Chapter 522 - 516_1
Zhao Erhu still feels the pinch when he talks about it to this day. Lin Yue looked at the few mirrors inside the box—indeed, they were not large. The biggest was scarcely bigger than the palm of a hand, and the smallest was not even half as big. There were a total of five pieces, and they had cost over five hundred taels of silver—truly an exorbitant price.
It’s not that there were no glass mirrors in the Great Zhou Dynasty, but it would be inaccurate to call them glass mirrors—they should be referred to as colored glaze mirrors instead. There’s a difference between colored glaze and glass. The nobles in the Imperial Palace and those from the aristocratic families also used them, and Lin Yue had seen them both at Commandery Princess Roujia’s and Princess Yongle’s places.
However, the colored glaze technology of the Great Zhou Dynasty was not yet mature. Lin Yue had closely examined the colored glaze mirror in Princess Yongle’s bedroom. Its glossiness was far inferior to that of the glass mirrors, although it was slightly clearer compared to the customary bronze mirrors used at the time. Even so, such colored glaze mirrors were rare, and only the favored empresses in the palace could afford to use them.
Because not only were the production costs high for colored glaze mirrors, but they were also labor-intensive and time-consuming. "Forged in fire, refined in water," it took dozens of procedures to complete one, mainly relying on manual craftsmanship. Even for skilled technicians, success depended on luck. During the initial firing alone, the success rate of the finished products was only forty percent—not even half. Unlike gold and silver wares, colored glaze could not be recycled. The slightest problem during production meant that dozens of days and multiple procedures had been in vain. Considering such costs, it’s no surprise that only the Imperial Household Department in the palace possessed this technology. Even if it spread outside, it would not be affordable for ordinary people. Only the palace nobles and those great aristocratic families could afford such luxury.
Lin Yue had never made glass, but she had read novels in which the female protagonist made glass and became rich. Those stories provided a recipe, which was more or less the same in each case. After seeing it so frequently, she also memorized it. Lin Yue guessed the authors must have copied it from Baidu, so the method was probably correct. If glassmaking was really so profitable, perhaps she could give it a try.
"Wife, what are you thinking about?" Zhao Erhu noticed his little wife had become lost in thought as she spoke. She had not responded to him for quite a while. He shook his large fan-like hand in front of Lin Yue.
Lin Yue snapped back to her senses and looked at Zhao Erhu. She didn’t hide her thoughts, "Nothing much. I was just thinking that it would be great if we could make glass mirrors. These things are worth so much, we could definitely make a fortune."
"Wife, are you joking?" Zhao Erhu didn’t take what Lin Yue said seriously, thinking she was only teasing him. "These glass mirrors are only sold by one family from the foreign tribes. The method of making glass mirrors is preserved in the royal palace; it’s impossible for it to be shared outside. Stop having such fanciful thoughts. You’ve got money on the brain, it seems."