Chapter 82 82. Papermaking
The meeting continued.
Luo Wei looked at the Shifang representative and said, "I am very dissatisfied with your efficiency."
"My lord, we must speed up the progress." The pretty girl with ponytail stood at attention and bowed ninety degrees.
"I know your difficulties." Luo Wei paused slightly, tapping his fingers on the crimson tabletop: "The amount of work being done in Yidong Port City recently cannot be solved by your efforts, so..."
In full view of everyone, he took out a rectangular wooden box and gently tapped it on the table, and a mud brick fell out of the box.
There was a strange silence, and everyone looked at each other. No one knew the lord's intention. They just looked at the reddish-brown mud bricks curiously.
Lowe introduced himself: "I invented a cheap building material called red brick."
After a moment of silence, the ponytailed woman asked cautiously, "How do you use red bricks?"
Afraid it will be gone once it rains or the wind blows?
Many refugees built their houses with clay, which would collapse every time it rained and would be rebuilt when it sunny.
"Red bricks need to be fired like pottery before they can be used," Lowe explained.
"So that's how it is." Everyone showed a look of understanding.
With the precedent of pottery, most people have realized that soil seems to have other uses besides farming.
Therefore, even if some people are not optimistic about the development of the clay industry, they should not make hasty judgments.
Lowe announced that he would personally direct the construction of the brick-making workshop, and the matter came to an end.
Next, the topic turned to the aquaculture industry.
The people in the territory have always had a great demand for meat. However, except for raising cattle, the breeding industry is relatively successful, and the rest of the livestock are almost impossible to raise.
Almost all the captured animals were eaten on the table. Even if they were not eaten for the time being, they would be eaten in the winter when food was scarce. Very few of them survived and reproduced.
The Lovecraftian Constitution lists cuckoo birds and wild boars as major livestock species, enjoying the same protection period as cattle.
The restrictions on sales will be lifted only after the number has grown to a certain level.
In addition, he also promised to increase investment to build pig pens and aviaries and recruit talents to raise wild boars and cuckoo birds.
Everyone has different opinions on this, some support and understand it, while others oppose it.
Supporters praised the lords for their long-term vision, while opponents believed that the population of wild boars and cuckoo birds did not require deliberate protection.
Lowe did not accept the opinions of his opponents and directly used his privileges as a lord to settle the matter.
At the end of the meeting, the service industry was mentioned.
Lowe said that there will be a cheap food that tastes better than flatbread and brown bread, and now everyone is welcome to try it.
At his signal, a servant on each side of the aisle carried a steamer and placed a hot steamed bun in front of each guest's seat.
After trying it, everyone approved of the taste of the steamed buns.
"My Lord, how do you sell the new types of food?"
"One iron coin can buy one, keeping the price the same as that of a flatbread."
"It's so cheap!" The inquirer showed a surprised expression. In fact, she felt that a copper penny was acceptable. Such a low price was really unbelievable.
Without waiting for anyone to think, Lo Wei clapped his hands again. The servant brought the steamer up again and placed a small plate of steamed dumplings dipped in vinegar on each person's seat: "The ones just now were called steamed buns, and the ones now are called steamed dumplings. Steamed dumplings have meat in them, so they are more expensive."
People put the new food into their mouths and the situation got out of control.
"It's delicious! Do you have any more?"
"How can this be enough? Even the children can't eat enough!"
"My Lord, please don't be so stingy!"
Luo Wei raised his hand awkwardly to appease, "I'm sorry, everyone. This is the latest food, and not many people know how to make it yet. Please be patient and wait for a while. You can enjoy it in restaurants when it becomes popular."
Everyone looked at each other and reluctantly accepted the lord's explanation.
However, I was still very unhappy! After the meeting was announced to be over, the visitors dispersed.
The person in charge of the restaurant under Fulinbao stayed and, after getting permission from the lord, went to the kitchen to learn skills from the cook Am.
Luo Wei took the silk scarf handed to him by Lan Lan and wiped the sweat off his face.
The temperature rose again at noon, and it was a bit stuffy! He handed the coat to Lan Lan and shook the collar: "Dale, aren't you tired of standing?"
"Do you feel something is wrong?" Lodel suddenly asked.
"It's okay, what do you want to say?" Lovey looked at her strangely.
"The meeting should have been for your subordinates to report their work progress and results to you, but in the end they said nothing and you just asked them to leave." Lodel said speechlessly.
"What's the point of talking about it? It's just going through the process. It's meaningless." Lovey was disdainful. The result could not be changed. It would be better to say what needs to be done. It would be more direct and effective.
"Master, I have already done everything you arranged." Lan Lan said docilely with her tail hanging down.
"Well, I'll go up and take a look." Lovey put his hands behind his back and walked upstairs.
On the fourth floor of Fulin Castle, in a room prepared for papermaking.
Lowe put his arm in the pulp water and stirred it to spread it more evenly.
I felt very nervous and anxious.
It was also his first time making paper and he had no experience at all.
Moreover, without the key prop - the bamboo curtain for copying water, the success rate seems to be hard to describe.
Lowe took a deep breath, calmed his restless mind, and began to experiment with the first piece of permeable fabric.
Pick up the wooden frame and dip it into the water to ripple. The paper pulp is suspended on the surface of the permeable cloth, and it is carefully smoothed with a rolling pin.
Ignoring the strange looks from the two people beside him, he had a focused and sacred expression on his face, as devout as a believer in worship.
He lifted the wooden frame and waited for the accumulated water to seep and drip through the fabric.
This fabric has good water permeability and water penetrates quickly.
The last step should be drying, or drying in summer and baking in winter.
Lowe skipped this step and couldn't wait to use his mental power to absorb all the water.
"Okay!" He gently peeled the paper off the cloth.
Before he could show it off to Lodel, the paper broke into pieces within a second.
Lovi's expression froze on his face.
What happened? He was confused and bent down to clean up.
Luodel did not laugh at Lowe. Instead, he vaguely understood some of his thoughts and squatted down to help collect the debris.
Lan Lan also came to help. The three of them worked for a while before picking up the crumbs and throwing them back into the water, watching the crumbs gradually dissolve. "Why did you think of doing this?" Lodel asked with a sharp look in his eyes.
Luo Wei did not answer, but just shook his head dejectedly and fell into deep thought.
"Master, you can do it." Lan Lan showed more confidence than Luo Wei himself.
"Anyway, let's try again."
The wooden frame was immersed in water again, and Lowe picked up the rolling pin, trying to make the pulp as even as possible, and slowly lifted it up.
This time, he planned to roast it over the fire.
(End of this chapter)
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