Three Kingdoms: Daily settlement helps Liu Bei revive the Shu Han dynasty.

Chapter 89 Making Bamboo Paper, Showcasing Craftsmanship (Seeking another first-day subscription! Thank you!)

After the day's official business was over, Shen Yi did not work until dark as usual.

After the court session ended, he arrived at Lu Yong's residence on time to collect the money.

Reaching the door, Shen Yi took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock.

The gatekeeper opened the door, saw Shen Yi, and grinned, saying, "Chief Secretary Shen has arrived! I'll go inform the master."

Not long after, the gatekeeper returned.

"Shen Changshi, the head of the family wants you to go directly to the backyard."

"Thank you," Shen Yi nodded in thanks.

After passing through the front yard and around the screen wall, Shen Yi arrived at the back yard with ease.

The backyard of Lu Yong's residence has been transformed into a temporary workshop.

All sorts of strange and unusual instruments were displayed everywhere.

Lu Yong was squatting in front of a large vat, stirring the grayish-white liquid inside with a wooden stick.

Next to it were several vats of different sizes, as well as a pile of chopped bamboo pieces, several bundles of hemp fibers, a basket of rags and other scraps.

Several craftsmen stood nearby, holding tools such as bamboo curtains and wooden frames, waiting for Lu Yong's results.

"Strategist." Shen Yi stepped forward and bowed.

Lu Yong raised his head, glanced at him, put down the wooden stick, and said to the craftsmen, "Continue to experiment according to the procedure I just explained, and strive to make a breakthrough today."

"We obey!" the old craftsmen said respectfully, bowing.

"Come with me." Lu Yong picked up a handkerchief, wiping his hands as he spoke.

Shen Yi followed Lu Yong all the way to the study.

In the corner of the study, there was a large box containing the 140,000 coins that Lu Yong had borrowed from Mi Zhu and lent to Shen Yi.

"Do you have a carriage?" Lu Yong asked, pointing to the large box.

This money was real copper coins, weighing nearly four hundred pounds.

It's probably unrealistic to expect to carry it away on your own.

Fortunately, Shen Yi was prepared and replied with a cupped hand: "I have already hired a carriage and porters, and we will send it directly to the brokerage firm in a moment."

After saying this, Shen Yi bowed deeply to Lu Yong again and said, "I will never forget your great kindness, strategist."

Lu Yong waved his hand and said, "Go and settle the house matter quickly, then come to my residence and I'll show you something."

"Here." Shen Yi straightened up and turned to find the porters for help.

After Shen Yi left, Lu Yong returned to the backyard, where several craftsmen were still pounding pulp around a stone mortar.

The bamboo material was soaked in lime water for several days and then steamed twice, and at this point it had turned into a grayish-white flocculent substance.

"Add another half ladle of water." Lu Yong stood to the side, observed for a moment, and said, "The fibers are not broken down enough. Pound them until you can't see any intact bamboo membranes."

"Alright!" the old craftsman replied, scooping in half a ladle of water, and then swung the wooden pestle down.

The dull pounding sound echoed in the backyard for almost half an hour, until the slurry thickened like porridge and no bamboo fibers could be seen anymore.

"Stop." Lu Yong called for a halt, then reached into the liquid and slowly stirred it.

"Add some more water and stir well."

The craftsmen poured the bamboo pulp from the large vat into several smaller vats and added water in proportion.

Lu Yong took a bamboo curtain from the wooden shelf next to him.

He had the craftsmen make it to specific dimensions based on the blueprints.

The curtain is finely woven, and the frame is fixed with balsa wood to extract fibers from the pulp.

Based on the drawing in his mind, Lu Yong held the curtain with both hands, inserted it diagonally into the slurry, gently shook it twice to suspend the fibers evenly, and then lifted it up smoothly.

The slurry flowed back into the vat along the seams of the bamboo curtain, but a thin, wet film remained on the surface of the bamboo curtain.

He slightly turned his wrist and placed the wet membrane upside down on the wooden board next to him.

However, the first batch of paper sheets produced was uneven in thickness and had some tears at the edges.

"The paste is a bit too thick, add another ladle of water." Lu Yong shook his head and said, "The bamboo curtain was put into the water a little too quickly just now, and the curtain wasn't lifted steadily enough."

After he finished speaking, he handed the bamboo curtain to the old craftsman and said, "Following my movements and the key points, you should all try it."

Whoever performs best in the end will receive a separate reward from this strategist!

Upon hearing that there would be a reward, the craftsmen were all excited and eager to get started.

But the old craftsman was their leader, so naturally he had to be the first to try.

He took the bamboo curtain and, following Lu Yong's actions, began to work.

It must be said that the old craftsman's hands are much steadyer.

The membrane he retrieved was even and intact. Although it still had some minor flaws, it already had the basic shape of paper and was much better than Lu Yong's curtain.

Lu Yong nodded slightly, allowing everyone else to try it one by one.

The results from the other people's rescues were also quite good.

He then instructed the old craftsmen to stack the wet paper layers one by one, clamp them with wooden boards, and squeeze out the excess water.

As the sun began to set, a dozen or so sheets of wet paper were pasted on the newly built earthen wall in the backyard to dry.

Lu Yong stood by the wall, quietly waiting for the paper to slowly shrink and dry in the evening breeze.

After looking at them for a moment, Lu Yong suddenly turned to the craftsmen and said very seriously, "After the workshop is built, you should bring your families to live in Wanling."

But from now on, you can no longer leave the workshop so easily.

If you have any questions, you can ask them now; otherwise, you won't have another chance.

Upon hearing this, the old craftsman Zhang Mo immediately knelt down and said, "This humble subject is willing! This humble subject is a hundred times willing!"

Li Shi, Wang Mu, and Geng Jin, who were standing nearby, also knelt down, their faces filled with ecstatic joy. "We commoners are willing too!"

"Please, strategist, take us in!"

"Only a fool would refuse!"

When Zhang Mo raised his head, his face was already covered in tears. "I'm fifty years old this year. My whole life has been spent either working for landlords or fleeing famine."

My wife has suffered alongside us common folk for decades, and our youngest son almost froze to death the winter before last.

It wasn't until I met the strategist that I was finally able to feed my family properly!

As long as I can stay with the strategist, even if I can't easily leave the workshop, or even if I die in the workshop, it will be a worthy death!

Li Shi and Wang Mu, two middle-aged craftsmen, seemed to be reminded of their past hardships and couldn't help but secretly wipe away their tears.

Only Geng Jin, who was slightly younger, understood Lu Yong's intention.

He said to Lu Yong, "Don't worry, strategist. We will keep any skills you teach us to ourselves and will never reveal a single word of them."

"If anyone dares to utter a single word, I, Geng Jin, will be the first to fight them to the death, without even the strategist needing to lift a finger!"

"That's right! Whoever leaks the information, we'll fight them to the death!" Zhang Mo, Li Shi, and Wang Mu also realized what was going on and echoed in unison.

Seeing the excited expressions on the four people's faces, Lu Yong slowly nodded.

He reached out to help Zhang Mo up, and then gestured for the other three to get up as well.

"Rest assured. As long as you serve loyally, I, Lu Yong, will never treat you unfairly."

Lu Yong paused for a moment, then continued, "In addition to the doubled wages mentioned before, after the workshop is completed, each of you will also be allocated a small courtyard with three rooms."

Your children will be able to attend the government's primary schools for free in the future.

The four of them shuddered in fright.

They thought Lu Yong had already given them enough, but they didn't expect him to give them even more!

What else can be said?

Brothers, let's repay each other with our lives!

The four of them knelt down again, kowtowing repeatedly with great emotion.

"Alright, get up, all of you." Lu Yong said helplessly, "You all watch these papers tonight. We'll check them again after they've dried and solidified."

"Yes!!" the four responded in unison, their voices several times louder than before.

>