206 Asking about the Recipe
Jian Qingqing immediately replied, “Sure! I’ll bring it to you later!”
She knew that Ming Zhiyan knew that she had secrets and could conjure things out of thin air. She threw out kitchen knifes that day and he did not ask about it.
However, she could not expose herself, could she? She had not reached the point where she and Ming Zhiyan could be honest with each other.
So she ran out and found a hidden place to secretly take out the salt from the Space. This was the fine salt that she had extracted from the coarse salt previously. It was not from the modern era and it still looked a little yellowish. The grains were also rougher and were not as perfect as those made by the modern exquisite workmanship. However, compared to it, it was not much worse. At least compared to now, it was worlds apart.
She wrapped a handful of salt in a cloth and brought it to Ming Zhiyan. She opened it as if she was presenting a treasure and said proudly, “Look, this is what I made! Isn’t it amazing?”
Ming Zhiyan looked at the bag of white salt in front of him and his pupils constricted. He immediately reached out to take it. He used his fingers to take a sip and put it into his mouth. He tasted it carefully for a long time before saying, “Can this kind of workmanship be mass produced?”
Jian Qingqing listened to his slightly nervous tone and pondered for a moment. Seeing that his fingers were trembling slightly, she smiled and nodded. “Of course, it can. Otherwise, why would I say it?”
She clearly felt Ming Zhiyan suddenly let out a sigh of relief. He said in a low and hoarse voice, “Okay, Miss Jian, I will do this. Can you write down the recipe now? I will get someone to bring it to His Majesty.”
Jian Qingqing smiled and said, “Sure. Take out the brush and ink. I will write it down.”
Ming Zhiyan brought her to the study room and took out a piece of paper that was specially used to communicate with the emperor.
Jian Qingqing entered without looking away. Ming Zhiyan’s study room was very large and was filled with all kinds of books that made her dizzy just by looking at the names. She picked up the paper and took a look. She sighed and said, “As expected of the paper that is specially used by the royal family. It even has a fragrance.”
Compared to the paper that she bought in the study room in the county, which was so rough that it would fall off with a touch, it was many times smoother. However, it was still far from the current paper.
She asked curiously, “Brother Ming, how are these papers made?”
Ming Zhiyan looked at her with confusion and asked, “Miss Jian, why do you want to know this? Paper-making is a craft by the people of Great Wei. I don’t know either.”
Jian Qingqing suddenly realized that she had forgotten that this era’s paper-making technique was monopolized by the government. The secret formula was not to be passed on to outsiders. She said a little embarrassedly, “I forgot that this can not be said. I’m sorry.”
Ming Zhiyan thought for a moment and said in a low voice, “If Miss Jian wants to know, I can go and ask. But you have to tell me why you want to know the formula.”
Jian Qingqing said in surprise, “Really! I don’t want to do anything. I’m just curious about how it is made. I’ve seen that the paper in the bookstore is very rough, and this is better than those.”
She pointed at the royal stationery on the table, she said, “I want to see how these papers sit and then I want to study whether there is a better formula for making paper. When the time comes, we might be able to make paper that is even better than these that can be produced on a large scale.”
If others heard what she said, they might laugh at her whimsical thinking. How could paper be so easy to make? Otherwise, it would not be so expensive.
However, Ming Zhiyan did not say anything. His expression did not change, as if what he heard was a very normal thing. He nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll go and find it for you.”
Jian Qingqing said happily, “Thank you, Big Brother Ming!”