After Hou Dayong came to ancient times, one thing that made him very upset, that was, there was no toilet paper. In the Sumo and Mohe tribe, everyone always solved it on the spot after going to the toilet. Hou Dayong had used stones, soil trash, tiles, dry firewood sticks, and stems of various plants. These things were everywhere in the mountains and fields, and it was extremely convenient to use. However, after using them, they always felt that it was not clean. Hou Dayong had an accident. After one convenience, Hou Dayong saw a kind of plant next to him smooth and thick leaves, so he pulled it off. After using it, he felt a hot feeling, and his butt had been swollen for more than ten days.

After arriving in Cangzhou, in order to go to the toilet, Qiuju prepared a piece of wood for Hou Dayong, which was very smooth and delicate. Qiuju called it toilet chips. This was finally a great improvement compared to the Sumo Mohe tribe. However, Hou Dayong was used to soft toilet paper. The hard wood was not absorbent, and it was still uncomfortable every time he used it. Hou Dayong bought a lot of paper and conducted various experiments. The paper was either too hard, too brittle, or not ideal. Moreover, the paper was very expensive at that time, and he felt heartbroken if he used it too much. Hou Dayong liked to take a bath. In addition to many erotic things in the wooden barrel, another important reason was that Hou Dayong felt that he was always unclean.

When he arrived in Zhengzhou, Hou Dayong gave Fu Gong an important task, which was to start making toilet paper suitable for use in the toilet. Hou Dayong thought that he needed toilet paper, but at that time, the children of rich families also needed it. If they could produce suitable toilet paper, they could not only meet their needs, but also start a big business. If they were used to toilet paper, who would still use wood blocks? This business potential is unlimited.

After the establishment of Songshan Academy, Yang Huizhi managed it for a period of time. Then, the spring exam began, and Yang Huizhi went to Daliang to take the exam. Hou Dayong did not have the energy to manage the specific affairs of the academy. After repeated work, Hou Dayong told Fu Yanhui to serve as the vice president and be responsible for daily affairs. There were several departments below, one was the Ministry of Martial Arts, with Shi Hu as the Minister, the second was the Ministry of Culture, Fu Yanhui as the Minister, and the third was the Ministry of Works, Fu Gong as the Minister.

Fu Gong recruited craftsmen in various places. On the one hand, he enriched the technical strength of Fujia iron shops. On the other hand, he concentrated the skilled craftsmen in the Ministry of Works to complete various tasks assigned by Hou Dayong. After Fu Gong accepted the task of making toilet paper, he found it very strange, but he was extremely convinced and grateful to Hou Dayong. Therefore, although he did not understand, he still tried his best to complete the task. He invited many folk masters who made paper to specialize in soft, water-absorbing and inexpensive toilet paper.

After Cai Lun of the Eastern Han Dynasty used bark, hemp chips, rags, fish nets, etc. as raw materials to make "Caihou paper". Papermaking made great progress. In the early stages of papermaking, the raw materials of papermaking were mainly rags and bark. The rags were mainly hemp fibers, and the varieties were mainly ramie and hemp. The bark was mainly plastered (i.e. mulberry bark), which was once known as "Mr. Mulberry bark". Subsequently, after continuous transformation by later generations, papermaking increased and improved in terms of output and quality, and the raw materials for papermaking were more widespread, and the varieties of paper also increased, such as white hemp and jute paper specially used for writing scriptures, rind paper made of wolfberry bark, mulberry paper made of mulberry fiber, mulberry root paper made of mulberry bark, straw paper made of straw paper, etc.

Fu Gong recruited craftsmen to test the production of various papers through different raw materials. Papers of various colors such as green, red, and green were produced one after another. Hou Dayong gave these papers some beautiful names. Those whose papers are shaped like moss and have green patterns are named moss paper, and there are also white and fine hemp fiber paper. Because the surface is shaped like silkworm cocoons, it is named silkworm cocoon paper. A little colored hair is added to the pulp, giving people the feeling of being disguised, and named it hair paper.

Finally, the craftsmen tried many times, using straw as raw material, supplemented with weeds and bark to make a yellow paper. Although this paper is not delicate, it is tough in paper. It is highly absorbent and very similar to the money paper used in modern folks. Hou Dayong was quite satisfied with this paper. After a few trials, Fu Gong fixed the formula and tried to produce a part.

Hou Dayong returned home with paper and hid Fu Ying's toilet fund. The next morning, he sent Xiaolianzi away. Fu Ying still went to the toilet as usual. After going to the toilet, he went to get the toilet fund, but found that the toilet fund was missing. He called Xiaolianzi a few times, but no one responded. Hou Dayong kept waiting outside. Hearing Fu Ying called Xiaolianzi, he laughed in his heart. After Fu Ying screamed a few times, Hou Dayong said, "Xiaoying, what's the matter?"

When Fu Ying heard that it was Hou Dayong outside, she was embarrassed to say that there was no toilet set to Hou Dayong and asked, "Langjun, isn't Xiao Lianzi here?"

"Xiao Lianzi went out to do business and wouldn't come back for a while."

Fu Ying was embarrassed and anxious. After squatting for a while, thinking that it was really not a solution to squat like this, she said, "Mr. Lang, there is no toilet stock here. Can you find one for me?"

Hou Dayong handed over the paper in his hand and said, "There is no toilet, I have some straw paper here, you can try it."

Fu Ying reached out to take the straw paper and tried it. She felt it was good, and it was much more comfortable than using the toilet. After leaving the toilet, she met Hou Dayong and stood at the door with a smile. Fu Ying blushed like a persimmon and said, "Xiao Lianzi ran away."

Hou Dayong held a stack of straw paper in his hand and said, "This is better than toilet production. This is toilet paper specially made by Songshan Academy, specially used for toilet use. Xiaoying, what do you think? If this kind of paper is bought in the market, is there a market?"

Only then did Fu Ying realize that it was Hou Dayong who was making trouble and said angrily: "You are doing something bad." After saying that, he also laughed, thought for a while, and said: "This kind of paper is far more useful than toilet chips. I don't know what the price is. If the price is right, it should be popular." Fu Ying said again: "You are really good or bad!"

Hou Dayong said: "Songshan Academy has a Ministry of Works. During this period, we have been specializing in paper research. We have successfully made all kinds of papers, all of which are placed in the study. Fujia Iron Shop has shops everywhere, so that these papers can be sold everywhere."

Fu Ying went to the study to carefully compare various papers and finally said: "These papers are of good quality, but I don't know what the price is?"

Hou Dayong took out some paper sheets and said, "These are the production processes and formulas of various papers, which are extremely precious. You must master them well and do not reveal the secrets. Do it according to the formula. As long as the scale is moderate, you should make money."

Fu Ying said: "The name of the rich iron shop should be changed and named as the rich shop. In this way, others will not misunderstand it."

"Okay, you can do it."

Soon, Fu Ying had been in Zhengzhou for nearly three months. The toilet paper business was even more prosperous than the ironware business. Most people could accept toilet paper. Although there was a tradition of "loving paper like gold" in history, everyone was comfortable to use. In the end, even the most stubborn old master opposed it, secretly kept rich toilet paper at home.

Fu Ying gradually took over the various businesses run by Hou Dayong. Fu Ying did not disappoint Hou Dayong and made the various businesses clear. Hou Dayong focused on government affairs and increased the efforts of Songshan College to run schools. The first senior and junior classes of the college have completed more than half of the courses.

In April of the second year of Xiande, Chai Rong had gained absolute control over the internal control after a period of internal reform, so he began to use troops to the Later Shu. At the junction of the Five Dynasties and the Han Dynasty, Hou Shu took advantage of the Khitan to destroy the Later Jin and the Central Plains to have no masters and chaos, and seized the four prefectures of Qin, Cheng, Jie (now northwest of Qin'an, Gansu, Chengxian, and southeast of Wudu), and Feng (now northeast of Fengxian, Shaanxi), seriously threatening the flanks of the Great Zhou.

Seeing that the time for attacking Shu was ripe, Chai Rong adopted the strategy of Wang Pu, the doctor of the Bi tribe, "First easy and then difficult, first south and then north, each defeated", and decided to attack Shu first, then attack the Southern Tang, attack Khitan, and finally destroy the Northern Han. He then sent Wang Jing, the governor of Fengxiang, Xiang Xun, the envoy of Xuanhui South Court, and Hou Dayong, the defensive envoy of Zhengzhou, to go on the western expedition together.

(End of Chapter 24)
Chapter completed!