The Chemical Survival Guide: Starting in Blackstone Town
(Fast-paced wish fulfillment + infrastructure and farming + multiple heroines + strategic business battles)
Synopsis:
Zhang Yi, a chemistry master’s graduate, dies suddenly after working through the night and wakes up as Zhang Achou, an ugly-faced refugee fleeing famine.
In a barren, chaotic age where human lives are worth less than grass, he discovers something astonishing:
No one in this world knows even the most basic chemistry!
Is dirty water deadly?
He filters it through charcoal and sand, then boils it to kill germs, saving children from an epidemic and earning the refugees’ respect as “Teacher.”
Is coarse salt too unpleasant to eat?
He dissolves and recrystallizes it, bringing pure white salt to Blackstone Town and drawing the attention of local bullies.
He retaliates by laying a quicklime fog trap, leaving the bandits screaming for their mothers.
Is iron brittle and sugar black?
He improves blast furnaces to make fine steel, purifies sugar with yellow clay until it sparkles like snow, and builds a commercial empire on Blackstone’s “Three Treasures.”
From refugee camp to county seat, from provincial capital to imperial court:
He makes soap to dispel rumors about corpse oil, brews strong liquor to win over the canal transport workers, and builds bearings to revolutionize commerce across the realm.
With nothing but a copy of The Practical Handbook of Crafts for the People, he earns the emperor’s personal praise as “The Greatest Artisan-Merchant Under Heaven.”
And when a gentle physician, a dashing escort chief, and a clever bookkeeper gather around him…
Zhang Yi realizes that using chemistry to build infrastructure, reclaim farmland, and dominate the business world is far more interesting than working in a laboratory.
“Being the richest man in the world was never my dream. I want to put knowledge in the people’s hands and help all living things.”
“, But if anyone dares lay a hand on my people, I’ll be happy to show them what a technological mismatch looks like.”
Coming attractions:
✓ Chemistry in action, with plenty of satisfying payoffs: purifying water, making salt, smelting steel, distilling spirits, making soap… Every discovery saves lives and makes money!
✓ A solid business progression: refugee → medicinal herb farmer → artisan → tycoon → imperial merchant, advancing one careful step at a time
