Chapter 192: Trial Production

Yet this transmigrator divine artifact had shortcomings. The glass contained many fine bubbles, densely packed—not affecting use but seriously affecting appearance.

In truth, absolutely colorless, transparent glass products didn't exist anywhere in seventeenth-century spacetimes. Early glass products commonly had color casts and bubbles. Even modern glass products weren't absolutely bubble-free—just so few they were imperceptible. For transmigrators accustomed to crystalline modern glass, the current material still seemed crude.

So the next step focused on removing bubbles. In the glass industry, this was called "fining." Someone vaguely remembered that fining required adding clarifying agents, but nobody knew what specifically.

Additionally, someone recalled that stirring helped remove bubbles. Perhaps both methods could be combined.

People dimly remembered that arsenic was reportedly a clarifying agent. This poison was difficult to obtain in any spacetime. Fortunately, Guo Yi had previously bought up all of Guangzhou's arsenic per Agricultural Department requirements—Wu Nanhai had originally planned to use it for seed treatment.

So-called arsenic fining meant adding arsenic trioxide to the glass melt. At high temperatures, it generated vapor; these arsenic vapors existed as large bubbles in the glass slurry. During stirring, these large bubbles gradually absorbed smaller surrounding bubbles, ultimately carrying them away.

This method was indeed feasible, but adding arsenic to hot glass melt—sublimating into highly toxic arsenic vapor—the pollution during processing was terrifying. The glass team obtained face masks and gas masks and began the first experiment.

After the glass liquid melted, workers first threw ground saltpeter into the crucible for decoloring. Then continuous stirring began. The crucible had a lid; stirring bars could only pass through the lid's hole, making it very laborious. Soon everyone was dripping sweat. Every hour of stirring, some arsenic was added while continuing to stir.

The final glass was quite clear, but raw material consumption was staggering—nearly a whole kilogram of arsenic was used.

One kilogram of arsenic—all of Guangzhou's pharmacies combined didn't have five or six kilograms. At this rate, they'd need an arsenic industry to support large-scale glass production.

Obviously, this method was highly uneconomical. After group brainstorming, someone proposed a fining method seen in a novel: forcing water-soaked wood into the melt to cause boiling. Forcing water-soaked wood into the glass liquid would make it boil, carrying away bubbles.

This so-called water-soaked wood was easier to find than arsenic. Plenty of rotted wood lay along Bopu shore. They rushed to find some, using steel bars to ram it forcefully into the glass liquid.

According to witnesses, what happened next was like fireworks. The red-hot glass liquid exploded everywhere. Fortunately everyone was wearing steel workers' asbestos protective suits—otherwise some would have been hospitalized.

The person who'd suggested this was criticized for half an hour. He felt quite wronged—he hadn't made it up. But production processes couldn't be replicated from simple descriptions. Without detailed process documentation, they could only suspend further experiments.

After several more frustrations, someone finally found a glass manufacturing handbook in the Great Library's Chaoxing e-books. It explained the bubble-removal process: first add clarifying agents—arsenic did work, as did common salt. Then combine with stirring.

Stirring wasn't just using steel bars. A stirrer should be placed inside the glass crucible—a hollow cylinder made of refractory clay, operated by a hooked steel bar to move through the glass liquid. With sufficient stirring time, not only would most bubbles disappear, but streaks and stones in the glass would eventually vanish too, making the liquid completely uniform and transparent. Early optical glass was made this way—certainly more than adequate for commercial glassware.

Sure enough, following this procedure, when the crucible was extracted, bubbles had nearly completely disappeared. The glass liquid's viscosity decreased too, becoming very uniform and flowing smoothly. This glass could even serve as material for modest optical instruments—like eyeglasses.

Before New Year, the development team had solved the two major technical challenges of decoloring and fining. Encouraged by success, team members decided not to rest over the holiday, continuing development toward early achievement of Ming-era glass production.

When Wen Desi walked into the steamy glass factory workshop, he found most people listlessly squatting outside, fanning themselves. The glass furnace still radiated oppressive heat; the workshop temperature must have reached 37 or 38 degrees. He quickly broke a sweat. In the center, a large basket was filled with shattered glass pieces. Oddly-shaped glass objects were scattered on the ground and workbench—some vaguely recognizable as cups or bottles.

Ji Situi dispiritely explained that glassware production had completely failed—nobody could blow proper shapes. These amateur glass-blowers had practiced diligently since early morning, studying every available resource for instructions. A documentary about handmade glass showed workers effortlessly blowing whatever they wanted, but the transmigrators were completely at a loss. Never mind glasses, cups, bowls, bottles—they hadn't produced even a few resembling the proper items. From New Year's Day morning until now, several baskets of rejects had accumulated.

"Mr. Wen, this is difficult." Ji Situi's forehead glistened with sweat. The roaring furnace plus inability to produce quality glassware had the Chemistry head greatly frustrated.

"Don't worry. The Planning Committee has lots of glassware in stock, enough to last a while." Wen Desi was even more anxious but maintained composure to console him.

"Easy for you to say." Ji Wusheng spoke in Shanghainese. "When it's your turn, nothing works."

"Nothing else to do but keep trying. Practice makes perfect." Wen Desi had nothing better to offer—he was equally unfamiliar with this field.

The group was sighing and complaining when Li Mei arrived. She came in with New Year's greetings all around, then distributed small woven bamboo baskets filled with betel nut. Wen Desi knew this Women's Cooperative had been promoting this teeth-staining product nonstop among transmigrators ever since independently sourcing betel nut.

Actually, Li Mei's intentions went further. She had excellent information. News of the Industrial Department's glass production attempt had reached her early. For Li Mei, who was constantly thinking of expanding cooperative product lines, this was exciting—glass! If mass-produced, she'd make a fortune! So she'd been planning to visit the glass factory, using any connection she could. New Year's customs provided the perfect opportunity.

"New Year, new beginnings—why does everyone look like this?" Li Mei quickly noticed the unusual atmosphere.

"Can anything be good?" Ji Wusheng said grumpily. "All this effort and just garbage." He described how their lack of technique made proper products impossible.

Li Mei clapped her hands. "Oh my, you all really! Always talking about collective wisdom, but why not ask me?"

"What?!" Everyone's eyes went round. Wen Desi was startled too—Li Mei's file didn't say she'd been a glass worker. The Ming family did have one unique skill unknown to transmigrators, but it wasn't glass-related.

"You can blow glass? That's wonderful! Please demonstrate for us." Ji Wusheng's spirit immediately revived. He nearly grabbed the elderly lady.

"How would I blow glass?" Li Mei remained calm. "But when I was a trading company manager, I handled plenty of glassware. I know a bit."

She pointed at the misshapen glass pieces. "Take cups and such—generally there are two types. One is blown; one is mold-pressed—"

Wen Desi exclaimed, "Mold pressing! How did I forget that!"

"Exactly. Mr. Wen remembered too?" Li Mei smiled. "Since blowing doesn't work, why not try mold pressing? Actually, for glass cups, mold-pressed ones far outnumber blown ones."

"Good, let's try it right now!" Ji Situi thought this approach opened new possibilities. Mold pressing required molds. Designing and making molds was child's play for Machinery—especially for such simple small items.

"Wait—let's first establish specifications." Wen Desi interjected. "Since we're using molds, we need fixed appearance, specifications, and dimensions. Otherwise, we'll waste materials on future standardized production."

Everyone looked at each other. They'd seen plenty of glasses and bottles daily, but who knew their specifications and dimensions? Xiao Bailang finally had the idea: go to Planning Committee's warehouse and borrow one of each type of glassware for actual measurement!

Wen Desi immediately called Ma Qianzhu requesting temporary loan of glassware samples. The glass development team split into two groups. The metallurgy-machinery group led by Ji Wusheng and Xiao Bailang would measure samples immediately, then design and make molds. The chemistry group led by Ji Situi continued smelting glass, stockpiling enough raw material for later mass production. With tasks assigned, everyone got to work.

Wen Desi had mold-making experience himself. With the holiday anyway, nothing better to do—he joined the Machinery group to provide professional advice.

Xiao Bailang studied the various glasses, bowls, vases, bottles, teapots, and coffee sets borrowed from Planning Committee, trying to decide which to draw first.

"Let's start with an octagonal glass." Wen Desi thought it hard to predict this seventeenth-century market's demands. Better start simple.

"Right!" Designing such molds was effortless for machinery-trained Xiao Bailang. After studying the octagonal cup, measuring dimensions, he quickly sketched a three-view drawing in his notebook, then immediately designed the mold with pencil and ruler.

"Mr. Wen, what do you think of this mold?"

Wen Desi reviewed the drawing. This simple cup-and-bowl mold was straightforward—a two-piece combination design with matching jig. No problem.

"Go ahead. Materials don't need anything fancy. Have Ji Wusheng cast it in pig iron."

New Year's Day 1629 passed just like this.

The next day, Ji Situi delivered several pig-iron molds produced overnight to the glass factory. Having learned the glass liquid's properties from previous blowing attempts, and after discussion and a few more trials, they established the process: first coat the mold interior with charcoal powder mixed with tung oil to prevent the glass from bonding. Then Ji Situi used a blowing tube to gather a blob of sticky glass slurry. While blowing air into the tube, he rolled the gathered glass on a clean iron plate to round it, then began lifting the tube upward, blowing to keep the glass from pooling at the bottom. When the glass bubble reached proper size, he lowered the tube, used tongs to stretch the glass bubble to mold length, placed it in the iron mold, and let it sink to the bottom. Nearby workers pressed a wooden clamp to close the mold while he continued blowing and rotating the tube to spin the glass bubble inside. After a moment, cold water was splashed to release the glass. Opening the cast-iron mold, a beautiful octagonal glass cup appeared before everyone. All exhaled with profound relief.

Next came round glass cups, glass bowls, Western wine goblets, and even glass bottles—the last being something Guo Yi had requested for ages.

Finished glassware went into the annealing kiln for treatment. Then it was sent to the machine shop for high-speed wheel-sawing off the blowpipe end and polishing—these tasks were handled by Machinery's apprentice youths.

The first batch of finished products delighted the entire glass team. The Executive Committee, receiving the good news, ordered one specimen of each type sent to Planning Committee as "important historical artifacts" for permanent preservation.

Ji Situi pressed forward. Per Guo Yi's telegraphed requests, he had Xiao Bailang design mold sets based on the Red Star Erguotou flat bottle, then produced three hundred bottles in one go. These small, simple items used little material—perfect for everyone to practice on.

(End of Chapter)