Chapter 265 Paper Mill
Lu Songli looked at Lu Zhiyuan and his wife and Lu Songyun and his wife who had been silent.
"The second thing is that I want to set up a paper mill, and I need your help, brothers and sisters."
Lu Zhiyuan and Lu Songyun were both stunned. They didn't expect that there was something about them in it?
"Second sister, this papermaking technique is a secret of the four great families. You—"
Lu Songli raised her hand. She knew what he meant. The papermaking art was monopolized by the four great families.
The current Dali is very similar to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties period that she knew before. At this time, bamboo slips and silk have withdrawn from the stage of history, and paper has officially become the main writing material.
Thanks to the further improvement of papermaking technology, the application range of paper in the Dali Dynasty became wider and the output also increased significantly.
Nowadays, the more famous paper products include hemp paper, Zuo Bo paper, silver paper, etc., which are controlled by the four major families of Dali.
Among them, hemp paper is moderately priced, popular among the public, and the most widely used.
Lu Songli decided to start a school because he felt it was extremely necessary and there was great potential for it.
Many of today's talented people come from aristocratic families, and it is difficult for humble families to produce talented people. In fact, the use of such talents is very restrictive.
The aristocratic class monopolized the dissemination of books and curbed the number of talented people from humble backgrounds.
The children of aristocratic families acquired knowledge and improved their talents through extensive reading, and then became officials. Knowledge resources became an insurmountable gap between the aristocratic families and the children of poor families.
Secondly, there was a monopoly on papermaking technology. Paper was very expensive and ordinary people could not afford it. Reading and writing were only affordable for the wealthy, and ordinary people had no right to it.
These two aspects are exactly why it is difficult for a poor family to produce a noble son.
Lu Songli knew that in order to run the academy, books were essential, and the price of paper had to be lowered. Otherwise, ordinary people would not be able to afford to go to school.
Ever since she knew exile was inevitable, she had already begun consciously collecting books, but the books she had at the moment were still not enough to match the collections of those larger families. She would slowly collect more later.
As for the price of paper, that's easy. They can just set up a paper mill themselves.
And she has a trump card - printing.
Woodblock printing was invented in the Tang Dynasty, and movable type printing was invented in the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Dali did not have printing technology.
Wait for the right moment to use it.
"I can get the recipe, but you need to keep experimenting." Lu Songli said to Lu Mingzhi.
When Lu Mingzhi heard this, his eyes widened. My sister is so awesome! You can even get this secret recipe for papermaking.
This wasn't a difficult task for Lu Songli. China's Four Great Inventions were quite famous, and she had studied them in depth and understood their development process.
"Okay, leave it to me! I'll do the experiment!" Coincidentally, he was also interested.
"Big Brother and Big Sister, you will be responsible for managing this paper mill. As for who will be in charge of which area, you two can discuss it, okay?"
Lu Zhiyuan and his wife looked at each other and agreed.
Lu Songyun was hesitant. She was worried that she might not be able to do it well, and she expressed her concerns.
Lu Desheng glanced at her and said, "If there's anything you don't know, just learn it. As long as you don't die from learning, then learn until you die!"
It’s obvious from the look of it that the younger girl intends to pull her brothers and sisters up, but the older girl refuses to even try, so how can the younger girl pull her up?
Lu Songyun was gently patted on the shoulder by her husband before she agreed, "Okay, I'll try."
After finishing the story, Lu Songli picked up the tea and took a sip.
Knowing that his daughter still had something to say, Lu Desheng sent his other children away and let them think about the paper mill.
The eldest sister-in-law, Tian, stood up awkwardly. She glanced at Lu Songli for a few times, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself. She had been upset these past few days and had been really cold to her younger sister.
Lu Zhiyuan stepped forward and pulled her away, "Let's go."
Tian hummed softly.
Lu Zhiyuan sighed in his heart. He knew why his wife was like this.
At first, his wife couldn't understand why his father was willing to give up his position as Imperial Censor and move from Chang'an to Houcheng, a remote place, to be a small county magistrate. She had her own thoughts on why her parents valued her younger sister so much.
He knew his wife was just an ordinary woman who preferred a stable life. Because of her parents' decision, she was filled with resistance to the foreseeable difficulties and uneasiness about the unknown, so it was inevitable that she would have emotions.
Little did he know that his father was promoted not long after taking office.
Their mother said that it was the younger sister who planned this for their father.
Now my sister is supporting them all equally. Everyone knows that if the paper mill is well built, there will be a bright future ahead.
Lu Zhiyuan sighed inwardly. There must have been a reason why his parents decided to leave Chang'an, but they just couldn't understand it. And no matter what decision his parents and his younger sister made, it didn't hurt them, nor did it make them suffer.
He thought that they would be obedient from now on and would follow their parents and younger sister's decisions and actions even if they did not understand them.
"Your sister-in-law is a person——"
"Dad, let's not talk about this anymore." Lu Songli didn't care much about his sister-in-law's little mood and awkwardness.
They are her elder brother and sister-in-law, so she has to support them when necessary. It’s not that she is a saint or something, but as a leader, she has to be careful with the methods and approaches.
As the saying goes, buy a pig and look at the pen. Followers, and those who want to follow you, will observe how your leader treats his family and subordinates before deciding to follow you. A leader who is too harsh, mean, and ungrateful is not a good reputation.
Lu Desheng was so satisfied with his little girl's open-mindedness that he couldn't be more satisfied.
"Dad, your son-in-law has sent you news. He has conquered the Black Wind Stronghold southeast of Houcheng. Are you happy to hear this news?"
"So fast?" It seems that his son-in-law still has some strengths.
"Yes, they are currently escorting people here. Dad, you have to have someone vacate the county jail."
Lu Desheng nodded. "How was the harvest?"
Lu Songli smiled and said, "I heard it's good."
"That's fine. So, after we've counted the loot from the bandits, we'll give 20% to my son-in-law and his family as a reward. The remaining 80% will go into the county treasury."
"Okay." Twenty percent was fine. Now that her father was the governor of Liaodong County, he had more places to spend money. Otherwise, she would be willing to give more.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
