384 More Observation
Xue Yan could only take the glutinous rice flour from her.
Jiang Yue had already taken a bowl and seemed to want the glutinous rice flour, so he walked over with the glutinous rice flour and placed it on the stool beside them.
Jiang Yue opened the cloth bag of the glutinous rice flour and scooped out a little of it. She placed it in a bowl, then added water to the bowl and stirred it well.
When she saw that the water in the pot was boiling, she immediately stood on the small stool again. Then, she opened the lid and poured the glutinous rice flour solution into the bowl.
As she poured it in, he stirred the pot.
Soon, the glutinous rice flour was cooked, and the texture was a little thick. Jiang Yue asked Li Hehua to put out the fire on the stove.
“When it’s warmer, you can pour it into the bamboo tube to freeze it.” Jiang Yue said. “If you pour the hot water in now, they might not freeze well.”
“Yes, that’s true. Let’s wait until it’s cooled.” Liu Guixia, Li Hehua, and Yu Hongyan all agreed as they poured the liquid into a big container.
By the time the water had cooled down and the sun had set, there was only a little water left in the big pot that they left in the courtyard. The rest of the water had been turned into crystallized saltpeter.
“Don’t let it dry out. It’ll be bad if the pot breaks. This should be sun-dried. Let’s dry the remaining water tomorrow. There’s not much saltpeter in it, but we can’t waste it.” Liu Guixia said, worried that the crystals would stick to the pot, causing it to break.
Xue Sifu also had this worry, so he put out the fire under the pot. The pot was still hot, and a little water had evaporated. When the pot was completely cooled, he took out the saltpeter crystals and left the remaining water in the pot. He didn’t have to worry about whether he would take it out tomorrow to dry or just dry it in the pot.
There were almost 120 kilograms of saltpeter there, which could be used to make ice.
At this moment, Jiang Yue decided to make her popsicles. Xue Yan took the cooled container and followed her to the central room. Xue Sifu also came to help.
Li Hehua and Liu Guixia were making dinner, so they didn’t come over to help. Yu Hongyan, on the other hand, also came to the central room to take a look.
At the same time, Xue Dafu, Xue Erfu, Xue Sanfu, and Xue Wufu returned from work. The courtyard wall was almost completed, and the door could be finished and installed tomorrow. Then, the workshop would be completed.
Knowing that his family might receive saltpeter from Doctor Shen today, Xue Wufu was so excited that he didn’t even wait for Xue Dafu and the others. As soon as he heard that work was over, he immediately rushed back home.
The small basin of ice on the table had almost melted, but Xue Wufu didn’t feel that it was a pity. He was already very happy to know that it could really be frozen. When he saw that Jiang Yue was going to make popsicles to eat, he quickly came over and looked at it with excitement.
He wanted to help, but he was too excited and didn’t know how to help.
Xue Dafu, Xue Erfu, and Xue Sanfu were the last to return, so they also came to take a look at a later time. Although they already knew that they could make ice, they still didn’t know how.
The bowl of water that Jiang Yue was holding in her hands was said to be similar to using a small basin to make ice. It had to be placed in a large basin. They took a closer look at it.
Jiang Yue picked up a bamboo tube and placed it on the stool. Because it was a bundle of ten bamboo tubes of similar thickness and height, and the holes at the bottom and top were aligned, when placed on a stool, one could stand steadily without the help of anyone.