Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1285 Hydrogen Balloon

Xinji was very careful when she blew up the first balloon.

He always kept in mind what Shen Zheng had said: "After each breath you blow in, you must pinch your neck to prevent the air from escaping."

One inhale, one exhale.

A pinch.

One inhale, one exhale.

Squeeze again!

As this cycle repeated, the balloon grew larger and larger. Before Shen Zheng could call a stop, Xin Ji gradually panicked and dared not blow it anymore.

"Lord Shen, is this thing insatiable? I feel like it's almost drained me dry..."

The balloon, as big as a head, swayed gently in his hand. Shen Zheng raised her hand and said, "That's enough, give it to me."

Xin Ji relaxed his back and handed over the first balloon he had blown up.

"呲-"

"Puff puff--"

Before Shen Zheng's fingers even touched the opening of the balloon, Xin Ji let go.

The balloon swung backward in mid-air, expelling air and spinning, and landed on the table in the blink of an eye.

"..."

Xin Ji's back, which had finally relaxed, stiffened again.

Shen Zheng looked at the balloon lying on the ground and said helplessly, "What did I tell you before?"

"Hold the neck tight! Don't let the air escape!" Xin Ji hurriedly squatted down to pick up the balloon, wagging his tail like a big dog that had done something wrong: "Just a moment, just a moment, I'll blow it up again right away!"

"Suck--"

"call--"

"Suck--"

"call--"

After a few breaths, the balloon returned to its original shape.

This time, Xin Ji learned his lesson and only carefully let go when Shen Zheng pinched the neck of the balloon with her fingers.

Shen Zheng tied a knot around her neck and tossed the balloon down to the audience.

"Catch it!"

The balloon traced a light, floating arc under the sun, then slowly descended on the wind.

Fang Ziyan was the first to jump up.

Shen Zheng added, "Keep sharp objects away and don't touch it!"

After everyone conducted a self-examination, Cui Jinyin was the most flustered.

Speaking of hairpins, she had four or five on her head. By the time she took them all off, the balloon was already in Fang Ziyan's hands.

Fang Ziyan carefully cradled the soft, round ball, not daring to exert any force, and grinned at the stage, saying, "Sister Shen, this balloon is so light, just like a cloud!"

Xin Ji puffed out her cheeks as she blew up the second balloon, not forgetting to retort, "You've never even touched a cloud!"

Fang Ziyan chuckled.

But the balloon was very soft, its texture only slightly less firm than the fat on his stomach.

Shen Zheng stepped off the stage.

Yu Shizhang looked at the balloon in Fang Ziyan's hand with a burning desire, but as an elder, he was too embarrassed to reach out and snatch it. He could only ask Shen Zheng, "A few days ago, after you finished your official duties, you locked yourself in your study and tinkered with this thing?"

Shen Zheng nodded with a smile: "This thing looks easy, but it's not easy to make at all."

Softening the rubber, applying the plasticizer, curing and demolding... every step of the production process requires exceptional patience.

Despite her extreme caution, only five of the more than twenty balloons she made met the standards for both sealing and elasticity.

Fortunately, rubber can be recycled and reused, otherwise she wouldn't dare to go through all this trouble.

Just then, two swaying balloons appeared in front of me.

"Lord Shen, you've finished playing. What's next? What else do you need me for?"

Xin Ji not only blew up the remaining two balloons, but also imitated Shen Zheng by tying a knot at the neck of the balloons to prevent them from leaking air.

"Let the gas out," Shen Zheng said.

"Huh? I just finished blowing it up..." Xin Ji complained secretly as she resignedly let out the air.

After two "pop" sounds, the balloon in his hand returned to its original state.

No, there are still some differences compared to before.

“It looks like… they’ve been stretched open by the air.” Xin Ji observed carefully.

Fang Ziyan held up the balloon and asked, "Sister Shen, do we need to deflate this one too?"

He'd been touching it for so long, he was starting to feel reluctant to let it go.

"You guys can play with those for now," Shen Zheng said with a smile. "Let's make a couple of helium balloons first."

Fang Ziyan beamed and generously handed the balloons in his hand to Nan Shu: "Nan Shu, you and Jin Yin play first."

Shen Zheng returned to the stage, but Xin Ji refused to leave, saying she wanted to assist her and Mu Ruojue.

On the long table, a ceramic urn filled with zinc powder stood quietly. There was a small hole in the lid, through which a section of bamboo tube was inserted.

Shen Zheng picked up the vinegar bowl and said to Xin Ji, "Open the lid of the jar."

"This...this is already starting?" Xin Ji was bewildered and quickly followed the instructions.

After opening the urn lid, Shen Zheng tilted her wrist slightly, and the amber-colored vinegar liquid "whooshed" into the urn, instantly covering the zinc powder.

Within two breaths, a faint hissing sound rang out from inside the jar.

Whether it was a misperception or not, Xin Ji felt a surge of energy bursting out of the jar and rushing straight towards his face.

Cool.

Gently.

It has no strange smell.

He couldn't help but take a couple more sniffs, his eyes filled with curiosity.

Below the stage, Yu Shizhang and the others stood up and looked around curiously.

"It seems... there's already some movement?"

"It sounds like it's crackling; it's probably going to be a success."

"What are you standing there for?" Shen Zheng patted Xin Ji's shoulder and gestured with her chin, "Close the lid of the jar, put on the balloon, and let it breathe."

Xin Ji snapped out of his daze, quickly tightened the lid of the urn, took the balloon handed to him by Mu Ruojue, and quickly put it on the bamboo tube.

"Zizzi-"

The sound from the jar grew louder and louder.

Almost simultaneously, Xin Ji clearly felt a stream of air slowly flowing into the balloon through the bamboo tube.

"It's inflating! It's inflating!" Fang Ziyan exclaimed from below the stage, jumping up suddenly. "Look! The balloon has really gotten bigger!"

The changes in the balloon were obvious to everyone.

At first, it was only the size of a fist.

After half a cup of tea, it became the size of a palm.

After a cup of tea, it was a size larger than the rim of the bowl.

After an incense stick's time, it had even grown larger than a washbasin.

Xin Ji's hands began to tremble, and he had an inexplicable sense of foreboding: "Lord Shen, isn't this big enough?"

Shen Zheng carefully observed the shape of the balloon.

When the balloon grew larger than a foot basin, she finally called for a halt: "That's enough. Xiao Mu, switch with Xin Ji."

Xin Ji secretly switched hands with Mu Ruojue like a thief, and then carefully tied a knot at the neck of the balloon.

Only then did he truly grasp the meaning of "lightness": "Lord Shen, I feel like if I let go, it could fly away..."

This balloon was actually pulling him.

Fang Ziyan exclaimed from below the stage, "Xin Ji, the back of your ball is pointing towards the sky!"

Xin Ji was taken aback.

What does "buttocks up" mean?

He slowly looked at his hand.

As if afraid he wouldn't understand, Fang Ziyan pointed to the ordinary balloon in Yu Nanshu's hand and said, "Look at that balloon from before! Its bottom was facing the ground! It's completely different from the one in your hand! Xin Ji, you mustn't let go and let it run away!"

After comparing the differences between the two balloons, Xin Ji suddenly realized that she seemed to have done something really big.

He couldn't help but let his imagination run wild: "Lord Shen... if this balloon were big enough, could it pull me up into the sky too?"

Shen Zheng felt that Xin Ji was more suited to riding in a hot air balloon than a hydrogen balloon.