The Tianlang Escort Agency successfully delivered the bamboo paper to the capital and immediately sent someone to the Marquis of Lin'an's residence to report the news.
Upon learning the news, Lu Qiqi took Qingdai and Nineteen to the escort agency.
Firstly, she wanted to know the whereabouts of the large quantity of bamboo paper.
Secondly, Biaozi needs acupuncture.
This trip achieves two goals at once.
When Gu Shaoqing saw Lu Qiqi's carriage, he quickly invited people up to the pavilion and had a waiter bring hot tea.
The two took their seats as host and guest, and tea was quickly served.
Lu Qiqi took a sip of tea, and the fragrant tea soup had an unforgettable aftertaste.
She put down her teacup and said, "Young Master Gu has traveled all over the country and has acquired quite a few fine teas."
Gu Shaoqing's smile remained unchanged as he pressed on, "Princess, what do you think of this tea? How does it compare to the Thousand Gold Tea, which costs a thousand gold coins per ounce?"
Hearing this, Lu Qiqi looked up at his expectant expression and said, "Each has its own merits. Qianjin Tea is refreshing and has a sweet aftertaste, while this tea has an enticing fragrance of orchids."
“Hahaha,” Gu Shaoqing laughed, “To receive such praise from the county magistrate, I imagine that Village Chief Miao of Tianmiao Village will be beaming with joy.”
Hearing this, Lu Qiqi finally understood. She looked down at the golden tea in her teacup and asked, "Is this the newly picked spring tea from Tianmiao Village this year?"
"Exactly!"
Gu Shaoqing continued, "I've heard that tea trees can be harvested after three years."
The tea trees in Tianmiao Village have only been planted for a year. I originally thought the tea would be tasteless and bland, but I was wrong.
Lu Qiqi explained to him, "The tea trees in Tianmiao Village had already been planted for more than three years before they were transplanted there."
If we're being serious, this is already the fourth year.
However, the taste of this tea is truly beyond my expectations.
Gu Shaoqing said, "Village Chief Miao asked me to bring you all of this year's new tea, which weighs more than ten catties."
It's a pity this tea can't be mass-produced yet, otherwise it would surely be famous throughout the Jin Dynasty.
Whether or not she could become famous in the Great Jin Dynasty, Lu Qiqi didn't care at all.
After all, her initial desire to plant tea trees was simply due to her craving.
After finishing their digression, the two began to talk about their main topic.
Gu Shaoqing took out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Lu Qiqi.
"The places depicted on this map are all the paper mills where the escort agency delivered bamboo paper this time."
Lu Qiqi looked at the seven paper mills on the map, and then heard Gu Shaoqing say, "The one in the west of the city is the largest."
Since the recipe for making bamboo paper was handed over, paper mills in the new capital city have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.
Throughout the Jin Dynasty, there were paper mills of all sizes, each vying for a share of the profits.
This is not surprising.
Lu Qiqi now only wants to know what the son of the Minister of Revenue is planning.
She asked, "Did you find anything while you were delivering the goods?"
Gu Shaoqing thought for a moment before saying, "Yes!"
Our men found that there were many workers in the paper mill, but there was no sign of any work being done inside.
These paper mills seem to be just warehouses used to store things.
Lu Qiqi carefully examined the area depicted on the map. "It's not suspicious that a paper mill was used to store bamboo paper."
We all know that bamboo paper needs to be stored in a dry place and should not be exposed to moisture.
Paper mills will naturally pay attention to this point.
The only suspicious thing is the large number of warehouses in the new capital.
Whether you use wood ash or lime for moisture control, both methods will be effective.
There's absolutely no need to go to the paper mill; it's a roundabout way.
Gu Shaoqing thought for a long time and finally understood why he felt strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.
What Lu Qiqi had just said suddenly made him feel enlightened.
He said, "Your Highness, you are right. These people are going to such lengths to find something they don't want outsiders to know."
Knowing that things are not simple is one thing, but figuring out how to solve them is not easy.
Lu Qiqi got the Tianlang Escort Agency to agree to deliver the goods because she wanted to know their schemes so she could defeat them one by one.
Otherwise, constant vigilance will only exhaust people and allow criminals to take advantage of the situation and launch surprise attacks.
She carefully put away the blueprints, intending to hand them over to Nineteen after going downstairs, so that he could send the Shadow Guards to investigate.
Lu Qiqi said, "Leave the rest to me. Manager Gu just needs to focus on delivering the orders to the capital."
Having said that, Gu Shaoqing couldn't say anything more and could only nod in agreement.
Having learned a little about the bamboo paper, Lu Qiqi went to give Biaozi acupuncture.
Having learned his lesson from a few acupuncture treatments, Biaozi has become more cautious.
He saw Lu Qiqi enter the room to say she would administer acupuncture, so he obediently lay down on the bed, craning his neck to wait for Nineteen to give him a chop to the neck.
After disinfecting the gold needles and storing them properly, Lu Qiqi wrote a new prescription.
Once everything was settled, she got up to take her leave.
Gu Shaoqing escorted her to the outside of the escort agency and said gratefully, "Biaozi's condition has improved a lot since this trip to the capital, and he can remember some of the things that happened before."
"Shaoqing thanks the village head for treating Biaozi."
After saying that, he clasped his hands in a respectful bow.
Lu Qiqi felt she deserved it and did not immediately stop her.
After Gu Shaoqing stood up straight, he said, "Shopkeeper Gu, you're too kind. We're friends now, and Biaozi once escorted me to the border town."
I'm also very happy to have been able to help him this time.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lu Qiqi instructed him to escort the remaining orders to the capital as soon as possible.
Then, they boarded the carriage and returned home.
...
The following day, Lu Qiqi received a message from the Shadow Guard.
Paper mills that have ordered large quantities of bamboo paper have begun construction.
When Lu Qiqi returned to the manor on the 19th, she had just finished lunch.
"Your Highness, what do you think are the intentions of these paper mills?"
Lu Qiqi learned from Shijiu that a large number of workers had flocked to several paper mills this morning.
The Shadow Guards, disguised, went in and found that the manager had ordered the bamboo paper to be cut into book sizes, tied together with hemp rope, and neatly stacked.
The Jin Dynasty already possessed printing technology; if bamboo paper were printed into books, it could greatly reduce the expenses for scholars.
Lu Qiqi's first thought was that the person who bought the bamboo paper had such plans.
She said, "Let the Shadow Guards keep an eye on things; there's no need to send anyone infiltrate."
The scene might be a bit chaotic today since construction just started.
If there's an extra person tomorrow, or even if it's a different person, the paper mill manager won't fail to recognize them.
It was just a paper mill with about twenty people, not a big factory, and the faces were easy to remember.
Upon hearing this, Nineteen nodded and replied, "Yes!"
However, none of them expected that it would only take a few days.
Those paper mills that they thought were harmless caused quite a stir!
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