Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 389 Jealousy, Envy, Admiration

Although it is a stolen name, if you think about it carefully, it is actually quite suitable. The key is that it also carries your own surname, which is not bad. It’s a pity that the "Water Curtain Cave" seems to have not been found on this mountain, let alone the Monkey King.

After resting for two days in the house, Hualei went to Huaying Manor, which she had not been to for a long time. There was already a lot of charcoal stored in the warehouse. Looking at the high-quality charcoal, Hualei had an idea: this could be used to make charcoal pencils.

So Hualei asked someone to take a few pieces of charcoal and pound them into fine powder with a stone mortar, and then got some pine resin from the mountain, mixed the fine charcoal powder and pine resin in a certain proportion, and then carefully rolled them into long strips and put them on the hot kang to slowly dry.

Then he asked Uncle Zhao to split a thin branch into two, and then dig out a groove of similar size in the middle according to the charcoal strips, to make two semicircular wooden sticks.

Then, put the hardened charcoal core into the groove of the wooden stick, put the two semicircular wooden sticks together, wrap the charcoal core, glue them together with resin, and then wrap them tightly with thin cloth strips. A simple charcoal pencil is ready.

Back in the study, Hualei carefully sharpened the refill with a knife, tried writing on paper, and the black words appeared clearly. Although it was still a little rough and the surface was a little uncomfortable, it was very useful for writing.

Looking at the charcoal pencil in her hand, Hua Lei was very happy. It was easier to use than her own quill pen, and it was not difficult to make.

The key is that it is very convenient to carry. If this pen is made and sold, it will definitely sell well. Even if it is not popular among the students taking the imperial examinations, some tavern owners, accountants, and customers of traveling merchants will definitely like it.

So, for several days in a row, Hua Lei, Uncle Zhao, and Uncle Fu were at Huayingzhuang, adjusting the ratio of charcoal powder and rosin to make charcoal pencils.

At the same time, the small wooden stick that wrapped the charcoal core was sharpened and polished to be smoother, and the inner groove was adjusted to the size of the charcoal core. In less than half a month, the charcoal pencils produced were already very economical and practical.

After a period of time, Hua Lei placed charcoal pens in several of her own farms for farmers to try out. Sure enough, the farmers who did not take part in the scientific examinations and only cared about practicality were full of praise for the charcoal pens. As long as they had a charcoal pen in their pockets, they could use it whenever they wanted. It was really convenient and greatly improved their work efficiency.

After receiving recognition, Hua Lei increased the production of charcoal pencils. Once he had enough stock, he used his own ships to take them out of Shangjing City for sale. However, Hua Lei did not put the products on the shelves for sale in his own bookstore in Qingyun Lane.

Ever since she became a minor official of the sixth rank, Nong Zheng, Hua Lei would rather waste some shipping fees and try to ship as much business as possible out of Shangjing Capital for sale if she can handle it in a low-key manner, so as to avoid Shangjing City, a place where all kinds of people mix, so as to avoid being slandered at any time.

Because recently, when Hua Lei was moving around the Agriculture Bureau and the Ministry of Industry, she would hear gossip about herself from time to time, saying that she was fawning on them and trying to please her superiors for her own benefit.

In fact, all his energy was spent on his own workshop, and he just did Nong Zheng's work casually and didn't do anything properly. Even though his own wool sweater business made a lot of money, he kept the money and didn't give it to his partners, but put it in his own pocket.

Although Hua Lei reflected on her own words and deeds carefully after hearing them, and couldn't find the source of the gossip, so she just let it go, but sometimes there would still be some unnecessary gossip that made her feel unhappy.

I am still weak and powerless now, and I have no way or ability to shut up everyone, so I'd better hide while I can. As long as I can earn money and put it in my pocket, it doesn't matter where I earn it.

Besides, I have seen a saying in my previous life: when you are a little better than others, others will be jealous of you; when you are much better than others, others will envy you; when you are much better than others, others will admire you.

I am now in a point where others envy me, so I still need to work hard and strive to become better.

When I am good enough, I will let those who are jealous and slandering me look up to me. Humph, then I will let you see how beautiful my chin is. Hualei secretly fantasized about beautiful things.

The charcoal pencil business was quite good, and Hualei earned a lot of money. Moreover, Hualei unexpectedly discovered a great use for charcoal.

Because the several ponds on the barren hills are only used to store rainfall water. If it does not rain for a long time, the water in the ponds will become stagnant water over a long period of time, affecting the growth of fish fry.

Charcoal fish farming is a very effective and environmentally friendly method of fish farming. Adding ground charcoal powder to the pond can improve water quality and promote the growth and health of fish.

Because charcoal has a very strong adsorption property, it can effectively remove harmful gases in the water, reduce the odor in the pond, and provide a fresh environment for the pond. It can absorb impurities and organic matter in the water, improve the transparency of the water quality, and keep the water clean. This is what the pond on the barren mountain needs most.

Moreover, certain substances in charcoal can neutralize excessive pH in the water and maintain the stability of water quality. Putting an appropriate amount of charcoal into the pond can keep the water quality in a balance, provide a suitable growth environment for the fry, and increase the survival rate of the fry.

The trace elements and minerals rich in charcoal also play a key role in the growth and health of fish. It can provide sufficient nutrition and promote the healthy growth of fish.

Charcoal also has antibacterial and disease-inhibiting effects, which can help prevent and treat common diseases of fish fry in ponds and reduce the chance of bacteria breeding. As long as the amount of charcoal used is properly controlled, using charcoal to raise fish is a very good method.

When Hualei discovered the use of charcoal, he immediately increased the production of charcoal. Soon, the charcoal brought a good living and development environment to the fish pond on the barren mountain.

Charcoal pencils were produced continuously, and Hualei's original purpose of using charcoal to keep warm at home became less important. Of course, Hualei also placed a lot of charcoal at home to prevent moisture and purify the air.

Everything was going on busily. Hualei took a little time out of his busy schedule to ask the people on the farm to pick many green persimmons in the autumn, which was the season when wild persimmons on the mountain were ripe.