Chapter 141 The Bai Family

Just as Song Yushu was about to pick some to take back to Zhou Chengyu, a gentle-looking woman came out of the bookstore courtyard.

"Husband, Mother's medicine has run out..." the woman said, looking at Bai Jingyu with some worry.

Upon hearing this, Bai Jingyu disregarded Song Yushu's presence and directly opened the drawer of the counter, taking out all the loose copper coins.

"We're still short an ounce or two. Should I go back to my parents' house to borrow it?" The woman fell silent when she saw her husband's unpleasant expression.

"Boss, I'll take all these papers. Could you please calculate how much they cost?"

Song Yushu's voice broke the silence between the two.

Bai Jingyu had no choice but to pay for Song Yushu's bill first. He was surprised to see that she had bought all the paper on his counter at once, and asked her, "Madam, will you be able to use up all this paper?"

“There is a child in the family studying at the academy, and this paper will only last him for two months.”

Song Yushu's words put Bai Jingyu at ease, and he accepted the silver that Song Yushu handed over.

"Five taels of silver is enough," Bai Jingyu said, rounding down the price for Song Yushu.

“The paper here is cheap. It would probably cost two taels of silver more elsewhere,” Song Yushu said casually.

“It’s a small business. If you think it’s cheap, Madam, you can come again next time,” Bai Jingyu said, handing the silver to his wife and then being much more polite to Song Yushu.

Instead of trying to get closer to him, Song Yushu took a large stack of papers and went back home.

"Why did you buy so much paper?" Xiong Erni asked, taking the paper from her as she struggled to carry it.

"Keep some for the restaurant to settle accounts, and send the rest to Zhou Chengyu," Song Yushu arranged the uses of the papers.

The restaurant wasn't crowded in the afternoon, and Song Yushu scribbled and drew at the counter, and the day passed quickly.

They reappeared at the Bai family bookstore three days later.

Bai Jingyu was somewhat surprised when he recognized her.

"What does Madam wish to buy this time?"

"I wonder if Mr. Bai would be interested in doing business with me?" Song Yushu stated his purpose directly this time.

"Let's go inside and talk," Bai Jingyu said, closing the bookstore and leading Song Yushu to the backyard.

Madam Bai was doing embroidery at the time. When she saw them come in, she didn't say anything and went straight to prepare tea.

Song Yushu heard faint coughing and children's voices coming from inside the house. Soon after, Madam Bai entered the house.

"I suppose Madam had already inquired before coming, and isn't afraid of causing trouble by cooperating with me?"

“If you were afraid, you wouldn’t have come today. We can be considered kindred spirits,” Song Yushu said, taking a sip of tea.

"You've witnessed the Xu family's methods, yet you still come to me. If I'm not mistaken, you're trying to go against the Xu family?" Bai Jingyu looked at Song Yushu and saw that she remained calm. He thought she was composed, but ultimately she was acting too impulsively.

"It's not that I want to go against the Xu family, but the Xu family is unwilling to let me go. They treat human life like dirt. I might die at their hands one day. In order to survive, I have to think of some way."

Bai Jingyu looked at her with sympathy and pity, but still couldn't help but say, "The Xu family is powerful. If you want to live, you should leave the city. In the end, life is more important. Going against them is like throwing an egg against a rock."

"How will Boss Bai know it won't work if he doesn't try? Besides, I don't expect to really bring down the Xu family. I just want to change the current situation where we are at their mercy."

"Even if I cooperate with you, what good will it do? You've seen it yourself. The Bai family now relies entirely on the meager income from the bookstore to make ends meet. Just the cost of my mother's medicine alone is enough to crush a family. Moreover, the Xu family is all-powerful in the prefectural city. Without sufficient backing, anyone who dares to show their face will be suppressed."

Bai Jingyu has thought about revenge all these years, but now that he's struggling to make ends meet, he can't afford to think about anything else.

“Who says he doesn’t have a powerful backer? What do you think of the current prefect?” Song Yushu asked.

“Prefect Liu? I’ve heard he’s fair and honest, but what if he’s colluding with the Xu family in private? Wouldn’t that be like lambs to the slaughter?” Bai Jingyu said with some concern.

"No, I was able to escape the persecution by the Xu family this time entirely because of Prefect Liu's incorruptibility."

"According to you, he is indeed a good official, but why would he be willing to help us?"

“As long as what we do benefits the people, the prefect will naturally be willing to help us. Boss Bai, if you are willing to cooperate, we will take this to see the prefect.” Song Yushu took out half of the papermaking formula that he had painstakingly pieced together.

Bai Jingyu's expression changed immediately upon seeing the formula. The Bai family had made a living through paper mills and bookstores for three generations, so as a member of the Bai family, he could naturally see the feasibility of making paper according to this formula.

"The second half of the recipe..."

"Of course, I will present it to you with both hands after Mr. Bai is sincere in cooperating. By the way, there are some parts of this recipe that I can't quite remember. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Mr. Bai to help me figure it out later." Seeing the interest in his eyes, Song Yushu did not urge him to give an answer. He took the recipe and left the bookstore, telling him to give an answer in three days.

Song Yushu thought she had a good chance of winning over Bai Jingyu, but to her surprise, Bai Jingyu did not show up on the third day. She was a little disappointed and did not intend to bother him again, since everyone has their own choices.

Unexpectedly, on the morning of the fourth day, she saw someone guarding the door as soon as she arrived at the restaurant.

"Lady Wei! I..."

"Let's go inside and talk," Song Yushu told Xiong Erni to watch the door and prevent anyone else from coming in.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't resist studying the half of the prescription you left behind these past few days, and I completely forgot about the time. I came here today to tell you that I'm willing to cooperate with you!"

Bai Jingyu did look somewhat unkempt at this moment, but Song Yushu did not doubt his words. The two signed a written agreement and pressed their fingerprints before handing over the prescription to him for study.

"Once you've made the new paper, we'll take it to the prefect. This matter must not be known to anyone else, and the formula must not be revealed either." Song Yushu wasn't sure if Bai Jingyu could successfully make the paper, but judging from his fascination with the formula, the chances of success seemed quite high.

Now she has only chosen to cooperate with the Bai family, starting with making cheaper and better quality paper. This is because the Xu family values ​​paper mills. Currently, nearly 80% of the paper in the prefecture city is supplied by paper mills under the Xu family. If this situation can be broken, it would be a heavy blow to the Xu family.

A month later, Bai Jingyu appeared at Song Yushu's restaurant.

"It's done. This is the paper made according to your formula. Look, although it's not as good as fine Xuan paper in some aspects, the cost has been reduced by nearly two-thirds. As a result, there will definitely be many people who can afford it!" Bai Jingyu took out a stack of slightly yellowed paper and handed it to Song Yushu.