TKTWC 11

Chapter 11

Roughly Refining Coal Tar**

When Liu Yi first arrived in this world, she naturally thought about doing research. Not to mention how shocking it would be to develop explosives in the cold-weapon era—even just trying to study soap or toilet paper to improve daily life was a struggle, because she had no tools at hand.

No electricity, no instruments, and no raw materials she could easily order online. Everything that came easily in the modern world was met with obstacles here.

Then one day, she discovered an alchemy furnace covered in dust in the family warehouse.

She asked and learned that it had been passed down from her grandfather—Governor Liu’s father—when he worked as a fortune-teller…

Governor Liu came from humble origins. When he first became an official, he was often mocked for having a father who was a shaman. The sight of the alchemy furnace annoyed him—but he couldn’t smash it, and it seemed a pity to destroy it completely, so he just left it in the warehouse to gather dust.

Liu Yi’s discovery brought it back to light.

One really couldn’t underestimate the wisdom of the ancients!

This alchemy furnace had a three-layer sealed structure, equipped with a crucible chamber, a fire door, and air vents. The crucible chamber held the raw materials, the fire door controlled temperature, and the air vents could even regulate pressure—extremely ingenious and scientific.

She studied and experimented for a long time to basically understand its principles and操作方法, and made some small improvements on that basis.

But to be honest, if she had to design an alchemy furnace from scratch, she probably couldn’t do it.

Liu Yi lit the fire door, adjusted the valves, and let it burn empty for a while to expel the air inside.

Then she poured coal into the crucible chamber, inserted a forked U-shaped tube from the side—one end pointing up, the other down—and placed a bronze pot under the downward-facing opening.

She increased the pressure. When thick smoke billowed from the tube opening, she continuously poured cold water over the fork until the smoke disappeared.

After the smoke vanished, she stopped pouring water until the smoke reappeared.

…Over and over, repeating this mechanical process. Finally, a small amount of thick black liquid began to flow from the downward tube, dripping into the bronze pot.

Success.

Liu Yi let out a breath of relief. In the end, she adjusted the temperature according to the smoke and the flow rate of the black liquid, speeding up production.

Early autumn nights weren’t exactly cool. Staying by the high-temperature alchemy furnace was like being placed on a grill. She also had to cover her mouth and nose with a cloth to avoid inhaling too much smoke.

Even so, her face ended up coated in a greasy layer of soot.

By dawn, all the baskets of coal had been burned through, and she had refined about half a pot of black liquid.

Or rather, roughly refined coal tar.

Coal tar wasn’t tar in the traditional sense, but a tar-like liquid obtained by distilling coal.

If she had access to a modern distillation tower, she could just toss the coal in, set a timer, and go eat hotpot—coming back to collect the finished product directly. No need for all this trouble.

But inferior equipment had its advantages too. Roughly refined coal tar had lower concentration and was basically non-toxic—as long as the doors and windows were open for ventilation, it wouldn’t harm the person tending the furnace.

The remaining coal slag in the crucible chamber was also useful.

By the time Liu Yi had finished processing the products and residue, dawn had fully broken.

When she came out, she gave Xiao Shan quite a fright.

Liu Yi had said she might be “a little dirty” when she came out. To Xiao Shan, it looked like her mistress had rolled around in black mud all night!

Not just her exposed face and hands—even strands of her hair were caked with black grime!

What had she been doing!

Liu Yi didn’t have the energy to explain anymore. She stripped off her filthy outer robe and collapsed onto a rattan chair, falling asleep.

Xiao Shan hurried to heat more water while holding a parasol over Liu Yi’s head to shield her from the sun, letting her rest more comfortably.

Then, gently and meticulously, she wiped away the grime from Liu Yi’s cheeks and hair.

Over the years, Liu Yi had always disguised herself as a man. In the past it was manageable, but in the last couple of years as she matured, the soft, delicate features of a woman became more pronounced. She had to rely increasingly on face powder and stone pigment to sharpen and coarsen her features.

But these things, when applied to the skin for long periods, were very damaging.

It wouldn’t show now, but it would surely affect her appearance in the future.

Xiao Shan had tried to advise her once or twice, but Liu Yi only told her not to mention it again.

“You don’t need to wipe so clean.” Liu Yi said with her eyes closed. “I’ll be burning more again tonight.”

“Yes.” Xiao Shan quickly replied, making her movements even gentler.

After that, she wasn’t sure whether Liu Yi was asleep or awake.

—

Liu Yi slept until the afternoon, feeling groggy the whole time—but after washing her face, she perked up.

In her previous life during her doctoral studies, she sometimes pulled all-nighters for experiments and took days to recover. Youth really was a blessing.

She didn’t need to go out today, so there was no need to put on makeup. She ate something quickly and started a new round of experiments.

Xiao Shan went out once to check on the grain at the government office, then returned to take care of Liu Yi’s daily needs.

In her eyes, Liu Yi was constantly mixing the boiled black liquid with tung oil and lime, then soaking silk fabric in it.

After soaking for a while, she’d take the fabric out, inspecting each piece—some kept, some discarded.

She repeated the same steps from dawn to dusk, the motions and order unchanged, yet her expression never showed the slightest impatience.

What Xiao Shan didn’t know was that most experiments were exactly this tedious—changing one small variable at a time, seeking patterns and breakthroughs through endless repetition.

Liu Yi had long grown accustomed to this.

She spent her days experimenting and her nights refining coal tar.

She ate when hungry, slept when tired, and repeated the cycle upon waking. This went on for three full days.

Finally, on the morning of the fourth day, her parents—Governor Liu and Madam Qian—returned from the Qian family.

When they came back, Liu Yi had just emerged from her alchemy room. A little blackened figure walked out of the coal-smelling courtyard. Madam Qian nearly fainted at the sight.

“…It’s a long story. Being dirty doesn’t matter—it washes off.” Liu Yi chose a roundabout approach in the face of Madam Qian’s rapid-fire questions, flashing a row of particularly white teeth as she changed the subject.

“How did things go with Father and Mother? Is the Qian family willing to provide grain?”

At this question, both parents looked troubled. Governor Liu paused before answering: “…The Qian family can’t commit their whole clan to help. They’re only willing to give ten thousand hu.”

Their original expectation had been twenty thousand. Unexpectedly, the Qian family opened with a number that was less than half—only offering eight thousand. The couple spent several days negotiating and finally got it up to ten thousand.

For this, even the usually proud Madam Qian had humbly pleaded with the clan elders, only to be scolded and sent back.

She was already deeply worried about the failed fundraising—and seeing her daughter blackened like a mud figure, hearing from Xiao Shan that she had been busy through the nights—only added to her guilt.

After all these years, she hadn’t been able to lift her daughter up much, and now at a critical moment, she had held her back.

To her surprise, her daughter’s eyes lit up: “Ten thousand? That much? Then that’s enough!”