Reborn as a Cube Man in the Late Ming Dynasty

Bai Li emerged from the lava.

He had been lurking below, watching the trash being swallowed by the lava.

As it turns out, lava truly lives up to its name. Any rags, rotten wood, broken tiles, or debris that touches its crimson surface melts away in the blink of an eye, leaving not a trace of smoke.

He was completely relieved.

That's great, no more worrying about eating a four-legged "trash fish" one day.

He dug the lava pool himself. Digging the pit wasn't difficult; scooping a few buckets of lava from hell and pouring it in wouldn't take much effort.

One pour and one rinsing, and it's all clean.

"Take an iron bucket, go to hell and fill it with some lava. Make a pool like this in every county, and the garbage problem will be solved." Bai Li patted the dust off his hands.

Waste disposal doesn't seem that troublesome.

He was about to go back when he suddenly remembered something: he had seen a telescope at Johann Adam Schall von Bell's place when he was in Xi'an.

With a thought, he teleported to Johann Adam Schall von Bell's workshop.

The heat inside the workshop had not yet dissipated.

Johann Adam Schall von Bell was bending over to examine the two clay models, his brows slightly furrowed.

One is a traditional mold, and the clay layer has almost dried.

The other one was newly made with a segmented structure, intended for use in attempting iron mold casting.

There was also a gold mold next to it, so shiny it was eye-catching.

However, the experienced craftsman flatly refused.

"The temperature required to melt gold is much lower than that required for iron. If molten iron is poured in, the mold will melt first. That's not casting a cannon, that's melting gold."

So it was left there.

Bai Li asked, "Johann Adam Schall von Bell, I remember you had a telescope back in Xi'an?"

Upon hearing the voice, Johann Adam Schall von Bell looked up, quickly put down his work, and said respectfully, "Ah, Young Master Bai! There is indeed one. However, I left in a hurry when I came and left it in the church in Xi'an."

He added, "If you wish, young master, I can make another one, but it will take some time."

Bai Li was somewhat surprised: "You can do it?"

Johann Adam Schall von Bell nodded: "I once co-authored a book called 'On Telescopes' with Li Zubai. Although it was not yet completed, I am still clear about the principles and manufacturing methods of telescopes."

Bai Li's heart skipped a beat, and she pressed her advantage: "What about the microscope?"

"A microscope?" Johann Adam Schall von Bell paused slightly, "What does Young Master Bai mean?"

"You Western kind of device that can magnify tiny things," Bai Li gestured, though Tang Ruowang couldn't see it, "the kind where under the lens, a grain of sand can turn into a pebble, and you can see the patterns on a fly's wings."

Johann Adam Schall von Bell suddenly realized: "I have seen something similar before. With the help of a lens, you can magnify extremely small things several times, which looks really novel."

"That's right!" Bai Li's eyes lit up. "You can make it?"

Johann Adam Schall von Bell shook his head and said frankly, "I have never made this myself. However, I think the principle is similar to that of a telescope, so I shouldn't be completely clueless. If you really want to try, give me some suitable glass, and I can try to figure it out first."

He considered it for a moment, then said, "If it's just a regular magnifying glass, a slightly inferior glass won't matter. But if you want to magnify extremely small things, the lens must be pure enough, without impurities or air bubbles. The clearer the glass, the clearer the lens will be."

Bai Li smiled: "I can give you pure sand."

Johann Adam Schall von Bell asked instinctively, "How pure?"

"So pure, without a single impurity," Bai Li said. "How about glass made from this kind of sand?"

Johann Adam Schall von Bell nodded solemnly: "If it is truly that pure, then that would be wonderful. Give me some time, and I will surely be able to produce transparent glass."

God is omnipotent; it's perfectly normal for Him to find such sand.

Bai Li felt a surge of emotion.

Although the glass in MC is extremely transparent, it is also simple to make; you just throw sand into the furnace.

But once broken, it becomes a complete glass cube, each piece neat and orderly.

Unlike real glass, it can't be chipped off and polished slowly.

Otherwise, why would we need to go through all this trouble?

Just bring over a few MC glass cubes, and you can save most of the effort on microscopes, telescopes, flasks, wide-mouth bottles, narrow-mouth bottles, glass rods, and funnels.

After a moment of contemplation, Johann Adam Schall von Bell said, "If we want to make a suitable lens, I'm afraid I alone won't be enough. I'd like to find a few craftsmen who are familiar with glassmaking and polishing."

"They have been working with glass for many years, so they know what kind of heat is easy to burn out impurities, and they also know how to grind the lens flat little by little."

"With their help, I can save a lot of time."

Bai Li nodded: "Then we'll look for it."

Soon, several glass artisans were brought over.

The man at the head of the group was wearing a pair of small, finely polished glass glasses when he entered. He bowed and said, "This humble man, Zhou Jingming, greets Young Master Bai."

"I've also met Mr. Tang."

Bai Li glanced at the glasses on his nose.

"Did you make these glasses yourself?"

"Yes, Young Master Bai." Zhou Jingming adjusted his glasses. "It's just that the lenses aren't quite right; my eyes get tired easily after wearing them for a while."

"But it's much better than the ones from a few years ago." As he spoke, the glasses fell down again, and Zhou Jingming quickly helped them up.

"Let me see." Tang Ruowang leaned forward and asked for the glasses. He held the frames with both hands and carefully examined them.

He then returned it, giving his approval: "The lenses are well ground."

Zhou Jingming put on his glasses, and then, excitedly, asked, "You know about this too, sir?"

"I once co-authored 'On Telescopes' with Li Zubai, which touched upon the grinding of lenses. Grinding lenses, you know," Johann Adam Schall von Bell smiled slyly, "I naturally know a little about it!"