The Story of a Destitute Noblewoman Farming

"Papermaking, pens, ink, paper and inkstone?" The elders were stunned by what Lu Linlang said. At this time, they didn't care whether she wanted to get married or not. They only cared about making money.

"Exactly. I've been researching this for a while now. We've already made paper, but the quality isn't great yet and needs improvement. Brushes can be made with wolf hair, sheep hair, pig hair, dog hair, etc. We need everyone to collect and prepare them together. I've raised a lot of pigs on the farm this year, and the pig hair can be used after cleaning it."

"What are we waiting for? Why don't we go and see now that paper can really be made? Incredible, incredible." The elders stood up immediately. When the people around saw their movements, they also looked over here curiously.

"Don't worry, everyone. Today is a good day for Uncle Dashui's family. I have to go to Dongshan Village later. When we come back in the evening, I will invite you to come and see us."

"Yes, yes, look at me. I almost forgot that this is still the Dashui family's wedding banquet. Someone from the groom's family is coming, right?"

"Here he comes, here he comes, the groom is here, riding a horse." As soon as they finished speaking, the person who was watching the village entrance ran back to report the news, and the yard suddenly became more lively.

Yun Yi, Lu Zhan and others were invited to guard the door and "embarrass" the groom and his relatives and friends.

Lu Linlang followed the Dahua sisters to the bridal chamber. In the bridal chamber, upon seeing Lu Linlang coming in, today's bride, Lu Xiaoxue, quickly asked her to sit down. Her previous nervousness disappeared, and she only thought about not neglecting her.

Outside the yard, Yun Yi, as the teacher of Xishan Village, was naturally well-educated. At the beginning, he did not take action directly, but asked his students to recite poems and let the people on the opposite side come back. Gradually, they were defeated. Yun Yi and Li Cheng exchanged poems with each other, which was very lively and ignited the atmosphere of the scene.

There are many families of scholars who were exiled to Dongshan Village, and the Li family is naturally on good terms with some of them. Many people were invited today, and the scene was lively and not deserted at all.

The auspicious time was almost here, and at the reminder of the Lu family, Li Cheng presented the red envelope, and finally succeeded in winning the beauty home.

When Lu Linlang returned from Dongshan Village, it was already dark. She found that the clan leader and elders were waiting at her door. They had come here a long time ago and were anxious to see with their own eyes the paper that Lu Linlang had talked about. The servants in the mansion asked them to go in and wait, but they were unwilling to do so. They just chatted outside while watching Lu Linlang come back.

"This is what I brought people to make a few days ago using bamboo and trees from the mountain behind us. Look, everyone, this paper isn't as good as the paper used by scholars on the market today. It's still a bit rough, but I've got a direction and am working on improving it. Let's go and take a look."

Now, all the residential land behind Lu Linlang's house has been bought. The papermaking place is located at the back near the stream, which makes it convenient to get water. Several servants have been added to the family, and they are all conscientiously completing the tasks assigned by Lu Linlang.

"Miss."

"You guys go about your business. I'll bring the elders to take a look." Lu Linlang waved her hand and let them do their own thing.

"Is this the paper that has been made?" The patriarch had sharp eyes and immediately saw the large piece of paper placed on the table beside him.

With trembling hands, he carefully picked up the paper and stroked it, and found that the paper was indeed as Lu Linlang said. It was thicker than three sheets of ordinary paper, and it felt rougher.

There was cut paper and special pen and ink on the side. After asking Lu Linlang for consent, the clan leader dipped the pen in ink and wrote the word "Lu" on the paper.

"Although the paper is a bit rough, the words written on it are not bad. Master Yun, my handwriting is too ugly. I would like to trouble you to help me try it and let us take a look." The clan leader felt that his handwriting was not good-looking, and felt a little ashamed. Seeing Yun Yi standing aside, he immediately asked him to come over and take a look.

Yun Yi took the initiative and wrote the word "Lu" better than the clan leader. Several people took a closer look and found that the ink would not seep through the paper and would not smudge too much. Apart from the yellowing of the paper, there were no major flaws.

"There is another kind of paper here. It is soft paper. Although it is not suitable for writing, it is more convenient to use as a handkerchief or as straw paper." Lu Linlang picked up the paper prepared on the side and showed it to them.

"This, this is amazing. I never thought paper could be made like this. Linlang girl, you must keep making it. If you can make it as good as the paper on the market, you'll really make money."

After the elders saw these papers, they were amazed in their hearts. Behind them was the place where paper was made, but few of them went there. Making paper was a big and profitable craft. They knew that this was Lu Linlang's heirloom, and even as a member of the clan, they had to have basic sense of propriety.

"Chief, come and look here. These are the raw materials we use to make paper, and this is the production process."

"We won't look at this. This is your secret, and it's also a way for your family to make money that can be passed down in the future."

“I don’t plan to do it alone. This business is very profitable, but it cannot be maintained by one person. It is unwise to carry out a business in a busy city with gold. So what I said before about taking the villagers with me, and even making the entire Chongshui people rely on pens, ink, paper and inkstone to survive, is not empty talk.

Come and see. If you could understand this thing just by looking at it, then there wouldn't be so many crafts in the world that are only practiced by a few people today. Only when everyone in the county practices it can we protect this craft. Otherwise, when the powerful come, we won't have much room to fight back."

Lu Linlang's words woke them up. If they could only make small money from running a shop and selling soaps, potions and the like, then this industry of pens, ink, paper and inkstones was a huge industry that could support an entire county or even a state just like silk. The title of Lu Linlang's family was in name only and had no power. Even the prefect of Hezhou Prefecture could overthrow them as long as there was profit involved.

Therefore, we should recruit more people to join the group and let the people of the entire county make a living from it, thus forming a natural alliance. Then even if a prince comes, it will be of no avail. The power of the people is sometimes very small, and it is not a big deal to anger one family.

But if he angered the people of a village, a town, or a county, unless he had the courage to silence the entire county, if the whole world knew about it, then even if he was a prince, everyone would be able to kill him and everyone would be in danger.

"Okay, Linlang girl, your idea is great. The power of one person may not be a big deal, but if you can make sure everyone in the county can have a meal, then everyone will be grateful to you. We'll follow you. Since you're willing to share, we can all make money and share the burden."

The elders of the tribe had not received much education, but they had lived for decades and witnessed many hardships in the world, so they quickly understood this truth.