The Farm Girl’s Charismatic Fortune
Chapter 216 - 212 Divine Lord Xuanyuan is Omnipotent

Chapter 216: Chapter 212 Divine Lord Xuanyuan is Omnipotent

The next day, at the break of dawn, Ruo Shui returned to the village.

She left the city as soon as the gates opened and ran all the way back.

Granny Lei had just finished feeding the livestock in the backyard.

There were still quite a few animals at home, and since each type required a different feeding method and their pens needed to be cleaned of manure, even if Granny Lei got up before dawn to start working, she wouldn’t finish until daylight.

Granny Lei was a good mother-in-law, taking on these dirty tasks so that her daughters-in-law wouldn’t have to. Of course, she also enjoyed these chores; she liked seeing the livestock thrive and took pleasure in keeping the poultry and animals well-cared for.

Sometimes when Madam Liu and Madam Jiang were free, they would also get up early to help, but Granny Lei wouldn’t allow it, especially after the bookstore had opened and the two daughters-in-law were busy with printing books.

Granny Lei took on the responsibility of caring for the home vegetable garden and the animals.

The farmland was too extensive now, weeding, fertilizing, and irrigating were all done by hired hands; Granny Lei just needed to make sure they did their work well.

Upon seeing her son rushing into the courtyard, drenched in sweat, Granny Lei’s heart skipped a beat, "Fourth son, why have you returned? What has happened?"

"It’s nothing, I’m looking for Xuanbao." He headed towards his own room as he spoke.

Granny Lei quickly stopped him, "Xuanbao slept with me last night. Don’t rush; you’ll frighten the child. Xuanbao hasn’t even woken up yet."

Granny Lei held back her son, "What’s the matter? Whatever it is, we can find a way to solve it. There’s no need to panic!"

Granny Lei had weathered many storms, single-handedly raising several sons to be filial, sensible, and even somewhat promising; it had not been easy.

Her words calmed Ruo Shui, "The bookstore is being targeted; we can’t buy paper for printing books. If we can’t print 20,000 volumes for three academies within half a month, we’ll owe 1,500 taels of silver."

Granny Lei understood immediately, "If we can’t buy it, we’ll find someone else who can. If they won’t sell to us, would they not sell to others? Are they not going to do business anymore? I’ll go talk to Madam Xuanyuan and ask her to help us buy; she knows many people. Don’t disturb Xuanbao’s sleep; a child needs to sleep more to grow bigger and taller. At your age, why are you running back to find a child for help?"

Ruo Shui: "..."

He felt somewhat embarrassed but deep down, he had an intuition that Xuanbao knew how to make paper.

Ruo Xuan had not yet fully awakened from her state of sleep cultivation, but her keen hearing had already picked up the conversation between her father and grandmother, so she opened her eyes.

She climbed out of bed and walked out, "Dad, can’t we buy paper for printing books?"

Granny Lei glared at Ruo Shui for waking Xuanbao!

Ruo Shui stepped forward to pick up Xuanbao, "Did Daddy wake you?"

"No, I was already awake."

Ruo Xuan asked for details about what had happened, what kind of paper was needed, and the specifics of the contract. After getting a clear picture, she said, "Dad, don’t worry about the paper; leave it to me."

She was no longer an inexperienced girl; now she could be described as highly learned, talented, and savvy about the ways of the world!

Her understanding of the world told her to take care of her troubles herself, and if she couldn’t, to seek the help of Divine Lord Xuanyuan.

After all, Divine Lord Xuanyuan could do anything!

Having said that, Ruo Xuan, her small face unwashed, ran up the mountain.

Ruo Shui, of course, couldn’t really just rely on his daughter; he also sought help from others to buy paper.

Xuanyuan Que had just finished his evening cultivation and was attending to his ablutions, earnestly wiping his face with a cloth towel.

Ruo Xuan rushed in like a whirlwind, "Brother Xuanyuan, do you have time today?"

Glancing at her little bun and the traces of sleep, it was obvious she had just gotten up and raced over without tidying herself, "What is it?"

He cleaned the cloth towel methodically, hung it on the washbasin rack, and then stepped into the outer room.

Ruo Xuan followed him out, "I want to ask for your help with papermaking."

Fearing Divine Lord Xuanyuan might refuse, Ruo Xuan added, "It’s urgent. If you hadn’t forbidden me from using Immortal Technique, I could easily conjure that bit of paper."

The corners of Xuanyuan Que’s mouth twitched. Great, it was his fault, again!

Seeing his expression darken slightly, Ruo Xuan hurriedly explained about the bookstore receiving a large order for twenty thousand volumes and now being unable to purchase paper.

"... We have to finish copying twenty thousand volumes in half a month, or we’ll lose a lot of silver—fifteen hundred taels! My father said these orders from the three academies required certain types of paper, even demanding the use of ’silk in paper’ Lianshi Paper and Chiting Paper, which are famously expensive. Besides those two well-known papermaking workshops, no small workshop can produce these two kinds of paper, and if they don’t sell, we can’t buy," she said.

Xuanyuan Que said, "Even in half a month, we can’t produce Lianshi Paper and Chiting Paper. You don’t have to— I can ask Shopkeeper Gu to buy them for you."

Ruo Xuan protested, "If we can’t produce it, can’t I just use Immortal Technique to speed up the process? No one will know about it, and it’s not like I’m actually conjuring it from nothing— that should be fine, right?"

Ruo Xuan had always found buying these papers expensive, and now that they were unavailable, she decided to make the paper herself, so she would never have to worry about being unable to obtain it.

Moreover, if the bookstore could make its own paper, it could earn even more silver.

As far as she knew, the other two bookstores in Shaxi County also had backing from papermaking workshops.

Even if the owners of the bookstores and the papermaking workshops were not the same person, they were still family.

Apart from papermaking workshops, some bookstores even produced their own ink sticks and brushes, as that’s how they could make more silver.

Ruo Xuan babbled on and on, even tugging at his sleeve, "... Brother Xuanyuan, won’t you try with me to see if we can make paper?"

Ruo Xuan had read in books that papermaking was quite complicated. With Immortal Technique, she could turn bamboo into paper instantly, but teaching others how to make Lianshi Paper step by step required her to experiment several times.

After all, she had only read about the papermaking methods and had never seen paper being made, but Divine Lord Xuanyuan had lived for over ten thousand years—he must have seen it and surely knew how.

Madam Xuanyuan, finding out that Ruo Xuan had run up the mountain early in the morning, decided to join Xuanbao and her little grandson for breakfast, only to overhear Xuanbao talking about making paper.

She exclaimed in surprise, "Xuanbao knows how to make paper?"

Most of the paper used in Xuanyuan Country was produced by two major papermaking workshops, and the cost was so high that it drove up the price of books, making it difficult for students from humble backgrounds to afford paper and books.

Madam Xuanyuan had always believed in the value of education, that allowing more children from humble families and commoners to afford schooling would bring more talent to the Imperial Court.

She even hoped that all citizens of Xuanyuan Country, those who wished to study, could afford to.

Unfortunately, the two great families that controlled paper production claimed that it was difficult to make paper and were unwilling to reduce prices.

Since the founding of Xuanyuan Country was not long ago, and for the sake of the Imperial Court’s stability, the entangled interests of the great families dating back to former dynasties had to be appeased, so she couldn’t force them to lower their prices.

This was about affecting the profits of the two great families, and no one was willing to allow that.

But if someone else knew how to make paper, the monopoly of the two great families on the Papermaking Technique would be broken!

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