Happy as they were, there was something more important than naming the paper – how to quickly commercialize the new thing.
In other words, how to quickly make money from this thing.
"Next, the first thing we need to do is attract customers." Aegon motioned for everyone to be quiet. "First, let's calculate, after trimming the irregular useless parts from the edges of this sheet of original paper, how many rectangles of the same size and shape can it be divided into?"
Getting the answer was not difficult, just fold it twice. Aegon did it himself and quickly reached a conclusion: one sheet of original paper, while minimizing waste, could be divided into 6 sheets slightly larger than A4 paper. Considering the size of the printing plate and ergonomics mainly used for books, it should actually be cut in half again. That means one sheet of original paper could ultimately become 12 sheets of suitable size for practical use, which could be bound into books or various other pamphlets after printing text on them.
"How many sheets of this original paper can the workshop produce in a day so far?"
Nina licked her lips and thought for a few seconds: "It's hard to say, from raw materials to finally becoming paper, some steps in between require time to wait. Adding lime and other powders and finally drying with fire can speed things up. If we could hire more people… and purchase more equipment to make all processes cyclical, it would be much faster."
"Then expand as quickly as possible, try to hire local, familiar people…" Aegon pondered for a moment and suggested: "Divide papermaking into several independent processes, with specific workers only responsible for specific steps, performing assembly line work. This will not only speed up production but also, if someone wants to secretly learn the papermaking technique, they would need to heavily bribe and poach workers from the entire production line. Such a large-scale operation cannot be done secretly."
"Assembly line?" Nina bit her lip again, thought for a moment, and quickly understood what Aegon meant.
"What can you do if they openly poach people?" Tyrion sighed and shrugged: "This isn't a very complicated craft. Once the production scale gets large, you won't be able to stop others from learning the papermaking technique at all."
"Indeed, so we must move quickly. Before various competitors emerge, we must establish cooperative relationships with as many big sponsors as possible to eliminate their potential threats and seize as much market share as possible." Aegon nodded. In this world without the concept of intellectual property rights, trying to monopolize the cake was simply wishful thinking; he wouldn't make such futile efforts. "Right, first gather the existing paper and print a copy of the seven-pointed star scripture. Show it to people from the church, bookstores, and general stores, and try to secure some orders. Tyrion, you're good at this, I'll leave it to you."
"How did you figure out I'm good at this!?"
"Definitely better than me." Aegon showed a mischievous smile. He wasn't sure about Tyrion's business negotiation skills, but simply being a Lannister was already a big plus. Making the best use of everyone's talents and influence was especially important in the startup phase. "Of course, hiring more employees to share the workload must also be put on the agenda quickly. Don't be idle before the big orders are secured. While researching ways to improve the process, keep working non-stop. All the paper produced should be sent to the printing office to be printed as calendars. If someone wants them, wholesale them. If no one wants them, give them to me to put in the Night's Watch Office as freebies. I'll give one monthly calendar to each visitor, a full year's calendar to those who buy bonds, and if an investment is agreed upon, the Night's Watch will permanently provide calendars for his household."
"Good idea." Tyrion praised the idea. Calendars were certainly not Aegon's invention. In this world with irregular seasons, important time points like major festivals were abbreviated as "Royal Calendar", which was formulated by the Citadel and released after being reviewed and approved by the Iron Throne. Paper had long been a quasi-luxury item, so items made from it were naturally not common. Officials and wealthy families who needed to accurately track time would always have them. Ordinary city residents usually had one copy shared among several households or even a whole street. In slightly poorer rural areas, sometimes an entire village would only have one copy.
As paper calendars were not necessities, the impression that they were rare and uncommon among ordinary people had long been deeply ingrained, let alone neat and beautiful printed matter. Using this as a freebie was neither losing face nor costly, it was simply perfect.
***
In this workshop, Aegon would always unconsciously become the leader and main person in charge, and the key was that everyone didn't seem to have any objections… After assigning the tasks, he remembered himself: "Of course, I'm not doing nothing either. I will find people who can write stories and compile some popular adventure novels. When our papermaking and printing capabilities are abundant in the future, we will start printing novel books."
"Master, you always tell me about your adventure experiences before you came to Westeros. Just these stories are enough to write a book."
Aegon was about to habitually pat her head and tell her not to interrupt, when his mind suddenly stirred: Huh, why didn't he think of this? This girl was too smart. In order to reveal fewer flaws when deceiving her, he had actually drafted his boasts. Whenever he thought of a story at night, he would write it down in a notebook as a memo. And what he could remember were nothing but world-class excellent adventure novels – such as "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", "Treasure Island", "The Adventures of Huck Finn", "Robinson Crusoe", "Around the World in Eighty Days", etc. What kind of adventure hero would be created by organizing the outlines of these wonderful and interesting stories and giving them to a novelist or bard to be re-filled, perfected, and polished into his own personal adventure biography, acting as an alternative plagiarist and imposter…?
Whether people believed it or not was another matter, but the sales would definitely not be too bad. These were all market-tested, popular, and easy-to-understand adventure stories suitable for all ages, which could be appreciated without any experience or literary background.
Improving the Night's Watch's image in the eyes of the public was a long and arduous task. Perhaps, he should step forward and become an idol?
He rarely affirmed Arya's timely interjection: "Hmm, good idea."
Tyrion's eyes rolled, and he suddenly leaned closer to Aegon and lowered his voice: "Don't forget there's something else, although it's not presentable, the public loves it."
"What is it!?" The whisper didn't escape Arya's ears.
...
Related to the topic they were discussing, and also not presentable yet loved by the public? That could only be adult books, that's actually a good idea. Westeros shouldn't have censorship, right? Aegon chuckled inwardly and softly comforted the girl: "Don't worry, I'll get you a copy to look at when the time comes."
Will it corrupt the child? Eddard himself didn't have time to manage his daughter and let her pester him all day. It was already good that he didn't ask him for custody fees and tuition, so where would there be so many damn rules?
What needed to be discussed was almost covered. Now, as long as everyone performed their duties and executed their parts well, this game of money was about to officially begin.
"There's one last thing, you two siblings, I said I would give you a reward." Aegon remembered. This time, the promise was the version agreed upon with Tyrion: "Last time I said one-tenth of the paper mill's profit, but that statement was unclear and vague, so let's forget about it. How about this, half of this workshop is yours – not just the profit, but half of its entirety. In a few days, when the funds are more sufficient, I will also find a way to buy this courtyard, as your fixed location for process improvement and living. This is considered the return on your investment of technology and contributions. I will confirm your ownership of this half in writing. As a price, you are not allowed to change jobs or start your own business without my permission, and any new ideas and inventions should be prioritized for notification to the Night's Watch… If you have no objections, which one of you siblings will come back with me to the Night's Watch Office later, and we will sign the agreement today."
"Thank you, Lord!" Brother Neil finally reacted quickly for once: "This… agreement, let Nina sign it."
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