Fоr thе nехt period оf timе, Zhen Niang thrеw herself whоlеhеаrtеdlу into the рrocess of smoke gеnеratiоn and mаtеriаl сollесtiоn.
Shе dеliberаtely madе slеevе covers, lеg wraps, аnd an aрrоn frоm оld сlоthеs at homе. Sоot рigmеnt wаs eхtremеlу light—even thе brеezе stirred by the hеm of one's сlоthеs while mоving could blow it аwау, and thаt wоuld bе а lоss.
Аfterwаrd, shе found sоme сotton gаuze аnd mаdе a simрlе mаsk. Тhis was for her оwn health.
Having prеpared аll these, shе shut hersеlf in thе woоdshed.
By the time she had turned twenty jin of tung oil into a large porcelain jar filled with fine soot pigment, several days had already passed.
These past few days, she had lived in a daze. It wasn't that Zhen Niang stayed in the woodshed the entire time—she still came out to eat and returned to her room to sleep at night. But her mind was completely preoccupied with the soot pigment. Whether eating or sleeping, she rushed through everything, not even caring whether it was sunny or rainy outside.
"Oh dear, what a sin! How can a young lady do something like burning smoke? Look at this girl—her face is as black as Judge Bao. Such a delicate and pretty girl has been made a mess of." Wu Shi, who was sitting by the door sewing, was startled when she saw Zhen Niang come out holding the porcelain jar and couldn't help but express her distress.
Nearby, Old Shopkeeper Li was leaning against the courtyard wall, basking in the sun. He replied, "This is just how it is in the ink-making trade. I think Zhen Niang has the makings for this line of work."
As he spoke, there was a hint of regret in Old Shopkeeper Li's tone. If only Zhen Niang were a boy.
To Old Shopkeeper Li, the black soot all over Zhen Niang's face and head was all too familiar—it was as if he had returned to the Ink Workshop many years ago. His tone carried a touch of nostalgia as he spoke, then he beckoned to Zhen Niang, clearly asking her to bring the collected soot pigment for him to inspect.
Zhen Niang crouched beside her grandfather, holding the soot pigment. She directly picked up a pinch of it with her fingers and gently rubbed it. Several fingers were instantly stained with ink. Sunlight filtered through the pomegranate tree by the door and shone precisely on Zhen Niang's fingers.
On the black soot covering her fingers, there actually shimmered hexagonal, diamond-like colorful lights.
"Ink luster…" Old Shopkeeper Li couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. But wasn't ink luster only found on top-grade finished ink? How could it appear on soot pigment?
"Grandfather, this isn't exactly ink luster. It's just because the soot pigment I collected is exceptionally fine, combined with the gloss of the tung oil, which creates a kind of lively light similar to the 'flying white' effect in calligraphy. This lively light reflects the sun's rays, making it look like ink luster."
"Hmm, that makes sense." Old Shopkeeper Li nodded repeatedly as he listened. His previously uneven breathing now seemed to smooth out considerably. He then asked, "How much soot material did you produce?"
"One jin and six liang." Zhen Niang replied with some pride.
"Good, good. In this regard, you've far surpassed your grandfather." Old Shopkeeper Li said happily.
"Alright, hurry up and go wash." Zhao Shi came over and nudged Zhen Niang toward the house to bathe. In just this short while, she had already prepared the bathwater for Zhen Niang.
Zhen Niang naturally didn't stand on ceremony. Entering the room, she took off her clothes and immersed herself in the bathtub.
The water temperature in the tub was just right. As she washed, Zhen Niang fell fast asleep.When she woke up, she was no longer in the bath bucket but lying in bed. Outside, the sky had already turned dusky. In the city gate area, aside from the occasional few rays of sunlight at midday, the rest of the time was dimly lit. It was hard to tell the exact hour, and Zhen Niang wasn’t quite sure what time it was either.
But she had slept deeply, so it must have been quite a while.
Through the window by the bed, she could hear the voices of her family talking in the courtyard outside.
"Mother, these past few days, the insulated buckets haven’t been selling well either. Even straw has become hard to come by," Du Shi said anxiously. The truth was, the insulated bucket was too simple—one look and anyone could figure it out. Besides, wealthy families looked down on it, while poorer households could easily make one themselves. Only some lazy housewives would buy it.
On top of that, some clever people had learned how to make them and were now weaving and selling them too, so their business had naturally slowed down.
"Once we finish weaving the straw we have at home, we’ll stop," Zhao Shi said. "Zhen Niang said it before—this thing only earns a pittance." She continued, "Besides, the day to collect silkworm eggs is coming soon. Once we start raising silkworms, we won’t have time for weaving this."
"That’s true," Du Shi nodded. Then she smiled and said, "Luckily, our family sold some insulated buckets. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even have the money to collect the silkworm eggs. Who knows where Zhen Niang got the idea, but it really helped our family a lot."
"You know that girl—she’s been obsessed with food since she was little. She used to hide snacks all the time as a child. She must have come up with this to avoid eating cold food," Zhao Shi said, half-teasingly.
Listening from inside the room, Zhen Niang felt speechless. She hadn’t expected this to be linked to her original self’s childhood habit of sneaking food.
Still, having such an explanation wasn’t a bad thing.
With that thought, Zhen Niang left the room, washed her face to freshen up, and checked the time. It was only just past the hour of Shen (around 3–5 p.m.). Good, there was still time to deliver the goods to the Li Family Ink Workshop. So, she casually chewed on a piece of crispy rice crust to fill her stomach, then picked up the prepared smoke material and headed to the Li Family Ink Workshop.
"Zhen Niang, here to deliver goods?" As soon as she entered the Ink Workshop, she ran into Sun Yuejuan’s second brother, Sun Qianyi, who was also there to deliver goods.
"Yes," Zhen Niang nodded.
"You can go ahead of me," Sun Qianyi offered, looking at the long line.
"No need, thank you, Second Brother Sun," Zhen Niang replied with a faint smile. This wasn’t her previous life, and she knew Sun Qianyi had feelings for her. But first, she didn’t feel the same way, and second, his mother, Madam Feng, guarded against her as if she were some kind of threat, afraid she would seduce Sun Qianyi. Zhen Niang had no intention of forcing her affection where it wasn’t wanted, so she could only pretend not to notice Sun Qianyi’s advances.
Hearing this, Sun Qianyi fell silent, somewhat disheartened.
Zhen Niang quietly stood at the end of the line, looking ahead. The person inspecting the goods was still Manager Zheng, but he worked quickly. Clearly, those who took materials for processing were all familiar faces, and everyone’s skill level was about the same. Manager Zheng usually just checked the quality of the smoke material first. If he wasn’t sure, he would pinch a bit to feel it, but most of the time, he accepted it without issue.
Soon, it was Zhen Niang’s turn. First, the weighing—when the scale read one jin and six liang, the surrounding crowd erupted in surprise. Until now, the most anyone had produced was a little over one jin and four liang, and that was from an old smoke generation worker with nearly twenty years of experience.
One jin and six liang—it was unheard of.Manager Zheng had been watching Zhen Niang approach from early on, still waiting for her to make a fool of herself. Unexpectedly, she produced one jin and six liang. How could he possibly believe it? Even if Li Jinshui had personally taken charge, achieving such a weight would have been difficult.
Immediately, Manager Zheng took the porcelain jar and held it up to the light. Spotting a hint of gray floating on the soot pigment, he sneered, "I say, Miss Zhen, if you’re going to fake it, you shouldn’t do it so poorly. Is there something wrong with your soot pigment? Look at others’ soot pigment—it’s all pitch black. Why does yours have a grayish tint? It must be mixed with pine soot pigment. I’m not trying to criticize you, but if you can’t do it, don’t bother. Don’t resort to deceit and trickery. I wonder how your family taught you." At this point, Manager Zheng muttered vaguely, "Well, it’s true—when the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones will follow."
After Manager Zheng finished speaking, whispers spread among the surrounding crowd.
Zhen Niang clenched her fists tightly, her face pale, her eyes coldly piercing Manager Zheng. "Manager Zheng, take a closer look. You can rub the soot pigment with your fingers to understand. Stop hurling insults here."
The soot pigment appeared black with a hint of gray precisely because hers was extremely fine. The finer it was, the lighter the color—a mere visual illusion. A simple rub with the fingers would reveal the truth.
"Pah! I’ve been examining soot pigment for over a decade. This color clearly indicates it’s mixed with Pine Soot Carbon. Fine, fine. Considering you’re a member of the Li family, I’ll give you some face. I’ll accept it today. The Ink Workshop can bear this loss. However, don’t come to collect any more materials after this. Go back and return the oil lamps, porcelain bowls, and other tools. That’ll be the end of it."
With that, Manager Zheng instructed a worker to take the porcelain jar away.
At that moment, Zhen Niang swiftly snatched the porcelain jar from the worker’s hands, clutching it to her chest. "Manager Zheng, just you wait. You must give me an explanation."
Gritting her teeth, Zhen Niang finished speaking, then turned and left, cradling the porcelain jar.
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