Traveling through the busy farmland of a peasant girl

Chapter 111 Movable Type Printing

Shen Li knew that Shen Xuan was in the house, so she didn't knock on the door and just reached out and pushed it open.

Inside the room, Shen Xuan was concentrating on the task at hand. He held the talisman plate firmly in both hands, looking serious and focused as he printed the talisman again and again.

He looked as if all the troubles in the world had nothing to do with him, and the talisman paper and talisman board in front of him were everything to him.

Seeing his sister and Lord Bai coming in together, Shen Xuan hurriedly stopped what he was doing and gently put the talisman aside.

He straightened his back, bowed respectfully to Bai Jin and Shen Li, and said, "Lord Bai, sister." His voice was crisp and polite, showing his good upbringing.

Shen Li walked closer and her eyes fell on the talismans printed by Shen Xuan. She saw that the talismans were neatly arranged, one next to the other, in an orderly manner.

A rough count revealed that Shen Xuan had printed more than a dozen of them in just a short while, and each one was printed very well, with clear strokes and complete runes, without any appearance of messiness or roughness.

Shen Li secretly approved in her heart, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

Bai Jin stood aside, witnessing this scene, full of confusion.

His brow furrowed slightly, his eyes filled with confusion. In his understanding, rain talismans were always rare and hard to come by, let alone being printed in large quantities so easily.

He wondered to himself: What on earth is going on? Is there something else going on?

Shen Li seemed to see through Bai Jin's doubts. With a playful smile on her face, she picked up a talisman printed by Shen Xuan and then the original talisman she won in the lottery. She handed them both to Bai Jin and said, "Take a look. Is there anything different?"

Bai Jin stretched out his hands and carefully took the two pieces of talisman paper. He first placed the two pieces of talisman paper side by side in front of him, examining them carefully, his eyes moving back and forth between the runes and the paper.

Then, he gently picked up the talisman paper and rubbed it with his fingers, feeling the texture and grain of the paper.

After a moment, he shook his head and said slowly, "The paper is slightly different, but the font is exactly the same, as if it were printed from the same mold."

Upon hearing this, Shen Li couldn't help but laugh out loud, her laughter full of satisfaction and pride.

She reached out, picked up the carefully carved template, handed it to Bai Jin, and said, "Look, isn't it just the same mold?"

Bai Jin took the template and his eyes lit up.

What he saw today really opened his eyes and shocked him deeply.

He held the talisman paper and template tightly, unable to contain his excitement.

For a moment, he was so surprised that he couldn't speak. He just stared blankly at the thing in his hand, then slowly raised his head and looked at Shen Li.

For some reason, his eyes suddenly turned red and tears welled up in his eyes.

Perhaps he was moved by this magical discovery, or perhaps he was impressed by Shen Li's intelligence and creativity.

Shen Li had a smile on her face, as bright and beautiful as the flowers blooming in spring.

She smiled and said, "You know how hard it is to get a rain charm. That day, I had a sudden idea and wondered if I could find a simpler way to obtain it.

Hey, guess what? I figured out this template. With it, the rain charm can be printed out just like flowing water!

As she spoke, she picked up the template and waved it in front of Bai Jin, with a hint of pride in her eyes.

Bai Jin stared at her intently, secretly marveling in his heart: There is such an extremely intelligent girl in this world!

Every time I come into contact with her, it feels like exploring an endless treasure. The more I get to know her, the more I feel that she is like a profound ancient book, and it is difficult to understand the mysteries within.

His eyes were filled with complex emotions: admiration, amazement, and a hint of doubt.

After a moment of silence, Bai Jin came back to his senses and asked, "So, today's rain was caused by you using this talisman you made?"

Shen Li nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes." After that, she frowned slightly, as if she suddenly thought of something important.

She thought to herself: It seems that the method of printing books has not been invented in this era?

If printing technology can be promoted, wouldn’t it allow more people to read books?

So, she looked up at Bai Jin, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, and asked, "Master Bai, does our bookstore have a similar method of printing books?"

Bai Jin looked at Shen Li's expectant eyes, guessed her thoughts, shook his head slightly, and said: "The bookstore currently does not have such a method."

Shen Li's eyes lit up and he was secretly happy. It seemed that he could start a revolution in printing technology in this era.

She said excitedly: "Master Bai, I know a method called movable type printing.

The method of making it is to first use clay to make single words of uniform specifications. These single words can be arranged and combined at will like chess pieces.

When it comes to typeset printing, the required characters are arranged in a special frame according to the manuscript, fixed firmly, and then ink can be applied for printing.

After printing, the individual words can be removed and re-typeset for use the next time the book is printed. This is extremely convenient and flexible. Compared to traditional woodblock printing, it saves a lot of manpower, material resources and time, allowing books to be printed and distributed more quickly. Most importantly, the cost of reading is greatly reduced!

When Bai Jin heard this, his heart was filled with turbulent waves.

He instantly realized that once this movable type printing technology was implemented, it would inevitably set off a cultural storm in the entire dynasty.

Countless precious books and knowledge will no longer be confined to the study rooms or libraries of a few people, but will be able to nourish more hearts that are thirsty for knowledge like spring rain.

As a result, children from poor families may have more opportunities to embark on the path of seeking knowledge and thus change their own and even their family's destiny.

This is of great significance to the cultural inheritance and development of the entire society, and may even affect the future direction of the dynasty.

He couldn't help but admire Shen Li's intelligence and foresight. At the same time, he began to silently think about how to pilot this great invention in the bookstore first, and how to overcome the many difficulties and obstacles that might be faced, so that movable type printing can take root and thrive in this land.