fake gentry

"Brother, I'm tired."

Once the lard has melted and cooled to room temperature, you can add alkaline water and salt while stirring constantly.

"stir."

"Keep stirring."

That pot of oil was so big that no one but Liu Chong could stir it.

As the oil turned cloudy, Ah Heng grew bored and was about to speak when the color in the pot began to change.

The pale yellow oil turned milky white and gradually became viscous.

Liu Chong drew circles on the bottom of the cauldron with the bamboo stick in his hand, one circle after another.

The mixture in the pot became thicker and stickier, until finally Liu Chong could no longer stir it.

"Brother, I'm out of strength."

Xie Hong laughed heartily: "Alright, Li, put it in the bamboo tube."

Li quickly took a step forward. A-Ling also took a step forward, while A-Heng stared intently at the pot, then reached out and carefully touched the surface of the soap paste, as if touching a freshly peeled cooked chicken.

"Is this the soap you mentioned, sir?"

"Yes." Xie Hong instructed Li Shi, "Put it in a cool place after packing. Open it after three days, then take the silk thread, cut it into pieces, and let it sit in the shade for another month."

Suddenly a voice asked, "What is the use of this?"

Xie Hong was about to speak, but suddenly realized something was wrong; none of the refugees dared to speak to him like that.

He turned his head and saw that there was an extra person among the laborers gathered around the large cauldron.

The other person was not tall but had an extraordinary bearing. He looked to be in his forties, with a thin face, high brow bones, and extremely bright eyes. He was clearly not from a humble background.

He wore a faded soap-edged robe and leaned on a bamboo cane, his eyes fixed on the soap paste in the large cauldron.

Chen San stared at the other person in astonishment, a hint of wariness creeping into his eyes.

He didn't even realize when this person had infiltrated the ranks of the homeless laborers.

Xie Hong bowed slightly to the other party and asked, "Who are you?"

The other person raised his head, scrutinized Xie Hong for a moment, and then bowed respectfully to Xie Hong, saying, "Ge Hong of Danyang."

The other person's voice was not loud, and it carried the unique pronunciation habits of a southern scholar speaking the elegant dialect of Luoyang, but Xie Hong almost lost his balance for a moment.

"Who are you?"

A hint of surprise flashed in the other person's eyes, and they said again, "The Ge family of Danyang, Ge Hong and Ge Zhichuan."

Xie Hong felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

Ge Hong?

Baopuzi?

Ge Xianweng?

Xie Hong stumbled: "Brother Liu, quickly help me up."

Liu Chong reacted quickly and caught him.

For a fleeting moment, Xie Hong felt as if he had encountered a deity.

Standing before him was—the father of Chinese chemistry, an absolute pioneer of medicine, and the master of Taoist theory.

He wrote China's first clinical emergency manual and was the first person in the world to record in detail the symptoms of smallpox, scrub typhus, and rabies, more than a thousand years earlier than in the West.

He also invented artificial respiration and vomiting-inducing methods, and proposed an immunization method of treating rabies by applying rabid dog brain marrow to wounds.

Most importantly, he invented the method of treating malaria with artemisia annua.

It was on this basis that Tu Youyou discovered artemisinin, and for which she won the Nobel Prize.

That was the only Nobel Prize in science awarded to the People's Republic of China.

This great master was the most outstanding alchemist and physician of the Jin Dynasty. His book "Baopuzi" is a comprehensive collection of alchemy knowledge, and "Zhouhou Beiji Fang" is an important classic in the history of Chinese medicine.

According to historical records, in the first year of Yongchang, he had not yet gone south to Guangzhou, nor had he gone into seclusion on Mount Luofu. This period was when he was traveling around Jiangnan, searching for materials for alchemy.

Chen San was also surprised to hear Ge Hong's name, but his reaction was nowhere near as strong as Xie Hong's.

Xie Hong took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and then solemnly straightened his clothes before bowing twice to Ge Hong: "Xie Hong of Chen Commandery pays respects to Marquis Ge."

Xie Hongxing performed the most solemn double bow when gentry met, which was different from the shallow bow. The person performing the bow had to bow twice in succession.

Ge Hong turned slightly to the side, probably not expecting anyone to show him such respect.

"Is the young man a member of the Xie family?"

"Xie Hong and Xie Fengzhi."

Ge Hong raised his eyebrows for a moment, then simply nodded without asking further questions: "You may call me Ge Zhichuan, but I dare not accept such a title."

Ge Hong held the title of Marquis of the Inner Court, so calling him Marquis Ge is perfectly appropriate.

Xie Hong looked at Ge Hong like a little fanboy: "Then I will call you Mr. Ge Hou Zhichuan, and you can call me Fengzhi."

Ge Hong felt a little strange. The name of the Xie family of Chenjun seemed to him the same as any ordinary surname; he didn't care about social status.

But how come I didn't know the Xie family had a Xie Fengzhi? And isn't he being a little too respectful to himself?

Could this young man also be interested in alchemy?

His gaze fell once again on the pot of saponified oil; this was clearly an extremely sophisticated alchemy technique.

Currently, alchemy is extremely popular, and the gentry are consuming pills and cultivating immortality; it has become a widespread trend.

However, Xie Fengzhi's demeanor and Rong Zhi's appearance were quite remarkable, and she didn't seem like someone obsessed with taking pills and refining elixirs.

Before he could speak, Xie Hong added, "Mr. Zhichuan, what brings you here?"

A glint appeared in Ge Hong's eyes: "I built a hut on Mount Lu to refine saltpeter."

Xie Hong's brain was struck by lightning again.

Saltpeter?

Xie Hong, you're as stupid as a pig!

According to relevant historical records and accounts, the northern Jiangxi region, where Mount Lu is located, was one of the important ancient saltpeter producing areas.

Saltpeter is not only an important raw material for alchemy, but it can also be used to... make ice.

Could the aristocratic families of the Jin Dynasty afford ice?

It's perfectly affordable.

But things didn't work out by the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

It's not that we can't afford it, but the winters in Jiangzuo are not as cold as in the north, so there isn't much usable ice, and even less that can be stored.

The story in "A New Account of Tales of the World" tells of Liu Tan visiting Wang Dao, only to find Wang Dao exposing his chest and abdomen, pressing his entire belly against the cold stone chessboard, exclaiming "He Nai Shen!" meaning "It's so damn cool!"

The patriarch of the Langya Wang clan, who shared power with the Ma family, could only cool down by pressing his bare belly against stones in the summer.

Yes!

Local history and literature in Jiujiang record that Ge Hong once practiced alchemy on Mount Lu and built the Baopu Lodge and the Dantai Terrace.

Does that mean I can be Ge Hong's neighbor?

Xie Hong was genuinely excited and stepped forward to take Ge Hong's hand: "Mr. Zhichuan, if you don't mind, please sit down and rest. I will do my best to be a good host."

Ge Hong was taken aback again. This was the first time he had heard the concept of "host's hospitality," which seemed to originate from the Zuo Zhuan.

Without any formalities, he walked into the cave side by side with Xie Hong.

Liu Chong muttered to Chen San in a low voice, dissatisfied, "Is Ge Zhichuan some kind of famous scholar? Why... Brother Xie, why are you like this?"

Chen San shook his head and didn't say anything.

He didn't understand either.

Xie Hong led Ge Hong to sit down, and then hurriedly instructed A Ling to boil water and prepare tea.

The water was taken from the upstream stream, and the tea was specially bought for Xie Hong by Dong Xuan a few days ago by someone he sent to Chaisang County.

Although it wasn't top-quality tea, it was still much better than the tea porridge Xie Hong drank at Dongshi Wubao.

Ge Hong watched Xie Hong brew tea and noticed that he only used boiling water to brew the tea leaves without adding ginger or cinnamon. He picked up the cup and took a sip. The tea was plain yet had a refined elegance, which made his eyes light up.

He immediately asked, "Fengzhi, please tell me, what is the purpose of the contents of the cauldron?"

"I call that stuff soap. It has a cleaning effect and can be used to cleanse the body, face, and clothes."

"Could you elaborate, Fengzhi?"

Xie Hong didn't hide anything and described the soap-making process in detail. He believed that Ge Hong couldn't possibly have stolen his patent, but he would probably have recorded it in his book "Baopuzi".

In that era, soap could not be mass-produced and popularized because lard was scarce and cheap. Even poor people might not be able to afford it during the New Year, so how could it be used to make soap?

After listening to Xie Hong's words, Ge Hong lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

He remained silent for a long while, then slowly raised his head to look at Xie Hong and asked, "Feng Zhi, are you proficient in alchemy?"

Xie Hong was stunned. He thought of the modern chemical knowledge he had acquired. If he could enlighten Ge Xianweng, he could definitely brag about it for a lifetime.

He smiled at Ge Hong and said, "Mr. Zhichuan, I only have a superficial understanding of alchemy."

Ge Hong's eyes shone with an almost frightening intensity: "As expected, your soap-making technique is extraordinary; it is an extremely sophisticated alchemy technique."

Xie Hong...

Ge Xianweng praised me.