gnovel Chapter 94 The advent of bamboo paper signals a change in the times!
Chapter 94 The advent of bamboo paper signals a change in the times!
Chapter 94 The advent of bamboo paper signals a change in the times!
When Lu Yong returned to his residence after the banquet, it was already late at night.
As soon as they entered the mansion, Zhang Mo suddenly appeared out of nowhere and rushed in front of Lu Yong, startling him.
"Strategist, it's done! The paper is done!!" Zhang Mo's voice trembled with excitement, and the wrinkles on his face were all squeezed together.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yong quickly said, "Let's go take a look."
"It's done! It's done!" Zhang Mo nodded repeatedly, pulling Lu Yong's sleeve and leading him inside. "Come and see, it's really done this time!"
It was still half an hour before midnight, and the backyard was still brightly lit.
Li Shi, Wang Mu, and Geng Jin each held a wooden tray with a piece of paper on it.
They stood ramrod straight beside the paper drying rack on the earthen wall, not daring to move an inch.
Upon hearing two hurried footsteps, all three of them turned their gazes toward Lu Yong with an almost reverent anticipation.
The paper Li Shi held had a faint ivory-white hue under the firelight.
Lu Yong walked over and bent down to take a closer look.
Then I reached out and touched it. The paper was smooth and clean, and I could hardly feel the small flocculent clumps from before, nor did I feel any obvious bumps.
He then gently pressed the paper with his fingers; it was smooth yet resilient.
"This is the fifth batch of ingredients. We steamed and boiled it for half a day, and pounded it twice more," Li Shi said, his voice trembling slightly. "But this is still not the best."
Lu Yong nodded, then went to Wang Mu.
This piece of paper is thinner than Li Shi's.
When viewed against the light, the light is evenly transmitted, the fibers are finely distributed, and impurities are almost invisible.
Lu Yong gently folded the paper, and the crease no longer turned white, while the paper remained as soft and resilient as ever.
"I've refinished the bamboo screen and improved the papermaking technique—" Wang Mu swallowed hard. "After trying more than ten times, this is the best one."
"Good!" Lu Yong commented succinctly.
Finally, he came to Geng Jin.
This paper is white and translucent, with a smooth, satin-like surface.
Lu Yong rubbed it with his fingers several times, but he couldn't feel any stiffness at all.
"Strategist, this piece of paper is the final product we made using improved techniques and tools!" Geng Jin's eyes were red, and his tone revealed pride.
He felt it was all worthwhile to be able to produce such exquisite paper in his lifetime.
Lu Yong carefully picked up a piece of paper and spread it on the table next to him.
He then picked up the brush used for the test, dipped it in ink, and wrote the character "paper" on the paper.
The ink stains on the paper were clear at the edges, without any sign of spreading.
He waited a long time, but the handwriting remained as good as new!
[System Log: Host has successfully produced bamboo paper. Today's achievement +1.]
[Current Achievements Pending Settlement: 1 item.]
With system certification, that's the final verdict!
"It's done!! Hahahaha!!" Lu Yong burst into laughter.
The four craftsmen were stunned for a moment.
Zhang Mo was the first to cry out, his face streaked with snot and tears.
Li Shi and Wang Mu hugged each other, the two men in their forties jumping and shouting in the yard.
Although Geng Jin did not cry, his eyes were unfocused and his lips were opening and closing unconsciously, as if he had fallen into a daze.
Lu Yong did not stop them.
The rapid success of bamboo paper production was inseparable from their intense competition.
These past two days, the four of them have barely slept, spending all their time researching improvements to the processes and techniques.
Although the drawings have standards, the actual operation is another matter.
The temperature of steaming, the strength of spring pounding, and the angle and force of the bamboo screen entering the water during papermaking all require countless experiments to find the right point.
After they had vented their frustrations, Lu Yong said, "Get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, go to the accounting office and each of you will receive 20,000 coins. This is your reward."
"Two...two thousand coins?!" The four men were immediately dumbfounded.
They had never seen so much money in their entire lives.
Geng Jin was the first to react.
He knelt down with a thud, banging his forehead against the blue bricks with a loud thud. "Strategist, my life is now yours! I'll face any danger without flinching!"
Li Shi and Wang Mu also knelt down, shouting, "The strategist's kindness is immense; even death cannot repay it!"
Zhang Mo calmed down at this point.
He took a deep breath, came up to Lu Yong and said, "Strategist, this humble subject does not want money."
All I ask of you, strategist, is that you allow me to spend my entire life in the paper mill and make the best paper.
When I, a humble commoner, grow old and can no longer work, I can point to the paper mill and tell my grandchildren, "This paper was made by your grandfather with the help of the strategist."
Lu Yong glanced at the other three and said with a smile, "Look at Lao Mo—I've asked you to build things, not to fight a war. Don't be so quick to threaten suicide."
"hey-hey----"
"The strategist is right, he is right—"
"We're so excited, please forgive us, strategist!"
"Go and rest. Make another batch of samples tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'am!" The four straightened their backs and began packing their things to prepare for a rest.
Lu Yong carefully folded the bamboo paper with the character "paper" written on it, put it in his pocket, and ran towards Liu Bei's residence after leaving the mansion.
After turning two streets and alleys, the gate of Liu Bei's mansion came into view.
He went up and knocked on the door, his voice urgent.
The gatekeeper opened the door and, seeing it was Lu Yong, quickly stepped aside: "Strategist, why are you so late?"
"Is the lord asleep?" Lu Yong stepped over the threshold and walked straight inside.
"They've already retired for the night. I'll go inform them right away." The gatekeeper gave a wink to the servant beside him, who dashed off to the backyard.
Lu Yong did not wait in the hall, but went directly to the backyard.
When they reached the bedroom door, Liu Bei had already come out wearing an outer garment.
Seeing Lu Yong's anxiety, Liu Bei couldn't help but ask, "Huai'an, what serious incident has occurred?"
"My lord," Lu Yong approached and said in a low voice, "come with me to the study to discuss this in detail."
Liu Bei didn't ask any further questions, nodded, and turned to walk towards his study.
Lu Yong followed behind, and the two entered the study one after the other.
Liu Bei lit the candlestick, and the dim light illuminated the small room.
Lu Yong closed the door, took out the folded paper from his pocket, and handed it to Liu Bei with both hands.
Liu Bei took the bamboo paper with a puzzled look, unfolded it, and examined it closely.
The paper is smooth and translucent white, with the character "paper" written on it.
The handwriting is clear and there is no smudging.
He turned the paper over; the back was as smooth as the front.
The bamboo curtain's texture is faintly imprinted on the paper, giving it a unique feel.
Liu Bei suddenly realized something, and his hands began to tremble slightly.
"Huai'an, this is—" Liu Bei raised his head, his gaze falling on Lu Yong's face.
"I brought the craftsmen, and we just made this new paper! The cost is less than two coins per sheet!" Lu Yong replied solemnly.
Liu Bei shuddered, but this only served to sharpen his composure, and he quickly regained his composure.
He took a deep breath and carefully placed the paper on the table.
He then picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the character "Han" on a blank space on the paper.
The ink marks on the paper are clear at the edges, and the turns of the brushstrokes are clean and crisp, without a trace of bleeding.
"Just two coins for a sheet of paper—" Liu Bei put down his pen, gently stroking the paper, and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Huai'an, how did you manage that?"
"I only provided an idea; the rest was the result of the craftsmen working day and night to develop and create it," Lu Yong replied modestly.
"That's truly one in a million." Liu Bei turned around, his eyes unusually bright, and asked, "What are your plans next?"
Lu Yong looked into Liu Bei's eyes and slowly said, "Does my lord still remember that I said before that I wanted to establish schools?"
"Of course I remember!"
"Now that the new paper is ready, the plan of 'education for all' can begin!"
"!!!" Liu Bei's eyes widened as much as Zhang Fei's at this moment.
"Education should be provided to all without discrimination" comes from the Analects of Confucius, Book 14, "Wei Ling Gong".
It means that education should not distinguish between the noble and the lowly, the rich and the poor, the wise and the foolish, or the race; everyone has the right to receive education.
This is the earliest and most fundamental statement in ancient China regarding educational equity and accessibility.
It is also the most sublime and sacred ideal in the hearts of countless scholars.
However, Confucius's "education for all" is just an ideal in this era and is simply impossible to realize.
But now, Lu Yong has appeared.
Cheap and good quality paper has been produced!
The times are about to change!