Fu raised a hand to stop his words and said, "I only wanted to see what kind of ability he has that makes him worthy of such high regard from Daoist Changfeng; now it seems he truly is quite interesting."
The old servant shook his head. "Instead of being a perfectly good Crown Prince, he chooses to live a hard life in the mountains and wilderness. I have no idea what the Prince is thinking."
Fu lowered his eyes and smiled. If he wasn't mistaken, this Crown Prince was either so terrified by the Emperor that he wanted to live in seclusion for the rest of his life to ensure his safety, or he was so utterly disappointed with the imperial court that he simply wanted to start something entirely new.
I just don't know which one he is.
The snow fell again.
In a half-asleep, half-awake state, Zhu Ci listened to the sound of snowflakes falling and couldn't help but sneeze. He rubbed his nose and muttered, "Who is talking about me again?"
Then he wrapped himself tightly in his quilt, turned over, fell into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, after Zhu Ci woke up and saw the bright sun shining outside, he instantly felt his mood brighten considerably.
Even if the sun coming out meant the snow would start to melt and the weather would become even colder, seeing the sun would still make one's mood a bit brighter.
Even if we don't discuss mood, being practical means his coal briquettes could dry a bit faster; otherwise, if this continues, he might not be able to resist starting to dry them himself.
While he was thinking about these things, he saw Xi Ya running over in a state of great excitement.
After running over, Xi Ya scratched her head and feet for a long time, wanting to express something but unable to say a single word, finally having no choice but to tug on Zhu Ci's sleeve.
Zhu Ci understood immediately and followed him out.
They arrived at the side room where the honeycomb coal was kept. Zhu Ci walked over to take a look and found that the honeycomb coal had almost completely dried. He immediately patted Xi Ya's shoulder and said, "Not bad, not bad. We can give it a try."
This honeycomb coal was very similar to the kind he had seen before, but whether it could actually be used, how well it would work, would still require a trial.
Moreover, Zhu Ci wanted to see what the ashes would look like after combustion, whether they would make it difficult to distinguish the recipe.
Anyway, the finished briquettes are very difficult to distinguish now; if Zhu Ci didn't know the recipe, even he wouldn't be able to tell what had been added to them.
Xi Ya was clearly very excited and didn't mind the dirt, picking up the briquettes with her hands and carrying them straight to the stove in the kitchen.
Although the specialized stove for the coal briquettes had not been completed yet, it didn't matter. The specialized stove was only meant to make the coal briquettes burn more efficiently and conveniently; it didn't mean they couldn't be used without it.
Fu Qiulu, who was tidying up in the kitchen, couldn't help but follow to take a look.
After Xi Ya put the coal briquettes in and lit them, Zhu Ci watched as the briquettes slowly began to burn, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He had originally been somewhat worried that changing the formula would make the briquettes impossible to ignite, but seeing that they could burn meant it was a success.
Next, it was time to test how long this briquette could burn.
To conduct a comparison, he performed batch combustion tests on the briquettes, placing one in the stove and another in the heating stove.
The ventilation in the heating stove was somewhat worse than that of the kitchen stove, which allowed for testing how long it would burn under both well-ventilated and poorly-ventilated conditions.
Zhu Ci had originally intended to personally oversee the process to get results, but as he watched, his eyes began to grow hazy, he felt as though he would fall asleep at any moment.
After all, he had been tossing and turning for half the night, so even though he had woken up late, he was still somewhat drowsy.
Zhu Ci yawned and decided to give up on this boring activity, standing up to say to Xi Ya, "Just keep an eye on the furnace while doing something else; the main thing is to see when it goes out, so it doesn't need to be too precise."
Xi Ya nodded vigorously, then continued carving the molds.
The honeycomb coal was ready to burn. According to what the Young Master had said, as long as this thing could start burning, more could be made; they should first get the ones they made out.
Zhu Ci walked out of the kitchen, contemplating what he should do to pass the time, when Fu Chunsheng rushed over and said hurriedly, "Young Master, that person.. that person has started to run a fever."
Zhu Ci was not surprised. He followed Fu Chunsheng over and reached out to check the injured person's temperature. After a long silence, he said, "Go to the Baochang's house and ask if anyone in the village sells wine, or if there are any nearby villages that do."
The injured man's temperature isn't very high right now, but it is only morning; generally, the most dangerous times are in the afternoon and evening.
It is quite normal for this person to have a fever. First of all, he has wounds, with current medical practices, it is normal for the wounds to be slightly inflamed. Secondly, he has been in the snow for an unknown amount of time; even a normal person could suffer a high fever from being frozen to the point of hypothermia, let alone him.
For now, he could decoct a dose of fever-reducing medicine for him, but he didn't know if the medicine would be effective. To be safe, he still needed to find a way to use physical cooling.
Physical cooling would ideally be done with alcohol, but while high-proof liquor has become somewhat available in this era, pure alcohol has not yet appeared; if all else fails, one would have to settle for using liquor.
It seemed that he would have to find a way to get some alcohol later; even if it wasn't to make money, he would need it just to provide himself with a bit of security.
Chunsheng returned quickly, carrying a jar of wine. "Young Master, the Baochang's family is the only one in the entire village with a jar like this. He asked if it would be enough for you. If it's not enough.. he said he could dig up the Nu'er Hong and Zhuangyuan Hong in his courtyard as well."
Zhu Ci was startled instantly. "No, no, no, that simply won't do."
For ordinary families, Nu'er Hong and Zhuangyuan Hong both hold special significance.
He took the wine jar, as soon as he opened the seal, he caught the sweet aroma of rice wine.
Zhu Ci blanked for a moment. "Is it.. this wine?"
Fu Chunsheng was also a bit bewildered: "Then.. what kind of wine is needed?"
Zhu Ci pondered for a long while before saying, "Forget it, let's just go with this one. Conditions are limited; we'll just have to leave it to fate."
After saying that, he held the wine and turned to walk inside.
Fu Chunsheng followed behind him with a conflicted expression. He turned to look at Fu Qiulu, his eyes signaling: Don't just stand there, send word! At the very least, get a doctor over here, or Xiaoxia is really going to die!
Fu Qiulu rolled her eyes; waiting for Fu Chunsheng to remind her was already too late.
She had, of course, already tried to send word, but.. sending word took time, even if there was movement over there, one would still have to wait a while.
Xiaoxia is already in great danger now, this stubborn donkey doesn't know what has happened to him; instead of finding a way to treat his injuries, he insists on running all the way here.
Fu Chunsheng suppressed the urge to sigh and looked up at Zhu Ci's back with a complicated expression. "Crown Prince, you must protect his life!"
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Don't bother looking for me, just pray. A kitten licks the rice wine off its paws and collapses. jpg
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
Chapter 32
Zhu Ci was also unsure if he could save the wounded man's life; as the saying goes, do one's best and leave the rest to fate.
The countryside still lacked too many things. He would make a list to find a way to buy them once he reached the town; anything he couldn't buy, he would entrust to Magistrate Zhang or Zhu Ying. As long as the honeycomb coal truly made them feel there was profit to be made and bound everyone to the same cause, nothing would be impossible.
At this time, the injured person appeared somewhat restless due to the wound and fever. Perhaps because his body was warming up, he had recovered some strength; although he was not yet conscious, he was already becoming alert.
Zhu Ci had just been about to approach when he was nearly kicked by him.
Tsk, he's quite the kicker," Zhu Ci said, setting the wine jar on the table. "Chunsheng, Xi Ya, come over and hold him down!
If he continued to struggle, the wounds that had just begun to heal would tear open again.
Once the person was finally pinned down, Zhu Ci used rice wine to cool down core areas such as the neck, armpits, groin.
Although the alcohol content of the rice wine was not high, it was naturally cooler than his body temperature, it would carry away heat as it evaporated.
Perhaps because the slight drop in his body temperature made him feel a bit more comfortable, he gradually quieted down.
After getting it done, Zhu Ci shook his hands and said, "Alright, leave one of you here to keep an eye on him."
Fu Chunsheng immediately said, "Young Master, you should go rest; I will stay here."
Fu Chunsheng was indeed the best choice. Zhu Ci nodded and asked, "By the way, did you pay for the rice wine?"
He didn't use his things for nothing; this man had a fair amount of silver on him, his family circumstances seemed quite good. The medicine and wine he used were all clearly priced.
Don't worry about the consultation fee; after all, he is just an ordinary person with a little bit of first aid knowledge, so consider it a good deed for the day.
Fu Chunsheng shook his head after hearing this and said, "I wanted to pay, but the Baochang refused to take anything no matter what I said. I was worried you were in a hurry, so I came back first."
Zhu Ci kept it in mind, turned to wash his hands, returned to the study to prepare to write down everything he needed.
As he was writing, he noticed the sky gradually darkening, looking up, he saw that it had started snowing again.
Zhu Ci sighed with some worry, wondering why this snow seemed like it would never stop falling.
At this moment, Xi Ya rushed over, her bright black eyes looking at him with excitement, then she extended an index finger and hooked it.
Zhu Ci didn't react at first, but then he remembered that he had asked Xi Ya to watch the stove. He asked blankly, "Are you saying it has been burning for an hour?"
Xi Ya shook his head, extending his index finger and then curling it back again. Seeing that Zhu Ci did not understand, he grew anxious and began scratching his head, then pointed at the hourglass.
Zhu Ci glanced at the hourglass before finally realizing, "You mean it's been burning for an hour and a half?"
Xi Ya nodded again, Zhu Ci asked, "What about the other one? Is it still burning?"
Xi Ya nodded again. Zhu Ci leaned back against the chair and thought for a moment. A single piece of honeycomb coal burns for about one and a half shichen, which is three hours. This duration is not short, especially considering the combustion is taking place in a ventilated area without the use of specialized stoves.
If there were specialized stoves and multiple blocks were stacked together, the burning time could be extended even further.
Zhu Ci let out a long sigh of relief. Being able to maintain this continuous burning time had already achieved his initial goal, even if he were to make improvements, he likely wouldn't be able to change much.
The remaining piece could be left to burn; no matter how long it took, it wouldn't affect anything, at most it would just serve as a comparison.
Zhu Ci had a smile on his face, but after looking at the weather, he said with a hint of helplessness, "It looks like it will take another two days before we can enter the city."
In fact, even if the snow stops, it will still depend on how the melting goes. Sigh, during the Little Ice Age, it is truly difficult for the common people to endure.
He turned to look at Xi Ya, pondered for a long while, then asked, "A-ya, do you want to learn sign language?"
Xi Ya had a look of confusion on her face, she tilted her head toward Zhu Ci, clearly not quite understanding.
Zhu Ci gestured with his hands and said, "It's just using your hands to express your thoughts. Once you learn it, you'll be able to communicate almost like a normal person. The only downside is that others have to know it as well to understand what you mean."
Xi Ya's eyes instantly lit up, she nodded vigorously.
He had always found it difficult to connect with others. Aside from his natural disability making him an easy target for contempt, the biggest reason was his inability to communicate; like a puppy, he could only express simple meanings.
No, perhaps he is even worse than a puppy.
At least a puppy can bark whether it is happy or unhappy, can convey thoughts and emotions through its barks; he cannot even do that.
Zhu Ci said bluntly, "Fine, then I'll teach you. This set of sign language is quite complex; you'll have to learn it slowly. Hmm, if that doesn't work, I'll just draw it out for you."
It had to be said that his life as an undercover agent had allowed him to unlock many strange skills, such as sign language.
Once, the Chief of a certain gang had a deaf-mute younger sister, because he cherished her dearly, the good-looking and refined Zhu Ci was entrusted to help look after her, such as picking her up and dropping her off from school.
It was also during that time that Zhu Ci was forced to learn an entire volume of the "National Common Sign Language Dictionary," which contained over eight thousand words covering every aspect of life.
Xi Ya was very clever and studied very diligently; perhaps because she had suffered losses before, she was extremely eager to learn.
After Zhu Ci had finished teaching, Fu Chunsheng ran over and said, "Young Master, that person has woken up."
He's finally awake!
Zhu Ci stood up and said, "Let's go collect the debt!"