Heshunfu Restaurant, private room.
The owners of the six bookstores gathered together, their faces no longer showing the initial cheerfulness, but rather a look of worry.
Since obtaining the formula for making bamboo paper, they have devoted all their energy to it.
To their surprise, the bamboo paper they produced was far inferior to that of Tianxin Paper Mill in terms of smoothness and fineness.
Even the raw materials used in papermaking far exceed the price they sell for.
All things considered, it would be better to source directly from Tianxin Village and sell at a higher volume with lower profit margins than to manufacture paper ourselves and incur losses.
Amidst a series of sighs, Manager Huang finally couldn't help but break the silence.
He said, “I have a paper mill two miles east of the city. The location is good and the equipment is complete. I wonder if any of you managers would like to expand the paper mill?”
The other five bookstore owners couldn't wait to sell their paper mills; they certainly didn't want to add another money-losing business.
Manager Xue said with a wry smile, "Manager Huang, don't you know what the situation is like for everyone right now?"
Please stop being sarcastic.
"Let alone taking over another paper mill, we'd be lucky to break even on the money we invested in papermaking within six months!"
When they first received the papermaking formula, they were overjoyed and couldn't wait to start making it immediately.
Unexpectedly, things turned out like this in just a few months. Not only did they lose so much money that they even lost their life savings, but now no one dares to buy the paper mill!
The youngest shopkeeper became anxious, "What should we do? The paper mill still has so much stuff left, but the bamboo paper it produces is all defective."
After these words, the private room fell silent once again.
After a long pause, Manager Huang said, "In my opinion, we should swallow our pride and go to Tianxin Village to find Manager Zhao and discuss with him about buying it back for 70% of the price."
That way, we can lose less money.
After pondering for a moment, the group couldn't come up with a good solution, so they decided to go to Tianxin Village to find Zhao Xiaodong the next day, hoping to minimize their losses.
The bookstores in Heshun Prefecture suffered losses, and the Ministry of Revenue in the new capital, which was in charge of the purse strings, also failed to gain an advantage over bamboo paper.
Several months passed, and the emperor remembered the paper mill again. In such a long time, the Ministry of Revenue had spent a lot of money, but had not seen any income.
Winter is fast approaching, and the soldiers on the border are waiting for their rations and pay to get through the winter. Tens of thousands of soldiers will need a lot of money to fill the gaps!
On that day, the emperor summoned the Minister of Revenue, who had been hiding at home for several days and dared not show his face, to the palace.
Before entering the Imperial Study, Qian Lishe, the Minister of Revenue, approached the eunuch waiting outside the hall and asked in a low voice, "Eunuch, do you know what important matter His Majesty has summoned us for?"
Those who served the emperor were all shrewd and capable of tipping him off on trivial matters and currying favor.
If you want to survive a major crisis, you must keep your mouth shut.
The eunuch smiled and said, "This humble servant can't possibly guess His Majesty's thoughts. Minister Qian, you'd better hurry into the hall and not keep His Majesty waiting too long."
Minister Qian followed the figure who was walking forward with a hunched back and small, quick steps, his heart pounding with anxiety as he tried to recall his recent achievements.
After careful reflection, he realized that he had not done anything wrong recently, so he mustered his courage and quickly walked into the hall.
Minister Qian stood on the jade slab, looked up and saw the emperor's imposing face, and inwardly sighed that something was wrong.
He showed no emotion on his face, and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."
Since the superior hesitated to say that the formalities were off, Minister Qian dared not move an inch and could only remain hunched over.
After a long while, Minister Qian finally heard a slow, deliberate voice from above, "No need for formalities."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Minister Qian slowly straightened his back, and a cracking sound came from his waist, startling him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.
He's not young anymore; if he hurts or strains his back, he'll suffer terribly!
Seeing his unusual expression, the emperor didn't offer his usual concern, but instead ignored him, saying, "The papermaking formula you asked the head of Kang Le Township to hand over, why is there not even a sound of water now?"
Upon hearing this, Minister Qian finally understood why he had been summoned.
When a superior demands an explanation, the subordinate must naturally accept it, especially since he was the one who started it.
Minister Qian reported truthfully, "Your Majesty, the papermaking method has been implemented among the common people for several days. This yellow paper is inexpensive and is indeed popular among the poor, but..."
He glanced up at the emperor on the throne and quickly interjected before the emperor could express his dissatisfaction, "However, although the cost of bamboo paper is lower than that of white paper, it far exceeds the selling price set by the Lord of Kang Le Township."
In this way, the newly built paper mill would lose money on every sheet of paper it produced.
Minister Qian became increasingly uneasy as he spoke, and by the end he didn't even have the courage to look up at the emperor. He could only lower his head and look at his feet, hoping that the interrogation would end soon.
Upon hearing Minister Qian's words, the emperor's face instantly darkened. He said with a gloomy expression, "Who was it that so confidently guaranteed this to me! A woman can make money, and you, the Minister of Revenue, can't even learn something that's readily available!"
Minister Qian had no words to express his suffering. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the jade slab. He replied, "Your Majesty, it is not that I am trying to exonerate myself."
However, making bamboo paper requires a lot of lime and bamboo, and the lord of Kang Le Township has these two readily available materials on his fief.
We, on the other hand, need to purchase these separately, so our costs are naturally higher.
Upon hearing this, the emperor sneered, "It seems I've bestowed upon her two mountains of gold!"
Minister Qian dared not respond, fearing that saying more would lead to more mistakes, so he decided it was better to remain silent.
After a long pause, the emperor said, "Since the bamboo paper we're producing isn't making any money, let's stop this business."
Your failure to conduct thorough intelligence gathering in the early stages resulted in significant losses for our dynasty; therefore, you are hereby fined six months' salary as a warning to others.
When Minister Qian heard that he would be fined half a year's salary, his face turned ashen. Fortunately, the emperor did not impose any other punishment, so he quickly accepted the order, thanked the emperor, and withdrew, fearing that the emperor might arrest him again if he disagreed.
Bamboo paper could no longer be made, but white paper remained expensive, so students at the academy could use bamboo paper instead for practicing calligraphy and writing essays.
In the event of an exam, yellow paper cannot be substituted for white paper, just as officials dared not replace their memorials with yellow paper.
In this way, blank paper will finally have a place.
So Minister Qian decided to continue using the paper mill and directly convert it to produce white paper.
With this in mind, Minister Qian quickly left the palace gate and began arranging for people to handle the matter.
Previously, after the border town submitted a memorial, the emperor ordered him to quickly earn silver and purchase grain from the Dayu Kingdom so that the border town army could get through the winter.
The heavy burden on his shoulders made it hard for him to breathe; if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't afford to offend the powerful families of the new capital...
If we knocked on each door to collect the necessary provisions, we wouldn't have to go through such a difficult situation.
The servants in the mansion rushed to greet their master as he left the palace gates.
With the help of his servants, Minister Qian boarded the carriage and said, "Let's go back to the manor!"
Then, the sound of hooves rang out, wheels rolled, and a carriage slowly drove into the street.
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