Fisherman Fubao made his fortune by fishing

Chapter 113 Li Yuer Improves the Oil Lamp

With both fish maw and shells, Li Yuer began to teach others how to make shell oil lamps. Because the production of oil lamps is very simple, unlike fish maw, which requires a secret technology such as re-steaming, Li Yuer asked Li Laosan's four brothers to learn how to make them.

They were extremely happy. After all, it was a skill. If shell oil lamps became popular in the future and the Li family no longer kept it a secret, they would be able to sell them as well.

As time goes by, according to the laws of tides, the ebb tide will become later and smaller.

Because they always fished in the same puddle and there weren't many catches today, Li Yuer didn't follow them into the town, but sent them directly to Nongchao Tower, earning a total of 280 coins.

The job of fishing in the sea in winter cannot last long. Not to mention that the price of fish will drop after the New Year, even the people in Fushui Village will find out sooner or later. By that time, there will be more people fishing in the sea, and the seafood will not be so valuable.

They can now harvest more by making nests, and since they have seized a unique resource, they can make every penny they can.

Li Yuer knows that innovation is the soul that makes handicrafts last forever.

She walked back and forth between the rooms with her hands behind her back, occasionally instructing them on oil lamp making techniques or giving them some advice on how to match shells, acting like a bit of a gentleman.

Even Guo Qingran secretly helped to make shell oil lamps in the room. Guo Qingran was such a clever girl, and the shell oil lamps she put together were really beautiful. Different from Li Yuer who incorporated modern elements, her matching had a unique beauty belonging to this dynasty, which was classical and elegant, and must have been very popular among dignitaries.

Li Yuer wanted to draw patterns on the oil lamp, but the shells were not hard enough and carving with a knife would easily damage the surface. Moreover, the carving process required too high technical skills from the craftsmen and could not be mass-produced at all.

If you use Chinese painting pigments, even if they are not wetted by water, they will fade quickly and will not be very meaningful.

At this moment, she suddenly saw a landscape painting that had been hung on the wall at some point. The painting was exquisitely done, with winding mountains and vast green waters. The accompanying poem was even more vigorous and majestic. Standing in front of the painting, one felt as if they were there, with their minds suddenly opened up.

The painting is signed Jingxing. It turns out that it was painted by my cousin. Seeing the painting is like seeing the person. It seems that my cousin is an ambitious young man with great ambitions.

Li Yuer smiled and instantly had an idea.

She knocked on the door of the east room and walked in after getting permission.

Cai Junyi was reading a book. Ever since the secret conversation with Guo Qingran that day, Cai Junyi's mood suddenly became much brighter. He was no longer dull, and he began to pick up the book again and study hard.

When Li Yuer got up at night, she would sometimes see the light on in his room. When Li Yuer got up in the morning, Cai Junyi would have already gotten up to read in the morning.

It turns out that studying in ancient times was also very hard. Li Yuer thought of the years of college entrance examination. She was so tired that her hair almost turned white. She never wanted to go through it again.

"Cousin, do you have any ink for drawing?"

An emotion flashed across Cai Junyi's eyes, "Yes, wait a moment."

Cai Junyi hurriedly took out the paint and the four treasures of the study and handed them to Li Yuer.

Li Yuer happily took it and said, "Thank you, cousin."

Cai Junyi looked at Li Yuer's back as she skipped away, with tenderness in his eyes.

Of course, he didn't think that it was Li Yuer who wanted to paint. After all, in his eyes, Li Yuer was an illiterate layman.

After getting the paint, Li Yuer couldn't wait to take some dissolved isinglass, put it into a bamboo tube, then poured in red paint, stirring constantly until the paint and isinglass were fully blended.

Ancient fuels all came from nature, such as flowers, plants, or minerals like stones, which generally have poor color retention, but when added to isinglass, they will last longer as the isinglass solidifies.

These fish glues with added pigments are crystal clear and have a strange beauty.

Isinglass paint can not only be used to paint and write inscriptions on shells, but it also solves a problem: white isinglass does not look very beautiful when stuck to shells of different colors.

Li Yuer couldn't show her knowledge of some characters in front of others, so she begged Guo Qingran to help her paint on the shells. Guo Qingran used red fish glue to paint some plum blossoms, and Li Yuer matched her with wood color to paint flower branches. The semi-transparent white color of fish glue was just right for painting snow.

Then she took the painted shells and went back to see her cousin.

She liked her cousin's magnificent handwriting and wanted him to help her write. Cai Junyi was delighted to see Li Yuer coming again.

"Cousin, what's the matter?"

Li Yuer placed the shell oil lamp in front of him and said, "Cousin, this is fish glue mixed with fuel. I would like to ask you to do me a favor and give me a calligraphy."

Cai Junyi stared at the painting on the shell in a trance. He was very familiar with this painting; it was drawn by her.

"Cousin?" Li Yuer waved her hand in front of him.

"Ah?" Cai Junyi came back to his senses and said, "Oh, okay, I wonder what poem my cousin wants?"

Although he asked this, Cai Junyi was thinking in his heart that if it were her, she would definitely like that poem about plum blossoms.

Cai Junyi's memory was pulled back to a long time ago.

That year, he entered Xinpu Town Academy with excellent grades. After entering the academy, his grades were always the best, and he always ranked first in every academy test.

It wasn't until a year later that a thin and handsome junior came to the college. He was a grade younger than him, but his grades improved by leaps and bounds.

In the college, students are divided into classes according to their average ranking in all tests of the previous year.

Within a year, that junior fellow student became a student of the same grade as him and also became his classmate.

He was very silent and timid, and even a bug crawling into the classroom would scare him so much that his face turned pale.

Other students laughed at him and said that even if he was a good student, he would never be able to take on important responsibilities.

He didn't think so, and often argued for him with other students. Although he spoke for him, they had very different views on many of the theories of sages.

Sometimes they would argue until they were red in the face. He was like a hedgehog, always on guard and not trusting anyone easily.

Until one day, his performance was surpassed by him and he became the second place.

There is loss, reluctance, and admiration.

Since then, he has studied even harder, preparing to surpass him in the exam and regain the top spot.

When the results were announced, he had indeed won first place. He felt a little proud and also a little curious, so he wanted to see his expression.

But I learned that he had dropped out of school and would never study again, let alone take part in the imperial examinations.

He was extremely shocked. Why would such a talented person withdraw from the imperial examination for no reason? It was really hard to accept.

So, he actually wanted to find him.

In the end, he failed to find his fellow apprentice, but unexpectedly ran into her in women's clothing. She was wearing a purple dress, walking through the bamboo forest, and the breeze blew through her skirt. At that moment, he suddenly had an illusion that in the next second, she would fly away on the wind like a fairy.

Later, he found out through all means that she was the daughter of Mr. Guo in the college. Except for him, no other students knew about this, and no one cared about it.

He didn't know why, but ever since that fleeting glimpse, he would think of her often.

Later, he never had the chance to see her again.

He thought everything would pass like a dream until he was admitted to Zhulu Academy with the first place in Xinpu Town Academy.