Chapter 165 The Li Family Paper Mill is Completed!
(Thanks to Bilu Dinggongteng for casting a monthly vote.)
By the time the millet in the fields had sprouted, the foundation for a large area of land along the riverbank had also been laid.
To be honest, it's only been seven or eight days. How could such a large area of land be dried so quickly?
It all comes down to money!
At the beginning, Zhao Youcai and Zhao Youtian brought about twenty people from Zhao You's family to work for Li Shiyue's family, and Li Shiyue's people also joined in.
The first day was spent cleaning up rubble and weeds for half the morning, and then we had stewed chicken soup for lunch!
Of course, each person can only get two small pieces of chicken, but the soup is unlimited and everyone can drink as much as they want.
Li Shiyue never cared about such a small amount of money. If you want a horse to run, can you stop it from eating grass?
Once this paper mill is built, it will be a continuous source of money!
Therefore, Li Shiyue was quite generous in his initial investment.
After having stewed chicken soup for lunch, everyone worked even harder in the afternoon.
Moreover, this job is paid daily, and today's work is light physical labor, so both men and women are paid the same price.
Li Shiyue also asked Li Wangshui and Gou Laosan to drive the Zhao family back home in the evening.
This made Zhao Youcai and the others feel very embarrassed, but as Li Shiyue put it, "You're here to work for me, so it's only right that I hire this car for the journey!"
From now on, I'll hire a car for your village, making two round trips a day, so you won't have to waste time on the road.
So, on the second day, in addition to the original twenty-odd people, about ten more people from Zhao You's family arrived.
Many hands make light work. Even though it's only a dozen or so more people, the progress is changing every hour!
However, with more people, there was more food to eat, so Li Shiyue specially asked her mother to take Shitou and Li Qiutian to Qingsong Town to buy some grain and meat.
To save money, and also because they wanted to visit Daheishan Mountain, Li Shiyue, Zheng Meiniang, and Li Xiatian, who brought a bow and arrow, went to Daheishan Mountain.
However, spring is the breeding season for animals, so we didn't catch anything, just some wild vegetables and mushrooms before returning.
That day's lunch included stewed mushroom soup, which was unlimited. However, the amount of aged broken rice was limited, with each person, regardless of gender, allowed two bowls.
This old, broken rice is much cheaper than old grain, but it tastes really bad; it's just enough to fill your stomach.
So when Sun Daqiang and Sun Xiaofu from Sunjiayao arrived with their cart to deliver the bricks, they saw the completely transformed Liujiatun.
Li Shiyue directed the people from Sunjia Kiln to unload the bricks in a designated area. She counted the number, took out her purse, weighed it in her hand, and handed it to Sun Daqiang.
"Chief Sun, weigh this; this is the money for this trip."
The extra money was for the uncles and brothers who delivered the bricks; they live far away, so I'm sorry to have troubled you to come all this way.
Sun Daqiang was somewhat surprised. This was the first time he had encountered an employer who didn't pick and choose but even gave him extra money, and it was a young female employer at that.
"This, this is too much trouble."
"Our original agreement included delivery, but..."
Li Shiyue wiped the sweat from her brow and casually wiped it on her sleeve. She interrupted Sun Daqiang, saying, "Uncle Sun, I won't stand on ceremony with you. Just look!" Li Shiyue pointed to the crowd of people on the ground—people laying foundations, whittling wood, carrying bricks, and carrying stones. There were people everywhere. "I'm really busy, really busy!"
Logically, I should treat you to a meal, but I really don't have time. Everyone in our family is busy building houses, so busy they don't even have time to rest.
I gave you extra money because I saw that you delivered the bricks on time and the quality was good. If you don't deliver them well in the future, you won't get this money.
"Uncle Sun, take this, share it with others. It's not much, but it's my heartfelt wish."
Since Li Shiyue had already said that, how could Sun Daqiang possibly say no again?
Moreover, Li Shiyue was speaking quite loudly, and Sun Xiaofu and two other members of the Sun clan who were relatively close to them were already smiling and thinking about how much money they would each get.
If he were to say no at this point, he would truly incur public wrath.
So, by the time all ten kilns of bricks that Li Shiyue had promised were delivered, the Li Ji Paper Mill on the riverbank had already taken shape!
The paper mill was located right next to the river, making it convenient to get water.
It was divided into five large sections. The one closest to the river was a composting pit with four large pits. In the future, wild hemp, tree bark, and other materials will be put into it to compost and extract fibers.
The second area is the well-ventilated cooking zone, which is used to soften the plant fibers so that they can be crushed into pulp.
The third area consisted of a huge water tank built by a stonemason, which was used to rinse and dilute the pulp.
Then, they went into another room, which was specifically used for papermaking. The papermaking vat was made of bricks.
When the time comes, you just use a hanging sieve to scoop the pulp into the evenly distributed pulp, and an experienced person can get a wet sheet of paper in no time.
That last room was used to dry wet paper sheets; it was the best-ventilated place.
Actually, according to the papermaking guide that Li Shiyue bought from the system, they should also build a drying wall specifically for drying paper in humid weather.
However, Li Shiyue specifically asked Old Man Liu about the weather in Liujiatun throughout the year, and he said that there is only a rainy season of more than half a month in the summer, and the rest of the time there are mostly sunny days.
Li Shiyue decided to leave the wall-making process aside for the time being, but she left the space there, thinking she could fix it if needed in the future.
However, the paper mill is now only missing the main beam, so we need to pick an auspicious day to do that.
Although Li Shiyue didn't really believe in these things, she followed local customs and went to Qingsong Town to find a fortune teller to calculate an auspicious date and set it.
On the day the paper mill was to be completed, Li's mother went to Qingsong Town in advance to buy a pig's head. She had heard this from Granny Liu, who said that in the future, when doing business, one must be particular about good things.
Among Wang Shisan's family, there was someone who could play the reed pipe, and Li's mother paid someone to play it.
And so, amidst the deafening sound of reed pipes, Li Shiyue, dressed in brand-new clothes, solemnly stepped forward to offer incense and perform a ritual to the heavens without a smile. Then, a dozen men, chanting in unison, helped to install the main beam of the paper mill.
Li Shiyue heard a distinct sound coming from the slot, and the important task of raising the roof beam was considered complete.
Finally, everyone shared the large pig's head, each of them happily drinking a cup of wine, looking proudly at the boss's paper mill, feeling only pride that they had built it!
After the meal, Li Shiyue called Zhao Youcai over. Zhao Youcai's face was flushed from drinking. Before Li Shiyue could even say anything, Zhao Youcai suddenly knelt down in front of her.
Li Shiyue was a little confused. At first, she thought Zhao Youcai was too drunk to stand, so she gave up on what she wanted to say. She said to Zhao Youtian, who was standing to the side, "Quickly help your brother up. Okay, I can talk to you about it tomorrow."
As a result, Zhao Youtian also knelt down directly in front of Li Shiyue.
Li Shiyue, who was sitting, and Li Qiutian, who was sitting on the other side, looked at each other with puzzlement in their eyes.
What are you doing?
I always pay my daily wages on time; you can't try to cheat me.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
