Chapter 54 Papermaking Workshop

Not only did Zhao Xiang stop asking about it himself, he also warned Zhao Liya and the others not to talk about it outside. Even if someone asked about it out of curiosity, he would quickly change the subject.

Zhao Liya and Qu Yutao immediately took it to heart and nodded in agreement.

It is better to have less trouble than more.

Zhao Liya hesitated for a moment, fearing her father would overthink things, but ultimately decided not to tell him about Master Zhou. She'd wait until Master Zhou actually came, and then she'd talk about it.

The next day, Zhao Liya and her friends went to Zaihu Village early in the morning.

The construction of the sugar-making workshop has been mostly completed. The main building, warehouse, and office area have all been completed. Only some supporting areas are left. Everyone doesn't know what to do best and most reasonably. After analyzing it over and over again, there is still no rule, so they can only wait for Zhao Liya to come back.

She is finally here!

Li Guangqing and the others all said, "If Miss Zhao doesn't come back, we'll be so worried! Without Miss Zhao, we can't do this job at all!"

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

Zhao Liya smiled and said, "My uncles and aunts have done a great job. This is how the workshop works! The finishing touches can be completed in another five or six days."

She walked around, rearranged the arrangements and gave instructions, and the workshop soon became bustling again.

Because this place will be used as a place to stay in the future, the "office" can be decorated after it is built, and tables, chairs and other furniture can be purchased for simple furnishings.

There are also various tools needed for sugar extraction, some of which have already been customized and some have not yet been customized, and they also need to be purchased one by one.

All of this was planned, and they would be completed one by one. But what Zhao Liya wanted to talk about today was something else.

She, Hu Ling and Qu Yutao went to the headman's house specifically and invited the two clan leaders, village elders, as well as Ruan Guishu, the Li brothers, the headman's eldest grandson Li Guangqing, Ruan Guishu's son Ruan Chong and other people who had obviously become members of her management team to hold a meeting.

She wants to build another paper-making workshop.

She had discussed this matter with her family last night. There was so much sugarcane residue left after sugar extraction, so why not use it to make paper and make some money by recycling the waste.

So much sugarcane residue can be used for a long time. When there is no sugarcane residue, the papermaking workshop can be left empty if it wants to. Otherwise, paper can also be made from bamboo.

Lingnan may not have much else to offer, but it does have countless varieties of bamboo. From winter bamboo shoots all the way to late August, you can enjoy a variety of fresh bamboo shoots. Within a two-mile walk, you can be sure to see bamboo everywhere you look. Making paper from bamboo is a breeze, and raw materials are a breeze.

When the Zhao family heard this, they thought that as long as it could be done, since they had already built a sugar-making workshop, it would be easy to build a related papermaking workshop as well.

Zhao Xiang also knew this, and he enthusiastically recited a passage about papermaking to the whole family on the spot. He had read this passage in a miscellaneous book in the past, and he remembered several passages because it was so deeply impressed.

His daughter didn't like poetry or songs, but she read a lot of miscellaneous books. And like him, she had a good memory, which came in handy now.

Zhao Liya was even happier. Dad could do it too, so they could discuss it together.

The people in Zaihu Village who were waiting were also happy. When they heard Zhao Liya mention this, their first reaction was admiration and respect: "Mr. Zhao and Miss Zhao can actually make paper. It's amazing!"

Why not do such a good thing?

"Miss Zhao, you and Mr. Zhao, take a look. We'll build it wherever you say!"

"Yes, yes, as long as you give us a nod, we will take care of the rest."

Zhao Liya smiled and said, "Don't worry. We'll walk around here for the next two days. Once we find a good place, we'll ask my dad to come over and see if it's suitable."

"Well, all you can do is look around. Wherever you like is the right place."

The village head, clan leader and others in Zaihu Village said the same thing in unison.

Zhao Liya agreed in a crisp voice. She liked people who were straightforward and honest like this.

Save trouble.

Of course, she wouldn't let them suffer any loss.

When the sugar-making workshop was completed, Zhao Liya had also selected a place to build the paper workshop.

After Zhao Xiang looked at it, he decided on it.

It was about four miles away from the sugar mill, and Zhao Liya had deliberately chosen not to build the two workshops next to each other. Firstly, there would be too many people, making management difficult, and secondly, if something happened here, it wouldn't affect the other side.

The distance is more than four miles, no more, no less. Building a flat road to connect them makes it very convenient to transport raw materials without any delay.

Now that she had more money, she simply bought the entire 100 acres of land.

Zaihu Village came forward and still only spent 180 taels of silver.

Zhao Liya thought that when she made money next year, she would connect the paper mill and the sugarcane field and buy all the vacant land in between.

The construction of the sugar mill, along with various labor costs, cost over forty taels. The paper mill itself would cost another twenty taels.

After calculating the total amount, there are about two hundred and seventy taels left.

Later labor costs, management fees, sales and other expenses will also need to be spent, so this little money will not be touched for the time being.

After the site for the paper mill was chosen, Zhao Liya entrusted the matter to Ruan Chong and Li Guangqing. She, Hu Ling and Qu Yutao only needed to come and take a look in a day or two.

In the sugarcane fields, the seedlings have already grown six or seven true leaves and are nearly half a meter tall. Their leaves are narrow, drooping, like silver grass, and their stems are thin, not quite resembling sugarcane. But with proper care, they will begin a period of rapid growth and soon resemble sugarcane.

During this period, it is time to weed, cultivate the soil, apply fertilizer and water.

The fertilizer is collected and purchased farmyard manure. When applying fertilizer, just control the degree and do not burn the roots.

Zhao Liya told the experienced farmers, "Just use the same amount of fertilizer as you would for corn or vegetables, or a little less."

Everyone understood this and nodded in agreement. After all, we are all farmers, so who doesn't know how to apply fertilizer?

I just didn't know how to prepare the soil, but after Zhao Liya demonstrated it to me, I understood it.

Weeding and watering are things that everyone can do, so there is no need to explain them.

This land is new, and it is the season when weeds are growing wildly. There are a lot of weeds, and it is not easy to weed them.

Fortunately, there are many people, so everyone can take their time.

This is the first sugarcane field in Gaolian County. When it comes to taking care of these green and slender seedlings, the farmers in Zaihu Village are more attentive than Zhao Liya, Hu Ling and others.

Be very careful, for fear of damaging the seedlings.

Everyone was amazed when they heard Zhao Liya say that they would have to weed, fertilize, and cultivate the soil again in a month and a half, or two months. They all laughed and said, "Sugarcane is so meticulous to look after! We didn't understand that. No wonder no one dares to plant it!"

(End of this chapter)