In a spacious cave, Li Baotian was busy with a few assistants, and Abu was beside him to guide. In the middle is a shaft furnace more than one person high, on which the coke is ready, and on which the refractory crucible is placed. The doors and windows were also opened to prevent gas poisoning.

What they are about to carry out is a new and improved glass firing experiment. Excitement and nervousness were intertwined, making Li Baotian's hands tremble slightly. Abu told him not to be nervous, it was just an experiment. Li Baotian took a deep breath and stabilized his emotions.

According to Abu, first use the firing method of refractory bricks and make a few molds to see. He had done the firing of bowls and basins before, so the mold was also handy, but he added an extra grinding and re-firing process.

The charcoal fire was already burning very strongly, and the quartz sand and crushed limestone were added in turn, while the dose of soda ash was slowly increased. Some people supply air to the furnace, some people measure the weight of raw materials, some people record data, and some people stir in the crucible. Gradually, the quartz sand slowly melted as if by magic, turning into a viscous liquid state.

Li Baotian clenched his teeth tightly, he was afraid that he would scream if he was not careful. He knew it was definitely a moment to remember.

"Alright, it's time for the next step." Abu reminded from the side.

Li Baotian picked up a ball of slime with an iron drill, put it into the mother mold of a plate that had been prepared before, and pressed it with another mold at the same time. Use scissors to cut off the spilled liquid glass, and use an iron ruler to smooth out the sides of the plate. Lifting the sub-mold, a crystal clear, slightly cyan glass plate appeared in front of everyone.

They didn't shout like they did last time, because Abu had warned that this was working in high temperatures, and if you weren't careful, you could get serious burns.

While making the second plate, the mold of the plate unexpectedly cracked. After three more bowls were made, the mold of the bowl was damaged. It seems that the mold must not only withstand high temperatures, but also strengthen its ability to resist pressure, so it may only be necessary to go to Bai Boda for help.

When everyone stopped, the belated cheers rang out hysterically, spreading far and wide, and they lasted for a long time.

Glass plate glass bowl, this is a legendary rarity. They would only be displayed in the cupboards or desks of the nobles of the palace for the princes to admire and play, and only when important guests arrived, they would be carefully taken out to show off.

And now, in his own hands, using the most ordinary sand and stones, he has made them, which is definitely a kind of magic that turns stones into gold.

Abu was actually curious, he used to see and use all kinds of glass objects, even transparent buildings made entirely of glass. But how to make glass is also the first time I have seen it, which is the result of the disconnect between theory and practice.

After everyone had calmed down, Abu gathered everyone together and began to slowly summarize the experiment.

Of course, the results are remarkable, and their set goal has been basically achieved, that is, soda ash can be used to effectively reduce the melting point of quartz sand, and the soda ash that was frantically refined in the early stage will be of great use. And they've also managed to make glassware, which is definitely a huge step forward.

There are also a lot of areas that need to be improved, the surface of the plate and bowl is not very smooth, which is related to the mold made of clay, you can find Bai Boda to think of a way, first use a few sets of cast iron molds to forge by hand, and at the same time polish the planed inner surface.

There are more bubbles in the plate at the beginning, and there are fewer bubbles in the third bowl, indicating that many times of uniform stirring can effectively reduce the bubbles.

At present, the glass products are blue, because there is iron in them, and the overall appearance is a cool luster, and the effect is acceptable. Later, you can try to add different elements of raw materials to make the glass show different colors. You can also find Liu Yuanlu and ask him to think about a way to get some lead oxide, which can increase the brightness of the glass.

If you want to improve the transparency of glass, you can try adding salt, quicklime and other raw materials. Finally, you can try to add the annealing step, which is to put the freshly made finished products in cold water to drop the temperature sharply, their surface will form cracks, and then return to the furnace to heat, and then slowly cool, which can improve the flexibility of the glass.

In fact, you can also use metal pipes to blow glass, combined with molds, to make more complex and beautiful products. However, if you want to get a metal pipe now, you can only get it by hand forging, and you won't bother Old Man Bai for the time being.

Li Baotian carefully recorded them one by one, and then slowly sorted them out and improved them after the meeting.

In the end, Abu emphasized the safety issue, don't be carried away by excitement and fanatical impulses, every process in this process is faced with thousands of degrees of heat, and if you are not careful, it will cause serious consequences.

At the end Abu took a bowl and said, "I'll take one back and show it off, so that they can see the world." It won't be long before we all have better glassware on our tables.

Everyone burst into laughter.

After going back, I saw Yunxiao preparing to wash rice and cook. He hurriedly ran over, stood in front of Yun Niang, bent over his back and smiled, smiling like a cunning fox who saw a little hen: "Dangdangdang, guess, what did I help you bring back?" ”

Yun Niang brushed her hair and said with a smile: "Delicious food?" Don't be the rice wine I brought back last time, I didn't expect it to be so spicy! ”

"No, guess again!"

"New fabric?"

"No, guess again!"

Yun Niang didn't want to deal with him, so she said: "Don't guess, you still have to cook, do you still want to eat?" ”

"Haha, look what this is?"

As if offering a treasure, Abu took out a crystal clear bowl from his back, and he found that Yun Niang's beautiful eyes widened suddenly: "Where did you get it from, and gave it to me?" ”

Women are sometimes very similar to the legendary dragons, and are particularly interested in things that glow and shine, even for a woman as elegant as Yun Niang.

When she was in Taichang Temple before, there was a rich kid with a fat head and big ears, so she salivated and toasted her with the glass she brought, so as to show off, and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.

Yun Niang hid around in disgust, and later other visitors blew out this guy who didn't understand interest and was full of fat.

Unexpectedly, today, Abu actually brought her a glass bowl. Put down the rice in my hand, dry my hands, take the glass bowl, turn it over and over, up and down, the more I look at it, the more happy I become. Later, there was a happy smile on his face. I couldn't help but take a sip of incense on the face of Abu, who was on the side, looking at her happily.

Abu was as if by magic, and was petrified. In my impression, this is the first time Yun Niang took the initiative to kiss him, but I didn't expect a glass bowl to unexpectedly achieve this goal.

Just as he was about to have further interaction, he suddenly heard a bang outside, Wu Ye ran back, and shouted as he entered the house: "Sister, do you have anything to eat, I'm going to starve to death." I saw that his face was covered with sweat, his face and hands were black, and he didn't know where to rub something.

Abu lamented in his heart, what a good opportunity to kiss Fangze, and it was disturbed by this kid like this.

Seeing the glass bowl in Yun Niang's hand, his attention was immediately attracted, and he no longer shouted hungry: "Sister, what are you holding, can you let me take a look?" ”

Yun Niang has always doted on him, and handed it to him without hesitation. Wu Ye looked at it with great novelty, looking back and forth. And he lifted up the bowl and asked Abu if it was a crystal. Suddenly, by accident, the bowl fell to the ground and naturally shattered.

After a snap, the whole room was quiet, three people, you look at me, I look at you, staring at each other, without speaking.

Wu Ye subconsciously leaned towards Yun Niang's side, and he vaguely realized that the bowl he broke just now should be very valuable.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" Abu asked.

"I ...... I broke the bowl. ”

"What else?"

"And ......" Wu Ye saw that there was no anger on Abu's face, and suddenly had an idea, "I haven't washed my hands yet!" ”

"Then you don't want to go quickly!"

Wu Ye hurriedly ran away. Since then, Wu Ye has developed a good habit of washing his hands when he has nothing to do and keeping it clean and hygienic. Years later, when he cranked a goblet and drank wine, he still felt like the scene was in front of him, and at the same time he didn't forget to boast about how smart and clever he was.

Yun Niang was still very distressed in her heart, and while cleaning, she asked Abu with some hesitation: "Is this okay?" ”

"Haha, what's the matter with this? When the time comes, I will show you there, and you will understand that this is nothing more than a handful of sand and a stone. When our production goes up, there will be as many as we want, and there will be more exquisite and beautiful glass products in the future. ”

Yun Niang was relieved.