Half an hour later, the students handed their completed essays to the teacher's desk one after another.
Zhao Zhiwei also put down his pen, took the article he had written, and walked towards the Master.
When Master Yan saw Zhao Zhiwei come to the school, he nodded in satisfaction.
My lips never left my mouth after reading Zhao Zhiwei's article.
After all the students had finished writing, Master Yan dismissed the class and left with the students' assignments.
As soon as Master Yan left, Yang Chenglin, who sat in front of Zhao Zhiwei, turned around and asked curiously, "Brother Zhao, have you struck it rich? Buying so much paper at once, it must cost four or five hundred coins, right?"
Yang Chenglin was secretly amazed. One tael of silver was only enough for two reams of paper, but Zhao Zhiwei bought a whole ream of paper in one go. Wasn't that a windfall?
Zhao Zhiwei took a ream of paper and unfolded it on the desk. Then he took out a sheet and handed it to Yang Chenglin. “This paper is different from white paper, so it is naturally not as expensive. A ream of paper only costs eighty coins.”
Yang Chenglin took the bamboo paper with some skepticism, and repeatedly rubbed it with both hands.
He wondered why the paper was so cheap, since its fineness was no less than that of plain white paper.
Just as he was about to ask a question, Zhao Zhiwei laid out a piece of paper and then made a gesture of invitation.
Yang Chenglin didn't think much of it and immediately picked up his pen and wrote down his name.
As the pen tip left ink marks on the paper, Yang Chenglin felt the smoothness of the paper and exclaimed in surprise, "This paper isn't rough at all!"
"Such good paper for only eighty coins? Brother Zhao, you're not trying to scam me!"
Zhao Zhiwei sat at his desk with his arms crossed, and said with a slight smile, "That's natural."
Yang Chenglin's surprised exclamation made quite a commotion. The students were already curious about Zhao Zhiwei's sudden display of wealth, and upon hearing Yang Chenglin's words, they were all intrigued.
"Brother Zhao, which bookstore did you buy the paper from? Do you still have any? Let me go home to get the money, and then you can take me there!" Yang Chenglin said.
"Yes, yes, yes! Let's go too!"
"This paper is so useful and cheap, count me in too. I'll go home and get the money now."
Zhao Shiwei was momentarily stunned as he watched the students scrambling to buy the items, not expecting it to be so easy.
Looking at Yang Chenglin's expectant face, he couldn't help but feel that he was being too cooperative.
It even made him suspect that Yang Chenglin had been paid by Lu Qiqi to act as a shill for him.
"Brother Zhao, we've been classmates for so long, you shouldn't keep good things to yourself!"
"Yes! Just tell us so we can save some money too."
"White paper is so expensive. I wasted two sheets last time, and it broke my heart."
"Who says otherwise? That white paper is so expensive, and the villagers even want me to paint a picture on it as a wedding gift for him. I don't know how they can be so shameless!"
Zhao Zhiwei said, "No rush, you can buy this paper outside the door. Go home for lunch and bring the money with you."
"That's great! I need to hurry home to get the money, or someone will rob me of it!"
As soon as Yang Chenglin finished speaking, he walked out of the school, afraid that if he was a step too late, he would miss out on such a cheap thing.
Other students also filed out of the school gate.
When they saw the four large boxes outside the school gate, and thinking of the many students in the academy, they all ran home as fast as they could.
Lu Qiqi sat on a wooden box, feeling utterly bored, until she saw the students running out of the school as if their lives depended on it. She knew then that Zhao Zhiwei had succeeded!
She was secretly delighted and said, "I'll just wait for the accounting and payment on Wednesday!"
He was ready early on Wednesday, and patted the ledger in his hand, saying, "Sister Lu, don't worry, I've got it covered!"
He had already mastered bookkeeping at the noodle shop and was now eager to show off his skills and impress Lu Qiqi.
Yang Chenglin's home was close to the school, and he was the first person to run back.
"One hundred and sixty coins," Yang Chenglin said, taking out a money bag. "I need two reams of paper."
Yang Chenglin rushed home, and now he suddenly stopped, panting heavily, his chest heaving, but the corners of his mouth were turned up.
Lu Qiqi took the dark-colored money bag, tossed it to Zhao Xiaodong, and said, "Count the money."
Zhao Xiaodong took the money bag and began counting it.
In the Great Jin Dynasty, every hundred coins were tied together with a rope, which made it easier for Zhao Xiaodong to count the money quickly.
After a moment, Zhao Xiaodong said, "One hundred and sixty coins, that's enough!"
Zhao Xiaodong put the money into his own money bag and then returned the dark-colored money bag to Yang Chenglin.
Then Li Changlong took out two reams of paper and handed them to Yang Chenglin.
Yang Chenglin took the two reams of paper and held them in his arms, touching them as if they were precious treasures. He couldn't help but ask, "Miss, will you still sell this paper? Where can I buy it from you in the future?"
Lu Qiqi smiled and said, "From now on, all bookstores in Heshun Prefecture will sell it. You can come in and buy it without worrying about running out of stock."
After hearing Lu Qiqi's words, Yang Changlin happily took two reams of paper home for dinner.
After Yang Chenglin left, the students returned one after another, each taking out their money bags to buy bamboo paper.
A large, thronging crowd surrounded Lu Qiqi and her companions.
Lu Qiqi had no choice but to ask Li Changlong to close the box. The students, seeing that the box was closed, stood there dumbfounded, looking at each other in confusion.
She took advantage of this break to have the students line up to buy the products.
Upon hearing this, the students lined up to buy as quickly as possible.
My hands were busy recording on Wednesday, and the four boxes of bamboo paper were snapped up in less than 15 minutes.
Many students were disappointed and were about to leave when they heard Lu Qiqi repeat what she had said to Yang Chenglin.
The students who couldn't buy paper felt less disappointed when they heard that it would soon be available everywhere.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
