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

Chapter 90 A small piece of paper, yet a powerful tool to break the monopoly of powerful families (Seeking another first subscription! Thank you!)

The next day, before dawn, the old craftsman Zhang Mo excitedly paced outside Lu Yong's room.

When Zhang Fei and Lei Hu got up for their morning exercise, they thought a thief had broken into their house, so they immediately captured the old craftsman.

Lu Yong was awakened from his sleep by the noise in the courtyard.

He put on his coat and went out of the room, just in time to see Zhang Fei and Lei Hu each pressing on one side of Zhang Mo's shoulder.

The old craftsman, with his frail arms and legs, kept shouting "Injustice!"

Lu Yong paused for a moment, then shouted, "Third General, quickly let go! This is the craftsman I hired!"

When Zhang Fei saw Lu Yong approaching and heard that he was indeed his craftsman, he finally let go of his hand.

"This old fellow was loitering outside your door before dawn. I thought he was some petty thief trying to steal from our house," Zhang Fei explained.

Lu Yong couldn't help but glare at Zhang Fei and said, "This is my house! Your house is right next to the lord's residence!!"

"Hehe—" Zhang Fei chuckled shamelessly and said, "Why are you and I distinguishing ourselves?"

Zhang Mo rubbed his aching shoulder and said aggrievedly, "This humble subject just wanted to wait for the strategist to get up so I could report—um—the situation."

Zhang Mo was indeed very vigilant, refusing to reveal even a single piece of information to Zhang Fei and Lei Hu.

Seeing this, Zhang Fei's curiosity was piqued, and he asked, "Huai'an, what are you secretly working on in your backyard? You can't even tell me a thing?"

Lu Yong's lips curled into a smile: "The Third General can certainly find out—come on, I'll take you to see!"

Zhang Fei's eyes lit up: "Is it a drink or a food?"

Lu Yong almost collapsed to the ground. Has this guy evolved to the point where eating and drinking are considered eating?

Lu Yong ignored him and turned to walk towards the backyard.

Zhang Fei and Lei Hu quickly followed, and Zhang Mo also jogged behind them.

In the backyard, three craftsmen, Li Shi, Wang Mu, and Geng Jin, were gathered around an earthen wall, watching over a piece of bamboo paper that was drying in the sun.

Their eyes were all bloodshot and red, clearly indicating that they hadn't slept all night.

Upon seeing Lu Yong enter, the three of them quickly stood up, their faces filled with undisguised excitement.

"Strategist, the paper is dry!" Li Shi pointed to the dozen or so bamboo sheets pasted on the wall, his voice trembling.

Lu Yong stepped forward and carefully peeled a sheet off the wall.

He looked at it in the morning light; the paper was slightly yellow, and the fibers were fairly evenly distributed.

However, the surface is still somewhat rough, and there are small flocculent clumps in some areas.

He gently stroked the paper with his hand and could clearly feel the subtle unevenness.

He then folded the paper. The paper was flexible, but the crease was slightly white, indicating that the fibers were not tightly bonded.

"Not bad, it's usable now." Lu Yong nodded, "but there are still quite a few problems."

He pointed to the clumps of pulp on the paper and said, "This is probably because the pulp wasn't fine enough and the fibers weren't fully dispersed. We need to extend the cooking time by another half day and pound it for a longer period."

He turned the paper over again, pointed to the back, and said, "This side is rougher than the front because the bamboo curtain is uneven. We'll stretch the curtain tighter again and polish it with fine stones."

The four craftsmen listened attentively, taking notes and nodding repeatedly.

Zhang Fei leaned closer, staring at the paper in Lu Yong's hand, his eyes widening.

He reached out and touched the paper, turning it over and over to examine it several times. Suddenly, he asked, "Huai'an, did you make this paper?"

"This is just the first batch of prototypes; it's far from what I expected."

Zhang Fei held the paper, examining it repeatedly.

Although he had a rugged appearance, he was educated and could draw, so he naturally knew how much power this seemingly light piece of paper could have.

Although Cai Hou paper exists today, it has always been used only as an auxiliary material due to problems such as uneven thickness, coarse fibers, brittleness, and ink bleeding.

Moreover, it has low production and high price, making it unaffordable for ordinary poor families, let alone ordinary people.

The paper in front of us, though still somewhat flawed, is far superior to hemp paper.

Seeing Zhang Fei's excited expression, Lu Yong suddenly laughed and said, "Third General, don't you love to paint? Why don't you try it on our new paper?"

Zhang Fei's eyes lit up, and he immediately said to Lei Hu, "Go, bring me my writing brush and ink!"

"This subordinate will go right away!" Lei Hu responded and ran out.

He returned shortly afterward with a cloth bag containing a brush, ink, and a small inkstone.

Zhang Fei spread out new paper on a table, ground ink, and picked up a brush.

After a moment of contemplation, he put his pen to paper and quickly sketched the outline of a lady.

The lines are smooth, the ink is even, and there is no bleeding.

He dipped his brush in ink again and carefully drew his eyebrows, eyes, and clothing folds.

Although the paper surface is slightly rough, it absorbs ink well, allowing for smooth and free movement of the pen.

After finishing the last stroke, Zhang Fei straightened up, looked at the painting of the lady on the table, and couldn't help but burst into laughter, exclaiming, "Excellent paper! Excellent paper! I haven't painted with such enjoyment in a long time!"

Lu Yong walked over and looked at the painting.

The ink marks on the painting of the lady are clear, the lines are distinct, and there is little bleeding.

Although there are still some clumps on the paper, they don't significantly affect the overall effect unless you look closely.

Zhang Fei put down his pen and asked, "Huai'an, how much do you plan to sell this paper for?"

Lu Yong didn't answer directly, but turned to Zhang Mo and asked, "Old Mo, what's the approximate cost per hundred sheets of this batch of paper?"

Zhang Mo walked into a thatched shed, took out a wooden tablet, on which materials and corresponding numbers were written in a crooked manner.

"Strategist, the bamboo was cut by refugees; it didn't cost any money."

The lime and wood ash cost twenty coins, the firewood cost thirty coins, and the wastage of the bamboo curtain and wooden frame was ten coins.

All told, it totaled a little over one hundred and forty coins, which is less than two coins for a single sheet of paper.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped to the ground.

He had bought Cai Hou paper before, a hundred sheets in a roll, which cost a full three thousand coins, or thirty coins per sheet!

Silk would be even more expensive.

This paper is several times better than Cai Hou paper, yet its cost is less than two qian!

What does this mean?!

"Huai'an, how much do you plan to sell it for?" Zhang Fei picked up the painting of the court ladies and asked again.

Lu Yong thought for a moment and said, "One coin per sheet for official schools, government affairs, and military reports."

People would buy ordinary new paper from our bookstore for just three coins a sheet.

Those supplied to high-end players cost at least twenty coins each.

Zhang Fei remained silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed and said, "Huai'an, you're trying to uproot the aristocratic families!"

"You noticed that? Was it that obvious?" Lu Yong asked, feigning surprise.

Zhang Fei snorted twice and replied, "I've long disliked those self-righteous aristocratic families! If you want to take them down, I, Old Zhang, will be the first to support you!"

Lei Hu, standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded.

He really couldn't understand how such a small piece of paper could bring down those powerful families.

Lu Yong turned to the four craftsmen and said, "From today onwards, you will continue to improve the process. Once you have produced qualified new paper, I will send it to the lord for inspection."

Zhang Mo, Li Shi, Wang Mu, and Geng Jin responded in unison, their faces beaming with joy.

Zhang Fei suddenly said from the side, "Huai'an, after you make the new paper, save a few rolls for me first."

I want to have a set of paintings depicting the Oath of the Peach Garden painted to hang in my eldest brother's house.

"Once the new paper comes out, you can draw as much as you want!"

Just then, the gatekeeper announced loudly from outside the backyard: "Master, a young man who claims to be Zhuge Kongming wants to see you."

Lu Yong's heart skipped a beat, and he shouted back, "Bring him to the backyard!"

>