Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1232 Epilogue : Asking the Princess for Permission to Drink Flower Wine

The princess continued to stay in Chuigong Hall and chat with the empress dowager, while Xie Yan left early and ran to find the chemists.

The place where the experiment was conducted was in the Food Bureau.

That is the kitchen of the East Palace.

After the young emperor ascended the throne, he no longer lived in the East Palace, and it was impossible for the crown prince to move in again in the short term. The Food Bureau was also closed down and the kitchen of the East Palace became vacant.

Xie Yan bowed to the chemists and assistants and asked, "How is the experiment going?"

Shi Huai handed over the experimental records and asked Xie Yan to read them slowly.

They used two different experimental methods: fumigation in a steamer and baking in an oven.

Really experiment with the steamer and the stove!
Since no rubber vulcanization accelerator is used, the vulcanization time will be longer.

"This is the rubber that was baked and vulcanized and then pressed into shape, and this is the rubber that was pressed into shape without being vulcanized," Zhu Shirong handed over two rubber strips, "You can stretch them and try."

Xie Yan first picked up the unvulcanized rubber strip. The surface was still a little warm, probably because it had just been heated and softened.

Otherwise, with the current temperature in Luoyang, this thing would definitely be hard and brittle.

Xie Yan grabbed both ends of the rubber strip with both hands and slowly stretched it. Just like pulling noodles at Haidilao, the rubber strip became longer and longer as he pulled it, and its elasticity was so small that it could be ignored.

Zhu Shirong said: "After cooling completely, the elasticity will increase slightly, but it is very easy to break during the pulling process."

Xie Yan picked up the vulcanized rubber strip again, which already had a bit of a rubber band feel to it. Very elastic!
But as I was pulling it, it broke with a snap.

Xie Yan picked up a magnifying glass and carefully observed the vulcanized rubber strip. There were many bubbles and sponge-like structures.

"Are you trying to get data on different vulcanization times from the experiment you are currently conducting?" Xie Yan asked.

Zhu Shirong said: "That's right. There is also the vulcanization effect of sulfur and rubber at different temperatures and different ratios."

Xie Yan turned to the palace servant sent by Empress Dowager Ye to do odd jobs and said, "Bring an animal here, either a donkey, mule or draft horse will do. Also, clean the millstone in the courtyard of the food bureau carefully."

Lu Churen asked curiously, "Master Xie wants to crush rubber?"

Xie Yan pointed to the broken vulcanized rubber strip and said: "There are a lot of bubbles and cotton-like lumps, which should be easily handled by rolling."

Soon, the palace servants brought a horse to pull a cart, cleaned the stone mill in the Food Bureau, wiped it repeatedly, and used a heated kang to dry the remaining moisture on the surface of the stone mill.

Xie Yan took out a piece of unvulcanized rubber, heated it slightly to soften it.

It is necessary to heat it because the temperature is too low and the rubber has become hard and brittle.

He carefully picked out various impurities from the rubber and threw it on the stone mill to crush it repeatedly. After five or six times of continuous crushing, the bubbles and sponge-like structures in the rubber were indeed rapidly reduced, visibly to the naked eye.

Moreover, judging from the traces on the surface of the stone mill, excess water in the rubber was also ground out - this can prevent the finished rubber product from mold, make the rubber easier to shape, and improve the physical and mechanical properties of the rubber.

"Keep grinding." Xie Yan commanded.

The other four chemists were all attracted by Xie Yan's actions.

Previously, they only thought about vulcanizing the rubber and had never considered repeatedly rolling the rubber.

After the first two times of rolling, everyone thought it was a failure because the rubber was crushed into pieces.

Xie Yan kneaded the rubber pieces together again and rolled them over again. As the number of times they were rolled increased, they not only combined together again, but also became more and more beautiful in appearance.

After that, every time he rolled the wood, Xie Yan would cut a piece and observe the cross-section with a magnifying glass.

He ordered the crushing to stop only when the bubbles and spongy lumps completely disappeared.

The piece he had just cut off was also put into the mold and pressed into a rubber strip: "Use this rubber for vulcanization."

The crowd then used a furnace to vulcanize it.

After a while, the finished vulcanized product appears smoother and more beautiful.

"Let me try."

Zhu Shirong picked up and stretched the rubber without waiting for it to cool completely.

This time it became super elastic and didn't break even after being stretched for a long time. Moreover, after I stopped applying force, the rubber strip recovered with only minimal deformation.

Zeng Heng was full of praise: "Master Xie is truly amazing!"

Shi Huai also half sighed and half flattered, saying: "No wonder Master Xie can come up with so many inventions. This is because his ideas are unique and different from ordinary people. We all only think about vulcanization, but Master Xie thinks that we should crush it first."

"It was just luck." Xie Yan said modestly.

In fact, he was not modest at all, and he was still complaining: "Bullshit, there are so many bubbles and cotton-like lumps visible to the naked eye, there is no way this rubber can be put into practical use. The bubbles and lumps must be removed first!"
If Xie Yan did not take action, the other four chemists would probably realize this problem in the next two days.

It's not that they are slow to react, but that they have never seen practical rubber.

But Xie Yan has seen it!
Zhu Shirong said: "There is not enough rubber left."

Lu Churen concluded: "At least we have come to three conclusions now: first, rubber must be rolled repeatedly before vulcanization; second, it can be vulcanized by fumigation; and third, it can be vulcanized by baking." Zeng Xing said: "Based on these three conclusions, we need to rearrange. First, study the principle and function of rolling rubber and explore the properties of unvulcanized rubber; second, make professional experimental equipment for rubber vulcanization; third, determine the constant weight of rubber after rolling and the vulcanization effect under different methods, different ratios, and different temperatures. I think the experiment can be suspended until the professional vulcanization experimental equipment is completed. After all, rubber is limited and cannot be wasted."

"I second the motion." Shi Huai said.

"I also support suspending the experiment and waiting for the professional equipment to be made," Xie Yan said. "Researching rubber vulcanization is not a matter of one day or one night, but it will take several years. The main problem is the shortage of rubber."

Zhu Shirong said: "We should ask the Queen Mother to allow the fleet to bring more goods back to the country from America."

Everyone discussed again about more professional vulcanizing equipment, brainstormed to change the design drawings, and then asked the assistants to take them to the Ministry of Industry for resolution.

The experiment is suspended and there is nothing to do.

Shi Huai said, "We have made a major breakthrough today, and the next direction has been basically determined. Why don't we go have a couple of drinks to celebrate?"

"Cunde (Lu Churen) has come all the way from Nanjing, let's take him to Lanruoyuan to play." Zeng Heng said with a smile.

Zhu Shirong was also very positive about this, and Lu Churen agreed reluctantly.

Xie Yan made no secret of the fact that he was henpecked, and said, "I must ask the princess for instructions."

"Go, go!"

"We will go and report together."

The four of them laughed and accompanied Xie Yan back to Chuigong Hall.

Shi Huai was the oldest and had the most experience. He came forward to report to Empress Dowager Ye: "Your Majesty, the direction of the rubber vulcanization experiment has been basically determined. However, since there is too little rubber, we dare not waste it. We must wait for more professional experimental equipment to be made. Therefore, the experiment will be suspended for a few days."

"Are there any signs of progress so soon?" Empress Dowager Ye was quite surprised.

Shi Huai took the opportunity to flatter him: "Thanks to Prince Consort Xie. We were busy with the vulcanization experiment, and Prince Consort Xie came over to take a look, then asked the palace servants to bring animals and use rollers to repeatedly crush the rubber."

When Zhu Tangxi heard that her husband had made another contribution, she was proud and asked hurriedly, "What do you need the millstone for?"

In order to go to the legendary Lanruoyuan to have a look, Xie Yan took the opportunity to provide emotional value: "I saw bubbles and lumps in the rubber, and I remembered that I tried to make princess candy for my wife yesterday. The original princess candy also had bubbles and lumps, and the taste was rough and not beautiful, so I stirred it repeatedly and then filtered it. But the rubber can't be done this way, so I tried to crush it instead."

Zhu Shirong didn't know what princess candy was, but he could tell that the prince consort was trying to please the princess, so he immediately volunteered to help: "The princess and the prince consort have a deep love for each other, which is really the envy of others. Moreover, the prince consort made candy for the princess and was able to apply it to rubber vulcanization. This will be another good story in academia and among the people!"

Lu Churen followed up by saying, "To celebrate the progress of the experiment, we wanted to go to Lanruo Courtyard for a drink. But the prince consort said that we must ask the princess for permission before going to Qinlou and Chuguan. The prince consort respects his wife so much that it really makes us ashamed!"

Shi Huai and Zeng Heng also spoke.

Xie Yan felt emotional: They are all good brothers, I have made friends with them all!
Empress Dowager Ye glanced at these scumbags and smiled without saying a word.

Zhu Tangxi had already been put on the spot, and she had no choice but to agree. Otherwise, if the news got out, people would laugh at her husband for being henpecked, and people would talk about the princess being jealous.

Fortunately, the emotional value has been given enough, and Zhu Tangxi was in a good mood after being talked about by everyone. He reminded: "Since several scholars have invited you, Liu Lang should not refuse. Don't drink too much, it's not good for your health."

"I'll come back early in the evening to accompany my sister." Xie Yan continued.

The word "sister" made Zhu Tangxi feel shy and happy. She suppressed her smile and said in a reproachful tone, "Don't shout outside!"

The four chemistry brothers, noticing that the princess seemed angry but was actually happy, immediately burst into laughter and continued to cooperate with her.

Xie Yan sighed: "You guys do this kind of thing often, right? You're so skilled at it."

Zhu Tangxi could hardly suppress her smile and could only glare at Xie Yan to hide it.

After the five big pigs left, Zhu Tangxi sighed and said, "Men are all the same. They always like to deceive women."

Queen Mother Ye smiled and said, "I thought you didn't know you were deceived."

Zhu Tangxi said: "I'm not stupid."

The attendant did not look away and did not record the chemists' drinking. He just felt a little itchy in his heart, and he had always wanted to go to Lanruoyuan, but unfortunately the cost was too high and he could not afford it.

Xie Yan happily followed his four brothers out of the imperial city, feeling quite excited.

He simply wanted to see the high-end clubs of ancient times, and didn't have too many other thoughts - there were a bunch of enchanting maids in the house, and it was obvious that they all wanted to seduce him, and Xie Yan really didn't plan to stay overnight outside.

He has no shortage of women.

"It's only the afternoon. Is Lanruoyuan open for business?" Xie Yan suddenly realized a problem.

Shi Huai smiled and said, "You can go in the morning."

Xie Yan asked, "Is President Shi a frequent visitor to Lanruoyuan?"

Shi Huai waved his hand and said, "I don't have the money to go there often. I only go three or five times a year at most, and they are always paid for by others."

Zhu Shirong smiled and said, "There are two or three courtesans there, and you can't meet them just by paying. But Brother Chaozong is different. You are a seventeen-year-old scholar of Furong, and you are also a famous prince consort. I'm afraid the courtesans will rush to receive you even if you don't ask for money."

"Haha, it seems we can all benefit from Master Xie's help." Lu Churen laughed heartily.

Xie Yan complained in his heart: Damn, you all were more serious than the other when doing the experiments. I didn’t expect you were all this kind of people.

(End of this chapter)