98 cotton-padded coat
"With this, people can survive the winter."
Today, a bridge has been built over the Guzong River. Beyond the bridge lies a cotton-padded clothing workshop. A continuous row of blue-tiled workshops is right next to the river, with water flowing directly into the workshops, making it impossible to distinguish where the river ends and the workshops begin.
After crossing the bridge, Gong Shunan was waiting at the door. When he saw Shen Suqin in the distance, he came up to greet her, "Master, you're finally back."
Shen Suqin smiled and said, "You're back. Thank you for your help."
The cotton-padded clothing workshop occupies a large area, and if nothing unexpected happens, it should become the largest handicraft workshop in Daliang in the future.
The workshop has now been fully completed. The reason Lord Gong is here is to help her move in the loom, spinning wheel, and other equipment.
Shen Suqin followed Gong Shunan around and said with great satisfaction, "You've really worked hard, Lord Gong. I'm very satisfied."
Gong Shunan, who had been on edge for months, finally breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I'm glad the master is satisfied. This way, I can report back to His Highness."
"Yes, His Highness keeps asking me these questions, I'm getting tired of it. By the way, I'd like to trouble Lord Gong to deliver the first piece of cloth that comes out of the cotton clothing workshop to His Highness, so I don't have to make another trip."
Gong Shunan was stunned. She was trying to make him take the credit. "This... I am not worthy of this. No, no."
Shen Suqin smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. The cotton is right outside the door. As long as we open the door and let it in, the workshop can start work immediately."
"By the way, the female factory worker?"
Zhou Baihu arrived at some point. "Everyone has arrived. The weaver was invited from the south. She has been trained for more than a month by a master found outside the pass, and she already knows how to twist yarn and weave cloth."
Shen Suqin: "As expected, Commander Zhou is reliable. Let's get started and try to make the first batch of winter clothes before the snow falls."
"Yes, boss."
"By the way, Brother Zhou, I'd like to ask you for a favor, something personal."
"Please speak, Madam."
"I would like to ask you to help me find someone, a girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old, named Sister Lian, who probably lives in the Yiyang County area."
"Is there any other information?"
"I don't know if you know her, but there's a boy named Tuksu in the Black Flag Army. She's Tuksu's lover. Ask around, and if you find her, ask her if she'd like to work at the cotton workshop. If she's willing, help me arrange some easy work for her."
“I’ve got it, boss.”
Afterwards, Shen Suqin watched as the cotton was carried into the workshop and unloaded...
As dusk fell, she returned from the ancient ancestral hall and finally caught her breath.
Since the start of the autumn harvest, she has been working non-stop, first at the flour mill, then at the cotton mill.
She originally planned to leave all of this to Su Yubai, but things at the soap workshop were unusually busy this autumn. A bunch of counterfeit products bearing the Chenji brand suddenly appeared on the market, forcing him to personally go south to investigate and deal with them. He hasn't returned yet.
On Yan Lin's side, the pressure at the firearms workshop has been immense. For more than two months, he has been holed up in Laomao Ridge and hasn't come out at all.
In the evening, the candlelight flickered in the room. After bathing and changing, Shen Suqin closed her eyes for a nap, too exhausted to even climb into bed.
With so many things piling up on her shoulders, she was finding it hard to breathe.
She wished he were here with her.
The next morning, after having breakfast, she went to the cotton clothing workshop to watch the weavers spin yarn.
The leading weaver was named Yao Shuang, and she asked everyone to call her Sister Yao. She was brought from Huize, a water town in Jiangnan.
Right now, in the cotton-padded clothing workshop, hundreds of spinning wheels are neatly arranged, with people sitting behind each spinning wheel.
When Shen Suqin arrived, they hadn't started work yet, and Aunt Yao, who was in charge, was explaining the key points of the movements to everyone.
"The force applied with your hands must be even, not sometimes light and sometimes heavy. When adding cotton, your hand should be light, but the force should be consistent..."
As she explained and demonstrated, cotton balls were transformed into fine threads in the blink of an eye through her hands.
Shen Suqin pulled the thread over and tugged at it. It was very tough and not easy to break, so it should be done.
When Yao Niang saw her arrive, she asked, "Who are you?"
She had never met Shen Suqin since she came to Ningyuan, but she always heard people talk about her.
"I am Shen Suqin."
There was a moment of silence, then an uproar erupted.
"You're the boss!"
"Wow, the boss is so good-looking!"
“They all say we should work for the female boss. There were no female bosses before, you’re the first one.”
"Exactly, she looks younger than me, how can she be so capable?"
"It's so beautiful."
The crowd chattered around Shen Suqin, and Zhou Baihu, unable to bear it any longer, squeezed in and shouted, "It's work time now, everyone go back to your seats."
Zhou Baihu looked stern, and everyone was afraid of him, so they obediently went back one by one.
Shen Suqin smiled and said to everyone, "I will come often in the future, I guarantee you will all get tired of seeing me, okay?"
"Good!" everyone shouted in unison.
"Get to work."
"yes."
After Shen Suqin finished speaking, she asked Sister Yao, "Approximately how long will it take to make the cloth?"
Sister Yao thought for a moment and said, "Three days later, I will deliver it to the master's residence in three days."
Shen Suqin was overjoyed. He had been looking forward to it for two whole years, and it was about to come true so soon?
She found it hard to believe.
"Then I'll leave it to you. I'll be waiting at home. Thank you."
"You're too kind, sir."
Three days later, in the afternoon, Sister Yao found a half-foot-long piece of cotton cloth at the Shen residence.
The fabric is smooth, densely textured, and soft against the skin.
Shen Suqin cherished it dearly.
“This is exactly what I wanted,” she said to Sister Yao with a smile.
At this moment, she felt an indescribable surge of emotions, as if she were holding a treasure weighing over a thousand pounds, making her dare not slack off in the slightest.
"Sister Yao, do you know what you've done?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
"I roughly know."
"The people of Daliang will remember your name."
Yao Shuang felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She dared not think so much, but now she knew what she had to do.
In the autumn of the twenty-fifth year of the Jingkang era.
The first piece of cotton cloth in Daliang was produced.
When Lord Gong handed it to His Highness the Crown Prince, the prince remained silent for a long time.
After that, the sound of looms in the Guzongfang cotton clothing workshop never stopped, and even hundreds of years later, when the Great Liang Kingdom was destroyed, the sound of looms was still ringing out.
In early winter, Luo Su returned from Yongluo County.
As soon as he returned, he immersed himself in the workshop, and by then a considerable amount of cotton thread and cotton cloth had already been spun.
Luo Su stood guard in front of the loom, watching intently without blinking. Even if only a small piece of cloth the width of a finger was spun, he would still reach out and touch it.
Sister Yao teased, "If you really like it, why don't you learn to knit it yourself?"
"What do you know? I've put in almost as much effort as raising a child on this worthless cotton. It's almost finished, how can I not care?"
"Yes, yes, then you can squat down and take your time to look."
Someone reminded him, "Sir, there's a stool over there, please sit down."
Luo Su waved his hand, "You guys go about your business, don't worry about me. I have to go back and report later, I won't be staying long."
It wasn't noon yet; the sunlight was gentle and not glaring, streaming in through the tall windows and casting long shadows of the looms.
Gradually, more and more people gathered in the factory.
Everyone heard that the cotton clothing workshop had produced fabric, so they all strolled over to see it.
They had been in Ningyuan for quite some time and knew what kind of cotton the owner was working on. Last year, the neighborhood had specially set aside land to grow it, and people were sent to watch over it for twelve hours a day, for fear of any mishaps.
Now, finally, they've spun cloth.
They didn't really understand fabrics. The poor wore hemp, and the rich wore silk; there was a world of difference between the two. They couldn't imagine what difference a new piece of fabric could make.
The loom clattered and clicked.
"She's quite fair-skinned," someone said.
"It looks quite soft."
Someone mustered up the courage to ask, "Will this fabric be very expensive?"
In their view, things grown with people tending to them day and night would certainly not be cheap.
Currently, linen costs 200 cash a bolt, silk costs 1,800 cash a bolt, and cotton cloth must cost at least 1,800 cash.
"The owner said the price wouldn't be too expensive."
"How expensive is 'not expensive'? Is it cheaper than silk?"
"Probably. The boss said she tried her best to get cotton cloth so that everyone could wear it. If you can't afford it, then all her work will have been for nothing."
"Really?"
"The owner said it herself. If you don't believe me, go ask her."
After the weaving factory had accumulated enough cotton fabric, the garment factory began operations.
Tailors are not hard to find; there are plenty of them here.
Shen Suqin drew a design for a cotton-padded coat, which required filling the middle with cotton after the core had been removed, just like making a lined jacket.
This is not difficult.
When the first snow fell in Ningyuan, the workshop had finished making its first batch of cotton-padded clothes.
A total of 500 items.
Shi Ye, Yan Lin, Su Yubai, Luo Su and others were among the first to receive the cotton-padded coats. They were thick and soft to the touch, lightweight and comfortable to wear, and most importantly, no matter how the cold wind howled outside, they wouldn't feel cold at all while wearing these coats.
Shi Ye personally wore it and stood in the snow for an hour. After returning to the house, he looked at Shen Suqin and remained speechless for a long time.
Shen Suqin smiled at him and asked, "What's wrong, Your Highness? Are you frozen stiff? Don't worry, with this, people can survive the winter."
Shi Ye shook his head. "Do you think all the people of Daliang will wear it?"
"Someday, they will all."
Shi Ye repeated softly, "It will happen someday."
Later, these cotton-padded clothes were sent to the Shule River.
Then came the second batch, the third batch...
Cotton-padded clothes gradually appeared on the market in Daliang. At first, they were expensive and only those with some savings could afford them.
Poor people could only watch from afar, wrapping themselves tightly in their thin clothes.
Later, a year, two years, three years passed, and cotton-padded coats were everywhere. Everyone, rich or poor, had one, and without exception, they all bore the name of Su Ji.
Su Yubai rushed back to the cotton-padded clothing workshop nearly a month after it started operating, just in time for the first batch of cotton-padded clothing to be completed.
He tried it on, and after trying it on, he didn't say a word and locked himself in his room for a whole night.
As dawn broke, he pushed open the door and came out, only to find Shen Suqin standing in the courtyard waiting for him.
"Has Master Su reflected on his actions?" she asked him with a smile from afar.
Su Yubai nodded.
"Shouldn't we take some time to visit the workshop?"
Su Yubai walked up to her and, for the first time, took the initiative to hug her, saying, "Thank you."
Shen Suqin patted him on the back: "You're welcome."
Shen Suqin originally thought that this winter would be like many winters before, smoothly ushering in the new year.
But when the third heavy snow fell, an imperial edict suddenly arrived in the capital.
The visitor was Eunuch Yan, a man close to Emperor Jingkang. He brought with him the imperial edict announcing the succession of Crown Prince Xuan, while Emperor Jingkang himself was seriously ill and bedridden.
The moment the news was received, a fierce blizzard swept in.
Shen Suqin looked up at the gray sky, and for a moment she felt lost and confused, even though everything had just begun.
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