Chapter 90

"Here are the best few types of new paper... Read the latest and most complete novels," said Li Yuanwai.

The bamboo used is harvested relatively early, only the tender bamboo of spring can be used. There is also tender bamboo in summer, but it is not as good as that of spring, unless the craftsmanship improves.

It’s already quite good to be able to produce it now, who talks about improving the craftsmanship?

However, it still needs to be soaked and dried for a long time.

Therefore, it wasn’t until July that the new paper was delivered to Yanzhou City.

Wang Ju looked at the five types of new paper.

Two were processed paper, and three were unprocessed paper. One type of processed paper was pure bamboo paper, and the other was bamboo paper mixed with a small amount of wisteria bark. Although its whiteness might not be as good as the former, its toughness was excellent.

One type of unprocessed paper was also pure bamboo paper. Wang Ju wrote on it with a pen and pulled it with his hand, saying, "No, it still needs improvement."

It could be used, but its toughness was still a bit lacking.

Another type of unprocessed paper contained hemp bark, which was of good quality but a bit thick.

The last type was the best, containing wisteria bark, hemp bark, and other materials, and it was very thin. However, the process was more complex, and although it was thin, the cost was slightly higher than the second type of unprocessed paper.

"What about the cost?"

"The cheapest is the unprocessed paper you said can't be used, which is about one-tenth to one-fifteenth the cost of equivalent paper."

"For now, we don't need to consider this. Let's talk about the other four types."

"The next cheapest is this processed paper, which is about one-seventh to one-eighth the cost of equivalent paper. Then comes this hemp unprocessed paper, which is about one-sixth to one-seventh the cost. The next is the last type of unprocessed paper, which is about one-fifth to one-sixth the cost. The last type of processed paper is about one-third to one-fourth the cost."

The cost is mainly in the materials.

Think about it, how much hemp bark and wisteria bark can be harvested from one acre of land, not to mention the cost of planting.

But bamboo is different. There are countless bamboo mountains in the western part of Hangzhou, and there is no need for planting costs. When the tender bamboo comes, the mountain people can cut it down and sell it, at most for the price of a spring bamboo shoot. Moreover, it's not just the bark; the whole bamboo can be used after cutting off the head and tail. And the area is crisscrossed with rivers, so the transportation cost is also low.

However, without large-scale production, no one can say what the exact cost will be.

But Zhu Huan emphasized, "It's really cheap."

What kind of impact would this cost and this paper have once it's launched? As a businessman, could he not be clear? The Song Dynasty is so vast, with so many scholars, how much paper would be used in a year?

Not only him, the other eight participants in the bamboo paper project were also breathing heavily with excitement.

If Wang Ju were not so young, someone might have prostrated themselves and shouted, "Wang Ju, you are our savior."

And two of them had already planned to move their families to Hangzhou once production started, as Hangzhou was a great place, and they wouldn't have to suffer in the border regions.

"How about those three poems and essays?"

"Xiao Su wrote an essay, and Zhang Dun wrote a poem, but... but..." Zhu Huan stammered.

"Let me see."

Zhu Huan handed the papers to Wang Ju, who looked at them and frowned. It seemed that these two had put in effort for the fifty gold, but not much, and had written the poems and essays perfunctorily, even Zhu Huan could see that they were careless.

But Wang Ju thought for a moment and smiled, "It's fine. I guarantee that after a while, they will regret it and beg you to rewrite the poems and essays."

These two wanted to get by, but once printed on bamboo paper and distributed to various state schools, the students and professors would surely criticize them. How could they be so careless as to print such poor poems and essays on bamboo paper and spread them everywhere?

At that time, Zhang Dun and Xiao Su would surely be anxious.

"How about Wen Gong?"

"He didn't agree."

It wasn't about money. The Wen family was a large clan with plenty of money, and Zhu Huan had offered five hundred gold.

This was the peculiar mentality of the literati, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants!

Just like the Jiangdong plow in the Tang Dynasty, which saved many lives, but who knew the inventor?

"No problem. Send someone to tell Wen Gong that once the bamboo paper is produced, the workshop is willing to donate bamboo paper worth ten thousand guan annually to the students of poor state and county schools."

Someone immediately changed their expression.

"Let me ask, when you sold the jade salt, did the officials cause any trouble?"

"Except for County Magistrate Cai, no one else caused trouble."

"Why? The reason is simple. For every dan of jade salt you sold, you earned nearly two guan for the court. Would the court let officials cause you trouble? A family is part of the state, and the state is part of the family. Think about the wars of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. You can't donate all your wealth to the court; such selflessness is almost unheard of. But you also can't ignore the state and fill your small family, as that won't last long. Even if Gao Shiqing of the Gao family is a suitable candidate."

"Moreover, it's ten thousand guan in market price, but the cost to you is probably no more than five to six thousand guan. How will the ministers in the court view you? How will the beneficiaries view you? How will the scholars of the world view you? This is earning money with a clear conscience, the more you earn, the more at ease you will be!"

"Little Master, we are enlightened," they all bowed.

"Also, take out all these types of paper and give the unprocessed paper for free to various bookshops, especially in the capital, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Chengdu, Ezhou, Quanzhou, Luoyang, Daming, Jiangning, Tanzhou, Fuzhou, and Guangzhou."

These are all major cities in the Song Dynasty. The capital is self-explanatory, Hangzhou's population is gradually approaching one million, and other cities have populations exceeding or approaching five hundred thousand. Moreover, they are all economically prosperous areas with advanced education and printing industries.

Anyway, start running around in the second half of the year.

"As for the processed paper, distribute it to the state schools and major academies in these cities."

Unlike donations, which are acts of kindness, this is advertising, so the locations are chosen differently.

The main limitation is the era's neglect of publicity. But once Wang Ju points it out and details it, these people will do even better.

For example, pricing, Wang Ju doesn't give an opinion, leaving it to Zhu Huan and the others to decide.

Meng Yuanwai said, "This is a good omen."

"What omen?"

"With the bamboo paper out, I believe one of Little Master's concerns is resolved."

Wang Ju nodded. Don't underestimate these few types of bamboo paper. They were mainly suggested by Wang Ju, with numerous processes added, and after thousands of combinations of processes, procedures, and materials, they were finally developed. The investment over the past two years has reached nearly twenty thousand guan.

And there will be continuous improvements and developments in the future, of course, and the bamboo paper will get better and better.

At least in paper research, this is a groundbreaking achievement.

But can it be produced immediately? That is also a concern for Wang Ju.

"The bamboo paper is complete, and the autumn examination is about to begin. I think it's a good omen."

Meng Yuanwai was interesting. His daughter, the little chili, had also gone to Wang's village and had some feelings for Wang Ju.

But in the end, Zhu Huan proposed to the Li family on Wang Ju's behalf.

At that time, the Meng family didn't care, but as Wang Ju became more outstanding, they deeply regretted it, so they often pulled Zhu Huan to have drinks.

Although he was saying auspicious words now, Meng Yuanwai was depressed, watching a cooked, super-fat duck fly away.

"The future can be estimated, but not determined," Wang Ju smiled. "I might even fail the autumn examination."

This was a humble statement, not to be taken seriously. In reality, Cheng Kan had already indicated that he wouldn't make things difficult for him. Could he fail a single examination? But Wang Ju didn't dare to say whether he would be the top scholar in Cheng Kan's heart.

On July 25th, the autumn examination in Yanzhou began.

It was a bit early, but the date didn't matter to Wang Ju, despite Cheng Kan's good intentions.

However, this examination was extremely important for Wang Ju. Could he leap the dragon gate? This was the first leap!

PS: Thanks to Xishuifeng for the 588 coins and to Shuyou130307230848780 for the 100 Qidian coins.

Yesterday, I had a big update, and many readers showed concern, which moved me. Actually, it's not a big deal. I just said too much and reported a member point brush to the editor, which might have been a taboo. So this week, I only got a minor recommendation, and the effect of the big update wasn't great. Otherwise, I had prepared for an even more intense update. But this is good too. I've been writing for several years and have always been grateful to everyone. I've said many times that you are not only my brothers and sisters but also my supporters. So, I'll update more of the public version as a way to thank everyone for their support. This week, I had a big update, and I'll have one every week, though not as many as yesterday. Thanks again for your collections, clicks, votes, and donations.

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