Fang Yu immediately found a charcoal stick and began drawing the method for making pencils. Fountain pens and ballpoint pens were not feasible; the manufacturing process for pencils was much simpler. Even without fountain pens, pencils were a pretty good alternative.
After grinding the graphite into powder and thoroughly mixing it with clay and water, placed the mixture into a mold to form the lead shape and then baked it until dry. The lead core could be made this way, but the wood needed to encase it posed a problem. Later-era technology used two wooden boards glued and pressed together to encase the pencil, but the current technology could not achieve this. The glue available did not have strong enough adhesive power, and there were no machines capable of pressing and bonding the wood together.
After looking at his new drawings, Lin Xuan said: "You could choose a softer type of wood, hollow out a hole in the middle, and then insert the lead core you mentioned."
"That won't work. The lead core is easily broken. If you hollow out a hole and try to insert it, it probably won't be easy."
Lin Xuan added: "You could shorten the length of the wood, and drill a hole slightly larger than the lead core. That would make it easier to insert the lead core. Then, pour adhesive fish glue into the hole, and once it's dried and baked, it should also be fixed in place."
[Adhesive fish glue: a traditional, protein-based collagen adhesive extracted by boiling the skins, bones, and swim bladders of fish]
Fang Yu couldn't help but express admiration, he truly was a craftsman.
Lin Xuan didn't rush to let Fang Yu leave. Instead, he kept him there right away to grind graphite powder, mix it with clay to make lead cores, and have Fang Yu select the most suitable hardness.
After all that hassle, they ended up busy until the moon hung above the willow treetops. Fang Yu finally left the workshop, but he felt very pleased because they had finally determined the correct mixing ratio of graphite powder to clay and produced a lead core of suitable hardness. He believed that within a few days, the pencils could be successfully made.
Fang Yu sat in the carriage, rolled up the curtain, and looked at the lanterns and candles along the way. As the New Year approached, the city became increasingly lively, and even at this hour, it was still brightly lit: "I seem to smell roasted meat."
"The Master has a keen sense of smell. Ahead is Fangjia Lane. The Cuiwu barbecue in that lane is truly considered Yuncheng's finest delicacy."
"I actually didn't know about this shop. It truly is 'the wine's fragrance draws crowds despite the deep alley.' Even though the shop isn't on the main street, the aroma reaches here. It's been a long time since I last dined out. Uncle is truly obsessed with his craft, it's so late and he didn't prepare dinner. Perfect, I'm hungry. Let's go, let's go, try the barbecue."
Xuezhu said: "That lane is narrow and small. If the Master wishes to go, you can only enter on foot."
"What does that matter?" Fang Yu stopped the carriage and entered the lane with Xuezhu. This area was truly a residential alley, somewhat reminiscent of old residential areas from later times. The barbecue shop they were going to also had a very small storefront, very much like a 'fly restaurant'."
[Fly restaurant (苍蝇馆子, cāngying guǎnzi): a Chinese slang term for a small, unpretentious, and often cramped eatery that is beloved for its delicious, authentic, and inexpensive food]
Although the shop was small, it couldn't be helped because the taste was excellent. At this time, the small shop was full of men drinking and playing finger-guessing games, there were no seats left. Fang Yu also didn't take out his scholar's identification to seek a seat. He just waited near the owner's barbecue grill, it was warmer here next to the charcoal fire.
He heard that grilled field frogs were a unique specialty of the shop, so he ordered two, along with some other dishes, both meat and vegetables, mixed together.
Smelling the barbecue sizzling on the iron plate, emitting the aroma of the meat, the spice powder and the barbecue complementing each other, Fang Yu couldn't help but take a deep breath and rub his hands: "I wonder if the young master has eaten. I'll bring some back for him too."
"Brother Fang! What a coincidence!"
Fang Yu was just muttering about ordering some skewers for Qiao Hezhi too, so they could have a late-night snack together later. These days he had been busy, and Qiao Hezhi was also very busy at home: checking accounts, preparing gifts for the New Year festival, planning which relatives and friends to visit for the New Year and what gifts to prepare. These were all trivial yet very tedious matters. For several days, both of them had been buried in their own work in the study.
While lost in thought, he heard a greeting. The voice seemed to come from upstairs. He went out the door and looked up—a window was open on the second floor next to the barbecue shop, and a head was sticking out—it was actually Li Yun, who had eaten with him at the academy last time.
Fang Yu greeted him with a smile: "Brother Li, long time no see. I hope all is well."
"Not bad. It's still early. Why doesn't Brother Fang come up for a drink? I have some fine Suihantang wine."
Speaking of drinking, especially Suihantang wine, Fang Yu immediately wanted to turn around and leave.
Last time at his father-in-law's house, he had quite a lot of Suihantang wine, it tasted deceptively mild. When it first entered his mouth, it was clear and cool like melting winter snow, not seeming particularly strong. It even had a pleasant flavor. However, its potency was actually quite fierce. He had shared several cups with his father-in-law—though to be precise, they were more like large bowls referred to as cups—and after just a few rounds, he was completely overwhelmed. The next day, his stomach still felt as if it were on fire.
He was thinking of refusing, but Li Yun was very enthusiastic: "I'll have my servant come down to escort Brother Fang, and I'll also shamelessly freeload some of your grilled field frogs."
Fang Yu shook his head helplessly and said to Xuezhu: "Send someone to bring some late-night snacks back to Zhengfu, and please inform him that I'll be back after having a drink with my fellow student."
"Yes."
Fang Yu carried the skewers from the shop and followed Li Yun's servant to the building next door. The entrance was a small door, the stairs upstairs also resembled those in a small residential house. If not for the servant holding a lantern, it would be easy to miss a step and fall.
He wondered if Li Yun's residence was here, but if he lived here, it didn't seem like a household that could afford a personal servant. Just as he was curious, the small door upstairs opened. Unexpectedly, it was a different world inside: the room was spacious, the furnishings were exquisite, nothing like the shabby appearance from the outside.
That alone was one thing, but what surprised him most was the scene inside. were over ten people inside, men and women, leaning askew, with singing girls persuading drinks and coquettishly complaining. A long table of delicacies was already in disarray, as if they had been eating for some time. Most of the men were already drunk and floating, each holding a beautiful girl chatting and laughing.
When he entered, the entire gathering fell silent for a moment, offering him greetings. Upon learning he was a guest invited by Li Yun, they dismissively urged him, in their drunken state, to make himself at home.
Fang Yu: ...
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