Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Small Workshop (Catching Bugs)

In "Fighting for the Deer", there is very little description of Mo Jinglian, which led to Lin Si not thinking of this person at first.

The story hasn't started yet, and Lin Si really wants to kill Zhuo Zhengchu before he kills him with a knife.

But Dachen is too big, and Lin Si doesn’t know in which corner Zhuo Zhengchu is struggling to survive.

But it doesn't matter. She bought Zhu Shixi, his confidante number one who would save his life, and kidnapped his wife Mo Jinglian, who had invested in him.

She wanted to see if Zhuo Zhengchu could survive. Even if he survived, how could he become a son-in-law and live off his wife?

There is no rush to kidnap Mo Jinglian. Mo Jinglian is not as helpless as Zhu Shixi, so it won't be that easy.

Lin Si didn't even have to initiate the papermaking plan this time. Liang Nian and Zuo You were very proactive and ordered people to buy all kinds of paper from Shizhou.

Paper is indeed expensive.

Even the cheapest bamboo paper and hemp paper cost three cents a sheet.

A piece of paper weighs one hundred sheets and costs three hundred coins.

Medium-priced rattan paper and mulberry paper cost about five to ten cents per sheet, not to mention the expensive golden chestnut paper and gold-sprinkled paper.

Lin Si only has about twenty children now. Chinese, mathematics, and calligraphy all require paper. Even with this calculation, the demand for paper is already quite large, not to mention that the manor will expand in the future. It is not a solution to let them write on the ground all the time.

You still have to practice calligraphy on paper.

Liang Nian glanced at Lin Si. She no longer regarded Lin Si as a child. Sometimes she even felt that Lin Si was as precocious as a monster in a strange book.

However, Liang Nian understood clearly that no matter whether Lin Si was extremely intelligent or something else, as long as she had no bad intentions and could make the lives of the people in Li County better and better, that would be enough.

Lin Si looked at the bamboo paper and hemp paper carefully. The bamboo paper has a coarser texture, but high yield, so it is suitable for daily writing.

Hemp paper has good toughness, but the raw materials are not as easy to obtain as bamboo paper, so it has gradually been replaced by bamboo paper.

The daily writing paper Lin Si uses now is rattan paper and mulberry paper, both of which were brought from the Princess Mansion in Anjing. She also has a few pieces of floral paper with patterns printed on the surface, scented with fragrance, and colored gold-sprinkled paper.

A piece of this kind of paper is worth a hundred coins and is mostly custom-made for literati and the court.

Lin Si searched through the system mall last night and indeed found a way to make writing paper at a low cost.

Lin Si acted immediately and picked Zhao An and Ding Pu to cooperate with her in the experiment.

Ding Pu was disheartened by this. He really wanted to stay in the County Lord's Mansion, but he found that the requirements for servants in the Mansion were getting higher and higher. First, they made kangs, and now they were making paper. Would he evolve into a craftsman sooner or later?

The paper made by Lin Si is not for sale for the time being, so he has achieved extreme cost savings. The raw materials are rice straw and wheat straw that can be found everywhere, mixed with some tree bark.

Although the fibers are shorter, the cost is low. When mixed with long fibers such as bark in a ratio of 70:30, the paper is brittle but sufficient for writing.

By the way, the pulping process can be improved by extending the soaking time and fermentation time, and using natural fermentation to soften the fiber. As for the steaming time, directly use the steaming temperature given in the "Papermaking Method" and intermittent heating.

For the papermaking part, Lin Si directly followed the double-layer papermaking method in the "Papermaking Method", with a coarse curtain for the bottom and a fine curtain for covering the surface, which was more efficient and quick, and reduced the scrap rate.

Finally, the manual rinsing step is omitted and the fabric is naturally oxidized and dried in sunlight to become white.

Although Ding Pu was a lazy guy, he had an inexplicable sense of responsibility. Therefore, when he and Zhao An made paper that was so rough that it could cut hands for the first time, he felt very frustrated and even had a little fighting spirit.

He will definitely master the papermaking business!

Lin Si was holding a piece of paper with a texture similar to bamboo paper, which was yellowish and old in color. He could feel obvious coarse fibers when he touched it with his fingers.

Ding Pu cautiously glanced at Lin Si's expression and didn't dare to say a word to Zhao An.

This is the best result I have made in more than two months of experimentation.

Lin Si nodded slightly. From the outside, there was nothing wrong with it except that the reeds were a little rough.

After saying that, he picked up the brush again and drew a few wavy lines casually. Because the fibers were thicker, some ink would be soaked in when he wrote, but there was no problem writing with it.

It is more than enough for practicing calligraphy and doing exercises, and the key is that the cost is low.

After receiving Lin Si's affirmation, Zhao An breathed a sigh of relief, while Ding Pu was secretly delighted.

Small paper making, easy to take down.

No, isn’t he a nobody? Why does he feel so accomplished? This is not right!

*

The papermaking experiment was successful, and Lin Si had recorded all the specific processes and operational details.

Lin Si planned to open an ultra-small papermaking workshop in Li County. After doing some calculations, he found that even if the labor costs were added, it would still be a very cost-effective and profitable deal.

What's more, the labor she invested can also promote consumption in Li County and activate the market.

As for how small this papermaking workshop is, the paper produced every month is enough for the children in the manor to use, so the work can be considered easy, but it requires carefulness and dexterity.

The workshop is recruiting workers, and Lin Si plans to only hire girls.

The reason is nothing else but that Li County has all the common problems of feudal society: women have a low status.

According to Lin Si's observation, the so-called "men work outside and women work inside" can only be achieved in families with certain assets. Girls from the lower class work in the fields and do odd jobs to support their families, but they still have very little say in the family.

Because according to Dachen law, girls cannot own land.

Lin Si's foundation is too shallow and she cannot change the law now, but she also wants to give the girls of Dachen an opportunity to have a stable income within her ability.

Once you have a job and can support yourself, your say in the family will gradually increase.

Liang Nian and Zuo You learned of Lin Si's idea. They were silent but also agreed very much.

Precisely because the laws of Dachen did not allow women to be married, her father and mother had made plans before she was born that she could only be a husband.

Otherwise, if their father becomes seriously ill and cannot survive, they, mother and daughter, will become fish at the mercy of others.

"Helping workers, hiring workers, the workshop opened by the county lady is hiring only girls who are twelve years old or above. Anyone interested can go to the county government office to sign up."

Guo Chun and Yang Yidong were running around in the alley, shouting loudly.

This was the second time they had done something similar, and they were very familiar with it. Even when facing people who wanted to ask questions, they could dodge them flexibly with their sleeves to avoid having their linen clothes torn.

Guo Chun still remembers the miserable scene when she and Zhong Diyan were surrounded by a group of people. Those were the new clothes given to them by the county lady.

Guo Chun and Yang Yidong's words caused quite a stir in the alley.

Several heads popped out of the doorway, and several women asked in unison, "Why only girls?"

"Is this true? Do you really want a girl?"

Yang Yidong answered patiently, "The county lady said that because the girl is meticulous and dexterous, she is more suitable for doing such delicate work."

Then several heads looked at each other and said, "The county master's workshop, it certainly can't be that black-hearted workshop."

"Look at what I'm doing, are you going or not?"

"Only a fool would not go!"

"Why don't you go and sign up quickly? There must be a lot of people who want to go."

"Hey, wait for me to change my clothes."

"How can I wait for you? I won't be able to catch up with you after you change your clothes."

"Then I won't change. I'm leaving now."

Just as Liang Nian predicted, many girls came to sign up.

In Li County, there are very few jobs where girls can earn money, and some hard work requires men to do. The most common job for girls is to mend clothes and wash clothes for others, but the pay is extremely low.

Lin Si has an excellent reputation in Li County. Although the wages in the workshop are not very high, they will definitely not work people to death, and the wages can be paid on time. Who wouldn't want to go to such a good thing?

Girls from the lower class don’t have any concerns about not being able to show their faces in public.

Shi Jin also signed up.

When she knew that Lin Si's workshop was hiring, she almost rushed out the door immediately. Finally, there was something a girl could do for the county lady.

Shi Jin hopes that he can be selected.

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