deal with me…Yang Lin pondered for a moment again, furrowed his brows and muttered to himself, "According to what I just heard, the tax collectors this time were quite unreasonable, as if they were d...Although she didn't serve as emperor for many days, when she was a princess, she often helped her father with government affairs and naturally understood the importance of paper!

Scholars need paper, businessmen need paper, compiling books needs paper, and educating the masses also needs paper!

But in the past, paper was not only expensive but also too thick and rough. It was easy to break and fragile, making it difficult to preserve records for long periods. As a result, many important pieces of information have been lost throughout history, making transmission a difficult task.

And the paper before my eyes, when touched, one can feel its thinness. Its surface is smooth, and when rubbed, it feels as soft as silk. After being deformed, it quickly recovers, leaving only some creases but not breaking or affecting its use.

"How much does this paper cost"

Concerning confidential matters, Li Yunyao pulled Yang Lin aside and hurriedly asked.

Paper is good, but if it's too expensive, the people can't afford it, so it doesn't really matter.

Just like in the imperial court, besides paper, they also used parchment, silk, and fabric. The problem is that these materials are too expensive.

Du Jing replied, "Last night, Lin Di and I carefully calculated again, the cost is about twenty wen."

Li Yuyao frowned slightly: "Twenty wen for a sheet of paper That's too expensive!"

She sighed inwardly.

It still doesn't work.

Nowadays, ordinary paper, three feet long and two feet wide, sells for only one penny a sheet!

And this, many people are still unable to afford.

Twenty pieces of paper for one sheet Even if it's well-made, how many people can afford it

Li Yuxiang's heart sank a little.

But Du Jing explained, “Sister-in-law misunderstood. I'm talking about the cost of making these papers, not the price per sheet.”

What

Li Yuxiang was surprised again.

What about these

She stared incredulously at the thick stack before her, swallowing hard. She glared at Du Jing fiercely and said coldly, "Don't joke about this kind of thing!"

How many of these are there in front

There are at least two or three hundred!

Only twenty cents

She doesn't believe it!

"How can you joke I've calculated carefully, these total five hundred sheets, the cost is just twenty wen."

Du Jing said seriously.

Yang Lin taught this new papermaking method, using only plants as materials. Although raw materials were abundant everywhere, he still paid the lumberjack team market price for them.

Otherwise, even twenty words wouldn't be enough.

Li Yuyao was completely shocked.

Five hundred sheets of paper

Only twenty wen

That means, one cent can make twenty-five pieces of paper!

If it were sold at a rate of one penny per sheet, that would still be twenty-five times the profit!

This number stunned Li Yuxiang once again.

However, Du Jing's words were not yet finished.

"Besides, this is just the cost during the design phase. Last night, Lin and I did a detailed calculation, and once mass production begins, the cost can be further reduced."

"If we used the tofu factory's assembly line model, the cost could be reduced by another 10%." "Also, Lin Di said there was a water mill that, if built, could grind pulp using his mill. If that were the case, the cost could even be cut in half!"

Once he finished speaking, not only Li Yuyao but also all the other women were completely astonished.

They may not understand the value of paper, but they know all too well what these tens of times the profit represent.

At this moment, everyone stared at each other in disbelief, not knowing what to say.

"Ahem."

Yang Lin, who had been smiling without saying a word, coughed lightly and said, "Jing Ge, for the next few days, you can lead the design workshop people to teach everyone the papermaking process. We'll use a流水線 mode, and each person only needs to learn one part of the process."

"In a few days, when they've all learned to make paper, come find me again. We can make something interesting together."

All the materials needed to make gunpowder were already prepared.

But that thing is still somewhat dangerous to make, so he won't conduct the experiment until he's fully prepared.

No problem!

Du Jing readily agreed.

Yang Lin continued, "Making tofu is not only tiring, but the profit margin isn't high either. In the future, I don't plan to expand the scale of the tofu workshop anymore."

"And our paper mill will be, for a very long time, our most important industry! So once this group of people are skilled enough, immediately expand the paper mill and make the paper industry the calling card of our village!"

"In the future, even when people around the world think of paper, they will remember Zaishan Village!"

Yang Lin knows very well that the leading edge in technology brings about absolute monopoly in the industry!

He doesn't need to engage in any price wars or promotional sales.

As long as he sells at the same price as others, he will always have that much paper here and can sell as much as there is!

Therefore, the paper industry will absolutely not be limited to this workshop of only thirty people. He wants to develop the paper industry into a giant!

That afternoon, finally someone volunteered to be the shopkeeper for Yang Lin's store.

But the arrival of this person surprised Yang Lin very much.

The visitor turned out to be Liu Xi, the steward of Master Liu's household.

“Young Master Yang, it was Madam who sent me. Madam said she thanks you for saving Miss Qiao Yun. Madam knows you’re looking for a shopkeeper, and also knows that it's difficult to find a suitable one in this village, so Madam sent me here.”

"Young Master Yang, please rest assured. When I left the Liu family, Madam had already returned my contract to me. Now I am a free man and have no relationship with the Liu family anymore. If Young Master Yang is still not at ease, I can give you this contract as well."

Liu Xi respectfully handed over a piece of paper.

Yang Lin took it, and sure enough, it was Liu Xi's deed of sale!

Liu Xi was in his forties, with a goatee. He not only knew how to read and count but also used to manage the Liu family's business.

So he's capable.

Although Liu Jia's people had arrived, Yang Lin was still somewhat hesitant.

But Liu Xi had already taken out the deed of sale, so Yang Lin readily agreed.

Firstly, the Liu family business crumbled. That's the current situation, and there's no conspiracy involved. Besides, he was just a shopkeeper, not involved in any secrets. At most, he absconded with some funds, how much silver could that possibly lose

Secondly, he's really irreplaceable right now!

Opening a shop is inevitable, but in this whole mountain village, there's no one with the right talent. If there was, they would have come to him already.

"Alright, I'll be honest. Right now, I don't believe you. Since you're willing to exchange a bond for my trust, then I won't be polite. I'll keep this bond for now."

"A long journey reveals a horse's strength, and time reveals a person's character. Let us speak with time! After we become familiar with each other, I will return your deed to you."

Yang Lin plans to try it for a while first and see if Liu Xi is reliable.

During this time, he has also been looking for some talents.

Yes, young master!

Liu Xixin was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed with her fists clasped.Only one thousand"One sheet costs just one penny, and a thousand sheets wouldn't even cost two ounces of silver. Besides, at his rate of spending paper, it probably wouldn't even last him a year."Liu...