Chapter 170 Movable Type Printing in Exchange for Your Help
Jiang Luli held the stack of papers that Gu Jiayue handed to him tightly in his hand, his eyes fixed on the line of words "Practical Operation and Application Guide of Movable Type Printing".
Movable type? What is that?
Full of doubts, Jiang Luli slowly scrolled down.
After reading only the first page, his eyes widened instantly, with disbelief and astonishment in his eyes.
There was a strange glint in his eyes. His breathing quickened unconsciously, his chest rising and falling slightly.
He subconsciously looked around and saw that everything was quiet. Besides the smiling Gu Jiayue, there was only the indifferent guard Lu Yao who was five meters away.
Jiang Luli suddenly stopped, his expression becoming extremely serious. He stared at Gu Jiayue intently, his gaze seemingly seeing through her. "Where did you get this?"
Seeing this, Gu Jiayue opened her mouth slightly, just about to tell the reason she had already made up.
However, Jiang Luli quickly raised his hand, signaling her to shut up. Then, he made a subtle gesture toward Lu Yao, who was not far away.
Lu Yao's relaxed expression suddenly became serious. He quickly pulled out a small whistle from his pocket and blew it hard into the air. The whistle pierced the air.
The next second, a dozen men in black appeared out of nowhere like ghosts.
They were dressed in black, moved swiftly and agilely, and landed silently.
These men in black came and went quickly. Jiang Luli simply made a few gestures to them without saying a word. They understood and disappeared without a trace in an instant, as if they had never appeared.
Five minutes later, the calls of several unknown birds were heard in the silent woods.
Hearing this voice, Jiang Luli's originally tense body finally relaxed a little. He exhaled slightly, looked at Gu Jiayue and said, "Go ahead."
The reason Gu Jiayue had prepared was stuck in her mouth, neither up nor down.
She secretly groaned in her heart. She already knew that movable type printing was very important, and she had been struggling in her heart about whether to take this thing out.
After looking up the history before Da Gan, Gu Jiayue discovered that this world, which was very similar to the one she lived in, did not have movable type printing.
Perhaps it existed before, but was lost during the long process of dynasty change? Or perhaps it was in the hands of a few people and not widely used.
If I take it out rashly and it is spotted by someone with ulterior motives, it will definitely cause endless trouble.
But what she was asking for was no small matter. If she couldn't offer enough leverage, Jiang Luli wouldn't necessarily help her. After all, no matter how easy Jiang Luli was to talk to, he was still a member of the ruling class. Deep down, he would subconsciously weigh the pros and cons. However, Jiang Luli's reaction didn't have to be so exaggerated, did it?
Also, where did these men in black suddenly appear from? Why had she never seen them before? When did they arrive in the village? Was their presence a danger to the villagers?
Gu Jiayue's heart was filled with worry, and her brows unconsciously wrinkled into the shape of a "川" character.
Jiang Luli keenly noticed the worry on her face, sighed slightly, and then explained softly: "These people are my secret guards. They only listen to me, don't worry."
Gu Jiayue breathed a sigh of relief, and the worry on her face faded a little. "Can I speak now?" she asked cautiously, a hint of trepidation in her eyes.
Jiang Luli nodded, staring at her intently, and said seriously, "Go ahead, but don't tell me you saw it in some travelogue."
She had been unwilling to tell the truth about those unimportant things before, and he hadn't wanted to ask any more questions. But now, the thing she had brought out was too important, and she couldn't afford to be careless.
Uh... okay, the first reason was rejected before it was even spoken.
She took a deep breath and began to make up a story seriously.
"It's a long story, and it all started when I was a kid." Gu Jiayue raised her head slightly. "When I was little, I was playful and would sneak into my father's study and randomly stamp papers with his seal. As I looked at the words on the paper, I had an idea: if we carved a lot of different seals, wouldn't we be able to create a sentence? So I secretly carved a few words out of clay to try it out, and to my surprise, it actually worked."
"But later my mother found out about me playing in the mud, and she told me that noble ladies weren't allowed to play in the mud. I never thought about it again. But then I arrived in Taohua Village and needed to prepare textbooks for hundreds of children. I didn't have that much money, so I thought about it again. I asked Kangzi to try it out. I didn't expect it to work so well." After saying this, Gu Jiayue looked at Jiang Luli quietly. There was a hint of anticipation in her eyes, but also a hint of nervousness, wondering if he believed her.
Jiang Luli narrowed his eyes slightly and listened quietly to Gu Jiayue's story.
Her answer seemed flawless. She started talking about her childhood, which was at least ten years ago. Even if he went to ask the Xuande Marquis and his wife for confirmation, he wouldn't necessarily get a definitive answer. Even if the Xuande Marquis said it didn't happen, Gu Jiayue could still excuse it by saying it was so long ago that her parents must have forgotten.
"Besides that Kangzi you mentioned, who else knows?" Jiang Luli thought for a moment and finally decided not to ask any further questions.
Forget it, no matter whether what she said was true or not, since she trusted him so much, he would protect her.
Gu Jiayue thought for a moment and said seriously, "Besides Kangzi, there are two other carving masters and five or six workers helping with printing. However, these people are all under Kangzi's control, so they dare not say anything. Kangzi is a servant of the Marquis's family and my eldest brother's servant. His loyalty is beyond doubt."
Gu Jiayue still has great trust in Kangzi, Huzi, Hua Chao and Aunt Cai.
Jiang Luli waved to Lu Yao, who quickly stepped forward. Jiang Luli leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Lu Yao listened, nodded solemnly, and then turned and walked away.
"I agree to your request." Jiang Luli put away the two documents in his hand and looked at Gu Jiayue seriously, "But you can't tell anyone about this movable type printing."
Gu Jiayue nodded quickly, a bright smile on her face, "Of course, I'm very tight-lipped."
She looked at Jiang Luli's face. Although it looked serious, he did not show any other negative emotions. She thought that there should be no big problem.
"Well, these two things are given to you, but can our Taohua Village retain a little bit of the right to use them? They have few people and can't produce much. Besides, your industry is in Kyoto, which is a long way from Juzhou. Their little fights won't affect you." She said while observing Jiang Luli's reaction.
If the boss gets angry, she will quickly apologize and say that she was blinded by greed.
Jiang Luli looked at her, feeling both angry and amused. "Are you trying to be too arrogant?"
I didn't say it just now, and waited until he agreed. Isn't this bullying him because he is easy to talk to?
Gu Jiayue quickly waved her hands, a smile plastered on her face, "How dare I? I just forgot."
It wasn't that she forgot, she was just pushing it further. Anyway, if Jiang Luli didn't agree, then so be it. There were many ways to make paper, and it wasn't just bamboo that could be used to make paper.
Besides, if she couldn't make writing paper, she could still make toilet paper. She had many skills at her disposal.
"The printing technology doesn't work, but this papermaking workshop can continue to operate. However, it can't be expanded any further." Jiang Luli thought for a moment and finally made a concession.
Gu Jiayue's smile widened upon hearing this. "No problem, no problem. Come on, Mr. Jiang, be careful with your step. There are stairs ahead. Oh, right, lift your feet. Great!"
She instantly became extremely enthusiastic, as if she had become a completely different person.
Faced with Gu Jiayue's sudden flattery, Jiang Luli wondered if he was too easy to talk to. Why did he feel like she was leading him by the nose?
He looked at Gu Jiayue's back and laughed secretly in his heart. Never mind, she's still a little girl, so what if he let her be proud?
After sending Jiang Luli back to the courtyard, Gu Jiayue was in a very happy mood. She decided to eat two bowls of rice tonight to celebrate.
She had never expected that this matter could be resolved so easily. She had originally thought it would take several days of negotiation or even a higher price.
Since Jiang Luli had agreed to this, it was almost certain to succeed. It was already July, so she had to hurry and write out the planting plan.
Jiang Luli returned to his room and immediately started writing a letter as soon as he sat down. But he suddenly stopped halfway through.
Then he picked up the bamboo paper that Gu Jiayue had just given him and copied the half-written letter onto the bamboo paper.
The completed letter was placed in an envelope and sealed with special wax. "Express delivery to Kyoto, eight hundred miles."
Just as Jiang Luli finished speaking, a man in black inexplicably appeared in the room.
The man in black placed the letter and the thick secret recipe in a locked box and held it close to his chest. "Yes."
The man in black left, as if he had never been there. Silence returned to the room.
Jiang Luli sat in the study. It was so quiet that only his breathing could be heard.
He suddenly picked up the charcoal pencil beside him and began to draw on the snow-white paper.
After a while, a woman who looked 50% like Gu Jiayue appeared on the paper.
He looked at the woman on the paper and fell into deep thought. "Gu Jiayue, how many surprises do you have that I don't know about?"
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