"Come and see how things are going, and by the way, it's time to get down to business."

Wang Xiaolai said.

Shu Jiuchai: "??? ”

Wang Xiaolai walked to a water tank, stirred the broken fishing nets and bark soaked in lime water with a wooden pestle, and said with a smile: "After all, I am the only one who knows how to make paper, you say yes." ”

Shu Jiuchai suddenly realized.

"Little Laizi."

There was a shout in the carriage, and the empress lifted the curtain and poked her head out.

Shu Jiuchai saw the empress and hurriedly knelt down: "I've seen Your Majesty." ”

Supported by Narcissus, the empress got out of the carriage, smiled and asked Shu Jiuchai to stand up, and said, "Get up, you're welcome." ”

After the latter got up, the empress walked over to Wang Xiaolai, went to the water tank, glanced at the contents of the water tank, and was happy: "Xiao Laizi, your paper-making process is the same as the paper-making technology on the market, that is, lime water is used." ”

Wang Xiaolai let go of the wooden pestle and looked back at the empress: "Your Majesty, that's not what I said, my paper-making method is not only lime water, but also other small skills." ”

The empress was stunned: "What? ”

Wang Xiao looked left and right, and asked Shu Jiuchai: "Jiuchai, where is the rag you bought?" ”

"Wait a minute."

After the words fell, Shu Jiuchai went directly to a carriage next to him, and when he arrived at the place, he used a short knife to cut the rope, and there were tattered clothes and bed sheets one by one.

He took out one and handed it to Wang Xiaolai, who took it and said with a smile to the empress: "Your Majesty, this is why the important materials I need to make paper, and why my paper is better than the ones circulating on the market." ”

The empress frowned: "No, Xiao Laizi, if you use cloth to make paper, in terms of raw materials, it is more expensive than those papers made on the market, how can you make money?" ”

Wang Xiaolai came to the spirit: "Your Majesty, you won't move, I have learned about the cost of papermaking on the market, although the cost of each piece of paper is twice as much as my paper, but Your Majesty, do you know why the paper on the market is so expensive?" ”

The empress shook her head, as the king of a country, how could she know everything.

Wang Xiaolai said: "That is the success rate." ”

"Success rate?"

Wang Xiaolai nodded: "That's right, my paper, in a hundred, will fail one or two if it dies, but the paper made on the market, at most one or two out of a hundred, although my cost is expensive, but if you add the success rate, this time and again, it will not be me." ”

The empress covered her mouth and smiled: "But how much can you earn from the labor and cost of this piece of paper?" ”

Wang Xiaolai stretched out two fingers: "Excluding the wages for workers and the cost of raw materials, what comes to me is two copper plates." ”

"Xiao Laizi, it's not me who hits you, a piece of paper is just two copper plates, when will you be able to make money?" Although the empress said that it was not a blow, but in her tone, she couldn't help revealing a kind of disappointment, she thought in her heart, it seems that even if it is Wang Xiaolai, it is impossible to make the right decision every time.

Looking at the empress's expression, Wang Xiaolai put down the wooden pestle: "Your Majesty, have you heard a word?" ”

The empress was puzzled: "What? ”

"Small profits, quick turnover."

"Small profits, quick turnover?"

"Yes, although I can only earn two pennies per piece of paper, but what about a thousand? That's twenty taels of silver, and ten thousand? That's two hundred taels, different from the papermaking process on the market, their batch of paper, maybe three or four thousand sheets a month, that's why the paper will be so expensive, but Your Majesty, I'm different, as long as my paper mill starts working, every month, at least 100,000 pieces of paper will be provided, and this is still the beginning stage. ”

The empress narrowed her eyes: "Even if you are right, and I count you to sell 100,000 pieces of paper every month, but 100,000 pieces of paper, at most, is a net 20,000 taels of silver into your own pocket, in this case, I still think it is too little?" ”

Wang Xiaolai shook his head: "Your Majesty, I think you have forgotten what I told you at the beginning, I make paper, not in the hope of making money from it, after all, paper can be used, except for students and officials, ordinary people can't use it, but how much money can students have?" If you want to make money from them, it's like shaving a monk's head with a razor. ”

"So what do you do as a paper mill?" The Empress asked.

Wang Xiaolai said: "Simple, my traitors are not students and officials, but ordinary people. ”

"Ordinary people? You mean paper paper? The empress finally remembered the question Wang Xiaolai had raised with herself, and said.

Wang Xiaolai nodded: "Yes, as long as it is a person, you always have to eat, drink and Lazar, the appearance of hand paper, just cater to the market, I have understood, ordinary people's homes, are still using toilet chips, even officials, all use cloth, there is no paper at all, of course, except that the royal family can afford inferior straw paper." But Your Majesty, why do you say this, it is because the paper that is now circulating in the market is far more expensive than cloth. ”

The empress nodded when she heard this, to be honest, although this question is a little indecent to say, it is indeed a big problem.

Wang Xiaolai spread his hands: "However, the paper I made is cheaper to buy, and the quality is no worse than the straw paper used by the royal family, even ordinary people can afford it." ”

Although Wang Xiaolai had already explained to her once, the empress was still fascinated.

"Tell me more about it." Empress Dao.

Wang Xiaolai nodded: "A pile of toilet paper, about enough for an ordinary family to use for about half a month, a month, that is two piles, each pile of paper paper, my preliminary price is two pennies, I can earn, almost half, a family, I can get two pennies a month, and after the paper paper, it can completely replace toilet chips to become the necessities of life." Let me ask Your Majesty, how many households are there in Suiyang? ”

Without hesitation, the empress replied, "Forty-eight million households." ”

Wang Xiaolai smiled: "That is to say, if my market is opened, then every month, I can bring me 96 million copper plates, converted into silver, that is also 960,000 silver, sloppy calculation, it should be 900,000, may I ask Your Majesty, 900,000 silver a month, do you still think it is less?" Of these, there are 450,000 of them, all of which belong to you. ”

The empress couldn't help but gasp when she heard this, Sui Yang's annual tax was only 20 million taels of silver, but Wang Xiaolai's plan, a year's net income, there was more than 10 million silver, which could catch up with Sui Yang's general annual tax.

"And Your Majesty, the use of paper is not just that."

The empress looked up at Wang Xiaolai in astonishment.

"Now when merchants buy and sell goods, and butcher shops buy and sell cooked meat, what kind of packages do they use? That's right, it's all lotus leaves, but when the lotus leaves are folded, they are easy to break, and the grass will go deep into the meat, what if they wrap it in paper? Wang Xiaolai said.

The empress's eyes lit up: "This is a good way to gather wealth." ”

Wang Xiaolai shrugged: "Actually, Your Majesty, after we become bigger, we can also make money by exporting tariffs, just like the current merchants export goods to neighboring countries, Silla, Xirong, grasslands, and large and small vassal countries, which can all be seen wealth." ”

Wang Xiaolai's words gave the empress a feeling of seeing the golden mountain, and her eyes were already filled with symbols representing money at this time.

"Your Majesty, now do you think that the paper I made can still make money?"

Wang Xiaolai asked with a smile.

The empress hurriedly shook her head, followed by patting Wang Xiaolai's shoulder, and smiled from ear to ear: "Little Laizi, I didn't expect you to be a master of accumulating money." ”

Wang Xiaolai said in his heart, I haven't told you the plan for cigarette rolls, after all, men, how many people are not good at smoking?

It's nothing if I haven't tried it, but once I try it, I can't do without it.

If it weren't for the fact that Suiyang tobacco was too expensive, Wang Xiaolai would have wanted to develop in this market.

But it's a pity that with the market price of tobacco, even if it is paired with cheap paper made by themselves, it is not something that ordinary people can afford, but just with those rich people, cigarette rolls, they can't make much money.

In the current situation, we can only put this plan on hold for the time being, and then implement it when we have a better idea in the future.

"So Your Majesty, I need your help." Wang Xiaolai said suddenly.

All the empress was thinking about money at this time, and as soon as Wang Xiaolai spoke, the empress immediately said: "Say, as long as I can do it, I will promise you." ”

Wang Xiaolai smiled cheekily and said, "You can borrow some money from me as start-up capital first." ”