Chapter 146: Pencil Lead

Calendar?

Wei Dalei smiled: "I can do this."

"Oh?" Tang Jing froze.

"Today is June 14, Sunday, the day we shrank was April 27, Monday, exactly 48 days have passed." Wei Dalei stood with hands on hips, looking pleased.

"Chen Mu told you, right?" Tang Jing called him out right away.

"Uh... how do you know?" Lao Wei's half‑pretended look froze.

What do you say?

"Hehe, I really don't remember, but the boss is impressive." Wei Dalei said sheepishly.

"Didn't Chen Mu tell you how he knows?" Tang Jing asked, tilting her head.

"He said his mind is meticulous and his computing power unmatched." Wei Dalei repeated someone's self‑praise word for word.

Hmm

Tang Jing slightly curled her lips and nodded: "Chen Mu is indeed impressive."

Right, haha

……

When Chen Mu came over, he didn't realize he had already been socially ruined halfway; seeing the pencil Wei Dalei had moved and a few paper scraps, he immediately understood Tang Jing's intention.

"I just don't know whether the paper's roughness can be used for writing." Chen Mu worried.

"Looking at the current toilet paper, it should work, except the size isn't right; help me make a notebook."

What do you want to write?

Hmm

What to write?

I won't tell you.

……

Because Wei Dalei was called by Dong Junwei to move something else, Chen Mu knew nothing of their earlier conversation.

Try to see if you can control the pencil lead.

The two walked to one end of the pencil, and Tang Jing pointed to the exposed black lead.

This is a drawing‑type pencil lead with both ends exposed, the kind students use to fill in answer sheets; normally it's 2B, but this one is 2H.

This is graphite, right?

Yeah, it's a mixture of graphite and binder, density under 2; for you it shouldn't be hard. Tang Jing said.

I'll give it a try.

Chen Mu placed his palm on the lead's position; this pencil, lying flat on the ground, is half a person tall, and the lead is as thick as a person; if made into a pencil usable by people today, theoretically it could produce millions of them.

But this graphite‑clay mixture, while decently hard, is brittle and easily gets black powder on your hands.

When Chen Mu pulled his hand back, his palm was already smudged black.

Yet he managed to pull out a thin black stick.

However, to use it as a pencil lead it's still not thin enough, and its precision is far insufficient.

For such a tiny object, the difficulty is actually greater for Chen Mu, let alone making it straight, round, and smooth.

Finally

After about five minutes of repair.

The lead in Chen Mu's hand finally felt roughly like before.

Next, just wrap it in wood.

This step still uses the pencil's original wooden casing, only the outer lacquer is omitted.

Or should we make it hexagonal in cross‑section? Chen Mu said, comparing it to the large pencil.

If possible, that would of course be best.

Should be no problem.

The pencil casing is usually basswood, with fine grain, easy to work, not prone to cracking, and good toughness.

Hmm

Chen Mu listened to Tang Jing's explanation while concentrating on making the pencil.

Wrap the wood around the lead.

Such a seemingly simple action, wanting to make it uniformly straight, is not that easy.

Not much time passed.

A miniature pencil was born.

But its appearance really isn't very good.

For such a common everyday object, even a slight flaw is easy to spot.

Tang Jing held it in her hand and made a gripping motion.

The thickness and size are enough to fool the eye, but however you look at it it's a bit twisted, not straight enough; you feel it instantly in your hand.

Without a mold, this is all I can do for now; I'll try a few more times later.

Although he isn't a perfectionist, Chen Mu still isn't very satisfied with this pencil; he took new materials and processed them again.

After several failures, he finally managed to make a passable one.

This is a natural‑wood‑colored pencil that looks much the same as before.

Help me sharpen the pencil.

Hmm

Soon, a pencil sharpened to a point appeared.

"Paper?" Chen Mu asked.

"Just like last time, toilet paper will do, but help me bind it into a notebook."

"What exactly are you going to write?" Chen Mu couldn't help but ask again.

Tang Jing, however, insisted: "I'm not telling you."

The toilet paper made last time was a bit lacking for wiping buttocks—poor absorbency, rough yet stiff.

But for writing, it's actually not bad.

It's just still not smooth enough.

……

After the previous attempt, Chen Mu had gained some insight into papermaking, so helping Tang Jing make a notebook wasn't too difficult.

Several dozen sheets stacked together, Chen Mu glued one end, which worked even better than binding.

Once they had paper and pen, Tang Jing, smiling, took them in hand, went to the conference table, and sat upright.

This was the first true act of writing since the apocalypse for Qiming. If no one had done something similar before, this would be a major leap in human spiritual civilization.

Everyone quickly gathered around.

Seeing Tang Jing bent over her writing, they actually felt a bit envious.

"How does it look?" Dong Junwei leaned in.

"Not bad, though writing takes some effort; you need to control the pressure, but the characters are still fairly legible."

Tang Jing said while turning back to the notebook's cover, where she wrote the two characters 'Qiming' in vertical script.

"Indeed, not bad."

Besides marveling, everyone also wondered what Tang Jing was going to write.

"Keep it secret for now; I'll show you when I'm done." Tang Jing said with a mysterious expression.

……

Tang Jing refused to say, and there was nothing others could do; seeing she didn't want to write in front of them, they gradually dispersed.

Everyone had plenty to do.

Dong Junwei had already begun leading everyone in organizing the second cardboard box.

Once finished, the floor space would increase considerably.

Although the space was already large, it always looked messy, especially the two large cardboard boxes, which actually blocked much of everyone's view; moreover, being placed directly on the floor, they suffered severe dampness, making the bottom soft and saggy, and even after drying they kept shedding paper dust.

Once this dust became airborne, it was like snowfall, affecting breathing.

Since clearing out one cardboard box, the room's environment has improved markedly, which is also why Dong Junwei is tirelessly eager to clear the remaining one.

These past few days, Tang Jing has always been sitting alone at the conference table, scribbling away.

Although she kept it secret, she had earlier told Wei Dalei; old Wei is the sort who can't keep a secret at a glance.

Everyone soon learned that Tang Jing was compiling a calendar.

Chen Mu initially found it amusing that such a trivial matter warranted secrecy, but after hearing Wei Dalei relay his conversation with Tang Jing, he felt terrible.