Because Chen Xu gently picked it up and looked through it a few times, a piece of paper that was only half a foot wide was broken, so he took the paper and said to a middle-aged man in the store: "Uncle, I'll break your paper!"

The middle-aged man glanced at him and waved his hand and said, "Young man made a mistake. This is not a paper, it is just a soft pad made of straw pulp, so you don't need to worry about it!"

Chen Xu then breathed a sigh of relief and turned around and looked at this paper-like thing carefully several times again, and then asked about the method of making this thing.

"Mix some soft grass with wheat straw and soak it for a few days, then use a stone mortar to pound it into straw slurry, spread it on the stone slab and dry it. It is mainly to facilitate the filling of gaps when making bamboo and wood tools, so that it looks more delicate and has no other use!" The middle-aged man explained briefly.

"Can you give me a few?" Chen Xu asked.

"Young man wants to take it if you want it!" The middle-aged man waved his hands angrily, so Chen Xu rolled up a few pieces of rough straw paper.

Paper is said to be invented by Cai Lun of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but in fact it is not. The invention of paper is very early, and it can be traced back to the early Western Han Dynasty, and it is almost the era of alternating between the Qin and Han Dynasties. What can be recorded is that a kind of Baqiao paper was unearthed near Xi'an. It was about 200 BC, which coincides with the current time, but that kind of paper is made of hemp.

As for the four major inventions of papermaking in China that were circulated in later generations, the founder of the Eastern Han eunuch Cai Lun only improved the papermaking method at that time, not inventing papermaking. His improvement was to make paper such as writing practical value, which is relatively solid and flat, and is not easy to be damaged. In fact, until the Three Kingdoms period, most of the written records were still bamboo and wood slips, and paper was not widely promoted. The bamboo slips were used until the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty to be completely abolished. The main reason is that papermaking is very troublesome.

, and it is not resistant to preservation. In ancient times, waterproofing measures were not good, and the paper would easily become moldy, tide or even wet by rain. The bamboo slips made of bamboo and wood were not afraid of these natural factors, especially the words engraved on the bamboo slips. Even if they were soaked in the water for countless years, the information would not be lost. This is also why later generations could understand the culture of the Qin and Han dynasties through the unearthed bamboo and wood slips. If the so-called Caihou paper was used at that time, it was estimated that most of the historical materials of Chinese civilization could only be verified by the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Chen Xu has never used anything to write recently, and he is not used to carving with a seal knife on bamboo slips. Therefore, while he is always worried, he is constantly thinking about how to make some paper that can write.

Now these paper-like things also provide him with some inspiration, so he can take them back and study them.

Several people walked around the crisscrossing streets and alleys for an hour. In addition, the sun was approaching noon and felt so harsh and hungry.

"Did you bring money?" Chen Xu was penniless at this time.

"I brought ten coins!" A soldier turned out his pocket around his waist and said.

"I have seven...well, eight cents!"

"Three cents!"

"I have five cents!"

The four soldiers turned out all their pockets, but they only raised more than twenty yuan.

It's enough for a few people to eat something and drink some water for more than 20 yuan, but it's definitely not enough to eat something good.

"Don't worry, go to a foot shop to eat something randomly, otherwise you will not be able to walk if you can't get to Shenshi!" Several soldiers shouted and surrounded Chen Xu and found a foot shop nearby, asking the shop to get some rice porridge and warm water to fill their stomachs first.

Chen Xu is not only a Lidian in Qinghe Town, but also deeply trusted by Jiangbeiting. In the past two days, he has cured hundreds of civilians with summer diseases with herbs. Therefore, several soldiers can be said to be very respectful to him. In any era, capable people will be respected. This is a normal worship mentality.

"When I entered the city just now, I saw farmers working on something strange in the fields outside the city. Brother Zhang knew what kind of weird thing it was, and I had never seen it before!" While eating and drinking water, several diners were sitting on the floor next to me, gathering together to drink water and chat.

"I heard it is called a threshing machine, which can easily and quickly get off the wheat grains on the wheat ears, but I just arrived yesterday and haven't been to inquire carefully yet!"

"It's very strange. Don't you have to cut the wheat ears back to dry first? This threshing machine can actually take off the wheat grains directly. When it cools down, we will go out of the city to see it!"

“Of course~”

"It's better to be careful, both men. I heard that the plague of the civilians who built Qin Chudao in the past few days has occurred. Many people have died. Don't go far!" The owner interrupted and reminded him.

"The weather is so hot, and the summer is rainy and wet. We feel headaches and chest tightness when we walk. Those civilians work hard all day long under the scorching sun, how can they not be sick? Alas, if I hadn't paid for the labor service, I'm afraid that I would have been like them at this time. Maybe I'd have thrown away the body in the wilderness. The Qin Dynasty is now heavily corvee and strict laws, which is far less than when the country is divided and governed!"

"Shh, Brother Xue, be careful of your words, be careful of the walls!" A man turned around nervously and looked around, and found that Chen Xu and others were burying their heads and eating, as if they had not noticed their conversation.

Chen Xu actually heard it clearly, but he didn't care. Although the Qin Dynasty unified the six kingdoms, the people actually did not agree with the rule of the Qin Dynasty. The main reason was that the strict laws and heavy labor service were implemented that made everyone feel dissatisfied.

In fact, in Chen Xu's opinion, although the corvee service was heavy when Qin Shihuang was in power, the lives of the people were actually acceptable. At least the production and life were relatively stable, much better than the continuous wars in previous years. The real strictness and disregard for life and death was that after Hu Hai came to power, the national road was overhauled, the Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum, the Great Wall and the Afang Palace. In these four, there were millions of people recruited nationwide, and the farmers' production activities were basically destroyed, which aroused the national civil unrest. In addition, the remaining six kings, Sun, promoted the fire, and instantly became a spark, and the Qin Dynasty collapsed soon.

After drinking a large bowl of soup, Chen Xu also felt much more comfortable in the stomach and intestines. Moreover, the meal was really cheap, and each person could handle it for only two dollars.

"Sir Lidian, let's go to the south of the city later. It's even more prosperous. I heard that there are often games and fights, so you can have some fun!" said a soldier.

"That's right, I might be able to win some money and have a good meal at night!" Another tall and strong soldier agreed.

Wrestling is like falling. Chen Xu had known for a long time that when he was in Xiaohe Village, some children would play games on the river beach without any trouble, which was no different from the later generations that had been more than two thousand years.

At this time of the Qin Dynasty, there were few public entertainment activities. Rich and nobles could raise some singers, dancers, and watch them, and also throw pots and archery competitions. However, for ordinary people, wrestling competitions are the few performances they can watch. Of course, occasionally, there are fierce people who take tigers and leopards to perform in wooden cages, but ordinary people look down on them.
Chapter completed!