Zhou Zhi Shi glanced at the grass paper in his hand and finally put it into a book of "Liji" with a solemn expression.

  He was from a humble background, his family had become moderately wealthy by the time he went to school, but at the same time supported both himself and his father in their studies, which also incurred considerable expenses.

  So the father and son had always been frugal in their studies, but later when he took the imperial examination, he barely passed, and the money needed for studying increased.

  In order for him to take the imperial examination with peace of mind, his father gave up studying and turned to business. He worked hard for another two years before he managed to secure a position in the imperial examination.

  His family had 500 mu of good fields and was also helped by two uncles, which could barely support him and his father, the two scholars.

  In the end, even his father couldn't hold on, which shows how difficult it is to read books and how high the cost is, so he knows the weight of this piece of paper.

  People all despise it for its coarseness and don't take it seriously, only staring at that rare bamboo paper, without knowing that this grass paper will increase the opportunities for poor families to read books.

  Paper has become cheaper, will books also be cheaper in a few years?

  Books and paper have become cheaper, so the cost of reading...

  At present, the common people have a force to counter the aristocracy and the powerful, but due to the lack of talent, the common people are at a disadvantage. If the cost of reading is reduced, after ten or eight years, how many scholars from humble families will there be?

  Zhou Cishi sank into deep thought, did Lin Qingyuan know the significance of this matter?

  Did she intentionally set the price of grass paper so low or was it unintentional?

  If it was unintentional, would she raise the price after the wealthy family's opposition?

  And if she did it on purpose, what does she want to do?

  The Lin family is not an ordinary family, but a noble one.

  Lu Su was also thinking about this issue, and in front of him was a sheet of draft paper. He didn't have the experience of Zhou Ci Shi, but he had experience, wisdom, and insight, and was also a mentor to others. After the draft paper came out, he had some feelings, and then listed the prices of paper on the market for comparison. What else did he not understand?

  Like Zhou Cishi, he was also wondering whether Lin Qing's price was intentional or unintentional.

  Lu Wulang also had some feelings, and ran to find him. Seeing the grass paper on his desk, he said hastily: "Second brother, I was just about to talk to you about this. The price of this grass paper is so low, do we want to procure some for our clan's younger generation?"

  The Lu family also has poor people.

  Lu Su glanced at him and said: "Such a small matter can be entrusted to anyone in charge, is it necessary to come find me?"

  A knife-sharpener costs only eight cents, even if the whole clan sends one around, it's just a matter of a few dozen taels of silver, is it worth coming to find him?

  Lu Ran smiled and sat down in front of him, saying: "I'm not confident at all, you said the cost of this grass paper is very low, how did the Lin family set the price so low?"

  "Doing business is about making money, she dares to set it like this, naturally she won't lose."

  "Then you think it will go up in price later?"

  "We'll know what happens next later."

  Lu Ran pouted, dissatisfied with Second Brother's excuses, and said: "I don't believe that Second Brother doesn't have any misgivings. If the Lin family really wants to maintain such a price, then what business will the paper mills of other families have in the future?"

  Lu Su said: "The quality of grass paper is not very good, it's as bad as the worst hemp paper and can't replace other papers."

  "If she can get someone to produce a draft paper, she can naturally also ask someone to improve the quality," Lu Ran stared at Lu Su and said: "Second brother is not worried?"

  The book has been in the hands of various aristocratic families, and the paper is also produced by several major tribes. Lin Qingyuan's move has touched the interests of many people, although everyone's attention is still focused on bamboo paper and has not yet reacted to the importance of grass paper.

  Lu Su heard this and gave him a warning look, saying in a low voice: "Wu Lang, what we have been pursuing all along is the progress of humanity, not just the interests of one family. The grass paper is good, whether Lin Jun is intentional or unintentional, I don't want the first knife to be handed over by our Lu family, and I don't even want the Lu family to participate in it."

  Lu Ran furrowed her brow and tilted her head in confusion, saying: "What does this have to do with human progress?"

  Lu Su shook his head, "You only saw the interests involved behind the paper, but didn't think about how many people it could help, nor did you consider its role in history?"

  Lu Ran was furious, isn't this grass paper just a bit cheaper than hemp paper? Apart from involving interests, what does it have to do with these things?

  Doesn't hemp paper have all the functions of grass paper?

  Lu Ran wanted to ask again, but Lu Su waved his hand and said: "You just watch, wait three years and come back to ask me."

  Lu Ran had a lot of words stuck in his heart, but he also vaguely knew that this matter involved too much and was no longer something one person could decide.

  He was originally angry with Lin Qingwan for disrupting the market and maliciously lowering prices, but now it seems that Second Brother is on Lin Qingwan's side?

  Lin Qingyuan sat in the main room to accept the New Year's greetings from her nephews, grandnephews and even great-grandnephews, then handed out prepared red envelopes and a large pile of candies. This year's New Year's visit was half completed.

  She moved her hands and feet, smiled and said: "I'm tired of sitting and receiving worship, but these children are very spirited."

  Bai Mei poured her a cup of tea and smiled, "That's because you've been moving less lately, after the New Year you didn't go mountain climbing anymore, even your appetite has decreased a bit."

  Lin Qingwan thought for a moment and couldn't help but sigh: "Looks like I still need to move around more."

  She clapped her hands on the armrests and stood up, saying: "In that case, let's go out for a walk. We'll call Yu Bin to come with us and pay our respects to the elderly in the clan."

  Bai Mei hesitated, "Auntie, you and the young lady are still in mourning."

  "It's all right, the formalities are over, and among our own kin we don't stand on these empty courtesies," Lin Qingwen raised an eyebrow and said: "Besides, even if I didn't go, the clan elders would still come looking for me."

  If they quarrel, it would be embarrassing for her to serve tea and see the guests off. It's better to go to someone else's home. If she gets angry, she can turn around and leave, and both parties will have a way out, so as not to make things too awkward.

  Lin Yuhbin had someone bring out gifts and followed Xiaojie to the clan leader's house first.

  Sixth Uncle was tidying up his plum blossoms when he saw Lin Qingyan come to the door, and the smile on his face faded slightly. He sighed and said, "You're willing to come back? I thought you wouldn't be coming back this year."

  Lin Qingwan smiled and said, "Sixth Uncle is joking, I'm in Suzhou, where can I not return to my clan during the New Year? It's just that I was really busy the past few days and couldn't get away, so I delayed until today."

  Sixth Uncle put down his scissors and washed his hands with the water brought by the servant, asking: "Have the sixteen girls in our clan mastered their skills?"

  Lin Qingyan nodded, "You've learned enough, I'll send you back in two days."

  Sixth Uncle frowned, "They're all fourteen now, and in two years they'll be married off. Aren't you afraid they'll reveal the formula for grass paper?"

  Lin Qingwan smiled, "I don't mind this point."

  Seeing Sixth Uncle frowning, she smiled, "If I said that boys and girls are the same as Lin's bloodline, you would definitely have a lot to refute me, so I won't say that to you either. I'll just tell you one thing, I didn't think of keeping this grass paper formula for myself."

  "Sixth Uncle was shocked, 'You want it to spread all over the world like the recipe for tofu?'"

  Lin Qingwan smiled but didn't speak.

  "Nonsense! Tofu is one thing, it's an ancient recipe passed down by our ancestors, we can't claim ownership of that. But this grass paper is something your family's craftsmen came up with on their own, it's a Lin family secret, why would you want to spread it outside?"

  "Sixth Uncle should have known that the grass paper is cheap, it's actually like tofu, making a profit from hard work. Now everyone is blinded by greed, but once they calm down, there may not be many people willing to do this business."

  "That's because you priced it too low," Ba Shu said loudly from behind Lin Qingwan, pushing open the door and quickly entering from outside, displeased: "I've long wanted to tell you, what kind of price is this? A knife-edged paper actually only sells for eight cents, what's the difference between that and giving it away?"

  The servants of Liu Shu's family knelt down in a flurry, "Old Master, Eighth Master said he wants to see you, and didn't wait for us to report before..."

  "Alright, you can withdraw," Sixth Uncle glanced at Eighth Uncle and said, "Go invite Eleventh Master as well, so that Sister Wan won't have to make another trip."

  Lin Qingwan smiled, and Eighth Uncle's face turned slightly awkward. However, he quickly regained his composure and sat down opposite Lin Qingwan with a serious expression, furrowing his brow: "Sister Wan, it's not that I want to interfere in your affairs, but I'm afraid you'll be cheated. Have you gone to the market to see whose paper is sold at such a low price?"

  Lin Yuhbin, standing behind Lin Qingwan, pursed the corners of his mouth and took a step forward, tightly sticking to Lin Qingwan's back. If it weren't for Xiaojie holding her hand, she would have glared at Eighth Uncle.

  It's just this person, with a good appearance for them, but actually it's just for their own benefit.

  Lin Qingwan's face was still smiling, and she quietly patted Lin Yuhong's small hand. She looked up at Eighth Uncle and said, "Eighth Uncle, the cost of hemp paper from materials to sales is about twelve cents, so it's priced at twenty cents. But the cost of grass paper is less than five cents, can't also be priced at twenty cents?"

  "Why not? Everyone is at this price, we lower our costs, and the money we make is naturally ours."

  Lin Qingwan bowed her head to drink tea, but smiled without speaking. Liu Shu had already begun to scold Ba Shu, "Nonsense! Isn't that just price gouging? What's the difference between this and the Zhao family's luxurious restaurant?"

  He opposed Lin Qingyan teaching girls, fearing that the secret formula of the clan would be leaked out. But Lao Ba was good, and he directly wanted to raise the price virtually.

  Sixth Uncle has gone from talking about the integrity of his ancestors to the virtues of his predecessors, and then to the foundation of the Lin family. In short, he does not agree with Old Eight's views.

  Sixth Uncle nodded and said, "Although the price is a bit low, it's still within the normal range. Sister Wen has done well on this point. Old Eight, don't spoil Sister Wen, doing business is like building a family, honesty comes first."

  "My eighth uncle rolled his eyes and said, 'I didn't say I'm not sincere, but in this world there's no business that isn't deceitful. Doing business is all about making money, what's the point of doing business if you don't make money?'"

  "Wow, Ba Ge actually knows the two words 'integrity'..."

  Lin Qingwan's smile deepened at the corners of her mouth, she put down her teacup and stood up to bow, "Eleventh Uncle."

  Lin Yuhong also happily called out "Eleventh Uncle".

  Eleventh Uncle nodded at the two of them and pulled out two cloth bags from his bosom, handing one to each as a red envelope, then looked towards Old Eight.

  Eighth Uncle shook his beard and glanced at Lin Qingyan and Lin Yubin, these two people hadn't greeted him just now.