The Lone Star of the Tang Dynasty

In the context of the agrarian society of the Tang Dynasty, despite the abundance of natural resources, the core raw material of paper, fiber, was always the key to determining its quality.

Li Changge knows this very well, but this time he does not plan to start improving from fiber, after all, the current raw materials are quite ideal. His eyes were set on bleaching technology and technological processes, and he was determined to use these two points as a breakthrough to subvert the traditional rice paper manufacturing.

He pursued a new texture, making the otherwise soft and flowing rice paper more structured and powerful, with sharp edges when folded, and at the same time, by adding a rigorous and delicate bleaching process, the paper presented a pure white tone as pure and flawless as the first snow in winter.

This goal draws on the technological advantages of the modern paper industry, and even the most basic recycled paper is far whiter than the ancient precious rice paper, which has already won the eye in terms of visual effect. And if you use virgin pulp as a material, you can reach an amazing level.

Fortunately, there was a salt well near Li Changge's village, and because of the low quality of the salt and the improvement of the villagers' lives, people gradually abandoned this brackish salt well and bought better salt in Youzhou City.

Li Changge had a discerning eye and understood that with the resources here, he was fully capable of refining the caustic soda needed for paper bleaching.

So, since that day, Li Changge's rhythm of life has changed, and the originally leisurely days have been occupied by busy papermaking experiments.

As a personal maid, Mian'er also started the "996" hard work with her master, but she did not complain, but was happy, because she knew that she was participating in a great attempt that could change history.

After several days of intense efforts, the paper drying on the gauze shelves in the yard gradually dried and formed.

One morning, Mian'er, who had just woken up, came to the courtyard, and was stunned by the scene before her: the paper was so white and flawless! Such a white, so pure that it was almost indescribable, and although Mian'er had read for several years, she could not think of anything comparable to it at this moment.

Witnessing this scene, Mian'er's heart suddenly brightened, Childe once said that he wanted to make the best paper in the world, and now it seems that this oath is not a rhetoric. Excited, Mian'er immediately ran back to the room to find Li Changge: "Childe, Childe, Childe, the paper has been dried, we have succeeded!".

......

In the evening, a shop along the street in a square in the west of Chang'an City ...... Ying'er and Mian'er were surrounding Li Changge asking about the pricing of tomorrow's opening.

The shelves were filled with a dazzling array of goods, and the price of one of the perfumes caused them to wonder: "Childe, is this perfume priced at ten taels of silver, is it too expensive?"

Li Changge sat on the big chair in the back hall and explained with a smile: "Perfume is to be sold expensively. "

Since the newly developed paper has not yet been mass-produced, Li Changge specially brought Mian'er over to take care of the store and prepare for the launch of new products tomorrow. While waiting for the hot pot to be fully stocked, he was given many other spice ingredients, some of which were not suitable for cooking, but were suitable for making perfumes. Usually, Li Changge will make some perfumes as gifts for the two maids, and this time he has made a lot of more stores and put them on the shelves together.

What made Li Changge quite satisfied was that Ying'er successfully bought this spacious and well-trafficked store at a relatively low price. Faced with Ying'er's question, Li Changge patiently answered: "If it is a practical item such as furniture, it is natural that such a high price cannot be set." But perfume is different, it sells not only function, but also a symbol of status and status. Although you are a maid, you are different from ordinary maidservants, and Mian'er has even read books. However, even so, you have to work every day, and women often seek comfort through comparisons when they are wronged. The powerful in Chang'an City are like clouds, especially among women, and in such an environment, perfume will undoubtedly become the target of their competition. "

Li Changge is well aware that under the pressure of the economic downturn, people tend to buy luxury goods to boost their confidence, a psychological phenomenon that has been true throughout the ages. Now Datang is on the rise, and such a business opportunity should not be missed. Although the two maids were still skeptical, Li Changge just smiled noncommittally, secretly recalling the joy they had when they received the perfume they had given them.

Considering that the hour was still early, Li Changge decided to take the two maids to take a walk on the streets of Chang'an and inspect the market prices.

Walking on the bustling streets of Chang'an, Li Changge couldn't help but have a new understanding of Li Shimin's quality: after the general monarch rebelled successfully, he would often destroy the palace of the former dynasty to show his denial, but Li Shimin did not commit any crimes when he entered Chang'an, which allowed Chang'an to maintain its original prosperity. Although it is the second year of Zhenguan at this moment, there is still some time before the arrival of Zhenguan's rule, but at this time, Chang'an has shown an extremely prosperous atmosphere, with many shops, almost comparable to the township night market.

In Li Changge's view, the prosperity in front of him is only "good", but in the eyes of the two maids, it is very lively.

Soon, the excited two began to take the initiative to lead Li Changge through the streets of Chang'an to experience the unique charm of this ancient capital.

The two maids pestered Li Changge like daughters to buy all kinds of favorite things, from rouge, rock sugar persimmons to jade bowls, Li Changge agreed with a smile.

The

night market was bustling and lively, and Li Changge himself chose a four-stone hard bow, which attracted passers-by to marvel again and again.

Walking and stopping, Li Changge noticed a shop specializing in copperware, and sighed in his heart that Chang'an was far more prosperous than Youzhou. Among the bronzes, he found a brass lamp with exquisite workmanship and strange shape, and upon closer inspection, he realized that this brass lamp seemed to be able to be used as an alcohol lamp, and was much better than his own existing one. Thinking of the distilled alcohol that was newly made recently with a purity of almost 99 degrees, Li Changge decided to buy this brass lamp and pour it into the alcohol experiment on the spot, and sure enough, the temperature increased significantly.

"Childe, what is the difference between this alcohol lamp and the one at home?" asked Ying'er curiously.

"When you go back, you'll know that its temperature can be at least more than 300 degrees higher. Li Changge nodded with satisfaction, considering that it was late at night, the three of them decided to rent a horse and go back to the store.

On the way back from horseback, it was eight or nine o'clock in the evening, and the curfew in Chang'an had not yet been lifted.

Li Changge experienced the joy of driving horses, and at the same time understood the love of modern people for motorcycles.

Just as they were about to return to the store, Mian'er suddenly grabbed the corner of Li Changge's clothes and pointed to a newly opened crude medicine shop: "Childe, there is a crude medicine shop here!".

Li Changge and Ying'er stopped to watch, and Mian'er proposed to buy saltpeter, because saltpeter was widely used in their various studies, and the saltpeter in Youzhou had been bought out by Li Changge.

Entering the pharmacy, saltpeter was quickly purchased.

At this moment, Li Changge smelled a different aroma of tea - it was a different kind of tea soup that was popular at that time, but closer to the aroma of green tea in later generations. This reminded Li Changge of the legend of the tea saint Lu Yu, it turned out that before Lu Yu appeared, there was already an existence similar to green tea.

Li Changge immediately asked the store about the price of tea: "How much is this kind of tea per catty?"

The shopkeeper replied: "Childe has a good eye, this is the treasure of the small shop, the dry tea transported from Jiangnan, but the price is slightly expensive, five taels of silver a catty." "

For Li Changge, who is eager to try something new, although five taels of silver is not cheap, it is still within the scope of affordability.

Just as he was about to pay, a woman dressed in red walked into the shop and shouted that she would take all the dry tea and put a gold ingot in her hand.

Li Changge frowned slightly, and turned his head to look at the strange woman in red......