Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 94 Oil
Wangshan is a dead horse.

The two hilltops looked not far away, perhaps less than one thousand meters in a straight line. However, it took more than half an hour to go down the mountain and then up again. This was because Lao Piao was always going down the mountain. If they had waited there, I'm afraid it would take Chen Gu and the others more than half an hour to see anyone.

The new cloth clothes that Lao Piao wore before he set out had turned into beggar's clothes, and the braid behind his head was gone. Judging from the dog-gnawed back of his head, it could be seen that he must have cut it off with a knife himself.

At this time, Lao Piao's face was full of fatigue, and he even looked a little listless. Chen Gu handed him the wine gourd in his hand. There was more than a pound of rice wine left, which Lao Piao drank in one breath.

"Haha, so happy!"

Chen Gu took a look at the things on Lao Piao's stretcher. They were actually tiger skins and bear skins. It looked like a huge pile, and it was emitting a disgusting fishy smell.

"You are a pig!" Chen Jue couldn't help cursing as he looked at the pile of skins. "They are all smelly, and you don't have enough energy, so what are you doing with them?"

"No, that won't work. These are all valuable things. I made them myself. It would be a shame to throw them away!" Lao Piao sighed and said.

"Just be stubborn!" Chen Gu was too lazy to say anything to him.

Lao Zhan wrinkled his nose and sniffed, then asked, "Besides the stench of these leathers, why is there another smell? It seems to be pungent."

Out of curiosity, I went to check it out, and indeed I saw a black, oily substance coming out of a crack in the rock. That must be the smell you are talking about. Some of it got stuck on my foot."

"It's not the smell of sweat, but a smell I have never smelled before. Oh, I don't know how to tell you!" Lao Nian didn't know how to express the smell he smelled.

At first, Lao Piao and Lao Nian were confused, until Chen Gu mentioned oil, Lao Piao seemed to have remembered something and said, "I don't know what kind of oil you are talking about, but two days ago when I passed a mountain stream, I did smell a very unpleasant odor.

"It's the smell of oil, crude oil, diesel, gasoline, kerosene, or petroleum!" Chen Gu explained, but the terms he mentioned had not yet appeared in this era.

Chen Guan didn't mind the dirtiness, and took a closer look at Lao Piao's worn-out cloth shoes, then put them close to his nose and sniffed them, nodded and said, "It is indeed oil, and a two-day journey is not too far."

"What smell? There is none!" Seeing Chen Gu's face change drastically, Lao Piao became suspicious. He sniffed his arm, then pulled open his clothes and sniffed, "It's just a smell of sweat!"

Lao Nian shook his head and said, "It's not the smell of sweat, but a smell I have never smelled before."

As Lao Piao spoke, he took off his left cloth shoe, which had already exposed his toes, and turned the sole over to show the two men.

"It smells like sweat. I haven't taken a shower for almost a month. How can I not smell?" Lao Piao grinned.

After all, Lao Piao has been in the mountains for more than two months. Even the situation two days ago was not much better than it is now. And with a stretcher, he should not be able to walk far in two days.

Chen Gu approached Lao Piao and sniffed him. His eyes widened instantly and he asked hurriedly, "Where did you get this smell?"

Moreover, Lao Piao was traveling through the woods. If a road was built through it, it would probably save a lot of time.

Oil is very useful even without modern machines. The technology for refining crude oil is not complicated. It is just distillation like liquor and sulfur.

The first thing to be distilled is gasoline, because gasoline has the lowest boiling point and is the most volatile. Although gasoline cannot be used for lighting because it is too volatile, it is the best material for making incendiary bombs. After gasoline comes diesel, and then kerosene. These two are much more stable than gasoline. Make a ceramic bottle, a lid, an iron pipe, and a wick, and you can use it for lighting.

The biggest reason why people of this era eat two meals a day is the inconvenience of lighting, so they have to cook after dawn and eat when the meal is ready, which is basically around eight or nine o'clock. In the afternoon, they must cook and eat before dark.

If you no longer have to worry about lighting, you can make breakfast earlier and dinner later, which will give you two or three more hours of working time a day.

It's okay at normal times, but if you can get two or three more hours a day during busy farming season, rush work, or study, it can still be very helpful.

After crude oil is distilled into light oil, the remaining heavy oil is also divided into several types. The first layer of liquid oil can be used to maintain knives and guns, or to be applied to wood for anti-corrosion.

The solid butter below can be used as lubricant for axles, and even the last bitumen left can be used to pave the road.

So even without modern equipment, oil is still very useful.

It’s a pity that Chen Ke doesn’t know chemistry, otherwise he could have made polyester fiber and everyone would no longer have a shortage of clothes to wear.

Seeing Chen Kui smiling and looking thoughtful, Lao Piao couldn't help but ask, "Why, is this oil useful? Or is it valuable?"

"Of course it is useful, very useful, very useful. Of course, it is also very valuable. Lao Piao, you have done a great contribution!" Chen Gu said with a smile.

"It's good that I have done a great deed!" Lao Piao breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Then I lost my rifle, you won't blame me, right?"

Only then did Chen Gu realize that Lao Piao did not bring a rifle. If there was no oil, although Chen Gu could not blame Lao Piao, he would not let him go so easily.

But a rifle is nothing compared to oil, as long as it is not taken away by the enemy.

"It's lost, so let's not talk about it for now. Let's go back quickly. If we delay any longer, the road will become even more difficult to travel after dark!" said Chen Gu.

After Lao Piao stood up, he looked at the pile of skins on the stretcher and said, "Then help me pull the stretcher back. I really can't pull it anymore!"

"Just leave it here for now, and send a few more brothers to get it back tomorrow. There are no outsiders here anyway, and the leather won't be harmed by wild beasts. You'd better go back quickly to eat and drink, and have a good rest, and don't worry about the leather." Lao Nian advised.

Lao Piao looked at the leather of the stretcher with reluctance, but finally agreed with Lao Nian's opinion and went back to have a good rest first.

After going down the mountain and climbing another slope, they returned to the hilltop where Chen Gu had just stood. Lao Piao mounted his horse, and Chen Gu and Lao Nian trotted all the way, and finally returned to the town before dark.

After Lao Piao had a big meal, he lay down on the ground and fell asleep. He was really exhausted.

Chen Gu found a few people to carry Lao Piao onto the bamboo bed. After lighting some incense for him, he didn't care about him anymore. Anyway, as long as it didn't rain in this season, he wouldn't catch a cold.

(End of this chapter)