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Chapter 27: Paper Making
After receiving the order from the King, all the craftsmen left for their workshops to begin their work.
In a rush, they all swarmed the forest to procure the wood that the King had mentioned in order to improve their paper-making proficiency. However, there was an exception among these craftsmen.
In a workshop on the outskirts of Hampi City, stands a three-generation establishment owned by the Bhat family, a family full of artisans. Chetan Bhat, the old man, started the workshop from the ground up when he was in his teens, all alone. Since then, he has kept the family in the same business.
Chetan's son, Lokesh, currently manages the workshop's finances and income while overseeing the establishment, as the old man has grown tired of managing the shop. Nowadays, he enjoys spending his time making paper throughout the day and imparting his skills to his disciple. Lokesh also has a son named Praveen, who is learning the craft from his father and is his sole disciple.
At the age of 16, Praveen stands out, because, unlike his father, he possesses exceptional talent for the art of paper-making. This led the family's patriarch, Chetan, to take a liking to him, teaching him everything there is to know about paper-making, including some special tricks that he hadn't even taught his own son, Lokesh.
After returning from the palace, the Bhat family, like their colligues also intended to test the use of wood pulp to improve the efficiency of paper-making, as mentioned by the king. However, this plan changed when Praveen, the youngest in the family, spoke up, saying, "How do we even make wood pulp? Besides, the king called us in a hurry, and he seems to be in a rush. Why waste time searching for something we have no idea how to produce?"
Hearing this, everyone in the family was stunned, unable to come up with a counterargument to Praveen's question. Finally, his grandfather broke the silence and asked, "So, Praveen, what do you think we should do? We can't simply give up on this rare opportunity bestowed upon our family."
"We don't have to give up, Grandpa. Didn't the king mention that wood pulp is rolled using a water wheel? We have plenty of those water wheels on our farms. Why not integrate the water wheel into our traditional paper-making technique and observe if it really enhances production? If it indeed increases production, wouldn't that fulfil the king's request to improve paper-making efficiency?" Praveen explained.
Just as Praveen suspected, many of their colleagues attempted various methods to soften the wood. They tried boiling the wood, soaking the wood in seawater, and many other whimsical and bizarre ideas. However, without exception, all of these attempts failed, with no success to show, except for one family of course. This particular family accidentally burned the wood near their kitchen window. Later, to their surprise, the food they cooked ended up absorbing the wood's fragrance. This accidental discovery led them to start cooking with this wood, eventually opening a famous restaurant in the city. Thus began the start of the smoked food industry. But that's a story for the future.
The Bhat family, as they had planned, quickly came up with a way to utilize the water wheel commonly found in rice fields and incorporated it into their traditional craft.
*"Click, clink, clink, clink"*
In Bhat's workshop, the mechanical device's working sounds could be heard. They were testing the new innovation with the water wheel.
Since using water as a power source in the workshop was inconvenient, they hired a strong servant to physically spin the wheel for testing purposes. The water wheel, turned slowly by the servant, operated the lever, which was then pressed onto the paper made in the traditional way. Within a few moments, a finished sheet of paper was produced. While the drying was still pending, the machine significantly improved the production efficiency of paper.
"It worked, Grandpa, it freaking worked!"
Praveen exclaimed, jumping around the workshop in joy like a toddler. Their experiment had succeeded; the efficiency of paper-making had more than quadrupled compared to before, exceeding the king's request.
In a newly designated room, Vijay was working out with the newly made weights he designed. He had recently started this routine as he aimed to maintain his fitness after his rebirth. In his previous life, due to heavy workloads, he had neglected his health, leading to various complications. He was determined to rectify this issue in his current life.
As he was about to achieve a new PR in his workout, he was interrupted by Vinod. Vinod informed him that someone had managed to increase the paper-making efficiency fourfold. This news surprised Vijay because the wood pulp method he had shared with them seemed impossible to succeed.
"If they really succeeded, then I will give them a chance," he said to himself, thinking about the water wheels he had mentioned inadvertently.
To make wood pulp, there are essentially only two chemically viable methods: Sulfite Pulping and Kraft Pulping.
In Sulfite Pulping, a mixture of sulfurous acid and other chemicals is used to dissolve the lignin and separate the fibres. This process yields a lighter-coloured pulp. While it offers better quality and is more modern technology, a challenge arises from the fact that the necessary chemicals are not naturally occurring. This leaves us with the alternative option—Kraft Pulping. In this method, wood chips are cooked with a mixture of chemicals, typically sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), and sodium sulfide, under high pressure and temperature. This process breaks down lignin and separates the fibres, resulting in what's known as "kraft" pulp. The minerals required for this method, though uncommon, can be found in dried-out salt lakes and volcanic regions, such as The Perumal Peak.
Vijay soon boarded a carriage and set off to meet the Bhat family.
A few hours later, Vijay arrived in the vicinity of the workshop.
The Bhat family members were standing in the compound, waiting. Upon seeing the king approaching, the Bhat family knelt on the ground and warmly welcomed the king. "Welcome, Your Highness. Your presence brings light to this humble workshop." 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝓬𝓸𝓶
Vijay promptly raised them from their kneeling positions, still adjusting to the respect he was receiving, particularly from those older than him. "If you truly wish to make me feel welcome, show me your innovation instead," he playfully remarked.
Vijay observed a water wheel the size of an elephant with a strong man struggling to turn it. Despite the difficulty, the wheel was slowly moving, activating levers in the machine. Although the raw materials remained the same, the use of the water wheel notably increased efficiency.
Knowing that creating a wood pulp from wood was highly unlikely due to the need for specific chemicals to break down the fibres, Vijay was primarily interested in efficiency improvements. Since the talent assessment had proven successful, he swiftly explained the basic concept of using wood pulp for paper-making. He also transmitted his knowledge about paper-making to the three of them telepathically.
Introducing wood pulp-based paper-making was an innovation from the 19th century, and Vijay's actions were propelling the technology of the Vijayanagar Empire two centuries forward. Thus, the world-famous Raya and Shetty paper mill was born.