Huo Guang's sudden question made Zhang Lu stunned in place, he followed his father to learn papermaking since he was a child, and he studied it for decades.

When he was a child, he thought it was funny, and at that time the family was also well-off, and many people who came and went had to boast about how good the paper his father made, but later he realized that it was all for his father's family business, and after the family fell into the middle of the road, there were fewer people who came and went, and those smiling and boastful faces became unrestrained ridicule.

What's the use of papermaking, it's useless at all.

Don't let go of the huge family business, the son of a ruined family.

He was puzzled, but his father didn't seem to be affected by any words, and still believed that one day he would be able to make perfect paper.

Beside the pot where the bark was steamed, by the mountain where the bark was dried, and by the creek where the bark was washed, he imagined and dreamed of the scene in his dreams with Zhang Lu countless times.

"Literati and scholars took the paper he made, wrote down famous sentences through the ages, described mountains and rivers, recorded major events in the world, and more people could learn words and see booklets composed of words."

As he grew up, more and more felt that his father's words were like clouds of smoke, a mirage that could not be reached.

After marrying his wife, he thought that it would be better to open a shop and do something by himself, than to keep making paper without any income, but he didn't expect to be scolded by his father, which stopped him from other ideas and ordered him to continue making paper.

The Han Dynasty emphasized filial piety, so he still obeyed his father's words, and in so many years of papermaking, he was indeed addicted to the tedious process of papermaking, and each procedure required a long wait, which made his character tepid, not impatient, and quite elegant.

The boy who suddenly appeared today said that he wanted to buy all the paper and materials, and asked him, "Do you still want to make paper?" ”

Silence was his answer, he couldn't answer, he lowered his head and walked to the front of the papers and said, "These papers, leave some for me, and if the other Huo Gongzi likes it, take them all, I'll discount it cheaper." ”

Huo Guang's first image of this Zhang Lu is very good, and before he came to Zhang Lu's shop, he chatted very happily when he saw the old shopkeeper, and the old shopkeeper was very happy to meet a young man who felt that paper was promising, although this young man did not look like a rich man dressed ordinarily, but the two chatted for a long time, and boasted that although he did not make good paper, his son who was more skilled than himself would definitely find it.

Huo Guang patted the paper and said: "Shopkeeper Zhang, I see that you have a lot of paper-making tools at home, I don't know if you can bother the shopkeeper to help me, I also want to try paper-making." ”

"Huh?" Zhang Lu didn't react.

Huo Guang said to Qiu Xiang again: "Qiu Xiang, go to the market and help me pull a small half car of star fruit vines back." ”

"Childe, what is this going to do?"

"Don't ask so much, I'll let you do things in the future, you just do it."

"Qiu Xiang understood."

Qiu Xiang timidly went out, Huo Guang trusted her so much, gave her money to go to the street to buy by herself, looking at the money in her hand, she couldn't help but be stunned, Huo Guang gave too much, it didn't take so much money to buy some vines, she instantly understood that this was also Huo Guang testing her.

Doesn't she want to run? If she runs away, she will be free, but such freedom, how many days can she last as a weak woman? She is a smart girl, and she understands that the consequences of her running away are most likely to be ruined by bandits, so it is better to be an honest maid, and the slave body is a slave body, at least she is much more comfortable than the average free person.

Zhang Lu, who reacted, said: "Huo Gongzi, you really want to make paper." ”

"Naturally, let's take a hand."

Zhang Lu waved his hand awkwardly: "No...... No. ”

Huo Guang smiled slightly and paid directly, and now all the materials in the yard belonged to him, and he walked in front of the straw and green sandalwood bark, the expensive ones were extremely expensive, the cheap ones were extremely cheap, but these two things were mixed together to achieve the best effect.

Huo Guang originally thought that it would take too much effort to dry the bark for a year and a half, but he didn't expect that there was pure white bark that had been dried for more than three years, and the bleaching process of nature was there.

Is it okay not to dry?

Okay, it's that the color of the paper is difficult to be white, there is no bleach, it is not good enough, and it can't be sold at a good price, but it is good enough for this era without paper.

Now Huo Guang wants to show Zhang Lu a hand, and he has to show him what good paper is.

Huo Guang put the dried white straw (sloppy) under the stone mortar and began to mash it, but because of the working method of the stone mortar, Huo Guang couldn't do it alone, so he 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?" It's not a long memory, is it? ”

"Huo Gongzi bought everything, and the money ......"

Before Zhang Lu could speak, his wife took all the money and said to Huo Guang with a smile on her face: "This Huo Gongzi, you can use these things if you want, and you can take them away." ”

took the money and went out with a smile, Zhang Lu shook his head with a wry smile helplessly.

After she left, Huo Guang continued his mashing process, Zhang Lu watched Huo Guang play two roles on the side, stepped on it for a while, and then had to run over to turn over the straw, his skills were also very rusty, and his heart was very itchy.

In the end, he still couldn't help but say: "Huo Gongzi, I'll help you sell all the things to you, just as I give you a paper-making experience." ”

said so, but looking at Huo Guang's unfamiliar and crude skills, he felt very uncomfortable, most of these craftsmen have such a common problem, carpentry and blacksmiths are like this, seeing a person who doesn't know anything, using his own professional tools to fake the appearance, I feel uncomfortable.

"Step, loose." After a while, Zhang Lu, who was involved in the papermaking process, naturally began to command Huo Guang.

Huo Guang smiled with satisfaction.

After the stone mortar was hammered again and again, the green sandalwood bark and straw were broken, looking like cotton wool, this process Zhang Lu was very familiar with, and they used to make paper in this way.

"Huo Gongzi, then put the broken straw or green sandalwood bark into the water to fully dissolve, and then use a thin bamboo board to dry, you can make two kinds of paper, green sandalwood will be better."

Huo Guang shook his head: "No, this is your paper-making method, if I make it according to your paper-making method, what I make is not still that kind of useless paper, I have my own method, wait until my maid comes back." ”

Zhang Lu looked at Huo Guang suspiciously: "Huo Gongzi, my father told me some time ago that there was a young man who said that he could make paper that could be written and recorded, is it Huo Gongzi?" ”

"Well, it's a pity, it's too late."