After seeing off the group of nobles, Harrenhal finally returned to tranquility. During this time, everyone from Roman to the Servants was exhausted beyond belief.
"I don't know how Robert can enjoy feasts when they're so tiring. Sigh, maybe I just don't know how to enjoy myself."
Beside Roman was Fili, who hadn't rested at all during this period. The young girl had changed back into her usual work clothes; without the need for socializing, she didn't want to keep herself so tense.
She had been exhausted during the feast, and the fatigue on Fili's face still hadn't faded. Roman watched her for a moment, then pulled the girl onto a bench.
"Lord Roman?!"
"You've been tired enough lately. Rest with me for a while."
Roman gave Fili no chance to object, pulling her into his arms, letting her lean against his chest as he caught the scent of her hair.
"Floral scent? It seems you've been using the shampoo and body wash too."
Fili blushed at Roman's breath near her. "After all, the things Lord Roman invents are truly useful! I heard from Lord Mooton that these daily necessities are selling like crazy in Westeros, and some have even reached across the sea."
Firmly held by Roman, the girl eventually gave up struggling and instead pressed her ear against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart.
Roman's scent drifted through his clothes into Fili's nose, and she greedily savored the moment.
Suddenly, Fili realized she was already eighteen, meeting Roman's definition of adulthood. Although in her own eyes, fourteen was already considered an adult, Roman had insisted on waiting until she was eighteen to discuss "adult matters."
However, Roman was currently focused entirely on Harrenhal's affairs, and Fili was sensible enough not to disturb him. Regardless, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
She had escaped that slum where the average lifespan was only thirty or forty years. The Maesters said that if she looked after her health now, she could easily live past sixty.
At the thought of this, Fili couldn't help but sigh, "Lord Roman, you are truly different from other nobles. Harrenhal allows commoners to live with dignity. You've given us clothing, food, housing, medical care, and education. I want to ask an offensive question: why are you willing to be so kind to us commoners?"
Roman looked down at Fili. The girl was looking at him with an expression of both admiration and confusion, a hint of charm radiating from between her brows.
Seeing Fili's lovely appearance, Roman kissed her cheek, which was as smooth as a peeled boiled egg.
"From Harrenhal's perspective, only when you are well-fed and clothed can I gain the maximum profit and squeeze out all your value."
As he spoke, Roman pinched the corner of the girl's mouth.
"On a personal level, I simply enjoy seeing the people connected to me living in peace and laughter. That is my reason."
It was the same answer. Roman gave these two reasons to everyone. He even spread his ideas, so that people in Harrenhal and even the Seven Kingdoms knew his theories.
In noble circles, evaluations of Roman's thoughts were varied, but everyone admitted he was a talent. Meanwhile, the commoners sang his praises, especially the locals of Harrenhal.
People living in Harrenhal's territory had an inexplicable confidence when they went out, feeling quite proud to live under Roman's rule.
"Look at this. I bought this outfit after working under Lord Roman for just a month. You probably couldn't afford something this good in two years!"
The boastful words of Harrenhal's residents were endless, at times annoying other commoners who could do nothing about it.
Looking into Roman's sincere eyes, Fili felt an urge to bow, but she was held tight, so she could only happily embrace her lord.
"So, my Fili, there's still much to be done in Harrenhal. Are you willing to help me?"
Roman asked the Golden Retriever in his arms with a light chuckle, and the girl immediately responded loudly, "Yes! My Lord, I will do everything in my power!"
————
After a period of rest, Roman once again gathered the Maesters together; he wanted to accelerate production.
The Maesters had no doubts about Roman's orders. Roman had proven his ability time and again with facts; the Maesters only needed to follow him to publish their papers.
"Lord Roman, just say the word! What do you want us to do?"
Roman wasted no words and brought out the blueprints for producing Sulfuric acid via the Lead chamber process.
This process involved heating pyrite to produce sulfur dioxide and heating saltpeter to produce nitrogen oxide gases. The two gases were then mixed and funneled through a spray tower into a lead chamber while steam was introduced.
Ceramic packing was placed in the lead chamber to promote the reaction. The resulting Sulfuric acid was then returned to the first spray tower to remove nitrogen oxides, finally yielding the product: Sulfuric acid.
The entire process was simple and easy to operate, even with clay jars. This method of acid production had been used during special periods in the past.
After a week of assembly and testing, the Maesters began to produce a steady stream of Sulfuric acid using this apparatus.
Everyone cheered, and those Maesters conducting alchemical research were so excited their faces turned red.
With so much Sulfuric acid, some experiments would no longer be stalled by costs.
Sulfuric acid had many uses, but the two most useful at the moment were:
First, collecting the ammonia gas produced during coking. These waste gases finally had a use, and this was the most effective source of nitrogen available besides biological nitrogen fixation.
This Ammonium sulfate could keep the lands in Harrenhal's territory consistently fertile.
Second, Sulfuric acid is a vital raw material for making Hydrochloric acid and Soda ash.
By heating Sulfuric acid and common salt, Hydrochloric acid and Glauber's salt could be produced. Then, by mixing the Glauber's salt with limestone and coal dust and calcining it, Soda ash and calcium sulfide could be obtained.
Mass production could then be achieved simply by separating the Soda ash.
If the previous production of Sulfuric acid was within the Maesters' understanding, this production of Soda ash and Hydrochloric acid completely exceeded their imagination.
Everyone watched Roman's White Flame burn fiercely, and then Soda ash was separated from the product by adding water.
In the eyes of the Maesters, the entire process was like the Seven descending to earth to personally guide humanity.
The duller Maesters were still marveling at Roman's wisdom, while the clever ones had already begun to think about whether Glauber's salt could be extracted from other minerals to conserve the Sulfuric acid.
After Sulfuric acid and Soda ash were produced in large quantities, Harrenhal reached a new peak.
In the glass industry, thanks to the addition of Soda ash, workers no longer had to laboriously burn kelp and seaweed to collect small amounts of Soda ash. Production costs dropped significantly; this alone was enough to cover the expenses of producing the Soda ash.
As for other industries such as food, textiles, and dyeing, the applications were even more widespread. The Soda ash not purchased by the glass factory quickly flowed into other sectors.
For a time, a Soda ash craze swept through Harrenhal. People from all walks of life wanted to get some Soda ash for their own use, while the Maesters spent all day locked in their labs researching other uses for it.
Meanwhile, the glass factory's casting technology was upgraded. Previously, there was only one casting roller; now, the molten glass would be poured onto a large tilted plate and then flow through two closely set rollers, being pressed into a flat sheet in between.
This technology once again accelerated glass production efficiency. Now, glass windows were no longer an unattainable dream for commoners.
Some wealthy people in Harlen Town had already built grand brick houses for themselves with large glass windows. The natural light made many nobles living in stone fortresses envious.
Nobles visiting Harrenhal and merchants doing business there spread what they saw, and all of Westeros knew that Harrenhal had come up with something new again.
And Ammonium sulfate produced through Sulfuric acid was another major breakthrough.
Previously, Roman couldn't fix nitrogen and could only rely on aerobic composting and applying other mineral fertilizers to nitrogen-fixing plants to improve their efficiency.
The wheat yield in Harrenhal barely reached 500 catties per mu.
But now the situation was completely different. Plants treated with nitrogen fertilizer were sturdier than those without, with more roots, thicker stalks, and significantly more tillers.
Even before the harvest, the farmers were already beaming with joy. Those who had farmed all their lives knew exactly what it meant when plants looked like that.
This fertilization method was proven effective through controlled experiments, and Roman subsequently implemented it across the entire territory.
For a time, all of Harrenhal was filled with the smoke from coking.
Later, the Maesters used their heads: since the coking waste gas contained such good stuff, did the other components have their uses too?
Without needing Roman's guidance, the inquisitive Maesters began their own research.
One day, this group of Maesters actually cooked up something new. Using alchemy, they created a Purple gas. It smelled of coal soot but couldn't be used in any existing industry, and little was known about its effects.
Fortunately, this substance was extremely easy for water to absorb, and because its color was distinct, it didn't pose a danger to others.
"Easily absorbed by water?!"
He suddenly thought of a use. He had the Maesters create a saturated solution of the purple water and then heat it, causing the Purple gas to instantly evaporate from the solution.
Roman treated it like a treasure and quickly had the Maesters and craftsmen build two sealed metal spheres connected by a metal pipe, with valves on both spheres.
The Maesters filled one sphere with the saturated purple water and heated it, letting the gas escape.
At this point, the internal pressure of the apparatus was immense. The blacksmiths had put in a great deal of effort to create a device that could withstand the pressure.
Then, the metal sphere was placed in cold water to lower the temperature, causing the gas to liquefy. The sphere was then placed in an insulated wooden box, and the valve was opened.
The evaporating liquefied gas would absorb a large amount of thermal energy, creating a low-temperature environment within the insulated wooden box. The Purple gas would then be absorbed by the water in the other sphere, preventing the device from remaining under high pressure.
Then, Roman placed water in the wooden box. After waiting for a while, he took it out. Under the shocked gazes of everyone, the water had turned into ice.
In the scorching summer, Harrenhal in the Riverlands had produced ice!
When Lady Helaena and Fili saw cold drinks with ice cubes and special ice cream, they felt as if the Seven had truly descended to the world, bestowing their blessings upon Roman.
But for Roman, the show was only just beginning.