Yu Fuling's eyes were filled with joy. "Really? My second brother, Manager Zhou, and his team have actually made the writing paper? When can we sell it?"
Yu Jiao received Chen Yu's letter yesterday. After Yu Zhizhou and Manager Zhou came back from Jiangnan, they first tried to make mulberry paper using the notes left by Yu Jiao.
The notes were written by Yu Jiao based on the records in Tiangong Kaiwu, and combined with her own experience of making mulberry paper at the foot of the Qinling Mountains.
Take paper mulberry bark and young bamboo and soak them in the pond for several days, then step on them with feet. Tie the paper mulberry bark into small bundles and steam them with clean water. Tear the paper mulberry bark into shreds, apply lime slurry, boil them in a pot, step on the lime water, rinse until they are white, soak them in boiling water with wood ash, wash them with river water that has been dried in the shade, rinse them with water after steaming, remove impurities, put them into the pot again to steam, crush them into powder, put them into a trough, add water and stir, beat the trough to fish out the paper, press out the moisture, dry them against a fire wall, peel off the paper from the wall, sort out the trimmed edges and pack them.
During this period, the paper has to go through four steamings. Yu Jiao heard from the inheritor of mulberry paper in Beizhang Village that two of them are steaming in clear water, and the other two are steaming in alkaline solution. Although the process is a bit troublesome, the paper obtained through such treatment will be as white as jade, with fine fibers and a smooth surface.
Yu Zhizhou and his colleagues also used mulberry paper to make ten-color stationery. Currently, they have produced small red stationery and small goose yellow stationery. Yu Jiao wrote in her notes that not only can flower juice be used to color the stationery, but also patterns can be made, and landscapes, flowers and birds can be printed to make flowery stationery. Yu Zhizhou and his colleagues are still trying the latter two types.
"The paper mill is already up and running, and they are rushing to make small red paper." Yu Jiao said, "The first batch of paper should be ready after the New Year."
There were two pieces of stationery in the letter sent by Chen Yu. Yu Jiao had already checked the quality. Mu paper is flexible, with interlaced fibers, which can reflect the changes in ink color and is resistant to aging and frayed. In the Tang and Song dynasties, mulberry paper was not only used to print banknotes, but also official and private documents, deeds, and books.
The stationery made of mulberry paper has the advantages of mulberry paper and is also exquisite and beautiful in style. It is very suitable for opening up the market and gaining fame in the capital.
"Let's go to Xinglou to celebrate." Yu Jiao said, holding Yu Fuling's hand.
Yu Fuling had heard a little about the fame of Xinglou in the capital. She had heard people say that Xinglou was a den of indulging in money and that only rich people could afford to go there.
She hurriedly pulled Yu Jiao's hand and said, "Forget it. What do you want to eat? Let's buy some more vegetables and I'll go back and cook for you."
Yu Jiao smiled slightly and pulled Yu Fuling forward, "Didn't you say that you wanted to broaden your horizons when you came to the capital? We can't come here for nothing. Let's go."
She took Yu Fuling to Xinglou not just to broaden her horizons. There was a poetry competition every fifteenth day in Xinglou, which gathered a large number of scholars. If the paper they produced could take advantage of Xinglou's popularity, it would be no problem for them to become famous and sell well.
She wanted to go to Xinglou with Yu Fuling first, and then she could plan how to take advantage of Xinglou's opportunity when she returned.
Although it was daytime, the entrance of Xinglou was bustling with visitors. Although the three-story building was not very tall and majestic, it occupied a vast area with five floors facing each other. Once you enter, you can feel its prosperity and splendor.
The waiter came up to greet her with a smile on his face. Yu Jiao did not ask for a private room, but asked for a table in the lobby on the first floor to dine in, so that she could take the opportunity to observe the situation inside the building.
After ordering the dishes, Yu Jiao asked Jianjia and Bailu to sit down and eat together.
Yu Jiao observed carefully and found that although there were many young men in fine clothes coming and going in the building, there were also many children from poor families. They did not seem to go straight to the third west floor just to eat.
From the conversation of the guests nearby, Yu Jiao heard that the third floor on the west side seemed to be a loft specially prepared for scholars. The poetry gathering held in Xinglou on the 15th of every month was on the third floor on the west side. If there was no competition on weekdays, the floor would be a place for scholars to discuss articles and exchange knowledge. Tea and snacks were provided free of charge in the building. The owner behind this seemed to be a very good businessman.
After dinner, Yu Jiao wanted to take a walk around the building, so they went to the main building and climbed up the stairs.
When Yu Jiao saw the wall lamps on the corridor, she thought that if she came here at night, Xinglou would be even more beautiful than during the day.
Her eyes fell on the flying bridge hung with lanterns, and she couldn't help but walk towards the flying bridge, wanting to see with her own eyes the perfect match that Yu Qizhe had made.
Yu Fuling was dazzled by the prosperity in Xinglou and fell behind by a few steps. When she saw Yu Jiao and her two maids walking onto the flying bridge, she hurriedly chased after them.
But he accidentally bumped into someone. Yu Fuling staggered and quickly bowed to apologize.
They were a group of rich young men dressed in luxurious clothes. The leader was holding a girl in his arms. The person Yu Fuling bumped into was the rich young man who was leading the group.
The group of people just paused, as if they didn't care at all, and continued to talk loudly and walked towards the private room.
Yu Fuling breathed a sigh of relief and quickly walked towards Yu Jiao who was reading riddles on the flying bridge.
But the girl in the rich young man's arms looked back at Yu Fuling for a few seconds, then stood on tiptoe and whispered a few words to the young man.
"stop!"
Yu Fuling had not walked far when she heard a voice behind her. She stopped, turned around and lowered her head. She did not dare to look at the gentlemen in fancy clothes, and bowed to apologize again.
"You bumped into me, and you're just going to apologize for nothing?" Qin Guang hugged the girl in his arms, walked up to Yu Fuling, and said with an arrogant look on his face.
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