Daqin: More sons and more blessings, building a long-lived family

Ye Xuan, who was stirring the bark and plant ash, rushed towards Ye Xuan, who was steaming hot air, and Ye Xuan was sweating profusely from the steam.

The craftsmen and servants were puzzled.

"It's really strange that the bark is dried and boiled."

"Could it be that you want to cook the bark to eat?"

The craftsmen looked at Ye Xuan as if they were looking at a witch who was making a cauldron.

The eyes are full of weirdness and novelty.

They felt that Ye Xuan wanted to make the "paper" that he said was as thin as silk and easy to write and carry, it was a joke.

Can this method really make that kind of paper?

"Just boil it like this, and call me after six hours."

Ye Xuan ordered.

He estimated that cooking for twelve hours should be able to degumming the plant fibers.

"Yes."

Servants and craftsmen responded one after another.

Twelve hours later.

Ye Xuan went back to check the condition of the bark. Most of the bark had been softened and degummed.

He washed the bark stained with plant ash, and the bark was pale white.

Then he started beating the bark with a sledgehammer.

After beating to dry excess water, cut into small pieces.

Continue beating the bark that has been cut into small pieces with a sledgehammer to loosen the bark fibers.

"Bang bang bang!!"

Keep beating.

A dull sound came.

After hundreds of times, Ye Xuan's hands were sore and limp.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced at the bark.

not enough.

Still need to continue.

"Let's come."

The craftsman stepped forward to take over the coolie.

Ye Xuan handed over the giant hammer in his hand.

The beating work is continuing.

After thousands of clicks.

Ye Xuan asked the craftsman to stop beating, and twisted the bark with his fingers.

"It should be fine."

"The next step is copying."

Ye Xuan compiled and engraved the previous detailed steps on the bamboo slips, and then continued with the next steps.

He put the broken bark into a large wooden basin, stirred it up, and poured in the green juice of ginger leaves.

Stir the two evenly, and they are almost integrated with the water, like a thick slurry.

Ye Xuan scooped up the oatmeal with bamboo mats.

A thin layer of paste covered the bamboo mat.

"Success!"

"Then wait for it to dry."

The thin layer of pulp was directly exposed to the sun, and soon the layer of pulp was dried and solidified, and it was made of dark yellow and rough paper with some impurities.

Craftsmen and servants surrounded Ye Xuan, looking at the paper in Ye Xuan's hand, amazed.

"This is paper."

"I didn't expect to make this thing after a series of boiling. It's really amazing."

People were discussing.

Ye Xuan also had a look of joy on his face.

Finally made it!

This is probably the first piece of paper in the world!

"In the future, we can use paper to transcribe the text of books, or record text."

"Bring me my pen."

Ye Xuan ordered the servants.

The servant quickly brought the brush.

The writing brushes of the Qin Dynasty were composed of bamboo tubes and animal hairs.

One end of the pen holder is carved into a cavity shape, and the animal hair is made into a solid nib and put into the cavity.

The pen cover and the hair tube are the same length, put the brush in the pen cover, and then stick it firmly with glue.

This is "Qin pen".

Ye Xuan dipped the brush in ink, and then wrote on the paper.

The craftsmen and servants watched with wide eyes.

The pitch-black ink smeared on the paper bit by bit along the brush.

Left and right.

The word "paper" appears.

The craftsmen and servants were full of surprise.

Can really record text!

In this way, as Ye Xuan said, "paper" can be used to record and transcribe excerpts.

In the future, there will be no need to use the heavy bamboo and wooden slips.

You know, Qin Shihuang's daily review of memorials can reach 120 shi, which is more than 30 catties!

If the memorial is written on paper, the weight of the memorial will be greatly reduced.

At least the palace people don't have to work so hard to carry the memorial.

Ye Xuan wrote all the manufacturing steps and some details on the wooden slips, and then began to let craftsmen make paper in batches.

Paper is produced quickly.

Ye Xuan bound these papers into a book.

A wordless book took shape.

Then, he asked someone to transcribe the text on the classics.

Made into the earliest books.

The dense and orderly words are all over the paper.

Ye Xuan looked at it and nodded.

In the future, I no longer need to hold the heavy, heavy and numerous bamboo slips to read the text.

Paper books are easy to read, disseminate, write and carry, and are relatively cheap.

Ye Xuan has already started planning to open a bookstore.

"If I opened a bookstore, it should be the first bookstore in the world."

He muttered.

The purpose of opening a bookstore is to widely disseminate written knowledge for children from poor families and those who cannot afford books to read.

The main focus is to increase prestige and influence.

Of course, wanting to read a book is not free.

After all, if the books are old and damaged, it is also part of the cost, plus the clerk who needs to manage these books.

Free is impossible to be free.

However, the price of reading books is several times, or dozens of times, lower than the price of buying books. Readers can transcribe and extract the contents of books, which is already quite cheap for them, and it is also very convenient for them.

In ancient times, it was extremely rare to be able to read books at a small price.

After all, ancient books were very expensive, and good books fell into the hands of wealthy families and upper-class nobles.

Even if it is a copied book, it is difficult for ordinary scholars to obtain, let alone read.

If Ye Xuan opened a bookstore, it would be of great convenience to readers.

And Ye Xuan can also make profits, maintain the store's livelihood, and make up for the manpower and material resources spent on papermaking.

Both parties win.

Why not?

With Ye Xuan's current financial and material resources, if he does a loss-making business, making paper and transcribing books for people to watch for free, I'm afraid he will go bankrupt in a short time.

As for expanding the scale, it is even more impossible with Ye Xuan's current financial and material resources.

Ye Xuan estimated the cost of opening a bookstore, the cost of hiring clerks and store managers, the cost of transcribing and excerpting books into books, etc.

"The store manager can choose the confidant servants in the mansion, which is more at ease."

"The clerk is free to employ reliable commoners."