Sutures

They produced paper, a symbol of civilization, so easily.

Wu Jiong examined the paper. "How is it? Is it up to standard?"

Jian Mo nodded. "It's acceptable. No further formula adjustments are needed for now."

As she spoke, Jian Mo nudged Wu Jiong's shoulder with her own. "That's nice."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

The others didn't notice their subtle exchange; their attention was completely drawn to the papers.

"It's so white and so soft, is it really not fabric?"

"You could call it fabric, it's quite soft and breathable when wrapped around the waist."

"It's quite soft and breathable; if you're not careful, your lower body will be exposed to the elements."

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Qing Kuo asked Jian Mo, "How do we use this paper?"

Jian Mo: "It can be bound into a book to record some things."

As she spoke, Jian Mo folded the torn-off paper into a stack and showed it to them. "Just sew one end together with thread."

Qing Kuo touched it. "I can figure this out. I can help you sew it up."

The handmade paper wasn't all the same size, Jian Mo said. "We might have to trim the edges and cut off the excess."

Upon hearing Jian Mo's words, everyone forgot about making breakfast and immediately wanted to urge him to go back and make the book he mentioned.

Making notebooks is much simpler than making paper.

Jian Mo took them home and had Wu Jiong use a wood-chopping knife to smooth the edges of the paper. Then, she took out a needle and thread and demonstrated to everyone what binding was.

The paper was too thick to penetrate easily, Jian Mo the needlework was also mediocre, resulting in uneven binding.

Qing Kuo and the others understood after a few glances and offered to help bind the notebooks from his hands.

Jian Mo didn't stand on ceremony with everyone, and soon, with the efforts of Qing Kuo and Ye Luo, the first beige thread-bound book of the Riverside Tribe was born.

Everyone passed the notebook around, examining it carefully, and found it incredible.

"From tree bark to paper, and then to notebooks, I don't know how your tribe came up with that idea."

"It's so beautiful, I still think it would look great as clothing."

"Jian Mo, I'd like to exchange some paper with you. Will you be making a second batch?"

Seeing that everyone seemed to like it, Jian Mo suggested, "If everyone likes it, why don't the tribe make a batch together, and then everyone can share it? Making paper isn't complicated anyway; if everyone works together and takes some time out of their spare time, it can be done."

"That's a great idea!" Everyone turned to look at Wu Jiong.

Wu Jiong nodded. "Everyone wants it, so let's do it."

The crowd cheered.

Qing Kuo chimed in, "Paper making is also a new technology brought by Jian Mo. I propose that the method be kept secret for now, and the tribe provide some resources to Jian Mo as compensation."

This statement was met with unanimous agreement. "Great!"

Qing Kuo smiled and asked Jian Mo, "What do you want?"

Jian Mo thought for a moment and said, "If you make too much paper, just send some more to me."

He'd had enough of using leaves as toilet paper; this paper was so soft, it should be much better.

Qing Kuo: "Okay, I'll send you a lot more paper later. Besides that, how about the tribe makes you a batch of clothes? I see you guys go through a lot of clothes."

Everyone laughed again.

Jian Mo touched her nose and explained, "We don't use up many clothes. We just change our clothes frequently, and we're not very good at making clothes."

Qing Kuo nodded. "You still need those clothes. Wait two days, and the tribe will make a batch for you first."

Jian Mo: "I'll draw the design of the clothes myself."

Having paper made drawing design drafts much easier.

Compared to various robes, he preferred the types of clothing on Earth. Short sleeves and shorts were comfortable and wouldn't expose him, while long pants and long sleeves were more comfortable in the forest, preventing his arms from being scratched by branches.

There are also various gloves, socks, and the like—it's time to replenish our stock this year.

The more Jian Mo thought about it, the more considerate Qing Kuo's suggestion seemed.

As expected of Qing Kuo, who is incredibly meticulous, if everyone helps with making clothes, they can be freed from heavy housework.

Giving the paper formula to the tribe was a worthwhile investment.

Chapter 96 Sutures

In the evening, Jian Mo and Wu Jiong were grinding charcoal in the yard.

With paper in hand, Jian Mo wanted to seriously make a few pens.

He had previously tried making pens from charcoal, but the charcoal was too light in color and not smooth enough. It worked fine on wooden boards, but when writing on paper, it tore several sheets of paper, so he had to make new pens.

Making pens isn't difficult; what he's currently pursuing are smoothness and color rendering.

Color development can be achieved using charcoal or soot.

He had heard people say before that ink was made from ash produced by smoking.

For homemade pens, you don't need to go through all that trouble. Grind charcoal into powder, sift it out as fine powder, sift it a couple of times, add animal fat to mix, and then add a little clay to shape it. The resulting pen will be black enough.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong experimented for several days and figured out a few suitable material ratios, making several pens.

After the pen was made, Jian Mo placed it on the stove to dry slowly. After drying, she wrapped it with a layer of bark.

After going through this process, Jian Mo obtained a pencil-like pen, which, once sharpened, was almost identical to a pencil.

Even if the color is slightly lighter, it can still be considered a relatively hard pencil. If you sharpen it carefully, you can make it as fine as you want, and the feel is almost the same as a modern pencil.

Jian Mo took a pen and wrote several lines of words in the notebook, her beautiful handwriting as neat as a pattern.

Wu Jiong carefully touched the notebook. "Your handwriting is so beautiful."

Jian Mo: "That's right, it's a written language that's developed over thousands of years. Let me show you another one."

As she spoke, Jian Mo changed her handwriting and quickly wrote lines of script, "Isn't it different again?"