vrcanaries Chapter 111 Making Glass
Chapter 111 Making Glass
Yang Jianwu took out the glass base and ornaments one by one from the secret room. Li Ming and Li Ge did not know the value of glass, they just thought it was very beautiful. Yang Zihe and Gui Wu, however, knew the value of glass, and their eyes widened.
"Phew, finally all of them! How are they? Pretty, right?"
Yang Jianwu held up a glass lantern and twirled it in her hand. The bright surface reflected a person's face, and the colors were very vibrant. The veins on the petals and leaves were clearly visible. Ignoring the place where the wick was placed in the center of the flower, the whole flower was made to look incredibly lifelike.
Yang Zihe picked up a glass incense burner and examined it closely. It was so beautiful! With such a beautiful incense burner, how could he bear to use it? He would keep it as a collectible.
"Sister, where did these come from?"
Yang Jianwu had already prepared her explanation, so she responded naturally, "It was made by a master. He taught me how to make some simple glass products and left these things to me before he left. I don't usually have time to ask about these things, but I just happened to have some free time recently, so I took them out to study them."
Yang Zihe felt that his sister was very lucky, always having so many wonderful encounters. He felt only envy, not jealousy or hatred.
He had never seen the glassmaking process before and was eager to see it for himself.
"Sis, hurry up and make one so we can see it! I heard that glass needs to be heated in a furnace to be made. Where are we going to make it later?"
Yang Jianwu put down the glass lamp. "Wait a moment, there are still some people who haven't arrived yet."
As they were talking, the guards escorted Master Wei and Master Qi to the door.
Yang Jianwu greeted the two men and invited them in, saying, "Masters, please come in."
Upon entering, Master Wei and Master Qi were immediately struck by the glasswork on the table. They were so surprised that they forgot to greet the master. The glasswork was exquisitely crafted and had pure colors. Who could have made such a masterpiece?
Yang Jianwu didn't mind their rudeness and let them observe carefully.
"Ahem!" Gui Wu coughed lightly, covering his mouth, as a reminder.
Master Wei was the first to react, and hurriedly pulled Master Qi down to kneel, saying, "Greetings, Miss."
"Please rise, both of you. There's no need for such formalities."
Yang Zihe helped Yang Jianwu lift the person up.
Yang Jianwu disliked procrastination and directly explained to the two the purpose of summoning them.
"The two masters are senior craftsmen at Jubaozhai, and their craftsmanship is beyond question. Their attention to detail in jewelry making is also exceptional."
Yang Jianwu picked up a few glass rods and handed them to the two masters, saying, "I invited you here today so that you can turn the glass material in front of you into jewelry."
Master Qi admired the glassmaking craftsmanship before him, but he also recognized the facts. Looking at the glass rod in his hand, he said with some helplessness, "We... have never made glass jewelry."
Master Wei also expressed his dilemma. He had the opportunity to visit Xipan and, at the invitation of a friend, witnessed the glassmaking process, which was completed in front of a large furnace at a very high temperature.
In order to sell jewelry at a high price, in addition to its intrinsic value, it also needs exquisite craftsmanship. How to refine jewelry in front of a large furnace?
Yang Jianwu had the group sit down around him, preparing to demonstrate the art of lamp-making and glassmaking.
The two craftsmen knew that the young lady never boasted. She said that if glass could be made into jewelry, then she definitely could. They watched her work with great anticipation.
Yang Jianwu lit the glass lamp-making gun, and the slender flame that shot out shocked the people present.
Especially Master Wei, he didn't expect that the young lady could concentrate the fire into a small swarm!
Amidst their astonished gazes, Yang Jianwu picked up a piece of emerald green material and began to work with it. The glass rod slowly melted under the high temperature. Yang Jianwu then used tweezers to pick out a peanut-sized ball and quickly stretched one end while it was still hot.
The craftsmanship of glassmaking is meticulous, especially in terms of speed. It requires extremely fast shaping, as slow shaping can easily cause the glass to harden.
In Yang Jianwu's hands, the glass material was transformed into a teardrop shape, then the bottom connection was burned off, and finally it was cooled.
Wow! Sister, you're amazing!
Yang Zihe was the first to be unable to contain himself and exclaimed in surprise.
Yang Jianwu placed two glass earrings side by side on the table. "Masters," she asked, "if we take these glass earrings to Jubaozhai, would anyone buy them?"
Master Wei slammed his fist on the table excitedly, "Of course someone will buy it!"
The glass on the table vibrated slightly when tapped, and Master Wei's heart skipped a beat.
Gui Wu patted Master Wei on the shoulder, "Stay calm in the face of trouble, Master Wei."
Master Wei realized he had gotten too excited and quickly composed himself, saying, "I'm sorry, Miss, I got too excited."
Master Qi sighed, "Glass is extremely rare. If it could be made into jewelry, it would definitely be a hit throughout the Three Kingdoms period."
"Yes, sister, I've heard that even a small piece of glass in Xipan, the size of a teacup, can sell for a thousand gold pieces. If this glass lantern you brought out were to be made, wouldn't it start at ten thousand gold pieces!"
Yang Zihe roughly calculated the value of the glass in front of him and realized how wealthy his sister was... while he seemed to have nothing at all...
After listening to their analysis of the value of the glass, Li Ming and Li Ge were also very excited, but they hid it very well. They were subordinates personally trained by their master, and they couldn't let their master down. They had to remain calm and composed in the face of trouble, and not act like they had never seen anything like it before. It's just glass, after all.
Yang Jianwu explained the plan to them and also tried out a few techniques with the two master craftsmen.
The master craftsmen are skilled artisans, and they naturally learn with extra care when they encounter something new. Coupled with their unique sense of jewelry making, the lines they draw are very soft, and the production speed is also very fast. With a press and a stamp, another exquisite ring is produced.
Yang Jianwu was very satisfied with their work. "I'd appreciate it if you two craftsmen could make some more small ornaments these next few days, rings, earrings, all kinds of things."
"Sister, are you planning to bring these glass ornaments to the capital and compete with Xipan in the glass market?"
It has to be said that they are siblings after all. The older sister can guess most of what the younger brother is thinking with just one move.
Yang Jianwu glanced at Yang Zihe, who immediately fell silent and covered his mouth.
The two master craftsmen wisely chose not to hear and continued working on their glasswork.
Li Ming and Li Ge looked at Gui Wu, unsure how to react. Should they pretend they hadn't heard?
"Miss, shall we... stay here?"
Among them, Gui Wu is the eldest, and the younger ones are too shy to ask, so it's up to him to ask.
"You two stay by the masters' side these next few days. Report anything you need. This matter is very important, so there must be no mistakes."
Yang Jianwu didn't know what the glass Buddha statues that Xipan presented as tribute looked like. The products of the Great Furnace were definitely shaped as a whole. If they wanted to crush them, they could only win in terms of quantity and detail!