The stems of plants contained sugar. Sugar wasn't the only sweet food like sugarcane. Almost all the stems and leaves of plants contained sugar, but the amount was different. Among them, sugarcane contained the highest amount of sugar, which was why it was chosen by humans to make white sugar.
As for the rest of the herbs, they had less sugar. Even if one tasted them with their tongue, they wouldn't be able to taste any sweetness. Therefore, most people thought that these herbs had no sugar. In fact, these plants also had sugar, but the amount was less.
As for why the papyrus had to be soaked in water for a week to remove the sugar in the papyrus, it was because the sugar would damage the thick fiber of the inner stem and reduce the durability of the papyrus. Therefore, it had to be removed. Sugar was soluble in water, but fiber was insoluble in water. Therefore, the papyrus had to be soaked in water so that the sugar could be removed without losing the important fiber.
This method was very ingenious and cost-effective. After all, Egypt was close to the Nile River, and the workshop was downstream of the Nile River. There would be no shortage of water. Moreover, the water was quite abundant, which could completely meet the needs of the workshop.
Ang Lee picked up a thin slice and put it in front of Li Xiaolu. He smiled and said, "Maybe it's sweet! Why don't you try it and see what it tastes like? "
After saying that, he let Li Xiaolu taste it. Osman's subordinate next to them opened his eyes wide. However, the inner stem of the papyrus wasn't poisonous. Even if she ate it, it wouldn't be a big deal. Therefore, it wasn't convenient for him to say more.
Li Xiaolu looked at Ang Lee curiously and asked, "Assistant Minister Li, is this thing really edible? Is it really sweet? You're not lying to me, right? "
Ang Lee nodded and let her taste it. In fact, whether the inner stem of the papyrus was sweet or something else was unknown. Anyway, Ang Lee hadn't eaten it before and didn't know what it tasted like. Letting Li Xiaolu taste it was good. At least, Ang Lee would know what it tasted like.
In order to please Ang Lee, Li Xiaolu put the thin slice of papyrus into her mouth without any resistance. She chewed a few times and showed a painful expression at first, then a happy expression. She smiled at Ang Lee and said, "It's really sweet. Assistant Minister Li, do you want to try it too?"
Looking at Li Xiaolu's bitter expression, Ang Lee felt that there was something fishy going on. Looking at the expressions of Osman's subordinates behind her, Ang Lee immediately understood that Li Xiaolu was trying to trick him. The thin slice of papyrus definitely didn't taste good. The taste was very repulsive.
However, since Li Xiaolu had already let him taste it, if Ang Lee was completely unmoved, then it would be too boring. At the very least, there should be some response.
"Okay, then I'll try it."
Ang Lee cut off a small slice and put it into his mouth. Then, he pretended to chew it and said with satisfaction, "Hmm, the taste is really good. It's so sweet!"
This scene made Li Xiaolu and Osman's subordinates behind her widen their eyes in surprise. This was because this wasn't the truth.
Li Xiaolu frowned in confusion and said, "How can it be sweet? Could it be that the one Assistant Minister Li tasted was sweet? "
After saying this, she took a large slice from Ang Lee's hand and put it into her mouth. She casually chewed a few times and said with a frown, "Why is it still bitter? Why is it like this?"
Looking at Li Xiaolu's pained expression, Ang Lee chuckled and took out a small slice. He said with a smile, "Look at what this is. You only saw me put the slice into my mouth, but did you see me actually eat it? Haha!"
"Oh, Assistant Minister Li is really too smart. I've been fooled by you."
Li Xiaolu wasn't angry. Instead, she felt that Ang Lee was very smart and was a very interesting man. She was very fond of him.
When Osman's subordinates saw this, they immediately let out a sigh of relief. They were currently under a lot of pressure. They were afraid that if they didn't serve Ang Lee well, they would make Ang Lee unhappy.
After soaking, the next step was arranging and hammering. This was also a very important step and also the most crucial step. After this step, only drying was left. After drying, the product would be finished and could be sold on the market.
Because this was the most important step, most of the craftsmen were working. The entire production area was filled with noise. There were the sounds of the craftsmen scolding and hammering.
Ang Lee walked in to take a look. In the production area, there were many platforms that looked like tables. The top of the platforms was made of hard wood. This was the workbench where the craftsmen hammered the papyrus.
When Ang Lee walked over, two craftsmen were working together to arrange the papyrus slices. They spread a layer of thick gauze evenly on the platform. Then, they arranged the papyrus slices neatly on the thick gauze, arranging them into a tight square. Then, they continued to rotate ninety degrees and arranged another layer on top of the slices, so that the two layers of slices could be closely joined together.
This process was very simple, but the technical requirements were also relatively high. The arrangement of the papyrus had to be very tight, without any gaps or overlaps. Otherwise, the papyrus produced would be uneven, which would greatly affect the papyrus' performance.
After the arrangement, the two craftsmen checked it and then carefully covered it with a thick layer of gauze again. After gently pressing it with their hands, the two of them picked up a big wooden hammer. The hammer had a flat head and the cross-sectional area was relatively large.
The two craftsmen divided the work. One of them hammered it first. After picking up the hammer, the other craftsman continued hammering. Then, they kept rotating until they felt that it was enough based on their experience. They would stop hammering and gently remove the top layer of gauze to see how the slices inside were hammered.
If it passed, they would take it down and continue to make the next one. If it didn't pass, they would continue to beat it until it passed. Of course, if it turned out to be trash, then they would be done for. Not only would they be scolded, but they might also have their wages deducted or even be beaten up. In this era, the lives of craftsmen were very worthless. In the eyes of many nobles, craftsmen were like animals. They could be abused however they wanted, and they didn't have to bear any responsibility at all.
Perhaps it was because a beauty like Li Xiaolu was standing beside them, the two craftsmen were a little distracted. They hammered a few times without passing. They even used too much strength and caused the paper to be scrapped. This was a serious accident and should be punished. However, because Ang Lee was beside them, they couldn't directly scold or scold him to avoid negative consequences.
"Haha! Looks like one of them is going to be scrapped. I disturbed the craftsmen! "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"Scrapping is a common thing. It's unavoidable, unavoidable. It has nothing to do with Assistant Minister Li."
Osman's subordinate hurriedly said.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "I also want to give it a try. However, the papyrus I made personally belongs to me. I want to take it back as a souvenir."
"No problem. It's fine as long as Assistant Minister Li likes it."
Osman's subordinate said politely.
Ang Lee waved his hand and asked the two craftsmen to put down their tools and stand aside to watch.
"Xiaolu, let's make the paper! I don't know if you can swing the wooden hammer. "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
Li Xiaolu hurriedly took the wooden hammer and tried it a few times. When she felt that there was no problem, she said, "Assistant Minister Li, I can. Look, I can swing the wooden hammer. It's made of wood. It's not heavy at all."
"Okay, since it's not heavy, let's start! Let's do it step by step and hammer at the end. "
Ang Lee said as he began to lay the thick gauze. Before laying, Ang Lee purposely washed the gauze with clean water. Only then could he make the best paper. It wouldn't be good if he used dirty gauze.
After laying the thick gauze, Ang Lee and Li Xiaolu laid the papyrus sheets together. Because it was their first time working and no one gave them a task, the two of them worked very seriously. When laying the papyrus sheets, they almost bent down and aligned them bit by bit. If there was the slightest gap or overlap, it would be a failure and would have to be done again. Only in this way could the papyrus be the most qualified.
Of course, the papyrus made in this way could be regarded as the best. In the actual production process, generally, the quality would not be too high. After all, if the quality was too high, the output would be difficult to increase.
It required a certain skill to arrange all the sheets neatly together, and this skill required a long time of practice to master. If they didn't practice, it would be difficult to arrange these sheets neatly together.
The biggest problem was the trembling of the hands. Originally, the first few sheets were neatly arranged, but as long as the hands shook, the sheets that were painstakingly arranged in front of them would be messed up, and then they would need to be rearranged. Of course, this was because their requirements were too high. In fact, this so-called mess was just a slight touch, causing a little gap and overlap between the originally neatly arranged sheets. That was all. If the requirements were not high, it could be completely ignored, as long as they could make the paper.
"I've been laying it out for a long time, but there isn't even a layer. It seems that this job is not so easy! Haha! "
Li An was having a great time. He felt that it was quite interesting.
"Why can't we arrange it neatly? Should we get some glue and stick all these sheets together?"
Li Xiaolu was a little anxious and said.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Glue? I'm afraid that even if we give you glue, it won't be easy to stick it. Moreover, in this way, after we beat it, the gauze on both sides and the sheets inside will be integrated into one. How can we make the paper?"
"That's true. It seems that it's really too troublesome."
Li Xiaolu shook her head, looking very helpless.
Ang Lee fiddled for a long time and found that it was not satisfactory. He looked at Osman's subordinate beside him and asked, "Why can't I arrange it neatly? What's the reason?"
Osman's subordinate, of course, did not dare to tell the truth. He said perfunctorily, "Assistant Minister Li is a person who does big things. He shouldn't be doing such a small thing. This kind of small thing is not something a big person can do."
His words were very beautiful. Anyone who heard it would be tempted. This also made Ang Lee feel very comfortable.
"In that case, find a skilled person to help me arrange these sheets properly. There can't be any gaps, and there can't be any overlap."
Ang Lee requested.
Osman's subordinates nodded and quickly found the most skilled craftsmen. They arranged the papyrus pieces neatly and covered them with thick gauze.
"Okay, Xiaolu, let's hammer. I'll go first."
Ang Lee picked up the wooden hammer and started hammering. His movements were not bad and could be considered as decent.
Although Li Xiaolu was a woman, Western Europeans were born with a stronger body. She did not feel any pressure when she picked up the wooden hammer. Her appearance was not bad and even had a different kind of beauty.
The craftsmen in the workshop could not help but look at Li Xiaolu's hammering movements. Even if they were the ones hammering, they were willing to do so.
After hammering for dozens of times, Ang Lee did not feel anything. He did not even pant. However, Li Xiaolu was different. After dozens of hammering, she was tired and sweating. The delicate fragrance emitted from her body suddenly became stronger, making the people around her a little intoxicated.
"Okay, it should be almost done."
Ang Lee felt that the hammering time was long enough, so he gently removed the thick gauze. Because the hammering was relatively fierce, the gauze and the sheets inside were stuck together. It needed to be separated carefully.
After spending a long time, Ang Lee and Li Xiaolu finally removed the top layer of gauze. However, the hammering effect was obviously not good. It was not as good as the ordinary craftsmen's work.
It was no wonder. After all, Ang Lee had just started, and these craftsmen had worked here for a long time. Their skills were naturally more skillful than Ang Lee's. It seemed that using a wooden hammer was very simple, but the strength inside was really difficult to grasp. It required frequent practice to master it well.
When taking off the thick gauze below, Ang Lee actually damaged the papyrus he worked hard to make because he was not careful. It was originally a complete piece of papyrus, but it turned into three or four pieces of broken paper. This caught Ang Lee off guard and made him a little embarrassed.
However, Ang Lee was a person who did not admit defeat. He never took the initiative to admit defeat. Since the first one was not done well, he had to continue to make. He couldn't just take a few pieces of broken paper back as a souvenir! That was too shabby. At least, it had to be made into a whole piece of paper.
Later, Ang Lee continued to make a few more pieces. Because Li Xiaolu could not swing the big wooden hammer, the next few pieces of papyrus were hammered by Ang Lee himself, but there were craftsmen who helped to arrange them.
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