The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 244: Lack of Paper

In the carriage heading to Kuaiji, Li Yu had changed out of his morning official attire and now wore plain clothes. Accompanying him was the palace servant who had received the two taels of silver as a reward for Sang Luo. Naturally, this time, the servant was not in palace attire.

The two of them sat together in the carriage. After traveling for some distance and passing a couple of villages, Li Yu lifted the curtain to look outside. Seeing signs of settlement, he turned to his companion and asked, “Eunuch Cen, shall we go in and have a look?”

Eunuch Cen, who was on a mission from the palace, had no reason to refuse.

“Alright, after such a long journey, let’s go into the village and get some water.”

The carriage stopped at a distance, and without escorts, the two walked into the village. They wandered around the small village with about ten households, rested at a local’s home, and returned to the carriage two quarters of an hour later. Once inside, Eunuch Cen smiled and said, “Master Li, Sang Luo is quite interesting.”

She was indeed regarded as a living Bodhisattva by the locals of Shezhou.

Upon entering Daxing Village, both Li Yu and his accompanying palace servants noticed the difference from the outside world. The Shen family lived in the inner part of the village, and despite the hardships of recent years, the vitality and spirit of the people were remarkable. In addition to their robust appearance, the village had numerous domestic animals.

The unusual sight did not change the expressions of the Shezhou governor and his officials, nor did it alter the reactions of the neighboring villagers who came to watch. It was evidently a norm for them.

However, Li Yu and the palace servants, who had traveled from the north to the south, found it unusual.

The capital, which had been under siege for months, was a different story. Even outside the capital, many places were still slowly recovering, with famine and hardship being common. In severely affected areas, it was not unusual to find regions with no inhabitants for several hundred miles, where no signs of life or even the sound of chickens or dogs could be heard.

Li Yu’s conversation with Zeng Ziqian was accurate. His trip south was partly to visit Kuaiji and partly to act as the emperor’s eyes and check on the situation in the south.

“It is interesting.” Li Yu, being perceptive, noticed that while this village was not as prosperous as Daxing Village, it still had poultry and livestock.

As a strategist and close attendant of the emperor, Li Yu had an eye for detail. He learned that the mountain chickens, wild rabbits, and sheep came from Daxing Village, while the chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, and cattle were the work of Concubine Fan. Even the yam planting, konjac tofu, and “fairy tofu” were noted.

Li Yu also learned that the villagers had previously hidden in the deep mountains and inquired how they knew about the peace outside. He had expected announcements from the government, but it turned out that news came from Daxing Village. The story of how Shen Lie and others helped the mountain people settle down was shared with Li Yu as a tale of goodwill.

Shezhou, Daxing Village.

Li Yu smiled.

A family like the Fans, a commoner like the San family, and a group of capable and dedicated young people.

“After returning from Kuaiji, we should visit more places around Shezhou.”

Li Yu’s intuition told him that he should revisit Daxing Village.

—

Sang Luo learned about the severe paper shortage in both the government and civilian sectors in the afternoon. After Chu Qichang had finished surveying the land, Shen Ning and a group of children from the village hurried to the city to see the two proclamations posted on the notice wall.

When they returned, they brought another piece of news: the government was recruiting craftsmen who could make bamboo slips. Shen Ning and Xu Wenyin, who were involved in a small brush business, made a delivery to the nearby ink and paper shops near the state academy. They found that those shops were also collecting bamboo slips, offering three wen per ten well-made and hole-punched bamboo slips.

This was good news for most families in the village, even more so than the government’s recruitment of bamboo craftsmen. The recruitment required working during the day, and with many households having significant farmland, few could afford to leave their fields for government work. The paper shops, however, offered work that could be done by people of all ages. One could spend an hour or two at night making bamboo slips and earn some money.

Shen Ning even brought back samples of bamboo slips. After Chen Youtian and others confirmed that the work was viable, a large group of people headed to the mountains to cut bamboo, including Shen Jin and Shen Yin. No matter the amount, it was always money.

Sang Luo, however, frowned. “Are there no more papers for sale in the city?”

Shen Ning nodded. “There are some, but very few. The shopkeeper said they can’t restock. The remaining paper is highly prized, and the prices are extremely high. Ordinary people can’t afford it.”

Indeed, paper was expensive, and bamboo slips weren’t necessarily cheap. Even if you did all the labor yourself—cutting, splitting, peeling, boiling, and drying the bamboo—buying bamboo slips was not cheap either. A roll of bamboo slips with fifty pieces might be bought for fifteen wen, but it would cost at least twenty-five to thirty wen for scholars.

How many characters could a roll of bamboo slips hold? Usually, a single bamboo slip could accommodate about twenty characters, or up to forty if written neatly. A roll containing one or two thousand characters would require at least twenty-five to thirty wen for just the bamboo slips alone, not counting the cost of ink and brush.

This was even more expensive than the paper used before.

On one hand, Sang Luo understood why it was so difficult to produce scholars in ancient times. On the other hand, she finally grasped why classical Chinese writing was so concise. Besides other aspects, the difficulty of obtaining paper or bamboo slips made brevity a necessity.

Having paper was once a sign of progress, but now, under the Da Qi, the usage of paper was regressing.

Xu Wenyin, who had come with Shen Ning, also looked troubled. “Ah Luo, do you think the paper-making craftsmen were all lost in the wars? Otherwise, it’s unreasonable that no paper has been produced for so long. Anyone with money would want to earn it.”

Sang Luo was somewhat absent-minded. “Maybe.”

She didn’t fully believe this herself. Surely, the entire Da Qi couldn’t have only one family making paper?

In the evening, when she collected the bark that had been sun-dried and soaked daily and now resembled hemp fiber, Sang Luo gazed at it in a daze.

Today, Shen Lie and Shen An had also seen the government notice. When they returned to the village from school, they found bamboo slips at every household’s door and learned about the paper shop’s collection of bamboo slips.

Seeing Sang Luo lost in thought while looking at the bark, Shen Lie quietly asked, “Are you thinking of making paper?”

Sang Luo didn’t answer immediately, then shook her head after a while. “Paper and plowing are two different matters.”

Even if she managed to make paper, with the current shortage, producing paper that was comparable to what was available outside for personal use or to sell quietly would be one thing, but with the severe paper shortage, even the government had reverted to using bamboo slips. Producing paper now would make her an easy target.

With no one around, Shen Lie took Sang Luo’s hand and said softly, “Don’t rush. We don’t know who currently holds the paper-making techniques or why there’s such a shortage. It’s best not to act recklessly. I’ll try to find out more later.”

“I understand.”

Despite their current favorable circumstances with the imperial decree and the archway, one wrong move could easily entangle them with powerful interests. Shen Lie’s cautious approach made her feel uneasy, knowing how precarious their situation could be. In such an era, being powerless meant being like floating reeds—wanting to do something was not easy. Looking back at the time she proposed the plow, Shen Lie had been hesitant to deliver it in the evening but had later mobilized the whole village to make a grand presentation the next day. He might have had his reservations then.

Even though military generals were prone to deception and false claims, their gratitude for the books given by the former governor did not equate to true familiarity or understanding. Thus, even a seemingly beneficial act like presenting a plow might have been approached with caution. How much more so for paper?

“Alright, let’s not think about this for now. Until we understand the situation better, just assume you don’t know anything,” Shen Lie said with a smile, drawing lines on Sang Luo’s forehead. “You need to worry less; otherwise, I’m afraid the child will be like this.”

Sang Luo pulled his hand down and laughed. “Is that how you joke around?”

But his jest did lighten her mood.

After placing the bark in the basket, she let go of it. The couple then discussed how to build their new house, which was now a pressing matter. With more available land and ample silver, their previous plans needed to be revised.

After their discussion, they lit a lamp—one of them reading and the other sketching on a convenient sand table. They were absorbed in their tasks until midnight.

The next morning, Sang Luo woke up to find the bed empty. When she got up and was halfway through washing up, Shen Lie came back with two bamboo poles. After placing the bamboo away from the house, he washed his hands and told Sang Luo, “Starting today, Xiao An and I will also be making bamboo slips in the evenings for the academy. We’ll keep the remaining paper for you to use for drawings.”

Sang Luo often drew things, and with the need to design the new house, she would need a lot of paper. Bamboo slips were not as convenient as paper.

Sang Luo nodded and was not worried about delaying the brothers’ studies. Shen Lie and Shen An had never let her or Shen Ning handle the heavy or dirty work at home. They were capable of chopping firewood and testing each other’s knowledge at the same time.

Once the two left for the academy, Sang Luo’s thoughts were fully occupied with the new house. She spent the entire day drawing the floor plan. When Shen Lie returned in the evening, he brought news from his inquiries.

“I asked Mr. Wang, the sixth master of the Wang family. The paper-making techniques have always been controlled by the aristocratic families, but he doesn’t know why there’s such a severe shortage now.”

Mr. Wang was the sixth uncle of Wang Yunzheng and the only Wang family member who interacted with Wang Yunzheng among the Wang family’s scholars.

Sang Luo shook her head upon hearing this. Since it was controlled by the aristocrats, she decided to let it go for now. She continued working diligently and completed a detailed house plan over the next two days.

When Shen Ning saw the finalized plan, she was astonished. “Sister-in-law, we have four courtyards?”

She was skeptical.

But the drawing was indeed clear, and there were four courtyards!

Sang Luo nodded and explained, “The southeast corner is the main gate. After entering, there is an initial courtyard, with a screen wall directly opposite the gate. To the side is the kitchen, and to the left is the second entrance leading to the main courtyard. Behind the east and west wing rooms are additional courtyards. The courtyard behind the west wing will house the imperial decrees, and the courtyard next to the door will be the largest in our home.”

Shen Ning understood immediately. “For making things?”

Sang Luo smiled and nodded. “Any confidential work will be done in that courtyard.”

Knowing the purpose of the courtyards, Shen Ning also looked at the floor plan, counting the rooms and exclaimed, “Sister-in-law, this has twenty-two rooms! Can we live in all of them?”

Realizing the future additions of nephews and nieces, she smiled.

Sang Luo laughed. “The additional rooms aren’t just for children. The living spaces will be mainly the east and west wings and the main house. There will be a reception room, a living room, and a study, with three rooms dedicated to the study. Each person will have their own space. The other rooms in the courtyards will serve as storage, for imperial decrees, and in the northern courtyard, there will be workshops and storage areas for future brewing or other activities. Each space will have its purpose.”

In fact, the main areas taking up space are the back courtyard and the row of workshops and storage rooms. Especially the courtyards, which are essential for drying things. Whether it’s for processing paper or preparing food, drying is a necessity. It can only be done within high walls; otherwise, it’s difficult to maintain the proper conditions.

As the two women were talking, someone from the governor’s residence arrived—a maidservant of Concubine Fan. She had been to Shen’s family with Concubine Fan yesterday and was familiar with the way, so she came directly to the house and called for Sang Luo from outside.

When Sang Luo came out, the maidservant greeted her and said with a smile, “My lady sent me to pass on a message. She said there are some vacant shops in the state city that will be put up for sale. She asked if you are interested.”

“Shops?”

This was definitely of interest!

Not only had she prepared to collaborate with the Chen family, but her own products like wine, sour jujube cakes, and honey also needed to be sold in a shop. Having a shop of her own was far more convenient and profitable than supplying others.

Sang Luo’s eyes lit up. “Where are these shops, and how expensive are they?”

“They are all over. They are properties that were abandoned during the wartime chaos and have now been reclaimed by the government. The authorities are allowing each state and county to release a batch for sale. As for the price, it varies depending on the location and size. The maidservant doesn’t know the specifics. My lady said if you’re interested, you can go to the governor’s residence and choose before they are officially released.”

Sang Luo would certainly not miss such an opportunity. Even Shen Ning’s eyes brightened upon hearing this. Sang Luo instructed Shen Ning to stay at home, quickly tidied herself, and went to the governor’s residence with the maidservant.

At the governor’s residence, Concubine Fan was already waiting for her. As soon as Sang Luo arrived at the side door of the residence, someone rushed to report her arrival. By the time Sang Luo entered through the flower gate, Concubine Fan had come out to greet her with a smile, saying, “A distinguished guest arrives. I apologize for not coming out to meet you personally. Please come in and let’s talk inside.”

Concubine Fan was straightforward and friendly. Even though she took Sang Luo’s arm, it felt warm and sincere rather than uncomfortable. Sang Luo smiled and said, “Thank you for the warm welcome. I’ve always wanted to visit, but we’ve been busy preparing to build a house and couldn’t find the time. I really appreciate you thinking of me and offering such a good opportunity.”

“Don’t mention it.”

With warm exchanges and a few friendly words, they quickly made each other feel at ease, as if they were old friends. Concubine Fan led Sang Luo to the flower hall, where they were greeted by smiling servants and maidservants. By the time they sat down in the flower hall, tea and snacks had already been served.