Xie Yan. Her breathing quickened and she subconsciously wanted to pull back. But Xie Yan held his hand tightly. She pulled back a few times and then gave up.

Zhu Tangxi closed his eyes and dozed off, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

The carriage drove like this for a while, and Xie Yan wanted to play the love game again, so he made small talk: "Sister, do you miss me?"

Zhu Tangxi still closed his eyes: "No."

"But I miss my sister very much." Xie Yan said this in a cheesy love tone.

Zhu Tangxi said expressionlessly: "I don't believe it. You think about doing experiments all day long."

Xie Yan said: "I am the son of a country gentleman, my father is an honest official, and my family doesn't have much money. If I don't improve the cement business and make more money, I can't let my sister support the family in the future, right? I said I would support my sister."

Zhu Tangxi's mouth curled up more obviously, and she could hardly suppress her smile, but she still said proudly: "Who asked you to raise me?"

"I don't care. I'm going to make a lot of money to support my sister." Xie Yan continued to tease.

Zhu Tangxi actually liked hearing such sweet words and wished Xie Yan would talk to her all day long.

Moreover, she changed her hairstyle today and wore a special set of jewelry, hoping that Xie Yan would praise it.

Women should look after those who please themselves.

Unfortunately, Xie Yan was a straight man at heart, and he didn't even notice that the princess's hairstyle and jewelry had changed. Who would pay attention to this?
Xie Yan spoke in a routine way as the carriage gradually reached its destination.

Just next to the luxury clothing store last time, the entire street is filled with jewelry stores, and there are also several banks clustered together.

"Your Highness, we're here!"

Qingluan reminded from outside.

Zhu Tangxi wanted to withdraw her hand and leave.

Xie Yan still didn't let go, and whispered: "Sister, last time I was strolling in Luoyang, I saw couples holding hands on the street."

Zhu Tangxi said: "They must be a couple. Unmarried men and women would not dare to do that."

"But I want to hold hands with my sister forever." Xie Yan said.

Zhu Tangxi imagined the scene of holding hands while shopping, and she blushed with embarrassment. She said softly, "If you like it that much, you can hold hands when there is no one around."

Xie Yan then let go and said with a smile: "That's a deal."

Qingluan had already opened the side door of the carriage, and Zhu Tangxi changed her appearance in an instant. The little girl's demeanor disappeared without a trace, and her eyes were firm, her expression was calm, and she stepped out of the carriage with elegant manners.

Just this noble and arrogant look can make countless men feel ashamed and even unable to muster the courage to look her in the eye.

The more I look at Xie Yan, the more I like her. She is arrogant in front of people but gentle behind their backs. Princess sister, you are so good!

Damn, she was in the car just now, she couldn't be pretending.

Who is the prey?
Princesses were accompanied by guards of honor when they went out, but since the early years of the founding of the country, Ming princesses basically traveled with a small group of people. Only when they left Luoyang or went to the outskirts of Luoyang would they bring a full guard of honor and guards.

At this moment, four guards cleared the way in front, and Xie Yan got off the car behind the princess. Passersby cast curious glances at him.

They walked to the door of a jewelry store, and the owner, clerks, and customers came to greet them.

Zhu Tangxi even met three acquaintances, the wife and daughter of a powerful official in Luoyang. At that moment, the three of them were shopping in this store.

"Liu Lang, this is Madam Cai from the Marquis of Raoyang. You met her at the polo match before," Zhu Tangxi introduced. "Marquis of Raoyang made contributions to the king four years ago."

Xie Yan bowed quickly and said, "Greetings, Madam Cai." "Greetings, Mr. Xie." Madam Cai bowed in return and secretly observed the two of them as they started to eat the melon.

Zhu Tangxi added: "These two are the girls from Madam Cai's family..."

The two young women also came forward to greet Xie Yan. One was obviously married, and the other was still unmarried, which could be identified by looking at their hair buns.

After chatting for a few minutes, the mother, her two daughters, and the shopkeeper and clerk escorted the princess inside.

Xie Yan asked, "Have you ever heard of fluorite, shopkeeper?"

The shopkeeper shook his head: "I am very narrow-minded and have never heard of this thing."

Xie Yan could only observe the various jewels slowly, and felt that fluorite would not be used as a gemstone for jewelry. Because it was not very hard, it was easy to cause wear and tear, and it would not look good if it was scratched.

Zhu Tangxi was like a proud white swan. From the moment she got off the carriage to the moment she strolled around the store, she held her head high and her chest puffed out, looking majestic without getting angry. She walked with a rhythm, and even the swaying of her hairpins seemed to have a regular pattern. Her noble demeanor made people dare not get too close to her.

Even the mother and her two daughters subconsciously kept their distance.

Only Xie Yan walked very close to the princess, and their arms even touched each other occasionally when they were looking at the jewelry.

Everyone was secretly shocked, and became more certain of the gossip.

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From the first floor to the second floor, and then to the third floor, the shopkeeper took out a gem: "This is a top-grade night-shining pearl, without any impurities, and it will glow at night."

Xie Yan took out a magnifying glass and examined the night pearl carefully.

He suspected it was a fluorite, but he couldn't be sure unless he scratched it with glass to test its hardness. But if it was fluorite, a few scratches would ruin the night pearl.

"How much is it?" Xie Yan asked.

The shopkeeper replied: "Three thousand strings of cash."

Xie Yan was too lazy to study it further. Even if this thing was fluorite, he wouldn't dare to use it to burn cement.

There is no need for such high quality.

Xie Yan asked again: "Shopkeeper, do you know where this night pearl was mined?"

The shopkeeper shook his head: "I don't know. This night-shining pearl was purchased from a merchant from Jiangnan."

Xie Yan asked about the prices of other jewelry and found that he couldn't afford the ones on the third floor.

Then I went downstairs and asked about the prices on the second floor. After spending all my money, I was finally able to buy two items.

Finally, he went downstairs and chose a necklace. When he found out that it was priced at 100 guan, he said to the shopkeeper, "This is beautiful. I'll buy it."

Zhu Tangxi didn't say anything. She had a premonition in her heart and was waiting happily for Xie Yan to give her a gift.

As expected, Xie Yan said, "Sister, the 1,000-guan bonus from the Ministry of Industry was distributed two days ago. When I make more money in the future, I will buy you something better."

Zhu Tangxi could no longer suppress his smile, but he also scolded: "Since money is tight, you should spend less."

"Do you like it, sister?" Xie Yan asked.

Zhu Tangxi hid his smile and said calmly, "It's OK. I need to try it on."

She called Qingluan over, took off the necklace from her neck, put on the one Xie Yan bought, and looked at herself in the mirror again and again.

The shopkeeper flattered him immediately: "Master Xie is really good at choosing. Although this necklace is not expensive, the style is ingenious and it will be a perfect match for Her Royal Highness the Princess!"

"Yes, she is a perfect match for Your Highness." Madam Cai also reacted.

Zhu Tangxi was extremely pleased with the flattery, as the necklace was a gift from Xie Yan.

She pretended to be calm but didn't take off the new necklace. Qingluan was sensible and quietly put away the old necklace.

Zhu Tangxi asked, "Do you want to look for it again?"

Xie Yan said: "Let's go to the pharmacy and have a look."

The two left together, leaving behind a group of audiences who were fed up with the dog food.

After visiting several pharmacies, Xie Yan finally saw the real thing: "What is this?"

The drugstore owner said, "Amethyst. It is mainly used to treat palpitations, restlessness, epilepsy, coughing and shortness of breath due to lung cold, and infertility due to uterine cold in women."

Xie Yan first used a magnifying glass to observe its texture, and then took out a piece of glass to scratch the surface of the purple quartz.

Still not sure.

Xie Yan had only seen fluorite in the textbook "Civil Engineering Geology" and had never actually encountered the real thing.

But you can take it back and try it out.

Moreover, there is not only this kind of fluorite, and we will need to find cheaper raw materials in the future.

This thing can not only be used to burn cement, but also to smelt steel and solve some of the problems of the current converters in Daming, such as removing sulfur, lowering the melting point of slag, shortening the smelting time, etc.

Xie Yan then asked the owner of the drugstore where the purple quartz was sourced from and whether there were any other minerals with similar properties.

There are many fluorite mines in Henan Province, and they are especially found around Luoyang.

After leaving the pharmacy, both of them were very happy.

Xie Yan was happy because there was some clue about fluorite, but Zhu Tangxi was happy because she received the first gift from her lover.

At noon, we had lunch at the princess's house again.

This was not outside. When they were visiting the garden after dinner, Zhu Tangxi deliberately got very close to Xie Yan, waiting for him to hold her hand and take a walk.

Xie Yan was thinking about fluorite and didn't react for a while.

After walking in the garden for half an hour, Xie Yan said goodbye and left. He was in a hurry to return to the southern suburbs and asked the Li family to help him purchase goods...

Watching Qingluan send the people away, Zhu Tangxi stomped his feet at Xie Yan's back: "What a blockhead!"

(End of this chapter)