Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

Ceramics is a significant part of ancient my country, appearing as early as the Qin and Han dynasties. During the Tang dynasty, tricolor pottery and white porcelain emerged, marking the beginning of porcelain development. It reached its peak during the Song dynasty, and blue and white porcelain in the Yuan and Ming dynasties reached its zenith.

Although the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty took a somewhat skewed turn, it still produced some advanced handicrafts, such as ceramics.

Within the main city, most daily necessities are self-sufficient. A ceramic workshop was built a hundred years ago and has since been renovated several times, making it quite large.

"Can I borrow my husband for a few days?" Lin Ping asked impatiently, rubbing his hands together. By "borrowing," he meant not only borrowing the place, but also manpower and resources.

Jiang Yunying nodded, but still muttered to herself in doubt, "My husband also knows how to make ceramics?"

After spending time together, Jiang Yunying has discovered many of Lin Ping's strengths and finds it hard to believe that one person can possess so many skills at the same time.

Now, Lin Ping has once again made a surprising statement, which suggests that he also has a deep understanding of porcelain making.

Lin Ping didn't explain further and dashed off towards the porcelain workshop.

Jiang Yunying was busy with military affairs and had no time to pay attention to Lin Ping, but her heart was filled with anticipation.

Time and again, facts have proven that whatever Lin Ping decides to do, he not only does it brilliantly, but often in a way that catches people off guard.

For example, at Zhang Hongyuan's engagement banquet, Lin Ping not only helped the city lord's mansion get out of the crisis, but also beat up the enemy, even robbed the city lord of the mountain city, and paid off Jin Manlou's debt, which can be described as killing multiple birds with one stone.

For example, this time, Lin Ping not only solved the salt problem for the common people and private soldiers, but also forced the four major salt merchants to go bankrupt, and even took the position of president of the Chamber of Commerce, thus relieving the city lord of a major worry.

At the very least, under Lin Ping's leadership, Jiangcheng Prefecture's economy will show a positive development trend, and the city lord will no longer have to worry about these unscrupulous merchants causing trouble again.

Therefore, Jiang Yunying was full of anticipation for every decision Lin Ping made. If she hadn't been tied up with other commitments, she would have stayed by his side to witness the miracle.

Just as Jiang Yunying said, the ceramics workshop was right next to the weapons workshop, covering an area of ​​several dozen acres. It was surrounded by a fence, with a gate in the middle guarded by two gatekeepers.

Li Mingxuan was very clever; he immediately revealed Lin Ping's identity to the doorman.

The two gatekeepers, of course, had heard of this renowned name, and hurriedly and respectfully kowtowed, loudly announcing his name.

"Is he going to favor the ceramics workshop?" Several craftsmen came out to greet him with fawning smiles, all hoping that Lin Ping would personally provide guidance.

Today, Lin Ping's name is widely known throughout the main city. For example, he can refine salt from soapberry and make stirrups from scrap copper and iron, which greatly improves the combat effectiveness of cavalry. In short, Lin Ping has become a mythical figure. Wherever he goes, there will be a fundamental leap forward.

The craftsmen couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild: "Could it be that the Prince Consort can fire jade cups and bowls out of clay?"

Even though porcelain is precious, it is still not as good as jade. If Lin Ping can really fire jade out of clay, it will definitely be a revolutionary technology. It will be hard not to make a lot of money then.

Lin Ping glanced around and found that there were more than ten craftsmen in the entire ceramic workshop, plus the laborers, making nearly fifty people, which could barely meet his needs.

In addition, the two steamed bun kilns in the ceramic workshop caught Lin Ping's attention.

This type of kiln differs considerably from the earliest horizontal and vertical kilns and the dragon kilns built against mountains. The elliptical structure at the top allows the flames inside the kiln to be reused, saving energy, increasing temperature, and increasing production.

Lin Ping expressed satisfaction with this, as it saved him the time of rebuilding the steamed bun kiln.

Currently, the two kilns are not in operation at the same time, and most of the workers are idle. This is not a matter of work attitude, but rather because the main city does not need much porcelain.

Several years ago, the porcelain produced in the main city could be exported. Now, however, some merchants have surpassed it in terms of technology, resulting in low profits and a significant drop in sales. Over time, the porcelain produced by the ceramic workshop is now only used internally.

These workers are not artisans, but legitimate military households of the city lord, with a heart set on strengthening the city lord, but unfortunately their abilities are limited and they cannot improve production technology.

Therefore, Lin Ping's appearance rekindled everyone's hope.

"I, Lin Ping, am temporarily borrowing this ceramics workshop for a few days. I hope you masters will support me," Lin Ping said respectfully, without the slightest hint of arrogance.

This, on the contrary, made everyone uncomfortable. What happened to the spendthrift son they were promised?

Where did the playboy go? Why is he so humble now?

Humility is a good thing, and after a moment of doubt, everyone quickly nodded in agreement. In an instant, the junior workers were ready to put in their labor, and the senior workers were ready to help and learn at the same time.

So the question is, what exactly is Lin Ping thinking? Is there any necessary connection between the ceramics workshop and barbells?

The answer is definitely yes, otherwise Lin Ping wouldn't have taken over the ceramics workshop in such a grand manner.

To speed up the training of his private army, Lin Ping wanted to make thousands of barbells. Relying on grinding from boulders was obviously not a reliable method, so he decided to use concrete for the process.

Barbells made in this way are not only sturdy and durable, but their shape and weight can also be controlled, just like modern sheet metal.

Of course, Lin Ping could also make barbells directly from iron sheets, but the city lord probably doesn't have that much iron.

After all, in this era of cold weapons, most iron and stone were used to make weapons, armor, and so on, so there was no one left to make barbells for him.

When talking about concrete, we must mention cement. Although cement was not used on a large scale in ancient my country, we had already developed methods for refining it, and the method for burning lime, an important raw material for cement, was already widespread.

The Ming Dynasty poet Yu Qian once wrote a poem called "Ode to Limestone": "Carved and hammered from the deep mountains, it faces the raging fire with indifference. Even if its bones are crushed and its body shattered, it fears not, for it wishes to leave its purity in the world."

This not only expresses the poet's admirable spirit of daring to avoid countless difficulties and dangers and being willing to sacrifice himself to maintain his loyal and pure character, but also demonstrates that the lime-burning technology was already mature.

Therefore, Lin Ping was simply using the wisdom of the ancients.

"Please prepare some lime, clay, and plaster," Lin Ping said pleadingly.

As a ceramics workshop, it already had a large stockpile of clay. As for the limestone and gypsum used to make lime, they were the most common materials, costing no money at all.

"How much does the Prince Consort want?" the crowd asked.

They neither understood Lin Ping's purpose for needing these materials nor the required quantity.

"The more the better!" Lin Ping replied. He didn't think that dozens of people could prepare enough materials in an afternoon, so the more the better.

Since Lin Ping had made the request, the laborers naturally did their best to fulfill it, pulling a wooden cart in pairs towards the hilltop not far away.