readsfreenovel Chapter 199 Finding a Good Location for the Workshop
Chapter 199 Finding a Good Location for the Workshop
"Third brother, Yue'er, what are you talking about? What paper mill?" Old Master Xiao asked in confusion.
Everyone was bewildered by the conversation between Xiao Qinian and his daughter; they couldn't understand it at all.
When Xiao Siyue heard her grandfather ask, she realized that she hadn't told them about her papermaking, so she quickly explained.
"So the books and paper you gave to the clan before were made by yourselves. We all thought you bought them." Hearing Xiao Siyue's words, Old Master Xiao also remembered the books he had received before.
"Yes, those were the first batch of books produced in our workshop, and we sent them to the clan."
"Little sister, you're amazing!" Xiao Sining exclaimed in admiration.
Others may not feel this as strongly, but those like Xiao Sining who are still studying naturally know how difficult this is.
“Yes, little sister, ever since you gave us Xuan paper, we haven’t used hemp paper at all. That Xuan paper is so good, the students in our academy are so envious of it, even our teacher has asked us about it.” Xiao Sibo was also very excited.
He had previously wondered where his sister got the paper from, but it turned out he made it himself.
He was reluctant to part with them before, and when some classmates wanted to buy some from him at a high price, he refused. In the end, he only gave some to his teacher.
"Yes, brothers, don't worry about using it. From now on, I'll take care of all the paper you need," Xiao Siyue said generously to her brothers.
Anyuan County is too far from Qianyuan County. Even though their Xuan paper is well-known in Qianyuan County and even throughout the entire Yuzhou Prefecture, it is still not available in Anyuan County.
This is why Xiao Siyue plans to build a paper mill here, because transporting paper from Qianyuan County would be too costly, and she wouldn't earn much from it.
"Thank you very much, little sister," the group said happily.
After thinking for a while, Grandpa Xiao made a plan.
"Third brother, since Yue'er said she wants to build a paper mill, why don't we go to the capital with her?" He wasn't too comfortable leaving Xiao Siyue alone.
“That’s right, Third Brother. Si Zhe will be going to Qin Prefecture to take the provincial examination next August. Why don’t we wait until Si Zhe has finished the exam and Yue’er has finished her work at the paper mill, and then we can go together?” Uncle Xiao Qili also chimed in.
"Right, right, how could I forget about that? Second brother is right." Old Master Xiao also remembered Xiao Sizhe's exam.
“That works too. I’ll go first and take care of things there. Then you won’t have to worry about it when you come over.” Xiao Qinian thought for a moment and agreed to the suggestion.
Among the rewards Emperor Zhou had given him was a five-courtyard house, which had been empty for two years. He would have to tidy it up properly when he got there.
"Okay, it's settled then."
Xiao Siyue also thought it was a good idea.
"Alright, let's talk about the rest tomorrow. You've been traveling for more than half a month, you must be very tired now. I've already had someone prepare a meal, so after you've eaten, go and rest." Seeing that everyone had finished speaking, Old Lady Xiao had the dishes served.
Xiao Siyue and the others were indeed quite hungry; they hadn't had dinner yet.
After dinner, Xiao Siyue went to her room to rest.
Even though she hadn't returned for a year, her room remained spotless, indicating that it was cleaned daily.
After washing up, I had a wonderful sleep on the warm kang (heated brick bed).
When Xiao Siyue woke up the next day, she was full of energy, and the fatigue from traveling for days was completely gone.
When Xiao Siyue arrived in the hall, everyone else was already up. After greeting everyone, Xiao Siyue went to have breakfast.
Today she plans to talk to the village chief and find a location where she can build a paper mill.
Grandpa Xiao accompanied Xiao Siyue to the village chief's house, and they finally decided to build the workshop on the back mountain.
Grandpa Xiao went to the county with the village chief. After completing the formalities, the piece of land on the back mountain belonged to Xiao Siyue.
Xiao Siyue looked at the land in front of her. Although it covered a large area, it was all wasteland. She would have to find someone to clear it and level it.
"Yue'er, when do you plan to start work? Do you need Grandpa to help you find people?" Grandpa Xiao asked.
"Let's wait until after the New Year and spring. With the weather like this, we probably can't start any work." It's still cold now, the ground hasn't thawed yet, so it's impossible to dig.
But that doesn't matter. She hasn't found any workers yet. This time, she plans to recruit from the village. Most of the villagers are her own people, so she can trust them.
Although some people went to work at the soy sauce workshop, the workshop wasn't very big and didn't need too many people. Xiaojia Village still had a large enough population.
"Okay, then let's wait until spring to look for someone." That's not far off; the New Year is just a few days away, and it's not easy to find someone now.
The location has now been decided, and the paper mill has taken its first step. The next step is to proceed.
When Xiao Siyue returned, she also visited the clan school. The children were studying there, and Xiao Siyue could see them through the window outside the room.
One by one, the children held their books, swaying their heads, and followed the teacher, reading word by word, "At the beginning of life, people are inherently good."
Xiao Siyue felt very gratified. These were all members of the Xiao family, and the Xiao family would have to rely on them to support itself in the future.
After Xiao Siyue and Grandpa Xiao staggered back home, it was already close to noon.
"Yue'er, everything's taken care of," Xiao Qinian asked after seeing Xiao Siyue return.
“It’s all done. I’ve chosen a plot of land on the back hill, and the land deed is already in place,” Xiao Siyue handed the land deed to Xiao Qinian.
Xiao Qinian thought about it carefully before speaking: "That piece of land is good, quite suitable."
"Well, after it's built, I plan to find people in the village. What do you think, Dad?" Xiao Siyue wanted to ask Xiao Qinian for his opinion.
“People from the village are also acceptable, but even if they are all from the same clan, a contract will still need to be filled out. After all, one can never be too careful,” Xiao Qinian said solemnly.
"Dad, I know. We'll offer higher wages and find someone from the village. But we'll also need to find someone to manage things." She couldn't leave Liu Xiaoyu here indefinitely.
"The person in charge, you should take a look around and see if there are any suitable ones. Our Xiao family still has many excellent clansmen." He hadn't been back for several years, so he didn't really know what the younger generation of the clan was like.
"I'll ask my older brothers later." Xiao Sining and her brothers were quite familiar with the people in the village.