Zheng Boyuan wrote down some precautions one by one on a few roughly drawn topographical maps, while Xu Zhi sat beside him grinding ink and kept him company until the third watch of the night.

From that day on, Zheng Boyuan became increasingly busy, while Xu Zhi made a decision after spending a few days in Luzhou.

Luzhou is surrounded by high mountains and dense forests, many of which are covered with bamboo. Xu Zhi has a recipe for making paper from bamboo. He and Xu Di came up with it while they were in Hexi. Xu Zhi thought that if they could use the bamboo from Luzhou, gather a group of people from Luzhou, make bamboo paper, and make a name for themselves in the future, it would be enough to give the people of Luzhou another way to make money.

Xu Zhi had heard of bamboo paper making long ago, but because these techniques were kept by families who had passed down the craft for many years, and because they were often the foundation upon which a family relied for its survival, the techniques were not easily passed on to outsiders.

While in Hexi, Xu Di wanted to find something to do. There happened to be a large area of ​​bamboo on the mountain, so he wanted to try making bamboo paper. The two of them worked for a long time before they finally managed to make bamboo paper.

To make bamboo paper, it's best to use bamboo harvested between spring and summer. It's already autumn, so if you want to make it in large quantities, you'll have to wait until next year. But you can try it now. After all, the bamboo isn't from the same place. Who knows if you can make the same paper as when you first tested it by following the original recipe?

Xu Zhi is a person who does what she thinks. Since she has decided to do it, she will start preparing now.

Following the method taught by Xu Di, the first step is to assess how much available capital one has. This capital must be allocated appropriately: how much to invest initially, how much to add later, and how much to keep as reserve funds. Once the money is available, the next step is to start looking for storefronts and hiring staff based on the available funds.

Xu Zhi began writing the plan little by little. While writing, she also went out to conduct on-site investigations. By the time Xu Di brought Granny Lu from Miaozhou, Xu Zhi's plan was almost complete.

Zheng Boyuan had already thoroughly investigated the conditions of the mountains along the route from Luzhou to Miaohe, including their structure, vegetation, and, based on the experience of several experienced craftsmen, the amount of manpower and money needed to carve a road out of the mountains. Zheng Boyuan had a general plan.

Because he was accompanied by Granny Lu, Xu Di did not take the road that led directly from the river to Luzhou by crossing the mountain. Instead, he took a detour, which added more than a hundred miles to the journey. Nowadays, transportation is usually done by horse-drawn carriages. If the road is good, the carriage can travel faster. If the road is bad, the horses have to walk carefully. Fortunately, it is now autumn and the weather is clear and crisp, unlike June when there is a lot of rain. The road conditions are still acceptable, which is why they were able to travel without stopping.

Xu Zhi was delighted by the arrival of Xu Di and Granny Lu. After exchanging pleasantries, Xu Zhi took out her business plan and asked Xu Di to review it. Xu Di read it very carefully and felt that Xu Zhi's ideas were quite mature. If the bamboo paper workshop were built according to her plan, some people would be able to make money.

Xu Di thought about it seriously and said, "Xiao Jiu, there's no problem with this plan, but I want to talk to you about something else. Making paper requires a lot of water, which can be easily obtained by drawing water from the border river. But do you know that the wastewater from papermaking cannot be reused and can only be treated as wastewater? Moreover, this wastewater has a significant impact on the surrounding environment. Therefore, it needs to be specially treated, and untreated wastewater cannot be discharged directly."

Xu Zhi didn't quite understand what he meant. Xu Di went to great lengths to explain to her why the wastewater was harmful to the surrounding environment. Xu Zhi listened blankly for a long time, then said, "Brother, maybe we should just forget about it. If the Luzhou Mountain area is affected, I, the instigator, will become a sinner."

Xu Di laughed and said, "You're just throwing the baby out with the bathwater. As long as you handle the aftermath properly, you can avoid a lot of harm. We live off the land we live on. This is the only thing around Luzhou that can still create some value. Let's keep doing this for now. We can gradually switch to other ways later when we find them."

Xu Zhi nodded and said, "Once a more profitable way is found, I guess no one will be willing to do it again, even if you ask them to."

Xu Di hadn't expected Xu Zhi to think of this. He then thought that Luzhou was established because of the Luzhou Guard near the border river. The people in this city would all go to the battlefield when there was war, just like the people in Hexi. Thinking of this, Xu Di said, "Not for anything else, but for the people of Luzhou who guard the border, we must lead them to a good life. They have been guarding this place for generations for the sake of our Great Liang. We can't let them live a hard life while guarding a way to make money."

Xu Zhi smiled and nodded, then shook her head and said, "Thinking about it carefully, Luzhou is really too different from Hexi. The roads in Hexi are better than here, and there are many more ways to make money. Even if you don't do anything else, just processing wool can make you a lot of money. It's just a pity that Luzhou is not a suitable place for grazing."

Xu Di smiled and said, "You can learn from it, but don't copy it exactly. Just like oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, but oranges grown north of the Huai River are bitter oranges. Don't be fooled by the fact that the same thing might not work in a different place."

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