The steward in charge of the production of mirrors specially hired mirror-making craftsmen, who used to make bronze mirrors, but after replacing them with glass, although they were a little unaccustomed to it, they quickly made mirrors out of glass with excellent craftsmanship.

At that time, after the steward got the mirror, he also came to see Su Jinli with the mirror.

However, after Su Jinli looked at the mirror he brought, he found that there was a serious problem.

At that time, the mirror was also inlaid, but the problem was that when the steward asked people to inlay the mirror, he actually used the tin amalgam coating as the surface of the mirror to reflect people.

Isn't this a pitfall!

Mercury is toxic and volatilizes, and if it comes into direct contact with air, the coating on the surface will peel off as the mercury volatilizes.

In this way, it will not only affect the service life of the mirror, but also cause people who are in frequent contact with it to inhale a large amount of mercury vapor and damage the body!

So she told the steward directly to apply another layer of dark paint to the surface of the tin amalgam to seal the tin amalgam.

As a result, the steward was stunned when he heard her words, and asked her stupidly how she would shine after applying paint.

But Su Jinli didn't blame him.

She knew that the man was accustomed to using copper mirrors, which were not as transparent as glass, so she used the side coated with tin amalgam to shine on people.

This is a habit and experience that has been cultivated for a long time, so after suddenly changing to glass, he didn't expect that glass is transparent and can be used to illuminate people on the other side.

After Su Jinli reminded him, he left with the mirror with a face full of shame.

I can't wait to come this time, probably because I want to be ashamed.

However, although mercury mirrors are relatively easy to make, it is not so simple to make mirrors from silver.

To make a mirror out of silver, you have to go through the silver mirror reaction.

The silver mirror reaction requires the use of glucose, ammonia, silver nitrate, and sodium hydroxide.

Sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda, is something that existed in ancient times, and it can be obtained by mixing hydrated lime with soda ash, which is easier to get.

The rest, such as glucose, ammonia, and silver nitrate, will have to be prepared separately.

Silver nitrate is still relatively easy to get, and silver powder can be added to the nitric acid solution to get silver nitrate solution.

The remaining ammonia can be produced from traditional Chinese medicine. The main component of white sand is ammonium chloride, which can be mixed with sodium hydroxide solution to obtain ammonia, and ammonia can be obtained by introducing ammonia into water with a pipe.

However, ammonia is volatile and has to be bottled in dark brown glass bottles.

Therefore, before making mirrors, a batch of brown glass bottles must be burned, as well as glass tubes, measuring cups and measuring cylinders and other instruments must be burned.

Finally, there's glucose, which is a bit of a hassle.

Modern methods of hydrolyzing corn starch using saccharification enzymes can obtain a large amount of glucose.

Saccharifying enzymes need to be cultured, then fermented at a constant temperature, and then filtered, concentrated, and dried before they can be produced.

It's not easy just to culture cultures.

The strains are small, so the seeds should be cultivated in a test tube first, and then the excellent seeds should be selected from the inside and placed in a petri dish for a large number of cultures.

Here, a microscope is used, and then the petri dish is sterilized to keep the temperature constant.

With the current technology, it is simply not possible.

Therefore, even if saccharification enzyme hydrolysis can produce a large amount of glucose, Su Jinli can only settle for the next best thing and choose the backward old method.

That is, corn starch or potato starch is heated to 100 degrees, and then hydrolyzed with dilute hydrochloric acid.

The yield of this method is much lower than that of using saccharase, but fortunately it can be used.

It's just that the corn and potatoes are still in her space, and there are no outside at all.

Although there are a lot of corn and potatoes piled up in Su Jinli's space, she can't take them out directly, these two things are too eye-catching and obvious, and anyone who sees them has to be suspicious.

So she changed her compromise method and secretly made a batch of glucose crystals by herself, and asked the cinnabar to be handed over to the steward of the mirror workshop.

The glucose crystals that are made look like white powder, look like table salt, but taste sweet.

Naturally, such things will not be as conspicuous as corn or potatoes.

Even if Su Jinli said that it was glucose, no one would know what it was.

Unless it is from the afterlife, when you hear this name, you will only think that it is sugar made from grapes.

You don't have to worry about arousing suspicion, and you can keep the formula secret.

It's a pity that the silver mirror reaction is still a little more difficult for the ancients.

After tossing back and forth for several days, I finally made the mirror that Su Jinli wanted.

Su Jinli looked at the two mirrors in the box, and the more she looked at it, the more satisfied she felt.

Soon came up with a series of plans.

She said to Cinnabar: "Cinnabar, you tell the building to let them rush out a piece of news as soon as possible, and say that I will use silver to make a mirror to see if I can catch up with tomorrow's newspaper, and if not, put it the day after tomorrow." ”

Afterwards, she said to Zhao Lun, the steward of Liulifang: "Steward Zhao, the mirror you brought this time is very good, I am very satisfied." When you go back, write a report and write out everyone's contributions, and you will be rewarded later. ”

After a pause, she continued, "Also, in addition to the report, when you go back, let the craftsmen make more mirrors and design a few more styles.

For example, it can be made so small that it is easy to carry around in a cuff or purse. There are also those like now, which have a handle that you can hold in your hand and take pictures.

In addition, it can be made larger, used for makeup, or even made into a full-length mirror of equal height.

In addition to the style of the mirror, the frame can also be designed in different styles and even use different materials. ”

Speaking of this, she suddenly thought of something, and said to Cinnabar: "By the way, Cinnabar, how is the shop that you prepared before?" ”

Cinnabar hurriedly said: "If you go back to the master, it has been almost arranged." ”

Su Jinli nodded with satisfaction: "That's good, when the shop opens, a batch of regular style mirrors will be put on the shelves first." If a customer asks, tell them that they can open a private customization and choose different frame styles and materials. ”

Cinnabar now has a lot of insights into doing business, and after hearing this, she said excitedly: "The master said that this method is good, those who are not bad for money, will definitely like to customize special styles!" ”

Su Jinli smiled: "Well, when the time comes, this kind of mercury mirror can be sold cheaper, and the inlaid frame will be made of ordinary bamboo and wood, so that those flat-headed people can also use it." ”

When Zhao Lun heard this, he couldn't help but say: "The master is really kind-hearted, and even those flat-headed people have thought of it!" ”

Su Jinli smiled but did not speak.

She didn't do it all out of kindness.