Chapter 131
Chapter 131
After washing came drying.
Jin Bao could learn many small details unknown to others through her visions, but because she was young and could not explain herself clearly, she had to demonstrate them in person.
When drying the coal, Jin Bao had everyone move the washed pieces onto a raised platform so they would dry thoroughly.
Over the next two days, she constantly wandered nearby and turned the pieces from time to time.
Xiao Jingmo remained beside Jin Bao and committed every small movement she made to memory.
His little sister was young and perhaps unable to explain certain things. Yet despite her playful nature, she had not left Black Pine Valley for the past two days and had constantly hovered around the coal. That meant it surely posed some hidden danger, so he did not dare be careless.
When Jin Bao crouched down to turn the coal again, Xiao Jingmo finally gave in. He crouched to help and asked, “Little Sister, why are you so worried about this coal?”
Jin Bao raised her little head and answered in a crisp voice. Her small hands remained busy, clumsily yet adorably turning the coal.
“Second Brother, the coal has to dry completely before we store it. Otherwise, it’ll catch fire by itself. That’s dangerous.”
Xiao Jingmo did not quite understand why the coal would catch fire on its own, but after hearing Jin Bao’s warning, he did not dare treat it lightly.
In truth, Jin Bao was worried because of another vision she had seen.
If the coal did not dry and still contained moisture, piling it together could cause heat to accumulate. Coal was combustible, so once the temperature rose high enough, it would ignite.
Jin Bao did not understand the reasoning, but since she had seen it happen, she had to guard against it.
After drying it for two full days, Jin Bao crouched down, grabbed a handful of fine coal dust, and squeezed it hard. When she opened her hand and saw the dust crumble apart, she knew it was dry.
“Second Brother, it’s ready. You can put it all away, but it has to be stored somewhere dry and well ventilated. Don’t let it get wet.”
Xiao Jingmo had people store the coal in a shed beside the council chamber.
When Xiao Che heard the coal was ready to burn, he and Xie Chengyan carried a piece away.
This time, a single piece burned for a full two hours.
It burned an hour longer than the unwashed coal, proving it was far more useful than firewood while taking up less space.
There was no time to lose. Xiao Che and Xie Chengyan immediately began organizing workers to mine the coal.
But Jin Bao said mining coal was much more dangerous than mining iron, so on the first day of operations, Xiao Che and Xie Chengyan took her with them.
They also selected one hundred workers from the iron mine to work the coal mine.
The coal mine was relatively far from Black Pine Valley, requiring a round trip of more than forty li.
Xiao Che and Xie Chengyan decided to use the same approach as at the iron mine.
They would build communal dormitories near the coal mine.
They hired women to cook there.
Supplies of every kind also began arriving.
With the experience they had gained from the iron mine, preparations for coal mining proceeded much more smoothly.
In less than seven days, dozens of large buildings had been completed, each accommodating ten people.
Everyone slept on heated earthen platforms warmed by coal. Conditions were even better than at the iron mine.
At the very least, no one would wake from the cold at night.
Under Jin Bao’s intentional and unintentional step-by-step guidance, the coal mine’s first tunnel was finally completed.
Coal mines differed from iron mines.
Iron miners had to follow the veins of ore, and extracting iron was arduous, making it far more difficult than mining coal.
Coal was different. They had to excavate along the coal seam, sinking a shaft and mining upward by removing the roof. This was much easier. The only danger was the risk of gas explosions, which required prompt ventilation and drainage.
Jin Bao explained every one of these matters to Xie Chengyan.
A large shaft worked by one hundred people could produce forty tons of coal a day.
After forty tons of raw coal were washed and sorted, nearly thirty tons of refined coal remained.
That was more than enough for all of Black Pine Valley and the iron mine.
With this new fuel, the valley rarely burned firewood, allowing some loggers to be reassigned to processing raw coal.
With Xie Chengyan and Xiao Jingmo present, every matter in the valley was quickly put in perfect order.
Coal also made iron smelting much faster.
Xiao Che ordered the workers to forge farming tools first. With tools and draft cattle, the valley’s land could be cultivated.
Having nothing to do that day, Jin Bao ran to the iron-smelting cave.
The sound of hammering filled the cavern. Burly men swung heavy hammers, their sweat-soaked skin reflecting the firelight with a watery sheen.
The moment Jin Bao entered, a wave of heat struck her. Every furnace there burned coal, making the temperature several times higher than outside.
She had entered wearing an animal-hide jacket and now felt rather hot.
This was her first visit to the iron mine.
Everyone in the valley knew Jin Bao.
When the workers saw her enter, they greeted her warmly.
“The Young Miss is here.”
“Young Miss, how did you find time to visit our iron mine today?”
Jin Bao answered each of them with a grin. “Baby is only looking around. Uncles, don’t mind Baby. Keep working.”
With her hands clasped behind her back, Jin Bao skipped through the cave.
Because it was so hot, she had long since pulled off her little sheepskin hat and tucked it into the belt around her waist.
Her two upright pigtails, flattened beneath the sheepskin hat, stubbornly sprang up again and bobbed as Jin Bao skipped around.
Pei Wanqing had tied two red ribbons into her hair, with a tiny bronze bell hanging from each. Every time the red silk swayed, the bells produced a pleasant chime.
After searching for some time, Jin Bao finally found what she had come to see.
In one corner, she spotted familiar farming tools.
There were hoes, rakes, and shovels.
But Jin Bao did not see the curved-shaft plow from her vision.
Tilting her little head, Jin Bao scratched one pigtail at random, then turned and ran toward the nearest blacksmith.
“Uncle, can you forge a curved-shaft plow?”
The blacksmith honestly wiped away his sweat and shook his head with a smile. “Young Miss, what’s a curved-shaft plow? I only know how to forge iron.”
Jin Bao was disappointed. It seemed she had asked the wrong person. She should find Second Brother instead.
Jin Bao waved to the blacksmith, turned, and ran out.
By the time she returned to the valley, the wisps of hair across her forehead were soaked with sweat and clung in damp strands to her delicate skin.
Her little face was flushed, and before she even entered the courtyard, she began shouting.
“Second Brother, are you home?”
Her crisp childish voice startled the birds perched on the roof ridge into flight.
Xiao Jingmo still held a writing brush, ink dripping from its tip, as he hurriedly pushed open the window and leaned halfway outside.
“Little Sister, I’m here.”
Jin Bao looked toward the western side room and saw Xiao Jingmo’s face.
“Second Brother, Baby needs to talk to you.”
Jin Bao laboriously stepped over the threshold and could not resist complaining. “This threshold is so high! Didn’t the people who built the house know Baby has short legs? When Baby grows up, Baby will trample all of you underfoot. Hmph!”
After grumbling at the threshold, Jin Bao turned and ran off.