Traveling through ancient times and taking space to farm

The main processes of making ink include refining tobacco, washing tobacco, mixing materials, making and drying.

Smoke refining: using incomplete combustion method to extract smoke, oil and ash from grease.

While refining the smoke, wash the cowhide, cut it into pieces, put it into a large pot and simmer it over low heat.

Then add anti-insect and anti-corrosion medicinal materials and spices in proportion, and boil it into glue.

Slowly add the tobacco material, knead it evenly, and then hammer it a hundred times. The longer you beat, the smoother the tobacco material and glue will be.

Then put it into the plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum molds that Mr. Zhang had carved long ago, press and shape them to make a blank, and then air-dry them for use.

The uncle and nephew worked hard for several days, and finally successfully produced the first batch of ink sticks after several failed attempts at matching.

After the ink strip is dry, it feels solid, delicate and shiny in your hand.

Looking into the light, there is a purple light glowing inside the black, there are no cracks, and there is a faint smell of sandalwood.

Zhang Shuli couldn't wait to run to the study to try the ink.

Use an inkstone to drop water into the inkstone, press it gently and slowly grind the ink.

When stained with ink, the pen is light when writing, the pen is flexible, not sticky, not astringent, not stagnant, the ink dries easily and is black and bright, and does not fade.

"Haha... what a wonderful ink! I didn't expect that I, Zhang Shuli, would use such good ink in my lifetime.

And I made it myself, haha..." Zhang Shuli's joy was beyond words.

"Dad, Mom, I succeeded, I succeeded, I succeeded in making high-quality ink. Haha..."

Zhang Shuli was so excited that he went crazy. I don't think he had ever been like this when he was admitted as a scholar.

In fact, it's no wonder he was so excited. It turned out that he just wanted to study and pursue an official career.

I have read books for more than 20 years without any achievements, and I only failed a few times to make such good ink. No one may be able to grasp the mood well.

Taking the written calligraphy and running into the main room, the old man saw that the second son didn't look like a scholar at all. He was babbling. He was not stable at all even though he was in his thirties.

He scolded angrily: "What are you yelling about?

How old are you? If you are still so unstable, how can you be worthy of a big responsibility in the future?" He reached out and took the handwriting his son had just written.

I touched it and twisted it again. There was no floating ash, no particles, and no falling black ash to make my hands black.

“The ink is really good, it’s a pity to use such a good thing at home!

It should be mass-produced and put on the market in large quantities so that everyone who needs it can use it."

When the old man saw that he had made such good ink, he was determined to make it bigger.

After all, such a good thing is only for my own use, it is a bit wasteful, and it feels like killing a chicken with a knife. So I discussed it with my two sons.

"If you decide not to pursue an official career and make ink at home, are you willing to become a merchant?"

"Dad, I am willing to make ink and be a merchant, and I will never leave the examination room." Zhang Shuli answered his father's question affirmatively.

"okay.

If our family wants to engage in ink business, it must have its own name and a resounding name.

I want to think of a name that sounds good and loud."

Zhang Shuli said: "Mo is a prescription invented by Han Yun, so it is called Yun Mo, right?"

"The rhyme is not loud, but it sounds feminine when you hear it.

Our ink is made of tung oil, why not call it ‘Zhang Jiatong ink’, it sounds nice and is easy to remember.” Zhang Shujun suggested.

"Zhang Jiatong's ink is good, and people will know who it belongs to at first glance, so why not just call it 'Zhang Jiatong'."

In this way, as long as no one in our family leaks the recipe, outsiders will not know what our ink is made of. If you want to imitate it, it will take some time to research." Mr. Zhang decided on the name.

"Grandpa, we have to number each batch of ink. If someone wants to do something, they don't know what number our next batch of goods will be. It's not easy to do anything.

Secondly, people who bought ink can use the serial number to check whether it is genuine. This gives the buyer peace of mind and does not have to worry about buying a fake." Han Yun came over to join in the fun and heard that her grandfather wanted to do the ink business, so she came up with an idea.