Ang Lee's ability to learn quickly made Osman's subordinates admire him. They did not expect that someone of such high status like Ang Lee would be able to do the work of a low-level person so well. In other words, not only did Ang Lee have the intelligence of a high-ranking person, he also had the practical ability of a low-level person. This was very commendable.
In this era, high-ranking people were generally unwilling to do low-level work. For example, a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen. This meant that people of status should not stay in the kitchen all day and should spend their time doing important things.
However, Li An obviously did not agree with this point. He believed that a person who did not work hard and could not tell the difference between food and water was not a qualified person. People always had to do more things in order to have a complete life. In other words, the richer one's personal experience, the more exciting one's life would be. One should not be unwilling to do the hard and tiring work at the bottom of the ladder. This was obviously wrong because different jobs would bring different experiences to people. Only after soaking in bitter water would one be able to appreciate what was sweet.
"How is it? What do you all think of this official's papyrus?"
Ang Lee put the papyrus he had painstakingly created in front of everyone for his subordinates and Osman's subordinates to evaluate.
"It is already very perfect. It can be considered to be of high quality."
Osman's subordinates opened their mouths to evaluate, and the subordinates behind them also nodded their heads in praise. Although Ang Lee did not understand what they were saying, they were definitely praising him. Even if Ang Lee made trash, they would still say that it was very good. Moreover, the things that Ang Lee made were very good.
There was no need to talk about his subordinates. They were all full of praise, but their words were just right, making people feel that they were true and not lying or flattering.
"Assistant Minister Li, you are the best, the best."
Li Xiaolu also praised Ang Lee.
After hearing so many words of praise, Li An was naturally very happy. He was simply overjoyed. This could be considered as a reward for his hard work.
"This is done. How long do I need to dry it?"
Ang Lee asked.
Osman's subordinates said, "Two or three days should be enough. Dry it in the shade. Assistant Minister Li can take it back and dry it slowly in the shade."
Ang Lee nodded and asked his subordinates to pack the papyrus and bring it back. Then, they continued to inspect the drying area and saw a large number of finished papyrus.
Because of the limited space, most of the dried papyrus was stacked together to dry. The drier it was, the thicker it was stacked until it was completely dry, it could be bound and sold.
"The technical difficulty of your papyrus is very low, but the production process is too complicated. Fortunately, the labor here is not expensive, and there are many slaves who don't need to be paid. Even so, the cost of the papyrus you produce is too high. It is much more troublesome than the papyrus of the Tang dynasty! Now, the output of papyrus in the Tang dynasty is soaring. Once the output exceeds the demand of the Tang dynasty, it will flood into Egypt on a large scale. When that time comes, there will be no way to produce papyrus and it will be mercilessly eliminated. That day is not far away. At most, in a few years, no, maybe a few months, it will be very difficult to operate here. That is why I strongly requested to come and take a look. If I don't take a look now, I won't be able to see it in the future. "
Ang Lee spoke of the predicament that papyrus was facing. This predicament was unsolvable. After all, the production of papyrus was too backward. Not only was its performance not good, but its cost was also too high. It was simply too expensive. Even the gods could not save such a backward workshop.
Osman's subordinate was sweating profusely. He had long expected such a prospect. The papyrus of the Tang dynasty had now entered Egypt in small batches. The performance of the papyrus was far better than papyrus, but the price was not as expensive as papyrus. It was destined to replace papyrus. Moreover, the papyrus could not compete with the price of the Tang dynasty's papyrus.
It was also because of this that Osman's subordinate did not try to stop Ang Lee from visiting. After all, it was an industry that was about to be eliminated. There was no need to keep it a secret.
"Assistant Minister Li, do you have a way to save the papyrus?"
Osman's subordinate wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked.
Ang Lee thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's difficult! It's really too difficult. This papyrus is simply incomparable to the papyrus of the Tang dynasty. The production process is too tiring, and the cost is not reduced at all. Look at how tired I am. My forehead is full of sweat. Do you know? The papyrus of the Tang dynasty was made by soaking and grinding tree trunks and grass, then using gauze, it's much more convenient than your papyrus. Not only is the production cost low, but it's also very useful. "
It was obvious that Ang Lee had no way to save this industry that was on the verge of being eliminated. After all, the final determinant of the papyrus' survival was a large number of buyers. As long as no one was willing to buy it, this industry could only be ruthlessly eliminated.
"Assistant Minister Li, can we buy the production patent of the Tang dynasty's papyrus? We are willing to pay. The more we produce, the more we will pay. "
Osman's subordinate said.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said, "This, I can't make the decision. Someone has to sell it. However, the papyrus of the Tang dynasty is not that difficult. You can take your time to study it. Maybe you can make it. It depends on your own ability!"
Just now, Ang Lee had told Osman's subordinates the production process of the Tang dynasty's papyrus, but he did not tell them in detail how to operate it. Therefore, they had to slowly experiment on their own. If they could make it, it would be their luck. If they couldn't, then they were too stupid and couldn't blame others.
In fact, Ang Lee had mastered more advanced paper-making technology, which was much more advanced than the traditional paper-making technology of the Tang dynasty. The output was not on the same order of magnitude. Ang Lee did not intend to give this paper-making industry to anyone. He wanted to keep this industry to himself. In this way, he could make more money in the future.
Although Ang Lee was not greedy, he was still willing to leave the more important industries to himself. Of course, he wanted to keep the good things for himself. How could he give it to others?
Osman's subordinates could not force the paper-making technology of the Tang dynasty. They could only shake their heads and sigh helplessly. Perhaps it would not be long before the papyrus workshop was forced to close. In this way, a large number of craftsmen would lose their jobs. This was a good thing for the construction of the canal in the Tang dynasty. However, it was definitely not good news for the Osman Group because it meant that Osman would lose a very important source of income. This would limit the development of Egypt and even affect the salaries of Egyptian officials.
However, Osman's subordinates were helpless in this situation because none of them could come up with a solution to this problem. They could only accept this cruel reality helplessly.
Ang Lee felt that Osman's subordinates were very pitiful. Even so, Ang Lee would not tell them the paper-making technology of the Tang dynasty. After all, this was a unique technology of the Tang dynasty. Once foreigners mastered this technology, it would bring great losses to the Tang Empire.
Of course, Ang Lee had already invented the paper-making machine, which was dozens of times more efficient than the traditional paper-making technology. Therefore, even if the Egyptian officials created the paper-making technology of the Tang dynasty, they would not be able to affect Ang Lee much. However, for the sake of the interests of more businessmen in the Tang dynasty, Ang Lee still could not reveal the technology. Ang Lee's goal was to make the Tang Empire prosperous forever, to stand on the shoulders of the people of the world and trample all other nations under its feet.
After leaving the paper-making workshop, Ang Lee brought a large group of people to the small town next door. It was actually a market with a small population. The total population was estimated to be about two thousand, but there were more businessmen coming and going. In fact, if the businessmen in the small town were counted, there would be more than a thousand people because almost all the people in this town were farmers and businessmen.
The so-called farmers and businessmen referred to the fact that the residents of this town all had land, and it was woodland with many fruit trees planted on it. The farmers maintained their livelihood by planting fruit trees, but after the fruit trees matured, these farmers not only had to work very hard to harvest the fruit trees, but they also had to sell it in the market in exchange for what they needed. Therefore, these farmers could also be called businessmen. Moreover, many large families divided the work between each other. Some family members were responsible for collecting the fruit, while others were responsible for selling it. This way, the effect was the highest.
The place where the agricultural products were sold was fixed. Over time, a market was formed. All the businessmen who needed to sell agricultural products would choose to buy the products they needed in the market. In this way, the market would become more and more lively, and thus, a prosperous town was formed.
In this small town's market, people came and went quite frequently, but the total number of people was only a few hundred, not even a thousand. It was a very standard small town.
Ang Lee's group had several hundred people, and the scale was quite large. Most importantly, not only did Ang Lee's group have a lot of people, but they also had a lot of armored vehicles. This was a very shocking effect, and the peddlers and businessmen in the market couldn't help but take a few more glances.
The reason they came here was to see the local customs, enjoy the delicious food, and feel the admiring gazes of others. This was enough.
After Ang Lee got out of the car, he was accompanied by Osman's subordinates as they strolled through the town's streets. Ang Lee was only responsible for looking, while Osman's subordinates were responsible for explaining to Ang Lee what the peddlers were selling.
After walking for a while, Ang Lee found that the peddlers were selling a product that looked like a red date. It was said that this product was called Date Palm, and it was the fruit of a plant called Date Palm. It was said that the yield was not small, and a single tree could produce a lot. Therefore, the peddlers here were able to sell so many products.
Ang Lee knew about the Date Palm, but he didn't know what the Date Palm looked like. At this moment, Ang Lee really wanted to see the Date Palm to satisfy his curiosity. However, before that, Ang Lee wanted to taste the Date Palm to see what different Date Palm tasted like.
There were many Date Palms sold here, and the varieties seemed to be the same, but the appearance was very different. This was because some peddlers were selling fruits that had just been picked from the tree, and some peddlers were selling processed fruits. The processed fruits were different because the technology was different, so the taste was definitely different. The raw fruits that were collected were also different because of the time of picking. Some fruits were darker in color, and some were lighter in color. The size was also different because some fruit farmers fertilized the fruit trees, and the location of the fruit trees was better, so the size would be bigger. Some grew in places where there was not enough sunlight, and there was no fertilizer, so the fruits that grew would be smaller, and the taste would be slightly different.
However, in general, as long as it was a raw fruit, the difference in taste should not be too big. The fruit that had been artificially processed was very different. The taste would be very different. For example, after adding sugar, it would be sweet fruit. After adding sauce, it would be salty fruit. After adding chili, it would naturally be spicy fruit. However, no matter what the taste was, the taste of the Date Palm was still there. The auxiliary materials could only play a supporting role, and they could not completely replace the Date Palm.
The price of the Date Palm in the market was very close to the people. It could be said that it was very cheap. Moreover, the guests could taste it for free. It didn't matter even if they ate a few more.
Ang Lee tasted the Date Palm along the way, but Ang Lee always felt that these dried fruits were not clean enough. Therefore, before tasting, Ang Lee always washed the Date Palm completely with the clean water that his subordinates carried before eating. This scene made the peddler who sold the Date Palm very surprised. He looked at Ang Lee as if he was looking at a monster. He felt that it was too superfluous.
However, for his own health, Ang Lee would not care about other people's eyes. What was wrong with washing it clean before eating? It should be washed clean before eating.
It was no problem to eat the raw fruit after washing it clean. However, if the processed fruit was washed and eaten, the taste would change. At least, the taste would be slightly lighter. In this way, the processed Date Palm could not be eaten with its original taste.
Therefore, when he encountered the processed fruit, Ang Lee just looked at it and did not look dirty before eating it. He did not wash it with clean water. Moreover, the price of the processed fruit was higher. Many of them were dust-proof, and they were not placed in the open.
"They are all very tasty! Delicious, not bad. "
Ang Lee gave a very pertinent evaluation of these Date Palms.
"The Date Palms here are much more delicious than those in Spain. The taste is very good."
Li Xiaolu commented.
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