Chapter 978 Playing Cotton
The cotton bolls are peeled off, the rollers of the gin are shaken, and strands of fine, snow-white cotton batting are brought through the middle of the rollers, and the cotton seeds are stripped out. A very simple device, but it makes deseeding very convenient.
The cotton after deseeding is in strands and cannot be used yet.
The servants deseed a large basket of cotton bolls and put them in a wooden trough. The "big bow" hung on the wooden trough, and then asked Fang Jun for instructions on how to operate it.
Fang Jun said calmly: "You must have the consciousness of continuous innovation, so that the knowledge you have developed can be more impressive, and you must have the ideal of becoming the first batch of 'cotton-splitting craftsmen' in the Tang Dynasty. If a person does not have ideals, what is the difference between a salted fish and a salted fish?" The difference?”
All the servants were sweating profusely.
We are just slaves, we don’t want to be a "cotton player"...
Fang Jun was indifferent and let them experiment and figure it out for themselves, while he stood aside and watched. The fact was that he had only seen cotton playing on TV, but had he never done it himself?
Nor will he...
However, playing cotton is not difficult. You just need to understand the principle of breaking up the cotton fibers to make the fibers closer together. Of course, playing well requires a certain amount of talent and long-term practice as the basis.
The servants of the Fang family obviously had an IQ above the average. A young man named Zhao Erniu chatted and gestured for a long time, and finally managed to play the cotton well. Although the cotton that popped out was far from as dense as Fang Jun imagined, it was as white and soft as a white cloud. It felt soft and soft and had a comfortable temperature, which had already shocked all the servants.
Fang Jun immediately decided to appoint Zhao Erniu as the steward of the Fang family's "cotton player."
Zhao Erniu was going crazy with joy. Who would have thought that he would suddenly become a manager after suddenly having his brain figured out and figure out the device Erlang invented? Could it be that Erlang took care of him like this because he was the second oldest among everyone?
Well, that must be the case, everyone is "two", so we are close!
Destiny is so amazing. Those who get promoted, get a raise, and then work as matchmakers will definitely have queues in front of their homes, and suddenly they will be at the top of their lives!
Zhao Erniu said nothing, knelt on the ground and kowtowed with "bang bang bang" and pointed to the sky and the earth to swear allegiance.
It's not enough even if the cotton pops out. Such cotton can only be made into cotton-padded jackets and quilts, so Fang Jun is naturally not satisfied. It has to be twisted into thread, then spun into yarn and woven into cloth, so that cotton can enter thousands of households. The low cost and excellent quality of cotton cloth can benefit the public, and by the way, bring wealth like sea water to Fang Jun.
Of course, if you want to maximize the value of cotton, you have to wait until military applications are developed.
Unfortunately, Fang Jun’s chemistry was taught by his Chinese teacher, and he couldn’t even make smokeless gunpowder...
Twisting is a very ancient craft, and there are many primitive looms among the people. Just leave it to Lu Chenglai to take charge of it, and you only need to take a look at the finished product. Although the technology is primitive and backward, Fang Jun really doesn't know how to make a textile machine that can place dozens of spindles at one time. He just writes down the rough process requirements on a piece of paper and promises who can develop a more advanced one. The looms were rewarded with hundreds of dollars, and then they were ignored.
He has great faith in the wisdom of the Chinese nation.
Most of the time, they just don't want to think about it or are too lazy to think about it, and lack the sense of innovation. When they have enough motivation, they can immediately develop unparalleled creativity, and history has already proven this.
He told Zhuangzi not to use machines to deseed the cotton. The seeds were too precious. He was afraid that the machine would damage the outer skin of the seeds and affect the germination rate, so he had to deseed them manually.
"After spring, all the dry fields in Zhuangzi will be planted with cotton."
Fang Jun ordered.
Champa rice is a southern rice species. The temperature in the north is low and the growth cycle of crops is slow. Even if there are excellent rice seeds, they cannot meet the natural conditions of two or even three crops a year, so they can only be planted in the south.
Fang Jun has already ordered Mu Yuanzuo, the governor of Suzhou, to choose a place for planting in the coming spring to see if it can adapt to the climate of the Yangtze River Basin. If not, it can only be promoted in Fujian and Guangdong. The current situation in Fujian and Guangdong is not stable. There are many barbarians in Fujian. Guangdong is the territory of the Feng family and may change at any time. Once they get advanced rice seeds, it will only fuel their ambitions.
Lu Cheng was startled and advised: "Erlang, you have to be careful about this. Our family has a lot of dry land, and if we grow cotton all there will be much less food."
"Don't worry, there is plenty of food."
The fleet that purchased grain in Linyi State estimated that it would be able to transport the grain back before the Yellow River froze, and Guanzhong would no longer have to worry about food shortages. Cotton is a very good cash crop. After weaving and selling the cloth, the output of one acre of field can be equivalent to growing five acres of food. Why not?
Anyway, as long as there is money, rice from Linyi State will be continuously shipped to Guanzhong. It doesn't matter if there are any changes in Lin Yi State that prevent them from buying rice. Nanyang is a big place. As long as you have a fleet in hand, you can still grab food even if you can't buy it!
"By the way, go and tell Mei Niang, don't be in a hurry to sell those red sandalwoods you brought back from Nanyang. The prices are astronomical. I would rather make those noble people unable to afford them than sell them at a low price! In addition, pick two I sent a piece of high-quality longevity material to the Duke of Zheng’s house and told my servants to be more polite.”
There is an overwhelming amount of red sandalwood on Sandalwood Island, but Fang Jun doesn't want to sell the sandalwood at a low price on the street. Sandalwood is a luxury product and has nothing to do with the national economy and people's livelihood. Making a fortune from it has no moral impact at all. This is the financial source of the entire navy, and it is necessary to maintain a high income.
Without tangible benefits, who will work for you?
*****
The servants of the Fang family drove a large cart through the market. The two red sandalwood sticks on the cart, which were about a foot thick, attracted passers-by to marvel.
In this era, maritime transport was not yet developed, and there was no red sandalwood produced in the Tang Dynasty. The inflow of red sandalwood from overseas was extremely limited, so scarcity made it more valuable. The saying "every inch of sandalwood is gold" has been passed down since the Han Dynasty to this day. Of course, most of the pedestrians on the road were ignorant, but some passing nobles had already spread the news jealously.
When the carriage arrived at the Wei Mansion, Wei Shuyu was about to go to Chu Suiliang's place after receiving his father's orders. Seeing the two one-foot-thick rosewood sticks on the carriage that drove in through the gate, Wei Shuyu's eyes widened and he swallowed subconsciously.
No matter how poor the Wei family is, they always have knowledge.
The value of these two pieces of red sandalwood is definitely no less than a few thousand guan. If you dig it up to make a coffin, not only will your parents not be able to use up all of it, but I am afraid that my future share will be taken care of...
As expected, he was Fang Er, the biggest loser in the Tang Dynasty. How could he give gifts like this? As soon as you make a move, you will use money to knock people into confusion!
Wei Zheng's status was extraordinary, and Lu Cheng came personally to give the gift this time. Under the arrangement of the Wei family servants, the red sandalwood wood was unloaded in a warehouse, and Lu Cheng was called to the main hall.
Wei Zheng's face was a little gloomy and his spirit was very depressed. He said with a strong spirit: "It's hard work. Go back and tell Erlang. Thank you very much."
Then he ordered his servants to reward Lu Cheng.
Lu Cheng refused, bowed and said with a smile: "How dare you accept the reward from Duke Zheng? My Erlang said that Duke Zheng has broken off relations with Brother Kong Fang. Don't let such vulgar things stain the eyes of Duke Zheng."
Wei Zheng chuckled and said: "Interesting, interesting. The Fang family is really Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A manager can be so elegant. Is he an old man of the Fang family?"
Lu Cheng said respectfully: "The old slave is the woman's dowry and has been in the Fang family for decades."
Wei Zheng suddenly nodded: "It turns out that he is from the Lu family of Fan Yang. No wonder, no wonder."
As one of the seven sects with five surnames, Fan Yang’s background goes without saying. The stewards who can marry Miss Lu are obviously well-educated. How can they be compared with the stewards of ordinary rich country families?
After chatting for a few words, Lu Cheng said goodbye and left.
Wei Zheng waved his hand towards Wei Shuyu: "Let's go to Chu's house."
Wei Shuyu nodded, turned and left.
When I arrived at Chu's house, I happened to catch up with Chu Suiliang who had not left home.
The Wei family and the Chu family were family friends. Wei Shuyu came and said that he was on his father's orders. The disciples of the Chu family directly invited Wei Shuyu to the study without informing him.
Chu Suiliang was wearing regular clothes and was sitting on a chair drinking tea. When he saw Wei Shuyu saluting respectfully, he waved his hands and said casually: "Why should I be so polite? Sit down quickly."
Naturally, Wei Shuyu could not be rude. After bowing and sitting down, Chu Suiliang asked, "My nephew is here, is there something wrong?"
Wei Shuyu was an upright and dull man, without any tricks or euphemisms at all, so he said bluntly: "My father has an order to ask my nephew to come and retrieve the manuscript that was previously given to Chu Shishu." (End of this chapter)