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In the end, the paper mill hired over fifty people. For their newly established “small workshop,” this marked the first step in their journey.
Having lived in Longxian Village for several months, Shen Yu’an had naturally selected individuals with good character.
With the construction of such a large workshop, it was impossible not to attract attention from others.
However, those who possessed the knowledge of papermaking didn’t pay much attention to Shen Yu’an’s workshop. After all, they believed that they held the monopoly on papermaking techniques, and they couldn’t imagine anyone easily coming up with a new method.
The papermaking process in ancient times was incredibly complex. Even though Shen Yu’an had refined the techniques she had written down, it still took over three months for the first batch of paper to be produced.
“I’ll count to three, and everyone should exert force together!”
Song Shi and Zhao Shi stood to the side, addressing the workers.
Shen Yu’an stood in a space that wasn’t in the way, witnessing the scene.
“Three, two, one, lift!”
Around a large square wooden trough, several workers were stationed. After the call, they simultaneously lifted the wooden frame fitted with mesh that was placed inside the trough.
In addition to Song Shi and Zhao Shi, along with the workers lifting the wooden frames, there were others who weren’t currently involved in the activity, standing around. When they succeeded, everyone cheered.
“We did it, we did it!!!”
The paper mill was filled with a lively atmosphere as everyone quickly hung the freshly scooped paper on the prepared racks.
Everyone looked at Shen Yu’an with smiles, joyfully asking, “Young miss, how does it look?”
Without needing a reminder, Shen Yu’an had already walked over to the drying area to take a look.
She was highly satisfied with the results of her efforts over these days.
As she felt joyful, the workers at the paper mill also felt happy.
Why?
Because when Shen Yu’an was happy, she would distribute bonuses to them!
Sure enough, Shen Yu’an gestured broadly and said, “You’ve done a great job. Each person will receive an extra hundred wén of wage this month.”
The villagers working at the mill were all overjoyed, expressing their gratitude to the young miss.
The paper retrieved from the pulp required several days of drying. During these days, new batches of paper were continuously scooped and left to dry.
However, Shen Yu’an was still not entirely satisfied. She hadn’t forgotten her original intention for establishing the paper mill.
It was to create usable daily hygiene paper!
Yet, in this era, the technology was not advanced enough, and crafting the kind of hygiene paper found in later times wasn’t an easy feat.
After the paper mill had started operations, Shen Yu’an sought assistance from the general’s residence to locate several skilled craftsmen who had knowledge in this area. She brought them to Longxian Village.
Using her memory as a guide, Shen Yu’an gave them some directions and even showed them a few sheets of hygiene paper from the future.
However, despite more than three months passing, they still hadn’t made any significant breakthroughs.
The products from several attempts were crude and of poor quality, to the point that they couldn’t even hold their form.
Shen Yu’an decided to purchase a piece of land near the paper mill and build a few houses for the craftsmen to conduct their research independently.
A few days later, all the paper that had been drying was successfully completed.
The workers at the mill cut the large sheets of paper into suitable sizes and stacked them together.
Shen Yu’an compared the paper she had purchased from a store in town with their own paper. The quality was nearly indistinguishable, yet their production cost was lower. If they were to sell it in a store, their paper would likely outperform similar-quality traditional paper.
Shen Yu’an had also discussed with Qi Wenzhen and Qi Wenqin that the Wenhe Bookstore and a small bookstore under the general’s residence would be the only two merchants authorized to sell their paper.
The general’s residence’s bookstore was part of Xin Rui’s dowry, but business wasn’t flourishing, and it hadn’t been managed extensively.
As for why Shen Yu’an chose Wuyang Bookstore, it was because she knew the owner behind it was Fei Yanchen.
When there’s money to be made, it’s only natural to involve your own people.
Yes, Shen Yu’an had already placed Fei Yanchen in the category of her own people.
Over these nearly four months, Fei Yanchen had been busy.
Following the memory from the dream, he had gained the loyalty of many trustworthy subordinates and rapidly gathered a force of nearly a thousand followers.
Those people were all concealed by Fei Yanchen in the depths of the mountain range behind Longxian Village.
Maintaining such a large group required a significant amount of money, and Fei Yanchen was in need of funds.
No matter how busy he was, he would visit the Shen family every once in a while, staying for a couple of days before leaving.
On this day, it was a rest day for the town’s school. As evening approached, Shen Rong and a few others returned, their expressions somewhat grave.
Observing their less-than-pleasant expressions, Grandma Shen inquired, “Why do you all have such mournful faces?”
Shen Rong spoke up, “Today, while coming back from town, I saw the government posting recruitment notices again.”
Grandma Shen replied indifferently, “They’re looking for people; it’s normal to seek relatives and friends, especially not long after the famine and disasters have passed.”
Shen Rong shook his head and said, “They’re posting notices to search for Crown Prince Wuding again.”
“That has nothing to do with us…” Grandma Shen voice trailed off.
Suddenly, she stopped. Crown Prince Wuding, wasn’t that Ah’chen (Fei Yanchen)!!!
After all this time, they knew why Fei Yanchen had refused to return to the capital with the officials searching for him, and they also knew that his family had been placed under house arrest in the capital.
Seeing how busy Fei Yanchen was these days, the members of the Shen family automatically assumed he was trying to find a way to rescue his family.
But if he’s found and brought back, wouldn’t he be put under house arrest as well?
Considering Fei Yanchen part of their family, the members of the Shen family naturally didn’t want to see such an outcome.
Grandpa Shen suddenly asked, “Wasn’t everyone outside thinking that Ah’Chen was dead? Why are they searching for him again?”
Shen Rong couldn’t provide an answer to that question either.
Shen Sanlang furrowed his brows, worry evident in his voice as he asked, “Didn’t Brother Yanchen promise me that he’d let me work with him once I pass the imperial examination for the scholar-level? But if he gets caught and taken to the capital, does that mean I can’t follow him anymore?”
Fei Yanchen had indeed mentioned training Shen Sanlang by his side once he passed the scholar-level imperial examination a few days ago.
Shen Sanlang found it difficult to continue his studies and felt that working alongside Fei Xi, Fei Dong and Fei Yanchen would be a great opportunity.
He had witnessed their abilities and skills, which were top-notch.
So, Shen Sanlang asked Fei Yanchen if he could follow them.
However, Fei Yanchen didn’t dare to agree easily. If he agreed and Shen Sanlang ended up becoming an ignorant follower, he could only imagine how annoyed Shen Yu’an would be.
Hence, Fei Yanchen replied that Shen Sanlang could only join him after passing the imperial examination for the scholar-level.
Lately, Shen Sanlang has been dedicating himself to his studies, all with the goal of receiving a recommendation from his school’s teacher before the preliminary exams commence. He aspires to have an opportunity in the upcoming exam.
Little did he anticipate that a series of unexpected events would unfold.
Shen Yu’an was also uninformed about this matter. Fei Yanchen hadn’t visited Longxian Village for a considerable period, thus Shen Yu’an hadn’t received any messages from Fei Dong or Fei Xi.
Amidst a moment of silence among the people, a knock echoed on the gates of the Shen family residence.
Sensing something, Shen Yu’an promptly rose to her feet to answer the door.