Master Kong Zhongni

Chapter 14 Papermaking
Not long after Zaiyu and the others sat in the room, they saw several servants walking in with various eating utensils.

They put down tableware such as pottery 鬲, copper beans, and 鐎斗 one by one on the tables in front of the three of them, and then brought a fish pattern square plate filled with clear water.

Zaiyu and the others stretched out their hands one by one, and the servant poured the clear water from the square plate on their palms.

This ritual was called the ritual of washing in the Spring and Autumn Period, and in later generations it was called washing hands clean and hygienic before meals.

After washing your hands, you can eat.

Zaiyu lifted the cover of the tableware, and finally got a glimpse of Zigong's luxurious dinner.

The pottery jar is filled with yellow millet, and the copper beans are filled with several delicious pickles.

But among these dishes, what Zaiyu likes the most is the ball of fermented meat.

Meat sauce, to put it bluntly, is a raw meat sauce marinated in salt, which is similar to the mature meat of later generations.

Of course, in terms of taste, it must be far worse than mature meat, but meat fermented meat is still a rare delicacy in the Spring and Autumn Period.

After the salt is mixed with the meat paste to ferment, it will give birth to umami.

This kind of supreme enjoyment, for Zaiyu who has not known the taste of meat for several months, of course, he can't wait to eat two more mouthfuls.

But as soon as the meat sauce was in his mouth, Zaiyu felt something was wrong.

Although he is a young man living in the Spring and Autumn Period, and he doesn't usually eat high-end goods such as meat sauce, but sometimes he can still buy some by biting his teeth.

Why is the taste of this meat sauce different from the ones I used to eat today?

He turned his head to look at Zigong, unexpectedly Zigong was also looking at him, as if he was waiting for him to ask a question early in the morning.

Zaiyu put down the bowl, sighed and shook his head, thinking, "Zigong, you're about to start Versailles again."

Zaiyu asked, "Zigong, what is this meat sauce made of? Why is the taste so special?"

Zigong took a sip of his wine calmly, and said calmly, "A while ago, the hunters in Qufu caught a scorpion. I found it quite strange, so I sent someone to buy some and come back to try it out."

Si is a rhinoceros.During the Spring and Autumn Period, there were large tracts of uncultivated land in each vassal state, so the large wilderness outside the city became a wild animal park.

Here, you can see a bunch of nationally protected animals casually.

This situation is especially serious in Chu State in the south, where there are so many wild animals that they are almost on the verge of disaster.

In the Yunmengze area of ​​Chu State, elephants are in groups, crocodiles are rampant, and the population density of rhinos is estimated to be greater than that of humans.

Several former kings of the Chu Kingdom bragged with others everywhere when they had nothing to do, saying that they had hunted dragons in Yunmeng Ze.

However, Zaiyu didn't know the exact truth of this matter, because he had never been to Yunmeng Lake in his life, and even this was the first time he ate a rhinoceros today.

Zaiyu sighed while eating: "If you dare to eat meat, Zigong, you will be punished! This will take thousands of years, and the three of us will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of our lives. This is something that can be imprisoned but not imprisoned." !"

Zigong only thought that Zai Yu was talking crazy because of jealousy, so he was not willing to talk to him, and just brought out his wife to hate him.

"Master said: don't talk when you eat, don't talk when you sleep. Eat your food well, so much nonsense!"

The three of them finished their meal, and the servant who had just gone shopping in the market also came back.

A group of people brought back bundles of ramie and bark with their shoulders and hands, and some of them carried rolls of bamboo mats on their backs, which looked extremely funny.

"Master, the bamboo mats and ramie you want can be bought in the market. But the bark is really not sold, so we went outside the city to pick up some and came back. Do you think it is enough?"

"My son, are these enough?"

Zaiyu put down his chopsticks and said, "It should be about the same. Put these things in the yard first, and then set up a large pot to boil water."

"Do as I say."

Under Zaiyu's instructions, the servants quickly set up a large cauldron in the yard, pouring the ramie bought in the market and the bark collected into it.

Zigong looked at the steaming cauldron in front of him, and his excitement was beyond words.

"What's the next step? What's the next step?"

"Do you have chalk in your house?"

"A few days ago, there was still some wall repair at home."

"Take it all out and pour some into the pot first. Also, remember to stir while pouring."

Zi Gong didn't know what was the use of doing so, but since Jae Yu said it was useful, he could only do it.

Soon, chalk ash was added to the pot, and the chalk ash reacted immediately when it met water, and a pot of water soon began to boil.

The chalky ash melted into the water, and the water evaporated with stirring.

Immediately afterwards, the servants replenished the evaporated water at Zaiyu's request.

Gradually, the ramie and bark begin to degummed, falling apart into strands of plant fibers.

"This?" Zigong watched this miraculous change, and couldn't help but ask, "Can I make paper now?"

Zai Yu picked up a twig and stirred it in the pot, then shook his head and said, "It's far from it, a lot of it hasn't melted yet."

"Then how long will it take to cook?"

Jae Yu said: "Maybe it will take a day or two?"

Zigong said in surprise, "One or two days! Why didn't you say it earlier?"

Jai Yu trembled when he yelled at him: "What... what? Do you have something urgent?"

Zigong said: "You said it earlier, I will prepare more firewood at home! Now that there is no firewood, what should I do if the fire goes out in a while?"

After hearing this, Zaiyu said contemptuously: "Once it is extinguished, it will be extinguished. At worst, I will cook another pot tomorrow. The bark is not valuable, so you have to worry about spending money. I will go to the suburbs to peel some bark for you after school tomorrow."

Zigong was about to go crazy: "It is because the bark is worthless that it is worth money!"

"It's worth money because it's worthless?" Jae Yu stretched his head, his thinking stalled: "What do you mean? Contradictory literature?"

Yan Hui explained from the side: "Zigong probably means that just because the bark is worthless, the profit of making paper will be very high, and then you can make a lot of money."

Of course Zaiyu knew the meaning of Zigong's words, but the reason why he pretended not to understand was to negotiate the price with Zigong.

As an old opponent who has been fighting with Zigong for many years, Zaiyu is well versed in how to handle Zigong, and he is proficient in playing hard to catch.

If he explained all the papermaking techniques now, it would be difficult to bargain with Zigong in the future.

Therefore, he could only pretend to be dull and said: "So that's the case! Ziyuan, don't you think the same as him?"

Yan Hui is reserved and doesn't show his emotions excessively, but the sparkle in his eyes cannot escape Jai Yu's observation.

Yan Hui said: "I don't know how to do business, and I don't know how much profit can be gained from the invention of paper. But from my observations, once such a thing as paper appears, I am afraid that the dream of a master who can teach without distinction will not be reduced to a sentence." It's empty talk.

Books are expensive, mostly due to the difficulty of engraving bamboo slips, which makes it difficult to reproduce books on a large scale.Paper is easier to write on, and it is more convenient to carry than bamboo slips.

If paper can be used instead of bamboo slips, surely the number of scholars in the world will multiply? "

　In order to follow up, at this time, I would like to become a devil.

　　——Excerpt from "Zaiyu's Diary"

　　
　
(End of this chapter)