Jiang Ling frowned and looked at the Persian king. She asked, "Persian king, why do you think I'm joking?"
The Persian king pointed to the cotton coat on Jiang Ling's body and said, "We have always had cotton in Persia, but how could something that's all clumps be so flat? Jiang, you must be joking, right?"
After hearing this, Jiang Ling realized that although Persia had cotton, it did not have the technology to make it. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling looked up at the Persian king and asked, "Persian king, cotton needs to be carded. Collect the cotton, then use tools to card it. As you card it, the cotton will become smooth and can then be sewn into clothes!"
The Persian king was quite surprised upon hearing this. He stroked his beard for a moment and then tentatively asked, "Jiang, could you draw me a blueprint? Don't worry, I won't take it for free. You can choose any of these fruit and vegetable seeds, spices, etc."
Upon hearing the Persian king's words, Jiang Ling suddenly thought of juicy, sweet grapes and pomegranates. She forced herself not to swallow, nodded politely, and said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. I will draw up the design tonight and give you a brief explanation of how to use it tomorrow."
The Persian king was beaming from ear to ear, praising Jiang Ling incessantly. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Jiang Ling finally returned to her bedroom.
In the bedroom, Jiang Ling began to recall the previous methods of processing cotton. She then wrote down the steps in Pahlavi and drew a simple diagram of a cotton-fluffing tool. By the time she finished these tasks, it was already midnight.
Jiang Ling yawned widely and lay down on the bed in this foreign land.
A faint scent of spices, an unwelcome welcome, and Jiang Ling woke up before the fourth watch of the night.
Although breakfast was plentiful, it didn't suit Jiang Ling's taste. After eating, Jiang Ling secretly slipped back to her room and bought four large meat buns at the mall before she felt full.
Jiang Ling brought her completed drawings to the Persian king.
"King of Persia, these are the steps for making cotton!" Jiang Ling handed the first sheet of paper to the King of Persia.
Upon seeing the neatly written Pahlavi script, the Persian king's eyes widened, and he gave a thumbs-up, exclaiming, "Jiang, why do you always give me such wonderful surprises!"
Jiang Ling smiled faintly and did not reply. She began to introduce the cotton-related operation steps: "Cotton spinning requires stages such as cotton ginning, cotton carding, and spinning. Cotton ginning requires three steps. First, the cotton seeds are removed by hand, which is a purely manual technique. Second, the cotton seeds are removed by rubbing it with an iron rod or iron stick. Third, cotton is ginned using a winch or cotton gin and a cotton gin."
"Jiang... I understand the first two steps you mentioned, but what are these third steps, the agitator or the rolling mill, and the cotton slingshot?" The Persian king was confused and scratched his head as he looked at Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling displayed the completed drawings one by one. "This is the mixer, and this is the rolling mill. Both of these are very time-consuming and labor-intensive to make, but the results are better than the spring-making process!" As she spoke, Jiang Ling displayed the three drawings one by one.
The Persian king shook his head and frowned as he looked at the first two complex drawings. His gaze then fell on the third drawing. "Jiang... this is similar to our bow. Can this really be made from a clump of cotton into the cotton used in your clothes?"
Clearly, the Persian king couldn't understand Jiang Ling's last drawing. "This is fine, but it's not the final step. To achieve this final result, further steps are needed. The first step in turning cotton into thread is to put the cotton in a ginning machine. After the machine processes it, it becomes lint. The next step is carding, which unties the knots in the cotton and effectively collects the cotton fibers together..."
Jiang Ling's words left the Persian king bewildered. He shook his head repeatedly, "Jiang, let's talk about the rest later. Could you teach my people this skill? I don't want to see them suffer from the cold!"
Jiang Ling nodded and pointed to the cotton slingshot, saying, "This slingshot is very easy to make. The specific materials and methods are already written on it. Your Majesty, you can send people to make a few. I will first teach some people how to use it, and once they are proficient, they can teach the rest of you!"
The Persian king nodded repeatedly after hearing this, praising Jiang Ling's exceptional intelligence once again.
Seeing that the Persian King and Jiang Ling were having a lively conversation and he couldn't get a word in edgewise, Lord Zhao simply relinquished his role as the manager and began his own leisurely trip with the eldest prince.
The Persian king's efficiency was remarkable; in less than five days, he had acquired over fifty slingshots. Jiang Ling carefully inspected them, and after confirming that the tools were in good working order, she began patiently guiding a group of people through the cotton handling process.
Before long, the sound of "bang bang bang" could be heard from time to time in the Persian king's palace.
When Jiang Ling and her team fluffed up clumps of cotton with black spots into fluffy cotton that was almost as soft as clouds, the Persian king was greatly surprised.
"Jiang, my people are very grateful to you, and they wish to build you a temple!" This morning, as usual, Jiang Ling came to see the Persian King, who said excitedly.
"What? A temple? Uh... Your Majesty, please don't joke around!" Jiang Ling was both amused and exasperated after hearing this.
The Persian king shook his head and explained, “No, Jiang, listen to me. My people are very grateful to you. Without you, they might not have frozen to death that winter! Now you have not only solved our problem of not being able to use cotton, but also ensured that our people can keep warm! My people really hope to build a temple for you and worship and pray for you every day!” The Persian king spoke with great emotion.
Jiang Ling was in a dilemma. If she agreed to let the Persian king build her a temple here, the matter would inevitably reach the emperor's ears. She wasn't sure if the emperor would overthink it. After all, Persia was now a vassal state of the Great Hua Dynasty. They hadn't even built a temple for the emperor, yet they wanted to place her in one. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling immediately shook her head. It was too dangerous.
“Persian King, I am grateful to your people, but I am a citizen of the Great Hua Dynasty. Our Emperor is the wisest person in the world. Only our Emperor is worthy to enter your temple and receive the daily offerings of your people!” Jiang Ling explained.
The Persian king was a clever man. Hearing Jiang Ling's words, he roughly understood the true meaning behind them. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Jiang, what do you think? Could our painters paint a portrait of you and keep it in our country?"
Jiang Ling couldn't refuse the Persian king again, so she nodded and agreed.
The Persian king was very pleased and immediately summoned a court painter named Bruwili. The Persian king pointed at Jiang Ling and said, "Please paint a portrait of this lady!"
After hearing this, Bruwer nodded, set up his easel, and began to paint Jiang Ling's portrait.
"Alright, Your Majesty!"
After an unknown amount of time, Bruwilli put down his paintbrush, bowed, and nodded.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ling quickly loosened her arms and turned her head. Heaven knows how much suffering it was to sit there motionless for an hour or two!
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