Chapter Five: Papermaking

  After chatting for nearly an hour, Qin Yu's casual conversation had excited two little maidservants of the Shi family to no end.

  At this time, Guan Jia Wangcai sneaked over, first paying respects to Qin Yu, then pulling Xiao Tao and Xiao Hong outside to whisper a few words.

  Qin Yu couldn't hear what the housekeeper said, but the two little maids' subsequent low cries were clearly audible. Before long, Xiaotao and Hong returned to the room with flushed faces, their hands and feet in disarray, with a mixture of shyness and expectation on their faces, leaving Qin Yu utterly bewildered.

  Qin Yu was also a bit tired, physically and mentally exhausted, wanting to rest, but the two little maids actually lingered and wouldn't leave. Before he knew it, the two girls had somehow moved to the bedside.

  "You two go back and rest." Qin Yu said with a puzzled expression as he looked at the two women whose bodies were still shaking.

  "Qin, young master Qin." Xiaotao's voice was very tense, and she got stuck halfway through her sentence. She swallowed hard before continuing, "Master, Master ordered me to...to attend to the young master's bedtime."

  Originally clever little Hong was now even more shy than little Tao, her small face turned bright red, lowering her head and not daring to look at Qin Yu.

  "Ah?" Qin Yu was taken aback, his eyes widening in incredulity as he stared at Little Peach.

  Xiao Tao's answer was beyond Qin Yu's imagination, but in an instant he reacted and realized that this was the Great Tang Dynasty, where many girls married and gave birth at the age of twelve or thirteen. However, to say the least, Qin Yu couldn't get past his own moral line, being a beast would comfort himself but harm these two young girls.

  Qin Yu hadn't become a beast yet, he let out a long sigh, furrowed his brow and said, "You all go back, I don't need it. Also, tell Village Chief that if he uses this to treat me again, I'll leave tomorrow."

  Qin Yu's tone was somewhat angry, startling Little Peach and Little Red, who thought Qin Yu didn't like them. Tears welled up in their eyes, but just then, Qin Yu continued, "You two are very cute, but you're too young. Alright, go back now, and be sure to tell Village Chief what I said."

  Qin Yu finished speaking and pushed the two little maids out of the bedroom, of course not daring to use force. With a "creak", she closed the door and finally let out a sigh of relief.

  Xiao Tao and Xiao Hong are still quite cute when talking about it, but Qin Yu only regards the two of them as little sisters, without any other meaning.

  Xiao Tao and Xiao Hong stood at the door, exchanged a glance, saw the disappointment in each other's eyes, and left the courtyard after a moment.

  He blew out the oil lamp and lay down in his clothes, thinking for a long time before finally sighing.

  The night was silent, and at dawn, the roosters raised by Zhang's village crowed one after another. Qin Yu immediately opened his eyes and got up, stretching his waist lazily.

  One night's rest was pretty good, Qin Yu never slept before 12 o'clock when he didn't cross over, yesterday was an exception, around 9 o'clock he went to sleep, I guess it will be the same in the future, after all, there is no entertainment in the Tang Dynasty.

  Qin Yu opened the door to fetch some water to wash her face. Yesterday, when she arrived at the other courtyard, she saw a well in the yard and also a wooden bucket. Forgetting about brushing her teeth was one thing, but there were no toothbrushes or toothpaste here anyway. Just as soon as the door opened, she saw Xiaotao and Xiaohong leaning against the doorframe on either side, resting.

  "Slap." Qin Yu slapped his forehead, "What's going on here?"

  Xiao Tao and Xiao Hong almost simultaneously opened their eyes, saw Qin Yu, and the two women hastily got up, saying in unison, "We deserve to die, we shouldn't have overslept."

  The words of the two were trembling, Qin Yu was about to speak when Xiaotao suddenly said, "Xiao Hong, hurry up and fetch water for the young master, attend to the young master's washing."

  Xiao Tao finished speaking and then she and Xiao Hong hastily left together. Qin Yu's open mouth closed again.

  The two women quickly brought over a basin of water, several willow branches, a bowl of warm water and a small box containing salt. Seeing that Qin Yu did not seem to be blaming them, the two women secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  Qin Yu stared blankly at the thing in front of him until Xiao Tao explained it, and only then did Qin Yu understand how to use it.

  According to Xiaotao, first drink some water, gargle, then use a willow branch to dip in some salt, brush the teeth back and forth several times. Qin Yu hastily gave up, at this time feeling that his teeth were not his own, only after repeatedly rinsing did the torturous tooth brushing finally come to an end.

  After washing her face, Xiaohong brought breakfast, Qin Yu still pulled two little girls to eat together, and the atmosphere gradually became lively again.

  After finishing breakfast, Qin Yu asked Xiaotao to bring some paper and prepare to practice writing. After all, ancient characters still need to be memorized bit by bit in the mind, lest they become illiterate.

  It turned out that Xiaotao brought back fewer papers than before, only over twenty pages. Qin Yu inquired about it and finally understood what was going on.

  The paper of the Tang Dynasty was extremely precious, and Zhangjiacun had these papers because during the war, they saved a scholar. Although the scholar ultimately did not survive, he left behind some paper and three books as a token of gratitude for saving his life, which is also why Zhangjiacun could produce three paper-made books.

  Now all the paper from Zhangjiacun has arrived at Qin Yu's place, which shows how much the village head values Qin Yu.

  Qin Yu listened to Xiao Tao's words and thought for a moment. He then went back inside, took out his phone, and recorded the modern paper-making method. He found Village Chief Zheng and explained the steps in detail. Upon hearing this, Village Chief Zheng was shocked.

  Paper-making techniques are not something ordinary people can master, but Qin Yu actually possessed paper-making techniques. Cun Zheng hastily called Zhang Da Shan and instructed him to prepare the materials according to what Qin Yu said.

  If paper could be made, Zhangjiacun would undoubtedly have one more source of wealth and would also gain a great reputation. Of course, the person who gained the most fame would still be Qin Yu.

  Although scholars, farmers, workers and merchants are humble, at this time, even if they were dignitaries, who would not secretly engage in business? The village head naturally wouldn't take it to heart.

  Moreover, peasants selling grain and buying things cannot be said to be businessmen either. As long as they don't learn the businessman's tricks, low buying and high selling doesn't count as being a businessman. Besides, Zhangjiacun is all people with land, how can they be considered businessmen? At least that's what Village Chief thinks.

  Muramasa finally didn't get greedy, and he and Qin Yu made a deal. If the paper-making was successful, Qin Yu would take 60% of the shares, Zhangjiacun would take 40%, and Zhangjiacun would be in charge of everything, while Qin Yu just waited to collect the money.

  Qin Yu didn't care about it, in his opinion, it was just a piece of paper, and how much more money could it be sold for.

  Qin Yu returned to practicing calligraphy, while Zhangjiacun quickly sprang into action after receiving the order from the village head. Most of the materials Qin Yu mentioned were unwanted items, and in just one short day, he brought back a large pile of materials.

  Muramasa supervised the work in person, following the steps Qin Yu told him, proceeding step by step. Of course, this paper wouldn't show results overnight, but Muramasa was extremely patient.

  In a flash, three days passed and Qin Yu finally memorized the ancient characters to about 80-90% accuracy. To reinforce his memory, he only needed to do so during lessons.

  It's worth mentioning that Qin Yu made a joke when he went to the toilet. In the Tang Dynasty, there was no toilet paper, only wooden boards. There was paper, but who dared to use it to wipe their butt? Qin Yu forgot this point for the first time in the big toilet and ended up scratching himself painfully.

  The second time I went to the toilet, I directly took the original "Three Character Classic" and tore it into pieces to wipe my butt. Anyway, it was going to be destroyed, so I might as well use it for this purpose.

  Fortunately, no one saw it, otherwise they would have scolded Qin Yu for disgracing himself.

  On this day, the children of Zhangjiacun big and small all came to the village chief's house to study with Qin Yu. First, they went through the ceremony of paying respects to their teacher, then the children sat neatly on the stools, listening to Qin Yu's teachings.

  It wasn't until now that Qin Yu knew why Zhang Dashan was so enthusiastic, but it turned out he had five sons who were going to follow Qin Yu to learn.

  Qin Yu saw that all the big and small children in the village were boys, so he immediately found the village chief and called over all the girls in the village. Because of this, the village chief's gaze was filled with thick doubt, but ultimately he suddenly realized.

  Before long, the girls from Zhangjiacun village, one by one, dressed up and appeared in Qin Yu's classroom, their eyes filled with shyness as they looked at Qin Yu, of course the younger ones still showed reverence for him.

  Qin Yuke didn't mean anything else, what he practiced was "teaching without distinction", whoever came would be taught, regardless of whether they were male or female, old or young. In fact, there weren't many children from Zhangjiacun who came to learn, with boys and girls combined totaling only fifty-two people.

  The Three Character Classic is an important primer, easy to read and recite, but some of the words still couldn't be put in plain sight, so Qin Yu made some modifications, which didn't sound awkward either.

  Due to the paper not being manufactured yet, Qin Yu had no choice but to teach the children to recite from memory first. It wasn't until two days later that Qin Yu discovered that the ancient people weren't stupid after all - almost 90% of the children could recite fluently. Meanwhile, Xiaotao and Xiaohong, who were serving Qin Yu by pouring tea and water, also learned to recite and memorized everything in just one day.

  Qin Yu gave a lecture, and naturally, Mura wouldn't miss it. Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, he was shocked at times. The three-character scripture that Qin Yu spoke was clear and easy to recite, making it extremely convenient for children to learn. Instantly, he regarded Qin Yu as a heavenly being. In private, he pondered whether he should give Qin Yu 30% of the shares or even all of them.

  The Three Character Classic may not have appeared in the Great Tang, otherwise Village Zheng would not have been shocked. In the end, Village Zheng still made up his mind and handed over 30% of the shares that night. Originally, he was going to hand over all of it, but Qin Yu disagreed no matter what, after all, Qin Yu had only come up with an idea.

  The paper was finally made on the seventh day, and the paper made according to Qin Yu's method was not only strong and white, but also more suitable for writing. This discovery made Cun Zheng even more determined, no matter what Qin Yu asked for, he would do his best to satisfy him.

  Qin Yu's first impression of seeing paper was surprisingly not that he could write with it, but rather "Finally, I have paper to continue wiping my butt."

  The paper came out, Qin Yu copied the Three Character Classic fifty-two times, and finally remembered all the ancient characters in his heart.

  Hand over these 52 sets of Three Character Classics to the children in Zhangjiacun, and immediately start teaching them to write. The children naturally learn the Yan-style regular script that Qin Yu is familiar with, but it is mistaken for Qin's style by the village head, who severely scolds the children to take good care of it, and Qin Yu cannot refute it either.

  Zhangjiacun didn't use much white paper, as the amount of white paper increased, the village began to send people to Yongnian County to sell it. Before going, they also sought Qin Yu's opinion, and Qin Yu suggested not selling it too expensively.

  Originally, Qin Yu thought that selling a few dozen yuan would be enough to make a fortune, but unexpectedly, the white paper from Zhangjiacun was sold out in an instant after arriving at Yongnian County, bringing back 1,000 yuan, which shocked Qin Yu and added 900 yuan to his bedroom.

  However, as soon as the white paper arrived in Yongnian County, it was discovered by two mysterious men of noble birth before it could be sold. The two men seemed to be rivals and bid against each other, driving up the price to an extremely high level. Surprisingly, the buyer did not regret the purchase.

  Qin Yu was getting a bit curious about this mysterious figure, wondering who he was.

  The children have started practicing calligraphy, with a large amount of white paper to support them, learning to write one stroke at a time. Not a single one is lazy, each and every one of them is extremely serious, even Little Peach and Little Red are being encouraged by Qin Yu to learn how to write.

  To avoid trouble later on, Qin Yu also pushed out the movable-type printing technique that wouldn't be invented for several hundred years.

  With the advent of movable type printing, Qin Yu also brought pottery-making techniques. Pottery was not a secret in the Tang Dynasty, but ordinary people were unclear about it. Now, however, Zhangjiacun has acquired this technology and is far ahead of the level of this era.

  Yongnian County was in the border of Hebei Province in the previous life, roughly near Handan, but Qin Yu didn't know exactly where. However, this place has coal and other resources, and the high temperature needed for ceramics can be easily solved as long as coal is found.

  Only at this moment did Qin Yu deeply realize that a single hair can move the whole body. The villagers of Zhangjia Village were busy collecting materials for making paper, finding coal, and not one person was idle, nor was anyone complaining or feeling tired.

  Every day when I go home and see my own children studying hard, reading and writing, they always have a satisfied smile on their faces.

  Why, it's actually very simple, because as long as you can read and write, and then further your studies a bit, you can obtain the status of a scholar-official, how noble that is! And all this was brought about by Qin Yu, his orders they naturally carried out with enthusiasm.

  Moreover, the dividend of white paper was also distributed by Shiro, without any arrears, it is said that it was Qin Yu's requirement, how could the villagers not be grateful to Qin Yu, in their eyes, Qin Yu was their breadwinner.

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