Chapter 185: Visiting Xun Shuang and Inviting Zheng Hun
Rice paper from the Tang Dynasty finally appeared in the time and space of the Eastern Han Dynasty across more than five hundred years.
Compared with Caihou paper, rice paper is lighter, whiter, and more suitable for writing. The most important thing is that it can be stored longer and is cheaper to make.
For scholars, this is a sacred object.
As for Xie Xin, he values another by-product even more.
Now he was holding a stack of rough and gray paper, and he couldn't help but feel filled with emotion.
From now on, when you go to the toilet, you can finally get rid of hard things like toilet chips.
This cheap thing, papyrus, was researched as soon as the papermaking technology was improved and Xie Xin consciously or unconsciously reminded him.
For six years, I have been scratched over and over by something long and hard on my anus. It feels really unpleasant.
In fact, after he started cultivating, Xie Xin also had doubts.
Since there are spirit beasts, why would the immortals rather live without food than continue to eat? Is it just to have more time to practice? Or is it to allow the stomach and intestines to adapt to long-term practice without the pain of eating?!
He couldn't help but suspect that, in fact, upon further exploration, it turned out that the little chrysanthemums of those cultivators had been scratched by that thing for countless years, and finally they would rather live with it than use that thing anymore.
No matter what, once paper is produced, the books of Huaxia Academy will be completely updated.
For this reason, Xie Xin stopped classes for three days, completely ignoring the fact that child labor is illegal, and mobilized all teachers and students to copy books together.
After three days and nights of unremitting efforts by all teachers and students, all the books in the Sutra Pavilion of Huaxia Academy were updated. For this reason, the fourth day of class could not be held. Both students and teachers slept on that day.
It lasted almost a whole day.
New books are bound with long threads and put on the shelves again according to category. This kind of book can record a lot of words in one book. It does not take up space and is not too heavy. Students really like it.
In fact, when you think about it, every time they look at the mountains of books in the Sutra Pavilion, students will naturally sigh with emotion: These are the fruits of our hard work for many days!
With this strong sense of accomplishment, the previous three days of book copying became insignificant.
The books in the Sutra Pavilion have been updated, and Xie Xin is busy building a papermaking workshop again.
The students of the engineering club are at most qualified inventors, but they are definitely not excellent managers. Even if they have learned basic economic concepts, they still lack some experience in business.
As a result, the proprietor of the workshop was finally left to Gongsun Kai, the head of the inner hall, to arrange manpower for management. The students of the Engineering Society who had obtained the shares selected three trustworthy people to be responsible for the three tasks of accounting, cashiering and supervision.
One month later, with the arrival of the winter vacation, the first batch of paper was successfully manufactured and shipped to various places for sale through Pan's caravan. Of course, this was just a reservation, because at this stage, Xie Xin still had two preparations that needed to be done.
The first thing is to prepare three large carts each of rice paper and straw paper and transport them to Luoyang as tribute to Liu Hong. Once Liu Hong lists these items as tribute, it will be easier to sell them.
The second thing is that Xie Xin is going to take out 10% of the shares, and then take out another 10% of the shares from a few students of the Engineering Society, and give the 20% of the shares to the Yingchuan Xun family.
No matter how large a papermaking workshop is, it is still a private workshop. Without a backstage, it is easy for people to miss it.
Xie Xin has a certain reputation, and no one from any group will really take action. However, the profits from papermaking are too great. If he doesn't spit out some of it, he is afraid that even his allies will gradually alienate him.
Interest is something that, if obtained reasonably, means making a fortune. If it is greedy, it will destroy the family and the entire clan.
The issue of scale must be grasped well!
During the rare winter vacation, Xie Xin also took advantage of his free time to take everyone who wanted to travel on horseback to Yingchuan.
The team was quickly determined. In addition to the standard three female dependents, the women also joined the Wei family and the Guo family. Of course, their two little kids also accompanied them.
As for the men, in addition to Xie Xin, they are the Dian brothers and the Pan brothers, as well as Wei Zheng who is accompanying the team as a bodyguard, and the Dian Hu Benjun who secretly protects everyone.
Xie Yi was stimulated by Nan Hua's words, so he took Lou Gui to practice day and night. Lou Gui was shot while lying down, but considering that as the leader of the sect, his cultivation level was higher than that of Yan Xiong and others
If it's not bad, then I can start practicing with peace of mind.
Yan Xiong and others who are on the roster do not intend to waste their time with Lang except for teaching, so naturally they will not go together. As for Xiangxiang and other monsters, the cultivation sect that wants to hunt them down is still there, so naturally they will not go together.
Don't dare to run around.
Li Yan, Yan Liang and Wen Chou followed the mainstream and returned to their hometowns during the winter vacation.
Li Feng finally returned to Nanyang County and became a tutor in Xiaoyi Academy. According to him, he would first teach in the academy while reviewing and summarizing. When he became more mature, the management issues of the academy were solved.
After he is relieved, he will go to work for Huang Zhong.
This time, according to the scale of previous trips, the men all rode horses. The women took carriages, but they could ride horses if necessary.
This time we are on a trip, not in a hurry, so there is no need to use magic or anything. It is also a good experience for everyone to stop and walk, enjoy the scenery along the way, and occasionally camp out for a night.
After traveling around the mountains and rivers like this, the group came to Yingchuan, which they had not been to for a long time.
To be precise, in the past five years, except for the New Year and holidays, when Xie Xin came to visit with magic, he rarely came here on weekdays, let alone the situation like this.
Arriving at Xun's house, the concierge recognized Xie Xin early in the morning and came forward to greet him with a smile.
After pulling the horse and carriage to the stable in the backyard, Xie Xin and his entourage came to the hall under the guidance of the servants.
Not long after, Xun Shuang came out with his younger brother Xun Nui and a middle-aged man.
The man looked to be about sixty years old, but considering the nutrition and maintenance issues of this era, it was conservatively estimated that the middle-aged man was about fifty-five years old, or even in his forties.
"Haha, when my nephew comes to the house, the humble house will suddenly become more beautiful!" Xun Shuang greeted him cordially.
"My nephew interrupted me rashly. I hope my uncle won't blame me." Xie Xin replied with a smile.
After some polite exchanges, Xun Shuang and Xie Xin introduced the new characters around them.
As for Guo Jia and Wei Yan, according to Xun Shuang, one is a mastermind that is rare in thousands of years; the other is still young and domineering, and is probably a rare and powerful general!
He spoke highly of the two of them and asked Xie Xin if they could be sent to Yingchuan Academy to study for a period of time after they reached their teens?!
Xie Xin knew that this was not poaching himself, but that Xun Shuang always wanted talents to receive a more comprehensive education so that they could go further in life. So after receiving Xun Shuang's invitation,
He also smiled and said that he would consider it when the time comes.
The reason why I say they are considering it is because when they were teenagers, it was about the time when the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out. By then, the war would be chaotic. Who knows if we could send them to study?
Besides, no one knows whether Huaxia Academy will be promoted to Huaxia Academy by then. If the promotion is successful, Huaxia Academy will naturally be able to train them more comprehensively.
Of course, Xun Shuang didn't know this, and just thought it was because Xie Xin was reluctant to let the two students leave. So although he had no intention of further admonition, there was a hint of complaint on his expression.
Some time later, Xie Xin finally learned the middle-aged man's name.
Zheng Xuan, courtesy name Kangcheng.
Born in 127 AD, he is now 49 years old.
Master of Confucian classics in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Da Nongsi. He once entered Taixue to study "Jingshi Yi", "Gongyang Chunqiu", "Santong Calendar" and "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic". He also studied "Guwen Shangshu" and "Zhou Rites" from Zhang Gongzu.
and "Zuo Zhuan", etc., and finally learned ancient Chinese classics from Ma Rong.
In terms of seniority, he is Lu Zhi's senior brother and Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan's senior uncle.
It was precisely because of his appearance that the Confucian classics of the Eastern Han Dynasty entered the "Little Unification Era".
To describe it in two words, it is ‘an awesome person’!
"I entered Xie Zishou as a junior and met Duke Kang Cheng!" Xie Xin naturally bowed very politely.
So after another round of formality and disgusting politeness, the meeting ceremony was completed.
"Is your nephew not just coming to visit us?" Xun Shuang asked with a smile after the two parties sat down.
"Oh? How can uncle see this?!" Xie Xin smiled.
"If it's an ordinary visit, are the three large boxes that my nephew sent me too heavy?" Xun Shuang answered with a smile while stroking his beard.
What is contained in the three large boxes is actually just a large amount of paper, and the weight is naturally not that heavy. The "heavy" in Xun Shuang's mouth here obviously does not mean weight.
"Actually, it's nothing. Bi Xuetang carried out academic reform earlier, so there were many more interest clubs. Just a month ago, they improved the papermaking process.
The paper produced is much better than the previous Caihou paper, and it is also more suitable for writing. The nephew feels that as a junior, how can he have such good things to himself? So, don't you bring some to your uncle?!
"Xie Xin waved his hands and pretended to be innocent.
"Oh? It's actually better than Cai Houzhi?! So, I'm interested in taking a look!" After saying that, Xun Shuang immediately gave the order.
Not long after, a servant came out holding a stack of cut papers.
Looking at the white paper, Xun Shuang couldn't bear it anymore and immediately ordered the pen and ink to serve.
They wrote a few words on the white paper, and looking at the shining black official script on it, the three of them were filled with emotion.
"This paper is simply a gift to our generation of scholars! I just don't know how much this paper cost?!" Xun Nui was more concerned about this key issue.
"After improvement, the cost is less than one-fifth of Caihou paper." Xie Xin replied with a smile.
"Okay, okay, okay!" Xun Shuang and the other three cheered in unison.
The cost is lower than Caihou paper, and the quality is much higher. For those poor scholars, it is great news!
"My dear nephew, you are simply a great benefactor to the scholars of the Han Dynasty!" Xun Shuang said excitedly, holding the hand of the letter of thanks.
"My nephew didn't do much. It was just those students from the Engineering Society who spent more than half a year on research to achieve such results. As for my nephew, the most he can do is provide research funds." Thank you letter.
Sorry to answer.
"Speaking of which, my nephew also talked about the reform of the academic system, but I don't know what the specific ones are?!" Xun Nui also became interested.
"Before that, please arrange for your nephew's family to take a rest in the guest room?" Xun Shuang asked soberly.
"That's great!" Xie Xin nodded.
If you want to chat with them slowly, you don't know how long it will take, leaving these guys here to accompany you is not an option.
With Xie Xin's consent, Xun Shuang arranged for his servants to lead his companions down to rest.
Xie Xin stayed and had a good discussion with Xun Shuang and others.
"This arrangement is quite novel. Now that we have bid farewell to the Enlightenment, students have also begun to have their own thoughts. Merely memorizing by rote is of no benefit." Xun Shuang nodded.
"Before students have the ability to study alone, they can deepen the knowledge they have learned through self-exploration and joint discussion. This is also rare." Zheng Xuan also appreciated this.
"Speaking of which..." Xie Xin suddenly remembered something, "If Mr. Kang Cheng is free, can he come to the lower school to open a forum and give lectures to the students?"
Since the forum was established at that time, no other scholars have ever come to give lectures. At most, Xie Xin occasionally opened a small forum to explain some miscellaneous knowledge to everyone.
"Haha, I originally planned to go to Donglai. It was not an urgent matter originally. Now that my nephew has invited me, there is nothing wrong with going to Nanyang!" Zheng Xuan thought about it and agreed.
So the three of them exchanged polite greetings, and when it was time to eat, everyone gathered around and had a light meal.
The banquet dispersed, and only Xun Shuang and Xie Xin remained.
Some issues involving copper odor are better discussed privately.
Xun Shuang was not a fool. He naturally knew that when Xie Xin took out the paper, he was afraid that it was not just to honor him.