The backyard of Wenyuan Bookstore is silent.
No one expected that after waiting in readiness for a day, instead of receiving Mid-Autumn Festival poems, they only received an obscure and tedious article teaching how to do movable type printing and improve papermaking.
Cui Qinghe looked at Xu Bin: "Brother Xu, how much silver for one sheet of bamboo paper?"
Xu Bin replied: "One hundred and twenty cents can buy one hundred sheets."
Cui Qinghe asked again: "If what this morning paper says is true, how much silver can be saved by using this thod to print a book?"
Xu Bin frowned and thought: "If it is indeed as he claims, rely the silver saved from firewood and coal can reduce by twenty percent. Adding the manpower saved, it might reduce to sixty percent of the original cost."
Everyone looked at each other in disbelief, could just one article on this page reduce the price of books across the world by forty percent?
Xu Bin continued: "What you all might not know is that the cost in the papermaking industry is not just bamboo and hemp, manpower, and firewood, but also a lot of silver that doesn't get circulated. With this unique skill, the capital initially tied up for one hundred days can now be shortened to thirty days... But you gentlen are scholars, perhaps you don't understand the intricacies within."
Cui Qinghe instinctively said: "Such a unique skill, yet the Marquis of Wuxiang County just uses the convenience of the newspaper to make it public? Brother Xu, we don't understand much about the bookstore business, but if you had this unique skill, how much silver could you earn annually?"
Xu Bin sighed: "I wouldn't dare to say much, but there would be over a hundred thousand taels... Why did he make it public to all?"
Qi Zhaoning sat dumbfounded at the table.
She knew that in this world, most people are stingy with their treasures. Even a chef who makes signature dishes secretly mixes spices in the middle of the night so that the apprentice cannot figure out the ingredients. Not until near death will they teach their apprentice.
This world has "masters" who take their secrets to the grave, and "apprentices" who turn ungrateful once they learn the skills.
Like Xu Bin and his kind, upon seeing this article in the morning paper, only think: why isn't this unique skill theirs?
At this mont, Qi Zhaoning read again the end of the article with the sentence "May the humble have books on their desks and light by their windows," silently speechless.
Actually, she knows in her heart, no matter how others slander Chen Ji, Chen Ji is still Chen Ji, Li Changge is still Li Changge.
She opposes Chen Ji, just because she resents that Li Changge is not hers, that's all.
If Chen Ji was really a pile of worthless mud, why would she yearn for him?
But the more this is so, the more she hates.
Yang Zhong saw the tense atmosphere and jokingly pointed to the last sentence of the morning paper: "The Marquis of Wuxiang County indeed speaks grandiosely, thinking that talking aimlessly a few tis can make books appear on the desks of all the humble? He ought to properly study the classics as a man, but instead, he delves into these side tracks, wandering off."
Yuan Wang smiled and said: "Indeed, we should take this as a warning, not to be like the Marquis of Wuxiang County indulging in these side tracks. Learning is the most important. Making a skill public is selfless, but it only benefits a few, while studying, self-cultivation, family governance, and national peace can benefit all living beings, as different as clouds and mud."
However, at this mont, a young man in the corner who had just spoken suddenly said: "Things investigated, knowledge achieved."
Yang Zhong turned to look: "Brother, what do you an?"
Everyone looked towards the corner, the young man gently said: "The 'Ritual' says, knowledge is achieved by investigating things, once things are investigated, knowledge becos complete. Once knowledge is complete, intention becos sincere; when intention is sincere, the heart becos rectified; when the heart is rectified, the body becos cultivated; when the body is cultivated, the family becos well-ordered; when the family is well-ordered, the country is well-governed; when the country is well-governed, there is peace in the world. Investigating things and achieving knowledge is the premise of 'self-cultivation, family governance, national peace'."
The young man took a deep breath: "I also despise the matter of the Marquis of Wuxiang County resorting to private coercion, but the morning paper investigating things and achieving knowledge benefits the humble, is not wandering off the path, but the right way."
Cui Qinghe looked at Yang Zhong: "Brother Yang, this gentleman was brought by you, what's his na?"
Yang Zhong squinted slightly, with a fake smile: "This is Huang Yunbo, a fellow townsman from Hongnong, who has been studying in the capital for years without finding a place to settle. As fellow townsn, I couldn't just watch him drift on the streets, so I let him stay in my house. Yesterday he drank so wine and spoke carelessly, please forgive him. Brother, quickly apologize to everyone."
Huang Yunbo was silent for a mont, then stood up and cupped his hands: "Thank you Brother Yang for helping in the past, I will move out today."
After saying this, he walked past the table and left without looking back, the backyard of Wenyuan Bookstore quieted down again.
After a long ti, Cui Qinghe glanced at Qi Zhaoning, then turned to everyone present and said: "No matter how you say it, now the evening paper of Wenyuan Bookstore has steadily suppressed the montum of ihua Ferry Crossing, thanks to you all. The Marquis of Wuxiang County is good at tricks in the marketplace, if we compare with him in these, the books of saints would be read in vain."
Yuan Wang smiled and said: "The Marquis of Wuxiang County's ability to invent such a unique skill is indeed remarkable, but now the entire capital knows that the two newspapers are competing, everyone is waiting to see what poems they can co up with before Mid-Autumn Festival, today they managed to get by, what about tomorrow? He can't possibly offer a new skill every day to everyone in the world, let's see tomorrow."
...
...
On the seventh of August.
At dawn, Qi Zhaoning took a carriage to the Glass Factory, Cui Qinghe and others were already waiting there early.
Everyone entered the backyard without speaking, each sat at the table drinking tea, waiting for the Capital Morning News.
After a while, the servant outside rushed in, holding more than a dozen bundles of Capital Morning News to distribute to everyone.
Cui Qinghe imdiately turned to the third page, wanting to see what kind of poem Chen Ji would present today to compete on the Mid-Autumn platform. But as soon as he turned to it, he was stunned: "This..."
Yuan Wang asked in confusion: "What is this?"
Soone inadvertently read aloud: "After crushing coal, mix seven parts coal dust, three parts yellow mud, add water and mix, then fill it into molds to make honeycomb coal and dry it, which can slow down coal combustion, increase effectiveness by forty percent... They even published pictures of honeycomb coal in the newspaper."
Cui Qinghe asked strangely: "What use does this have?"
Xu Bin explained: "This is the thing common folk use for warmth in winter, but it is toxic and smoky. When using it, one must build an earthen stove or ventilate, or there is danger to life."
Cui Qinghe was even more puzzled: "Why not use charcoal?"
Xu Bin sighed: "You gentlen use the finest charcoal, naturally don't need this coal stone. But the silver silk charcoal at your hos is worth a heap of coal stone as high as a mound of earth. Now coal stone is the most critical heating thod for common folk in the capital, Shan State, Shan Province, Lu State, Ji State, etc., last year a Ministry of Revenue Official even petitioned the court to strictly control coal stone, saying 'Today in the capital, poor people not only work to eat but sell their clothes in winter to buy coal stone,' in winter people sell clothes to buy coal stone for heating."
Cui Qinghe showed a different expression: "Why is it so extre?"
The clerk at Wenyuan Bookstore cautiously said: "Young Master Cui, when winter cos in the capital, water freezes to ice, every day several people freeze to death on the streets, only the Five Cities Military Departnt clears them away before dawn, so you don't see them..."
Cui Qinghe looked down the article, this third page today pairs text and image, not only writing about honeycomb coal but also detailing how to make honeycomb coal burn longer, a piece of honeycomb coal, if only a small air hole is left, can burn for six hours.
If used for boiling water and cooking, only three pieces are needed per day; if used for heating, only six pieces are needed per day.
Today Chen Ji used a thousand words with pictures just to talk about honeycomb coal, and at the end of the page wrote: "May all people have fire in their stoves, and no frozen bones on the street."
Yesterday it was the humble, today it is the common people, pressing everyone so they cannot breathe.
Yang Zhong suddenly said: "One shouldn't just listen to his one-sided words, he says it extends by forty percent, is it truly extended by forty percent? What if it's deceptive, and how can coal mixed with yellow mud possibly burn? If yellow mud could burn, wouldn't the earth itself be used for heating."
Cui Qinghe sighed: "Try it."
Xu Bin waved to the clerk: "Go get so coal and yellow mud, we'll see by testing it."
When the clerk returned with the materials, a group of scholars watched as the clerk mixed the coal and yellow mud, then reluctantly pressed it into a honeycomb shape. Though it was mid-August sumr, the honeycomb coal dried quickly.
They burned both coal stone and honeycomb coal in two furnaces, until the coal stone burned out, while the honeycomb coal still emitted heat.
After a while, the honeycomb coal finally burned out.
Yang Zhong still felt dissatisfied: "Yesterday it was papermaking, today it's coal burning, can he still offer sothing new tomorrow?"
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