Loyalty in the Time of Tyranny Chapter 10

Adrian Tang and Mason Yao came to Wang the blacksmith's shop together.

The sound of forging iron came from the shop. Blacksmith Wang was bare-chested, forging iron with a hammer in one hand. When he saw Adrian Tang and Mason Yao, he said, "Little Tang Lang and Mason Yao, how come you have time to come to me today?"

Adrian Tang: "Uncle Wang, I have an object that I would like you to take a look at. Can you print it out for me?"

"Let me see."

Adrian Tang handed over the sketch of the "essential oil distiller" he had drawn.

That’s right, after making the rough version of ancient soap, the second thing Adrian Tang wanted to make was essential oil.

Blacksmith Wang has been a blacksmith all his life and has seen many drawings of weapons and ornaments, so he is naturally not comparable to Mason Yao. Adrian Tang used modern perspective to draw a simple version of the distiller. Blacksmith Wang was a little confused at first. After studying it for a while, he pointed to two lines on the picture and said, "What is this?"

"This is called a condenser. Uncle Wang, I've told you, I'm going to make a big jar. You make a sieve at the bottom to separate the water and the plants. The whole jar is almost closed, and I want the gas inside to come out through these two tubes. I'm going to put cold water in the compartments around the tubes."

Blacksmith Wang thought for a moment and said, "Little Tanglang, this thing can be made, but it will take some effort."

Adrian Tang originally had no hope, but his eyes lit up when he heard this: "How long will it take?"

"Half a month. If you hurry, I'll charge you for the work. I'm not going to Bullsh!t you. I have several things to do and I promised others. If you hurry, I'll pay you an extra five taels. I'll give it to you in three days."

"good!"

Blacksmith Wang did what he said. Three days later, he delivered a black and heavy lump of iron to Adrian Tang's house.

Normally, the distiller must ensure gas tightness, but conditions were limited and Adrian Tang could not care so much. He asked Aunt Yao and Tang Juan to go outside the city to pick some chrysanthemums, roses and osmanthus, pick all the petals and put them in basins. The two large basins of petals filled the yard with fragrance.

With a distiller, Adrian Tang started making essential oils.

Essential oils sound very high-end, but they are actually very easy to make. In the future, you can make essential oils at home by just buying a distiller in the market. Adrian Tang looked at his big black iron block and thought: Although we are a bit crude, you are also a distiller, give me some face.

Whether the essential oil can be successfully produced depends on whether this primitive distiller can function.

Adrian Tang picked out the most fragrant osmanthus petals from the three types and put a handful of them into the center of the distiller. The distiller was divided into three parts. The bottom part was a water tank, with a sieve plate placed on the water surface and the petals on top.

Adrian Tang put the distiller on the stove to heat it up. When the water in the stove was heated, the water vapor mixed with the fragrance of flowers, and the hot steam surged upward. However, the distiller was sealed, with only two small tubes opened.

These are two crooked little iron pipes. If they were straightened, each would be at least two meters long.

Blacksmith Wang was also curious about what Adrian Tang was trying to do by making such a strange thing, so he stayed and watched in the yard. He said to Mason Yao and others: "I have never seen such a strange object. How did little Tang Lang make these pipes twist and turn around the iron can, and then soak these two pipes in water."

Mason Yao was also surprised: "We never understand what the young master does. That's what scholars do."

Blacksmith Wang was puzzled: "The thing in this pipe has no contact with the water, so what use can it have?"

Adrian Tang: "It's very useful, just wait and see."

Steam flowed down the two pipes. Adrian Tang kept adding water to the large compartment next to the pipes. The gas passed through the winding condenser and came to the exit. Adrian Tang hurriedly caught it. He held his breath and looked at what flowed out of the pipe with expectation. However, after waiting for a long time, the water in the distiller was almost dried up, and only a small half cup of essential oil flowed out.

As soon as the deep yellow essential oil flows out, it exudes a strange and rich fragrance.

Among all the flowers that can be found in this season, the sweet osmanthus is the most fragrant. Ivy Don sniffed the smell and said in surprise: "Brother, is this what you want to make? It smells so good!"

Adrian Tang was not very satisfied.

With so many osmanthus flowers, only this little essential oil is produced in the end.

Essential oils are aromatic substances extracted from the roots, stems, leaves and fruits of plants. They can be said to be the most essential spices. In later times, no factory would be so extravagant as to extract essential oils only from petals and stamens. This was too wasteful. Because the distiller was too simple, Adrian Tang only used petals, but he did not expect that he could only extract this little essential oil in the end.

If the cost is so high, it will be very difficult to mass produce essential oils.

Blacksmith Wang suddenly said, "I understand, little Tang Lang, you are quenching the steel!"

Adrian Tang was stunned: "Uncle Wang, what did you say, quenching?"

"You want to use molten iron to pour down the steaming aroma? Hey, I can't explain it clearly, but what you are doing is a bit similar to the quenching when we are forging iron. When forging iron, don't you have to use cold water to extinguish the boiling red iron again and again, and then continue to heat and forge iron? That won't work. Just pouring cold water is useless. You have to improve this thing. You can't let the hot steam roll down all the time, it's too fast. Let the hot steam stop for a while, pour more cold water for a while, and quench it slowly!"

Adrian Tang thought about it and quickly drew a sketch in his mind. "You're right!"

Blacksmith Wang moved the lump of iron back, hammered it for three or four days, and then moved it back again.

This time Adrian Tang got nearly a cup of essential oil.

"This is enough!"

Adrian Tang made a pot of soap, poured the essential oil into it, stirred it evenly, and waited for it to cool down.

After everything was done, Adrian Tang pressed the soap mixed with essential oil into a hard block, and this became the soap.

The next day, Adrian Tang and Mason Yao came to Tang's house with two bars of ordinary soap and two bars of scented soap.

On the way to Tang's house, Mason Yao asked in confusion: "Young Master, you have been making this soap for half a month. I thought you were going to sell it. Why haven't you sold it yet?"

Adrian Tang smiled and said, "Brother Yao, we have been in Gusu Prefecture for two months. Have you calculated how much you have earned?"

Mason Yao hurriedly said, "Young Master, please don't talk nonsense. That is your and Luna Ah's money. It has nothing to do with me."

"Don't worry. I'm not saying you're after money. I trust Brother Yao's character. But Huang is still young. You guys went out to make pancakes these days. Thanks to you and Aunt Yao for watching over her. She can't take care of a nine-year-old girl."

Mason Yao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I made a lot of money."

"Enough to buy a shop on Brocade Street?"

"Of course not, it's far from it!"

"Is that enough to buy a workshop in Gusu Prefecture and make more soaps and essential oils?"

"No."

Gusu Prefecture is not like Zhaojia Village. In Zhaojia Village, one tael of silver is enough for a family of three to live a rich life for a year. But in Gusu Prefecture, one tael of silver is of no use at all and can only support one person at most.

After Adrian Tang came to Gusu Prefecture, the sales of multi-grain pancakes were booming, but he could only be said to be well-off, far from wealthy.

"If we can't buy a workshop, then we have to make the soap and essential oils ourselves. Even if you don't make pancakes every morning, Brother Yao, you, me, Luna Ah, and Aunt Yao, the four of us can only make 50 bars of soap and one or two bottles of essential oils a day at most. This is not a problem. The problem is, where can we sell these things?"

Mason Yao was stumped by the question.

Adrian Tang: "Soap is not a pancake. Pancakes are eaten up every day and are cheap, so anyone can buy them. But soap can be used for a long time after purchase, not to mention essential oils. You know how expensive they are, and it's not like people will buy them just by putting them on a stall. If we continue like this, we'll be out of money in less than half a year."

Mason Yao said ashamedly: "I am just a guard at home, I don't understand the twists and turns here, young master, please don't laugh at me."

Adrian Tang didn't mean to laugh at him. He stopped and said, "We're here."

This is Mason Yao’s first visit to the Tang Mansion.

Perhaps because Madam Tang had disciplined the servants before, the butler of the Tang Mansion did not neglect Adrian Tang and his companions after they entered. He led Adrian Tang to the side hall and ordered the maid to serve a pot of hot tea and two plates of snacks. After waiting for a while, Madam Tang arrived.

Adrian Tang thought he would meet Mr. Tang, but he didn't expect it to be Mrs. Tang. He thought for a moment that this would be better. He stood up and said, "Aunt, I haven't seen you for a long time. I am here to bother you again. This is my guard, Brother Mason Yao. Brother Yao, this is my aunt, Mrs. Tang."

"Hello, Madam." Mason Yao bowed.

Mrs. Tang said, "Please sit down." As soon as she entered the room, she saw the two small boxes Adrian Tang was carrying. She glanced at the two boxes calmly, then looked away and said to Adrian Tang, "The last time we met was on Suijin Street. Now that I think about it, it seems like a month has passed. You seem to have lost weight again."

Adrian Tang said: "Yes, that was before the Double Ninth Festival."

Mrs. Tang thought that Adrian Tang came to give gifts in order to study in the Tang family's private school. She took the initiative to give Adrian Tang a way out: "Your two brothers talked about you a few days ago. They really want to meet you, but they are afraid that if they are too abrupt, they will upset you."

In his previous life, Adrian Tang was a pure science and engineering man, and he was born not good at socializing. However, he worked as a graduate student for three years and a doctoral student for three years. No matter how ignorant he was, he was tempered in the university environment. I dare not say that he is smooth, but he also understands what Mrs. Tang means.

Adrian Tang smiled and said, "I also want to see my two brothers."

Mrs. Tang was just about to talk about letting Adrian Tang study when Adrian Tang said, "Aunt, I came to bother you today because the two boxes of things you sent to me when I first came to Gusu Mansion helped me out in an emergency. I have always remembered them. I happened to have made something at home, so I wanted to send it to you for you to see."

"Oh, you made something at home?"

Adrian Tang said: "Yes, I made it myself."

Mrs. Tang: "Can you cook?"

When Mrs. Tang said this, she did not mean to show contempt.

The first chapter of Mencius, Liang Hui Wang Zhangju Shang, has a sentence: A gentleman stays away from the kitchen. A thousand years later, this sentence was misinterpreted by later generations as "A gentleman of high moral character will not enter the kitchen, let alone cook." In fact, the original sentence is "A gentleman, when seeing animals alive, cannot bear to see them die; when hearing their cries, cannot bear to eat their meat. Therefore, a gentleman stays away from the kitchen."

A gentleman cannot bear to see animals die, and cannot bear to eat their meat when hearing their cries. Therefore, a gentleman always stays away from the kitchen.

In other words, a gentleman does not enter the kitchen, not because he thinks cooking is a despicable thing that a gentleman cannot do, but because he has a kind heart.

The ancients did not extend so many meanings to this sentence. Instead, they did not attach importance to the so-called "a gentleman stays away from the kitchen."

Moreover, everyone has to eat. Even Confucius said, "I don't know the taste of meat for three months," so "I didn't expect to enjoy it so much." How could Mencius say that a gentleman cannot cook?

Of course, Adrian Tang explained: "It's not a dish."

Mrs. Tang asked, "What is that?"

"My aunt will know it at a glance."

The two chatted for a while, and Adrian Tang asked Mason Yao to give a box to Mrs. Tang. The two left the Tang Mansion and went to the Liang Mansion.

Yes, Adrian Tang brought two boxes today, each box contained a bar of soap and a bar of scented soap, to be given to Mrs. Tang and Liang Daru respectively.

After Adrian Tang left, Mrs. Tang asked the butler to bring the box up.

This box is not a valuable item, but it looks new and carefully made. She knew at once that even though it was just a box, Adrian Tang had put a lot of effort into choosing it.

"My nephew may be small and look handsome and simple, but he is not a simple person."

The housekeeper asked, "Madam, what is this gift?"

Mrs. Tang opened the lid of the box and saw a light yellow object on the first layer. It was smooth and a little greasy to the touch. She opened the second layer and saw an identical yellow object. It also felt a little greasy to the touch, but it had a sweet osmanthus fragrance.

There was one thing Adrian Tang didn't know: there was an osmanthus tree planted in front of Mrs. Tang's boudoir. Smelling the scent, Mrs. Tang felt very happy, as if she had returned to her parents' home.

These two things were very strange. Mrs. Tang found a letter written by Adrian Tang in the box.

Mrs. Tang laughed and said, "The handwriting is just average. It's not as smart as my nephew's. He won't be able to pass the county exam." How could she know that Adrian Tang had never written calligraphy in his previous life, and his current calligraphy skills were thanks to the original owner, who had written large characters for two years.

After opening the letter, Mrs. Tang began to read it. The more she read, the brighter her eyes became.

"Haitang, go to the kitchen and get a bowl of oil and a basin of water."

The maid nodded and quickly brought a bowl of rapeseed oil and a basin of water. Mrs. Tang said, "Try to touch this oil." After saying that, she felt it was not appropriate, "Forget it, I will do it myself." As she said that, Mrs. Tang did it herself, and her hands were covered with oil. Then she rubbed the yellow soap and put her hands in the basin to wash them.

Mrs. Tang was surprised: "The effect is so good?"

Then she tried the second bar of "soap."

"A strange thing, this is really a strange thing!"

The housekeeper asked curiously, "Madam, what is this?"

Mrs. Tang said, "You can try it too. Use these two things to wash the rapeseed oil."

The housekeeper did as he was told. After washing his hands, he exclaimed: "What is this? It's much better than the soap!"

Mrs. Tang said, "My nephew wrote in the letter that the first piece of thing with a strange smell is called soap, and the second piece with the scent of osmanthus is called scented soap." As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Tang's nose moved, her eyes lit up, and she put the letter written by Adrian Tang in front of her nose and smelled it.

At first, when Mrs. Tang read the letter, she didn't notice the smell on the letter paper. When she was far away, she only felt a faint fragrance. But when she got closer, it was no longer a trace. The strong fragrance of osmanthus filled her nose, one after another.

Mrs. Tang was stunned for a moment. She read the letter carefully for a long time, and suddenly asked in surprise: "Can this fragrance be transferred to any object at will?"