Chapter 802 Industry
Fang Jun looked at him and smiled, showing his white teeth: "Haha..."
Just kidding, this slurry made from a mixture of reeds and other grasses is the key to making paper, tell you? Even if there is no awareness of property rights now, this already belongs to the category of "secret recipe" and is something that can be passed down to future generations. How can it be easily revealed to others?
Lu Xiaoyu also knew that he was being abrupt, and was so embarrassed by Fang Jun's two "hehe"s that his face heated up and he laughed. But looking at Fang Jun's proud look and gritting his teeth angrily, I thought it was just under my nose, so I didn't believe that I couldn't figure out the formula of this syrup. Wait until I figure out this key point, hum...
After thinking about it, he realized that even if he mastered the formula of this syrup, he could not kick Fang Jun away.
Now Fang Jun is investing in technology, taking advantage of the Lu family's remaining sales outlets all over the south of the Yangtze River. But Fang Jun has unparalleled influence in Wu County, Jiangdong. He is not the Xiao family and can make Fang Jun have some scruples. If he dares to use the trick of "going up to the house to take out the ladder", he is guaranteed to be counterattacked by Fang Jun in minutes. Slap in the face...
As for the secret of the "bearing", don't even think about it.
The essence of this thing lies in the excellent quality of the iron. Among the leaders of ironmaking in the Tang Dynasty, none are the Changsun family of traditional ironmaking and the rising star Fang family. Even if Fang Jun told Lu Xiaoyu how to make the "bearing", Lu Xiaoyu would not be able to obtain such high-quality refined iron to make it.
Lu Xiaoyu couldn't help but feel filled with emotion when he looked at the endlessly rotating gears and stone mills in the Shuidi room, as well as the servants and handymen who came and went without touching the ground. Fang Jun not only mastered a brand new paper-making secret recipe, but also had a strict system to support it, which was more than twice as powerful as the Lu family's previous paper-making workshop?
As long as the quality of the paper produced is not too bad, this business is almost destined to make a lot of money...
The two of them walked out of Shuidi House and walked along the flat road to the main building of the workshop.
The breeze blows, the bamboo leaves rustle, the eyes are full of green, and the mountains are full of mountains.
A pool was built outside the main entrance of the workshop for making paper. At this time, many papermakers were putting the pounded viscous pulp into the paper trough, adding water and stirring to dissolve evenly and become a thin slurry. The papermaker puts the bamboo curtain into the pulp and shakes it gently to make the pulp settle evenly and form a film, which becomes wet paper. Then put the bamboo curtain on the paper shelf board, gently lift the bamboo curtain, and the wet paper will remain on the board.
Repeat this again and again, accumulating a thick stack of paper, and slowly squeeze out the water.
An old craftsman with white hair and beard was holding his hands behind his back, checking the papermakers' operating procedures one by one. If there were any mistakes, he would stand by and explain in detail in a gentle tone. The papermaker who is working will also listen carefully, and if he makes the same mistake, he will correct it immediately.
Papermaking is a very technical craft. If you can master this craft, you will have enough to eat in your life.
The old craftsman was very detailed and serious when explaining, with a kind expression and no hint of arrogance. It can be seen that the papermakers also have great respect for the old craftsman. When he was explaining, everyone used their hands and feet to avoid making any noise and disturbing the old craftsman.
Fang Jun stood there quietly, listening, with no intention of interrupting...
Lu Xiaoyu was secretly impressed.
Despite Fang Jun's status, he never seemed to show his superiority in front of others, nor did he deliberately show off the hypocrisy of a polite and virtuous corporal. He seems to be able to maintain a peaceful attitude towards everyone. As long as you can show corresponding abilities, he will give you corresponding respect.
This is a very peculiar person. In daily life, there is not even a little bit of dandyism at all. But if anyone provokes him, his violent, manic, and aggressive temperament will be unleashed without reservation. No matter who he is, whoever provokes him will be unlucky!
The old craftsman gave detailed instructions to the papermaker about his mistakes. After the papermaker fully understood them, he discovered that Fang Jun was standing in front of him...
The old craftsman hurried forward and saluted: "Erlang, when did you arrive? Please forgive me for being rude, but I have never seen Erlang."
Fang Jun smiled and nodded: "No need to be polite. How is it? Did everything go smoothly?"
The old craftsman stopped being formal and said with excitement: "With Erlang's mechanism skills and the secret recipe for papermaking, everything will go smoothly. Not only that, because the raw materials are easy to obtain here, it saves time and effort in transportation, and the speed is much faster than in Guanzhong. Double? The first batch of paper will be available for sale in ten days.”
Fang Jun said happily: "So fast? Can you get the finished product for me? It's best to use high-quality paper. Let's see how different it is from ordinary paper."
The old craftsman nodded and said: "Of course there is, Erlang, please come with me."
With that said, he led Fang Jun and Lu Xiaoyu through the courtyard of the workshop and towards the main room.
Lu Xiaoyu looked around with no expression of shock.
Just like their previous workshop of the Lu family, the current papermaking process must be too complicated!
The old craftsman was from the Fang family. He was transferred here directly from the papermaking workshop in Lishan by Fang Jun. He didn't know who Lu Xiaoyu was, but since Fang Jun could bring him here, he naturally didn't worry about leaking the secret, so he introduced: "One To grow moso bamboo, you need to cut the bamboo, break the green leaves, and peel the bark. There are more than a dozen processes including cutting, cutting, soaking in lime water, boiling, soaking, beating, removing paper, and drying before it can be turned into paper. If you want to keep improving the quality of the paper, you may even have to do more. Plus dozens of processes..."
Lu Xiaoyu exclaimed: "So many processes? Compared to now, my Lu family's previous workshop was as childish and ridiculous as a kid playing house..."
Only then did the old craftsman know that Lu Xiaoyu was from the Lu family, and said proudly: "When it comes to the way of studying things in the world, there is no one better than Erlang of our family! This improvement in papermaking was only figured out after Erlang led us to test it countless times. Experience is naturally the best papermaking technique in the world! ”
Fang Jun blushed a little after hearing this...
In fact, for every step in the papermaking process, Fang Jun was just directing the craftsmen from the side. Fang Jun only opened his mouth to find out the correct method through thousands of experiments.
But it is not an exaggeration to say that it is Fang Jun’s contribution. The chemical reaction contained in it is a secret that these craftsmen cannot understand even if they break their heads...
For example, in the process of soaking in lime water, craftsmen only know that after this process, the paper produced will be shiny and white, but they do not know the reason.
Bamboo paper is soaked in lime water, and the bamboo and lime combine to form calcium carbonate that adheres to the bamboo fiber. After oxidation, the calcium and oxygen form crystals, which will make the paper surface shiny. Therefore, even if this kind of bamboo paper has been oxidized for several years, it can still be unbroken by friction and pleated without marks.
Entering the main room, the old craftsman took a piece of bamboo paper and spread it on the table. The bamboo paper was crystal clear and as thin as a cicada's wing. The texture of the table top under the paper was clearly discernible. If you look closely, it looked like there was patina on the surface, which looked like jade. gloss.
He took another scroll, unfolded it, and showed it to Fang Jun.
Lu Xiaoyu's eyes lit up. Bamboo paper of this quality was indeed a rare product on the market!
The old craftsman said proudly: "Back then, someone copied the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" and used this kind of paper. The quality of the high-quality bamboo paper popular in the market today is comparable to the paper we make, but those on the market The price of top-grade bamboo paper is more than a thousand yuan per dollar!”
For a hundred sheets, a piece of paper costs more than ten cents. Although this is the best paper, it can also be seen that the paper at this time was expensive and ordinary people could not afford it. The price of a piece of paper is so high, so what about a book that still requires additional printing costs?
No wonder culture has become a luxury product, monopolized by aristocratic families. This is simply using money to create a gap between cultural knowledge and ordinary people!
Lu Xiaoyu stared at Fang Jun with burning eyes and asked, "I wonder who the general manager plans to entrust the sales of this paper to?" This is a huge profit. If the Lu family is responsible for the sales, it will be enough for the Lu family to earn a lot of money. While making money, you can improve your status in one fell swoop! Top-grade paper itself represents status and grade!
Moreover, once the method of making bamboo paper is successfully improved, it means that a new situation will be opened up. This is an industry with huge influence, enough to shake the foundation of the family!
(End of chapter)