Crossing the Unknown Country

Su He washed the ink at home, removed the coarse particles that sank to the bottom, and left the fine powder. He repeated this process twice before getting the precipitated plaster out and spreading it out to dry. Because there was not much mud this time, Su He kept watching by the side, scraping it with a knife from time to time, and it finally dried.

While Su He's father was waiting to bring back the hammer and glue, Su He's work was almost done. She spread the dried powder with a knife and then added glue. As for the musk, borneol, pearl powder, saffron, bear bile, rock sugar, donkey-hide gelatin and other medicinal materials that should be added to the ink, she could not afford to add any of them. The ink used at home did not need to be insect-proof and moth-proof. When she had a chance to find some animal bile and pepper water in the future, she could add some.

Su He asked her father to help hammer the ink. After hammering it for a few hundred times, when it felt hard enough, she put it in a pot to steam it to soften it. Then she hammered the ink again. After it hardened, she steamed it again. This was repeated three or four times. When the hammered ink was shiny and soft, it could be made into a blank. Su He asked her eldest brother to make a rectangular wooden groove with wood, put the blank in it, and then hammer it down. Later, he found something to pad it and continued hammering until it felt solid.

Su He knocked out the ink block, and a small rectangular black ink block was made, but it was still a little soft. She put it on the windowsill in the room, covered it with paper, and prepared to dry it in the shade. It would probably dry in a few days, and then she could try the effect.

Su He was not in a hurry. It was just an experiment anyway. She was not sure. If it didn't work, she could just try again next time. She would succeed eventually. She could prepare a mortar for pounding medicine next time. This was very important. She could do some simple grinding by herself. She didn't have any grinding tools this time, so she just used a knife to grind it. People lived a rough life at that time. They already had these things. She had seen them in the pharmacy. The one that could pound medicine was of course the garlic mortar of later generations. She casually talked to her parents about it. Her father said, "How difficult is that? Tell the stonemason tomorrow and ask him to make one for us. We can just buy it. I've already told the stonemason about the small stone mill. He will make it in the next few days."

Su He was very happy in her heart. This was because as long as her parents said something, they would remember it. Everything was not a problem in this family, and they supported her unconditionally.

Su He's father was going to fetch water, but he left early today and didn't have time to fetch water for the family. Because it was far from the village well, he didn't let Su Feng go. The child was small and two buckets of water were too heavy, and the child wouldn't grow taller. Su He's father went back and forth several times, and the water in the jar was full. He was already tired and sweating.

Seeing her father so tired, Su He said, "Dad, let's dig a well ourselves! This way you and uncle won't have to fetch water, and neither will your brothers. We also need a lot of water to make tofu, and this will be too tiring for you."

His father smiled bitterly and said, "It costs fifty taels of silver to dig a well, which is enough to buy a house. If we dig a well, there won't be much money left in the family."

Su He made up his mind and encouraged his father: "Now that the well is dug, we will start making tofu. Once the business starts, the money will come. In business, you have to give up something to gain something."

His father listened to the child and thought it was right, but her mother said indifferently: "Listen to the child! This way you will be less tired, otherwise carrying water every day is hard work. The money is earned by the child. If she says to dig a well, then dig a well!"

The two elder brothers also agreed: "We copy books together to make money. Now that we have copied more books and our hands are faster, we can earn back the money quickly."

"Besides, I can collect herbs and sell them for money. If I come across something good again, I'll have money again."

"Sister is so lucky, wait for our good luck!"

When his father listened to the children talking at once, he no longer felt bad. Money is earned to be spent, and besides, the children wanted to dig the well only because they felt sorry for him.

The next day, he went to the town to find well diggers. This was a big project, and the well diggers made a lot of money, and they all lived in the town. They were all from the same family, so they could be found directly in the town. He negotiated a price with them, because the current year was not good, and there were fewer villages and families digging wells. Su He's father thought that the lower the price, the better, so he bargained with them and reduced it to forty-five taels of silver. "Su He's father was so happy that he made an appointment to start tomorrow.

The next morning, a group of five people arrived, including two old men, two middle-aged men, and a teenager of about sixteen or seventeen. One of the old men should be the leader, and he discussed with Su He's father where to dig the well. Su He's father asked him to dig the well near the wall between the two houses. If it didn't work, he could dig the well in the yard. If that didn't work, he could only look for a place outside the yard. This was what Su He's family had discussed yesterday, because Su He mentioned that he wanted to dig a secret room with a hole in the well wall. This secret room can have two entrances, one in the kitchen and one in the well. The kitchen was here when it was built. If it is for the safety of the uncle and his family, they can also dig an entrance from their place.