Lime (continued)

Qing Kuo stared at the pottery kiln. "No problem. Our clay blanks are very well made, and we controlled the firing temperature very well yesterday. The pottery inside will definitely be good."

Jian Mo's eyes were full of anticipation. "Shall we open the kiln now?"

Qing Kuo: "Open it."

Jian Mo and Qing Kuo broke off the first piece of clay from the sealed kiln, and the smell of smoke wafted out.

It tastes so familiar.

Jian Mo sniffed and quickened her pace. The people around her also reached out their hands, and everyone hurriedly pried open the kiln mud, waiting for the kiln to be opened.

After breaking open the kiln clay, the smell of charcoal and earth inside became even stronger.

Qing Kuo reached out and tested the temperature inside the kiln. "You can go in now."

Everyone bent down and crawled into the kiln to carry out the pottery boxes one by one.

The pottery boxes they made came in various sizes, and each one was unique.

Judging from their appearance, these pottery boxes should have been thoroughly fired.

Jian Mo couldn't resist wanting to know what was inside the pottery boxes. Seeing that there was already a pile of pottery boxes on the ground, she reached out and opened a few.

He opened six earthenware boxes in total. Four of them contained intact pottery, one had a slight crack, and the other was broken into several pieces.

Jian Mo calculated that the success rate of firing pottery in a clay box was quite good, much higher than firing them all at once in the kiln.

Pottery fired in this way is of better quality, and the glaze appears more even and bright.

Just as Jian Mo was calculating, Zhou Fu peeked over and exclaimed, "It's beautifully fired! We actually managed to fire blue pottery this time!"

This time they used several different glazes, and most of the fired pottery was brownish-red, but one of the pottery cups had a light blue tint.

Jian Mo glanced at it and immediately remembered. "This glaze is made from soil taken from a cave."

I wonder what compounds the soil in that cave contains; it looks quite nice, actually.

Zhou Fu picked up the pottery cup and examined it closely. "It's so beautiful! Next time we fire pottery, let's fire more blue pieces too!"

Jian Mo had no objections. "Sure, let's try to see if we can make it again next time."

Upon hearing that blue pottery had been unearthed, Qing Kuo came out to take a look and said, "I've never heard of any tribe that can fire blue pottery. Taking it out to trade should get us more things."

Jian Mo: "Should we replace it with metal?"

Qing Kuo laughed, "Now you're only thinking about metal, aren't you? Let's go take a look together next time."

Jian Mo: "Okay, I'll definitely go with you next time."

There were still quite a few pottery boxes inside the kiln that hadn't been moved out. They talked for a while, then went back in to move them.

To allow for ventilation, they also opened holes in the top of the kiln, and the morning light shone in, making the kiln not too dark.

After going in and out a few times, Jian Mo got used to the environment inside the pottery kiln.

Jian Mo was carrying the load, she noticed white powder beneath the stone pillars supporting the kiln roof.

This powder looks familiar.

He stretched out his foot and rubbed it, finding it quite smooth.

Qing Kuo brought in a ceramic box and saw him kneading the powder. He asked, "What are you doing?"

Jian Mo: "What is this? Why does it produce white powder when burned?"

Qing Kuo had followed the whole way, and upon hearing this, he looked down and said, "The stone has melted, hasn't it?"

Jian Mo felt something was wrong. "The stone melted?"

Qing Kuo: "Yes, the fire in the kiln was probably too strong, and the stones couldn't withstand it. That's what happened the first two times; after firing, some stones always turned to dust, and we had to go to the riverbank to collect new stones to rebuild the kiln."

Jian Mo reached out and touched the stone pillar made of piled stones; sure enough, several of the stones had burned to powder.

He watched the changes in the stone, his heart pounding rapidly.

Jian Mo swallowed hard. "This powder seems to be—"

Qing Kuo: "What is it? Don't touch it, it'll sting."

Stinging hands?

Jian Mo's heart skipped a beat. She immediately put down the ceramic box, bent down, and quickly swept the white powder into her animal-skin robe. Then she ran out, shouting, "I'll go see what this is!!"

No one understood what he was going to do, so they all made way for him.

There was a river nearby. Jian Mo ran to the riverbank, squatted down, and used a stone to carve a hole, then poured the white powder into it.

Qing Kuo followed and ran out.

Jian Mo ran to the riverbank and started smashing stones into the water.

Seeing that his face was flushed with excitement, Qing Kuo picked up a stone and started throwing stones at him. "Do you want water?"

Jian Mo: "Yes, I think I know what the white powder is!"

With a loud "thud," the river surface was smashed open, and the stone sank to the bottom.

Jian Mo glanced at it, rubbed her hands on the animal skin robe to try to remove the powder, and then scooped up a handful of water.

Qing Kuo followed behind him, watching as he walked to the pit containing the white powder and poured water into it.

With a "sizzle," the powder bubbled up as it came into contact with the water, releasing large bubbles and scalding hot steam.

Qing Kuo was startled. "Why is this stone powder hot?"

Jian Mo: "It releases heat when it comes into contact with water!"

People all gathered around to watch, Jian Mo exclaimed excitedly, "This is lime!"

Jian Mo muttered to herself, "I actually forgot about lime. Calcium carbonate is heated and burned to make lime. How could I forget such a basic thing?"

Those around him didn't know what he was muttering, but after listening for a few moments, Ye Luo asked, "What can this lime be used for?"

Jian Mo: "Disinfect!!!"

Those around were completely baffled.

Jian Mo, being a veterinarian herself, has used quicklime a lot for disinfection, and it's the first thing that comes to mind when she thinks of quicklime.

He looked up and saw everyone's confused faces. Remembering that people didn't usually need quicklime, he smiled and said, "It can also be used to build houses."

Qing Kuo: "How do we build with this powder? Do we mix it with water to make mud, and then dry it to make bricks?"

Jian Mo waved her hand. "No, no, no, lime is completely different from mud. Just add some water and sand, and you can make lime mortar, which is very strong for bonding stones."