Zhao Xiaodong was filled with righteous indignation, and he was also very resentful on Monday.

Li Changlong wanted nothing more than to tear the imperial edict to shreds. What kind of bullshit was this edict? It was worse than toilet paper!

If I were there on Wednesday, I might have been so angry at this absurd decree that I cried.

Lu Qiqi put away the imperial edict and turned back to the paper mill.

Since things have come to this point and cannot be changed, we must take a long-term approach.

Water can capsize a boat, but it can also carry it.

She wanted the paper mill to save her life!

"Let's go to the paper mill first and discuss its future plans."

Lu Qiqi glanced at them indifferently, her gaze settling on the few people who were focused on her.

Paper mill, reception room.

Lu Qiqi and the others were sitting in the reception room.

On the way back, Lu Qiqi had already guessed that the paper mill was the culprit.

Tianlong Village cultivates rice on a large scale, Tianping Village grows vegetables, Tianmiao Village grows medicinal herbs, and Tianshui Village grows fruit trees and tea.

Don't underestimate these agricultural sectors; as long as production increases, they can be incredibly lucrative industries.

But just when the paper mill in Tianxin Village was seeing booming sales, the emperor issued this imperial edict.

They simply wanted to force her to hand over the paper mill.

Or perhaps they wanted to reclaim their fiefdoms, turn the paper mills into royal assets, and generate revenue for the royal family.

Such a brilliant plan is utterly shameless.

Lu Qiqi thought that since this paper mill was so enviable and jealous, she wouldn't mind making the fire burn even bigger and brighter.

"Second brother, find the accountant and bring me paper and pen."

At this critical juncture, Li Changlong couldn't understand what Lu Qiqi was up to.

Should she write home and tell her father, Lu Dahai, that she is about to go to the border?

Li Changlong didn't even dare to think about his father's expression when he saw the letter from home. He knew that once he got home, his father would be in big trouble.

Li Changlong quickly took the paper and pen to the reception room.

When he came from the accounting office, he was followed by a little tail, Wednesday.

When he learned on Wednesday that Lu Qiqi was about to go to the border, his eyes reddened. He insisted that he was a little man and held back his tears.

Lu Qiqi didn't notice Zhou San's expression. She dripped a few drops of water onto the inkstone and began grinding.

Once the ink was ground, she picked up her brush and wrote a full page of words.

After she placed the pen on the pen holder, moved the paperweight aside, picked up the bamboo paper and inspected it, she handed the bamboo paper to Zhao Xiaodong.

"What is this?" Zhao Xiaodong asked, taking the bamboo paper.

When Zhao Xiaodong took the bamboo paper and saw the writing on it, he stared wide-eyed at Lu Qiqi.

"Isn't this the papermaking formula? Why does the village head want to write another copy?"

Lu Qiqi said calmly, "Not just one copy. Have someone make a copy and give the bamboo paper recipe to the six bookstore owners."

Upon hearing this, Li Changlong became anxious. "Why is that? Handing it over to them is like handing over the paper mill to them."

Lu Qiqi said, "We are outnumbered and weak, and we can't protect this recipe at all. If I go to the border, the villagers of Tianxin Village will never have a peaceful day."

"The bookstore owner isn't the only one who wants the formula. Now, the Emperor of Jin is also involved. We simply can't resist him. We might as well pass the formula out and let them figure it out for themselves."

Holding the prescription, Zhao Xiaodong felt as heavy as Mount Tai.

All of this was Lu Qiqi's hard work, and to give it away so easily was truly frustrating.

Zhao Xiaodong said, "Village Chief, don't we have any other options?"

If there were any other way, Lu Qiqi would not have used the method of sacrificing eight thousand of her own to help the enemy.

She shook her head and said, "No, this decree is nothing more than a death warrant."

The emperor not only wanted me to hand over the papermaking formula, but also wanted my life and to take back my fiefdom.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the reception room fell silent, feeling as if they had a fishbone stuck in their throat.

Suddenly, the elegant little room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Seeing their heavy hearts, Lu Qiqi forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, I've made some changes to this prescription."

Furthermore, they lacked the tools to make bamboo paper, making it impossible to build a paper mill in a short period of time.

Hearing this, Li Changlong finally felt relieved. He would have been heartbroken if he had really given away the prescription.

Before she could even feel happy, Lu Qiqi added, "However, they should still have no problem making paper with this formula."

Isn't this still the same papermaking formula?

Li Changlong stared at Lu Qiqi, wanting to hear what her plans were.

Lu Qiqi said, "I removed the glue leaves, so that the number of tears will increase when they are drying the paper."

The paper produced won't be as smooth to write on as ours.

"There's also the issue of boys' urine. We used to use boys' urine to ferment bamboo, but now we've switched to other methods."

“It’s not easy to collect children’s urine. It will take them a lot of effort to collect it from all over the place.”

"As a result, their labor costs will be much higher than ours in paper mills."

When they discover that the profit margins for selling paper are meager, they will eventually abandon the business.

When it comes to boys' urine, Zhao Xiaodong has the most to say. He didn't know how many troublemakers he had to pull up their pants to collect this stuff.

These little rascals, there are always a few naughty ones, and if you're not careful, they'll pee on your hand.

This caused him immense suffering, and he wished he never had children again.

After hearing Lu Qiqi's explanation, everyone's hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, sank back down.

They finally understood why Lu Qiqi had set the price of bamboo paper so low.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!