Wind rises time and space gate

Chapter 553: Public Opinion
Lin Zhaoxia had discussed the pricing of lint and cotton cloth with Zhao Guangyuan repeatedly.

Nowadays, Daqi fabrics include linen and silk fabrics, such as silk, gauze, brocade, satin, kesi, etc., collectively known as silk. There are also some special fabrics, such as bamboo clothes and grass clothes, but cotton fabrics are not yet available.

Cotton fabrics should be priced between silk and linen.

Linen was cheap, 20 coins for one foot, and 10 feet was 10 feet long. A bolt of cloth was about 3 feet long. One bolt of cloth could make two sets of clothes for a person. So, a set of linen clothes would cost at least three coins of silver.

Cotton only appeared in the northwest for the first time this year. If it is sold too cheaply, it would be a bit of a loss, but if it is sold too expensively, it would fail to meet the original intention of Lin Zhaoxia and Zhao Guangyuan.

"This year's cotton is mainly grown in military fields, and not much is supplied to shops," Lin Zhaoxia explained to Mrs. Jiang and others.

They believed that a new type of fabric had just emerged and that it was time for it to become valuable due to its scarcity, and that they would make more profit by selling it at a high price.

But this year Zhao Guangyuan only planted it in military fields, and he had his considerations.

"We have not received the food allocated by the court to the Northwest Army yet. I am afraid that the soldiers will have a hard time this winter. The prince's idea is to use most of the cotton to make cotton clothes and quilts, distribute them to the Northwest Army to keep warm, and put a small amount on the market."

Some cotton cloth, quilts, lint, etc. sent to the shop were just a promotion to popularize the crop of cotton.

If we want to plant large quantities of cotton in the northwest next year, we must make everyone aware of its benefits so that they will follow suit and plant it.

"Then I think some merchants from the Western Regions have also bought our quilts and cotton cloth." Selling them to outsiders at such a low price is too cheap for them. Mrs. Wen felt that the price was too low.

Lin Zhaoxia smiled and said, "We are also selective. Only the big tax payers among the merchants in the Western Regions are eligible to buy in limited quantities. Others don't have this opportunity either."

This also includes merchants from Da Qi. Not everyone can buy it. After all, most of the cotton was reserved for the Northwest Army to make cotton-padded jackets and quilts.

“If people in the northwest want to buy it, they can only buy it in limited quantities according to their household registration.”

"That's good. Selling it at 60 cents per foot is still too much of a loss."

A quilt weighs six or seven pounds of lint, and one pound of lint is only 120 coins. It only costs less than one or two taels of silver to make a quilt. Mrs. Wen felt that the price was too low.

Lin Zhaoxia did some calculations with them... The original intention of her and Zhao Guangyuan to promote cotton was mainly to ensure that ordinary people could have clothes to wear and keep warm.

We don’t want to set the price too high. This is the first year of planting, and if we plant more in the future, the price will come down a bit.

Just one or two times more than the linen cloth will be fine.

Nowadays, white cotton cloth costs 60 wen per foot, and it costs nearly one tael of silver to make a set of clothes. The price of lint cotton is 120 wen per catty, and one catty of cotton can weave six feet of cloth. If a skillful weaver buys lint cotton and goes home to twist the thread and weave it herself, the cost will be much cheaper.

Lin Zhaoxia also encouraged the weavers in the northwest to buy lint cotton from the workshops, spin the yarn and weave their own cloth.

It would be impossible for her workshop to distribute cotton-padded jackets and quilts to millions of soldiers in the northwest during the winter.

"Let's post the job opening notice, looking for all kinds of female workers and cotton-spinning workers. Sister-in-law, help me keep an eye on it. We'll try to distribute cotton-padded jackets and quilts to the soldiers in the winter."

Wen's face became serious when she heard this. "Don't worry, sister. My sister-in-law has remembered this. The former flower pickers heard that there was work again, so they didn't return home. They were eager to have a steady stream of work. I'm afraid that many of them will stay in the northwest with their families this year."

Deyang's eyes lit up when he heard this. "That's great. Then our cities in the northwest will be bustling. The inns and restaurants will probably be packed. I have to keep an eye on the theater company to arrange a few more new plays, otherwise there will be no fun in the fall and winter."

After saying this, he didn't care about anything else in the workshop and just left.

Mrs. Wen asked her to pay attention to the children, but she just waved and left without looking back.

"She's about to give birth, but she's still unwilling to stay at home."

Everyone started laughing. Lin Zhaoxia also laughed, "Let her be. If she doesn't do something, she'll complain about being bored."

After the cotton was harvested, the looms in the weaving workshop kept turning day and night, making a sound of "chi chi chi" that never stopped. Mi Niangzi, the manager, spent most of her time in the workshop except when she was sleeping.

A new cloth called "cotton" was woven, and Mi Niangzi and the other weavers were trembling with excitement.

When cotton is mentioned in the future, these people will be remembered forever.

When Lin Zhaoxia inspected the weaving workshop that day, she excitedly brought a piece of cotton cloth and said, "Princess, look, this cloth is getting better and better!"

Lin Zhaoxia took it and looked at it. It was smooth and fine, without any knots on the thread ends. Originally, everyone had never touched cotton thread before, so they were not good at knitting, and the thread often broke, and the tightness and thickness were uneven.

"She is worthy of being a veteran. The cloth she weaves can be regarded as tribute cloth. She deserves a reward." He immediately announced that all the weavers in the workshop would be rewarded with one month's wages, and the rest of the workers would be rewarded with half a month's wages.

Everyone came over happily to thank him, and they chatted and laughed for a while before leaving.

Seeing that Mi Niangzi was immersed in it and seemed to want to weave better cotton cloth, Lin Zhaoxia decided to guide her...

"In addition to studying how to weave better cotton cloth, we can also think about other fabrics, such as mixing cotton and linen together to weave cotton-linen fabric, or mixing cotton and silk together to weave cotton-silk fabric. By magnifying the advantages of various fabrics and focusing on the advantages of each fabric, perhaps we can weave better fabrics."

Any other fabrics?

Mixed fabrics? Mix cotton and linen, or cotton and silk?
"I've never heard of this before. Can different materials be mixed and woven together?" "Of course. For example, linen clothes are breathable and wear-resistant, and are popular among the people, but they have poor elasticity and drape, are easy to wrinkle, and are not comfortable enough. Although cotton is comfortable to wear, it is easy to shrink and deform. If we can combine the advantages of linen's crispness and weave it into a kind of fabric called cotton and linen, can we avoid the shortcomings of cotton and linen?"

Lin Zhaoxia's words not only stunned Mi Liangzi, but also the weavers present.

They had never heard of different materials being mixed and woven together.

Can you weave new fabric? Is it really possible? But it's a different material.

But what the princess said makes so much sense.

"Silk has many advantages and looks noble, but it is not strong and durable. What would it be like if it could be mixed with cotton thread and woven into cotton silk? If less silk is used, will more people be able to afford it?"

In fact, Lin Zhaoxia herself likes cotton silk very much. It is soft and close-fitting, breathable, quick-drying after absorbing sweat, and has a good drape. It is more comfortable than clothes made of pure cotton and pure silk.

She really likes to wear pajamas made of cotton silk, which is not like pure cotton, which shrinks and wrinkles easily, even if it is new, it will be wrinkled to an unsightly level.

Now that cotton cloth was available, she also intentionally conveyed to these weavers the concept of mixing various materials, trying to open their minds. In the future, perhaps the Yue Palace could rely on these weaving workshops, and the sale of cloth would greatly fill the treasury.

She originally thought that the money she and Zhao Guangyuan earned would last for several lifetimes. But the millions of Northwest Army soldiers needed food and drink, and the banks came to say that they were running out of money.

She was worried about money again.

Lin Zhaoxia's intentional or unintentional revelations seemed to open a door for Mi Liangzi and others, and their inherent world seemed to be broken.

It turns out that fabrics made of different materials can be mixed and woven. The princess said it with great confidence, maybe it will really work!

"Princess, I'll try it right away!" Mi Niangzi's eyes lit up surprisingly.

The other weavers were also eager to try.

Lin Zhaoxia was very happy and promised: "If you weave new cloth, I will give you a generous reward. I will not treat you unfairly!"

Everyone became more excited after hearing this. They turned around and ran into the weaving room. Mi Liangzi took the lead and ran away, leaving Lin Zhaoxia behind.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, as she still had something to discuss with Mi Liangzi.

Originally, they had planned to ask her to help recruit some weavers and help screen people, but she disappeared without a trace. So, Lin Zhaoxia took the two maids in the mansion, Jinxiu and others, and Wen Shi, and they were very busy.

I heard that various cities were recruiting female workers, and it didn't matter if they didn't have the skills, they would provide training and teach them until they learned. Not only did the flower pickers stay, but more and more people also came to apply.

There are more people staying in the cities, and the local people are busy all the time. Those who come out to find a job must rent a house to live in, and they can't sleep on the street. If they don't paint the house, buy some tools, and attract some tenants to make some money at this time, when will they make money?

Local landlords are very busy, and bricklayers, carpenters, and all kinds of craftsmen are also busy as hell. The entire northwest is busy and the scene is prosperous.

Various news gradually reached the capital.

Emperor Zhizheng, who was about to issue an order for the King of Yue to return to the capital, took back the order.

The crown prince came to him and cried many times, and the court officials also advised him many times that if there was no intention to change the crown prince, the King of Yue could not be allowed to become so powerful. Emperor Zhizheng thought about it and decided to order the King of Yue to return to the capital and take the opportunity to remove his military power.

The original plan was that if the King of Yue had no intention of rebelling, he would not dare to disobey the order. Then he would definitely bring his family back to the capital and take back the military power.

If he did not accept the order, there would be a countermeasure. The Emperor Zhizheng had sent a secret letter to the commanders of the barracks in the northwest, telling them to send troops to the northwest to besiege the city if the King of Yue made any unusual moves.

As a result, we received news that the northwest land produced 15 shi of grain.

"Ground beans? What are those?"

The chief and junior officials of the Ministry of Agriculture were summoned and questioned, but they also said they had never heard of this crop. The King of Yue had never tried to grow this kind of bean in the capital.

The King of Yue only managed to harvest twice in three years.

But how come such high-yield crops are produced outside the capital? I heard that there are many kinds of vegetables that have never been heard of. Even merchants from the Western Regions who entered the customs took advantage of them and ate so much that they were reluctant to leave.

Emperor Zhizheng stroked the imperial edict he had taken back, unable to make up his mind.

The King of Yue planted such a high-yield crop in the northwest, which saved countless people in the northwest, with an output of 15 dan per mu! Even if the people had little land, with such crops, a family could survive.

In addition, the military farms have planted something called cotton that can keep out the cold...

The people in the northwest will soon have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear, and the reputation of the King of Yue will rise. If he orders the King of Yue to return to the capital at this time, will the people in the northwest be excited?

Food is the most important thing for the people. Cutting off the people's food is like cutting off the merchant's source of income. If there is any unusual movement at that time...

Emperor Zhizheng hesitated.

Thinking that the winter solstice would be in a few days, I decided to wait until I had gone to the Taimiao to offer sacrifices to my ancestors before doing anything else.