Chapter 75 Ancient Papermaking

Gu Jiayue was stunned, totally not understanding what her uncle was doing.

Never mind, maybe it's a special ritual for entering the mountains. "Uncle, go ahead and cut the trees. I'll wait for you. Can you cut more?"

Seeing that Gu Jiayue had returned to normal, the uncle was relieved. "It's possible, but I can't carry more than a few by myself."

"Alright then, uncle, just chop as many as you can. I can only carry one at most."

Uncle smiled and turned to pick bamboo.

Gu Jiayue found a clean stone to sit on and opened the system store. "Bamboo papermaking method."

Wow, a dazzling array of various papermaking techniques suddenly came into view, but the prices were really high.

"Papermaking Technology Tutorial" requires 268 education points;

Pulp and Paper Engineering Design, priced at 325 education points;

The "Papermaking Yearbook" has an education value of 1001 points, and they even charge an extra 10 points for express delivery.

Gu Jiayue was filled with questions: "Excuse me, I received the goods on site, why do I have to pay the courier fee?"

Gu Jiayue felt exhausted. "System, help me find the cheapest, most comprehensive, and free shipping method for making ancient bamboo paper."

Given the limited intelligence of the system, Gu Jiayue tried to make her requirements as detailed and perfect as possible.

The system quickly responded: [OK, host.]

It is indeed an intelligent entity. Although its level is low, it is very useful.

Gu Jiayue spent half an hour choosing without any idea, but the system screened out suitable items in just three seconds.

"Ancient Bamboo Papermaking Technique (electronic version), 50 Education Points."

Gu Jiayue sat up straight in an instant: "Is there an electronic version?"

The system replied: [Yes, host. However, the electronic version can only be viewed three times.]

Gu Jiayue complained in her heart: As expected, there is no such thing as pie falling from the sky.

Three times? Papermaking is so complicated, how could she remember it after seeing it three times?

Oh, unless the system gives her a photographic memory skill right now.

"Can you convert speech to text?"

System response: [Yes, you can get the speech-to-text service with just 30 education points, and it also comes with automatic typesetting.]

Another educational point!

She worked so hard to accumulate just a little bit of education value, how come she has to spend so much in the blink of an eye?

[Actually, the host can spend 1001 Education Points to purchase the "Papermaking Yearbook." This book chronicles the origins of paper, detailing every evolution of paper throughout China's five thousand years. It includes not only the bamboo papermaking method, but also hemp papermaking, rattan papermaking, and more. Buying this will ensure you're not cheated or fooled.]

Gu Jiayue snorted in her heart: Haha, I'd never trust you! Doesn't she know that the more expensive the better? She doesn't have money, okay?

"I don't have money, so give me an electronic version of bamboo papermaking and voice-to-text."

Gu Jiayue knew clearly that judging by the system's positive response, she must have reached the level where she could apply for installment loan services.

But she is not what the system wants. She does what she can and is debt-free. She does not have the habit of spending ahead of time.

Moreover, as far as the current situation is concerned, if Taohua Village can thoroughly study the bamboo papermaking technique, it will benefit greatly.

Too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing. It depends on whether you have the ability to keep it!

So, don’t buy it!

System: I’ll scratch you to death!

[Okay, host, the purchase has been successful. The text version of the bamboo papermaking technique has been completed. Would you like to pick it up now?]

"Wait a minute, let's go home and talk about it."

Gu Jiayue was no fool. She came empty-handed, but returned with a book. What would her uncle think when he saw her? Would he think she was a monster?

"Okay, host."

The system remembers that the host is the most important in the world, so it must be an obedient system.

"Jiayue, let's go!" Uncle came out of the forest carrying three bamboos about ten meters long.

"Hey, uncle. Let me help you."

"No need, just walk next to me. Be careful not to get hurt by the bamboos." They were just three bamboos. For the uncle who was in his prime, he could handle them easily.

Dawai Mountain was not far from the Gu family, and the two of them arrived home in about half an hour.

Uncle put down the bamboo and hurried to the field to continue working.

Gu Jiayue returned to her room and couldn't wait to take out the bamboo papermaking method to study.

Unlike modern papermaking that can be assisted by various advanced equipment, ancient papermaking techniques are extremely complicated. From material selection to completion, there are nine steps, not to mention the many details and various tools involved.

No wonder paper and books are so expensive in the book market. Each piece of paper is earned through hard work.

Gu Jiayue first ground the ink, then took out a piece of paper and carefully copied the production steps according to the writing habits and fonts of that era. In the process, she also had to replace things that did not exist in this era.

The first step is material selection: Choose bamboo that is 2-3 years old, has long nodes, uniform fibers, and is free of pests and diseases. Such bamboo has high-quality fibers, which can ensure the quality of paper.

Step 2 - Felling: Cut down the selected bamboo, remove the branches and leaves, and keep only the bamboo stems. Then cut the bamboo stems into bamboo tubes of a certain length for subsequent processing. Generally, a length of about 1-2 meters is more suitable.

Step 3—Soaking the Bamboo: Bundle the cut bamboo tubes and place them in a pond or specialized soaking pool for soaking. This soaking process can take anywhere from ten days to half a month, or even several months. This process removes soluble impurities, some pectin, and other substances that could interfere with subsequent processing, making the bamboo fibers easier to separate.

Step 4—Cooking: Remove the soaked bamboo from the water and place it in a large pot. Add an alkaline solution, such as limewater or wood ash, and steam it. The temperature must be maintained high, often boiling for several hours or even longer. During this process, the alkaline solution chemically reacts with substances like lignin in the bamboo, dissolving them and separating the bamboo fibers to form pulp.

Step 5—Washing: Remove the cooked pulp from the pot, place it in a cloth bag, and rinse it repeatedly with running water. Swing the bag constantly while rinsing to thoroughly remove any remaining lime residue, dissolved materials, and other impurities. Repeat this process until the pulp becomes relatively pure.

Step 6—Bleaching in the Sun (Optional): If the washed pulp wasn't perfectly white enough, ancient people would sometimes place it in the sun for several months, gradually bleaching it. However, this process was quite lengthy, and some later papermakers would use a small amount of bleach to accelerate the bleaching process. However, both the amount of bleach used and the duration of the treatment had to be carefully controlled to ensure paper quality.

Step 7—Pounding: The pre-processed pulp is placed in a stone mortar or water-based pestle and pounded with a pestle or hammer driven by a waterwheel. This process takes a long time, until the pulp is pounded into a paste-like consistency. This further separates and slenderizes the fibers, increasing their flexibility and interweaving, thus producing paper with a certain strength.

Step 8—Removing the Paper: Prepare a papermaking trough and fill it with an appropriate amount of clean water. Pour the beaten paper pulp into the trough and stir thoroughly to evenly suspend the pulp fibers in the water. Then, gently place a bamboo mat into the trough and steadily lift it up, ensuring a thin layer of wet paper evenly adheres to the mat. Finally, remove the wet paper from the mat and place it on a pile of wet paper nearby.

Step 9 – Squeezing: When a sufficient amount of wet paper sheets have accumulated, they are placed in a paper press. This press typically consists of two wooden boards and a series of screws. The rotating screws apply pressure, gradually squeezing out the moisture from the wet paper sheets. Moderate pressure is crucial, as otherwise, the quality of the paper will be affected.

Step 10—Paper Baking: The squeezed paper is removed from the press, separated individually, and then placed on a brick "jam" to dry, or on a specially constructed drying wall. Fire is burned inside the drying wall, transferring heat from the inner wall to the outer wall, evaporating the moisture from the paper, resulting in a dry sheet. Care must be taken to control the surface temperature of the drying wall during baking; excessively high temperatures can cause the paper to become brittle and yellow, affecting its quality.

After writing down the production steps, Gu Jiayue took out more paper and drew the necessary tools one by one.

At this moment, she sincerely felt that the educational points she had just spent on purchasing the speech-to-text service were not wasted.

If I just watched the video, how could I accurately draw the size and internal structure of these tools with just my eyes?

But this text version was not only clearly drawn, but also had detailed dimensions marked. She only needed to copy it and then replace the units of measurement with those of this era.

Yeah. So, sometimes you have to spend the money you need to spend.