As soon as Shen Qing got off the carriage, he went straight to the factory and found the sack of bleaching powder that Cheng Zhiwen had brought back from Shanghai the day before.
Excitedly, they mixed the powder into bleach, threw in the remaining untreated fluff, and gently rinsed it.
Bleached down can skip the sun-drying process.
Shen Qing packed the rinsed down into mesh bags and hung them in the yard to dry and air dry.
As he turned to enter the factory, he saw Cheng Zhiwen returning from delivering looms to the port, so he stood and waited for him to come in together.
"The planes have already left for Shanghai?"
Cheng Zhiwen nodded and said in a deep voice, "Everything has been arranged, don't worry."
Shen Qing glanced at his shoulder: "Come with me."
As he spoke, he walked towards the innermost part of the factory.
There was a small room there, which was originally used by the female workers to change clothes. Later, all the workers left, and the room was left empty.
After Cheng Zhiwen came in, Shen Qing turned around and closed the door.
The light in the room was suddenly cut off; it was a room without windows to begin with.
Shen Qing turned around and saw Cheng Zhiwen standing there like a god, her heart skipped a beat.
She steadied herself, walked up to him, and asked softly, "Can I take off my coat? Let me see what size clothes you wear."
In the darkness, he gave a low "hmm," his dark pupils appearing even more profound and reserved.
Shen Qing raised his hand, clicked the buttons off his suit jacket, and slowly moved his hands to the collar of the suit jacket. He lifted it back, and the suit jacket fell off his body, revealing a vest and white shirt of the same color.
Carefully hanging his suit on the hook, Shen Qing used her hands to measure his circumference.
One, two, three times, my hand went around his armpits and behind him, four, five, six times...
She memorized his chest measurement.
Her hand moved to his shoulder, measured his shoulder width, and finally to his waist.
Just as he was about to follow suit, his arms were suddenly tightened, and his whole body was lifted and pressed against the wall.
He trapped her between his chest and the wall.
The man's breath was fresh and clean, and she didn't feel disgusted at all. She pushed his chest away and said, "I'm taking your measurements... what are you doing?"
He released her instantly, as if he had suddenly come to his senses.
Both of them were quite embarrassed. After standing in silence for a moment, Shen Qing took off the suit jacket and returned it to him before rushing out the door.
She was in a panic, but she still hurried to the shop.
She took a bolt of real silk and a bolt of rayon to the tailor shop and asked the tailor to cut out two double-layered vest-like garments for her.
The measurements were the shoulder width and chest circumference that were just taken from Cheng Zhiwen.
When she said she didn't need to sew it, the tailor looked at her in confusion: "How can you wear it if you don't sew it?"
She made up a lie: "It's a gift, I wanted to sew it myself."
The tailor knew it was a man's size and added, "Is this for your sweetheart?"
She was taken aback for a moment before realizing what she meant, but she didn't deny it.
Carrying the cut fabric back to the shop, Shen Qing asked the shopkeeper for needles and thread, and immediately returned to the factory.
Upon entering the courtyard, Cheng Zhiwen, with his hands in his pockets, stood by the carriage talking to Old Xu. His face flushed, and without even saying hello, he quickly rushed into the accounting room.
Everything is ready now, just waiting for the bleached down to dry.
Shen Qing picked out a piece from each of the cut fabrics, held them up to the sunlight, and carefully compared their translucency.
Rayon is woven more densely than silk, so it doesn't feel as soft as real silk and its light transmission is not as good. After all, it is made of chemical fibers and machines.
Conversely, rayon is actually more suitable than silk for the lining of down jackets.
The finer the fibers and the denser the weave, the better it prevents them from penetrating the fabric.
Shen Qing immediately decided to use rayon for the inner lining and soft, breathable silk for the outer layer.
Absolutely perfect!
After drying overnight, the bleached down was completely dry. Shen Qing untied the packages one by one and took them into the sealed room.
Carefully open it and put it in the basket.
The down on the left has been steamed at high temperature, and the down on the right has been bleached.
Shen Qing leaned down, brought his nose close, and smelled it carefully.
Down that has been boiled at high temperatures has a distinct fishy smell, while bleached down has only a slight disinfectant smell and no other odor.
In terms of appearance, bleached down is snow-white and clean, while boiled down is yellowish and grayish in color.
At this point, the down jacket is almost ready to hit the ground.
But there is another problem – the allergenicity of the downy fibers.
Shen Qing rolled up his sleeves and examined his arm.
The rash is gradually subsiding. Perhaps it's due to the medication, or perhaps it's because she's only been in contact with bleached down feathers these past two days, so the allergy hasn't lasted.
In other words, down that has been boiled at high temperatures can still cause allergies, while bleached down can not.
Shen Qing immediately stuffed the basket of bleached down into the rayon fabric, and then used extremely dense stitches to layer and finish the edges.
Although it was just a vest, the needlework was all done by hand, which took Shen Qing most of the day.
Chunju urged her several times from outside to come home early for dinner and to take her medicine.
She delayed several times until the vest was sewn up before opening the door and going out.
Chunju, Sulan, and Cheng Zhiwen were all waiting for her outside.
Upon seeing Cheng Zhiwen, she awkwardly hid her down vest behind her back.
Yet Cheng Zhiwen still caught a glimpse of the dark brown corner.
Recalling her behavior in the little house that afternoon, his eyes crinkled into a smile, but he said nothing.
...
Shen Qing took the down vest back to the Gao family home and hung it up.
After taking a shower, I went back to my room and continued to ponder.
It looks very plump, but no hairs have come out yet.
Shen Qing dusted off the vest, making it even more taut, intending to give it to Cheng Zhiwen tomorrow.
He had lived in Europe, so it would be best to let him try on the first sample. This would allow us to know whether the down vest would sell well in Europe.
Looking at the roughly made vest in his hand, Shen Qing was filled with emotion.
This garment was made without using any machines, yet it was the one she worked the hardest to make.
For this sample, she picked out the smelly fur with her bare hands, personally disinfected, washed, dried and sewed it, which caused her to have an allergic reaction all over her body. The red rash on her face has not completely subsided yet, and she has to wear an ugly face every day.
God knows she almost went blind trying to sew this vest right.
It does not require machines, but it is extremely dependent on manual labor.
It was all dirty and tiring work.
However, this sample also gave Shen Qing hope for a comeback.
Currently, the world's warm clothing consists of fur and cashmere, but both are expensive items that only the nobility can afford. The common people still only have thick cotton cloth to keep warm.
Cotton cloth is completely ineffective against the cold.
Once they put on a down jacket, they can never take it off.
Thinking of this, Shen Qing became even more determined to make good down jackets.
This time, she has another daunting question to consider—how to avoid cutthroat competition.
If this down jacket is like the rayon, with its design and craftsmanship stolen by Westerners, Shen Qing feels that he will probably never be able to make a comeback in his lifetime.
We must learn from last time!
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