Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life

Chapter 47: Technical Challenges

"Good!" Zhao Dequan slammed the empty bowl heavily onto the table.

"From this moment on, this matter stops with the seven of us! Heaven knows, earth knows!"

He spoke with extreme speed, his reasoning clear, and began assigning tasks.

"Three esteemed elders, keeping the village stable depends entirely on you venerable gentlemen. Starting tomorrow, spread the word that I, Zhao Dequan, intend to lead the establishment of a 'bamboo ware workshop' on the riverbank, weaving some bamboo baskets and crates for sale, to give the villagers an extra source of income. This matter is perfectly reasonable, no one will suspect a thing."

"Dazhuang, Eryong!"

"Here, Uncle Dequan!" The two men straightened their chests and responded like soldiers.

"At first light tomorrow, you two immediately take trustworthy clansmen to the most remote section of the riverbank east of the village and mark out the boundary for me! Remember, be discreet! Surround the area tightly with bamboo and thatch grass, don't even let a stray dog in! Also, you two hurry to town and quietly buy up all the large iron pots and stone mortars you can find! I'll provide the silver!"

"Yes!"

Finally, his gaze fell upon Su Shan and his son.

"Shanzi, Xiao Ming. The heaviest burden rests on your father and son's shoulders. Starting tomorrow, you two will be the 'master craftsmen' of this workshop! How to proceed, who and what you need, report directly to me! I have only one demand!"He paused, his gaze burning, enunciating each word clearly: "Within one month, I want to see paper that can be exchanged for copper coins!"

The night grew deeper. Su Shan and his son returned home in silence.

The soft thud of the courtyard gate closing shut out the outside world. Without a word, Su Shan squatted by the stone mill in the corner of the yard, pulled out his pipe, his hands trembling as he stuffed in the tobacco shreds, striking the flint several times before it ignited. He took a fierce drag, the pungent smoke filling his lungs, seeming to reclaim a shred of his soul. The pipe bowl glowed bright then dim, illuminating his deeply lined face, now heavy with gloom.

Su Ming stood quietly behind him. As the night wind blew, he was startled to realize the inner garment on his back was already soaked through with cold sweat, clinging icily to his skin.

His heart still pounded wildly in his chest, not just for the grand endeavor about to unfold, but for a weighty, almost back-breaking responsibility that had already firmly bound itself to him.

...

Zhao Dequan acted with thunderous speed and decisive action.

The very next day, news about the Village Chief wanting to organize the villagers to open a "bamboo ware workshop" spread through the village like the wind. The villagers were initially skeptical, but seeing the three highly respected clan elders all step forward to corroborate it, speaking with much anticipation about the matter, their doubts gradually dissipated, turning instead to discussions about how much tangible benefit this workshop could bring them.

At the same time, Zhao Dazhuang and Zhao Eryong, leading over a dozen sturdy clansmen, appeared on that long-abandoned stretch of riverbank east of the village. These men were all carefully selected by Zhao Dequan and the clan elders for their tight-lipped reliability. They felled bamboo and moved earth, working with fiery enthusiasm. In just two or three days, several crude but sufficiently spacious work sheds sprang up from the ground. The perimeter was further enclosed with a fence nearly twice a man's height made of sharpened bamboo poles and thick thatch grass, leaving only one narrow entrance-exit point, guarded day and night in shifts by Zhao clansmen. Ordinary people couldn't possibly peek inside to see what was happening.

A few more days later, several large iron pots requiring two men to embrace, along with over a dozen heavy, coarse stone mortars, were quietly transported in by ox-cart.

A rudimentary, secretive factory had quietly taken shape on this desolate bank.

Su Yang became the most special presences in

Ming was the "technical supervisor," responsible for guiding the process

Yang was the "foreman," leading everyone in the

here to work and earn some hard-earned money. As for the specific

seemed to be progressing secretly and in an orderly

tender bamboo from the current year, cutting it into foot-long sections, repeatedly pounding it into loose bamboo fibers with heavy wooden mallets... These tasks, while labor-intensive, weren't

"thump, thump" sound of pounding continued day and night, like a vigorous drumbeat for

were thrown into newly built lime pits to soak and ret in the prepared strong alkaline

bamboo and alkaline pungency,

no different from Su Ming's earlier small-scale

anticipation in everyone's

came almost every day, hands clasped behind his back as he inspected, watching the color of the bamboo material in the pits grow darker day by day. A hint of a barely perceptible

days passed. Su Ming estimated the retting was about

rotten bamboo material, carried it to the river, and repeatedly rinsed it with clear river

the most crucial step—steaming and boiling into

on a newly built earthen stove. The rinsed bamboo material was

the fire!" Su Yang's booming voice echoed

the stove chamber. Flames instantly leaped up, greedily

gathered around the stove and pot, craning their necks, their gazes burning, tension and anticipation interwoven on every face. What churned in

squatting by the stove mouth, responsible for adding firewood, suddenly cried out. "Why is this pot bubbling and boiling fiercely in

a swift stride to the side of

heart was boiling violently, foam churning, while the areas near the edges of the pot were merely lukewarm, the bamboo material

Get wooden poles! Stir! Stir hard!" Su Yang

wooden poles and thrust them into the pot, stirring with

was extremely strenuous, and it was utterly impossible to stir evenly. The pot of paste was inconsistent in

Dequan hurried over upon hearing the news. Seeing this scene, his face instantly darkened

furrowed. He too hadn't anticipated that the method successful in small-scale trials would encounter such problems when

He urgently called out in

it obvious? The pot is big, the bottom thick, the fire only burns the center of the pot, heat distribution is uneven! The manpower stirring isn't enough, the force insufficient, purely a waste of effort! Furthermore, the plant ash water you used for your small-scale tinkering before was carefully filtered. This time, with large-batch retting, the concentration is bound

"What should we do?"

alkaline water concentration... I'll teach you a rustic method. Next time, put a fresh egg into the ash water, see how much of it floats,

felt slightly

little paper pulp with a long-handled wooden ladle to

Everyone! I understand now!" he

is it?" Zhao

needs to be gentle, even, it needs to heat slowly, absolutely cannot be rushed! And this pulp needs to be stirred non-stop, to ensure even heating, only then can