Chapter Twelve: Tobacco (Seeking Collection)

  After hearing Chen Lao's words, Zhang Lei's eyes lit up and he said: "This is a good idea, we can give it a try."

  Zhang Chen volunteered and said: "Brother, there are these things for sale in the town, I'll go buy them back and try them out."

  "Uh, go ahead, I'll think about other things." Zhang Lei nodded and gave Zhang Chen a piece of silver, saying: "Also buy some wine, meat, and food on the way back. We'll officially start firing up the kiln tomorrow morning."

  Things were arranged to go out, Zhang Lei went into the house and took out paper and pen, carefully calculating that although the temperature change can be perceived by the color change of metal, it is a large range after all. The temperature required for roasting tobacco is generally between 30-40 degrees, which is just within the range of human body temperature. To keep the internal temperature of the roasting house at this level is indeed a very difficult task, and it's not possible to win such a job without an experienced master.

  After more than two hours, the sun had risen to the top of their heads. The deep autumn sunlight was not as scorching as in summer, and it felt warm and comfortable on their skin, making them feel carefree and happy. Unbeknownst to him, Zhang Lei fell asleep with his head on the table.

  In his dream, he came to a strange place where the houses were very low and only one person high. The main structure was made of wood, with wooden flooring on the ground. The doors and windows were all sliding. The people here wore white socks without distinction between men and women, wearing loose robes, and their hair was uniformly combed up on their heads.

  This scene appeared in his mind, seemingly familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he had seen it before. Suddenly, a 17 or 18-year-old girl with a sweet and lovely face walked out of the room towards him, taking off her clothes as she walked. When she reached his side, all that was left was her naked body, emitting an enticing fragrance.

  The woman's figure was slender and elegant, exuding endless temptation with every gesture. As she drew closer, Zhang Lei finally saw her face clearly. Just as he was about to speak, the entire sky suddenly changed color, and his vision went black. Then, he was shocked awake by a chill that pierced through him.

  In front of him, Zhang Chen held a ceramic bowl in his left hand and had water dripping from his right hand. Without a doubt, it was Zhang Lei who had been splashed awake with cold water while he was having a beautiful dream.

  "What a pity." Zhang Lei said with emotion, recalling the things in his dream.

  "What a pity?"

  "Nothing, by the way, did you buy everything I wanted?" Zhang Lei shook his head and said. In his heart, he was still thinking, who is this woman? This scene, such a building, why does it always feel so familiar?

  Zhang Chen took out dozens of copper coins from his pocket and handed them to Zhang Lei, saying: "I've bought everything, here's what's left."

  "You can keep this for yourself, when you go out and see a book you like, you can buy it, if there's something delicious you want to eat, you can try it. As a man, one must have seen enough of the world." Zhang Lei did not take his money.

  Zhang Chen's eyes flashed with a hint of delight, but he immediately said: "This is all brother's money, how can I want it? When I was very young, didn't you tell me to rely on my own efforts to make money?"

  "Hey, you're a man, why are you being so hesitant? Just take it if I'm giving it to you. You're my brother, my own flesh and blood. Never mind, let's not talk about this anymore. Where are the things you bought? I need to go test them." Zhang Lei waved his hand and went into the house to wash his face.

  Zhang Chen bought back things all wrapped in kraft paper, neatly placed on the table. Zhang Lei took a look at the color, thought about it, and decided to test the impact of temperature on metal color changes.

  "Hammer Uncle, you come." Zhang Lei was just about to take action, but suddenly remembered that there was someone with more seniority here, and hastily gave way.

  Chen Lao said: "Use a fire basin to burn fire, and then sprinkle these things into the fire basin. These things will show different colors when heated, I'll come."

  Zhang Lei nodded and carefully watched from the side.

  After about half a time, all the materials had been tried out, and as expected by Old Man Chen, these materials showed different properties at different temperatures. Through these changes, the temperature inside the furnace could be roughly inferred.

  "Alright, next is the last thing. Now we can estimate the temperature inside the furnace, but what's most important is to calculate the temperature of the flue-cured tobacco when it's being heated in the curing barn, which is around 40 degrees," said Zhang Lei.

  "Knowing the temperature inside the furnace, the temperature in the smokehouse can only be controlled by feeling. Who is better at controlling the fire?"

  "Brother, I know there's a winery by the dock, why don't we invite the master brewer from that place to give it a try?"

  "Alright, I'll do it myself. The success of this batch is up to fate now. You go to the back and drill a small hole, feel the temperature of the hot air blowing out, and let me know when it's about right." Although it's better for the smoking room to be sealed, we can only sacrifice that for the sake of experimental data.

  The curing of tobacco is about to begin, and whether this batch can be successful or not affects everyone's trust in the curing technology, and even more so, it affects whether we can make that last bit of extra money for ourselves this year, so there can't be any carelessness.

  Everyone had a meal of hot pot together. Zhang Chen then lit a large string of firecrackers, and amidst the crackling sounds, smoke filled the air.

  Zhang Lei said: "Start making fire."

  The first piece of wood was thrown into the stove, announcing the official start of the kiln. Everyone in the field stopped their work and stared intently at this small house that carried everyone's hopes.

  "It's so hot." As time passed, the temperature inside the kiln grew higher and higher, causing the temperature in the smoke-filled drying room where the tobacco leaves were hung to rise sharply. After a while, Zhang Chen behind him shouted out.

  Zhang Lei quickly ran over and covered the place where the heat was coming from with his hand, saying: "Alright, alright, it's just this temperature."

  Loosen your hand, it's already a bit red, and suddenly feel a bit depressed. The temperature is rising too fast, it's almost sixty degrees now. Fortunately, the time is not long, hoping that nothing unexpected will happen.

  For four consecutive periods, from noon to nightfall, Zhang Lei closely monitored the temperature without leaving his post, while Zhang Baosheng also did not slack off, adding firewood and increasing the heat according to Zhang Lei's instructions.

  "Alright, let's stop here for today, don't continue warming up anymore." Zhang Lei said after calculating the time and estimating that it was about enough.

  The fire in the furnace gradually went out, and Zhang Lei also let out a sigh of relief. The first stage of operation was over here.

  After resting for a night, they got up early the next morning and continued to repeat yesterday's work. Although others had all come down to leisure, no one was willing to miss such a thing, and they all rushed over from home.

  For five consecutive days, Zhang Lei's spirit had been extremely exhausted, but in order to stand firm as soon as possible, he had to grit his teeth and persevere. As for Zhang Baosheng's control over the temperature, after several days of intensive training, it had already become perfect.

  "This day, after burning for another day, Zhang Lei said: 'Alright, this furnace will stop here.'"

  His words made everyone tense up, and after half a time of extinguishing the fire, Zhang Lei opened that only small door.

  The heat wave that had not yet dissipated blew in, mixed with the strong smell of tobacco. In just a short while, the surrounding air was filled with the scent of tobacco.

  "What's this smell? How is it much better smelling than tobacco before?" someone wondered.

  Zhang Lei explained: "Sun-cured tobacco is exposed to the outdoors for a long time, so the fragrance will decrease with the passage of time, and the fragrance that can be smelled is not as strong. And roasted tobacco is enclosed in such a small space from beginning to end, so it can fully retain its original flavor, which is also an advantage of roasted tobacco."

  He pulled down a small piece of tobacco from the pipe in front of him, cut it into fine strands with a kitchen knife, wrapped them in a small piece of paper, lit one end and took a deep drag.

  "Cough...cough..."

  Zhang Lei, who considered himself an old smoker, was suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of tobacco and started coughing violently, his face turned bright red, and tears were about to flow out.

  The cigarettes he smoked in his previous life were all processed and filtered, with a strong and mellow flavor, not a hint of pungency. But the tobacco leaves he roasted himself now were pungent and nose-stinging, completely contrary to his understanding, making him very depressed.

  "What's wrong, brother?" Zhang Chen asked.

  Zhang Lei waved his hand and said: "Nothing, nothing. This tobacco is considered to be successfully roasted. Whoever has come into contact with it, come try it."

  Qin Luo Feng stepped forward and said, "In my years at sea, I also came into contact with this thing, but they were all used as medicinal materials to treat injuries. I only saw people using tobacco like you when I was on the island of Luzon, but they didn't use paper, instead, they used a bottle filled with water and a hollow bamboo tube."

  "That's the water pipe, although it's milder than smoking directly like I do, but the fragrance still can't come out. Alright, these are all things for later. This tobacco is considered roasted now, come on, you come and smell this flavor."

  Qin Luo smelled it and said, "Hmm, this is the flavor, it's a success."

  His words were like throwing a stone into the calm lake surface, instantly stirring up thousands of waves, and everyone was boiling over.

  "It's great, our efforts haven't been in vain."

  "Yes, yes, now we can also have a good New Year with money."

  "This Zhang kid is really something."

  ……

  Zhang Lei let out a long sigh, the psychological pressure of these past few days was really quite big, and now he could finally relax.

  Zhang Chen excitedly said: "Succeeded? That's great! Let's hurry up and sell it to the pharmacy, those shops in Songjiang Prefecture are all collecting.

  "Little brother, let's just sell someone else's tobacco instead. We still have use for our own family's tobacco." Zhang Lei whispered mysteriously into Zhang Chen's ear.

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