Ma'am help, the general is in trouble again

Chapter 70 Indigenous cement (two chapters in one)

Zheng Quchi went to look for Weiyao again, but he didn't see anyone, but met the guard who arrested her as a suspicious person last time.

The guard told her that Wei Yao was interrogating overnight because he had caught the spy of the Mo family, so he sent him to escort her to Fu County.

As soon as Zheng Quchi heard it, he knew he was talking about Master Qu and Shan Bian, and he didn't know if Qiu was among them.

She intends to establish a good relationship with the guards, and the first step in establishing a relationship is to exchange names with each other.

This simple guy may have apologized to her because of the misunderstanding last time, but he also readily reported his family name.

He said that his surname is Wu, and his name is Wu Yu. He is now serving as the commander of the camp, and he is only a janitor the size of a sesame seed. He was a part-time official, but he didn't expect that everything was just a misunderstanding.

He apologized, but Zheng Quchi was not offended, and both of them laughed it off.

After that, she asked Wu Yu: "Is it the Mo family who assassinated Master Yuan and the others?"

Wu Yu nodded.

"That's right, I heard that the general has confirmed that Wei Qinqin and Adjutant Wang have ordered the gates of the Sifang Camp to be guarded tightly. Everyone must be very energetic and must not let any disciple of the Mohists come to the rescue."

"Will General Yuwen kill them?"

Wu Yu thought for a while and shook his head. Zheng Quchi thought he meant "no", but he heard him say: "I don't know, no one can know what the general thinks, the general decides whether to kill or stay. , Those of us guarding the gate can't handle that kind of heart."

"..." Zheng Quchi, you are really relieved.

"Brother Sang, you don't know how vicious these Mohist people are. They even want to blow up the foundation of the city wall around Guijiaoling. If someone secretly informs and arrests the Mohist people, I don't know how big it will be. What a disaster."

"Really, I don't know which kind-hearted person did such a good deed. Yes, some people can ignore everything and do everything just for some personal grievances." Zheng Quchi sighed.

Wu Yuqi asked, "How do you know it's because of personal grievances?"

Zheng Quchi replied unhurriedly: "What big things can the Mo family and our Fu County do? It must be done in order to impress General Yuwen, but I'm just guessing like this, who knows if it's accurate or not. "

After Wu Yu heard it, she also felt that it made sense.

"In order to defend Ye State, our general has long been the thorn in the eyes of the other six countries and the common enemy, but we never thought that even the Mohists, who have never participated in the national political wars of various countries, would take action." He said angrily.

Zheng Quchi thought of the man who had almost come from one killing after another. He used to think that his methods of treating enemies and those who made mistakes were authoritarian and terrible, but now he suddenly felt a little sympathetic to him.

"I'm afraid that in the future, his life will only repeat the current crisis-ridden life. If he stops, what awaits him will only be an irreversible end."

Wu Yu's face was gloomy after hearing this.

"Our country of Ye... how long can we last? Fu County, how long can we last?"

Zheng Quchi thought that Yu Wensheng was willing to squander such precious grains as cornmeal for Yuan Sui, so it is conceivable how much he attached importance to the restoration of the city wall.

She collected herself and said softly, "As long as we all have the determination to protect regardless of everything, Fu County will not collapse."

Wu Yu listened to the persuasion, he looked at her and nodded vigorously: "You are right, Ye Kingdom is our country, Fu County is our hometown, we have to help the general to support it together."

Zheng Quchi couldn't help laughing when he heard his passionate words like swearing

She tiptoed and patted him on the shoulder: "I'm so enlightened, but it's late now, let's focus on the things in front of me first, and send me to the county seat."

After Wu Yu sent Zheng Quchi to Fu County, he had to help Wei Yao on an errand. Before they split up, they agreed on a time to go back.

Zheng Quchi went to the workshop market by himself, and asked the stall owners about Hanshuishi.

After one round, few people knew about it. Just when she suspected that she might return without success tonight, she finally found a stall.

There are various kinds of colorful stones with different values ​​on the booth, but she can only see the white transparent crystal in her eyes.

She restrained her excitement and reached out to pick it up: "I want this!"

"I want this."

A plain hand stretched out and bumped into Zheng Quchi's fingers.

This modified little hand is very beautiful, as white as jade, and still has a faint fragrance lingering, which is in stark contrast to Zheng Quchi's little black hand.

The two grabbed a section of one end, then lifted it up at the same time, and met their eyes.

Just... a pretty girl.

Just... a very dark and thin boy.

"I've been looking for it for a long time, and I haven't seen such a piece until now. Can you give me this cold water stone?" The woman smiled gently, neither snobby nor mean, but it was just this decent Request, but it shows her confidence in her own advantages in all aspects.

Normally, it would be very difficult for Zheng Quchi to refuse such a beauty's request, but... this is very important to her at the moment, and she has no more time to waste.

Zheng Quchi refused with a smile: "How about I let you next time?"

woman:"……"

"I really need this cold water stone. It is related to the imperial court, the lives of countless people, and the stability of the country." Zheng Quchi said seriously.

Why don't you say, it's still about the common people in the world?
It seems that the woman has never met someone who can talk nonsense like her, but she also knows that this person probably cannot be justified by "text" persuasion.

She didn't continue to entangle with the other party, but turned her head and said to the stall owner: "I will give you ten times the original price of this cold water stone, and you sell it to me."

When the boss heard this, his eyes lit up, completely disregarding the fact that Zheng Quchi picked it up first, he was so excited that he slapped his thigh and was ready to close the deal.

"Wait!" Zheng Quchi hurriedly stopped, she turned her head and said to the woman: "You might as well cheapen me if you cheap him. I won't argue with you, you can make up the ten times difference to me."

The woman looked at her in disbelief.

"What did you say?"

The corner of the boss's mouth twitched, and he looked at her speechlessly.

"Hey, I haven't sold it to you yet."

In other words, this thing still belongs to him, so why didn't he earn all the money, but was snatched away by her "middleman"?

"Oh, is that so? Then if you goug up the price here, I'll report to the authorities." Zheng Quchi threatened.

There is a sign on the side of the workshop, which clearly states that merchants must buy and sell according to the market price, and must not maliciously drive up prices. Otherwise, if someone reports to the official, once the investigation is confirmed, they will be arrested and eaten.

The boss wanted to cry but had no tears: "...I didn't promise her again!"

Zheng Quchi said again: "Everything should be first come, first served. If you sell to her first because she bids more than me, then I will also report to the official, saying that you are selling and buying monopoly with others in private."

The boss's face turned green in an instant, and he was shaking like an epileptic.

Seeing this, the woman didn't want to make a fuss, and finally lost to Zheng Quchi, and compensated the price difference to her as she wished, and finally got the cold water stone smoothly.

After installing the cold water stone, the woman realized that Zheng Quchi had been standing by the side and did not leave.

She asked puzzledly, "Why don't you leave?"

Zheng Quchi asked her with a smile, "Are you done?"

The woman didn't know what she meant by asking this question, so she nodded hesitantly.

"That's good." Zheng Quchi clapped his palms together, turned his head and beckoned to the stall owner proudly: "Boss, there must be more than one piece of cold water stone left in a mine, there should be some stock, you take it out and I'll buy it all. "

The boss' eyes widened upon hearing this.

"You... how do you know?"

"I asked all over the street, and you are the only one who has Hanshuishi. Needless to say, you are the dealer of Hanshuishi in this place. You are the only one selling it, and there are few buyers. That product There should be plenty of it.”

"So what? If I don't sell you, can't you? Go and report to the officials." The boss said angrily.

Zheng Quchi smiled very kindly, and said: "No, because the buyers of your cold water stone are usually medicine shops. Its function is to clear away heat and reduce fire, sharpen the orifices, and reduce swelling. But who will get angry in this winter? I guess You won't be able to sell cold water stones for a long time, and you'll be annoyed if the goods have been overstocked for a long time, will the boss really give up the real money business you got because of some quarrels?"

Convinced, he is really convinced!
He wanted to abdicate to Xian, so he quickly gave up the booth to her to sell.

In the end, Zheng Quchi successfully relied on the price difference earned by the "middleman" to get a sack of Hanshuishi without spending a penny.

And the woman didn't leave. She watched Zheng Quchi coax the dissatisfied boss into submission with a few words, and she didn't know what to say for a while.

Before leaving, Zheng Quchi turned his head and said sincerely to the woman, "Thank you."

The woman was startled.

It is impossible not to be angry in her heart, although this amount of money is nothing more than a drop in the bucket to her, but she has always thought highly of herself, and now she is being played by such a rascal, although she maintains a ladylike smile on her face, her eyes It's starting to get dark and foggy.

"You don't have to thank me, it's just that we... will meet later."

Zheng Quchi knew that he had offended someone, but there was nothing he could do. When the other party used money to bully him, he didn't intend to give her any room at all.

In fact, what she just told the boss was all nonsense. If she hadn't seen some cold stones piled up in the corner of the boss's shop with sharp eyes, she would be in a state of distress now.

Smiling indifferently, she nodded towards the other party, turned her head and disappeared into the crowd like a fish spirit fish.

-

Back at the blacksmith's shop, she borrowed tools and a crucible from the blacksmith, took out the cold water stone in the bag, and put it in a smokeless fire to forge it until it turned red.

"It must be more than [-] degrees before it can be turned into mature plaster..."

She saw that it was almost done, so she took them out and let them cool down, then fed them violently, smashed them into powder, and then fried them in a wok.

Until the hemihydrate gypsum was fried and turned into yellow-gray, she estimated that it should be almost usable.

She poured them out and set them aside to cool.

Then take out the slag ash and quicklime accumulated before.

The slag ash was taken out by her before, and there were many other impurities in it. She sorted them first, and after removing the organic impurities and sand, she added the dust that was cleaned, dried, and re-ground. After the process, the slag ash that can be used directly is obtained.

She has done this before, so this step can be omitted today.

There is also quicklime. She specially picks fresh lime that comes out of the kiln. After spraying with water, it will be pulverized by itself, and then sifted with a basket woven by herself with bamboo chips.

In short, these materials can be ground as finely as possible.

She has tried her best to back up the raw materials. Fortunately, firstly, she is strong enough, and secondly, she only made small batches for experimentation, so the results are still satisfactory to her.

The last thing is the blending of several materials. She really doesn't remember the ratio clearly.

But it is generally known that the slag ash should be put in the most, followed by the amount of lime added, and finally the amount of gypsum used to adjust the setting and hardening time, which is the least amount.

In short, if you don't know, try it.

She mixed several samples at one time according to different proportions. To save time, she put them directly on the stove to heat up and accelerate the solidification speed.

She tested each sample, through hardness, solidification speed, stability, and finally, she successfully mastered the best ratio.

She also found river sand to mix cement mortar. Generally speaking, the most commonly used ratio of cement to water and sand is 1:0.6:3.

But her homemade cement is probably not as strong as the orthodox cement, so at this time, the proportion must be adjusted according to the actual situation.

She went outside to pick up a few stones. Ordinary stones basically grew irregularly, looking like they wanted.

Zheng Quchi squatted down, and she picked up two stones, and glued their barely flat sides together with cement mortar version 1.0.

Because there are many stoves in the blacksmith shop and the temperature is high enough, it only took about half an hour. When she let go of her hands, she found that they had been pasted together.

Under normal circumstances, Zheng Quchi speculated that it would take at least a day or so before it could solidify firmly.

She went to the shelf to get a knife without a sharp edge, and slashed hard at the place where the stone was glued.

Click!

There are no gaps, but cracks are left, which shows that the hardness needs to be improved.

Maybe the ratio of cement and sand is wrong, or maybe she forced the high temperature of the furnace to evaporate the water too quickly, or maybe the stability of the cement mortar is not enough...

Let's try one of them first. She used all the remaining cement mortar, some of which were re-mixed, and some of the original mix was used to paste stones.

This time, she planned to wait for it to dry slowly and naturally before checking the situation.

In the past two days, because the assassination of Yuan Sui and Yin Xiao had to be dealt with on the construction site, the craftsmen basically stayed in the shantytowns during the day without doing any work, and because of the "small stove" opened by Weiyao, she was able to sneak in and out freely. As soon as she was free, she slipped back to Fu County to see the results.

She nervously checked the stones that had dried naturally, and found that they were basically stuck firmly.

Especially for one group, no matter how she threw or smashed it, it was difficult to separate them.

"It's done! As expected of me!"

Just when Zheng Quchi was feeling elated, a hand reached out from behind and took away the stone from her hand.

"Sang Xuanqing, is this what you asked Wei Yao to make for you in a military workshop?"

(End of this chapter)