Chapter 186 Training Together

Chapter 186 Training Together

Li Sanshun lowered his head and said nothing.

Beside him, Master Gao secretly glanced at Xianjin, catching sight of her slender hands peeking out from the sleeve—this young girl was adept at accounting and business, but making paper required more than just last-minute cramming.

Lifting paper is the most arduous and challenging step among the one hundred and eight procedures for making Xuan paper. One lift too deep, another too shallow, one too deep and it breaks the body, another too shallow and it ruins the heart. And being the main handler, if she were to assist Li Sanshun, there might be a forty to fifty percent chance of success, but handling it herself meant mastering every detail—from aligning the frame to positioning on the bed and clamping the ruler—which was no mere theory.

Ten days, would it be enough?

Seeing the calm yet determined look on the girl's face, Zhao Dezheng felt a twinge of regret—what if she failed? Wouldn't she be humiliated?

Well... honestly, this girl wasn't bad.

At least, in terms of demeanor, she was far more straightforward than Chen Wu, who always smiled but took all the credit and shared the blame with everyone else...

Xianjin accepted the challenge, leaving Zhao Dezheng awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

As Zhao Dezheng was about to say something, he saw Xianjin leading the group out of the Mulberry paper workshop.

Once Xianjin left, Nan Xiaogua, who had been hiding, popped his head out, "Oh! She's gone already! I just bought two pumpkin cakes from the alley!"

Turning to see Zhao Dezheng still there, Nan Xiaogua quickly stuffed the pumpkin cakes into his mouth, swallowing them whole, and widened his eyes, "Oh! You're still here! I just finished eating!"

Zhao Dezheng: ...

He knew; he had seen the whole thing.

Nan Xiaogua bowed his head, ready to run, hesitating for a moment. His admiration for the future proprietress overcame his nominal fear of Zhao Dezheng, and he blurted out, "You shouldn't underestimate her just because she's a girl! Even the illustrious Princess Bai'an from the stories is a woman, and she could defeat the Tartars and drive away the Japanese pirates!"

Zhao Dezheng, hands behind his back, spat on the ground after taking a few steps, "Brat! You know nothing!"

What does being a girl mean?!

It means she hasn't seen the world!

Even if she has been to school, even if she can read precious books, even if she can write a few lines of poetry, it doesn't mean she understands paper!

An owner who doesn't understand paper is an outsider!

An outsider leading insiders is bound to fail!

When the boss makes a decision, the workers toil day and night, only to have everything start over again—Schen Wu, at least, came from a papermaking family; he understood the difficulty of making Xuan paper and the importance of each of the one hundred and eight steps!

This girl has only learned a few pages of common knowledge under Li Sanshun's tutelage. She can manage for a year or two, but everyone will only see the surface prosperity, not the underlying issues. If she acts too whimsically, the workers will suffer. If they don't make money, the workers will starve!

Why have the eighteen workers at the Mulberry paper workshop stayed for twenty years without any changes?

Isn't it because, firstly, my skills are impressive and keep things stable, and secondly, having come from the bottom, I understand their hardships—the workshop spends money in the dead of winter to buy charcoal, ginger, and lard for the workers because their entire forearms must be submerged in the pools, and after three or four pools a day, frostbite sets in; in the sweltering summer, we store fruits and prepare mung bean soup, mixing salt and sugar into warm water as a drink, because the drying room cannot be ventilated, and the baking boards are hotter than the human body temperature...

These are minor matters, but as managers and shopkeepers, we must handle them!

People, artisans, are the lifeblood of xuan paper!

Can a young girl who has never made paper, never endured hardship, and never completed all 108 steps truly understand?

Manager Zhao pursed his lips, hands behind his back. Due to years of leaning against brick-and-concrete troughs, using his waist as a pivot for strenuous work, he now suffered from severe pain in his lower back every rainy day. Manager Zhao had not slept well all night, with dark circles under his eyes. He reached out to tap Nan Xiaogua's forehead again. "I'm not underestimating you! It's just that most girls lack persistence and are too delicate..."

Nan Xiaogua mumbled, "When it comes to lacking persistence and being delicate, Mr. Chen Wu is no different... Bias is bias; talking about it won't change anything..."

Manager Zhao slapped Nan Xiaogua on the shoulder. "No more hiding in the corner of the school to listen to lectures! You're misusing words you've learned! What yellow what soil! We make paper; what does farming have to do with us!"

Nan Xiaogua silently rolled her eyes: What if my boss is uneducated? Need help, urgent.

...

Xianjin accepted the challenge and naturally needed to prepare.

Coincidentally, Aunt Zhong's intensive training camp had reached the practical operation phase, so Xianjin joined in the training.

As soon as Xianjin started working, Master Gao's expression changed. He leaned close to Li Sanshun and whispered, "Has Manager He practiced before?"

Li Sanshun watched Xianjin's movements intently. "Faster! Use more force! Your whole arm isn't going in! Are you afraid there are snakes in the water or that the water will swallow you?" While keeping an eye on Xianjin, he casually answered Master Gao, "Do you know our Third Master?"

Master Gao nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, that irresponsible second-generation heir!"

Li Sanshun fully agreed with this assessment and nodded. "Even that second-generation heir is forced by this girl to work at least seven days every ten days in the workshop—towards her own father, she's like that. Our Jinjie is not one to allow officials to set fires while forbidding commoners from lighting lamps. Except for the end-of-month accounting and inventory checks, she's always in the workshop, personally handling every step."

Master Gao was stunned. "She... She can do it?"

Li Sanshun looked at Master Gao strangely. "Who's smarter, you or our Jinjie?"

Master Gao felt aggrieved: Is this even a fair comparison!

Li Sanshun turned back to scrutinize Xianjin's movements. "If you can do it, why can't Jinjie, given her willingness to learn?"

Master Gao thought about it and found the logic sound, so he happily accepted Li Sanshun's explanation.

Li Sanshun observed Xianjin's movements, merely pursing his lips without saying the next part: However, the time artisans spend can compensate for their lack of quick thinking, and the time given to Xianjin is too short, making the competition uncertain.

During the training, the large brick-and-concrete water troughs Xianjin built in Jixi Workshop proved useful. Twenty people were divided into five groups of four, each group split into two teams for a points-based PK to retrieve paper. This was the first elimination round designed by Aunt Zhong.

The competition lasted twenty days, with points accumulated based on the quality of paper retrieved by each team. Li Sanshun, Zhou Ergou, and Manager Qu Damao of Jixi Workshop served as judges, scoring each batch of paper on a scale of ten, evaluating its uniformity, color, softness, resilience, color separation, brush stroke expression, and appearance after storage. Those willing to work overtime could earn extra points, but any team producing more than five batches of low-scored paper would be eliminated.

Low-scored paper meant below average, which was five points. Each point above five was hard to achieve, with scores above eight considered high. Teams producing two batches of paper above eight points in a day received an additional five points.

This system effectively prevented players from earning points through sloppy work.

Immediately, several factions emerged among the participants—

There were those who played it safe: they controlled each cut to be around six points, not investing too much effort in any single one but ensuring it was just enough, focusing on quantity.

There were those who went for precision: they only produced high-quality work, with each cut scoring around eight points. Though their movements were slower, they could secure an additional five points within the rules.

"Pickled Pork Knuckle" Qi Qiqi was indeed clever. He had thoroughly understood the rules and even subtly applied linear equations to optimize his score combinations. Every day, he ensured at least two high-scoring sheets of xuan paper, sometimes even reaching nine points. Once this target was met, he would bring his teammates to control the scores at around seven points—through these optimized combinations, Pickled Pork Knuckle's team had held the top spot on the leaderboard for nearly eight days straight.

When other teams, who played it safe or focused on precision, were exhausted, Pickled Pork Knuckle even had time to gather information about the top scorer, Aunt Zhong—such as how to sign a divorce agreement, where the children were raised, and whether that damned ex-husband was dead yet—all questions hinting at ulterior motives.

This guy was smart in all the right ways. He didn't ask anyone else; he asked Xianjin.

Late at night, when all the trainees had left, Pickled Pork Knuckle kept chattering incessantly by her ear. Xianjin, expressionless, worked alongside Zhou Ergou, who had just recovered from a serious illness, to lift the paper-making screen—yes, after careful selection, her partner was Brother Ergou.

Brother Ergou, being a man of the world, declared, "I'll protect my boss; our xuan paper must be excellent. In the competition, we'll float lightly; who dares stand in our way!"

Does a single rhyme count as rhyming?

But Brother Ergou was very confident in this quatrain, even posting it next to Xianjin's water trough.

Xianjin: Already annoyed by the extra lessons, she looked down and saw Brother Ergou's scribbles, which only added to her frustration. Then, listening to Pickled Pork Knuckle's endless chatter...

Xianjin took a deep breath, "If you ask one more question, I'll deduct all your points today."

Pickled Pork Knuckle was shocked, "We're all here for training! How can Boss He use public resources for personal gain!"

Indeed!

We're all here for training!

You're here to flirt with the head teacher!

Pickled Pork Knuckle is like a clever yet annoying college boy who doesn't seem to try hard but always has high grades and loves to pester beautiful teachers with questions.

Xianjin rolled up her sleeves, gripped the bamboo screen tightly, held her breath, and submerged her forearms and elbows into the trough filled with paper pulp. As soon as she exerted force, she realized something was wrong: she was too slow!

She and Brother Ergou were out of sync!

Her slowness and his speed made the screen uneven, causing the pulp to spread unevenly, resulting in poor-quality paper!

Frustrated, Xianjin removed the bamboo screen, cleaned it in the pulp trough, and then, hands on her hips, scolded Pickled Pork Knuckle, "What good does it do to pester me? If you like Aunt Zhong, put in some effort to join Chen's! Work harder to become a deputy manager and stand on equal footing with Aunt Zhong! You're just an intern, what are you asking for now! What are you asking for!"

Pickled Pork Knuckle cried: It's hard not to think Boss He is using this as an excuse...

After venting her frustration over the failed paper-making attempt, Xianjin turned to see Chen Jianfang standing there, stunned.