She suddenly became curious about how Lu Cijian ended up living alone in this remote mountain area. He knew martial arts, could read, and his demeanor didn't seem like that of someone raised in a farming family.
It's really strange that someone like that lives in this deep mountain forest.
Just then, Wang Fengqin and the others finished selecting the furs, leaving only a few that were too stiff to use. They said helplessly, "These are too stiff. I guess they can't be used to make clothes. I'll throw them away later."
The others nodded in agreement.
Jiang Yimian quickly stopped her, smiling and saying, "Don't throw it away, I have a way to soften the fur, it can be used."
Looking at that white fur, although it's so tough it could kill someone, and it's only a small piece that can't be used to make clothes, it would be excellent to make a hat if processed properly.
Seeing that her daughter had a solution, Wang Fengqin simply smiled and said, "Okay, you can have it."
Zhao Xing'er and the others smiled and agreed. Just as they were praising Jiang Yimian for being clever, they noticed the cotton in her basket and immediately said excitedly, "Yimian, where did you pick this wild cotton? Tell your auntie so we can pick some too tomorrow."
Liu Xiaoyun and Wang Fengqin were overjoyed.
They had originally thought that since there was no cotton, they would have to make clothes out of reeds, which were light and would dissipate in the wind, and wouldn't be warm, so it was just for psychological comfort.
Upon seeing the cotton, the group became quite excited.
Wild cotton grows in small numbers and is difficult to harvest; they couldn't find a single plant in the small depression.
Jiang Yimian just smiled and said, "There's still a lot outside. I can go out by myself. After these cottons are dried, I'll deliver them to the two aunts."
Just kidding. If she really took a few people out to pick cotton, how would she stuff the cotton from her spatial storage into the cotton fields?
Moreover, there is too little wild cotton to make clothes for the people in the low-lying areas.
If others knew about this, she wouldn't be able to distribute the cotton to everyone.
Hearing this, Wang Fengqin quickly replied, "Let's focus on making these fur coats. We can leave the cotton picking to Yi Mian. She goes out often and knows the way well. It would be inconvenient for her to take us with her."
Liu Xiaoyun nodded and said, "That's true. Yi Mian can run fast and pick a lot by herself. If she takes us with her, she might have to keep an eye on us, which would distract her for no reason."
Zhao Xing'er had no choice but to agree, telling Jiang Yimian to just call her if she needed any help.
Jiang Yimian responded repeatedly, giving her mother a thumbs up in her heart. Her mother was amazing; she had resolved her dilemma with just one sentence.
After distributing the sweet potatoes in her hand to everyone, Jiang Yimian went back and put down her basket.
Seeing several women looking at the furs and thinking about how to make clothes, Jiang Yimian quickly went to help.
Since Lu Cijian had already cleaned the fur, there was no excess flesh or blood left on it. Even some areas on the legs and head where the fur couldn't be removed had been cleaned off, which saved them a lot of trouble.
Zhao Xing'er looked at the fur in her hand, feeling a little conflicted. "Won't this thing get infested with bugs? I wonder how those mink cloaks and scarves in those shops are made."
I was just thinking about using the fur to sew clothes, and I was so happy that I realized the problem now.
Wang Fengqin and Liu Xiaoyun also paused, clearly having not considered this issue.
Jiang Yimian just smiled and said, "It's alright, Auntie, don't worry. I have a solution. Just leave it to me."
After saying that, she took out several whetstones she had picked up from the stream and began to polish the hairless side of the whetstones.
Seeing this, Wang Fengqin and the others quickly came to help.
They knew this step was to thin the animal hide.
Liu Dayong and Chen Tiezhu saw the commotion and came to help.
For a time, apart from a few children who were learning to read with Lu Cijian and Zhao Dashu and his two companions, everyone in the small depression was polishing fur.
Zhao Dashu and the others found it amusing, but before they could get up to help, Jiang Yimian glared at them coldly.
The three had no choice but to give up and silently stare at the dizzying words on the ground.
They preferred helping with fur polishing to recognizing characters, at least it gave them more motivation.
After working for almost half an hour, until the roots of the hairs were faintly visible on each pelt, Jiang Yimian finally told everyone to stop.
She then added alum and water to the pot, boiled it, let it cool, and then poured it into two large basins, whereupon she soaked all the furs in the water.
The two hides, so tough they could kill, were soaked in a separate basin.
Zhao Xing'er looked on curiously and said, "Yi Mian, we finally managed to dry it, why are you putting it in water again?"
Apart from two stiff pieces of fur that needed to be soaked in water, everything else seemed fine to her.
Jiang Yimian just smiled and said, "Auntie, don't worry. Although these furs aren't very stiff, they still need to be softer to make clothes, and they also need to be disinfected and killed of insects."
Even the grease on the fur needs to be removed; you can't exactly wear clothes covered in oil.
To make clothes from these furs, in addition to polishing, several other processes are required.
First, soak the fur in alum water for one to two days to soften the stiffened fur.
Only then can the degreasing process be carried out.
The main method involves applying an alkaline solution to the hairless side, allowing the solution to fully contact the animal skin, and then washing it off after 15 minutes.
It was only completed after several repetitions.
After this step, the hides need to be soaked in a laundry detergent solution to further remove the oil from the fur.
It is washed again, and then it is nitrated.
Continue soaking the wet hides in a solution of Glauber's salt and rice flour until the hides are soft and no longer hard.
Finally, it needs to be dried and stretched to complete the process. (Source: Internet)
Jiang Yimian slowly recalled the scene of cleaning fur with the old woman in the mountains. At that time, she only thought it was troublesome, but she tried it with the old woman because it was novel. She never expected it to come in handy now.
Winters in Da Jin aren't too cold, but when it snows, the wind is still biting.
When cotton and cloth are in short supply, it's still very good to have more clothes made of animal fur, as they are both windproof and warm.
As for the alkaline solution and laundry detergent needed, soap pod water can be used instead; adjusting it to the required concentration will yield similar results.
She has Glauber's salt in her space; it's sodium sulfate.
Like alum, it is also a traditional Chinese medicine and can be sold in pharmacies, so she doesn't need to worry about scaring people by taking it out.
Zhao Xing'er then responded, and the others, seeing that the fur still needed to be soaked, went about their own business.
Zhao Dashu, Gousheng, and the other three finally finished their literacy lesson for the day and went out with Liu Dayong and Old Man Liu to continue digging for konjac and taro.
Because Jiang Yimian said that both of these things could be ground into powder, dried, and preserved, the group had been busy digging for food these past few days, fearing that there wouldn't be enough to eat when winter came.
Xiao Ye, Xiao Nuan'er, and Daya obediently continued practicing their calligraphy.
Daya learns slowly, but she is diligent in her studies. With Xiaoye constantly teaching her, the little girl has finally learned to recognize a few words.
Zhao Xing'er was overjoyed. Let those people in the village say that her daughter is stupid. Her daughter can read now. Who knows who is stupid?
Jiang Yimian was about to put the basin of soaking furs in the yard under the eaves when her hand suddenly felt light.
She paused.
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