Huo Guang's sudden question made Zhang Lu stunned. He had learned papermaking from his father since he was a child, and he had been learning paper for decades.
He found it funny when he was a child, and his family was well off at that time. Many people he met would make false boasts about how good the paper his father made was, but later he realized that it was all because of his father's family business, and his family's wealth was high.
After falling behind, there were fewer people coming and going, and those faces with smiles and boastful faces turned into unrestrained ridicule.
What's the use of making paper? It's useless at all.
If you don't give up your huge family fortune, you will be a waste of money.
He didn't understand either, but his father didn't seem to be affected by any words and still firmly believed that one day he would be able to create perfect paper.
Beside the pot where bark was boiled, beside the mountain where bark was dried, and by the river where bark was washed, he imagined the scenes in his dreams with Zhang Luchang countless times.
"Literati and scholars took the paper he made and wrote famous sentences through the ages, described mountains and peaks, and recorded major events in the world. More people can learn writing and see the books composed of words."
As he grew up, he felt more and more that his father's bold words were like clouds of smoke, a mirage that could not be reached.
After marrying his wife, he once thought that it would be better to open a shop and do anything, rather than just making paper with no income. However, he did not expect to be scolded by his father, which stopped him from other ideas and ordered him to continue making paper.
The Han Dynasty valued filial piety, so he still listened to his father's words, and after so many years of papermaking, he was indeed addicted to the tedious process of papermaking. Each procedure required a long wait, which made his character tepid.
Fire, neither impatient nor impetuous, has a rather elegant style.
The young man who suddenly appeared today said that he would buy all the paper and materials, and asked him: "Do you still want to make paper?"
Silence was his answer. He couldn't answer, so he lowered his head and walked to the papers and said, "Leave some of these papers to me. If Mr. Huo likes the rest, take them all away. I'll make it cheaper."
Huo Guang's first impression of Zhang Lu was very good, and when he came to Zhang Lu's shop before, he had a good chat with the old shopkeeper. The old shopkeeper was very happy to meet a young man who thought he had a bright future.
Although the young man was dressed in ordinary clothes and did not look like a rich man, the two chatted for a long time and boasted that although he had not made good paper, he would surely find a son who was more skilled than himself.
Huo Guang patted the paper and said, "Shopkeeper Zhang, I see you have a lot of paper-making tools at home. I wonder if you could help me, shopkeeper. I also want to try making paper."
"Ah?" Zhang Lu didn't react.
Huo Guang said to Qiuxiang again: "Qiuxiang, go to the market and help me pull half a cart of star fruit vines back."
"Sir, what are you doing?"
"Don't ask so many questions. From now on, if I ask you to do something, just do it."
"Qiuxiang understands."
Qiuxiang timidly went out. Huo Guang trusted her so much that he gave her money to go shopping alone. She couldn't help but be stunned when she looked at the money in her hand. Huo Guang gave her too much. She couldn't use so much money to buy some vines.
Money, she instantly understood that this was Huo Guang testing her.
Doesn't she want to run? If she runs away, she will be free, but how many days can a weak woman like her maintain such freedom? She is a smart girl and understands that the consequences of running away will most likely be ruined by bandits.
It's better to just be a maid and a slave. At least her life will be much more comfortable than that of an ordinary free person.
Zhang Lu reacted and said: "Master Huo, you really want to make paper."
"Of course, come and help me."
Zhang Lu waved his hands awkwardly: "No... no."
Huo Guang smiled and paid directly. Now all the materials in the yard belonged to him. He walked in front of the straw and green sandalwood bark. The expensive ones were extremely expensive, and the cheap ones were extremely cheap. But these two things were mixed together.
Works best together.
Huo Guang originally thought that drying the bark for a year and a half would be too labor-intensive, but he didn't expect that here there would be pure white bark that had been dried for more than three years, a natural bleaching process.
Is it okay not to dry it?
Okay, it’s just that the color of the paper is difficult to make white, and there is no bleach, so it doesn’t look good enough and can’t be sold at a good price, but it’s good enough for this era without paper.
Now that Huo Guang wanted to show Zhang Lu his skills, he had to show him what good paper was.
Huo Guang put the dried white straw (scrawled) under the stone mortar and started to pound it. However, because of the way the stone mortar worked, Huo Guang couldn't do it alone, so he just stepped on it casually.
Zhang Lu's wife came over when she saw it, pointed at Zhang Lu and scolded: "Why did you start making paper again? You don't have a long memory, do you?"
"Master Huo bought everything. The money..."
Before Zhang Lu could say anything, his wife took all the money and said to Huo Guang with a smile on her face: "Master Huo, you can use these things if you want, or take them all away."
He took the money and went out with a smile. Zhang Lu smiled helplessly and shook his head.
After she left, Huo Guang continued his mashing process. Zhang Lu watched from the side as Huo Guang played two roles. He stepped on his feet for a while and then ran over to turn over the straw. His skills were also very unfamiliar, and he felt very itchy.
.
In the end, he couldn't help but said: "Mr. Huo, I'm here to help you sell everything to you, just as I give you a paper-making experience."
He said this, but he felt very uncomfortable when he saw that Huo Guang's skills were rusty and crude. Most of these craftsmen have this common problem, including carpenters and blacksmiths. When they see a person who knows nothing, he uses his own professional tools to imitate.
The way he looked made me feel uncomfortable.
"Step on, loosen." Zhang Lu, who soon devoted himself to the papermaking process, naturally began to direct Huo Guang.
Huo Guang smiled with satisfaction.
After the stone mortar was hammered again and again, the green sandalwood bark and straw were crushed by the mortar, looking like cotton wool. Zhang Lu was very familiar with this process, as they used to make paper this way.
"Master Huo, put the straw or green sandalwood bark into water and fully dissolve it. Then use a thin bamboo board to dry it and you can make two kinds of paper. The green sandalwood one will be better."
Huo Guang shook his head: "No, this is your paper-making method. If I follow your paper-making method, the paper will still be useless. I have my own method. I will wait until my maid comes back."
Zhang Lu looked at Huo Guang in confusion: "Mr. Huo, my father told me some time ago that there was a young man who said he could make paper that can be used to write and record. Is this Mr. Huo?"