Guo Jia and Cao Cao were shocked by the price Lu Yan said.
Although Guo Jia knew in advance that bamboo paper was very cheap, he had no idea it could be so cheap!
You must know that although Cai Houzhi already existed in this era,
However, Caihou paper has a matte surface, poor toughness, and a lot of fibers. The ink is easy to spread after inking, so few people use it to write books or paint.
But even Caihou paper, whose cost has been greatly reduced, is actually not cheap, especially those with good quality and appearance. Ordinary wealthy people may not even be willing to use them.
Cao Cao's hands were shaking a little, but it was not because Guo Jia sprayed him in the face... He trembled and asked Lu Yan: "Mr. Lu... your bamboo paper... is so cheap?"
Lu Yan nodded and responded perfunctorily.
He was still frowning because the more he looked at the paper, the more dissatisfied he became.
After being used to the white and smooth paper of later generations, no matter who looks at this uneven, yellow paper, they will not be satisfied. Using it to wipe pigu may not be enough to scratch the flesh...
"If it is improved further, the cost may be higher, but I estimate that it will not cost more than a hundred cents per kilogram at most."
Lu Yan still gave his judgment. No matter what, he would control the price to a level acceptable to the people.
"Oh my god...let me slow down..." Boss Cao patted his forehead, turned around several times, and then asked:
"If this paper really comes out, I'm afraid the scholars all over the world will be excited. This is a serious matter, so we need to be careful!"
Lu Yan looked at Cao Cao and said in a serious tone: "Mr. Cao, no matter what we discuss, paper must be affordable for the common people. This is my request and my bottom line!"
Cao Cao stared at Lu Yan deeply, then grinned and said: "I understand, this is your... no, it is our trump card against the aristocratic family. I will not set a price limit, but the new paper
The release must be done with caution!”
At this time, Guo Jia finally wiped the drink and saliva from Cao Cao's face, but there was nothing he could do about the marks on his clothes, chest and shoulders.
After hearing Cao Cao's words, Guo Jia suddenly said quietly: "Master, don't we still have an emperor!"
"Emperor? That's right! I still have an emperor!!!" Cao Cao was enlightened, then pointed at Guo Jia and Lu Yan, and suddenly said: "You two are so scheming! I'm afraid you have long thought of using the emperor as a shield!"
"Yes, but you still have to mention this to the emperor..." Lu Yan said with a smile, as if he was harmless to humans and animals.
The expression on Cao Cao's face remained unchanged, but he secretly thought in his heart: "What a bastard, you asked me, Old Cao, to take the blame again... But I am willing to take the blame!"
"That's all, I will find an opportunity to present new paper to the emperor."
Lu Yan put the piece of paper back into his sleeve and said, "Don't worry, I will make some improvement requests to the craftsmen when I get back.
When higher quality paper comes out, you can present it to the emperor."
"Okay, if you think it's okay, just send someone to notify me."
"Here!"
...
After reaching an agreement, Lu Yan left the General's Mansion alone.
As for Guo Jia, Boss Cao wanted to keep him to discuss some matters, but Lu Yan estimated that they were probably drinking and listening to music.
Returning to Chenliu County without stopping, Lu Yan went directly to the workshop.
He had some ideas to explain to the craftsmen,
But now that the workshop has a certain foundation, Lu Yan only needs to come up with an idea, and someone will naturally research in that direction.
"High-quality paper means higher prices, and ordinary people may not be able to use such good paper."
"We should divide production into several grades, so as to meet the needs of people from different classes!"
"Whiter, softer, and more elastic... As expected of a hussar general, the requirement is precision!"
...
In the workshop, more than a dozen craftsmen responsible for the research and development of new paper are gathering together to discuss, and everyone is brainstorming.
Lao Geng, who was responsible for managing the entire workshop, accompanied Lu Yan and inspected the situation inside the workshop with him.
"Old Geng, you have managed such a large workshop in an orderly manner. I will tell Mr. Cao later that it is time to give you a formal official status."
Old Geng's name is Geng Liang, and his family has been an ordinary craftsman for generations.
He never dreamed that he would be an official one day. After hearing Lu Yan's words, he was pleasantly surprised and said, "I want to honor my ancestors."
"Thank you, Grand Administrator, for your support. Your kindness will never be forgotten by me!" Geng Liang bowed deeply to Lu Yan, his tone even more somber.
Lu Yan helped Lao Geng up and said: "There is no need for this, you deserve this."
"Oh, by the way, the recruitment of talents cannot stop. Now that His Majesty has moved the capital to Xuchang, we will probably need a lot of manpower in the future!"
"Yes, I'm recruiting people all the time, but I don't want those who are just pretending to be numbers!"
"You did the right thing. It's better to be deficient than indiscriminate! There can't be people who are just trying to get by in our team of craftsmen!"
"As ordered!" Old Geng replied righteously, already showing the demeanor of an official.
Lao Geng accompanied Lu Yan out of the workshop.
Just as Lu Yan was about to leave, suddenly a young man with an unattractive appearance and a thin body came to Geng Liang holding a blueprint, "Geng... Geng... Mr. Geng! Can you... take a look...
...below...below..."
Judging from his appearance, he seemed to want Geng Liang to take a look at the drawings in his hand.
Geng Liang didn't wait for the young man to finish speaking, he directly refused: "Go, go, go...I've told you so many times that if you want to apply, you have to go through the formal recruitment process, but you can't even explain clearly...
..."
"But...but..." The young man seemed to be stuttering, and he was so anxious that he couldn't say a complete sentence.
Lu Yan was a little curious about the drawings in the young man's hands, so he raised his hand to stop Geng Liang from driving away.
He stretched out his hand and asked the young man: "Can I see your drawings?"
The young man had only noticed Geng Liang just now. Now Lu Yan spoke up, and he realized that the man in front of him had an extraordinary temperament, and he was probably not an ordinary person.
Seeing that the young man was in a daze, Geng Liang said softly: "I haven't seen the Hussars General yet!"
"Ah... ah!!! Piao... Piao... Piao..." When the young man heard this, he realized that this guy who looked not much older than him turned out to be General Hussar!
This surprise was no small matter, and what he said was unreasonable. I was so anxious that I almost...I was about to kneel down in front of Lu Yan!
Lu Yan reacted so quickly. When he saw that the young man wanted to kneel down, he immediately reached out and took the young man's arm and said: "There is gold under your knees, don't kneel down casually."
"Thank you... thank you... Piao... Piao..." The young man's forehead was already sweating...
Seeing that he was still a little nervous, Lu Yan comforted him with gentle words: "Don't be anxious. Speak slowly. Stuttering is not a big problem."
The young man was stunned when he heard this, and a trace of emotion after receiving respect and encouragement flashed in his eyes.
After taking a deep breath and trying to calm down, he said: "I...I'm...Ma Jun, I've seen the...hussars...general!"
Lu Yan nodded and continued to ask: "Ma Jun, right? Can you let me see your drawings?"
"Of course! It's a great honor!" Ma Jun immediately handed the drawings in his arms to Lu Yan.
After Lu Yan took the drawing, he was suddenly stunned, and then asked with some surprise: "You said your name is Ma Jun??"
Ma Jun didn't understand what Lu Yan's reaction meant, but he still replied respectfully: "Yes."
"Do you have a cousin?" Lu Yan wanted to confirm whether the Ma Jun in front of him was the one he imagined.
"There's... there's a word! Below... it's called... it's called De Heng."
Ma Jun, Ma Deheng, it’s really you!
During the Three Kingdoms period, he was a great inventor not inferior to Zhuge Liang!