Two days ago
Although saltpeter can be used to make ice, Qin Fang had heard from Doctor Li that saltpeter is a medicine that can improve the properties of medicines, and saltpeter can also be used to make firecrackers, so Qin Fang was still quite cautious about saltpeter. No matter who you are, you are always very strict about medicine. Even if you don't take the medicine, you will still worry about it.
So after finding out that saltpeter could be used to make ice, and after Qin Fang and Yang Haiyan planned to tell the court about this method, they naturally had to deal with this method with a more serious attitude.
Qin Fang said: "Although saltpeter can be used to make ice, we don't know whether the ice made from it can be used. As for sulfur, Doctor Li said that even the smell of sulfur is poisonous, and inhaling too much is not good, so we must also be careful when facing saltpeter. I will go to the Shoushan Changshou Taoist Temple to ask Doctor Li now."
Yang Haiyan's heart warmed up after hearing this. It was great that Qin Fang could think of the problem. She had read a novel before and knew that saltpeter could make ice. She also looked it up online out of curiosity.
She had read about saltpeter on the Internet. Although it was a mild poison, it would be bad for the human body if taken in excess. Therefore, saltpeter was always used to make ice in a water bath. However, here, she was a woman who accidentally discovered that saltpeter could be used to make ice while washing her hands. How could she know that saltpeter needed to be used in a water bath? Therefore, in today's experiment, she did not make ice in a water bath, nor did she tell Qin Fang.
Yang Haiyan's original plan was to wait until the saltpeter ice making experiment was successful, and then to remind Qin Fang implicitly, asking him to ask Dr. Li whether the ice made with saltpeter was edible. As a doctor, Dr. Li naturally knew that saltpeter was slightly toxic, so he would tell Qin Fang that saltpeter could not be used to make ice directly, as it was toxic. After that, they would definitely ponder how to make saltpeter ice non-toxic, and while thinking of ways, making ice through water would naturally be thought of.
But she didn't expect that Qin Fang had thought of it before she even brought it up. Yang Haiyan said, "Then go ahead. My husband is really attentive. I didn't notice any of this."
Qin Fang was obviously happy to be praised by her. He grinned, showing his teeth, but soon he pursed his lips again: "Then I'll go."
It was already time for dinner, and Qin Fang didn't eat dinner, but went to Beast Mountain immediately. When he arrived at Beast Mountain, it was already dark, and the Taoist temple was brightly lit. As long as you could see the Taoist temple, you would know that there were people there.
As soon as Qin Fang arrived at the Taoist temple, he went to see Doctor Li and said, "Doctor Li, I have something to ask you. Can I have a word with you?"
Doctor Li saw Qin Fang was so cautious, so he followed Qin Fang to a secret place and said, "I dare not ask you anything, but I wonder what the general wants to ask? Is it related to medicine?" The only thing the general could ask him about was this medicine.
Qin Fang said, "It is indeed medicine, and it is related to saltpeter. Today, my wife asked a master to make firecrackers with sulfur and saltpeter, hoping that during the New Year and other festivals, the house can set off firecrackers to liven up the atmosphere. However, by chance, she discovered another use for saltpeter, which is that it can be used to make ice."
Doctor Li was shocked: "What?" Because he was so surprised, his voice was unconsciously louder. Ice was a luxury not only for ordinary people, but also for the wealthy families. Many families had a certain amount of ice. It was not that the wealthy families could not afford it, but that there was not enough ice for them to sell.
But if saltpeter is used to make ice, the price of ice will probably plummet.
Qin Fang added: "This matter is of great importance. I am planning to inform the court, so please keep it confidential, Doctor Li." It would be bad if this was leaked out before the court made it public.
Doctor Li said, "General, rest assured. I know what's going on. General, you want to know whether the saltpeter can be used. Is it or not?"
Qin Fang said: "That's true. You said before that saltpeter is a medicine, so I don't know if it can be used to make ice."
Doctor Li asked, "General, can you tell me how saltpeter is used to make ice?"
This was not a problem, so Qin Fang told the truth: "Put the saltpeter directly into the water and wait for half a day, the water will freeze. But the saltpeter cannot be too little, and the water cannot be too much, there must be a certain amount. Saltpeter can lower the temperature of the water. Over time, the temperature of the water will get lower and lower, and it will freeze." It was something like that, and Qin Fang didn't understand the details.
Doctor Li said without hesitation: "If that's the case, then the saltpeter itself is in the ice. Saltpeter is poisonous. It came into direct contact with water and then turned into ice. It can be seen that the toxicity of saltpeter is also in it, so this ice cannot be used. To make ice from so much water, a lot of saltpeter must be added. A little bit of saltpeter may not be a big deal, but if there is too much saltpeter, the poison will be more. So this method of making ice cannot be used."
Qin Fang thought for a moment and said, "You mean, as long as the ice and saltpeter are not in direct contact and the toxicity of the saltpeter is not dissolved in the ice, then the ice can be used?"
Doctor Li thought about it and it seemed to make sense: "But we need to check to know."
Qin Fang said: "This is easy. Come back with me. I have a solution."
Doctor Li: “Yes.”
Then, the two returned to the general's mansion.
It was already evening, and when Qin Fang arrived at the mansion, he asked someone to bring a large basin and a bowl. He filled the large basin with water, and the bowl with water, and then put the bowl into the large basin, and then put saltpeter in the large basin.
When Yang Haiyan learned about this, she couldn't help but ask, "Husband, what are you doing?"
Qin Fang explained: "Doctor Li said that saltpeter is poisonous. If saltpeter is directly placed in water to make ice, the ice will probably also carry the toxicity of saltpeter and cannot be used. So I thought, if saltpeter and water are separated, then the water will become ice, will it be non-toxic?"
Yang Haiyan was stunned, and looked at Qin Fang with an incredible look in her eyes. Speaking of which, because of the relationship between time travel and transmigration, she more or less had some modern people's sense of superiority in her heart. Especially transmigration, she knew which people she could associate with after learning the plot, for example, when she was at the border, she found the shop of the prince's wife to sell soap recipes. But only at this moment did she truly appreciate the wisdom of the ancients. No wonder saltpeter was discovered in ancient times to make ice.
The achievements of modern people are based on the achievements of ancient people, but there is no information to check the achievements of ancient people. They figured it out by themselves. For example, the ancients were precocious and enlightened, but at that age, what are modern people doing? Basically, children are still being spoiled. For example, Yang Haiyan herself was also very pampered when her grandmother picked her up.
But now, she finally understood that she had always looked down on the ancients. She felt uncomfortable in her heart. For the first time, she realized that her mentality and thoughts were wrong.
Seeing Yang Haiyan looking at him with her eyes wide open, Qin Fang was a little scared. He asked cautiously, "Yanyan, what's wrong with you?"
Yang Haiyan walked up to him, looked at him quietly for a while, then opened her arms and hugged Qin Fang: "Husband, you are so smart."
Qin Fang was upset. What was going on? Although he was happy to be praised by his wife, and even happier to be hugged by her, he was a little uneasy. "Yan... Yanyan, don't scare me."
Yang Haiyan looked at his nervous expression and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She stared at Qin Fang's face with her big eyes, held his hands with both hands, and said seriously: "Husband, I really think you are smart. You see, Doctor Li said that saltpeter is poisonous and cannot be used to make ice directly, but you thought of using saltpeter to make ice. How can you be so smart?"
Qin Fang considered the meaning of her words and looked at her. It didn't seem like she was trying to make him happy, but was actually praising him seriously. So, Qin Fang hummed, hiding his inner joy, and said seriously, "Yan Yan, you are too kind. Yan Yan is so smart. If I am too stupid, how can I be worthy of Yan Yan?"
Yang Haiyan: “…” I didn’t know what to say for a moment. This person is poisonous.
It takes half a day, about two hours, to make ice from saltpeter. After two hours, it was already midnight, and the saltpeter had frozen. Qin Fang asked someone to call Doctor Li, who was waiting for the result. Doctor Li was shocked by the news of making ice from saltpeter, so he had been waiting without sleep. When Qin Fang sent someone to tell him, he went there immediately. Although it was a bit inappropriate to go to the inner courtyard, it was okay with the general being there.
When Doctor Li entered the room and saw the ice in the basin and bowl, he was shocked again. Just as General Qin said, saltpeter can really make ice.
Qin Fang said, "Doctor Li, look, I put the saltpeter in the basin, so the ice in the basin is together with the saltpeter, while the ice in the bowl is not touched by the saltpeter because there is a bowl between them. Look, both types of ice are contaminated with the toxicity of saltpeter."
Doctor Li said, "Okay, I'll check it out."
Doctor Li took some ice from the basin and the bowl. The ice in the basin and the bowl had just formed and was not very solid, so it was convenient to take the ice. A quarter of an hour later, Doctor Li told Qin Fang the results of the test: "General, the ice in the bowl is non-toxic and can be eaten, but the ice in the plate is not. The ice in the plate is slightly poisonous."
Qin Fang's face lit up: "Yeah."
Not only Qin Fang was happy, but Doctor Li was also happy: "It's a pity that saltpeter mines are not available to ordinary people, and there are not many saltpeter mines. Otherwise, if this method of making ice is promoted, ordinary people will be able to afford ice."
Saltpeter ice can reduce the cost of ice making, but saltpeter is hard to find. In ancient times, ordinary ores were not easy to find. Or gunpowder was already flying all over the sky.
Qin Fang said: "Indeed."
Listening to their conversation, Yang Haiyan thought of boiling salt from seawater. If salt can be boiled out from seawater, then can saltpeter be boiled out from ice water? Saltpeter, like salt, is a crystal. If saltpeter can be boiled out from ice water, then saltpeter can be reused. In this way, as long as the people store some saltpeter, they can use ice every year.