Riding the wind of rebirth

"Although sumac is amazing, we have an even more amazing tree here - ash."

“Hey? Ash wood has many uses. First of all, it grows very straight, making it a good material for sticks and scales. Back in the day, the White-Spear Soldiers under Chieftain Qin Liangyu used long spears with shafts made of ash wood. Old Yang, you should be familiar with this stuff, right?” Zhou Zhi asked Yang Honghui.

"I've been collecting ash trees for so many years, but I've never even seen what a tree looks like," Yang Honghui said, feeling ashamed of his ignorance.

"The kind you're playing with is artificially cultivated. The trunk is cut off when it grows to about four meters and left to dry, and then it's made into ash wood."

"I've hauled some treasures this time," Yang Honghui said proudly. "The ash trees that Grandpa Chi Ri gave me all come from old trees on the edge of cliffs. They've grown for many years but never get thick. They're hard and springy!"

"And there's also oak wood for the knife handles." Liang Hong laughed, "You're not being fair, Zhouzi. There are so many good things in Lianhe Township, and you didn't even think to bring some back for Lao Yang."

"Who would have known that you martial arts practitioners would consider those things treasures!" Zhou Zhi said, both amused and exasperated. "In my eyes, those things are just useless firewood. If I had known, I would have stopped Grandpa Chi Ri first, and then extorted a high price from Old Yang."

"You can be a good person, though," Liang Hong rolled her eyes at Zhou Zhi.

"Actually, he's still a good person," Feng Xueshan said with a smile. "If he had discovered the Southern Red and kept it hidden, we would have been really annoyed."

Each type of Southern Red Agate has its own merits, among which the delicate and translucent cherry red is especially popular with girls. Especially when carved into cute sculptures, few girls can resist it. Because of him, many of Zhouzhi's friends have collected quite a few, especially Feng Xueshan, who has a whole drawer full of them and often takes them out to display as an animal world on her desk.

Upon hearing Feng Xueshan's words, all the girls nodded in agreement, indicating that this alone was enough to forgive Zhou Zhi's mischievousness.

"Stop joking," Yang Honghui laughed. "You say this tree is an economical species just because it can be used to make gun barrels, clubs, and hoes, right? It doesn't sell for much money, does it?"

Zhou Zhi explained, "You'll see in a little while that this tree is called 'white wax' because people can raise a kind of insect on the tree. This insect releases a waxy substance that is thick enough to completely cover the branches."

“In the spring, the villagers put insects on the ash trees, and in the autumn they can collect the wax flowers on the branches.”

"The melting point of white wax is over 80 degrees Celsius, which is lower than the temperature of boiling water. Therefore, it can be melted and purified by boiling water to obtain snow-white and crystal clear insect white wax, which has better performance than beeswax."

"The best quality wax obtained from the first processing is as white and translucent as the heart of steamed glutinous rice, hence the name 'rice heart wax'. The second-grade wax is white with a yellowish tinge, like horse teeth, and is called 'horse tooth wax'."

"So, before the advent of the petroleum industry, were candles obtained in this way by our ancestors?" Yang He asked.

“Yes,” Zhou Zhi replied, “Back then there were only two kinds of wax: beeswax and insect wax. Beeswax was available everywhere, while insect wax was only produced in Sichuan and Yunnan. So in China, insect wax was also called ‘Sichuan wax,’ and the snow-white candles made from it were the most precious kind throughout history.”

"And there's even less white wax outside of China. Even if there is, it's obtained by bleaching beeswax. As for the naturally white insect wax, they simply call it 'Chinese wax.'" "That stuff must have been quite expensive in ancient times."

“That’s natural,” Zhou Zhi said. “Even now, the price of insect wax is quite high, so collecting insect wax and boiling it into rice wax and horse tooth wax was a major source of income for the villagers in the past.”

"Huh? Aren't there already plenty of paraffin wax available for making candles? Why is this insect wax still valuable?"

“Because the main use of beeswax is no longer for making candles,” Zhou Zhi said with a smile. “Beeswax has been a good traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times. Medical texts say it is sweet and warm in nature. The sweetness can nourish the blood and replenish the middle jiao, while the warmth can unblock the meridians and activate the collaterals. Therefore, it has the effects of relieving pain, promoting tissue regeneration, and replenishing deficiencies. When used externally, it is a holy medicine for surgery and can treat various wounds, including stubborn ulcers. When used internally, it cools the blood and nourishes the kidneys and can treat kidney disease.”

"Now, the main use of beeswax has been transformed into the production of high-end cosmetics, pharmaceutical pastes, waxed paper, polishing agents, and so on."

"Hey? Is it this one over there?" Yang Honghui reached up and plucked a branch from the tree above his head. "Look, the small fruits on this tree have a layer of white, slimy stuff on them."

“No, that’s not it.” Azi laughed. “This is a tallow tree. The fruit of the tallow tree also has a layer of white wax on the surface, but the yield is too low. It’s okay to use it at home for lighting, but if you want to sell it for money… there used to be people who directly bought tallow tree seeds. We could use it to exchange for soap.”

"After those people are replaced, can they be used to make candles?" Yang asked.

"No, that's not it. They use this tree seed to extract oil, which is called 'wood seed oil,' and it has similar uses to 'tung seed oil.'"

"Oh." Yang He understood. Jiachuan produces tung seeds and castor beans. Yang He's home is not far from the river. Tung oil is an essential material for shipbuilding in Jiachuan. So he was quite familiar with it.

"Everyone, hurry up!" Zhou Zhi urged the horse team. "The Chinese tallow tree is also called the 'eight-spicy tree.' It's especially prone to producing eight-spicy seeds. If they fall on you, it's terrible. Even though it's late autumn, we still have to be careful."

The eight-spiced caterpillar is a type of caterpillar whose bristles can cause a string of painful and itchy welts to grow if they prick a person. It is not only disgusting but can also cause real harm to people, so it should not be messed with.

Feng Xueshan shuddered: "I was just saying that this big tree has a very beautiful crown and the leaves are a nice color, and I was going to let you take a couple of pictures. Hurry up and let's go!"

Everyone quickly left the area of ​​the large tallow tree and walked forward for a while. When they crossed a shallow stream, they saw about a dozen straight trees on a gentle slope beside the stream. The branches of the trees were covered with a thick layer of white substance.

"This must be an ash tree, right?" After hearing Zhou Zhi's introduction, Yang Honghui immediately recognized the trees.

“Yes, those are ash trees,” Zhou Zhi said with a smile. “Those wrapped around the branches are ash trees.”

"They look like fun," Yan Xiao suggested again. "Why don't we collect some to make candles and have a candlelight dinner tonight?" (End of Chapter)