"How do you know?"
Zhao Dezheng blurted out, but his eyes unconsciously moved to Li Sanshun behind the little girl.
Teach and sell now?
Li Sanshun said "Pah" in his heart and moved away calmly: You can make random guesses, but please don't drag innocent people into this!
Xianjin took out a strip of steamed sandalwood and put it into a basin of water not far away.
The well water in the basin was icy cold.
Xianjin put the sandalwood strips in while he was talking. After the bark cooled, he took the sandalwood strips out of the water and quickly peeled off the bark of the branches. He also removed the branches and bones, and said to Zhao Dezheng with a smile, "I'm in the rice paper business. I know, isn't that right?"
As he said this, he threw the sandalwood bark into the bamboo basket and handed the clean branches to Zhao Dezheng.
Zhao Dezheng took a look at the peeled and straight wooden strips in his hand, and was greatly shocked: if it is theory, he can learn it on the spot, but making rice paper requires manual skill, and the truth is revealed in the details. Although peeling the bark is not difficult, being able to peel the sandalwood strips so beautifully requires some basic skills!
Xianjin raised his chin and motioned Zhao Dezheng to go inside. "Manager Zhao, you have been working hard guarding the steamer all night. If you don't need to rest, please lead the way for me. Let's take a good look at the famous mulberry paper workshop."
Zhao Dezheng just woke up from his dream and followed Xianjin's footsteps and ran inside in small steps.
Xianjin walked through the pool, paper baking room, cellar, and warehouse, taking Zhao Dezheng inside with a sense of ownership, and occasionally gave some small suggestions:
"...Some bamboo materials for making curtains are not good, so we still have to use bitter bamboo, which is more than one foot long and two feet long, suitable for making long bamboo strips without knots or barbs."
"The paper brushes we use for cleaning paper need to be replaced. There are always dead branches that make our Chen family look shabby. I heard that Hengji has specially made pine brooms that are fluffy and powerful. They are very good. Let's go make some."
From time to time, I would ask Manager Zhao:
"How do we check the paper now? How do we check the number? How do we cut the paper?"
Zhao Dezheng: Not only are you teaching me how to do things, but you're also pointing out my mistakes?!
Who do you think you are!
You are a grapevine!
Zhao Dezheng has always been a soft-hearted person, and Xianjin asked directly, so the old man turned his head away and pretended not to hear.
Xianjin acted as if he hadn't heard anything, and didn't get annoyed or urge him. When he passed by the paper selection room, two yawning middle-aged women were just in place. They put on their linen sleeves skillfully and picked up two thick stacks of paper from the chopping board.
Then I started counting the papers in the most primitive way - manual counting.
The two young aunts were very dedicated and would loudly announce the number each time they counted one.
One sang, "Seventy-eight!"
One sang, "Sixty-seven!"
Then another one opened his mouth and said, "Sixty-eight!"
In an instant, the two young aunts worked together to reduce the eleven paper masts and oars to ashes.
Xianjin looked at Zhao Dezheng with a smile, "...Where is that sister's seventy-nine?"
Zhao Dezheng's face turned red, and he pouted for a long time without saying anything. After a long while, he stammered, "Being bad at counting can't be considered a shortcoming!... Counting! How can making paper figures be considered a shortcoming!" Then came some difficult to understand words, something like "kiwi vine juice" and "five colors of ink". Li Sanshun turned his head away silently: his heart was filled with a cheerful atmosphere - if he showed his weakness, their Jin Jie'er would take advantage of the situation and pursue him.
Xianjin laughed, very gentle and peaceful.
"It's okay if you're not good at counting." Xianjin said in a calm tone, without any hint of instruction, like a younger generation asking for advice and communicating with an elder. "But we can make it easier for ourselves. I bought three scales in a workshop in Jing County before. The clerk counted 100 sheets of paper first, weighed them, and calculated the rough weight of each sheet of paper. "
"We can calculate the weight of dozens more pieces of paper, compare them, and take the middle value, and then we can determine the weight of each piece of paper."
"Having determined the weight of one sheet of paper, we can naturally determine the weight of a hundred sheets."
"We just use a scale to weigh it, add or subtract, and even if there is a discrepancy, it will only be three or four pieces of paper."
Manager Zhao just has a bad temper, he is not stupid.
As soon as Xianjin said it, he understood.
Manager Zhao said, "If there are too many papers, it's easy to explain, but if there are too few... once or twice, everyone can understand, but three or four times, people will scold you for not doing business honestly."
Xianjin had naturally thought about this question and nodded naturally, "That's the truth - so we usually put more weight."
He smiled again, "Of course, when checking and selecting, the clerks not only have to remove the raised spots and bone firewood on the paper, fill in the small spots and damages, and remove the inferior ones and redo them... but also roughly recheck the amount of paper, so as to achieve the 'two-step proofreading'."
Manager Zhao nodded thoughtfully.
Xianjin walked straight forward.
Walking into the flowers, without preparing tea.
As expected.
Xianjin picked up the teacup on the table and poured one for Li Sanshun first, then poured one for Master Gao behind Li Sanshun. Finally, he took a big sip himself before introducing Master Gao to the caretaker, "...the former head master of Songji Paper Industry in Jing County, Master Gao."
The paper-making circle in Jing County is quite small, and Zhao Dezheng certainly knows all the well-known ones.
Master Gao.
After working for Songji for decades, Songji collapsed. Unexpectedly, Chenji came.
Zhao Dezheng bent over and bowed to Master Gao in a friendly manner.
Master Gao stepped aside quickly, "I don't deserve it! You are the boss of the mulberry paper workshop!" He smiled and said to Xianjin, "When I was in Jingxian before, I heard about the mulberry paper workshop. I was wondering, how can a workshop that uses sandalwood bark to make rice paper be called a mulberry paper workshop! Isn't this just selling dog meat under the guise of selling mutton?"
Xianjin saw that Master Gao had finished his tea, so he filled it up like a host and said familiarly, "That's because our Manager Zhao is not from Xuancheng. He used to make mulberry paper, but now he married Lingzheng, who was born in Xuancheng Prefecture, and he changed his ways and started making Xuan paper. Don't tell me, this is the top craftsman!"
Xianjin gave a thumbs up.
Zhao Dezheng turned his head away, seemingly calm, but his face, which was red to the tips of his ears, betrayed him in every detail.
"It only took him three or two years to master our rice paper. He was chosen by our master and became the manager and master chef of this workshop. The Chen family has always respected craftsmen, so the original name of this shop was continued."
Xianjin tells the story slowly and leisurely.
Zhao Dezheng coughed lightly and turned around with a red face.
The original intention must be adhered to.
No matter how clever the enemy is, you must fight to the bitter end!
"You... don't think that this store will listen to you just by saying a few nice words!"
Zhao Dezheng said "you you you" several times, and finally straightened his tongue, "Think about what you did in Jing County! You did nothing good! What about copying books, what kind of paper to make lanterns, what kind of notebooks... The most outrageous thing is that you put paper in bags and sell them, and you can get whatever you buy..."
"You have no respect for this business! This craft!
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