Chapter 244: Promotion and Raise (Make-up Update)

Chapter 244: Promotion and Raise (Make-up Update)

Qi Qiqi, munching on malt sugar with a playful grin, greeted his fellow new recruits while lifting the bamboo curtain to enter the drying room.

As the curtain rose, two stern faces, one old and one young, appeared before him simultaneously.

The malt sugar slipped down his throat, straight into his stomach from fright.

"Cough, cough, cough—cough, cough, cough—"

Qiqi clung to the doorframe, nearly coughing up his lungs.

Silence filled the drying room.

After a moment, Zhou Ergou, burning with half a lifetime’s wisdom, mustered the courage of a man with nothing to lose to help Qiqi out, "You’re still coming to work despite such a severe cough!"

"Truly diligent and hardworking, no wonder you’re the first among this batch of new recruits to earn your stripes!"

"Clap, clap, clap—" Zhou Ergou applauded enthusiastically for Qiqi!

Zheng Er also joined in, clapping joyfully.

Xianjin: ...There’s always a friend who can understand all your farts.

"What are you standing there for? If you’re coming in, find a spot to stand!" Li Sanshun directed Qi Qiqi, turning his head with a huff, his voice heavy, "Everyone to your positions, let’s do it again! Three-tenths straw and seven-tenths tree bark, paper pulp consistency at three-tenths, start the first round!"

Fortunately, Jixi Workshop had initially built over a dozen paper pulp pools, originally intended as a practical training ground for Chen's. Xianjin had to demolish several unused buildings to support her grand scale, and when Lady Qu came to visit, she was puzzled by Xianjin’s layout, even muttering, "With a bit of money, you jump around, knocking down good places to rebuild them..."

Now, it seemed that every move, if made with heart, would eventually lead to success.

To produce paper more suitable for examination papers, Xianjin even called in the construction workshop to divide one of the large water pools, using bricks and tiles to create nine smaller pools inside, each separated by enough space for two people to stand facing each other.

This small experimental pool allowed Xianjin to save on paper pulp costs, reduce the time needed to change the pulp, and conserve the energy of the papermakers.

In her previous life, Xianjin might have thought, "It’s just a piece of paper, not some high-tech thing, why bother with experiments?" She would probably have approached business with such an attitude.

But now, witnessing the interplay of craftsmanship and time, she achieved this fine, thin, and translucent Xuancheng paper, like a cicada’s wing or a jade cup.

Xianjin wanted to give her all to every category, every opportunity, and every sheet of paper—she wanted to leave something behind for future generations.

She poured her thoughts from a thousand years in the future into this era, like ink blending into the sea.

Similarly, when someone gives you a peach, you return a precious gem; this era also rewarded her with respect for culture, craftsmanship, and faith.

As Li Sanshun blew the whistle, everyone took their positions. Li Sanshun and Zhou Ergou held the specially made square bamboo curtains, their paper-making movements smooth and practiced, swaying left and right in the pulp trough, allowing the pulp to settle on the curtain, forming a thin layer. The Xuancheng paper transformed from formless to tangible as the curtain was laid flat, depositing a moist, evenly spread layer of pulp onto the bamboo frames on the ground.

Zheng Er shouted a slogan and "thud," rolled a massive stone block over the pulp sheets to press out the water.

Once the water was squeezed out, Zhao Dezheng quickly peeled off the layer of pulp, using a natural pine needle brush to apply the thin, cicada-wing-like Xuancheng paper to the surface of the hot lime kiln for drying.

The paper-drying process was simplified.

The small size of the paper did not test the skills of the paper dryers; Zhao Dezheng brushed the Xuancheng paper onto the fire wall with two strokes, the high temperature of the fire wall quickly drying the paper and evaporating the kiwi vine juice used in the paper-making process to prevent yellowing in the future.

Xianjin approached the fire wall, lifted a corner of the paper, felt it with her fingertips, then dipped her fingertip in water and sprinkled it on the edge of the paper.

The water quickly spread across the paper, blooming into a flower within moments.

Mi Fu would probably like this kind of paper...

Mi Fu didn’t prefer paper treated with glue, "Paper without glue is unwilling to be used on silk." After all, "Mi Point Landscape" was his signature style—when painting landscapes, one stroke could span a thousand miles.

Painting and calligraphy were fine, but for standardized tests, it was too much of a headache.

It would surely ruin a few candidates who couldn’t control their pen pressure.

Xianjin shook her head and chuckled, "We’ll be cursed."

Li Sanshun squatted outside the drying room, taking a deep drag on his pipe, "Let’s make processed paper instead of raw paper!"

Zhou Ergou blurted out, "Processed paper needs alum, which makes the paper prone to yellowing and brittleness, making it difficult to preserve for decades!"

To last longer, raw paper had to be used.

To meet Xianjin’s requirements of no bleeding and firmness, processed paper had to be used.

One went left, the other right, they were completely opposite.

Everyone fell into deep thought.

Old Li, squatting and smoking his pipe, looked like a melancholic chimney from afar.

Zhou Ergou frowned deeply, arms crossed, lost in profound contemplation.

Zheng Er leaned against Zhou Ergou’s back, head lowered, lost in thought.

There were many types of paper.

Raw paper, processed paper, semi-processed paper—these were the three main categories, determined by the manufacturing process; and due to different raw material ratios, they were further divided into cotton fiber, pure skin, and super-pure skin categories...

Not to mention the countless subcategories like Jade Edition, Clear Heart, Double Cotton, Powder Note... There could be hundreds if counted carefully.

However, it’s worth noting that these categories accumulated from the Tang and Song dynasties, representing the wisdom of our ancestors.

In recent years, innovations have been scarce.

In recent years, Xuancheng seemed to have hit a bottleneck, with little progress in Xuancheng paper creation.

The three major families of Xuancheng, Heng Kee blamed internal strife, the Bai family blamed backwardness, and the Chen family blamed lack of interest.

Even the three major families struggle; how can small workshops break through?

Why did the silk mountain and sea series on Xuan paper cause such a stir? Simply because there have been too few new products in recent years...

Xianjin, in silence, glanced at the people in the workshop.

Old Li's skills are solid and down-to-earth, but he dares not innovate; Zhao Dezheng is bold with innovation, but over these past dozen years, his drive has been slowly sapped away by the Chen family's gradual influence;

Dog Grandpa is loyal and has exceptional execution, but... but he is probably thinking about what to have for dinner right now;

Zheng Er is likely adding more dishes to Dog Grandpa's meal.

Xianjin blinked and sighed inwardly. If a team always lacks innovative ideas and talent, it will always fall short of reaching its full potential.

"What if... we apply a layer of wax on the raw Xuan paper?"

A voice spoke up.

Xianjin's gaze fell on Qi Qiqi, who was leaning against a bamboo pole, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "We could first polish the ordinary raw Xuan paper, then apply a layer of wax. This way, whether the ink is light or dark, it won't easily spread, avoiding the need to brush alum, and the paper will be better preserved."

"But there is a downside."

Qi Qiqi looked up, a wry smile on his face. "We'll be very, very tired... very, very, very tired..."

Li Sanshun understood immediately.

Xianjin nodded gently.

Brushing alum is a chemical method that uses alum acid to fill the gaps in the paper fibers, but it also damages the physical structure of the Xuan paper, making it less stable;

Polishing and waxing are physical methods that do not damage any structure... but they require a lot of manual labor.

Labor.

Is the strongest advantage of this era.

Xianjin spoke softly, "Let's try it." She paused, "If it works, Qiqi will be promoted one level and get an additional stripe."