At this time in the capital of Qi, the birthday banquet had already ended.
The envoys from various countries left first, and then the princes, nobles, and ministers of Qi also stood up and left.
Among them was Mr. Pei Fu.
Compared with other important officials who hold real power, although Lord Pei is now a first-rank official, it is just a nominal position. He has a long list of official titles, which sounds good, but he does not take care of things and is basically in the retirement stage.
Especially after his three sons entered the court, he became even more free and always talked about his old age.
But everyone knew it tacitly. This was because Pei Fu retired at the right time, knowing the situation well, and eliminating the possibility of forming a clique for personal gain. He also did not take care of his three sons.
This would reassure the King of Qi and also make him look more dignified.
But precisely because of this, the King of Qi had no doubts about his loyalty. Now that the Pei family was doing well, the King of Qi would often consult Pei Fu whenever there was something important.
At this moment, many people came to talk to him.
Pei Bosheng, the eldest son of the Pei family, stood quietly beside his father, listening to his father dealing with those people.
After everyone had dispersed, Pei Bosheng whispered, "Father, why did they come to see you?"
Old Master Pei said indifferently, "I just want to get some information out of you and find out about Fenghe County."
Pei Bosheng was surprised: "Our family has no dealings with Fenghe County."
Pei Fu said, "There are some exchanges. For example, your second brother, the governor of Jiangyi County, has previously visited Fenghe County with Master Yun. And your mother's family, the Xu family, has also sent people to Fenghe County to do some business there." He lowered his voice. "If I'm not mistaken, they're interested in the paper business. Your grandfather's family may be wealthy, but they ultimately came from a merchant background. If this deal succeeds, it will not only establish a connection with Fenghe County, but also benefit its reputation."
Pei Dalang didn't know about the Fenghe County Paper Mill and couldn't help but be surprised: "Just paper, can it have such great benefits?"
Pei Fu nodded directly. "Now that the king has said that, Fenghe County's paper will no longer have to worry about sales. These people value more than just a piece of paper, but the king's thoughtfulness. What the king likes will naturally attract many people to ponder and admire. Previously, the trend of women applying flower ornaments on their heads was popular in the capital because a favorite concubine liked it, and everyone rushed to follow her. If even a concubine likes it, how much more so does Your Majesty."
Once it is sold, there will naturally be many people who read books to use it.
The people who like to criticize the merchants for their cunning are the scholars.
Now that the Xu family has done this business, even if they can't shut them up, they can at least give their family a scholarly air.
Pei Bosheng's face suddenly showed realization, and then he looked at the young masters who were hurrying around not far away: "Are they also after Fenghe Paper?"
Master Pei curled his lips and said, "Those people's eyes are always fixed on one thing."
At this moment, a eunuch hurriedly caught up, bowed to Master Pei, and said softly: "Sir, please slow down. The King has something to discuss with you."
Upon hearing this, Pei Fu did not dare to delay, so he let Pei Dalang go first, and he followed the eunuch to leave.
Soon he went to the King of Qi's study.
As he stepped into the hall, Pei Fu immediately saw the King of Qi sitting in front of the desk and the crane under the pine tree hanging on the shelf.
However, the King of Qi did not look at the painting, but was concentrating on the stack of papers in his hand.
Pei Fu walked forward and bowed.
The King of Qi looked up and smiled, "No need to be polite. Please take a seat." Then he said, "What do you think of this?"
Pei Fu's eyes naturally turned to the painting of pine and crane. "The brushwork is exquisite, and the poem is very appropriate. It's a masterpiece."
But the King of Qi said, "It is indeed a fine work, but the birthday gifts given to me by the Seventh Master and Fenghe Commandery are more than this."
Master Pei was stunned: "I wonder what the king means by this?"
Then he saw the King of Qi pointing to a stack of papers in front of him.
Pei Fu looked over, but couldn't see anything different. He couldn't help but ask, "Please forgive my poor eyesight for not being able to see the difference."
The King of Qi smiled and said softly, "This is another kind of paper produced in Fenghe County, and it's different from the others." He picked up a piece and shook it gently. "The ones that Old Seven had painted on were all exquisitely handmade. According to his letter, they've improved the production method, but it's still not mass-produced. But this is different. It's not only cheap, but also produced in large quantities."
Old Master Pei immediately stood up, took it with both hands, and then rubbed it carefully in his hands.
He was a man who studied and took exams, and he came from a poor family. He had basically been dealing with paper all his life.
In the past, the ones used were made by the people, and later they were made by the government.
Although I don’t know what the production process is, I can still judge whether it is good or bad.
Pei Fu showed some hesitation, but still said, "This doesn't seem to be of the best quality."
He was being euphemistic, but the King of Qi was much more direct. "It's not just not good enough. This paper isn't even as good as official paper, it's not even as good as ordinary civilian paper. I just tried it, and it's useless if you dip a brush into it and find the ink runs away.
"That……"
"But if you write with charcoal sticks or special charcoal pencils, the writing is clear and comfortable. Lao Qi said that many civilians in Fenghe County use this kind of paper to write."
As he spoke, he looked to the side.
Immediately, a eunuch came forward, carefully picked up the ordinary charcoal stick, and drew a few strokes on the paper.
Each root is clearly visible.
Pei Fu was stunned at first, then he instantly understood the deep meaning.
Cheaper paper and readily available charcoal sticks.
Even though Sun Bai was not a businessman, he could understand that this was much cheaper than ordinary pens, ink, paper and inkstone.
In this way, the threshold for reading can be greatly lowered.
No wonder, no wonder the King of Qi doesn’t even look at the painting of pine and crane now.
Simply because this is the birthday gift that truly suits King Qi's wishes!
But Pei Fu remained calm and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. This item will surely help us in promoting education and selecting talented people in the Great Qi."
The King of Qi looked at him and asked, "Anything else?"
Pei Fu shook his head: "This old minister doesn't know."
The King of Qi smiled and said, "You were once my tutor, so I know your abilities."
After hearing this, Master Pei knew he couldn't fool people, so he said frankly, "This thing is indeed very powerful. If Fenghe Paper can be promoted, it can educate the people. It will benefit the present and future generations, and it will definitely benefit the people. However, by then, I'm afraid that the number of high-ranking students who can pass the imperial examination will be greatly reduced, while the number of students from poor families will increase rapidly."
The King of Qi was very calm: "Qi is my Qi, so naturally the more talented people there are, the better. For a long time, the students who passed the imperial examinations and entered the government were all from wealthy families, like a multitude of fish in the river, while those from humble backgrounds were rare. Now is the time to let the humble family produce noble sons."
As someone who came from a humble family, Mr. Pei naturally expressed his full support.
So, the king and his ministers reached an agreement, and Pei Fu made preparations after returning home.
The next morning, several officials wrote a letter hoping to promote Fenghe paper.
At the same time, the students who left Langyun and went to their hometowns to take exams also spread the reputation of Fenghe paper.
The only difference is that some people are attracted by high quality, but these papers need to be carefully made by hand and the quantity is limited, so the price soars, but people still flock to them.
What ordinary people like is cheap paper that can be written on with charcoal sticks. Although it cannot be used with a brush, as long as it can be written on, it can be used for reading and studying, and calligraphy can be trained separately.
For a time, Fenghe County became famous and there was an endless stream of caravans coming and going.
At Langyun University, Gong Qiao was flipping through the account books. As she looked, she said, "I have to say, people's learning ability is really strong."
Tang Xinyang was curious: "What?"
Gong Qiao pointed to one of the pages and said, "They used two types of writing: Arabic numerals and uppercase Chinese characters. Furthermore, the format is exactly the same as the accounting method we taught them before. It's exactly the same. If it weren't for the fact that it was written with a brush, no one would have guessed it was an ancient account book."
As an engineer, Tang Xinyang was unfamiliar with history and had no idea what ancient account books looked like, so he asked, "Is there any difference?"
Gong Qiao then said, "Bookkeeping is also a science. If we can record accounts more quickly and efficiently, we can improve efficiency. In the past, most of them used single-entry bookkeeping, or simply relied on writing notes. Now, after the improvements, it is much clearer."
Tang Xinyang leaned over to take a look.
Hmm, I don’t understand.
It turns out that it is better to leave professional matters to professionals.
At this time, Kun Jingming ended the video call and turned to them and said, "The King of Qi has ordered that three types of handmade paper in Fenghe County be designated as tribute, and the rest can be sold by themselves."
Tang Xinyang asked, "Does making offerings mean not paying?"
Kun Jingming: "Yes, but the price will probably be fixed and there won't be any fluctuations."
Tang Xinyang pondered for a moment: "Isn't that a bit of a loss?"
Teacher Gong smiled and said, "Of course not."
Kun Jingming pushed up his glasses and said, "The ruler of a country possesses more than just power."
Tang Xinyang looked at him: "Anything else?"
Kun Jingming said, "He'll undoubtedly command unparalleled attention. Almost the entire State of Qi will take notice of him, and he'll also have influence on other countries. As long as the paper supply is sustainable, he'll become the paper mill's best spokesperson." He paused, "Let me give you an analogy: he brings his own traffic, top-tier publicity, countless fans, and a single call for hundreds of responses."
Tang Xinyang: ...
After hearing that, I suddenly understood.
Gong Qiao flipped through the account book and said, "It seems there are also caravans from Zhou and Wei, but for now, we will only sell to them the more expensive ones."
Tang Xinyang was stunned: "Can we actually earn foreign exchange?"
Gong Qiao smiled, not hiding her admiration at all. "That young master Yun really knows how to find the right time, and he just happened to choose the birthday banquet." As she spoke, she looked at Kun Jingming. "If it weren't for Fu Yun's single-minded focus on the School of Arts, I would have wanted to bring him over to the Marketing Department to help him shine."
Kun Jingming looked up at the sky silently, pretending not to hear.
Tang Xinyang looked bewildered. "What do you mean? What's so unusual about this spot?"
Kun Jingming didn't explain much, but gave him another analogy: "It's like inviting various countries to a meeting, then showcasing their own excellent products on site and live streaming them."
Tang Xinyang blinked, always feeling that there was something wrong with using King Qi as a live-streaming host, but when he thought about it carefully, it seemed reasonable.
Sure enough, the routines of doing business are applicable in ancient and modern times, in China and abroad...
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