The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 335 Arrangements (Part 2)

Most of the family members of the guards were still trapped in the pancakes made by the head of the household.

There are also a few insightful ones.

Sure enough, someone asked their own family head for advice:

“Master, apart from the prosperous areas of Jiangnan and Sichuan, mulberry trees are difficult to grow in the water-scarce Northwest. I think it would be better to plant saxaul trees instead.”

With the successful example of saxaul trees in Xilu Ranch, people have expressed doubts about planting mulberry trees on a large scale.

Gan Minglan was very certain of this:
"Not far from here, in the ravines of the Flaming Mountains, there is a whole mulberry forest."

The other party shook their head:
“But the climate in Jiangnan and Bashu is so good for silkworm raising, while it’s dry and hot here! Silkworms probably won’t survive.”

"Since I dared to do this, I must have something to rely on. When I was looking for cacti, I found a lot of wild silkworm eggs in a mulberry grove."

What does the presence of wild silkworms mean? It means they're well-suited to this climate. Even if only one in ten thousand survives a winter, that's enough to sustain generations. We don't raise the meticulously cared-for silkworms of southern China; we raise these wild ones!

Wild silkworm!

Who has seen it?
Gan Minglan immediately pulled out her trump card—several hatched, colorful silkworm cocoons.

"Then look at this, what is it?"

The colorful silkworm cocoons, about the size of eggs, instantly caused an uproar among the men and women.

"Good heavens! It really looks like a silkworm cocoon! How can it be so big! If you had ten or so cocoons like this, you could probably extract two ounces of silk from them, right?"

"My goodness! Is there any silk in the world that is so bright and comes in so many colors? It's so beautiful that it doesn't even need to be dyed when woven into cloth!"

“How rare! This wild silkworm is so rare! Master, I’d like to try raising it.”

Ang also wants to.

Gan Minglan: See? Facts speak louder than words!
Who wouldn't be bewildered upon seeing such a rare object?
Not to mention the women, even the men in charge of each household were incredibly excited.

He held it in his hands and studied it repeatedly.

Before long, it was confirmed that there were no traces of dye on the wild silkworm cocoons.

"The silkworms I've seen before are definitely not the same species."

Then the problem is coming again.

Do these wild silkworms have a huge appetite?
How many saplings need to be planted in the first year to raise a silkworm into a cocoon?

Want to get fat overnight?

Gan Minglan, however, did not intend to do so. She clearly stated: "Good things are valued for their quality, not their quantity! Even if mulberry trees grow into a forest in the future, the annual production of these colored silks should ideally be controlled within five hundred bolts."

Immediately, a clever person loudly echoed:

"That's only natural. Things that are plentiful are cheap. How can such unique wild silkworms compare to those domesticated silkworms! In the Western Regions, one of these silkworms would sell for a thousand gold coins!"

good good!
He's got ideas; I'll put you in charge of selling fabric later.

Gan Minglan took over the mantle and continued to paint a rosy picture for everyone:

"What do you think are the most numerous and valuable goods that those foreign merchants travel thousands of miles to Xijing and Dongjing to sell?"

"Silk, of course!"

"It takes several months to travel to Xijing. If they can buy better and rarer silk in our Hami city, would they really go to such lengths?"

"Absolutely not!"

Everyone: Just think about it. Right now, things are in chaos inside the pass. As long as they guard this pass in Guanzhong, no matter if it's silk from Jiangnan or Sichuan, it won't be able to be sold to the Western Regions. And their patriarch's wild silkworm colored silk is definitely a one-of-a-kind business.

Don't tell me yet.

At that time, it might really be hard to find even for a thousand pieces of gold!

Once they were out of quarantine, she told her husband and son to hurry up and go to the Flaming Mountain to get mulberry branches.

Compared to cattle, sheep, and health-promoting wines, everyone is more optimistic about this tree-planting and silkworm-raising business. You ask if they can weave?
Are there really no capable people among hundreds of thousands of immigrants?

They firmly believed that their lives would be better only if the head of the household was good!
The atmosphere at the meeting became lively again, and the men felt full of energy.

There isn't a single lazy person these days!
Planting mulberry trees in the fields is really not difficult.

As long as the soil where the seedlings are planted is kept moist, it's fine.

Someone immediately suggested, "Just surround the kang (heated brick bed) in the dugout with mud bricks, then spread several feet of sand on top, and it will be usable. Even if it snows heavily, we won't have to worry; we can heat the kang at night."

See, now that's what it means to take something seriously!

From now on, men will have no shortage of work.

But the earliest the women can raise silkworms is next summer.

There's still more than half a year to go!

Settling down in Hami City is not an easy task.

Gan Minglan looked at the women and asked, "You all know how to make shoes, right?"

What can't I do?
When a woman has free time, she's busy making clothes and shoes for the whole family.

"Can you make snow boots?"

The women exclaimed: "What are snow boots? We've never heard of them!"

"It's a type of boot with sheepskin uppers and sides sewn together, and cork soles. You can walk in the snow without getting your feet wet!"

That sounds pretty good!

Holding a high-top UGG with the label removed, you can tell how soft it is just by touching the wool inside.

The women were captivated by it, chattering excitedly about it:
"The sheepskin is so soft and fluffy, and the yellow color is beautiful too! Oh, there's even a layer of fur on the soles; it must be so warm to wear these barefoot."

"Judging from the amount of leather used in these boots, one whole sheepskin could probably make four pairs for an adult! Such fine shoes, selling them for one tael of silver a pair isn't unreasonable, is it?"

"Not at all! Sheepskin is easy to find, but cork for the soles is very rare! If we have enough leather and soles, Ang can make ten or so pairs a day without any problem."

"."

The noise and bustle continued for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

Gan Minglan finally pointed out a clear path for this deal:
"The people in Hami New City now mainly eat mutton, and they slaughter several thousand sheep every day. I will have someone from the quartermaster department contact the workshop manager I have designated."

The wood for the shoe soles is easy to find; the red willow wood from the desert is not only light and soft but also tough and not easily deformed. The best part is, it's free!

I will stockpile 100,000 sheepskins under the guise of buying winter clothes for you.

You all just close the door, tan leather, and make snow boots! Store the boots for two or three months, then bring them out all at once to sell when it's coldest.

With over 300,000 immigrants working for several months, who wouldn't have some spare cash?

But these snow boots don't require much technology; anyone can figure them out at a glance. So you have to keep it a secret before you start selling the shoes, and you can only make them for one season to keep them fresh.

I won't let you work for nothing. All costs will be covered by me, and I'll give you 30% of the profits! The more you do, the more you earn.

According to the market prices in Kansai, even the best sheepskin costs only one tael of silver.

One sheepskin can make four pairs of adult snow boots.

Such warm and slip-resistant snow boots, selling for one tael of silver is really not much.

Making three leather boots a day can earn you two taels and seven ounces!
That's eighty-one taels a month.

I don't know, I was surprised!
No wonder everyone calls their head of household the God of Wealth.

Just a little bit of money given to them can make them rich quickly!

(End of this chapter)