“After entering the room and looking up, raise the wine cup and drink to the chrysanthemums outside the window. Did I invite you to come and admire the chrysanthemums?”

Tang Shen asked back: “Didn’t you, sir?”

Liang Song looked at Tang Shen steadily, and after a moment, he smiled and said: “Yes. Yu Zhi, Bring over ‘East Window Chrysanthemum’.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

In the distance, the young man in green robes who had gone to Zhao Family Village with Liang daru nodded respectfully and went to the study to get the scroll. He stood in front of the withered lotus pond, and slowly opened the scroll.

On a brocade-white rice paper about five feet long, a cluster of ink-colored pale chrysanthemums bloomed quietly. The ink was elegant and smooth, and very light ink traces could be seen on each chrysanthemum, as light as flowing water blowing willow buds, the color like bluestone with fine moss. A large area of the scroll was left blank, except for a bunch of chrysanthemums under the window, and only a short poem in the upper left corner.

The chrysanthemum never bloom with the flower crowd, 

It stands alone by the scattered fence enjoying itself.

It would rather die on its stem holding its own fragrance,

But it would never fall and succumb to the northern wind.

The font was in calligraphy, and the writing was very thin and light, but Tang Shen unconsciously became fascinated by it. This handwriting style had a graceful character, and even though it was written in elegant calligraphy, the writing could not conceal the extraordinary strength of the person who wrote it.

Tang Shen looked at the signature of the painting.

There were two inscriptions with a cinnabar red seal on the painting. The first read “Master of Insignificant Talent”, and the second one read “Wang Zifeng”.

Tang Shen took a few more glances at the name “Wang ZiFeng”.

Tang Sheng had just lived in the ancient times for half a year. He spent most of his time in Zhao Family Village and had no chance to come into contact with calligraphy and painting, let alone calligraphy and painting by famous masters. But when he was studying for a Ph.D. in his previous life, his Ph.D. supervisor was a fan of calligraphy and painting. He himself was a professor of science and engineering, but he liked to collect literati calligraphy and paintings, which led Tang Shen to have some dabbling in this area.

Normally, the seals of literati were engraved with their own art name. For example, Li Bai was “Resident of Azure Lotus” and Su Shi was “Resident of East Slope”. Those who only have their own names attached to them were either young or a junior generation and have not received an at name. Or it could be that they had an outstanding literary reputation and are known to the world.

Could it be that he, a layman, made a mistake?

Tang Shen thought about it for a while, but did not express his doubts. He said: “Sir, I am stupid, I just made a boast earlier. I don’t know how to appreciate paintings.”

Liang Song smiled and said, “You are honest.”

Tang Shen was born into a poor family and was very young. It would be too false if he said he knew how to appreciate paintings.

Tang Shen changed the topic: “But I think this painting is very beautiful, this poem is also well written, and the calligraphy is also well written.”

Liang Song: “The painting is beautiful, and the calligraphy is also beautiful? You praise it simply. Tell me, which one is better, the painting or the calligraphy?”

Tang Shen was stunned. It turned out that this painting and this calligraphy were not created by the same person?

Tang Shen remained calm on the surface, but he was pondering about it in his heart. It was not like he really didn’t know how to appreciate paintings. He had fooled his supervisor several times in his previous life after all. But Tang Shen from Zhao Family Village shouldn’t understand this, but this painting was obviously made by a friend of Liang daru.

After a while, Tang Shen said in a sincere tone: “They are all very good. They are all things that I can’t draw or write.”

He’ll just belittle himself, alright?

Liang Song laughed and said: “This poem was written by Zi Feng. He was smart and talented since he was a child. Everyone knows that he is good at calligraphy and painting. It is indeed difficult for you to catch up with him. But this painting is different. It was painted by that old man Yu. His painting skills are very bad and he has not improved at all in the past years. Now there is still a chance for you to catch up to him.”

Tang Shen nodded and then shook his head again and again: “Sir, you are making fun of me.”

After this little interlude, the atmosphere in the pavilion became more pleasant.

The two had some food and wine. Tang Shen behaved generously, neither humble nor overbearing, neither flattering nor timid, which made Liang daru look with praise. When another pot of tea was served, Liang Song placed the tea cup on the table and made a clinking sound. He smiled and said, “Three months ago, you once asked me why scholars study.”

When Tang Shen heard this, he knew they had come to the point of this visit, and he immediately put down his chopsticks.

“Yes, I’m not talented, and I once dared to ask.”

Liang Song said: “You said back then that scholars read to be educated and reasonable. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

“What you said is quite right. Reading is a moral thing, in order to understand things and argue right from wrong. I didn’t give you an answer that day. Today after meeting with you again, Tang Shen, let me ask you, is your answer still the same?”

Tang Shen hesitated for a moment. He was a little unclear about what Liang daru wanted to say. He said, “Yes.”

Liang Song smiled slightly and sighed: “Be concerned, worried for the country and forget one’s own family.” (TN: from Zuo Zhuan, an ancient Chinese narrative history that is traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle Spring and Autumn Annals)

Tang Shen raised his head and said subconsciously: “Huh?”

Liang daru looked at the handsome boy in front of him. There was praise in his deep eyes, but there was also a trace of regret that was hard to find.

“This is the answer I give you.”

Until leaving Liang Manor, Tang Shen still didn’t understand the meaning of Liang daru‘s words, and he didn’t even know what it meant.

Tang Shen originally wanted to return the invitation to the steward of the Liang Manor. After visiting as a guest, the invitation must be returned to the owner. However, the steward said: “Tang Gongzi, please keep this invitation.”

Tang Shen was surprised and said: “Why?”

“This is daren‘s order.”

…Liang daru’s order?

Tang Shen felt confused for the first time, and he went home filled with doubts.

Back home, the four members of the Tang family began to admire chrysanthemums and have a banquet. Their family was small, only four people, but they have done all the customs of the Double Ninth Festival. There were no mountains in Gusu City, but there was a small hillside outside the city, and further away was the Tianping Mountain, Xishan Mountain and Dongshan Mountain.

Tang Shen simplified the customs of the Double Ninth Festival and only went to the small hillside to insert a branch of dogwood.

At night, Tang Huang happily moved a pot of chrysanthemums to the yard, and the four of them admired the chrysanthemums and ate.

Tang Shen said with a smile: “You little girl, you are young but you are very formalistic.”

Tang Huang: “What is formalistic?”

Tang Shen: “You won’t understand even if I tell you.”

Tang Huang: “What don’t I understand? I understand, but it’s not a good word anyway.”

Tang Shen laughed.

Soon, four or five days passed, and Tang Shen would take out the invitation given by Liang daru from time to time to study it.

He understood on the Double Ninth Festival that the reason why Liang daru left this invitation to him must be because there was something else in the invitation.

Tang Shen initially guessed that Liang daru had invited him to a meal on the Double Ninth Festival, because the invitation stated that Liang daru had invited him to admire the chrysanthemums. The reason why he guessed it was noon and not evening was because Liang daru, as the governor of Gusu Prefecture, had to attend the Double Ninth Festival Banquet of Gusu Prefecture in the evening to entertain several aristocratic families and wealthy scholars and officials in Gusu Prefecture, so he did not have time.

It turned out that he was right, but…

“What else is there that I haven’t discovered?”

In addition, Tang Shen also read through all the Four Books and Five Classics. It was a pity that the words of Liang daru that said to him at the end “be concerned, worried for the country and forget one’s own family” could not be found at all in the Four Books and Five Classics. Tang Shen had no choice but to give up and look at other books when he had the chance.

The business of the pancake stall was getting better and better, so Tang Huang secretly hid the money in her own little treasury. The weather was getting colder and autumn had arrived. It was very comfortable to eat a hot multigrain pancake in the morning, and more and more people were buying the flat pancakes.

Tang Shen originally wanted to make only two hundred per day, but Yao San and Aunt Yao refused no matter what.

Yao San: “Little boss, please rest. You go and study. I’ll get up early and make as many pancakes as I can every day.”

At this point, it didn’t make much sense to insist on hunger marketing. Tang Shen’s multigrain pancakes were already famous in Suijin Street, and many people come here every day. Yao San saw that Tang Shen often read the Four Books and Five Classics, and thought that he wanted to start studying again, so he took over the task of making pancakes.

Tang Shen didn’t stop him. He hadn’t gone to study yet, but he did have other things to do.

“Brother Yao, go buy some quicklime and dough starter.”

Dough starter was a commonly used food leavening agent and had similar ingredients to baking soda in later generations. They didn’t need a dough starter to make multigrain pancakes, but they often needed to make steamed buns. Yao San thought Tang Shen wanted to sell steamed buns: “Little boss, are we going to sell steamed buns too?”

Tang Shen knew as soon as he said this that Yao San had misunderstood, but he couldn’t explain it, so he just said: “You go and buy it first.”

Soon, Yao San came back with two bags of things.

The Tang family had two large iron pots. The large iron pots in ancient times were the same as those used in rural areas in later generations. Unless they were in restaurants, most of the iron pots were integrated with the stove and could not be moved. The Tang family only had two iron pots, both of which Aunt Yao used for cooking.

Tang Shen looked at the two iron pots and said, “Brother Yao, go buy another iron pot.”

When Yao San came back from buying a new iron pot, Tang Shen poured quicklime into the pot and added some water.

As soon as the water hit the quicklime, it made a sizzling sound and boiled instantly.

Tang Huang and Aunt Yao were attracted over by the sound. Tang Huang was surprised and said, “Brother, what are you doing?”

Tang Shen didn’t even raise his head: “Making something good.”

The reaction between quicklime and water was rapid and violent, and soon a turbid, milky white solution appeared in the pot. Tang Shen immediately put the dough starter in. While stirring with an iron rod, he quietly observed the reaction in the pot.

Yao San and others didn’t understand why, but Tang Shen’s behavior would be understood in later generations. Even a high school student would know what he was doing.

Yes, he was making sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda.

After the hot quicklime reacted with the dough starter, a layer of white solid gradually settled to the bottom of the iron pot, and a layer of colorless liquid emerged on the surface. Tang Shen waited patiently. After the reaction in the pot almost stopped, he carefully grabbed the sides of the iron pot and poured the liquid into a porcelain jar.

Due to limited conditions, Tang Shen could not obtain higher purity sodium hydroxide, so he had to make do.

Then he took a pot of rapeseed oil from the kitchen. He poured the rapeseed oil into the cleaned pot, making sure it covered the entire bottom of the pot, about one finger high, and then placed the iron pot on the charcoal stove where it was ignited and began heating. The oil heated up quickly. Before the oil heated up, Tang Shen picked up the porcelain jar again and carefully poured the contents of the porcelain jar into the center of the pot of oil.

Yao San: “What is the little boss doing?”

How could Aunt Yao know, and Tang Huang didn’t understand at all either. The three of them felt that Tang Shen was possessed by an evil spirit. They didn’t know what was put into the pot or jar, and soon a strange liquid was poured out. But because they had great trust in Tang Shen, the three of them did not disturb him, but watched carefully from the sidelines.

Tang Shen poured half of it, put the porcelain jar on the ground, and said, “Don’t touch this jar.”

Yao San nodded: “We definitely won’t touch it.”

Then, Tang Shen began to slowly stir the rapeseed oil and sodium hydroxide in the pot. He heated the iron pot and kept stirring. After about a quarter of an hour, he stopped moving and waited quietly.

While waiting, Tang Shen said to Yao San: “Brother Yao, if I want to make a tin can, do you think anyone in Gusu Manor could make it?”

Yao San said: “What kind of tin can does the little boss want to make? Please give me the drawing and I’ll ask Blacksmith Wang on the street.”

“Wait a bit.”

Tang Shen went back to the room to get a pen and paper. While thinking about it, he drew a picture.

Yao San took the drawing and took a look.

This thing was really weird. It looked like a jar, but the jar was hollow and had some strange lines on it. Yao San looked at it for a long time and said: “Little boss, what kind of object is this? I can’t understand it.”

Tang Shen: “Ah, yes, you can’t understand this kind of perspective drawing, and maybe Blacksmith Wang can’t understand it either. Forget it, I’ll go see him with you after we finish the work.”

“Okay.”

Tang Huang didn’t understand at all what delicious food her brother was making. She said: “Tang Shen, what are you making? Is it delicious? You put a dough starter and oil in it, but I can’t smell any scent. Is it better than multigrain pancakes?”

When Tang Shen heard this, he said, “Delicious? It’s not edible.”

“What, you can’t eat it? How can you put something that is inedible into a pot and cook it?”

“It’s not edible, but it allows you to buy lots and lots of multigrain pancakes!”

At this time, the contents in the pot gradually solidified. The dark yellow rapeseed oil turned into a layer of solid. Tang Shen’s eyes lit up and he shoveled out the top layer of solid.

Tang Shen packed these yellow solids in a jar. He called Yao San: “Brother Yao, put your hand in rapeseed oil and try it.”

Yao San: “Huh?”

“Just give it a try.”

Yao San put his hand in and took it out inexplicably, and his hands were covered with oil.

Tang Shen fished out a yellow solid from the jar: “Use this to wash your hands.”

Yao San doubtfully washed his hands with the yellow solid. He thought since it was made from rapeseed oil, it would definitely become oilier the more he washed it. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be clean after just a few washes, and there was no oil on his hands at all.

Yao San: “Ai, what is this? It’s better than that soap!” (TN: the kind used by ancients which are made of pig pancreas and plant ash)

Tang Shen smiled and said: “What is this? Good stuff, soap!”

Tang Huang and the mother and son of the Yao family curiously put their hands in rapeseed oil and washed their hands with soap. Only Tang Shen walked out of the kitchen and sighed as he looked at the sky.

“I didn’t expect that I, Tang Shen, would also be unable to escape the tropes of time travelers in the end!”

Tang Shen made the soap that all time travelers had in their arsenal today.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

But he smiled again. He also wanted to make things that were not common among time travelers as well!

“Okay, Brother Yao, stop washing. Let’s go out first and lock up the kitchen. We’ve agreed that no one is allowed to enter the kitchen before I come back, nor allowed to touch anything in the kitchen, especially the porcelain jar.” Tang Shen said, “Brother Yao, you and I will go to Blacksmith Wang’s place now.”

“Okay!”

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