Sui Xiong spent some time demonstrating his invention in detail to the church's higher-ups.
"This can greatly reduce the cost of learning knowledge and promote the popularization of knowledge." He said, "Knowledge changes life, knowledge changes fate, knowledge changes the world … My inventions will definitely promote the progress of the whole world!"
However, his impassioned speech did not gain the support of the believers.
"Your Majesty, I think these things … The cost doesn't seem to be low." Rode, who was in charge of the financial management, calculated and said, "Smash the wood, boil it, use magic to remove the color, and finally spread it on the cloth, flatten it and dry it … I think the whole process is not much simpler than parchment."
"Yes, although the animal skin is very expensive, it's not troublesome to process simple animal skin paper." Satan, who used to make parchment as a sideline in his childhood, also agreed with Rode's opinion, "The animal skin is first soaked, then the oil is removed with alkaline water, then the hair and oil are cut off, and then the fine polishing … When I was a child, I worked in a parchment workshop. Although it was very hard, it was really not complicated. In contrast, the things you mentioned … are too troublesome to make. "
"Troublesome?" Sui Xiong was a little confused, "I think it's very simple."
"Not to mention the other steps, just the step of smashing the wood is very troublesome." Satan said, "We can let the carpenters break the wood into small pieces, then soak it in water and pound it — without considering magic, this is probably the only way to do it. To soak the wood until it can be pounded, I don't know how much time and energy is needed. Otherwise, how to remove the small pieces of wood from the wood pulp is a big problem. "
"Not only that, it also needs the help of a mage during the production process. I've looked at the spell you designed and estimated the effect. To purify the wood pulp in an ordinary cauldron into white, it needs at least an intermediate mage to cast the spell. If it's a low-level mage, it will probably need to cast the spell three to four times consecutively. Have you considered the cost of inviting a mage to cast the spell? "
Sui Xiong was stunned for a moment and muttered in a low voice, "There are mages in our church."
"Yes, but when calculating the cost, it should be calculated according to the mage hired." Satan did not give Sui Xiong a chance to quibble and continued, "After the purification, we get the white wood pulp. Then, lay the linen cloth flat on the wooden planks, spread the wood pulp on the cloth, press it tightly, and dry it … This is very troublesome, because it is difficult for the heat to penetrate through the layers of wooden planks. It may also require the help of a mage. "
"If all of this is done and I get a smooth, soft paper that I can write on, then it's actually worth it. But the paper we get is either too soft for a quill to write on, or it's as hard as a thin wooden board. What's the use of it? "
"Didn't I also invent the brush …"
"That pen writes too slowly," said Palin. "Much, much slower than a quill! Moreover, it needs to be dipped in ink every time it writes one or two words. The ink consumption is too high, and it's very inconvenient. "
"I also improved the ink!"
"I think the portable ink block you made is the only reliable invention." Satan finally revealed a smile. "If it's slightly improved, it can become a very good commodity. At the very least, it's much cheaper than ordinary ink, and it's much more convenient to store and transport. "
Sui Xiong was depressed by what they said. He was planning to go back to continue the experiment and improve Sui Xiong's version of the Four Treasures of the Study when Wall, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
"These inventions are very good!" He said in a deep voice. "They do have the power to change the world and promote the progress of the whole world!"
Everyone looked at him doubtfully, not understanding why he made such an assertion.
Wall did not explain in detail, but stood up and bowed to Sui Xiong. "Your Majesty, please leave the matter of these things to me. I will work hard to improve the production process and process, and make writing tools that will satisfy everyone as soon as possible! "
Sui Xiong looked into his eyes and saw enthusiasm and longing that had never been seen before.
Ever since he got to know Wall, this once world-famous expert seemed to lack vitality. Even when it came to the hatred with the Sun God Church, there was only hatred as deep as the sea in his body, but there was no wanton and ostentatious aura. His whole person seemed to be in the twilight, really like an old man.
Because of this, Sui Xiong secretly gave him the nickname "Sweeping Monk" in his heart. This nickname, of course, meant that he was strong in martial arts and had great magical powers, but it also meant that he was too gentle and lacked the drive that a strong person should have, like an old monk who stood aloof from worldly affairs.
But now, Wall's eyes had completely changed, and so had his aura.
Now, although he was still disguised as an old man, the vigorous aura on his body and the burning enthusiasm in his eyes all proved his identity.
"Very good!" Sui Xiong smiled. "Just because of the look in your eyes, I will entrust this matter to you!"
Wall smiled and lowered his head. "I won't let you down!"
After the meeting, he returned to the Geerteng Territory through the transmission array with the samples and technical information provided by Sui Xiong. He built a workshop in a remote mountain area, recruited some experienced carpenters and workers, and asked for two good low-level mages from Satan, and began to study.
Since the improvement of the paper-making technique might take a lot of time, he first tried to improve the ink block.
This aspect of the work went smoothly, and in only two or three days, he made a strip-shaped ink block with the fragrance of grass. Because it was fully mixed with glue and oil, the hardness of this ink block was much stronger than Sui Xiong's invention. When using it, it needed to be gently filed out with a file, and then mixed with water.
Sui Xiong, who had been paying attention to his experiment, saw the new ink block, and was stunned for a moment. He asked, "This … can it be produced by grinding on an inkstone?"
"Inkstone? Ink? What's that? "
Sui Xiong explained a little about the concepts of "ink", "inkstone", "ink", and so on. Wall was suddenly inspired, and it only took him one day to make an inkstone.
Sure enough, as Sui Xiong's ancestors had done, the combination of ink and inkstone could completely replace ink. Although it had shortcomings of slow use and not fast and convenient enough, its advantages in storage and transportation were enough to beat ink.
This kind of ink could not only be used with a writing brush, but also with a quill. And its price was much cheaper than ink. According to the calculation of the same writing volume, it was only about one-fifth of ink.
After finishing the study of ink and inkstone, Wall began to simplify the process and improve the quality — the key was to reduce the use of mages, and improve the whole process as much as possible to be completed by ordinary people.
About half a month later, in the private manor of Olian, the Lord of Geerteng, a workshop for making ink and inkstone was built.
In this workshop, the wood was placed in a specially made kiln, and the ash was obtained by slowly burning it. Specially made magic tools collected a large amount of pure ash, and the workers mixed it with carefully boiled glue, rubbed it, and hammered it to make soft ink blocks. These ink blocks were then molded into strips, and slowly dried in a magic drying room that cost a lot of money to build. About ten days later, the basically solidified ink blocks were taken out, polished neatly, and engraved with the family emblem of the Geerteng family, indicating the place of origin and weight. Then they were painted with a little color with brass powder, dried until they were completely dry, and then wrapped in cloth. That was the finished product.
From the time the wood was burned to the time the finished product could be sold, the whole production process took about 30 days. As for calculating the cost, if the hardware investment was not taken into account, and only the materials and labor were counted, the price of the same writing volume was only one-tenth of the ink.
This interesting product was widely welcomed as soon as it was put into the market, and the Geerteng Territory, which had been unknown for a long time, also became famous and attracted a lot of attention. Olian had to spend a lot of effort to fight with those guys who wanted to get a share of this exclusive business. She defeated several greedy guys, and finally managed to keep this profit.
"I have calculated that by relying on the business of ink and inkstone, the Geerteng Territory can earn a profit of nearly 20,000 gold coins every year." At the year-end meeting, Olian said happily, "This is the result of me strictly controlling the output according to His Majesty's request. If the output is further increased, it is estimated that this number can eventually double! "
This huge number surprised everyone. They did not expect that a small piece of ink and stone inkstone could produce such a huge profit.
"It's a pity that the cost of the magic drying room is too high." Olian sighed and said, "It cost tens of thousands of gold coins! We can't get back the cost until next spring. Although this business is profitable, the cost is also not small! "
Sui Xiong laughed and said, "You don't need to care about money, as long as you can make money. It's a pity that your teacher's improvement on papermaking has not been completed. Otherwise, the paper and ink can be sold together, and it will definitely promote the spread of knowledge! "
After using the ink produced by the Geerteng Territory, everyone greatly admired Sui Xiong's vision, and they were even more convinced of his judgment. Satan could not help but say with a smile, "Your Majesty, with these two inventions, you have made a great contribution to culture! How about directly seeking the priesthood of culture? "
"The priesthood of culture is occupied by the God of Literature and Art," Sui Xiong said with a smile, "I don't intend to compete with him for this."
"By the way, a few days ago, the Church of the God of Classics sent someone to contact us, saying that they want to purchase a large number of ink blocks and inkstones, hoping that it will be cheaper." Olian thought of something and said, "And His Majesty the God of Classics personally sent an oracle to grant the grace of God to me and my teacher. Your Majesty, do you think we should accept it?"
No one was surprised. The invention of ink was of great benefit to the Church of the God of Classics, so it would be strange if the God of Classics did not reward Olian and Wall for this!
"They also have good intentions, so why refuse?" Sui Xiong did not have a strict sectarian bias, so he agreed with a smile.
A few days later, the Church of the God of Classics held a small but very grand ceremony in the Geerteng Territory. During the ceremony, the God, who was called the "Book Collector" by the mortals, sent down a divine light and blessed Miss Olian, the Lord of the Geerteng Territory, and her teacher, Mr. Frye (Wall's alias), which became a popular story.
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