Chapter 420 – Rebuilding Xiangyang County (Part 4)
In this era, technology was indeed underdeveloped, but many techniques had already taken shape or evolved into broad concepts.
For instance, there was now rudimentary earthenware firing technology; it would be no problem to build a kiln based on that.
Jiang Pengji sought out an elderly potter with decent skills and carefully inquired about his experience to design a suitable kiln based on it.
The little buddies in the live stream room were also enthusiastic, greatly reducing her missteps and allowing the work to progress smoothly.
“What do you think of this clay, sir?”
At this moment, Jiang Pengji had become a bit of a lovable mess, swapping her usual wooden clogs for thick straw sandals. Her wide-sleeved robe was traded in for a simple, coarse tunic, making her look less like a noble’s daughter and more like a farmer’s child raised in a rustic home.
If it wasn’t for her noble aura and graceful demeanor, some might have genuinely mistaken her.
Over the past couple of days, she had roamed around, selecting various types of clay, including some bought from the marketplace, categorizing them neatly as she sought advice from experienced local potters in Xiangyang County.
The old man had inherited the pottery trade and made a living selling clay bowls. In his lifetime, the most prominent figure he had ever met was just the village head. When could he dare to speak face-to-face with a county official who was so earnestly asking for his advice?
Typically, someone would have claimed he was out of his mind, dreaming in broad daylight.
But today, what seemed utterly improbable had become a reality right before his eyes.
He took a moment to collect himself and calmed his startled heart.
Strange happenings occurred every year, but this year was especially odd—there was even a county official who preferred playing with mud over dealing with official business.
The old man silently mused, while seriously inspecting several clay samples.
Based on his years of pottery experience, he carefully selected three types of clay and analyzed their respective advantages and disadvantages.
Overall, if they were to be used for firing pottery, they would indeed be very suitable. Jiang Pengji noted that one of them was the market clay she had gathered.
Hearing the old man’s confidence made Jiang Pengji feel relieved—her countless trips up and down the mountains had been worth it.
“What do you think, if we compact them into this shape…”
Jiang Pengji pulled out a neatly folded paper from her pocket, unfolded it to reveal a 3D rectangular cube. Given the current level of artistic technique that was restricted to flat images, there was no concept of 3D at all, nor any such skills. The old man was amazed by what he saw.
Though the drawing of the charcoal block was rudimentary, even someone like him, who couldn’t read, could easily understand what was depicted.
“What does the county official intend to use this for?”
The old man flipped the paper back and forth, secretly regretting it.
Such a fine piece of bamboo paper wasted on drawing such an odd thing that, when looked at from any angle, didn’t seem like tableware at all – he had no idea what it was for.
If it were just thrown on the ground, it could barely serve as a stepping stone, but surely something made from clay would be heavier than that, right?
Jiang Pengji explained, “It’s for building houses or paving roads! Just look how flat and orderly this is; if we stack them, they’ll look even neater.”
The old man’s eyes widened suddenly, “This thing can actually be used for building houses and paving roads?!”
Feeling like he had opened the door to a new world, the old man couldn’t help but exclaim as he held the bamboo paper and kept murmuring to himself.
“If we use something this small to build, how many would we need to fire?”
With arms crossed, Jiang Pengji replied seriously, “Well, of course, we can’t use only this for building.”
Bricks would be combined with wood and stone materials. After the last earthquake, she believed houses needed to be sturdier.
The houses in this era were drafty in summer and chilly in winter.
Since they were made entirely of wood, a fire could burn everything down—rescue efforts would be insufficient. Jiang Pengji envisioned adding brick structures to the existing architectural style to enhance warmth and stability while also considering how to prevent fires if possible.
However, she wasn’t a specialist in this area; she could only provide a general direction while leaving the hands-on work to professionals.
Nonetheless, while rebuilding Xiangyang County, she had also considered the issue of fire safety in the housing plans.
The old man mumbled, “If we were to use this for building, wouldn’t that be too extravagant…?”
Thanks to Jiang Pengji’s friendly attitude, the old man, who had been timid at first, completely relaxed and began discussing how to start the kiln and how to fire the pottery, which included the critical issue of firing temperatures.
From the old man’s experience, firing such bricks required an enormous amount of fuelwood, with the temperature standards needed being exceptionally high. If the temperature was inadequate, an entire kiln full of bricks could be wasted, resulting in significant losses.
With that much wood, he thought it would be better to just build houses rather than waste it on bricks.
Despite these thoughts swirling in his mind, he withheld them; no matter how down-to-earth someone was, they were still a county official—not someone common folks could offend.
Jiang Pengji curiously asked, “So how do you usually fire pottery?”
Under the old man’s guidance, they visited a pottery workshop of this era. The facilities were quite rudimentary.
Although the live stream content had been quite dry for the past few days, the audience was entirely captivated.
Many viewers enjoyed offering their suggestions and even went out of their way to research, striving to be rigorous and logical.
Whenever a piece of advice was accepted by the host, they felt a sense of achievement as if they too were contributors to the construction of Xiangyang County.
It felt like stepping into ancient times as if they were traversing eras to achieve success—tremendously fulfilling and immersive.
【Qingge Wany舞】: I’ve read plenty of time-travel novels with kiln-building scenes, but they were making glass—something that’s a total luxury item in ancient times. It seems like the host is being quite practical, focusing on bricks instead. Honestly, the value of this seems much lower than glass, and it shouldn’t be too hard, right?
【Don’t Talk Nonsense】: If I remember correctly, glass is a byproduct of firing. Once the host gets the brick-making technique down and builds Xiangyang County into a prosperous place, they won’t have any energy left to bother with glass, right? Host, don’t hesitate to cheat with glass; rarity equals value, and the pricier it is, the better—totally profitable!
【Selling Daughters for Quick Cash】: #Chin resting on hand, progress must be made step by step; big leaps can lead to trouble.
Bricks were still being fussed over, and already thinking about glass?
【Gnawing on the Princess’s Poison Apple】: Firing pottery can be fraught with failures for many reasons. However, I think temperature is critical; currently, the fuel is mostly wood, and firing a kiln requires a ton of it, which is prohibitively expensive. I noticed you were messing with coal blocks yesterday; this is indeed more economical than wood, so the next question is how to increase the kiln’s temperature.
Jiang Pengji was multitasking, engaging in conversation with the old man while scanning for helpful content in the bullet comments.
After a moment of thought, she sent a comment.
【Host V】: @Gnawing on the Princess’s Poison Apple, wind?
The audience suddenly had a lightbulb moment and recalled something.
【Gnawing on the Princess’s Poison Apple】: Blower? Bellows?
Jiang Pengji fell into contemplation, pondering for a while before asking the old man, “Can we use bellows to increase the kiln’s temperature?”
The old man thought deeply, his expression troubled, “The effect is probably minimal.”
What in the world is a bellows?
The viewers in the live stream were also a bit confused.
However, from Jiang Pengji’s words, it seemed like she was suggesting a device similar to a bellows or a blower, intended to enhance the fire’s intensity.
Was there bellows in this era already?!
Some viewers checked Baidu and took a long time to finally figure out what a bellows was.
