After a few days of smoke in the ink workshop, the stove fire had been extinguished yesterday, and when Chen Xu went, several helpers were cleaning the soot inside, and the whole body was wrapped in airtight wind, revealing only a pair of eyes, and the whole body was as black as a few black statues.

"Lady Ritori!" A middle-aged man in charge of the ink-making workshop hurriedly saluted.

"How's the yield?" Chen Xu jumped off the horse and asked.

"In three days, nearly 1,000 catties of pine and cypress branches were burned, and about five buckets of carbon ash could be swept out!" The middle-aged man hurriedly said.

"I'll see!" Chen Xu walked to a tile pot stained with black charcoal ash and took a look, and there was indeed a small half pot of pitch-black carbon ash piled up inside, because the pine and cypress branches contain a certain amount of oil, so these carbon ashes do not look like dust like the bottom of the pot, but a little like slightly damp plaster, Chen Xu twisted it with his fingers, and even the fingers were instantly black, and they couldn't be wiped off with a linen cloth, just like ink.

"Not bad, not bad!" Chen Xu was very happy, the color of this oil smoke ink is very black, much darker than the charcoal ash powder, and the color is also very positive, almost the same ink in later generations.

"Ridian, what should I do with this toner?" The middle-aged man asked.

"Get some gum, add a little tung oil, add water to boil into a thick soup, can be ink, if you add some spice ash powder together to boil dry and mash into cement, you can make ink strips, and then add water and grind to write directly!" Chen Xu explained a little.

The method of making ink was applied very early in China, the Qin and Han dynasties have been, and later generations in the excavation of the Qin tomb of the sleeping tiger, not only found the Qin Jane of the sleeping tiger land with great value, but also found that there are ink blocks, and in fact, the application of ink, can be pushed forward to the Spring and Autumn Period, "Zhuangzi" in the book has the saying of "adding pen and ink", that is to say, in the Spring and Autumn Period, ink and brushes have begun to promote and quote, so to the Qin Dynasty, ink has been very common, but the process of making ink is still very primitive and rough, with pine smokeThere is tung coal, more graphite is used, and there is no systematic production method.

And until the Northern Wei Dynasty appeared in the "Qi Min Yaoshu" in the systematic record of the ink-making method, the Tang and Song dynasties of ink-making has been very developed, all kinds of ink gradually not only used for writing, but also a precious gift, and because the production is not easy, it needs to consume a lot of manpower and material resources and good pine trees, so the value is huge, a good ink ingot is more expensive than gold, and the literati are also very happy to get a good ink, and ink has become a symbol of identity, if you can go to the tribute ink given by the party, All the ministers will be particularly excited.

Especially in the Ming Dynasty, Song Yingxing's "Heavenly Creation" is a detailed record of the art of ink making, so that the ink in the four treasures of the study has completely become a cultural symbol, and a large number of other colors of ink began to appear, not only gold, silver, red, blue and purple colors, but also mixed with musk, pearls, comfrey, Suhexiang and other spices, and the ink ingots made of them should also depict various patterns such as zodiac signs or fish, birds, flowers and plants, and completely evolved into a precious work of art.

In later generations, Cao Sugong and Hu Kaiwen were familiar to many calligraphy and painting lovers, and Chen Xu even remembered that he bought Hu Kaiwen's ink strips in calligraphy class in primary school, but those inks were no longer pine ink, but chemical ink made of petroleum, and the price was only one dollar.

And because of the emergence of paper, ink as a necessity must be improved, whether it is writing or painting, ink is the most important thing in addition to paper, the four treasures of the study ink in the first place, so later generations will be the calligraphy and painting of celebrities called ink treasure, rather than pen treasure inkstone treasure, especially ink painting, but also the importance of ink interpretation is undoubted, standing in a supernatural position, no ink is not a treasure.

In fact, if it is possible, it is best to develop a fountain pen, which will save a lot of ink, you must know that after thousands of years of logging and burning ink, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, almost all the ancient pines in China were cut down, causing very large ecological damage.

However, at present, no matter what technology can not reach, even the paper can not meet the requirements of pen writing, let alone the structure of the pen, which requires a very high metal manufacturing process, it is estimated that if Daqin does not fall, it may be able to make it in twenty or thirty years.

After all, he had boiled tung ink a few days ago, and now there is pine smoke toner, and there is certainly no problem with the ink used to make printing, but about the production of ink strips, it is completely based on imagination, and this kind of thing like the abacus in later generations has almost completely disappeared from the lives of ordinary people, and may only be bought by calligraphy lovers, and the output is also very low.

"Did you find the gum you were looking for the day before yesterday?" Chen Xu asked.

"I got some sap, and I found a few wild peach trees, and I picked some rubber particles from the trunk, do you think it's okay?" The middle-aged man took out two small bamboo tubes from under the pergola, one of which contained some white juice, and the other contained some soft rubber particles similar to QQ candy.

"I'll just use it and try it!"

Chen Xu didn't know if these things could be used, but it was difficult to get rid of the sap on clothes and cars, and it was a very sticky thing, as for peach gum, well, it is said that eating it can be beautified, but after hesitating for a long time, he still gave up the plan to take a bite, the origin of this thing is unknown, not to mention that the helper who picks rubber may also have touched other unspeakable parts, or he didn't wash his hands at all after pooping, but this is also normal, it is normal for Nofu Yamamura not to wash his hands after, and it will be abnormal if he washes it, Absolute coercion is a cross-trip, such as oneself.

"Help me set up a small earthen stove, arrange for a person to go to the woodsmith workshop to get half a bowl of tung oil, and then go to the pottery workshop to help me get two small jars!" Chen Xu commanded.

So the helpers began to work, two brought a few stones to build a small earthen stove, one rode an old horse to the woodsmith's workshop, and the other went to the pottery workshop not far away to get jars.

But when this helper came back, he also brought four people, who were Wang Qian, Bai Zhen and two guards.

"Hey, how did you come too?" Chen Xu was slightly surprised.

"I heard that the pottery workshop has a blank machine that can quickly make pottery, and I came to watch it when I was curious, and it was really magical, and I heard that the blank machine was also invented and made by Lidian!" Wang Jian said.

"Hehe, it's just a whim, it's rough to make, but it's really good to make regular pottery, don't you think it's very light and fast?" Chen Xu asked with a smile

"Indeed, Fang just couldn't help but try it, it was indeed extremely fast, and the structure was exquisite, the old man had never seen it!" Wang Jian couldn't help but praise.

"A few people are from afar, you may not know, our Lidian also invented a hand-cranked thresher, now every household in Qinghe Town has one, that is a sharp weapon for harvesting grain, I heard that Pheasant County and even the entire Nanyang County have been used everywhere, in addition, we have also improved the copper saw, built a knife, plough the field of the Quyuan plow, winemaking, papermaking, pharmaceutical, and this is about to do the ink ......" The middle-aged man broke his fingers and began to show Chen Xu's merits to outsiders.

"So much talk, be careful that I punish you for doing push-ups, hurry up and help me make a fire!" Chen Xu interrupted the middle-aged man's words with a dark face.

But when these words were heard in Wang Qian's ears, his face instantly became extremely weird, and he stroked his beard and said: "I have already seen the threshing machine in Xianyang, and it is indeed magical, but the improved copper saw was also invented by Lidian?" ”

"Hehe~" The middle-aged man didn't dare to speak anymore, so he could only smile and go to get firewood.

Chen Xu asked strangely: "Improving the copper saw is just a matter of convenience, after I asked the craftsman to build it in the town, he went to the county government to report his merits privately, maybe it spread out, does anyone in Xianyang know about it?" ”

"Hehe, the old man has heard a little, but I heard that the craftsman Gu Shan deceived His Majesty because of the copper saw, and has been sent to the prison of the Imperial Governor's Mansion!" Wang Jian nodded and said.

"Huh?" Not only Chen Xu was stunned, but the middle-aged man and several helpers were also dumbfounded.

"Who is the old gentleman? How can you even know so clearly about the affairs of the Xianyang court? Chen Xu came back to his senses and asked.

"Why, Mo Fei Lidian still has suspicions, the old man has already said before, I am the general also!" Wang Jian said calmly.

Chen Xu looked Wang Jian up and down again, left and right, and arched his hand and said, "The old gentleman is indeed brave, but how many generals I am in Daqin, dare to ask your name......

"Hahahaha~" Wang Jian laughed, waved his hand and said: "Don't say the old man's name, now there is almost no war in Daqin, and the old man has been idle to care for the elderly at home, but I heard that there are immortal disciples in this Funiu Mountain, and I can't help but be curious, so I took my servants to Qinghe Town to play, you don't need to inquire so clearly, the old man is slightly curious, that is, what are you doing with so much black plaster?" ”

"Oh, this is for making ink!"

Seeing that the old man was reluctant to reveal his identity, Chen Xu didn't bother to inquire, this old man was mighty, and he dared to take a few of his subordinates to brush the tiger, there must be a few brushes, he may indeed be a general, but what kind of general he is is is still debatable, and he is also a retired person, so he doesn't have to care.

Chen Xu scooped out a small half bowl of pine ash from a clay bowl and poured it into a small clay pot, added two bowls of water, poured some of the sap of the tree into it, and then put it on the earthen stove to boil, and kept stirring it gently with a wooden stick while cooking.

Seeing Chen Xu's serious face, Wang Jian didn't bother, and after looking at it for a few minutes, he turned around the big chimney that was making pine smoke nearby, and even went into the chimney to observe carefully.

After a while, the helper who went to the woodworking workshop to get tung oil came back, Chen Xu took a small jar of tung oil, poured about half a tael from it and cooked it in a clay pot together.