Chapter 337: Opening the Port (IV)

Seeing the two piles of objects on the table, Yu Bende immediately reached out and took one copy to examine closely.

In his hand was a round, stick-like object — pale white, soft and spongy, feather-light. Yu Bende's first impression upon touching it was paper. Then, when he gave it a gentle turn, a thin layer suddenly fell from the roll; he rubbed it between his fingers — it was indeed paper!

Yet this paper was unlike any paper he had ever known: not only was it incredibly soft, but it was also wound layer upon layer like a bamboo shoot husk, wrapped into a round stick shape. A closer look revealed needle holes, with a string of them at every interval.

"This probably isn't good for writing on, is it?" Yu Bende voiced his doubt while peering at Xiong Dao through the hollow center of the paper roll.

Though he had never seen such strange paper before, Yu Bende had not spent half a lifetime as a petty official for nothing. He immediately judged this to be an inferior paper: although whiter than any paper he had ever seen, it was far too soft and the pores were too large — ink would bleed and spread the moment it touched it, making it utterly impossible to write on. Even the cheapest straw paper on the market had this same flaw.

Xiong Dao did not refute him, only saying with a smile, "Tear off a few sheets, then fold them up."

Yu Bende reached out as instructed to tear the paper, and very easily pulled a piece off along that row of needle holes — which instantly made him understand the purpose of those holes.

"Rather ingenious." After muttering this, he began folding the paper piece. But as he folded, he discovered something different: in this era, all paper, whether high-grade bamboo-wood paper or low-grade straw paper, was very prone to tearing when folded. Even good paper would crack after two folds, let alone inferior paper, which would shed crumbs with just a shake.

Yet even after Yu Bende folded the palm-sized paper piece down to the size of a thumb cap, the paper in his hand still had not torn.

Pure white, easy to tear, soft and spongy, resistant to folding... Yu Bende was no fool; he now knew this paper was definitely not meant for writing. But what was it used for? He had a faint inkling, yet that final layer of window paper just wouldn't tear through.

Just as Yu Bende was frowning in deep thought, a leisurely voice drifted over from beside him: "As the saying goes, a rabbit has three burrows, and a man has three urgencies..."

"That's it — this thing is toilet paper!" Yu Bende had a sudden flash of insight and slapped his own thigh hard.

Seeing that he had understood, Xiong Dao smiled and said, "Take all twenty rolls on the table. When you go back, have the masters and young ladies of wealthy households try them out, and let your own family try them too. Once you use it, you'll know its wonders."

Yu Bende nodded repeatedly. With his wealth of life experience, he already had a premonition that this was something excellent that could capture the "high-end market."

Speaking of toilet paper — before the Yuan Dynasty, people in China were not allowed to use paper to wipe their bottoms, because paper was difficult to produce at the time, and using it to wipe one's bottom was considered a desecration of culture.

This situation changed during the Mongol Yuan period, because the Mongols didn't give a damn about that set of literati nonsense. By the Ming Dynasty, the toilet paper industry had seen some development, the most representative example being the "Baochao Office," one of the Inner Court Twenty-Four Government Offices.

Yes, the Baochao Office sounded like it printed money, yet this government office was actually dedicated to manufacturing soft straw paper for the Emperor to wipe his bottom with — an institution on the same tier as the Wine, Vinegar and Noodle Bureau.

However, institutions like the Baochao Office were, after all, a special case. In the 17th century, the vast majority of China's population still used toilet sticks (bamboo slats) when relieving themselves — soft, crumble-free straw paper was quite expensive to produce, and only a small number of wealthy households could afford it.

And the high-end market was precisely what Xiong Dao was now targeting.

Originally, he had planned to set up production points in the Jiangnan region this year to manufacture writing paper, but after the year-end meeting, this idea was halted because it would steal the livelihood of ordinary merchants.

So Master Xiong could only turn around and shift course, taking the high-end route to fill a market gap — producing toilet paper for masters and madams to wipe their bottoms with. Using luxury goods to earn silver from wealthy households was a good thing that killed many birds with one stone; those people's silver would just be buried in cellars if not spent, so not earning it was a waste, and the Cabinet was very supportive.

"Might I ask if this cotton paper has a name? And this production... how is the industry chain to be managed?" Yu Bende was already considering how to begin implementing the project.

"This is called Clean Soft Toilet Paper. In the future, all standard products will have outer packaging." Xiong Dao began explaining to the man: "On my side, I will soon open paper-making workshops in Fuzhou and Jiangnan, dedicated solely to producing toilet paper. Fuzhou has no shortage of bamboo and wood, making it a good place for paper-making. But Jiangnan is not bad either — there is one material that is both abundant and dirt-cheap locally..."

Master Xiong paused here and glanced at Yu Bende. And the latter, at this moment, had a sudden inspiration — his eyes lit up and a word burst from his mouth: "Cotton stalks!"

"Exactly — cotton stalks." Xiong Dao nodded, revealing a gratified expression that said, "You have quite a head for business." "Whether it's cotton stalks, rice straw, or bamboo and wood — using my technology, all of them can be turned into this kind of cotton paper."

At this point, Xiong Dao tossed a cigarette to Clerk Yu, then lit it for him: "As for the workshop — you'll provide the land, factory buildings, and workers, plus ten thousand taels of silver in cash. On my side, I'll provide the secret paper-making technique and the production machinery. We'll split the profits fifty-fifty."

Hearing this, Yu Bende pondered briefly, then slowly nodded: "I'll take this deal!"

Clerk Yu appeared solemn, but inside he was already overjoyed — even just obtaining the secret paper-making technique would be a profit. If things went south, couldn't he just dissolve the partnership and set up his own operation? Yet he would never have imagined, even if beaten to death, that without the sulfuric acid supplied exclusively by Master Xiong, he wouldn't be able to make the paper work. Let alone the machinery — break one bearing and the whole thing would be dead in the water.

"Mm!" Xiong Dao took a drag of his cigarette and added with a smile, "At the start, my holding fifty percent of the shares is also to help shield you from knives. Besides, old brother, you simply don't have the capacity to manage distribution channels, so it's best to honestly be a workshop owner first."

"But once you've found your footing in the future, I permit you to buy back shares at any time, with the price based on the prevailing market rate."

Hearing this, Yu Bende wished he could kneel and kowtow to Master Xiong on the spot. With terms this flexible and advantageous, he would have to be a complete idiot to refuse.

Yet there were more pleasant surprises to come: on the table were not only twenty rolls of toilet paper, but also several stacked black lacquer boxes.

When Yu Bende opened one of the boxes, he found inside square bamboo tiles the size of a thumb, carved with patterns — colorful and bright, somewhat resembling the domino tiles found in gambling dens.

"What are these?... Madiao tiles?"

"Indeed! These are called Mahjong tiles, far more entertaining than Madiao tiles."

Madiao tiles were the predecessor of Mahjong tiles. A full set consisted of forty tiles, divided into four suits: Hundred Thousand Strings, Myriad Strings, Cord, and Cash.

Madiao was extremely popular in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the late Ming, when Scholar-Officials indulged in playing Madiao all day long. After the fall of the Ming, the Qing scholar Wu Weiye even argued in his Record of Pacifying the Borders that the Ming Dynasty fell because of Madiao.

Although this view is biased, it nonetheless demonstrates from another angle the absurdity and idleness of the Gentry class in the late Ming. And the Mahjong tiles that Xiong Dao was now opportunely launching were aimed squarely at the purses of the Scholar-Official class: if a forty-tile Madiao set could make them linger and forget to leave, then once the ultimate 144-tile killing machine was released, wouldn't it sell like crazy?... Just look at those people in later generations who fought day and night at the Mahjong table, and you'll understand.

Yu Bende quickly grasped the basic rules of Mahjong, because inside the box was not only the Mahjong tiles but also a blueprint — exquisitely printed in his eyes — which contained both written explanations and illustrations of various winning hand patterns.

Xiong Dao began explaining the operational approach for Mahjong tiles to his friend Yu. In general, it was the same as with toilet paper: set up local factories, then sell nationwide.

However, Mahjong was different from toilet paper — this thing was very easy to copy. So Xiong Dao told Yu Bende that their own workshop would only produce high-end goods from now on, pursuing a brand strategy. As for the low-end bamboo and wood Mahjong sets copied by folk craftsmen — let them be, consider it a boost to employment.

So what was high-end Mahjong? The few boxes on the table were exactly that.

These sample Mahjong boxes were all machine-processed. Some had ox-bone faces with bamboo bases, others used celluloid for the faces. In short, they were all high-end Mahjong sets made from composite materials, polished by mechanical processes, with extremely smooth surfaces and uniformly neat tile patterns.

And Xiong Dao further told Yu Bende that if he wanted to open a factory, he would also need to recruit an additional group of veteran craftsmen — for in the future, they would launch handcrafted jadeite Mahjong, jade Mahjong, and Indian gemstone Mahjong, designed specifically to fleece top-tier tycoons.

This whole spiel of business wisdom had Clerk Yu scratching his ears and cheeks in excitement, wishing he could roll up his sleeves and throw himself into the work the very next day, raking in money by the fistful... Yet Xiong Dao told him: between the two businesses of toilet paper and Mahjong, he could only choose one.

In the end, Clerk Yu could only carry the large pile of samples home, plagued by a sense of anxious indecision.

After returning, he first consulted with his eldest son, who worked as a clerk in the government office. The next day, Yu Bende ordered his second son to summon the most famous "Xiuhua Niang" in Xiancheng to their home.

Though such Xiuhua Niang were not of the same ilk as the "Three Aunts and Six Grannies," their fine needlework and glib tongues actually made them more favored when it came to entering and leaving the Back Residences of wealthy households.

Of course, these women were no good either: "Skilled with the needle, they gain entry to great houses under the pretext of teaching the young ladies, and in time, many are led astray out of the boudoir."

Yu Bende had not invited this old woman here to abduct anyone, but to commission her to advertise — whether it was toilet paper or Mahjong, the idle female dependents who spent all day in the Back Residence were, in fact, the more suitable targets for promotion. Moreover, whether the user experience of the toilet paper was truly good or not — the ladies and young mistresses would only tell Xiuhua Niang.

This insight was the conclusion Yu Bende reached after deliberating with his eldest son for half the night.

And so, Xiuhua Niang distributed the two kinds of samples to the Back Residences of several wealthy households.

Later that evening, customer feedback began pouring in continuously. As expected, both commodities achieved tremendous success.

Treated with sulfuric acid, the only toilet paper in this plane of existence that could truly be called "pure white" was not only extremely soft but could also be freely divided into any size. This exquisitely perfect soft paper delivered a rather shocking user experience to the masters, madams, and young ladies.

As for Mahjong, it went without saying — people were demanding delivery that very day. The Back Residences of wealthy households, counting the madam, young ladies, second and third aunts, and sisters-in-law, could easily assemble three or five tables without any problem.

Consequently, the Yu Clan's second son, who had gone out to collect user feedback, was cursed out viciously: "You don't even have the goods — what the hell are you doing promoting it here?"