Who knew that even as the twelfth lunar month approached, the road construction site was still bustling with activity, and the nobleman from the city sent someone to invite the village head.
After the village head went to the city, he met the young and handsome nobleman in a house. When he saw the white paper, the village head was so surprised that he couldn't speak.
The benefactor said that this was made from bamboo from the mountain, and he also said with great regret that because the season was not right, there were still some flaws in the production. However, once the paper mill is built, bamboo will be cut around the Dragon Boat Festival, enough for a year's use. Then the bamboo from the mountain will be properly cared for for another year, and in this way, the business can gradually develop.
The village head then realized that he had truly met a benefactor. With such a skill, how could he worry that the villagers wouldn't be able to earn money and live a good life?
The benefactor instructed the village head to return and find a literate and virtuous person from the village. This person would undergo specialized training and become the technical backbone of the paper mill, leading the villagers to work with the benefactor's people to prepare for the establishment of the paper mill and make bamboo paper together to make a lot of money.
After the village head returned, he carefully considered the situation of the villagers. There were only a few literate people in the village, and the villagers were all of good character. He couldn't make up his mind and hadn't slept well for several nights. Then, Zhou Erzhu from the village came to talk to him about this matter.
Zhou Erzhu was also a candidate considered by the village head. He was the second son in the family and was not loved by his parents. The few characters he knew were learned by secretly going to the private school in the next village and asking him when he encountered characters he didn't recognize. After his parents helped him get a wife, the young couple were separated and borrowed money to build a house. Zhou Erzhu was hardworking and down-to-earth, and his wife was thrifty and knew how to manage a household. Over the years, the young couple managed their small family to make it prosperous.
After Zhou Erzhu left, the village head's wife said with some dissatisfaction, "Husband, why did you choose Zhou Erzhu? Didn't we agree that if we really couldn't find anyone else, we would send my nephew from my own family?"
The village head glared at her and said angrily, "This is a matter concerning Huitouling. Why are you trying to involve your family? Not to mention that the villagers won't agree, do you think that important person doesn't understand what he means? He made it very clear that if he uses our Huitouling land and the bamboo from our Huitouling mountain, the benefits will naturally go to Huitouling. You must not say these things again, do you hear me?"
The village head's wife snorted coldly, turned around and walked outside, cursing as she went. The village head was annoyed, threw the teacup on the table to the ground, and shouted sternly, "This is a matter for the men and women of the village. You, a woman, shouldn't be so ignorant as to interfere. If you don't listen to me, pack your things and go back to your parents' home."
This sentence worked very well; the village head's wife, her face flushed with anger, went to the kitchen.
The village head also has children, but one is studying outside the village, another is still young, and the other two are girls. Where can they find someone to use? They can only look for young men in the village.
Now, after returning home, Zhou Erzhu told his wife what the village head had said. Zhou Er's wife replied without hesitation, "Do you even need to think about it? If the village head wants you to go, then go. Even if it's just to let you learn the craft of making bamboo paper, you have to go. Father, nothing is more important than having a skill."
Zhou Erzhu nodded and said, "From what I heard from the village head, it seems that everyone in our village will be going to work in the workshops in the future. So, do you want to open a tea stall or work in the paper mill?"
After thinking about it seriously, Zhou Ersao said, "I want to work in the paper mill. My husband, it's not easy to have a learning opportunity. If I can work in the paper mill, I can learn the craft from the master. People say that it's never a bad thing to have more skills. The tea stall can be opened anytime, but this kind of skill is not something you can learn whenever you want."
Zhou Erzhu's heart was immediately at ease. With the couple working together towards a common goal, even hard times could turn into sweet ones. If this continued for a long time, how could they not have a good life?
In Luzhou City, Xu Zhi had already sent the New Year's gifts to the capital. There was a large box inside, which contained bamboo paper made from bamboo cut from Huitou Ridge. Over the past few months, Xu Zhi and her team had experimented with each step of the process several times and finally finalized the final procedure.
The return gifts from the capital arrived. Xu Zhi was overjoyed to see the several large boxes on the ground. When Zheng Boyuan returned, he saw Xu Zhi opening all the boxes and happily playing with the contents.
Seeing Zheng Boyuan return, Xu Zhi put down what she was holding and said happily, "Grandfather wrote me a letter praising my bamboo paper. He also said that once the bamboo paper from Luzhou is finished, it must be put into the stationery shop at home for sale. Who knows, our Luzhou bamboo paper might become a new favorite in the capital in the future."
Zheng Boyuan was surprised that Xu Zhi was able to make bamboo paper. During those days, he and his brother-in-law Xu Di were busy with the road construction. Xu Zhi and her team worked in the backyard for two months. When the bamboo paper was finally made, Zheng Boyuan could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Luzhou is a poor place, not only because it is remote, but also because it has nothing of value to offer. If bamboo paper can open up the market in the capital, then Luzhou will become famous in Daliang and even in the surrounding countries because of bamboo paper. In that case, why would Luzhou's economy not develop?
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