Chapter 52 Wool Workshop [Second Update]
According to Weishengxue's plan, the processing and production of wool sweaters will be merged into the textile factory. However, after consulting professionals, he learned that there are more factors to consider when building houses near water. It will take more than a month just to lay the foundation, and winter will have already arrived by the time construction begins.
In Daqin, all construction projects will be suspended after winter begins, and the focus will be on preparing for the winter.
As a result, she had to find another location for her wool workshop.
With Wei Shengxue's status in Daqin, he has a wide range of choices of address, even if he wants to live in the palace, it will not be a problem.
However, considering the terrible smell of the sheep, she decided to choose a location farther away.
The maternity and children's hospital is in the outer city, and the wool workshop is not far away, so it is more convenient to go to work.
The lieutenant had never expected that he, an official in charge of patrolling, guarding and protecting the capital, would have to accompany others to choose a house one day.
To be honest, he didn't know much about the houses in Xianyang City. He was only responsible for setting up the defenses. It was not his business to decide which house was vacant and which was full.
Fortunately, the nobleman did not make things difficult for us and only made simple requests: the place must be large enough, with running water, and suitable for construction.
It's simple as it requires clear cleaning and doesn't restrict money.
Two days later, Wei Shengxue took Princess Yangzi to their destination.
Although the location is in the outer city, it is not remote. It is located at the junction of the inner city and the outer city, which is both safe and convenient.
"The backyard is connected to a nearby canal, making it quite cheap for washing and kneading furs. It's just that no one has lived in the house for some years and it's a bit dilapidated." The person who came to introduce the house was a minor official from the outer city. It was the first time in his life that he spoke to someone of such high status. He was surrounded by bigwigs and was so nervous that he kept wiping his sweat.
A group of people walked through the gate. The dead grass in the yard was knee-high. Princess Yangzi took two steps forward and kicked the weeds by the wall. A big gray rat flew past, scaring her so much that she took several steps back and screamed.
"ah!"
"What's wrong?" Wei Shengxue cast a calming spell on her and asked.
Princess Yangzi leaned closer to her, her face slightly pale, and she said in a trembling voice, "There's a mouse."
The outer city clerk stretched his head to look over there, but could see nothing because of the weeds. "My lords, please allow me to report that the courtyard has been deserted for a long time, and these unsightly creatures have become rampant. We can control them by raising a few raccoons."
The good environment in the palace courtyard relies on the hard work of the servants. Before they can even reach the presence of the noble, they are taken care of by the palace servants. However, rats are actually a common phenomenon in the courtyard.
Wei Shengxue was disgusted by this thing that carried many viruses, but this place was indeed a good wool workshop. At most, he could set up a barrier to block it.
"Here it is."
Princess Yangzi said, "Why don't you look elsewhere? The inner city isn't suitable, but there's plenty of space in the outer city."
Wei Shengxue shook her head. Since this place is suitable, there is no need to change. No matter how many places she sees, she will still come back here.
After the location is decided, the next step is renovation.
To avoid further trouble, the Imperial Household, who was in charge of the palace construction, also sent someone over. They weren't afraid of making another trip, but if the noble wanted to solve the problem once and for all, their absence would be a dereliction of duty.
Wei Shengxue led the group along the canal. "We need to divert and drain water from the canal. We need to dig three connected pools in the yard. We need to make the pools flow from high to low to wash the wool."
The young official from the craftsman's workshop followed behind her and wrote furiously, fearing that he would miss a single detail.
"There is a row of houses here that serve as warehouses and are waterproofed."
The official continued to write.
"Clear the open space in front and pave it with cement. This is where you'll put the clothes for drying." Wei Shengxue paused. "Do you think it's more suitable to put the dye here, or should we find another place that's more convenient?"
The official continued to write.
"Build a row of houses over there to house the spinning wheels. The city isn't suitable for water-powered spinning wheels, so make a few manual ones. Send the improved blueprints over later."
The official continued to write, and the craftsman from the workshop also took out charcoal pencils and bamboo slips and drew a few lines.
"Have the people from Fengchang Temple arrived?"
One person stepped out from the crowd and said, "I am the humble servant of Feng Chang, the fortune teller. I am honored to meet the immortal."
Wei Shengxue glanced at him, then turned to gesture at the plan marked by the craftsmen and asked, "Can you tell fortunes?"
A drop of cold sweat slid down Taibu's forehead.
Although he did do this job, who would dare to show off his knowledge in front of an immortal? Wouldn't that be showing off one's skills in front of an expert and bringing humiliation upon oneself?
"Immortal, Immortal, your humble servant...your humble servant..."
Wei Shengxue remembered the custom she had heard about before and gestured for him to come forward. "Before starting any new ground in the Great Qin Empire, they always ask someone to calculate good or bad luck. You can do the same for me."
Taibu: Ah, this...you are making things difficult for me!
"The place chosen by the immortal is naturally perfect."
Wei Shengxue: Stare——
The fortune teller forced a smile and wished he could run away.
"Then I will present my humble opinion."
The fortune teller originally just wanted to go through the motions, but the immortal was staring at him, so he could only say a few words casually to find out something inappropriate.
The location in the courtyard has been planned. If it is moved to an inappropriate place, he will be the one in trouble.
He could only look for it outside the courtyard. Taibu walked out of the courtyard, walked around, and saw a road in front of him. He almost cried with joy.
"If the road forks in three, business fortunes will be unstable; if it goes straight, trouble will easily arise."
When the people behind heard this, they suppressed the urge to twitch their lips. This is really... at least this nonsense can be believable.
This is something that is unique in the world and even an immortal is personally in charge of it. It will be snapped up as soon as it appears. How could this be possible with such unstable business?
As for the possibility of causing trouble, just based on the background of this workshop, who would dare to cause trouble?
Wei Shengxue turned into a curious baby: "How do I change it?"
Uni Exclusive
The fortune teller said firmly: "Put a tilted stone slab at the door to keep the evil spirit away!"
After saying that, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally done.
Wei Shengxue raised his chin towards the official from the Carpentry Department and said, "You heard me, change it."
The official took notes quickly, keeping his mouth shut and not saying a word.
Wei Shengxue: "Can it be completed before winter?"
The official put away his notes and saluted: "Okay."
If the immortal wants something, you have to work overtime to get it done.
Thinking of the palace's carved beams and painted buildings, she reminded him, "Keep everything simple, no need for complexity. Remove all carvings and prints."
The official recalculated in his mind, "It can be completed within ten days."
When they got here, they had explained everything that needed to be explained. Weishengxue sent someone to explain to Shaolan and then was about to return home.
Princess Yangzi followed her and asked in surprise, "Is that it?" Site selection, feng shui, and planning were all completed in less than two hours. She even changed into light clothes and prepared to accompany the hard work for several days.
The lieutenant thought silently, and still had no idea why he followed him. He couldn't even say a word the whole time.
But being able to be so close to an immortal is like being in touch with his aura! I left the yamen early today and went home to share some of his aura with my family.
More than ten hours have passed since the request was made yesterday. Wool, a common commodity, has already been prepared in a large warehouse. However, the unwashed wool has a strong smell, so no one dares to bring it directly to the distinguished guest.
When he returned to the Changsheng Palace, Ying Zheng was already waiting in the courtyard with a pile of unfinished memorials at his side.
Wei Shengxue, who saw this scene, couldn't help but sigh that the workaholic character remains unchanged.
The sound of numerous footsteps was enough to alert him that someone was coming. Ying Zheng wrote the last word before turning around and looking over.
"What a good thing, it's worth your trip."
Wei Shengxue walked over to sit across from him, poured herself a glass of water, and drank. "It's nothing special. I've used the finished product before, so I'm a little curious about the production process."
"By the way, this small wool workshop can still supply wool now. When the textile factory is built next year, will the current scale of sheep breeding be able to supply it?"
Ying Zheng was surprised and said, "There is a separate breeding farm in the royal villa, with thousands of sheep."
Weishengxue recalled the data from the wool-making video. With interstellar technology and hard work, the loss rate of hand-washed wool can be close to 35%. Here it is probably close to half that.
"It's not enough. The wool from two or three sheep is only enough for one sweater. Once the textile factory is built, the wool from a thousand or so sheep won't even be enough to supply the raw materials for one day."
Two or three pieces make one piece, and one thousand pieces makes four or five hundred pieces.
“A textile factory can produce hundreds of garments a day!”
Ying Zheng was not familiar with textiles, but Princess Yangzi, present at the scene, filled in the blank. "From the moment a garment is spun, it takes a skilled worker more than half a month to make it."
The contrast was obvious, so Ying Zheng asked directly: "How many workers does the textile factory need?"
Wei Shengxue said, "I originally just wanted to find some work for the people in the maternity and children's hospital. It won't be a big job."
"In the beginning, one person needs one machine. Later, as they become more skilled, one person can take care of ten or so machines. We initially expect to have a small factory with less than 30 people."
Thirty people! Hundreds of items!
The contrast was too strong. Even though Ying Zheng had always known the abilities of immortals, he couldn't help but feel shocked.
Even an outsider like him was surprised, let alone Princess Yangzi, who knew something about textiles.
If she hadn't been in front of the immortal, she would probably have cursed him as "fantasy".
A skilled weaver can weave one to two feet of cloth every day, while the cloth needed for an adult to make clothes can only be weaved in six or seven days.
With only thirty people, they can produce hundreds of pieces of clothing every day. How many times has the speed increased?!
Wei Shengxue saw that their talk was getting more and more outrageous, so she quickly shook her head and denied it, "No, no, no, I'm talking about the raw materials. The raw materials for making wool! It takes several days to make a sweater!"
Anyway, with her hand speed, she could only crochet a scarf of about ten centimeters in five days, and it was crooked and ugly.
Hook? It sounds like the technique is different from weaving.
"Not a tailor?"
Wei Shengxue: "Of course not! You can't cut a sweater. If you do, the whole thing will fall apart. You have to use a special wooden stick to knit a sweater."
Seeing the similar expressions on the father and daughter's faces, she leaned back strategically: "Don't look for me, I'm clumsy, and I can only do the simplest flat stitch, and I don't even know how to finish it."
Ying Zheng suppressed the overly revealing expression on his face and began to ponder the surrounding sheep-producing areas.
There are many sheep farmers from Xianyang City onwards. After all, it is the main meat at that time. However, there are only a few that can provide such a large amount of wool. However, the efficiency of scattered collection is too low, so we have to think of other options.
Wei Shengxue propped up her head and half-lay on the table, then sighed: "It would be great if you had grassland here. That place is suitable for raising sheep. You can build a few more farms."
grassland?
grassland!
Grassland = wool = cloth = money
As soon as he drew this equation, Ying Zheng's eyes lit up.
There are no grasslands in Daqin, but our neighbors next door have plenty!
As their good neighbor, it wouldn't be too much for Daqin to "borrow" some wool.
Since we have borrowed the wool, it would be natural to borrow some land for raising sheep.
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