Chapter 385 - 385 Half and Half
385 Half and Half
After that, Jiang Yue and Xue Yan added the liquid that had cooled down into the bamboo tube. When the bamboo tube was 80 percent full, Jiang Yue picked it up and knocked the bottom of the tube on the stool to make sure there was no gap between the liquid.
Some of the liquid had been used to fill the gaps at the bottom, so the bamboo tube was not 80 percent full. Therefore, Jiang Yue and Xue Yan added more liquid into the bamboo tube, making it 80 percent full again.
She then knocked the bottom of the bamboo tube lightly before placing it into a large basin that had been prepared.
The big basin was already filled with river water, and it was also 80 percent full.
The bamboo tubes were not as tall as the big basin, and bamboo had a certain buoyancy. Not only was it very stable to put ten bamboo tubes in, but the liquid in the bamboo tubes was also lower than the water level in the big basin, which was just right.
There was still some liquid left in the big container. Without Jiang Yue’s request, Xue Sifu had already helped by placing another bamboo container on the stool and letting Jiang Yue and Xue Yan pour the cooled liquid into it.
It was also 80 percent full, and the bottom of the bamboo tube was knocked over and over again to make sure there was no air space between the tubes before it was placed into the big basin.
After that, there wasn’t much of the boiled liquid left in the big container. Even if he got another bamboo tube, it wouldn’t be enough to fill it to 80 percent full. It probably wouldn’t even be enough to fill it to 50 percent full. Therefore, they didn’t use the remaining liquid.
Then, she inserted the thin stick.
“Just put half of this in so we can hold the other half in our hands.” Jiang Yue demonstrated as she explained. She slowly inserted half of a thin stick into the center of the opening of a bamboo tube.
Because the liquid in the bamboo tube was a little thick, the thin stick would not sink even if she let go.
She just kept her half-exposed appearance.
Xue Yan also inserted two.
“I know how to do this!” Xue Wufu finally felt that he could help. He hurriedly used the hands he had already washed and been waiting for, picked up two clean thin sticks, and helped insert them.
Xue Sifu also washed his hands and helped to insert them into the tubes.
Xue Dafu and the others didn’t help, they just watched. They had just returned, unlike Xue Wufu, who immediately ran back first to see the commotion.
When the stick was inserted and the liquid in the bamboo tube was not higher than the water level in the big basin, Jiang Yue said, “The liquid in these two bamboo tubes is not as much as a small basin of water, so it should be able to freeze. Yifu.”
“Yup.” Xue Yifu had already finished setting up a large basin and a small basin. He was also done with work and was in the central room. When he heard Jiang Yue calling for him, he quickly poured the saltpeter into the large basin of water.
Saltpeter was easily soluble in water and absorbed a large amount of heat at a speed visible to the naked eye. Soon, the water in the big basin and the liquid in the two bamboo tubes were frozen.
“Cool!” Xue Wufu’s eyes were about to pop out. “This is magical!”
He had thought that the hydraulic grain rice and hydraulic stone mill that his Xue Yan had made were already amazing enough. He didn’t expect to make ice with saltpeter to be even more amazing!
Xue Dafu and Xue Erfu’s eyes widened. Even the cold and aloof Xue Sanfu was dumbfounded.
Jiang Yue used her hand to pull out a thin stick from one of the bamboo tubes. Seeing that she could not pull it out and that the inside was really frozen, she covered both bamboo tubes with a piece of clean cloth to prevent dirty things from falling in.
Xue Yan scraped off the saltpeter that had been separated from the ice only after she checked.