Chapter 50: The Change of Caozhuang

Shu County, outside the west gate, Zhoujia Papermaking Floor.

A blue brick wall formed a very large site. In the middle of the site, several large workshops were all made of bamboo. On the north side of the wall, a row of houses were built along the wall, which was where craftsmen lived. On the west side, there were several houses, kitchens and bathhouses. On the east side, there were raw materials for papermaking - bamboo, and on the south side was a large warehouse.

Zhou Yu saw the papermaking workshop from afar. A blue flag was picked out high, with five big words "Zhou Family Papermaking workshop" written on it.

When he walked into the door, Zhou Yu saw a lively scene: craftsmen kept pulling out bamboo poles from the pile of piles of bamboo poles, chopping them into pieces with machetes, and soaking them in a white lime pool; other craftsmen salvaged the soaked bamboo slices that had been sinking at the bottom of the pool and put them in a large iron pot in the workshop to boil them.

The cooked bamboo pulp was scooped out by a special person and placed it in a rectangular pond. There was a craftsman holding a wooden stand with a movable bamboo curtain on it, swaying left and right in the pool filled with pulp. After a moment, a layer of fiber appeared on the bamboo curtain. The craftsmen took off the movable bamboo curtain and placed it in the sun for a while. When they lifted it with their hands, the prototype of a piece of paper was completed.

The finished paper is concentrated and placed in a warm box to dry, and the finished paper is produced. The finished paper is neatly cut by a special person with a guillotine. Each hundred pieces are placed in kraft paper and tied together. Then, a person holds a large wooden seal and stamps the outside of the paper. Once it is printed, a large circle suddenly appears on the paper with a Zhou character inside. The paper with the seal is then moved by the transporter into the warehouse.

Zhou Hui was inspecting the shop, and he was instructing the craftsmen from time to time, and his behavior was quite like a master. When he saw Zhou Yu walking in, he hurried over and said, "Cousin, why are you here?"

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "This is a great source of wealth in our family. How can I not come and see it?" Zhou Yu stared at Zhou Hui and said, "Xiaohui, you have grown taller and stronger. Although you have become a little tanned, you are more like a man."

When Zhou Hui heard Zhou Yu praise him for being a man, he couldn't help but raise his chest a little higher, his voice became a little deeper, and said, "Cousin, you asked me to produce 10,000 bamboo paper a day, but I was about to do it. The current output is 8,000 pieces a day. Just build another workshop and recruit dozens of craftsmen to achieve the goal."

Zhou Yu nodded and said with praise: "I didn't expect that your papermaking workshop will be progressing so quickly. It's not easy to have such a scale here. Don't rush to expand your output now, but ensure the quality of the paper."

Zhou Hui hurriedly said, "Cousin, you don't know that the quality of our bamboo paper is quite good. Now shops within a hundred miles come to us to purchase goods. They all say that our bamboo paper is of good quality, low price, good quality, and they send people to us every day to queue up to buy goods." After that, Zhou Hui pointed with his hand, and Zhou Yu indeed saw more than ten people queuing in front of the warehouse door. A man who looked like an accountant was directing personnel to sell the finished paper to those who were queuing up.

Seeing this prosperous production and sales scene, Zhou Yu was quite happy and said to Zhou Hui: "We should still grasp the quality of the paper. I suggest adding a few people to check whether the paper is flat and the flexibility of the paper."

Zhou Hui nodded and said, "I will make arrangements tomorrow."

The two of them walked slowly to the warehouse door. Zhou Hui pulled the accountant and introduced to Zhou Yu: "Cousin, I invited this person to assist in the management of the papermaking workshop. His name is Kan Ze."

Kan Ze? Zhou Yu was shocked and asked hurriedly: "Is this Kan Ze Kan Derun?"

The man was about twenty years old, with a pale face and no beard. He bowed and replied: "It's Kan Ze. Could it be Zhou Yu and Zhou Gongjin?"

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "That's right. I don't know how Derun knew Yu's name?"

"Haha," Kan Ze laughed and said, "Wen Ke is better than Guan Zhong, Wu Ke is better than Le Yi, and Jiangdong Zhou Lang's reputation has spread throughout Jiangnan. How can you not hear about it?"

Zhou Yu also laughed, held Kan Ze's hand and said, "Brother Derun, I have heard that you have read a lot of books and studied knowledge since childhood. Not only have you had a deep attainment in Confucianism, but also had a good understanding of calendar and mathematics. You are a rare talent."

Zhou Yu turned to Zhou Hui and said, "Xiaohui, you invited Derun, which made a great contribution. However, it is too insignificant to do these small things with Derun's talent. How about it, why not follow me to Juchao?" Zhou Yu asked Kan Ze.

Zhou Hui also said: "After Mr. Kan came to me, he helped me a lot and managed the papermaking workshop in an orderly manner. He also improved some of the paper making equipment and stamped the "Zhou" seal on the outside of the paper as the mark of the paper we produce. The craftsmen praised him as a capable person."

Seeing Zhou Yu appreciated him so much, Kan Ze felt very warm in his heart, but he felt that his current job required him very much and he did a happy job, so he refused: "I already understand Gongjin's meaning. It's just that Ze was born in a farmer family, and just took the opportunity to copy books to read a few more books. I am ashamed of your praise. Moreover, the papermaking workshop is just starting to get on track, and there are many things to deal with every day, and I like this job very much. Why not, I will continue to work here for a few months and then make some decisions later?"

Zhou Yu knew that today the first time Kan Ze met Kan Ze, and the familiarity and understanding between the two sides still needed a process. As long as he did not leave the Zhou family's sphere of influence, there were opportunities to slowly let him understand himself.

Zhou Yu laughed and said to Kan Ze sincerely: "Brother Derun, you have worked so hard. This papermaking workshop is an important industry of our family. I feel much more at ease with you!"

After Zhou Yu finished speaking to Kan Ze, he said to Zhou Hui: "Xiaohui, where does Mr. Kan Ze live now?"

Zhou Hui said: "Mr. Kan Ze lives with the craftsmen."

"How can you do it? You can arrange a house in the city and let Mr. Kan Ze live alone. In this way, it will be much more convenient for me to ask him for advice if I have something to do."

"Tonight, I will set up a banquet at home. You and Mr. Kan Ze come to the house and let's have a good chat. Thank you for your hard work in the past few months..."

Danyang County, Wanling County, Caojiazhuang.

In the night sky, stars were twinkling. The people in the village were not asleep yet, and they sat together in groups of three or three to chat. The children began their happiest moments, and in the night, they were enjoying playing some games that were very childish in the eyes of adults.

The red candle is covered with cold autumn light, and the light silk fan is blowing at the fireflies.

What a beautiful autumn night view.

A strong boy and a petite girl walked into the yard of Cao He's house. It was Cao Wei and Cao Yu.

As soon as the two entered the door, they saw their master Cao He sitting upright in the yard. There was a person sitting next to him, with a thin figure and bright eyes.

"Meet Master!" Cao Wei and Cao Yu saluted.

"Haha, good disciple." Cao He smiled and said, "Come on, this is your uncle, Gongsun Xuan, come and see him quickly."

Cao Wei and Cao Yu hesitated for a moment, then saluted Gongsun Xuan.

Gongsun Xuan stood up and said, "You don't have to be polite, two juniors." After reaching out, Cao Wei felt that his arms were a little sore and had no strength to move down. This ceremony could not be done.

Cao Wei looked admiring and said, "Uncle Master is really good at kung fu!"

Cao He laughed and said, "One of the many senior brothers in the sect in the past, my junior brother has the most outstanding martial arts skills, which is much better than mine."

Cao Wei hurriedly said, "Master is very skilled in martial arts and is the best in the world."

"The world's number one," Cao He cursed and said with a swear word, "Cao Wei, you have not made any achievements in martial arts during this period, and your skill in flattering and playing games is increasing day by day."

Gongsun Xuan watched their master and apprentice laugh at him, not talking to each other.

Seeing that Cao Yu was just standing next to him like a joke, Cao He ordered: "Xiaoyu, go to the bed in my room and there is a small nanmu box, help me get it."

After Cao Yu handed the things to Cao He, Cao He gently wiped the outside of the nanmu box with a clean cloth, then enshrines the nanmu box on the incense table, slowly opened the box with both hands, and took out a pure gold waist card from it, with a lifelike tiger carved on it, and there was a circle of strange words around it that no one could understand.

When Gongsun Xuan saw this pure gold waist card, his eyes lit up.

Cao Wei and Cao Yu's eyes also lit up, but their bright connotation is completely different from Gongsun Xuan.

Cao He trembled slightly with his hands, raised his pure gold waist card over his head, lowered his head and said, "Disciple Cao He is ashamed. As the head of the Fuhu Sect, he accidentally fell into the enemy's plan and suffered physical damage. Now he is a useless person. I am embarrassing our master!"

Cao He continued to say in a deep voice: "For the future development and growth of our sect, I am willing to give up my position as the head of the sect tonight. My junior brother Gongsun Xuan, who is very skilled in martial arts, should be able to expand our sect in the world and take over as the head of the sect."

After saying that, Cao He slowly dealt with Gongsun Xuan's hand with a pure gold waist card.

Gongsun Xuan held the gold medal in his hand and shouted excitedly: "Senior Brother..."

Cao He waved his hand and said, "Junior brother, the responsibility of Master Guang's sect will be on your shoulders in the future. Do it well."

Gongsun Xuan nodded and said, "Don't worry, senior brother, I will definitely work hard."

After saying that, Gongsun Xuan suddenly slapped it with a muffled "bang", and it hit Cao He's chest hard.

Suddenly, Cao He's martial arts were destroyed. He had no time to fight back, so he vomited blood and fell to the sky.

"Master!" "Master!" Cao Wei and Cao Yu both exclaimed!

Gongsun Xuan laughed loudly and pointed at Cao He who was already lying on the ground and said, "Damn it! The head of the Fuhu Sect should be mine long ago. You are a useless person. Why don't you pass the position of the head to me early?"

Cao Yu hurriedly stepped forward to take care of Cao He, but saw that Cao He's chest had collapsed. Cao He pointed at Gongsun Xuan and opened his eyes wide open, but he could no longer speak. He tilted his head and died of anger.

"Master! Master!" Cao Yu's tears slid from her fair face like broken pearls.

Cao Wei was filled with righteous indignation, pulled out the sword from his waist, and stabbed him directly at Gongsun Xuan with a move of "poisonous snake out of the hole". Gongsun Xuan turned his body, avoided the sword, and quickly hit Cao Wei's right arm with a backhand. With a "clang", Cao Wei's sword landed on the ground.

At this time, the people from Caojiazhuang had already rushed to the yard of Cao He's family. Seeing that more and more people were coming, Gongsun Xuan sneered and said, "Tonight, you have the lives of you!" After that, he pulled down a dry land and used his light skills to escape.

Cao Wei did not care about the injury on his right arm, and he also rushed to Cao He and began to cry loudly.
Chapter completed!