Tea Merchants of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 135 Hui Mo Fang

The preparation of Hui ink is complicated, so there are naturally more details that require attention.

First of all, the selection of materials is very important. The raw materials of Hui ink must be of good quality and high purity to ensure the quality of the produced Hui ink.

Secondly, the temperature of the fire must be controlled when refining the tobacco. When refining the tobacco, you must pay attention to controlling the temperature and not burn the ash, so as not to affect the quality of Hui ink.

Furthermore, the ink should be stirred evenly. When stirring, the ink should be stirred evenly without any lumps, so as not to affect the quality of Hui ink.

The grinding should be fine. When grinding, the ink should be ground finely and without any granularity, so as not to affect the quality of Hui ink.

The filtration must be thorough, and the ink slurry must be filtered clean to avoid affecting the quality of Hui ink.

The sedimentation should be natural. During sedimentation, the ink slurry should be allowed to settle naturally. Do not stir or shake it to avoid affecting the quality of Hui ink.

When drying, the ink stick should be placed in a ventilated and dry place to prevent moisture from affecting the ink.

The packaging should be exquisite. When packaging, the ink sticks should be packaged exquisitely to avoid contamination or damage.

All of the above are repeated reminders that one needs to be careful and cautious when preparing ink blocks.

Otherwise, the ink produced in a crude and shoddy manner will not only ruin the reputation of Hui ink, but also waste good materials.

The preparation process of Hui ink is complicated. Su Shan is happy to see Jiang Yin, who studies seriously and observes carefully.

He couldn't help but ask again: "Brother Zhang, are you really not going to try it yourself?"

Only by experiencing the process of Hui ink preparation with your own hands can you truly understand the true meaning of Hui ink's advantages.

This time, before Jiang Yin even opened his mouth, Li Qing rolled his eyes at him and said, "It's pitch black everywhere in here. Look at Brother Zhang's white robe. How can it be suitable for making ink blocks?"

He continued unhappily, "If you want to experience it yourself, you have to change into a robe."

Those who don't have good eyesight are not afraid of offending others.

Su Shan patted his head, reacted, and said quickly: "Forget it, if Brother Zhang wants to come and experience it someday, you can tell me anytime and I will arrange it for you."

He didn't think about this problem. He just thought that since Brother Zhang was interested, why not try it himself.

Jiang Yin quickly explained, "Brother Su, Brother Li, you are too polite. It's just that, besides the fact that I am wearing something inappropriate today, I also want to avoid wasting such good materials."

She was a newcomer who had never made ink blocks before. If she started right away, if she made a mistake at any step, it would affect the entire block of ink.

One wrong step will lead to all wrong steps, so she should just watch and not insist on taking action.

Seeing this, Su Shan had nothing to say. He just asked her to tell him if she wanted to come in the future.

Jiang Yin did not refuse and agreed happily.

When I came out of Hui Mo Fang, it was already dark.

The few of them did not stay in the inn, but lived in Su Shan's house in She County.

Most of the Su family members are still in Huizhou, or have gone out to look for business opportunities. Not many of them stay in She County for a long time.

Therefore, the only master living in the house right now is Su Shan.

In the three-story house, Jiang Yin and Li Qing were each assigned to a guest courtyard. Of course, the people they brought with them also moved into their respective guest courtyards.

After the group had settled down and were having dinner, a servant from the Su residence came to report that there was a guest looking for Su Shan.

Jiang Yin smiled and said, "Brother Su, just go and do whatever you want. You don't need to worry about us."

You eat other people's food and live in other people's houses, but you can't always need others to accompany you.

Su Shan stood up and bowed to the two men, saying, "Brother Zhang, Brother Li, enjoy your meal. I'll be back soon."

After he finished speaking, he left in a hurry.

However, he returned very quickly. Not only that, he also brought back another person that Jiang Yin did not recognize.

Without waiting for Jiang Yin to speak, Su Shan explained, "Brother Zhang, this is Zhu Yan, my good brother who I have played with since childhood."

Jiang Yin quickly stood up and saluted: "I am Zhang Jiang."

After the two of them greeted each other, they sat down.

Zhu Yan didn't care. After the servant added a set of bowls and chopsticks, he ate, drank and chatted with the others.

Zhu Yan knew Su Shan, so naturally he also knew Li Qing.

Unlike Su Shan and Li Qing, Zhu Yan is a native of She County and currently lives in She County for a long time.

From his name, Jiang Yin had some guesses.

She deliberately joked, "Brother Zhu's name sounds somewhat related to inkstones. Could it be that Brother Zhu's family is rich in inkstones?"

In addition to the Su family's Hui ink, She County is also famous for its matching She inkstone.

If she guessed correctly, Zhu Yan's family should be making She inkstones.

As expected, Zhu Yan raised his hand and pushed the hairpin on his head, and said with a smile: "Brother Zhang has a good eye, my Zhu family does produce She inkstones.

Not all of She County, but at least 80% of the inkstones are produced by my Zhu family."

He paused and continued, "If Brother Zhang is interested, you can come to my shop tomorrow to take a look."

Just based on how seriously his two good friends treated the person in front of them, he knew that this person was probably no ordinary person.

"Okay." Jiang Yin agreed immediately, "Since we are here anyway, let's go check out your She Inkstone tomorrow."

Zhu Yan, like Su Shan and others, looks like a gentle and refined scholar.

After all, their Song Dynasty valued culture over military power, and the status of literati was extremely high.

Of course, it is not ruled out that the reason is that they are all doing business for literati.

As for the She inkstone, she was indeed interested in it. Who knows, she might have to pick a few to buy back.

Although the original plan was to visit Li Qing's Xuan paper workshop tomorrow, Su Shan and Li Qing had no objection to the sudden change of schedule.

It's in She County anyway, so it won't take much time to go and have a look.

Then, Jiang Yin learned about the current status of Sheyan.

It is just a coincidence that Sheyan faces the same dilemma as Hui ink and Xuan paper.

Jiang Yin simply took the opportunity to propose cooperation with her, and she helped to present the plan of Sheyan to the emperor.

It was also at this time that Zhu Yan understood why Su Shan and Li Qing attached so much importance to Jiang Yin.

Seeing Zhu Yan still thinking about Jiang Yin's proposal, Su Shan said angrily: "What are you considering? Are your She Inkstone and my Hui Ink valuable?"

The opportunity is right in front of you. If you seize it, you may be able to soar to heaven.

Even if I fail, it doesn't matter. At least I'll lose a few pieces of ink and inkstones.

Jiang Yin couldn't help but laugh and said, "Don't worry, just take your time to think about this matter. Even if the deal doesn't go through, there's still friendship. Doing business has to be a mutual consent."

She didn't have to cooperate in these businesses, she just happened to meet them.

If she can do it, she will do it. If she can't do it, she won't lose anything.

"Thank you for your understanding, Brother Zhang." Zhu Yan stood up and bowed to Jiang Yin, saying, "Brother Zhang, don't worry, I will be able to give you an answer tomorrow."

The Zhu family is not a place where he alone has the final say. He still has to go back and ask the people in the family before deciding whether to do this business.

Because of business matters, Zhu Yan left after not staying for long. When he left, Su Shan also went to see him off.