"Renjie, the old man said that you will not disappoint the old man!"

Before getting out of the car, a loud and slightly vicissitudes of life voice came from afar, Fan Chunren always gave people a sense of energy, not like an old man's temperament. His arrival also made the officials and helpers of the workshop a little restless, the purple-robed boss came, and there had been no bachelor-level boss in Yanyan Road for a long time. And the purple robe is an official uniform that can only be worn by high-ranking officials above the third grade. Fan Chunren's appearance, because for them, it is no less than the people in the capital seeing the emperor, and excitement is the inevitable result.

And when a big man comes, he can't come empty-handed, he has to express himself, right?

The emperor is not short of hungry soldiers.

They all raised their heads one by one, waiting for the big guy to reward. At the very least, you should give it a meal of meat, right?

It's a pity that they are still too innocent, because they met Fan Chunren.

With the support of the scholar Fan Shuangqing, Fan Chunren jumped out of the carriage. That's right, even if he jumps down, his body is so good that he doesn't need to be supported at all. It's just that it's one thing for the old man to be in good shape, as Fan Chunren's grandson, Fan Shuangqing doesn't dare to let the old man come and go. He is not only Fan Chunren's scholar, but also serves as the younger generation who takes care of the old man, and he does not dare to slack off.

After walking straight, Fan Chunren grabbed Li Kui's arm and said excitedly: "What about the lamp oil, let the old man take a look." ”

"Boss, please move."

Li Kui's eyes flashed and found that Fan Shuangqing was following behind Fan Chunren with a jar, and Li Kui felt that this scene was very inconsistent.

There is not much lamp oil, Li Kui has not yet figured out the method of quickly refining lamp oil, he has only refined part of it, although it is not much, but it is enough to verify that his method is indeed effective and can be used.

"This is lamp oil?" When Fan Chunren saw a small jar of lamp oil appear in front of him, the color was very good, under the support of blue and white porcelain, the color was very positive, a little light tea soup. He leaned closer to his nose and sniffed the taste, and said with relief, "Not bad, not bad." It smells much better than the previous black oil, slightly burnt, but at least it doesn't make people feel uncomfortable. ”

This sentence has already shown that Fan Chunren affirmed the oil made by Li Kui.

Fan Chunren is serious about making money, whether it is for the imperial court to open up sources and reduce expenditure, or to count the family's small account books at night every day, he will be extremely serious. In his opinion, if the small can of lamp oil in front of him can really be promoted in the Great Song Dynasty, it will be of immeasurable significance to the future of the Great Song Dynasty.

Flax is a miscellaneous grain that needs to be grown on the land, but black oil is not needed, and it does not seem to be too rare in Yan'an Mansion, and it is easy to obtain. Then the flax planted can be used to grow grain, and for the Great Song Dynasty, this is to increase the reserves of the country's granary. Even if the grain is grown, it is eventually used to make wine, and it can generate huge taxes.

With just one point, Li Kui's merits are immeasurable.

In addition, the people of Yan'an Province can rely on black oil to get more income and stabilize the place.

Under all kinds of benefits, Fan Chunren attaches great importance to it, which makes sense.

Of course, for people in this era, the emergence of new things will always make people nervous. The reason for the nervousness is the lack of sufficient understanding, if someone says that lamp oil is toxic, in today's society, it is easy to be believed as a guideline, this point must be asked: "Renjie, does this lamp oil have a name?" ”

"What do you think you call kerosene?" Li Kui didn't care about the name, kerosene was the name of later generations. It's not a foreign product, but it has appeared in China. It's just that the oil mined at that time was an accessory to coal mines, and the refined oil was called kerosene. This is also the origin of kerosene, and it is not very high.

"Since it's for lighting, why don't you call it fire oil?"

"Your Excellency is wise!"

Fan Chunren was a little dissatisfied, Li Kui was not the first time to come up with a new gadget, the previous snowflake salt, as soon as he heard the name, he felt very expensive. But now the name of this kerosene doesn't sound as imposing as snowflake salt. Besides, the condition of the oil is really good. The oil of weak tea soup is definitely the best lamp oil in the Great Song Dynasty.

It is more elegant than sesame oil, of course, in terms of taste, kerosene is definitely not as good as sesame oil!

Thinking of the taste of stir-fried vegetables in sesame oil, Fan Chunren was very disappointed and thought that he hadn't eaten fried trash fish for a long time, that crispy texture, if he added a bowl of good wine that didn't cost money, this day would be beautiful.

didn't know what to think, Fan Chunren suddenly asked something that made Li Kui stunned: "Can you eat this oil?" ”

Li Kui raised his eyelids blankly and looked at Fan Chunren in a daze. was full of doubts, so he almost shouted at the old man Fan Chunren: "You are a university scholar, not a gas guzzler!" ”

But Li Kui is an upright person, he tilted his head and thought about it, he had heard of poor people who drank poison and sought death, but he had never heard of unlucky people who drank kerosene to seek death.

Immediately shook his head and said, "The oil is not poisonous, but it's better to eat it." ”

Hearing that it was not poisonous, Fan Chunren curiously dipped his fingers in a little oil and put it in his mouth, and took a few sips vigorously, suddenly, the old man's eyes were round, not to say that he couldn't help himself with surprise, but it was very wonderful, a little disgusting, a little rushing, and a little up.

bah

Phew-

"Master, you drink saliva and rinse your mouth." Fan Chunren can become friends with Su Shi, and he is a wonderful person. In Li Kui's eyes, Su Xian is a child who doesn't grow up much in many cases. As long as he sees other people's delicious food, he can't help but eat it. If you can't eat it, you will feel uncomfortable, you will be unhappy, and you will be sick and unable to lift your energy.

Of course, Fan Chunren will not be as emotional as Su Shi, he thinks more long-term.

For example, if the oil is popular, will the imperial court give officials a certain amount every month?

According to his official rank, like the clothes, food, shoes, etc., issued by the imperial court, the oil cannot be used up.

Of course, as a university scholar, he must be embarrassed to sell the unused oil he can't use. Then it can only be kept at home and eaten as a cook, which seems to be the best choice for fire oil.

Explosive fishing.

Croquettes.

are all good choices.

It's a pity that fire oil is not sesame oil squeezed from sesame seeds, it is a treasure that can be eaten.

Li Kui was embarrassed for a while, and said to Fan Chunren: "Boss, how about you try this oil?" ”

"yes, give it a try." Zhou Yuan has never seen a high-ranking official like Fan Chunren embarrassment, and his reaction is a little slower, but fortunately, his own disciples are still reliable and resolve the embarrassment.

Fan Chunren waved his hand helplessly, he didn't want to open his mouth, and he felt uncomfortable eating a piece of coal with one mouth. Of course, coal is coal. In the Great Song Dynasty, the use of coal has been very common, heating, as fuel, and even some kilns will choose coal as fuel. Similarly, Yan'an is not short of coal.

Li Kui put a lit branch on the oil lamp, which was originally a teapot, and he had completely turned it into an oil lamp. The reason for this is that the most common oil lamp in this era was a small saucer, with porcelain, pottery, and copper materials. But there is no interval between the wick and the oil, so if it is sesame oil, there is no need to worry, there is no need to worry about the oil in the dish being ignited at all, and the flame of the wick is also very small.

But kerosene is different, after all, it is a light oil produced by oil fission, although it is not as easy to ignite as gasoline.

But once the temperature of the oil rises, the original oil lamp will be turned into a blazing torch. If left unattended, it can even cause a fire.

And fire has always been one of the top disasters in the Great Song Dynasty.

The imperial palaces of the Great Song Dynasty have been burned down several times, and the largest one caught fire along the Jinming Pond and almost burned to the harem. almost burned down half of the entire Great Song Palace.

In Li Kui's plan, oil lamps are also one of the industries to be developed.

After all, the role of the teapot is still lacking.

Oil has long been used in ancient Persia, and the Arabian-style oil lamp is very much in line with the characteristics of oil use.

Li Kui was going to design an oil lamp like an alcohol lamp, but he wasn't going to burn glass. Instead, you are going to use porcelain, and as long as you make a small opening on the side and check the stick, you can easily pull out the stick and see the scale of the remaining lamp oil in the oil lamp. It's not much more cumbersome to use than a glass kerosene lamp. In particular, porcelain has an advantage over glassware in that the shape of porcelain can be arbitrary. But glass processing is much more troublesome. The only thing is the lampshade, which makes Li Kui a little entangled.

Oil lamps with and without lampshades are too far apart in terms of experience. The flame that doesn't shake is only clear when you look at things.

But now he is not thinking about finding a time, what he misses most now is that there are no matches, and it is too troublesome to light an oil lamp.

The flame was quickly lit, and Fan Chunren's attention was also drawn over. He followed the flames, and his eyes lit up. Kerosene lamps are brighter and brighter than sesame oil lamps. His rough, wrinkled face felt the warmth of the firelight. There was a sigh of praise in his mouth: "Renjie, this kerosene will definitely sell well, and the old man promises that it will definitely sell well." ”

This does not need Fan Chunren's guarantee at all, even Zhou Yuan, a rich kid who likes to settle small accounts, thinks that if there is a choice, he will also choose a kerosene lamp, which seems to be brighter than a candle.

Li Kui looked up at Fan Chunren and asked, "Boss, how much do you think is appropriate?" ”

"This ......"

If he was really asked to spend money, he really didn't want to spend this unjust money. But he knew it couldn't be. Then asked Zhou Yuan: "Why does Lord Zhou think the price is right?" ”

"It's a little more expensive than sesame oil, and some people buy it."

Zhou Yuan said of course, he is a person who uses candles, and he doesn't know how much sesame oil costs a catty. Besides, what his family has is money, and it doesn't make much sense to save a few lights to light it.

Fan Chunren immediately showed the inhuman expression he asked, and turned his head to look at Chong Jianzhong, who felt very strange about Li Kui. He always felt that Li Kui, his boss, was unreliable and often came nonsense. But what made him dumbfounded was that Li Kui seemed to be able to make meritorious contributions every time. If kerosene can replace sesame oil and become the lighting fuel for ordinary people in the Great Song Dynasty, Yan'an Mansion will be developed. This is a blessing for the benefit of 100,000 people in Yan'an Prefecture, and such a credit is simply a coveted achievement for civil officials.

At the same time, how much sesame oil does the people of the Great Song Dynasty use as lighting materials at night in a year, if this is taxed, the government of Yan'an Mansion can also get great benefits.

At least, there is no need to wait for the relief of the imperial court every year.

For Chong Jianzhong, such a good thing naturally cannot be missed, he is also an official of Yan'an Mansion, and this credit should naturally have his share. He is more willing to let the oil sell well in the Great Song Dynasty, so the price is expensive, it will definitely dissuade many people, Lao Cheng is a serious cultivator of the construction of the natural do not want to see such a thing happen, he considered it and asked Li Kui: "Lord Li, I don't know how much this oil is?" ”

"Money? There are still some problems in processing crude oil for 400 yuan and one stone, but I don't think it will be difficult to find a way. As long as the temperature in the steamer is increased, there should be thirty or forty catties of oil per stone, right? But how much time is needed to verify, the refining is still being tested, and if the firewood is changed to charcoal, it is also a sum of money. In addition, there are oil wells, once kerosene is really developed, then the oil wells cannot become ownerless, they must be controlled by the imperial court, at least in the hands of the government. In the future, if the cost is manufactured in batches, it should not exceed 15 wen a catty. ”

"So cheap?" The lamp oil is one hundred and twenty wen a catty, and Li Kui made only fifteen wen, even if he has the heart to compete with Li Kui, he is also convinced: "Xia Guan replaced the people of the Great Song Dynasty to thank Lord Li for his blessings." ”

"The adults are polite, and Li is also by mistake." When Li Kui said this, no one around him believed it. What is a mistake, when you go to buy black oil, you simply go with fire oil, otherwise how can you be sure that black oil can be refined into such a strange thing as fire oil?

Li Kui was bored and continued: "This is to allow the people to actively collect, and the price has doubled. The only concern now is production. ”

Li Kui also calculated an account, which is considering that when oil exploitation is easy, the cost of thermal oil will be suppressed in the early 10 yuan, and at most 15 yuan.

Of course, if it is really extracted, he believes that the oil in Yan'an Province will become the target of competition among the powerful people of the Great Song Dynasty. Coupled with the huge profits, after the capital investment, the mining volume will naturally become higher and higher, and the cost may be reduced if the scale increases.

The only thing to worry about is that after the shallow oil is extracted, if capital still wants to dominate the kerosene industry, it will have to extract deeper oil.

Li Kui will not be reconciled, but he is very much looking forward to the future glory of the oil extraction industry in the Great Song Dynasty.

Fan Chunren immediately made a decision: "Renjie, everything has an old man, you can do it with confidence." By the way, the old man will try the effect of this lamp oil for you, and while talking, he will take the kerosene that Li Kui has collected with great difficulty as his own. ”

The high-ranking officials of Yan'an Mansion came and went quickly.

But Li Kui stayed, and he was even ready to stick to it for a long time.

In the next few days, Li Kui announced a reward: "Anyone who makes a suggestion that can increase the temperature in the steamer, but does not make the steamer burn because it is too hot, will be rewarded." The way to increase the oil yield is to offer a thousand rewards. ”

Under the heavy reward, there will be brave men.

A variety of approaches have emerged, including proposals to add sand and stones; There are also proposals to put gunpowder, charcoal; There are even proposals to add herbs. As long as Li Kui makes a choice, he will delete the unreliable ones, such as the unlucky guy who added gunpowder, and was sent by Li Kui to chop wood. Before he knew it, he had been living in the workshop for half a month.

Three sets of pots for distillation have been built.

More artisans are building new stillpots.

On this day, a craftsman suddenly came over and told Li Kui: "My lord, the kerosene in the No. 2 pot is much faster. ”

"Take me to see it."

Li Kui lay on the edge of the tank that had not been collected, watching the kerosene leaking out of the pipe trickling down like a trickle. Compared with other steamers, the speed is not half a star. Li Kui said curiously: "What condiments are added to this pot?" ”

"Lime, after adding quicklime, it feels like it's getting faster all of a sudden."

"Who came up with this idea?"

"The villain's brother-in-law, Yuan Jin."

"A thousand rewards."

"Thank you, Lord for your favor."

Not long after, next to Li Kui, there was a young man with words tattooed on his face, kowtowing like pounding garlic to thank him. And Li Kui stared at the flow speed of the distillation mouth, put a small bowl underneath, and it was soon full. Li Kui estimated that at this rate, at most three hours, the oil in this pot would be almost squeezed dry. Thirty or forty catties of fire oil can be refined, and the oil consumed is about one stone, which is very wasteful, which is also the result of helplessness.

After all, oil refining is very complicated, and Li Kui can bump out of a way by ramming into a mess, which is already great luck.

Half an hour later, Li Kui appeared at the mansion and bowed to Fan Chunren and said, "Boss, fortunately, we have succeeded." ”

"Good, good!"

"First snowflake salt, now fire oil." Fan Chunren suddenly lowered his voice and asked Li Kui, "Renjie, you are from the Dan family, right?" ”

"Dan's family?"

Li Kui was stunned, what is the connection between alchemy and science? He retorted, "My lord, this is science. ”

"Don't fix what I don't understand, I understand, the law is not passed on lightly, I just want to ask, at the age of the old man, is there still a chance to get started?"

Li Kui was dumbfounded, he found that he seemed to have been misunderstood, is science really going to die in the Great Song Dynasty?