Chapter 54

"Really sleepy, whose rooster is crowing again? Damn it, I'll have to steal it tonight and stew it!"

Just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Li Tianyuan stretched lazily and walked out of the room. He saw Qin Feng and Xie Xuan squatting by the kitchen door and was taken aback. "Brother Feng, why are you two up so early?"

"It's not that we woke up early, it's that we didn't sleep at all!"

Xie Xuan replied without lifting his head, his eyes fixed on the ground as if there were some rare treasure there.

"What are you doing without sleeping?"

Li Tianyuan leaned over to take a look and said indifferently, "It's just a stone, right? You're treating it like a treasure."

Li Tianyuan, from the tips of his hair to the soles of his feet, had not a single refined bone in his body. Although the stone was shiny and beautiful, he didn't give it a second thought. He stepped back into the courtyard and began practicing his stance.

"Muscles are developed, but the mind is simple!"

Seeing Li Tianyuan's actions, Xie Xuan muttered under his breath. However, he quickly refocused his attention on the jade that had just been removed from the strong acid.

"Really beautiful!"

Looking at the nearly transparent piece of jade, Xie Xuan couldn't help but groan. If he didn't know it had been corroded by strong acid, he would have wanted to hold it and play with it.

"The method Master taught really works!"

Qin Feng's face also showed excitement. Before, he had only heard the theory, but now, applying it in practice, he could truly feel the strong visual impact of the transformation.

Actually, before starting, Qin Feng had some doubts. A black stone had become crystal clear in just one night, which was almost like turning stone into gold.

"Brother Feng, are we going to sell this?"

Xie Xuan looked at Qin Feng, his eyes full of admiration. If he hadn't been watching all night, he wouldn't have believed the stone could change so much.

"Do you think faking it is that easy? There are still several steps to complete." Qin Feng took a deep breath and said, "Little Fatty, go start the fire and heat up this stone!"

"Okay, Brother Feng, 212 degrees, right? I'll make sure to control the heat!"

Although he hadn't slept all night, Little Fatty was full of energy. He squatted by the stove, lit the fire, and filled the pot with water to boil.

Qin Feng placed the stone, which had been treated to remove impurities between the grains, into the water. He then poured the pungent strong acid down the drain and rinsed it several times with clean water before taking out the chromium salt solution he had bought the day before.

Chromium salts are one of the main products of inorganic chemical industry, including sodium dichromate and chromium trioxide, as well as small amounts of potassium dichromate, chromium oxide green, basic chromium sulfate, and some chromium-containing pigments.

Chromium salts have a wide range of applications, mainly in electroplating, leather tanning, dyeing, pigments, medicine, catalysts, oxidizers, glass and ceramics, magnetic materials, wood preservation, and metal polishing.

In addition to these uses, chromium salts can also be used as a pigment, artificially injected into jade.

After boiling the jade in water at 212 degrees for half an hour, it is immediately placed in the chromium salt solution. The chromium salts will penetrate the jade lattice, making it appear a beautiful and attractive green.

However, unlike civilian-grade chromium salts, this method can cause the object to contain harmful radioactive substances, which can have a significant impact on health if exposed for a long time.

When teaching Qin Feng this method, Zai Shi had specifically warned him to try to avoid faking it, as this method goes against nature.

However, Qin Feng didn't completely follow Zai Shi's instructions. After removing impurities and coloring, the jade would have a very short shelf life and wouldn't pose a fatal risk to the wearer.

"Brother Feng, it's done!" After half an hour, Qin Feng heard Xie Xuan's shout.

"This is the moment of truth." Qin Feng picked up a ladle and carefully placed the raw stone into the chromium salt solution. The pure stone immediately took on a faint green luster from the chromium salt.

To implement his plan, this piece of jade was essential. At Qin Feng's current age, trying to get something for nothing was unrealistic. The jade in the basin was a crucial prop for gaining people's trust.

"Brother Feng, this looks like dyeing fabric?" Xie Xuan, his face covered in soot, poked his head over, looking nervously at the stone in the basin. "Brother Feng, how long does it need to soak?"

"About two hours should be enough. Little Fatty, go get some sleep." After the raw stone was processed, the next step required skilled craftsmanship, which couldn't be learned in a short time.

"No, Brother Feng, I want to watch!" Xie Xuan rubbed his bloodshot eyes and shook his head. He had been involved from start to finish, and his anticipation was no less than Qin Feng's.

"Yuanzi, come over!"

Seeing Li Tianyuan practicing his stance, Qin Feng was suddenly angry. The two of them were working hard for a better future, but this guy was just loafing around.

"Brother Feng, what's wrong? Did I practice wrong?" Li Tianyuan looked tense when he heard Qin Feng's shout.

"Can't you think about anything other than practicing?"

Qin Feng said irritably, "Stop practicing now. Go buy some breakfast. Don't just buy flatbreads; get more meat buns. Brother Feng and I are starving."

"Okay, I'll go right away!"

As the saying goes, a half-grown boy can eat his father poor. Li Tianyuan had already digested what he had eaten the day before and was hungry. Hearing Qin Feng's words, he hurried off to buy breakfast.

After breakfast, Qin Feng sent the "unambitious" Li Tianyuan to continue practicing his stance, while he and Xie Xuan squatted by the iron basin containing the jade raw stone.

After two hours, Qin Feng poured out the chromium salt solution, and a piece of emerald green, crystal-clear jade appeared before them.

"Really... really beautiful!"

Looking at the deep green jade in the sunlight, Xie Xuan's eyes were filled with admiration. He couldn't believe this was the same stone from the night before.

"Beautiful, but it's fake!"

Qin Feng took the basin to the faucet and rinsed it many times. As the water flowed over the stone, it seemed to be infected by the green, turning the entire basin green.

"So beautiful, even if it's fake, I'll take it!" Xie Xuan looked at Qin Feng and pleaded, "Brother Feng, leave a small piece for me to polish into a ring? This thing is really too beautiful!"

Xie Xuan had once seen a friend of his father's wearing a green jade ring, but the luster and green color of that ring were far inferior to this one.

"Didn't I just tell you, this thing is harmful. If you want to die, I don't care!"

Qin Feng held the jade in his hand and examined it carefully in the sunlight before turning to say, "Our process is too simple, and the chromium salt solution is industrial-grade, which might be radioactive. Do you dare to wear it?"

Qin Feng wasn't trying to scare Xie Xuan. When Zai Shi taught him this method, he had told him a story.

The incident happened in the 1930s, about sixty years ago. A jade merchant spent a lot of effort consulting many chemical experts of the time and conducted many experiments to come up with this method.

At the time, most of the top-quality jade in the country came from this person, almost forming a monopoly. No one could compete with him in the jade trade.

But just as his business was booming, news of his death spread. Someone found a pigeon-egg-sized imperial green jade ring on his hand.

This ring caught the attention of the third daughter of the Song family, but unexpectedly, the ring was fake and emitted harmful radiation.

To quell the panic among those who had bought the jade, the news was only spread in a small circle, but the method of faking it was passed on.

Zai Shi obtained the method during that time, but with the Japanese invasion and the ensuing chaos, jade, as a plaything, was gradually forgotten. By now, things had changed completely.

"Do you still want it?" After telling Xie Xuan the story, Qin Feng smiled at him.

"Brother Feng, I'm not ready to die yet." Xie Xuan subconsciously took a few steps back and said regretfully, "It's such a pity that something so beautiful can't be used."

"Real imperial green jade is even more beautiful. Jade isn't very valued in the country now, but we can pay more attention to it in the future."

Although he had inherited the skills of the Outer Eight Schools, Qin Feng didn't want to get involved in the murky waters of the underworld. He had a vague plan for the future.

Of course, the most pressing task now was to turn this piece of jade into jewelry and sell it. After several steps of processing, the mold was formed, but there were still two crucial steps left.

"Bracelets take too much work, and the pair of bracelets in the legend has some flaws. Let's make a pair of earrings and a Buddha statue instead. After all, the person is called 'Old Buddha'!"

Holding the jade in his hands, Qin Feng's hands were covered in a green luster. After much contemplation, he finally made up his mind.

Expenses had been high recently, and Qin Feng knew they didn't have much left. He returned to the room and took out the set of carving tools he had bought the day before.

"Hands must be steady, eyes must be quick, and you must not hesitate when making a cut!"

Thinking about the techniques his master had taught him, Qin Feng's soft, boneless hands began to move over the surface of the jade.

At first, his hands were a bit clumsy, but after ten minutes, his movements became more skilled, and jade chips and debris kept falling off.

PD: I updated three times yesterday, but the recommendation votes have been hovering in fourth place on the weekly chart. Friends, let's push harder and get to the top. I need your votes!

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