Chapter 10 Become bigger and stronger! Create more glory!
The murderer was brought to justice, and everyone sighed.
The three people who killed Zhu Lang were all from poor families, and their only way out was to study.
It was a pity that they did not study hard, but instead had evil intentions towards their better classmates. Even if such people came out on top in the imperial examinations, they would still be a disaster in the future!
Shen Qingyuan finished the finishing work and found that his daughter was missing.
He searched everywhere for a long time before he saw Shen Chaoyan in the corner.
"Yan'er? Yan'er?"
However, Shen Qingyuan called Shen Chaoyan several times in a row before Shen Chaoyan came back to his senses, "Hmm? Daddy, what's wrong?"
"What are you thinking about, so engrossed?"
"I'm watching them." Shen Chaoyan pointed to several students who were studying hard under the window and replied, "Dad, why don't they use pens to write, but use chopsticks to write and draw on the table?" "
This can save some paper and ink. Your father did the same when he was studying in the academy. Li Ze Academy is different from other academies. Many academies have extremely high tuition fees. The first condition for admission to Li Ze Academy is the student's academic performance. Students who can study here have better academic performance than those in other academies. This is why the top three in the palace examination are almost all from Li Ze Academy."
"Are pens and paper expensive?" Shen Chaoyan's family was well-off in her previous life, and she had no worries about food and drink in this life. She had no idea about the prices and wages in Daxia.
"Do you know how much it costs for a student to buy a set of pens, ink, paper, and inkstone?"
Shen Chaoyan immediately checked it with the Book of Heaven
. "Three or four hundred coins?" "Yes, it costs that much money to buy the cheapest four treasures of the study. But an adult male's daily wage is only about fifty coins, and if it is in a remote countryside, the wage is even less. It is very difficult for poor families to support their children to study. Not to mention that pens, ink, and paper are consumables. Ordinary families in Daxia can't afford to buy books at all. Poor students borrow books and copy them."
Shen Chaoyan nodded, "I see."
The last time she went shopping, she saw a scholar setting up a stall to help people copy books to earn a living.
Is there any way to reduce the cost of studying?
Make education universal so that more people can go to school and learn to read.
We don't ask everyone to leave their names in history, but at least they can distinguish right from wrong and know what a gentleman should and shouldn't do.
When going to school is no longer out of reach, there will be fewer cases of jealous classmates killing each other.
After learning about this murder case at Li Ze Academy, Shen Chaoyan was deeply moved.
When she and Shen Qingyuan walked out, they saw several students squatting in a light, practicing writing on the ground with charcoal pencils. As
she looked at the scene, she suddenly had a bold idea.
Since using pens and ink is expensive, time-consuming and labor-intensive, could she improve the charcoal pencil and make it look like the pencils of her previous life?
Pencils are not only low-cost and easy to carry, but also easy to use. They can be used not only by students but also by ordinary people for daily accounting and note-taking.
"Sir Shen, please wait a moment."
Shen Chaoyan was still thinking about how to do business when a clear male voice came to her ears.
She turned her head and looked behind her, only to see a well-mannered scholar stop in front of Shen Qingyuan and bowed deeply to him, "Thank you for clearing my suspicion. Please accept my greetings!"
Shen Chaoyan raised her eyes and scanned the profile above his head: [Zhang Huaimin, 25 years old, from a poor family, smart and studious.]
Heavenly Book: [He is Zhang Sheng who almost became a scapegoat. If you hadn't intervened, according to the original plot, he would have been arrested and thrown into prison, interrogated and tortured, and died in humiliation in prison. 】
Shen Chaoyan: [So, I saved a life! 】
Tianshu: [That's right! The host is great! 】
Shen Chaoyan: [Everything is your credit. 】
Tianshu: [No, no, the host is kind and has a strong sense of justice. 】
Shen Chaoyan and Tianshu Shangye praised each other for a while, and then she heard her father pointing at her and saying to Zhang Huaimin, "Thanks to her help, we were able to solve the case so quickly. Besides, catching the murderer is my duty."
"Maybe to you, sir, this is just an ordinary case, but to me, you saved me by catching the murderer, and saved me from being pointed at and slandered by others. I will never forget such a kindness in my life! If you two sirs can use me in the future, I will do my best!"
Shen Chaoyan looked at the obvious ink stains and scratches on his clothes, knowing that he must have been ostracized and suffered a lot of grievances during the time when he was regarded as a suspect.
Shen Chaoyan replied, "We just did our duty. The case has been settled. You can prepare for the imperial examination with peace of mind. Being a good official who benefits the people in the future is the best reward for us." Zhang
Huaimin looked at her deeply and promised solemnly, "Okay."
He sent them to the gate of the academy and waited until their figures completely blended into the night before turning back.
Shen Chaoyan was thinking about other things and didn't take him to heart.
At this time, she naturally couldn't think that they would meet again in the future.
The next day, Shen Chaoyan started to make pencils.
She followed the steps provided by the heavenly book, found a straight branch as thick as a finger, tapped the branch through, and polished the graphite to make it thin and long. Then she used propolis to make glue, applied it to the graphite core, and fixed the graphite core in the thin branch.
Suddenly, a simple and quaint pencil was completed.
Shen Chaoyan tried it and felt that the effect was good. She immediately went to find Shen Linfeng, "Second brother!"
Shen Linfeng had just finished stretching, and when he turned around, he saw her excited look, "What's wrong?"
He has lost weight now, and his clothes are much looser, but Shen Chaoyan asked him not to waste money on making new clothes for the time being, but to help him find a pile of his old clothes from previous years so that he could wear them first.
He said that he would wait until he was completely thin before making a major change to his wardrobe.
"Brother, I made a pen. Come and try it!"
Shen Chaoyan said, pulling him to the pavilion in the middle of the lake and taking out paper and a pen from his arms.
The pencil was a bit rough in workmanship. If you didn't look closely, you would think it was a piece of tree branch in good condition.
"What kind of pen is this?" Shen Linfeng grabbed the pen and lowered his head to examine it carefully.
"This is the portable charcoal pencil I invented!"
Shen Chaoyan told him endlessly about the advantages of this pen. When he had filled a piece of paper with paint, she asked, "How is it? Is it easy to use?"
Shen Linfeng usually didn't like to read or write, but he was good at drawing. After trying her homemade pen, he immediately showed an expression as if he had discovered a new continent, "Not bad, this pen is very different from the charcoal pencil I usually use. It is small and light, and it won't dirty my hands. Whether it's drawing or writing, it's very convenient."
"Wait until Dad comes back in the evening, I'll let Dad try it again. If you all think it's useful, I plan to open a shop to sell it!"
Shen Linfeng heard this and immediately nodded in support, "No problem, I happen to have some shops on hand. If you want to sell pens, I'll give you a few shops to help you."
"I will enter the palace at the end of the month. Even if I open the shop right now, I don't have time to manage it. Brother, why don't we work together? I will provide the drawings and detailed production methods, and we will split the profits 50-50."
Shen Chaoyan's decision to open a shop was not impulsive. If pencils can be popularized in Daxia, not only can they make money, but the entire Daxia people will benefit.
In addition, her second brother will have something to do and can gradually stay away from those bad friends who will cause him misfortune in the future.
Kill two birds with one stone.
"When you enter the palace, I can manage the shop for you. I don't need money, and I don't need it." Shen Linfeng naturally couldn't ask his sister for money, and he didn't think he could make much money by selling such ugly pens.
"That won't work. If I don't give you a share of the profits, how can you work hard for me? There are still a lot of preparations to be done in the early stage of selling pens. It's not that easy. Don't think of being a hands-off manager."
"Okay, brother will listen to you!"
After Shen Chaoyan taught Shen Linfeng's friends who were second-generation rich, Shen Linfeng was impressed by her strength on the spot and trusted his sister more and more.
Shen Qingyuan and his wife were very open-minded. After learning that Shen Chaoyan wanted to open a charcoal pencil shop, they not only did not object, but gave her a lot of useful suggestions.
They selected a group of skilled craftsmen for Shen Chaoyan, and also asked him to find a way to diversify the products. After all, it is difficult to attract a large number of customers by only selling portable charcoal pencils.
So, after reading the heavenly book, Shen Chaoyan found more than ten kinds of scented tea and milk tea recipes that could be made in ancient times, and planned to open a large bookstore.
Customers can not only buy stationery here, but also sit down and order a cup of tea, and read while drinking.
There are many kinds of pencils, some are specially used for writing, some are specially used for painting, and they even plan to try to add mineral pigments to make a batch of colored pencils.
On this day, Shen Chaoyan took Shen Linfeng to watch the decoration of the shop, and went to the workshop again before going home.
The craftsmanship of these craftsmen is so clever that in addition to the ordinary pencils, they also have rabbits, puppies, lambs, tigers and other patterns carved on the pen tips.
The wood was also dyed with a variety of colors, which was dazzling.
Shen Chaoyan was particularly satisfied, "Second brother, when the first batch of pencils is made, you can send them to the Imperial College and Lize Academy respectively, and give each student three pens of different styles and colors."
"Ah? There are hundreds of people in the Imperial College and Lize Academy. If each person is given three, at least two or three thousand pens must be given. We haven't even earned a penny, but we have to pay for so many pens. Isn't it a big loss?"
"Don't worry, we won't lose money. The Imperial College and Li Ze Academy are well-known in the capital. Whatever they use, students from other academies will follow suit. Once they find it useful, it will become our living advertisement. We must produce more ordinary models, with small profits but quick turnover. As for fancy models, we can also come up with some private customization models, and we can help engrave the name and the style that the customer likes on the pen, but the price will be several dozen times higher."
Ordinary models are made of ordinary wood, with simple processes and low costs. The target audience is poor children and ordinary people. As long as there is no loss, the price must be low.
As for private customization models, they are sold to rich children and dignitaries.
This group of people are not short of money. They adhere to the principle of making the most of the money they can get. The wood used to wrap the pen core is divided into various grades, including red sandalwood, huanghuali, Qinglong wood, and big red rosewood!
After the pencils are produced steadily, she also plans to study papermaking and lower the price of paper.
At first, Shen Linfeng just accompanied his sister to start a business with a playful mentality, but recently, after listening to many of Shen Chaoyan’s ideas and plans for opening a shop, he has become more and more impressed with his sister, and he is also full of energy.
He has a hunch that when the pens made by their family are officially sold, many poor children will have the opportunity to read and write and enter the gate of the academy.
Who knows, their Shen family may even leave a glorious mark in history!
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He clenched his fist and said, "Sister, let's work hard to make Shuzhai bigger and stronger! Create more glory!"