Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

Chapter 84 Coal Washing Technology!
This kind of place doesn't have any grand gestures, which makes it feel more authentic.

Empress Zhangsun, who was incognito during Li Shimin's visit, did not put on airs.

They integrated very well!
"Father-in-law!" Li Shimin greeted his great-grandfather.

Li Shimin recognized many of the people in Kaolao Village.

During the meal, Li Shimin, Cheng Yaojin, and the others squeezed into one table with the rest of the villagers.

They were chatting and laughing, and anyone who didn't know them would think that Li Shimin was from a nearby village.

Empress Zhangsun and several princesses ate at a separate table. Third Sister was too young to eat with them. Zhang Jinhe and Zhang Erya had to help with the chores and couldn't eat yet.

On the open ground by the pond, a dozen or so makeshift wooden tables were crammed together.

Steam rose from the large iron pot that had just been taken off the stove. The tender mutton simmered gently in the broth, with oil floating on the surface, and the aroma of scallions wafted into one's nose.

The other pot was also full of fish meat, with milky white fish soup sprinkled with freshly picked wild coriander, so delicious that it made one's mouth water.

The men took off their outer robes, revealing their dark arms. With one hand they held a flatbread and the other they scooped up large chunks of mutton and stuffed them into their mouths, not bothering to wipe the oil dripping down their chins onto their clothes.

"Young master's skills are ten times better than those of restaurants!" someone mumbled, drawing laughter from the entire table.

The woman at the next table ladled two spoonfuls of mutton soup into the child's bowl. The little guy held the rough porcelain bowl, taking small sips, his lips glistening with oil, but his eyes shone like water-soaked black grapes.

In the corner, the third grandfather shakily picked up a piece of mutton, squinted at it, tasted it, and sighed, "I've lived for over sixty years, and this is the first time I've ever seen so much mutton... I never dared to dream of such a life before."

The young men around him were already enjoying their meal, clinking their earthenware bowls together with a dull thud. They didn't care that some wine had spilled, and just shouted at the top of their lungs, "Thank you, young sir!"

Li Shimin sat next to Wang Shen, holding half a sesame flatbread in his hand, listening to the villager talk about this year's harvest. He nodded in agreement from time to time. When he was happy, he picked up a sheep bone and gnawed on it with relish. His temples were slick with oil, which made him seem more down-to-earth than when he was in the court.

The three little girls sat together, each holding a sesame seed cake in one hand and a piece of mutton in the other.

Her face was all oily.

The food here tastes better than in the palace.

Empress Zhangsun smiled but said nothing.

Smoke curled upwards, mingling with the aromas of meat and wine, and the laughter of children, drifting over the pond and the newly renovated houses.

No one cares who is a nobleman and who is a commoner; all they know is that there is plenty of meat and soup to eat today. This kind of liveliness and satisfaction is a rare sweetness in ordinary days.

Even Little Blackie had a bone in his mouth, crawling around under the table and gnawing on it by himself.

Xiao Ran carried a wine glass around, toasting everyone to thank them for helping build the house.

I'm not a big drinker, but luckily the alcohol content of liquor in this era isn't high, so I can handle it after one round.

The people ate until very late before gradually leaving.

Xiao Ran was conscious at first, but then he didn't know what happened.

It's true that the alcohol content is low, but you can still get drunk if you drink too much.

When Xiao Ran woke up, it was already the next day.

It was Zhang Jinhe and Zhang Erya who escorted Xiao Ran back to her room.

"Young master!" Third Sister called out from beside the bed.

"Sanniang, what's wrong?"

"Sister, let me see if the young master has woken up yet," Third Sister said truthfully.

Zhang Erya is not suitable, but San Niang is too young.

Xiao Ran picked up his phone and looked at it; it was already past nine in the morning.

"I'll get up right now!" Xiao Ran rubbed his forehead. He didn't usually like drinking, but yesterday was a special occasion.

Since you're driving around in a motorhome all day, you naturally can't drink alcohol.

When Xiao Ran got up, breakfast was ready on the table in the main room.

It's obvious they haven't eaten.

"Second Aunt, you can eat in situations like this from now on. You don't need to wait for me. It's so late, you must be hungry." Xiao Ran rubbed Third Aunt's head. "Hurry up and eat!"

“Young master, I’m not hungry!” Third Sister said.

Zhang Erya called Zhang Dalang over, and then the group ate.

"I don't know anything after that. Have you cleaned up the things outside?" Xiao Ran asked.

“Everything’s been packed up. My sister helped clean it up. Many of the tables and chairs were borrowed from the village, and we took them back with us,” Zhang Erya said.

Xiao Ran drank himself into oblivion and had no recollection of what happened afterward.

I can't drink like that anymore; even a low alcohol content can be deadly if I get drunk.

It was only later that Xiao Ran realized how insecure she felt.

There is no one in this era whom Xiao Ran can completely trust 100%.

If there were such a person, Xiao Ran would let him know the secret of the RV.

After finishing his meal, Zhang Dalang went to plow the fields. He had been busy building the house and hadn't had the chance until now.

Now that we have oxen and a curved plow at home, we don't need to borrow any.

They are full of energy when doing their own work.

Zhang Erya was clearly in a much better mood after moving to her new home.

Busy tidying up the house.

Xiao Ran rode his bicycle, taking San Niang and Xiao Hei for a stroll in the village.

The persimmon cakes from other families are almost ready too.

Normally it should have been ready much earlier, but it rained for several days beforehand.

Take Third Sister to see the persimmon cakes; if there are any problems, we can help solve them.

He also became familiar with the people in the village.

Many people helped build the house, and even though Xiao Ran didn't know its name, it looked familiar.

After wandering around for a while, Xiao Ran didn't go home, but went straight to see the land that Li Shimin had given him.

The land deeds were also given to Xiao Ran.

The others still didn't know what Xiao Ran was going to do with the coal.

Xiao Ran naturally wanted to make use of these coals.

Winter is coming soon, and we will need a lot of firewood and charcoal.

Prices will rise, and coal is a good alternative.

Burning raw coal directly is extremely risky, especially in the enclosed environment of a home, where accidents are very likely to occur. The sulfur dioxide produced by the combustion of sulfides is pungent and choking, and the carbon monoxide produced by incomplete combustion is colorless and odorless, but most deadly, both are invisible killers.

The hard pyrite lumps in the raw coal that are light brassy in color and have a metallic luster have the highest sulfur content and must be picked out—this stuff produces pungent white smoke when burned, and smelling it for too long will cause headaches and swollen throats.

Break the coal with a hammer, and if you see these "metallic lumps," just throw them away. You can tell with the naked eye; it's effortless.

Soak the coal in water and stir it; the mud and fine pyrite particles will float away with the water. Then, take it out and let it dry.

It doesn't need to be as meticulous as a coal washing plant. Even a simple rinse with water can reduce sulfides by more than 30%, and the pungent smell when burning can be reduced by half.

At least sulfides have a pungent smell as a warning, but carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless, and can silently cause unconsciousness or even death.

It can be used by others, but you must tell them what to pay attention to.

Ideally, a chimney should be provided; if not, ventilation should still be ensured.

Let alone coal in the Tang Dynasty, even in modern times, burning coal without proper ventilation can easily lead to death.

Especially in winter, people like to close the windows, and accidents can easily happen. By the time you realize it, it's too late.

In this era, especially in villages, ventilation is not a concern.

The thatched hut, the mud-brick house, the windows without glass, were relatively well-ventilated.

In addition to these, you can also add clay to shape it.

When clay is mixed with coal, it forms a dense "skeleton" inside the coal block.

When burning, the clay itself does not burn, but it can limit the contact area between the coal and oxygen—it prevents the coal from burning through to ash too quickly, and it also prevents "explosive combustion" due to excessive oxygen, which would be wasteful.

This allows the coal to release heat continuously and stably, extending the combustion time.

A coal briquette mixed with clay can burn for almost twice as long as a pure coal block, making it especially suitable for winter heating and stove insulation in rural areas, reducing the hassle of frequent coal additions. The sulfides in coal produce pungent sulfur dioxide when burned, which is not only irritating but also corrodes stoves.

Coal dust and slag are easily carried by flue gas and turn into "black ash," polluting the environment.

The silicate components in clay melt into a "glassy state" at high temperatures, acting like "glue" to bind sulfides and fine coal powder to the slag, reducing the volatilization of sulfur dioxide and the dispersion of dust.

While it cannot compare to industrial desulfurization technology, it can significantly reduce the pungent smell and "black ash everywhere" problem when burning coal for ordinary people in this era.

When pure pulverized coal or crushed coal is burned, it tends to clump together, resulting in a lack of oxygen in the middle and causing "smoldering," producing only smoke and no strong flame.

Coal mixed with clay has a loose and porous structure, allowing air to permeate through the gaps formed by the clay, which helps the coal burn completely.

This makes the flames stronger and the temperature higher, improving the efficiency of heating the kang (a traditional heated bed) and cooking. The same weight of coal mixed with clay can make the kang hotter and last longer.

Clay is readily available everywhere; you don't need to spend money to buy it.

More importantly, it can "digest" pulverized coal and coal dust, which were originally too small to burn. After being mixed with clay and kneaded into blocks, they can be reused.

Simply put, clay acts like a "regulator" for coal, making pulverized coal "useful," making combustion "more efficient," and reducing pollution.

What seems like a simple combination is actually a "low-cost wisdom" summarized from long-term practice.

After seeing the coal, Xiao Ran was certain that his idea was feasible.

We'll be relying on this for making glass from now on.

They didn't bring any tools or equipment with them.

After wandering around for a while, Xiao Ran called out, "Third Sister, let's go home!"

"Okay, here we come!" Third Sister ran back with Little Black.

He picked up the little girl, got on the bicycle, and the two of them headed back.

The roads around the village were all dirt roads, which were very bumpy, but Third Aunt liked them very much.

I think riding a bicycle is a lot of fun.

When I got home, I saw that Zhang Jinhe had also come over.

Zhang Jinhe was busy with his own things before, but lately he has been spending more time with Xiao Ran and the others.

"Xiao Langjun!"

"Jinniang!" Xiao Ran put down his bicycle.

"I took a stroll around, and the persimmon cakes in the village should be ready soon. If the weather is good, they should be ready in two or three days," Zhang Jinhe said.

The persimmon frost was for Li Lizhi and the others.

"Well, I guess we'll have to trouble everyone to scrape off the persimmon frost then." Xiao Ran knew too much; it wasn't realistic to expect Princess Li Lizhi, the Princess of Yuzhang, to do it herself.

Li Lizhi and the others wouldn't take the persimmon frost for nothing.

They will definitely pay.

They are all people of principle; they would never take advantage of the villagers of Kaolao Village for such a small reason.

"I've already told the villagers that they'll scrape it before selling it to me."

"Then, no problem!" Xiao Ran found a cart and went to get some coal.

"Young master, what are you doing?" Zhang Jinhe asked, puzzled.

"I'm going to get some coal and bring some back to use."

"That's poisonous when it's burned. Someone tried it before and almost died from the poisoning," Zhang Jinhe knew.

The coal mine is not far from Kaolao Village, so naturally some people have tried to go there.

“I know that, let’s try other methods.” Xiao Ran said as he lifted San Niang onto the cart.

Zhang Jinhe said, "I don't have anything else to do, I'll go take a look."

Zhang Erya simply followed along.

Everyone else came over, and the cat wasn't left in the old house anymore; Zhang Erya specially brought it back.

Xiao Ran dug up several dozen kilograms of coal and brought it back, wanting to test the difference between unprocessed and processed coal.

Zhang Jinhe and Zhang Erya wanted to help, but they didn't know how, so they could only watch from the sidelines.

After washing, select some small pieces of coal and mix them with clay to make coal cakes.

Zhang Erya and Zhang Jinhe were getting more and more confused the more they looked at it.

Naturally, this couldn't be burned at home, so three braziers were brought out and burned outside.

Burning it directly without washing it produces a lot of smoke and a strong, pungent odor.

These don't work well outside; the ones that have been washed are much better.

It felt good to be outside.

"Hmm, this doesn't seem to produce much smoke, and it's not pungent either," Zhang Jinhe said, looking at the brazier.

“This is the one the young master washed before,” Zhang Erya also remembered.

"Hmm, Second Aunt, find two empty rooms, put the braziers in them, and see how it goes."

Unwashed clay is completely unusable; the clay placed in the room has been washed. Xiao Ran wanted to see the difference between burning it directly and adding clay.

We'll definitely need to use coal to heat the kang (a traditional heated bed) in the future.

This is much more durable than charcoal.

What was before was theory; now Xiao Ran wants to put it into practice.

Adding clay does make it more durable, and it also burns more vigorously.

However, its heat resistance did not double, but increased by about 40%.

And the flavor was a bit weak.

In this era, there was absolutely no need to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning in wooden houses and thatched huts.

"It's usable!" Xiao Ran finally came to this conclusion.

"There's a mine!" Xiao Ran exclaimed, a little excited.

Zhang Jinhe and Zhang Erya were filled with admiration.

Xiao Ran actually had a way to process the coal and use it.

This is something I never dared to imagine before.

When Zhang Jinhe returned home in the evening, he saw Zhang Mingde still sitting outside.

He was just wearing a lot of clothes.

"Grandpa, it's cold outside, don't sit outside." Zhang Jinhe helped Zhang Mingde up.

"It's better to be lively!" Zhang Mingde liked the atmosphere by the pond.

“Grandpa, do you still remember the coalfield that the young master owned?” Zhang Jinhe asked, bringing up the matter.

"I remember, that piece of land was useless! I don't know why they wanted it, and they weren't willing to exchange it." Zhang Mingde didn't understand; that kind of land couldn't be sold.

"The young master took care of it today, and the coal can be burned."

Zhang Mingde was startled, "It can be burned?"

Zhang Jinhe explained the situation, and Zhang Mingde wasn't too surprised.

Xiao Ran has a lot of bizarre things going on.

This felt unexpected, yet also perfectly reasonable.

It's abnormal for others to act this way, but it's normal for Xiao Ran.

"That makes sense. So you knew how to use it." Zhang Mingde smiled. "You really know a lot. I thought it was useless, but it turns out it's all about money!"

“There’s a lot of coal over there, I wonder how much it’s worth.” Zhang Jinhe wasn’t envious; others couldn’t earn that kind of money.

But I'm envious.

The money from selling coal in the future is immeasurable.

(End of this chapter)