Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, the first month has passed.
After more than a month of intensive construction, not far from Xishan, a large-scale glass factory has begun to take shape, with several tall glass furnaces and tall chimneys emitting billowing white smoke.
Tall walls were built around the glass factory. The walls were seven or eight meters high. There were people standing guard at regular intervals on the walls to prevent anyone from trying to climb over the walls and steal the skills.
The glass factory is basically a replica of Xishan Coal. Except for strict confidentiality and many procedures in the core area of the glass factory, there is no other difference from Xishan Coal.
We also built a large auditorium for night classes for the workers in the glass factory. We also had a large bathhouse for bathing. We also had a lot of food to eat, and we had meat every two days. We also had brand new uniforms.
wear.
In the glass furnace of the glass factory, each of the first batch of glass workers in the Ming Dynasty was holding a blowpipe, bulging their cheeks and blowing bottles desperately. Their faces were all red, and their cheeks were constantly rising and falling. Under the blowpipe, various pieces were blown out.
There are all kinds of glass products, and there are glass shards next to each person.
In a place nearby, there are workers holding iron pliers, scissors and other tools in their hands, constantly playing with the balls of newly fired glass. The newly fired glass is like dough, and they can be kneaded casually to create various shapes.
Various shapes.
Liu Jin was accompanying Zhu Houzhao on a tour of his property. Zhu Houzhao was like a curious baby, looking everywhere, and from time to time he would even go up and try it out in person to try out the taste of making glass products.
"Interesting, interesting. This is how the glass was originally fired. When it was first fired, it was like dough."
Zhu Houzhao put down a glass product and said to Liu Jin with a smile.
"All these objects actually have three forms, solid, liquid and gas. The characteristics of each form are completely different. There is actually nothing strange about this glass."
Liu Jin smiled and said.
"Old Liu, you are so good. You can make all this glass, but can you make millions a year from glass?"
Zhu Houzhao patted Liu Jin's shoulder and praised him, then thought about it and said again.
"You will know soon if you can make millions of silver. Come, let me show you something."
Liu Jin was very confident about this and took Zhu Houzhao to the innermost room.
The people who work here are all brought by Liu Jin from Xiahetun, and the person in charge of management is Zhao Erhu's brother Zhao Dahu. At the same time, people who do not work here are strictly prohibited from coming here, and there are people outside who are constantly guarding it.
This is where mirrors are made. Among all glass products, mirrors are undoubtedly the most valuable items, and of course the ones with the least practical significance.
When the Venetians manufactured glass mirrors, they were popular throughout Europe. The Venetians made a lot of money from the business of mirrors. Liu Jin naturally took this business the most seriously and kept it the most confidential.
The entire room is several hundred square meters, and dozens of villagers from Xiahetun are busy working. They also use an assembly line working model. Some are responsible for transporting the glass, some are responsible for applying a mixture of mercury and tin to the glass, and some are responsible for
Frame these mirrors.
"Old Liu, this doesn't seem to be anything special, right?"
As soon as Zhu Houzhao came in, his small eyes kept looking around. At first, he didn't think there was anything strange, but soon his eyes were fixed on a mirror that was as tall as one person, and he walked slowly over, and then stared at
I looked at the person in the mirror carefully with my eyes widened.
"This~is this a mirror?"
Zhu Houzhao was a little unbelievable. Mirrors have been around since ancient times, but they were all bronze mirrors. The cost of this bronze mirror was very high, but there was no comparability between the bronze mirror and the mirror in front of him.
Although a bronze mirror can clearly see a person's appearance, it is relatively blurry, especially if the bronze mirror is not polished smoothly enough, it is even more unsatisfactory.
But the mirror in front of me is completely different. Everything is reflected in detail and can be seen clearly. What's more important is the mirror in front of me. It is as tall as a person and is a full-length mirror.
Ancient bronze mirrors were generally very small, the largest being only the size of a plate. The larger the bronze mirror, the more difficult it was to make, and the cost was also very expensive. It was impossible to make a full-length mirror.
You must know that in ancient times, only wealthy families could own bronze mirrors. It was impossible for ordinary people to afford such high-end and elegant things as bronze mirrors.
But even for wealthy families, the bronze mirrors are still very small. Many of them are only the size of a palm. Only a few of the truly wealthy can afford large bronze mirrors, but they are not too big.
Zhu Houzhao came closer, looked at himself in the bronze mirror carefully, touched his nose and made some movements.
"Old Liu, I found that I am quite mighty and domineering."
Zhu Houzhao's words almost made Liu Jin vomit out yesterday's overnight meal. I thought he would say something, but he turned out to be very narcissistic and said that he was powerful and domineering. To be honest, Liu Jin really didn't listen to him.
There is something domineering about him.
"Well...you are indeed very powerful and domineering~"
Speechless, Liu Jin could only reply like this.
"Tsk, tsk, this glass can actually be made into a mirror, then we will really make a fortune."
Then Zhu Houzhao seemed to think of something, and his whole body immediately jumped up with excitement.
"How much money would you say is appropriate for us to sell a mirror like this?"
Liu Jin touched his chin and said a little worriedly.
"It must be sold for several hundred taels of silver anyway."
Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and said.
"A few hundred taels of silver?"
"A few hundred taels can buy a mirror of this size. I won't sell this full-length mirror without 2,000 taels of silver."
Liu Jin smiled and pointed to a basin-sized glass mirror next to him.
When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he immediately stared at Liu Jin up and down, and said with a smile: "Tsk, tsk, I found that you are really dark, Old Liu. Two thousand two mirrors..."
"Yes, yes, this kind of mirror should be sold as expensive as possible."
Zhu Houzhao thought about it and immediately understood that Liu Jin was planning to take a high-end route, and nodded repeatedly.
"Our mirrors are going to make money, and we need your help, help. I will prepare nine full-length mirrors here. You can take them back for your family to use first. Then you are thinking about how to promote these mirrors to the rich and powerful throughout the capital.
Everyone knows our mirror."
Liu Jin smiled, and then thought for a while, he pulled Zhu Houzhao over and started discussing advertising. In 1507, smart Venetians first applied an alloy of tin and mercury to the back of a mirror, thus creating the first
An exquisite and complicated mirror. Its appearance caused a sensation in Europe and became the new favorite of the princes and nobles. Everyone rushed to buy the mirror. When the Queen of France got married, the King of Venice gave a small glass mirror as a gift.
It was considered a very precious gift at that time, and its value at the time was 150,000 francs. Selling a full-length mirror for 2,000 taels of silver shouldn't be too much, right?