Previous rayon materials were just a single layer, but the entire research and development cycle still took more than three months.
This time, we need to develop two new materials, which will take at least six months, and whether we can obtain some chemical raw materials and equipment is still a problem.
Shen Qing put down the brush with a headache and raised his hand to press his temples.
Cheng Zhiwen walked over and carefully looked at the few simplified Chinese characters written in a flamboyant style on her booklet.
Upon seeing that the main raw materials were duck and goose feathers, I was quite surprised: "Is it really feasible to use duck and goose feathers as materials?"
Shen Qing rubbed his temples and frowned, saying, "When we used soybeans as the ingredient last time, someone asked the same question."
Cheng Zhiwen understood her confidence and asked with a smile, "Do we still need to import machinery and chemicals this time?"
Shen Qing glanced at the contents of the booklet, unsure of what to say.
If she really decides to make down jackets, there will be more things that need to be imported this time, but the problem is—she's out of money right now.
She didn't intend to borrow money from Cheng Zhiwen, so she didn't mention the money. Instead, she said, "I'll study it carefully first, and I'll let you know when I need you to import it."
"Is there any silver left?"
"I'll figure out the money myself."
It's quite clear that she doesn't have money, but she also doesn't want to borrow from him.
Shen Qing has a principle—he doesn't borrow money from private individuals.
The 50,000 taels given to her by the Gao family was also an investment, with the shareholding ratio and profit-sharing plan written in black and white.
As for Cheng Zhiwen, she didn't even want an investment relationship.
She hoped her relationship with him would remain purely platonic; she was willing to help, but not with money.
When she asked him to help import a loom last time, she paid him the money immediately.
The same applies this time; we'll discuss the R&D costs for down jackets later, and for now, let's focus on bringing the idea to fruition.
Shen Qing glanced at the sky outside; it was almost noon.
We need to hurry to the market to see if they have any freshly picked duck or goose feathers.
"Sulan, pack your things and go home with Sister Chunju for lunch! Take a nap before you come back!"
Su Lan obediently stopped what she was doing, stood up, and asked Shen Qing, "And what about you, Master?"
"I have to go to the farmers' market!" Shen Qing hurriedly drank the cold tea, stood up, and said, "Alright, let's go!"
Cheng Zhiwen also stood up: "I'll go with you."
After sending Chunju and Sulan back to the Gao family, the carriage rushed off to Jiangzhou's largest farmers' market.
Shen Qing and Cheng Zhiwen found a stall selling ducks.
Several dirty, gray ducks were kept in an iron cage by the door, with no duck feathers in sight.
"Boss," Cheng Zhiwen called into the stall, "If I buy ducks from you, do you include slaughtering them?"
The vendor, rubbing his apron, came out and pointed to the opposite side: "They're slaughtering you! Pick them out, and I'll take them over there to be slaughtered."
There are specialized slaughterhouses!
Shen Qing told the vendor, "Let's take another look," and then pulled Cheng Zhiwen toward the slaughterhouse.
She touched her flat purse and said with a smile, "It's great to have ready-made duck feathers; I don't need to spend money to buy ducks."
Cheng Zhiwen glanced down at her increasingly thin body.
Six months ago, when she went to Shanghai, she wore a light gold silk dress, which accentuated her curves and made her look slender and well-proportioned. Now, the dress is much looser.
He laughed and said, "It's fine to buy ducks to take home; consider it a way to nourish your body."
"I'm in good health, I don't need any supplements."
As they were talking, the two arrived at the slaughterhouse.
The plucked duck, goose, and chicken feathers were scattered haphazardly on the ground, wet and bloody, with some even still having skin stuck to the roots.
The vendor was also taken aback when he heard that Shen Qing wanted to buy duck feathers and goose feathers.
No one has ever come to ask for Mao; they don't even glance at him when they pass by, let alone spend money to buy him.
He only asked Shen Qing for ten coins, telling her to choose whatever she wanted, however much she wanted.
Shen Qing was also very happy; the ten coins felt like they were given away for free.
He asked the vendor for an old burlap sack, rolled up his sleeves, and squatted down to pick out the hairs.
She only wanted the white duck and goose feathers, so she picked out the brown chicken feathers and swept the rest into a sack.
These feathers were carelessly left on the ground for more than half a day, mixed with sewage that was casually thrown out during slaughter, as well as some filth from duck and goose intestines, making them smelly and dirty.
The burlap sack emitted a strong, foul stench.
Shen Qing showed no disgust, going in and out of the sack with her bare hands. Her originally fair and clean hands quickly became dirty and smelly.
Having collected a whole bag of wool, he acted as if he had found some treasure and quickly presented it to Cheng Zhiwen, saying, "Look! All this for only ten coins!"
Her fingernails were filled with black grime. Cheng Zhiwen frowned, took out a white handkerchief, unfolded it, and placed it on her hand: "Wipe it off."
She rubbed the handkerchief a couple of times, then noticed it was dirty and stuffed it into her sleeve pocket: "I'll wash it and return it to you later. Let's go, hurry back to the factory."
Cheng Zhiwen took the sack from her and walked ahead first, with Cheng Zhiwen jogging to catch up.
They quickly returned to the factory.
Shen washed his hands and began picking up the feathers.
Pour out all the duck and goose feathers from the sack, picking out the fine downy feathers while sifting out the debris and dust.
The down was so fine and small that it was difficult to select the best pieces. Shen Qing spent an hour picking through the fibers before finally managing to fill a small basket. This was even with Cheng Zhiwen's help.
She looked at the mountain of white feathers with worry: "How many days will it take to sort all of these? If we really want to make down jackets in the future, the cost of manually sorting the feathers alone will be quite high."
Cheng Zhiwen placed the small tuft of down she had painstakingly selected into the basket and said casually, "If you need to purchase in bulk later, you can have the workers sort the down during slaughter. That way, when you get the down, you only need to remove the impurities."
Shen Qing exclaimed in surprise, "That's right!"
Looking at Cheng Zhiwen, who was carefully picking out the feathers, she remarked, "I've discovered that you're quite clever."
He's just as good as any modern man.
Cheng Zhiwen smiled and said, "You're not bad either."
Shen Qing coughed lightly, looking a little awkward: "I didn't, I just..."
She has no intention of revealing that she comes from the future, nor is she complacent because of her cleverness.
She always knew very well that she simply knew some things earlier than people of this era.
Shen Qing recalled that when she first came here, she didn't have any particularly lofty ideals. She just wanted to pay off her debts and live a peaceful life.
But who knew that even though she had tried her best, her path to repaying her debts would be full of twists and turns.
She has now taken in Sulan, and aside from anything else, she must at least ensure the stable lives of Sulan, Chunju, and Gao Liushi.
To achieve all this, one needs money, as well as the courage to negotiate with Master Zhao and others.
It's difficult and tough, but we have no choice but to grit our teeth and persevere.
Thinking of this, Shen Qing perked up and continued picking at the feathers.
Later, Chunju brought Sulan to the factory and joined the team picking out the feathers. Together with Lao Xu, the five of them worked hard and finally finished picking out all the feathers before sunset.
The next step is to wash the fur.
Shen Qing went to the materials warehouse and found the baking soda left over from making rayon, and asked Chunju to go to the market to buy white vinegar early the next morning.
After washing the fur, it needs to be disinfected, which requires bleach.
There was no bleach in this era, so Shen Qing decided to make it herself.
She needs chlorine and quicklime.
Quicklime is available in warehouses, while the production of chlorine requires concentrated hydrochloric acid.
On the way back, she asked Cheng Zhiwen, "Do you have a way to buy concentrated hydrochloric acid?"
What concentration is needed?
"Around 30 percent."
Cheng Zhiwen frowned: "This concentration is quite dangerous. Have you forgotten what happened last time?"
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