Preliminary Layout Completed

Okso, though young, was the capable head cook of Weissenburg's kitchen, keeping everything in perfect order.

However, when the master, "in a fit of playful experimentation," kept drying and then rehydrating various foods, she was at a loss for what to do.

By the time Frederick finished his experiments, he discovered his own lunch had been dehydrated.

Katie patted his head and said with a smile, "It's okay, the pie is still edible even if it's a bit dry. Just drink more soup."

Lunch was spent with Psyche complaining about the food, while Frederick pretended not to hear.

Kler, having lunch with the Principal in the castle for the first time, wasn't sure if the Principal liked dry food, so he chose to stay silent.

Richard Nahl kept engaging him in small talk, and he cautiously answered questions about things like how many acres of land his family had, how many people were in his family, and if he owned a house.

Frederick observed that Kler, in his early thirties, was handsome, refined, and spoke with clear thoughts, which was quite good.

Katie simply maintained table manners and focused on eating the dry beef offal pie.

The tedious lunch ended, and Psyche took Katie and Kler to Frederick's study; she had commandeered it for the day.

She had drawn many blueprints that morning and was now explaining them one by one to the two of them. Frederick sat nearby, listening to hear about her Papermaking process.

Then Frederick listened, looking completely bewildered, thinking, It can be done like this?!

Psyche's Papermaking method didn't sound very complicated.

The raw materials used for Papermaking were common pine woods like white pine. After debarking, the trunks were sawn into sections and planed into 2-3mm thick sheets on a machine modified from a Hydraulic Lathe. Finally, these sheets were cut into parallelogram-shaped wood chips with a length of 16-20mm in the direction of the wood fibers and a width of several centimeters, using angled cuts to increase the exposure of the fiber lumens in preparation for the next step.

At the same time, green Acid Slime was mashed and placed in a clay pot with water to boil. After the water turned green, it was filtered and dehydrated to obtain a deep green pure Slime acid liquid, which was stored for later use.

After adding water to a large clay pot, one-fiftieth of the volume of Slime acid was added and stirred evenly. The thin wood chips, after being steamed in a steamer for an hour, were placed into the pot while still hot, ensuring that all the wood chips were submerged under the acid liquid.

Then, the lid was covered, and the fire was lit to heat the acid liquid to a gentle boil. The lid was opened occasionally to stir, allowing the wood chips to boil in the acid liquid for about 3 hours until they were very soft.

Three grinding mills were prepared in the mill. They were made of stone, and the grinding surfaces were steel. Each mill had a different pattern, from coarse to fine.

The wood chips were scooped out of the acid liquid, rinsed clean in clear water, and then successively passed through the three mills for coarse grinding, medium grinding, and fine grinding to finally obtain wood pulp.

After adding water, Agar as a dispersant, and calcium carbonate as a filler to the wood pulp and stirring thoroughly, it could proceed to the papermaking process, followed by pressing and dewatering.

This set of processes looked uncomplicated, but there were many detailed issues to be solved in actual operation. Just the consistency of the wood pulp, the ratio of dispersant and filler during papermaking, and the thickness of the paper required extensive experimentation, not to mention building factories, customizing specialized equipment, and training employees.

Frederick estimated that producing usable paper in a year would be good.

Next came printing, the materials for metal type, and ink formulas, all of which required continuous research.

After Psyche finished explaining the process, she began discussing the details. Just then, a guest arrived to see Frederick.

Today, Basf seemed very happy. The brilliant smile on his face, upon seeing Frederick walk into the living room, changed from the 10 AM sun on a summer morning to the 12 PM sun.

Frederick noticed his dark circles and bloodshot eyes and couldn't help but ask, "What, stayed up late?"

Basf immediately replied, "As long as I can ease the Principal's worries, I don't care how tired I am!"

Frederick shook his head, motioned for him to sit on the sofa, and only spoke after Tarot served tea: "No matter how busy you are with work, you must get enough rest. Don't trade your health for money when you're young, only to trade money for health when you're old."

Basf immediately stood up and said loudly, "I will keep the Principal's teachings in mind!"

Frederick's face darkened. He waved his hand for him to sit down and asked with a smile, "What, is the money for marrying a wife putting so much pressure on you?"

Basf's face instantly turned red, and he stammered, unable to speak.

Frederick stopped teasing him and pointed to the leather bag at his feet, saying, "Let me see what you've brought."

Basf immediately took out the Slime Gel samples he had brought and placed them one by one on the coffee table.

Frederick studied them for a while with a calm expression and then sighed.

Basf's heart sank, and he instantly became nervous. He couldn't help but clench his fists, his face ashen, thinking, Is it over?

"I don't understand," Frederick asked with a head full of questions, "You have a hen that lays golden eggs in your hands, so why are you still worried about money for a wife?"

Basf was stunned for a moment, then replied with a beaming smile, "Without your wisdom, Principal, that hen wouldn't lay eggs."

Frederick gave him a blank look. What am I, a friend of hens?

Basf immediately changed the subject and said, "Before, in Constantinople, we scholars had high annual salaries and didn't have to worry about money at all."

"Now there's no other way. After everyone fled here, we don't have such high incomes. Although we won't starve, living the way we used to is impossible. We can only try to find ways to make money."

"Recently, Professor Aumert has received quite a few commissions for making Bearings for the Principal, and his wife has lifted his drinking restrictions."

"Professor Osram and his students borrowed money everywhere to install streetlights in Weissenburg, and the Principal has also allocated land for him to build workshops. It's only been a short time, and they've already repaid one-tenth of the borrowed money."

"There are even merchants willing to lend money to Professor Osram to build workshops without interest, as long as the professor prioritizes supplying the goods they need."

"If it weren't for Vice Principal Manuel reminding us, everyone would be solely focused on making money and would have forgotten about recruiting students."

Frederick smiled after hearing this and said, "Tell everyone to walk around the city and villages more; perhaps they can get some inspiration."

Then he picked up a piece of transparent Slime hard gel and flicked it, producing a crisp sound.

"Have you considered using this material to replace glass?" Frederick asked.

Basf replied, "This transparent hard gel is a bit brittle, and it becomes even more brittle after coloring. It's easily broken when used for containers."

Glass in this era, besides windows and mirrors, was mostly various colored cups, bowls, bottles, jars, and handicrafts.

Frederick pointed to the window and said, "Try using it to replace the glass in windows."

Basf replied with a wry smile, "No, I tried. It's too brittle. It breaks with even a little vibration."

Frederick nodded, picked up a piece of the equally transparent Slime Gel, and began to think.

This piece of gel felt hard yet slightly elastic when squeezed, a bit like an eraser.

"Why don't you try this?" He said, holding the hard gel in one hand and the transparent soft gel in the other. "Sandwich a layer of this elastic gel between two hard plates and see if it improves the effect."

Basf's expression immediately changed back, and he went to try it.

Frederick picked up another piece of elastic gel. It was yellow, softer, and more elastic. He pulled it twice, then got playful.

He asked Tarot to bring him a small knife, cut off a piece of the yellow gel, hollowed it out, and used it as a rubber band to flick at Basf's forehead.

"That's possible!" Frederick said in surprise. "This has a lot of uses!"

Basf replied a little proudly, "I once used this kind of Slime Gel to improve the seats of carriages. They weren't as bumpy to ride in."

Frederick nodded and said, "If there was a stronger, more wear-resistant, and more elastic gel, it could be used for shoe soles or to wrap around wheels."

"This kind!" Basf immediately picked up a piece of black Slime Gel and handed it over. "I made this black gel by accident. I originally intended to use it for helmet lining."

Frederick took the black Slime Gel block and examined it. It somewhat resembled a rubber tire.

He nodded, then picked up the next type of Slime Gel sheet.

This type of Slime Gel was milky white, with decent strength and toughness. It reminded him of the forks that came with instant noodles in his previous life.

"Can this gel be used to make cutlery?" Frederick asked. "With two molds pressed together, a bowl is made."

"Tens of thousands of refugees will be arriving soon. Just providing a bowl for everyone to eat with is going to be a headache."

"Yes!" Basf immediately replied. "I originally planned to use this gel to make folding fans. The strength is sufficient."

Frederick asked him with a smile, "Are you planning to imitate ivory?"

Basf just smiled without speaking.

Frederick picked up the last type of Slime Gel. This was the thin film he had seen at the blacksmith's shop earlier.

Basf showed off his ingenuity by bringing two finished products.

A gel bag large enough to hold a watermelon was made by brushing a layer of Slime Gel onto the outside of an iron pot, letting it cool and solidify, then peeling it off.

Fine hemp thread was woven into a net, placed between two pieces of dyed film, and then ironed together with something like an iron to fuse them. This could then be used directly to make rain capes or tents.

After examining all the Slime Gels, Frederick wrote notes approving land and money while saying, "Very good. Next, I'm giving you a task: produce as much cutlery, gel bags, and waterproof fabric as possible in a short time. Are there any difficulties?"

Basf immediately replied, "I don't have enough manpower."

Frederick had no solution to the manpower issue, so he could only say, "Ask the blacksmiths and carpenters. If any of their wives are willing, they can work."

Basf thought for a moment, came up with an idea that would also benefit himself, and immediately agreed.

After discussing some details, Basf left without even eating dinner.

Frederick leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and recalled the tasks he had recently assigned.

Canals, agriculture, steel, Maltose, Bearing, pharmaceuticals, Papermaking, Slime Gel, and others had already been arranged. This was enough for the current Wessen Territory.

There was no opportunity for the glass industry, and he didn't have the energy to deal with it now, so it would have to wait.

The textile industry needed to be developed, but he would only consider it after the canal was open and trade routes were smooth. Otherwise, raw materials would be a problem.

Frederick rubbed his face. Next, he had to focus on welcoming the refugees.