When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 638 - 599: Paper Mill and Directly Affiliated Casting Cultivators
The early July sunlight fell upon everyone's shoulders as Armand and the trio from Falan strolled through the workshop district. The dazzling sunshine prompted Lupher to open her umbrella.
The surrounding trees had been mostly chopped clean, leaving only leveled plots, with erected wooden stakes and lime powder outlining various areas.
Masters Knights, heavy shackles around their necks, were covered in mud as they evenly poured mortar concrete onto the subsided roadbed.
This so-called industrial zone is located in the southern suburb of Joan of Arc Castle, downstream of the Ibe River. Standing on the construction dock looking south, one can see four new workshops being built.
Shielding her eyes, Lupher looked at the rows of new workshops: "What kind of workshops are those?"
"Those are papermaking workshops, they need to use hydraulic machinery to pulp, hence built by the river."
"Four papermaking workshops? Can you get that much animal glue and agents?" Familiar with papermaking workshops, Lupher frowned and asked.
"Perhaps it's hemp paper?" Venice winked and said enigmatically.
The so-called animal glue is a paper adhesive made by boiling animal skin, tendons, and hooves, while agents ensure the paper's smoothness and ink resistance.
After shredding cloth and bark into pulp, it's mixed with animal glue to bind the short fibers of cloth and bark into long fibers, and then a copper wire mesh is used to scoop out the paper.
Paper is expensive, costly mainly due to the bark and agents required. Different types of bark require different formulas of animal glue and agents.
A ream (500 sheets) of good Golden Horn Bay paper can sell for a pricey 2-3 gold pounds, while regular paper costs around 1.5 gold pounds, and the cheapest hemp paper for common folks is 100 Dinars per ream.
Hemp paper is made from ordinary hemp fibers, using only animal glue without agents.
"We've found a new material to replace animal glue and agents, which is a business secret and can't be disclosed."
Unyielding, Abazi lowered his voice to ask, "Alchemy methods?"
With eyes showing a hint of pity, Armand nodded.
"Heretics…" Venice muttered in a mosquito-like voice.
"Why do you have such a huge demand for paper?" Taking advantage of the question, Lupher stepped forward, shading Armand's head with the umbrella amid the distorted expressions of the other two.
Armand looked up at the shading umbrella: "Because the Pope's Palace has implemented paper-based office work, each administrative monk annually consumes about 10 pounds of paper on average. We need to compile yearbooks, and post notices to nearby village societies monthly, demanding quite a lot of paper."
Posting notices to village societies is one of the Truth Court's major tasks, counted within the year-end indicators for preaching and truth propaganda.
They mainly consist of various news, short stories from Langsande County, and Horn's own feats, along with various policies.
Cheka occasionally conducts private visits to nearby village societies to check if the Wandering Cultivators and Hundred Households Captains have posted and recited the truth notices timely and adequately.
The Imperial Guards were able to expand rapidly and maintain high morale, with these trivial notices playing no small part.
As he spoke, Armand led the group into a completed papermaking workshop, similar to the sugar-making workshop, designed with an assembly line.
However, it's L-shaped because the corner must be close to the river to utilize hydraulic power for pulping.
Having said a word to the workshop manager, Harbin took a stack of Joan paper from the warehouse, distributing it among the three.
Upon touching the paper, Lupher's eyes instantly lit up; pure white paper in the Empire is rare, requiring specific bark and agents.
The paper in her hand wasn't exactly snow-white but only had faint ivory edges.
Her fingertips brushed the paper's surface, slightly rough and thick, overall having a patina-like texture.
Being from a wealthy family and a scholar, Lupher has seen various papers throughout her life, and she could basically judge this as mid-ranked, worth around 1.5 gold pounds (180 Dinars) per ream.
"How much does this paper cost?" Venice raised the paper edge, studying its hardness and resilience while asking.
Harbin rubbed his hands and replied, "90 Dinars per ream, with a bulk discount of 5 Dinars for ton purchases."
"90 Dinars per ream? Can you make a profit?" Venice stared, "Don't be trying to trick us into buying industrial vouchers."
"Ah, what are you talking about?" Harbin shook the paper in his hand, "It's 85 Dinars, anyone, anytime, it's 85 Dinars.
Hehe, let me tell you, even at the 85 Dinars price, we can still make about 25 Dinars profit. One workshop has 10 papermaking artisans, each capable of producing 400-600 sheets a day.
Every workshop can produce 1 ton of paper a month, equating to 400 reams, roughly 83 gold pounds profit, nearly 1000 gold pounds annual profit.
Otherwise, why do you think we dare to issue 10% interest bonds? It's all for a reason!"
Unable to resist, Venice asked: "Then why build only four? Build more, selling them outside should bring considerable income."
"Ugh, our His Majesty Saint Sun is virtuous and doesn't compete with the people for profit." Harbin chuckled.
Lupher, however, immediately exposed him: "Papermaking requires skill; they were able to hire about 40 papermaking artisans. Unlike sugar-making, which doesn't require much skill, allowing massive expansion.
However, the Thousand River Valley has three to four million people, and even residents should range between 150,000 to 250,000, finding a hundred or so papermaking artisans shouldn't be difficult, right?"
"In fact, the industrial zone buildings are civilian; it's a joint workshop of the Pope's Palace and Meigedi Commerce Association. Important counties have Royal Papermaking Workshops or Salvation Army-affiliated papermaking workshops," Armand explained.
"These direct papermaking workshops do not sell papers outside but offer them for internal cost-price purchases, excess is stored, deficiencies are externally purchased.
They have relatively low wages but steady income, even distributing free housing. If a local Monastery's fiscal revenue is substantial, year-end bonuses are given to workshops with the highest efficiency and production."
"Did you say the priests give artisans bonuses?" Venice dug his ear, "Are you sure you didn't misspeak?"
"Of course." Armand raised an eyebrow and looked meaningfully at Venice. "In Langsande County, War Monks, Administrative Monks, and Casting Cultivators are all monks, without distinction."
"Moreover, next year's Central Monastery budget allocation is based on the previous fiscal income from local Monasteries.
If not spent, next year's central budget will decrease, prompting local Monasteries to spend it all." Following Armand's lead, Harbin explained with a troubled expression, "Pope's Workshop treats Casting Cultivators so well that papermaking artisans went over to the Pope's Workshop."
Currently, the number of papermaking artisans is relatively small, and the demand for paper is large due to the need for ledger and tax statistics across regions, enabling Horn to play this game.
When the numbers increase in the future, he won't be able to practically monopolize all industry within Langsande County like this.
Harbin could only recruit 40, which doesn't mean the entire Thousand River Valley has no other papermaking artisans, but that only so many are willing to accept His Majesty Saint Sun's and the Saintess's offer. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Though the entire Thousand River Valley falls into Horn's so-called Great Shepherd domain, in some secluded areas, even city areas, church propaganda still prevails.
Some citizen artisans even consider the Pope's Palace deceptive, questioning such good conditions, unwilling to come, and there's even a rumor about "Pope's Palace tricking artisans into slave work in Langsande County."
Before the comprehensive promotion of perpetual tenancy and Hundred Households District reform, most peasants and artisans probably won't accept Horn's leadership.
After all, no matter how one looks at it, there's indeed a witch by his side!
But Lupher saw enormous future prospects, supposing they defeat Leia Army, as the rolling wealth pours in, who would still mind the witch? Or rather, there will always be someone who doesn't!
Otherwise, should she write a letter for the family to send someone to invest?
Just invest a few thousand gold pounds, which wouldn't hurt even if lost.
Of course, this is purely a rational consideration, entirely unrelated to Armand.
"Well, do you want to continue watching?" Armand asked Lupher.
After a moment's thought, Lupher shook her head: "It's nearing noon, isn't it? The sun is too intense; let's grab lunch, then bring the clockwork gun and targets, and keep me company for a few rounds."
