Chương 133: Teaching Moments

Liu Ce led Shen Wansan to the salt-making area.

A large earthenware jar was filled with brine. Liu Ce rolled up his sleeves, took a piece of coarse cloth, and began to stir it.

"Watch closely."

He explained as he demonstrated, "Salt making involves several steps. The first step is to dissolve coarse salt in water. The second step is filtration, using coarse cloth to filter out large particles of mud and sand."

Shen Wansan quickly asked someone to bring him a pen and began taking notes.

"After filtering, the water is still cloudy. At this point, you need to add wood ash, which is the ash left over from burning wood. Wood ash can absorb fine impurities and make the water clear."

As Shen Wansan took notes, he asked, "My lord, is there any particular significance to this wood ash?"

"It doesn't matter, as long as it's gray."

Liu Ce continued, "It can't be too wet, otherwise the effect won't be good."

He continued, "Once the water is clear, pour it into a pot and boil it. The heat must be controlled well; it can't be too high, otherwise the salt will burn and taste bitter."

Bubbles started to rise from the pot, and a layer of white foam floated to the surface.

"This is bitter brine, it's poisonous, we have to skim it off."

Liu Ce skimmed off the foam with a spoon.

"Skip it clean, continue cooking, and when you can pull out thin strands by dipping a wooden stick in it, turn off the heat."

Shen Wansan leaned closer to look and saw that a layer of white salt crystals had already formed in the pot.

Liu Ce pinched off a small amount and handed it to Shen Wansan: "Try it."

Shen Wansan put it in his mouth, and his eyes widened instantly:

"My lord! This salt... it's so white! So fine! The taste is perfect, not bitter at all! It's even better than the tribute salt used by the nobles in Luoyang!"

His hands were trembling with excitement: "If this were sold on the market... how much would it fetch!"

Liu Ce laughed and said, "Don't rush to calculate the money. Salt is a necessity of people's livelihood, so it can't be sold too expensively. We need to make small profits but increase sales so that ordinary people can afford good salt."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Shen Wansan nodded repeatedly, saying, "Small profits but quick turnover, a steady stream of income!"

"Did you remember the steps?" Liu Ce asked.

"Got it!"

Shen Wansan patted his chest and said, "Dissolve the water, filter, add ash, boil salt, skim off the foam, crystallize! I guarantee every step will be perfect!"

"Alright, then I'll teach you how to brew wine."

The two moved to the brewing area.

Liu Ce grabbed a handful of millet: "The first step in brewing wine is selecting the ingredients. The millet must be plump and free of mold."

He poured the millet into a basin and added water: "The second step is soaking. Soak until the grains can be crushed by hand, about... a day and a night."

Shen Wansan took notes very quickly.

"After soaking, steam it. Steam until the rice grains bloom and release their aroma."

Liu Ce pointed to the steamed millet next to him, "Then let it cool down until it's not too hot to handle."

"Let it cool down, then mix it with yeast."

Liu Ce took out his homemade yeast starter.

"This yeast starter is specially made by me. It is fermented from wheat bran and mugwort. The ratio must be well controlled. One pound of rice is used with three qian of yeast starter."

He sprinkled the yeast into the rice, mixed it well, and put it into an earthenware jar: "Make sure to pack it tightly into the jar, dig a hole in the middle, pour in some water. Then seal it so that no air leaks out."

Shen Wansan asked, "And then what happens after we seal it?"

"Fermentation".

Liu Ce smiled and said, "Place it in a cool, well-ventilated place, at a suitable temperature—it should feel neither too hot nor too cold to the touch. Ferment for ten to two weeks, until you can smell the aroma of wine, then it's ready."

He pointed to several earthenware jars that had already fermented: "These are ready. Next is distillation."

He pointed to the specially made pot: "This pot is the key. Ordinary brewing produces a bland taste. Steaming it with this makes it fragrant and flavorful."

Shen Wansan examined the pot closely, clicking his tongue in amazement: "My lord, your ideas are truly ingenious!"

Next, Liu Ce demonstrated how to use it.

Shen Wansan stared in disbelief: "This... this method is amazing! The distilled liquor is stronger than ordinary liquor."

Liu Ce took a small cup of wine and handed it to Shen Wansan, "Try it."

Shen Wansan took it, first smelling it—the aroma was irresistible—then took a sip, and his eyes lit up again: "Good wine! Fragrant! Strong! Much more potent than the sour wine in the tavern!"

His mind raced: "This wine can be packaged in leather bags and sold to soldiers in the barracks—soldiers love this strong liquor! We can also trade it with the Xianbei and Wuhuan for cattle, sheep, and horses! It's a sure-fire way to make a profit!"

"You have good taste."

Liu Ce laughed and said, "Once the wine is brewed, take a few jars to the restaurants in Zhuoxian County to try it out. See how it goes, and set a reasonable price so that ordinary people can also have a taste."

Shen Wansan patted his chest again, "Don't worry, my lord! I'm an expert in business!"

After teaching Shen Wansan how to brew wine, Liu Ce led him to the west end of the courtyard.

There were piles of cut mulberry bark, rags, and tattered fishing nets, as well as several large vats soaking raw materials.

"Next, I'll teach you something even more amazing—papermaking and printing," Liu Ce said.

Shen Wansan's eyes lit up again: "Papermaking? Printing? My lord, you even know how to do that?"

"I know a little, I know a little."

Liu Ce waved his hand modestly, but his face clearly said, "Praise me!"

He picked up a piece of mulberry bark that had swelled up from soaking: "The first step in papermaking is selecting materials, mulberry bark... anything will do. The best is young bamboo, but there's not much bamboo in Youzhou, so we'll use these for now."

He threw the raw materials into the vat: "The second step is soaking. Soak them until they crumble easily when you pinch them, about three to five days."

"It's soaked, time to boil."

Liu Ce pointed to a large pot next to him, "Add water and boil it. Add wood ash while boiling. Wood ash can remove dirt, bleach, and also make the fibers easier to separate."

As Shen Wansan took notes, he asked, "How long should it be cooked?"

"Cook it until it's mushy and melts in your mouth."

Liu Ce continued, "Then take it out and put it in a stone mortar to pound it."

He demonstrated: put the cooked ingredients into a stone mortar and pound them vigorously with a wooden pestle until they became a sticky pulp.

"Once it's pounded, it becomes paper pulp."

Liu Ce stirred the pulp with a wooden stick.

"Next is the crucial step—scooping out the paper."

He picked up the thin bamboo strainer and demonstrated how to scoop up the paper:...

"Place the bamboo mat in a well-ventilated area to dry until it is half-dry, then you can remove it."

As Liu Ce spoke, he peeled a sheet of paper that had already dried from the paper drying rack.

"Look, this is paper."

Shen Wansan took the paper. It felt rough and was yellowed, but it was indeed a piece of paper that could be written on!

His hands trembled with excitement: "My lord! This paper... this paper is ten times lighter than bamboo slips and a hundred times cheaper than silk! If it could be mass-produced, scholars would be ecstatic!"

Liu Ce laughed and said, "I don't know if scholars are happy or not, but we're sure to make a fortune."

"Next is printing." Liu Ce led Shen Wansan to the printing area.

There are many small wooden blocks piled up here, each with words carved on it.

"This is called movable type printing."

Liu Ce picked up a wooden block with characters carved on it.

"One character per block. If you want to print a certain article, just pick out the characters you need and arrange them into a layout."

He demonstrated how to type: he selected four character blocks, namely "幽", "州", "太", and "平", and fixed them together with wooden strips to form a single type.

"Arrange the characters and dip them in ink." Liu Ce dipped the characters in the inkwell, spreading the ink evenly over the characters.

"Then press it onto the paper." He pressed the typeface onto a piece of paper, pressed it down hard, and then lifted it up.

The four characters "Youzhou Taiping" were clearly printed on the paper.

Shen Wansan was dumbfounded.