Here, Aegon met the papermaking siblings… well, it's not good to give people nicknames casually. To be precise, it was the siblings Neil and Nina from Rosby.
That's right, they don't have a surname, they are just "Neil and Nina from Rosby." Lord Tyrion had told Aegon that most people in Westeros don't have surnames; they usually introduce themselves as the son of XX, the daughter of XX, or XXX from somewhere. Even if commoners get themselves a surname, it's generally useless and ineffective. Only people like Aegon, who have gained a "status," will have their surname acknowledged—regardless of others, at least those who purchased Night's Watch Bonds will remember and recognize Aegon's surname.
The older brother of the pair looked ordinary, but his height and build were similar to Aegon's, clearly indicating that his family conditions allowed him to never go hungry as a child. As for the younger sister, Nina, just one glance caught Aegon's attention—not because she was exceptionally beautiful, but because of her eyes.
The girl's eyes were crystal clear and transparent like a pool of spring water, and a lively light flickered in them as she looked around. Aegon suddenly felt as if he had seen these eyes somewhere before. After thinking for a moment, he quickly understood where this sense of familiarity came from—these were eyes that had received an education and seen some of the world, thus escaping ignorance. They were eyes that hadn't been crushed by life, extinguishing all dreams, and still held curiosity and a desire to explore the world, full of hope for the future!
Before crossing over, the eyes of people around him more or less carried this kind of light. But after crossing over, this kind of look had become extremely rare, only found in the eyes of high-ranking nobles who didn't manage affairs and were free and unrestrained, like Lord Tyrion and Arya. In stark contrast was the indescribable numbness and dullness in the eyes of most people—if you've seen photos of Qing Dynasty commoners taken by Western powers before and after the Opium War, you'll know what that feeling is like. This is the look when a person's entire mind and energy are spent on survival and feeding themselves, with no hope for the future.
Some people can distinguish at a glance whether someone is a noble or a commoner precisely because of this look, or rather, this temperament!
For this temperament to appear on a commoner in this world, it was quite strange. For a moment, Aegon thought the Nina before him was also a transmigrator—managing to finally look away, the Night's Watch was immediately startled by her youth: small in stature, with fair and delicate skin, and a face still carrying some baby fat. This was clearly a girl not much older than Arya!
***
"Lord?" The girl's clear and soft voice brought Aegon back from his daze. "The first batch of sample paper you wanted has been made. At Lord Tyrion's request, we've temporarily used only the original method without making any changes. We're just waiting for your observation and guidance."
He nodded, wanting to tell the other party as usual that he wasn't a Lord, but after thinking about it, there was no need: "Okay, lead the way."
The older brother, Neil, seemed not good with words, so Nina led the group on a tour of the workshop, introducing the tools, equipment, and processing methods used in each step clearly and fluently as they walked… After a tour, they arrived at the final products.
The little girl, who had been calm and composed just moments ago, suddenly became shy, stammering as she introduced, "This is the paper that's been made. We're trying to find a way to make it thinner and stronger."
This was the initial plant fiber paper? Aegon looked at the stack of thin sheets on the table, whose surfaces were bumpy and thickness uneven, feeling somewhat speechless. If no one had told him, he might have thought it was some kind of food ingredient like tofu skin.
Aegon picked up a sheet with his fingers and examined it carefully.
The color was dark yellow; without the bleaching process, it could probably only be like this. It felt stiff, like a paper napkin that had been wet and then dried. The surface was quite rough, at first glance looking almost like the skin of a Shandong pancake. He gently tore it with his hand… With a crisp "crack," the paper broke.
Lord Tyrion really wasn't joking; this paper was too poor in quality even for wiping one's behind.
Nina's face instantly turned bright red. Despite her quick mind and eloquent speech, she was suddenly speechless, only able to stare at Aegon with nervous eyes, afraid that the "behind-the-scenes boss" Lord Tyrion spoke of would get angry.
Of course, Aegon wasn't angry. He had come to see the initial sample. It would be strange if he could see a perfect industrial product like modern paper right away. This thing couldn't be used yet, but it was indeed "paper," and that was enough.
"This won't do…"
Aegon muttered. The tour led by the girl had brought back the feeling he had before crossing over, representing the client as a supervisor to inspect a project. Since the "leader" had come for inspection, it was customary to give some instructions after the fact. Although he knew nothing about papermaking, he still wanted to try and help.
If you don't know the ropes, you shouldn't give random pointers. So, he decided to stick to conventional wisdom that was sure to be correct. As long as the direction was right, frontline technicians repeating experiments would surely make progress.
…
"First, the uneven thickness is definitely a problem with the last two steps. The steps of soaking, boiling, and crushing the raw materials must be thorough. If manpower isn't enough, think of ways to improve the equipment or use animal power. Don't worry about the cost for now; money is not an issue." He started, and his thoughts quickly flowed smoothly. Although he hadn't dealt with it before, the basic knowledge and skills needed to solve problems were universal across realms: "Additionally, find craftsmen to weave mats with smoother and finer surfaces for scooping the pulp. After spreading the crushed raw materials evenly in water, use a sieve to filter out the coarse impurities, and then quickly scoop it out with the mat. Don't dally."
"Mhm, mhm." Nina stared at Aegon with sparkling eyes, nodding repeatedly.
"As for the color, there are two ways to improve it. One is to use chemicals to decolorize and bleach during the raw material processing stage. The other is to add dye in the final step to force it white. You decide which solution to choose; money is not an issue. It doesn't have to be as white as snow, but at least the color must be uniform and light enough to form a clear contrast with the writing," Aegon continued. "The surface is too rough and uneven… There's no easy solution for this for now. First, find people to polish it during the drying step, being careful to use something smooth so as not to thin or break it… After it's semi-dry, press it with something. How many people are in your family? For now, try not to hire outsiders. If absolutely necessary, come find me or Lord Tyrion. Again, money is not an issue."
This boss seems so capable! Nina thought to herself, nodding repeatedly. And his demeanor and actions when giving instructions and saying "money is not an issue" are so domineering!
The little girl who had come to join the fun didn't have so many concerns. Arya giggled, "You know so much, Master."
"Don't interrupt." Aegon rubbed his little apprentice's head, thought for a moment, and had one more thing to say: "These are all minor issues, but the paper not being strong enough is a fatal flaw. There's no good way to fix it. See if you can use other raw materials. If that doesn't work… Hmm, right, add starch paste or other glue in the final step to see if it helps. Money is not an issue. Let's make usable paper first, and then consider reducing costs."
"Add starch paste?" Nina blinked her eyes, suddenly enlightened. "That's right, how did I not think of that!"
…
After several seconds of silence, the workshop was quiet for a while before Lord Tyrion quietly asked, "That's it?"
"That's it," Aegon replied, having enjoyed playing the role of a leader and still immersed in the feeling.
"Did you remember?" The Dwarf nodded, this time asking the siblings Neil and Nina.
"We remembered, we remembered!"
"Very good, you also heard the boss say that money is not an issue," the Little Imp said seriously. "Work hard. Once usable paper is produced in bulk, rewards will certainly not be lacking."
"Oh, I almost forgot," Aegon remembered. "Once usable paper begins mass production, one-tenth of the papermill's profits will belong to you two siblings."
—