Having decided to hire Wai Maozi William to teach at the yet-to-be-established Vocational School, Russell inspected the Blackfire Brick Kiln Factory accompanied by William and his son.
The black oil kilns had already begun operating. Without standardized custom equipment, these black oil kilns had been designed by master craftsmen based on experience, yet their results were quite good. The firing quality was no worse than coal.
Slag Bricks could already be mass-produced and were continuously transported to the construction site of the new castle.
"My lord, look." Little William pointed at the smoking chimney. It was thick, with circles of stairways around it. "This chimney not only vents smoke, but can also dry the unfired bricks. It uses the black smoke from burning black oil to dry them."
Little William said proudly, "Our workers figured it out. The smoke from black oil contains magic, and that magic makes the Slag Bricks sturdier and more resilient. They won't break even when struck."
After a pause, he continued, "Because there isn't enough clay slag, Slag Brick production has been intermittent, so we produce more of this ordinary brick... After being dried by the magic in the black smoke, these ordinary bricks become stronger as well. Their color just changes from red to black."
Rows upon rows of black bricks were stacked neatly in the open space.
Russell picked one up and roughly tested it with his hands. It truly was more resilient than ordinary bricks.
It was not that its hardness had increased, but its toughness.
Ordinary bricks were brittle and easily broken, but these black bricks had absorbed some substance from the black smoke, becoming extraordinarily tough.
"Mm, not bad. These black bricks are good enough for building castles." Russell was pleased.
Wai Maozi William smiled obsequiously at the side. "Lord