Chapter 42 The results of the first charcoal burning
Yan Laoer felt that he had thoroughly understood the method of burning charcoal in the fire on the third bamboo slip, but when it came to actual operation, he was still in a hurry.
According to the third bamboo slip, eight ventilation holes are dug out below. When the flame at the top burns, you should pay attention to the holes below. If you see which one has fire, plug it with soil.
In fact, the first problem was on the top of the mound, which was dry and cracked by the fire. The cracks were getting bigger and bigger. Yan Laoer had a headache and hurriedly took out the bamboo slips and studied the pictures on it carefully.
You can imagine how clear the simple drawings drawn with pen and ink on the bamboo slips can be, allowing you to get a general idea. The artist is already a master of painting.
I don't understand, so Yan Laoer can only use the stupidest method and continue to muddy up.
It won't work if it doesn't go up. If it cracks further, won't the mound collapse?
The Qi brothers initially thought it was out of place, but after Yan Laoer took out a roll of bamboo slips, the three brothers worked silently, pointing east but not west.
Yan Laoer, holding a bamboo slip with his eyebrows knitted and staring intently, didn't know how serious he was.
Suddenly they had an unusual feeling of being involved in something big.
Waiting until Yan Laoer said what he said, firelight was seen in the hole below, and the sky was completely dark.
The eight holes at the bottom were blocked one after another, and the large hole at the top was also covered tightly with river mud.
Yan Laoer forcefully dragged the Qi brothers away who were going to guard the place.
Qi Daxin was still insisting. Qi Si, who was more thoughtful among the three brothers, thought of something and helped drag his brother and his younger brother, together with Yan Laoer, to pull the two away.
"Fourth brother, why are you dragging me? Although there is no one here in this remote place, but what if that furry guy comes and causes trouble? No, I'll go and watch." Qi Wu decided to go by himself. Yan Laoer was probably too tired to panic.
I won't call him. If the charcoal is really burned, he will just carry it back by himself. Yes, he has to bring two bags.
Qi Da would not say anything but supported his fifth brother with practical actions.
"Brother, Lao Wu, what do you two want me to say? I didn't see the bamboo book that Yan Laoer took out. The charcoal was burned according to the method in the bamboo book. Each family has its own skills.
It is passed down by word of mouth and can be written down in books...
Think about it, is it always precious and valuable?
There's nothing important in front of this, maybe the key point is in the back, Yan Laoer can't explain clearly and won't let us follow...Why are you so ignorant?" Qi Si complained.
It made his arms sore.
"Ah?" Qi Wu was dumbfounded, "Is that what happened?"
He patted his thigh and looked like he had figured it out: "Yes, my master has always regarded the wooden drawing as a treasure. He didn't even ask us to take a look at it. He said that he would pass it on to whomever he would take care of in his old age."
Qi Wu knew that he was stupid and slow to learn, and that such wonderful things as providing for his master in old age were out of his reach. He was satisfied if he could sneak a few glances and learn a lot.
Qi Da kept nodding his head honestly: "You can't go then."
Qi Si was smart: "Not only can't we go there, but we have to stop others from going there to watch the fun."
Yan Laoer didn't know that the Qi brothers had helped him out of the blue.
He was reporting to his brother and planned to go see the fire.
"Where did you learn how to make charcoal?" Yan Huaiwen asked.
"I started it by accident, I started it by accident." Yan Laoer had no intention of showing Lao Yan the three bamboo slips, lest he could not explain why there were so many volumes one after another...
"Since you want to do it, then give it a try." Yan Huaiwen agreed.
Because the reason given by Yan Laoer was very strong, he wanted to go north and sell charcoal to make money to support his family.
Counting the time, they arrived at Guanzhou just as the weather turned cooler.
If it can be burned, there is great potential for selling charcoal.
After Yan Laoer left, Li Xuemei counted the time, went to her uncle, and said that she was thinking about her husband. She hadn't come back at this time, so she was afraid he would have to spend the night there. She packed some things and planned to send them there.
She also said with embarrassment that Yan Laoer had been working hard these days, and she wanted to take advantage of her time away from the team to make some food for Yan Laoer to replenish his health.
There are a lot of things, so I want to take the cow over there and wait for the charcoal to be burned before letting the cow carry it back.
Yan Huaiwen was good at everything, and he thoughtfully told his younger siblings to pay more attention to their health and not to be frugal in eating with them. He implicitly asked her to make some small adjustments for him.
Li Xuemei confessed to Daya, and she and Yan Yu quietly left the team.
…
Yan Laoer was waiting halfway. He saw the silhouette of the cow in the distance and grinned.
He greeted me diligently and led the way with a smile.
"It's not far ahead."
When he arrived at the place where charcoal was being made, Yan Laoer touched the mound of earth, which was still warm.
He rubbed his hands and said, "This is the first time, I don't know if it will work."
Li Xuemei brought a small mat, spread it on the ground, and took off the carbon tube tied to Sanbao.
"Whether it's done or not, you'll know if you try it. It's okay if it doesn't work once, but it will work two or three times. If you try slowly, it will work." Li Xuemei spread out another large bag of straw sandals.
"There are thirty-seven pairs here, exactly half of them.
You don’t know how fast their hands are. Excluding what each family has been wearing for the past few days, everyone in our village now wears these straw sandals... except for our eldest brother."
"Brother, I'm not used to it. I'm fine with what I wear. It's cool and light. But wife, you need to improve your skills. Look, your toes are exposed again." Yan Laoer raised his big foot and said,
Show it to Li Xuemei.
Li Xuemei looked at it, casually pulled out a few strands from the grass nearby, and began to thread them back and forth, patching them up in a few strokes.
It doesn't matter if it doesn't look good, just patch the hole.
When Yan Laoer estimated that it was almost the same, he dug up the mound of soil.
The results of the first charcoal burning appeared in front of the three of them.
Yan Yu took a small stick and pulled it, "Why is it still half burned?"
The small, dark pile was much smaller than the amount of wood put in it.
Charcoal burning is like this, there will definitely be losses, but depending on the technology, some will be more and some will be less.
Yan Laoer looked at it carefully and said uncertainly: "The ones that have not been burned seem to be the ones lying on the side. Is it because they are muddy and not burned?
The ones in the middle were burned too much and turned into ashes..."
"The fire burned unevenly." Li Xuemei concluded: "There must be something wrong."
Less charcoal is expected, and uneven wood burning is a technical issue.
"The first time was already good. Dad, I'm optimistic about you. No one can succeed casually." Yan Yu waved her little fist to encourage her father.
Yan Laoer: "Hey, don't tell me, burning charcoal is quite interesting. Dad will take you with me next time."
Yan Yu's little head is as light as pounded garlic.
Li Xuemei picked out the ones that were not burned well, stuffed them into the charcoal tube, and put a handful of hay in. She didn't need to light the fire, but just blew it a few times, and smoke started to float up.
Yan Laoer hurried over and blew vigorously, then quickly folded a few small wooden sticks and filled them in, and the fire gradually became brighter.
Yan Yu put the small pottery pot filled with water on it.
The three members of the family took a look at each other, and they seemed to be working well together.
