Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life

Chapter 41: Papermaking

"Xiao Ming, have you gone mad from all that reading?" Mrs. Chen put down her bowl, looking at him with concern. "Making paper is work for the big workshops in the city, it's the skilled craftsmen's livelihood. How could we farmers know how to do that?"

Su Shan still didn't speak, but the motion of smoking his pipe paused. He looked at Su Ming, his turbid eyes revealing a scrutinizing gaze.

Su Ming ignored the others' astonishment. His gaze was fixed directly on his father. He knew that in this household, only if his father nodded could things possibly proceed.

"Father, I'm not talking nonsense." Su Ming forced himself to calm down. "Last time I went to town, while browsing an old book in that bookshop, I found a damaged page tucked inside. On it... on it was recorded a simple method for making paper."

He had rehearsed this excuse countless times in his mind. No evidence, perfectly reasonable. A book-loving child discovering something strange and curious in an old book was nothing out of the ordinary.

"A recipe from an old book?" Su Yang finally caught his breath, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Really? What did it say?"

"It said to use tender bamboo from the back hill, pound it to a pulp, then soak it in water boiled from our cooking stove's wood ash. It needs to soak for many days, then be boiled again to make paper pulp, and only then can paper be made." Su Ming explained, half-truthfully, according to Lin Yu's simplified version, deliberately emphasizing the need for longer processing time.

"Nonsense!"

Su Shan finally spoke, his voice low and powerful. He knocked his pipe heavily against the table leg, making the bowls and chopsticks jump.

"Has all that reading addled your brain? You take a few scribbled, ghostly words seriously? If making paper were that easy, would paper in town still be so expensive? Wouldn't everyone in the world go to the back hill to cut bamboo and get rich? And it needs to soak for several days? Where would we find that kind of idle time!"His words were like a bucket of cold water, dousing the flame Su Ming had just ignited.

"Your proper business is to study your lessons diligently and prepare for the County School entrance exam! Don't spend all day thinking about these unrealistic, far-fetched things!" Su Shan's voice carried an unquestionable sternness.

Su Ming's heart sank. He had expected his father to oppose it, but not so decisively.

"Father!" Su Yang couldn't help but speak up for his younger brother. "Xiao Ming just wants to give it a try, why are you so angry? The bamboo on the back hill is free anyway, and the wood ash from the stove is readily available. Even if it doesn't work, we haven't lost anything, right? We can always squeeze out some time!"

"What do you know!" Su Shan glared at Su Yang. "Full of energy with nowhere to use it all day! With that time, it's better to hoe two more rows of weeds in the field or cut two more bundles of firewood on the mountain! Soaking for several days?"

The atmosphere in the courtyard instantly dropped to freezing point.

Su Ming clenched his fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms. He knew that if he gave up today, this opportunity might be lost forever.

He took a deep breath, raised his head, met his father's stern gaze, and said word by word, "Father, last time you bought me those few sheets of hemp paper, it cost a hundred wen, right?"

Su Shan was stunned, seemingly not expecting him to bring this up.

"That hundred wen, Second Brother chased a wild boar in the mountains for a day and a night before he could trade it for that money." Su Ming's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

expression also became

to use money my brothers risked their lives for to buy such expensive paper anymore." Su Ming's eyes were slightly red, but

or someone might have written it carelessly. But, just like Second Brother said, what do we lose by trying? The bamboo grows wild in the mountains for free. The wood ash is burned in the stove for free. All we're investing is a bit of effort and

for use as toilet paper, it can still be sold for money! Then the paper I need for studying won't cost the family

Su Ming paused, looking into his father's eyes, "then I'll completely give up on this idea, study

the entire courtyard

looked at her youngest son, her eyes moist. She didn't understand anything about papermaking; she only knew that her son had grown up, knew to care for his brothers,

Yang, even more excited, stood up, walked to Su Ming's side, and patted his shoulder heavily. "Father! Just let Xiao Ming try! I'll help him! All the heavy work, I'll do it! Xiao Ming doesn't need to lift a finger!

Su Shan fell silent.

tobacco shreds, lit it with a flint, and took a hard, deep

completely enveloped his face; no one could

took the pipe from his lips, exhaled a long smoke

seven days. You two brothers, tinker in the corner of the backyard. Don't get

I don't see this 'paper' you're talking about,

his back, hunched his body, and walked out of the

Su Yang exchanged a glance, both seeing wild joy in each

Success!

Ming, almost squeezing the breath out of him. "Let's

Ming was shaken until

to himself, "Done! Step one, 'project approval' passed! The timeline was even extended to a week! This kid, not bad, didn't waste all my talking. Knows how to play the emotional card, knows how to calculate costs, knows how to make a military pledge. Hmm, has the flavor of my project proposals back in

Ming's mind, contentedly "stroked"

...

Action followed words immediately.

knife, Su Ming carried a worn-out bamboo basket, and the two brothers quietly headed straight for the

back hill was communal land for the village. Usually, if any family needed bamboo to make a fence or weave a basket, they would

kind of bamboo does that book say to use?

was what his mentor had specifically instructed. Tender bamboo

The bamboo stalks were only as thick as a wrist, lush and green. Su Yang raised his knife and brought it down. With a

that enough? I can cut more if it's not!" Su Yang wiped his sweat,

Let's try

afternoon when most villagers were either in the fields or resting, they

few days, the corner of the Su family's backyard became the

day, the brothers found a large stone slab and two wooden mallets, laboriously pounding all the bamboo into loose fibers. The "thump thump"

stuff the pounded bamboo fibers into a large wooden bucket, weigh them down with stones, then fill it with strong alkaline water boiled from wood ash, covering it with a wooden plank to soak. A faint, slightly sour, rotting smell similar to composting fertilizer began to permeate the air, but confined to the backyard corner, mixed with the scents of earth