HCB Chapter 260 Paper Mill
Chapter 260 Paper Mill
Although the book borrowing activity started when the business opened, there were too many people who came to inquire and submit their works during those few days. The buzz and discussion were endless. It was naturally not a good environment for reading/copying books, and not many people actually sat in the reading area to read.
On the contrary, now, looking around, there is not a single empty seat left in the reading area. People sitting in the reading area are either copying books seriously or reading with their heads down. Although they are doing different things, everyone tacitly lowers the volume when they move, trying not to disturb other people around them. The scene is harmonious.
Those who copy books are basically copying books related to the imperial examination, but it is not necessarily the case for those who read books. Among them, a small number of people are reading required books for the imperial examination, but the vast majority of people are reading miscellaneous books, some are reading biographies, some are reading travelogues, and some are reading storybooks.
Many of these people were attracted by the serial articles in the weekly newspapers.
The long novel serialized in the weekly newspaper is a refreshing male-oriented cultivation story, which focuses on the story of a loser's counterattack and upgrading. It has a brisk pace and is full of exciting moments. It was brought to the podium by a storyteller and became the new darling of the storytelling world, revitalizing several teahouses and taverns.
The short stories serialized in the weekly newspaper are a romance novel for women and a story about domestic intrigue for women. The writing style of these two novels is delicate, especially in the description of characters and scenes, which are extremely vivid and the rhythm is very well controlled. They have become a new pastime for young ladies and wives.
Those who are not short of money and want to know the subsequent plot developments quickly can choose to buy the full version at Wanjuanshu, or go to a teahouse to listen to the storyteller. Those who are not well-off can choose to wait for the weekly report to be updated slowly.
Everyone who wants to read novels can choose a follow-up method that suits their financial situation.
As expected, the book published by Lin Chuyi under the name of Sai Shennong was coldly received and the sales were not ideal. However, Lin Chuyi was mentally prepared, so he accepted the result well.
Compared to the dismal sales of professional books, the novels written by Lin Chuyi under different pen names are doing much better. The domestic fighting novel currently serialized in the newspaper is written by her. Since the opening of Wanjuanshu, the physical sales of this book have always been among the top three, and the sales data is still growing steadily. According to the current growth trend, in a few days this book will surpass the male-oriented immortal cultivation novel and become the first storybook of Wanjuanshu with sales exceeding a thousand.
Not only did this book achieve outstanding results, the sales of other storybooks written by Lin Chuyi were also good, and all of them were in the top 20 of Wanjuanshu's book sales rankings.
Lin Chuyi was satisfied with the result, and her confidence in writing was boosted. She was so happy that she picked up her pen and started a new project.
After Wanjuanshu was on track, Lin Chuyi began the preliminary preparations for the printing factory and at the same time took over the construction task of Qian Laiye's paper mill.
She merged the two factories and set up multiple production lines in the factory, making it a papermaking and printing papermaking factory. After the facilities in the factory were ready, Lin Chuyi handed the factory over to Lin Wen, who had just been freed from teaching tasks.
The equipment of the paper mill was all provided by Lin Chuyi. The equipment performance and production efficiency are far beyond the current equipment of the same type, and the papermaking technology and printing technology have been significantly improved.
Paper mills, like textile mills, use the assembly line production model, where each worker is only responsible for a part of the production process. This not only clarifies responsibilities but also ensures work efficiency.
The paper produced in this way is of better quality than the very expensive paper on the market and has less consumption. As a result, the cost of paper is reduced a lot.
The produced paper will be sent to the printing area for uniform cutting and printing. The principle of Lin Chuyi's printing machine is based on movable type printing, one of the four great inventions. The reusable font templates greatly reduce the cost of books.
All these changes have resulted in the cost of books produced by the paper mill managed by Lin Wen being 30% to 50% lower than the cost of the same type of books produced by conventional paper mills. In terms of quality, the books produced by the printing factory managed by Lin Wen are even better.
Lin Wen did not disrupt the market by drastically adjusting product prices just because of the reduction in production costs, but instead set prices in line with market trends.
Under the same price, merchants will definitely be willing to choose products with better quality. Lin Wen's move brought several waves of new customers to the paper mill. However, this income is only a small part of the paper mill's income. The main source of income for the paper mill comes from toilet paper.
With Lin Chuyi's help, Lin Wen's paper mill and Qian Laiye's Craftsmanship Workshop reached a cooperation, and the toilet paper produced by the paper mill will be supplied to Craftsmanship Workshop for sale first.
Currently, toilet paper produced by paper mills is divided into three price levels, and each price level corresponds to toilet paper of different quality. Even the worst quality toilet paper is softer and more delicate than the commonly used straw paper.
Mid-priced toilet paper is softer and finer than low-priced toilet paper, and has a uniform color and no impurities. High-priced toilet paper has all the advantages of mid-priced toilet paper, but also has printed patterns on the paper surface, which makes the difference obvious at a glance.
As soon as these three types of toilet paper were launched, they became popular among the wealthy circles in Lanzhou City. People placed orders without hesitation, and toilet paper has become a new necessity in life.
Once the paper mill's position is consolidated, Lin Wen will gradually lower the prices of the goods produced in the factory, striving to make them accessible and affordable to everyone. Only by widening the scope of influence can he truly help Lin Chuyi.
In addition to overseeing the production of toilet paper and the printing of books, Lin Wen is also responsible for the final review of the weekly report.
After Lin Wen came to Lanzhou City and learned of Lin Chuyi's plan, he launched a comprehensive investigation of Yuan Qizi. After the investigation, he accepted Yuan Qizi as his apprentice. This was different from the previous teaching at the Qingzhou base. This time he was accepting a serious apprentice, the kind that would last a lifetime.
After they became master and apprentice, it became easier for Lin Wen to teach Yuan Qizi. He not only taught Yuan Qizi academic issues, but also taught Yuan Qizi how to manage thousands of books.
Take the weekly report for example. Lin Wen broke down a weekly report into five major processes: information screening, manuscript writing, proofreading, typesetting, and final review. Each process was assigned a specific person to be responsible for. The task of screening information fell on Yuan Qizi, while Lin Wen was responsible for the final review. The other processes were handled by readers who signed long-term contracts.
In this way, if any mistakes really occur, they can be found out under heavy scrutiny. Also, because the responsibilities are broken down to each person, in order to avoid mistakes, everyone will do things more meticulously.