"Tattered fishing nets, old clothes, rags, kudzu and hemp... Children are innocent, cheap and beautiful!"
Hu Hai walked across the street carrying a bamboo basket on his back. After meeting the inner prison gate, he took out the biography he had prepared, which contained Cao Xiu's "personal handwriting".
"What use does the stingy man need these for?"
The old man looked at Hu Hai puzzled.
"I'm just doing what I'm told."
"That's fine..."
The old man didn't know what was going on, but he opened the inner door as ordered. After all, Cao Xiu is a local miser who is in charge of the entire Fengyi. He is just a prisoner and has no right to stop him.
The residential areas in the city are very interesting, somewhat similar to the closed communities of later generations, called lanes. There are about twenty or thirty families living there, some are poor on the left and rich on the right. At the same time, every mile is surrounded by a wall, which is about seven feet high.
There is a security guard at the inner prison door, who is responsible for opening and closing the door every day to prevent fire and theft. If there is a fire that burns down the inner door, it will be a dereliction of duty and you will be rewarded with a shield!
"Tattered fishing nets, old clothes, rags, kudzu and hemp... Children are innocent, cheap and beautiful!"
Hu Hai was not timid, carrying a bamboo basket and continuing to shout along the narrow alley. This is Cao Xiu. If someone else asked him, he would not do such a shameful thing.
"Young gentleman, wait!"
At this time, a woman pushed open the curtain of the banquet door. She was Widow Cao and the Tofu Xishi of Peixian County. Her husband was from a concubine of the Cao family, but he died in battle early and lived in extreme poverty in the past few years. Later, Cao Xiu thought of her hard work and taught her how to make tofu from bean curd. Although it was extremely hard every day, my life was still relatively easy to live by.
"What are you going to do with these?"
"It's the stingy husband's order."
"It turned out to be a benefactor."
Widow Cao suddenly understood.
Although she is over thirty and her face is full of vicissitudes of life, her foundation is still good. She has a plump and bumpy figure, so she has many suitors.
"Wait a moment, I'll go clean it up now."
"become."
Hu Hai nodded immediately.
After a while, Widow Cao walked out again. In his hand, he prepared several pieces of clothes full of patches, as well as some cloth and kudzu. Anyone who has ever been a tailor knows that there will definitely be some pieces of fabric that cannot be used during normal cutting. For Lu Zuo, these cloth ends can also be used for sewing and mending.
Three years of new life and three years of old life, three more years of sewing and mending. Especially if there are several children in the family, a piece of clothing will be modified and modified from the eldest to the youngest.
In order to support Cao Xiu in her work, Widow Cao even took out her intimate clothes. Although it is a bit worn, it is actually still wearable.
"It's a pound for a pound, I'll weigh it for you."
Hu Hai took out the scale as he spoke.
Now it costs about three yuan per catty, which is quite a fair recycling price. After all, for many wealthy families in Luyou, people like cloth heads are simply thrown away without even looking down upon them.
"No need." Widow Cao shook her head with a smile, "Please, young gentleman, please tell Stingy Fusheng that these are Widow Cao's wishes, and I hope he will accept them."
"Okay."
Hu Hai didn't understand what politeness was at all.
Seeing that he didn't want any money, he just left.
Except for him, the entire Peixian County was extremely lively. In addition to the ministers, there were also orphans adopted by Cao Xiu who were carrying bamboo baskets and shouting everywhere. Some wealthy Luyou families don't even ask for money and just give it away for free.
After all, Cao Xiu is now a prominent figure in Pei County. If they accepted the money, Cao Xiu might not be able to wear small shoes for them in the future. For example, when serving in the military, assign them the busiest spring and autumn seasons, or go to remote areas to work hard. Even though Cao Xiu's official position was small, he had considerable power and a lot of room for maneuver.
…
…
"Collecting second-hand fishnet stockings? Original lingerie?"
Cao Shen's mouth twitched as he listened to the news reported by his men.
Who is this bastard spreading rumors about? !
He was clearly talking about broken fishing nets and footwear!
"Don't be impatient." Xiao He smiled helplessly from the side, "A wise man cannot speak, and a man who speaks cannot be wise. A stray pill will stop in a moment, and a rumor will stop in a person who knows. Shallowness is not enough to measure the depth, and stupidity is not enough to seek knowledge. There is no way to know. Turtle, you can't talk about the joy of the East China Sea. Everything Xiu'er does is a big plan, so there is no need to care about the fool and lower yourself."
"But these people are too presumptuous!"
Cao Shen couldn't help but stand up.
You know, reputation is also very important at this time.
All it takes to bring someone down is to start some rumors. They knew that Cao Xiu was upright, but people outside did not. It would be bad luck if these rumors spread to the top. Cao Shen once heard that someone was very talented, but he could not be recommended as an official because of his reputation as a wife thief.
"Soon, they will understand."
Xiao He held the bamboo slip and looked out the window.
Last year, Cao Xiu mentioned this matter to him. For this purpose, bamboos were cut to float on the pond, and kudzu and mulberry bark were hoarded. Although he didn't quite understand it, after hearing Cao Xiu's description, he knew that this would be a great thing that would go down in history and benefit the country!
Therefore, they started preparing early. Make tools and train craftsmen. Just waiting for Cao Xiu's order, construction can officially start.
After getting Wang Ben's promise, Cao Xiu informed them that they were ready to start. If the art of papermaking can really be achieved, it will be a good thing for the country and the people. If it goes well, they can also make money through this, which is simply a bloody profit.
Chief Cao sighed and said softly: "If this happens, Xiu'er may be able to leave Peixian with this merit. I think back to when he first arrived in Peixian, although he was young, he was extremely determined. I have watched him grow up over the years. Yes, I know how difficult it was for him to get to where he is today. I would really be reluctant to leave him suddenly."
"I have to take this step eventually."
When it comes to this matter, Xiao He is also extremely reluctant to give up.
But for the sake of the future, it has to be this way.
"Xiao Jun, have you ever thought about going to Xianyang together?"
"Why forget it..."
Xiao He refused directly.
He had a good relationship with Cao Xiu, but there was no need to follow him to Xianyang. As the head of the Xiao family, he is responsible for the fate of hundreds of people and will not leave easily. Not to mention that Cao Xiu is an adult and has the ability to stand alone.
Cao Shen was not too surprised.
"What do you think, Mr. Cao?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"oh?"
Xiao He couldn't help but laugh.
"After all, you still don't worry about Xiu'er."
Cao Shen didn't deny it either.
The Cao family's status in Peixian County is so high, and even vaguely surpasses the Xiao family, it is entirely because of Cao Xiu's contribution. He had watched Cao Xiu grow up, so he must have been worried when he saw that he was going to Xianyang to take risks.
Mr. Cao has been doing very well in Peixian County over the years, and he has two brothers who can also help him. If Xiao He and others help a little more, there is no need to worry at all.
In addition, he is tired of being the second child of ten thousand years.
If you follow Cao Xiu to Xianyang, you may have new opportunities. He prides himself on his outstanding abilities, but he has never really contributed to his secret planning over the years. Otherwise, how could he be just a prison warden?
"Let's go, it's time for us to go to the workshop."
"If hemp paper can be made, it will surely leave a name for generations to come!"
