In the kitchen, Mrs. Chen was adding water to the pot, preparing to cook a pot of thin porridge. Wang Chuntao was beside her, cutting the remaining half of the black wheat bun from last night into small cubes, planning to soak them in the porridge so the family’s breakfast would be more filling.

Su Ming neatly stacked two large bundles of firewood beside the stove. The entire process was silent, with only the dull thud of the firewood making contact with the ground.

He straightened up, patted the wood chips from his hands, looked at the busy backs of his mother and sister-in-law, then glanced at his second brother who was still sweating profusely in the courtyard. An unprecedented sense of solidity rose within him.

He was no longer that youth who could only hide behind his brothers, helplessly accepting the futures they bought with their blood and sweat.

Now, he had his own strength, his own secret weapon that could hold up a piece of the sky for this family.

“Disciple.” Lin Yu’s lazy voice sounded in his mind, carrying a hint of a nasal tone as if he’d just woken up. “Your master has calculated, and that trip to town, plus everything after returning, has already delayed our ‘Family Poverty Alleviation and Prosperity Building’ Phase One Plan for quite some time.”

Lin Yu thought to himself, “My heavens, he finally remembers the main task! If we don’t start making money soon, when will my pension plan ever launch? Watching him perform these warm family dramas every day, when will we ever leave this village and embark on the path of cultivation!”

The corner of Su Ming’s mouth twitched slightly. His master’s words made it sound like he himself knew how to make paper.

He didn’t argue, only respectfully responded in his mind, “This disciple is dull-witted. Please, Master, instruct me.”

“Hmm, a student worthy of teaching.” Lin Yu cleared his throat, adopting the posture of a lofty expert. “Originally, your master intended to guide you in technical breakthroughs immediately upon your return from town. Although it’s a bit late now, it’s still not too late.”

“The matter of papermaking may seem simple, but in reality, it contains profound mysteries. Genuine ancient bamboo paper has a complex production process that takes an extremely long time.”

Lin Yu’s voice became serious, like an experienced master craftsman imparting a secret art.

“The first step is called ‘cutting and retting bamboo.’ You need to take tender bamboo from the current year’s growth, chop it into sections several feet long, and throw them into a pond to soak. For a short period, it takes tens of days; for a long period, several months. Use the power of microorganisms in the water to make it initially rot and soften. This is ‘retting.'”

“The second step, ‘pounding and washing.’ Retrieve the retted bamboo, place it on a stone slab, and repeatedly pound it with a wooden mallet to disperse its fibers. Then rinse it with clean water to wash away the green outer skin and impurities.”

“The third step, ‘steaming and boiling.’ This is the key among keys. You need to place the pounded and washed bamboo material, along with sufficient amounts of plant ash water or lime water, into a large pot and steam-boil it over a gentle fire for several days and nights. The power of the alkaline water can completely break down the lignin and gum in the bamboo, leaving only the purest fibers.”

“Once the bamboo material is cooked into a pot of mushy paste, you can proceed to the final step, ‘forming the sheet and drying.’ Dilute the paper pulp with water, gently dip a specially made bamboo screen into the pulp vat, lift up a thin layer, filter out the water, then press and dry it before paper can be formed.”

Listening to this description in his mind, Su Ming was deeply shocked.

He had never imagined that a thin sheet of paper required such a complex and lengthy process. Cutting bamboo, soaking, pounding, steaming and boiling… Just hearing it made it sound like a massive and arduous project.

“Master, this… how much time would this take?” Su Ming couldn’t help but ask. “By the time we make the paper, I’m afraid the opportunity will have long passed.”

Lin Yu thought to himself, “Good question! If we really followed that full process, by the time you pass the Xiucai exam, our first batch of paper would probably still be soaking in the pond! So, theory must be connected with practice. We need to create a ‘streamlined version’!”

“Heh, what your master described is the method for producing tribute-grade Xuan paper fit for imperial use.” Lin Yu chuckled lightly, his tone carrying a hint of ‘you’re still too young.’ “For our initial venture, we should naturally adapt to our limited conditions and forge a new path.”

“Right now, we’re not trying to create some masterpiece paper to be passed down through generations. We need to produce a finished product as quickly as possible to verify the feasibility of this method, to let your stubborn old father see with his own eyes how the bamboo from the back mountain can turn into gleaming copper coins!”

“Therefore, our method must be fast and direct!”

“That ‘retting bamboo’ step is too slow. We’ll skip it entirely! Go straight to ‘pounding and washing’! Use brute force to pound the tender bamboo to a pulp!”

“That ‘steaming and boiling’ step, boiling for several days and nights isn’t realistic. We’ll just increase the alkali content and boil it fiercely for a single day! The effect might be poorer, but as long as it breaks down the fibers, that’s enough!”

“As for ‘forming the sheet,’ without a fine bamboo screen, we’ll try using your family’s broken rice sieve! Without a dedicated drying room, we’ll stick it to a wooden board and dry it in the sun!”

“Disciple, you must remember.” Lin Yu’s tone became meaningful. “What we’re making now isn’t paper; it’s ‘confidence’! It’s a ‘sample’ that can make your father, and the whole village, see hope! It might be as rough as tree bark, as yellow as mud, but as long as it can be called ‘paper,’ we will have succeeded in the first step!”

Su Ming’s heart was completely ignited by his master’s words.

Yes, a sample!

He didn’t need to achieve perfection in one step. He just needed evidence that could shatter his father’s entrenched beliefs!

He took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

…

During breakfast, the family sat around the low dining table.

The thin porridge in the pot was so clear you could see your reflection. A few pieces of chopped black wheat bun cubes floated and sank in the porridge. This was the most ordinary breakfast in the Su household.

Su Yang held his bowl, slurping the porridge with gusto. He had worked all morning and was already starving.

Su Shan silently smoked his pipe tobacco. The swirling smoke obscured his weathered face even more. At the dining table, he was always the one who spoke the least.

Mrs. Chen and Wang Chuntao sipped their porridge in small mouthfuls, occasionally whispering a few words about daily life.

The atmosphere was quiet and oppressive.

Su Ming held his bowl but hadn’t taken a bite for a long time. He mentally rehearsed the script his master had taught him over and over, his palms slightly sweaty.

“Father.”

He finally spoke. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a stone thrown into a calm pond. Everyone’s movements stopped, and their gazes instantly focused on him.

Su Shan lifted his eyelids and glanced at him through the smoke. He didn’t speak, only using his eyes to signal him to continue.

“Father, I want… I want to try making paper.” Su Ming’s voice was a bit dry, but he still mustered the courage to say it.

“Pfft— Cough, cough, cough!”

Su Yang, who was drinking his porridge, failed to swallow a mouthful and sprayed it out. He choked until his face turned red, pounding his chest while looking at his younger brother with disbelief.

“Little Ming, you… what did you say? Making paper?”

Mrs. Chen and Wang Chuntao also wore expressions of utter astonishment.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep