That evening, no sooner had Song Jinzhao stepped into the back courtyard than Song Anhao rushed over like a firecracker, shouting loudly.
“Elder Sister, I’ve invented movable-type printing!”
Song Jinzhao’s eyes lit up.
“Really?”
Song Anhao nodded vigorously, her pupils shining like gems.
“Really. I tested it this afternoon, and the printed words are even neater than before.”
“Liu Ziyuan’s ‘Record of Grievances’ is already finished. I plan to start printing tomorrow, and I can have it on sale within ten days.”
Song Anhao prattled on nonstop until she walked into the room and noticed the black stains covering the lower half of Song Jinzhao’s dress.
She blurted out, “Elder Sister, did you fall into a ditch?”
Song Jinzhao laughed helplessly. “No, I got dirty at the coal mine.”
The round table in the center of the room was laden with dishes. Even though Song Jinzhao had returned late, the three siblings hadn’t eaten ahead of time.
A maidservant brought a basin for Song Jinzhao to wash her hands. As she sat down and picked up her bowl, Song Qiming asked curiously, “I heard Ah Jie bought dozens of coal mines today. Are you planning to go into the coal business?”
Song Jinzhao took a big bite out of a chicken drumstick.
“In a few days, I’ll show you two things.”
At this, Song Qiming’s curiosity grew even stronger.
He pressed on, “What things?”
Song Jinzhao replied with a smile, “You’ll find out when the time comes.”
Song Jinzhao had purchased all two hundred mu of mountain land next to the Li family’s coal mine. When she arrived the next day, twenty pits one meter deep had already been dug on the flat terrain.
A layer of coal and a layer of limestone were poured in, burned for a full day and night, and then left to cool for two days.
The limestone hadn’t broken, but its surface was covered with a dense network of cracks.
……
Song Qiming waited impatiently for several days, until the afternoon of the fourth day, when Song Jinzhao had two carts of cement transported and parked at the entrance of the government office.
When he was called out, Song Jinzhao had already directed people to fence off the open space in front of the office with wooden boards, dividing it into dozens of sections.
“Ah Jie, what are you doing?”
Song Jinzhao turned back and smiled. “One of the things I mentioned earlier has been made.”
“Watch carefully. We’ll need it later for paving roads.”
She instructed the guards: “First, dump one bag of cement, two bags of sand, and three bags of gravel on the ground, then mix them.”
Song Qiming obediently watched in silence. Paving roads in his spare time was something he and his sister had agreed on long ago, and now it seemed Ah Jie had invented something new.
When the mixture was about right, Song Jinzhao continued directing, “Dig a pit in the middle and pour in the water.”
“Don’t add too much at once. When stirring with the shovel, be careful not to get any on yourself. This stuff heats up and can burn you.”
A quarter of an hour later, looking at the formed concrete, Song Jinzhao wore a satisfied smile.
“Pour it all into one section, and use a wooden board to smooth the surface.”
Thinking about how in the coming months the streets and alleys of Suining City could be paved with cement roads, Song Jinzhao felt a swell of pride.
The sun was harsh on the eyes. Song Jinzhao looked up at the sky.
“Water it every two hours. Don’t let it dry out too quickly.”
Lanxi said, “Rest assured, County Princess. I’ll personally watch over it.”
During the two days while they waited for the cement to dry, officials, yamen runners, and commoners alike stopped to take a look whenever they passed by. Anyone trying to get close was stopped by Lanxi. “It hasn’t dried yet; you can’t step on it.”
Shi Simian, dressed in his official robe, crouched down to examine it closely. “Manager Lan, will using this for roads be reliable?”
Lanxi replied firmly, “Whatever the County Princess sets her mind to, she never fails at.”
