Now, because of Liu Bang's seeds, this process has been accelerated by more than a thousand years!
"Come here, collect this cart of seeds, be careful, don't be harmed by insects, ants or mice..."
Just after returning from the palace, he encountered such a good thing. Zhao Ying was in a good mood. He personally directed the servants in the mansion to carefully store the cart of cotton seeds. He also specifically asked the stewards in the mansion to take good care of the cart. Cottonseed.
After finishing, Zhao Ying returned to the carts of cotton.
He walked around a few times with a happy face.
The bundles of cotton felt like the delicate white skin of a girl, soft and plump, which made Zhao Ying full of joy. Finally, in this era, he saw a trace of familiarity from his previous life.
He had a vague impression that the cotton introduced from the Indian Peninsula to the Western Regions and then to the Central Plains seemed to be short-staple cotton, but its thermal insulation properties were still excellent, and even if it was spun cotton, it would cost more than Silk is cheaper.
It is a benefit without any cost, and it is a good thing that the common people can afford.
"I want to send these to the wing in the West Cross Courtyard. I will use them tomorrow -"
…
"Husband, what is this that you attach so much importance to?"
Seeing Zhao Ying coming back from the palace without resting and busy with several carts of goods, Wang Nan couldn't help but be curious and asked with a smile.
Zhao Ying looked around and saw everyone, including Mi Ji, looking at him curiously, and explained with a smile.
"A kind of good thing shipped from the Western Regions. Because the petals overlap and are like white clouds, the locals call it Baidianzi - of course, I prefer to call it cotton..."
Speaking of this, Zhao Ying said seriously.
"Although this kind of thing is inconspicuous, if the cotton seeds in it can be taken out and stuffed into the quilt, its warmth-keeping effect is far better than that of linen, batting, silk, etc., and it is far more than comparable to straw. It can be sewn into clothes. , is comparable to animal fur, and when used to spin cotton and weave cloth, you can make clothes that are light and comfortable, far superior to linen clothes!"
Zhao Ying said more and more excitedly.
"The most important thing is that it is not only light, but also cheap. It only takes one acre of land for one household, which is enough to provide warmth and clothing for the whole family -"
As soon as Zhao Ying said this, even this group of women who rarely pay attention to these things couldn't help but take a breath.
What is the most important thing for ordinary people?
Of course, food, clothing, housing and transportation!
Clothes are even before food, because clothes are not only a means of keeping warm and keeping away the cold, but also symbolize human shame, which is the first factor that distinguishes humans from animals.
Without food, people will starve to death, but without clothes, it is equivalent to tearing off the last piece of human skin. At that point, people are no different from animals that can only struggle to survive.
Rather die.
This is also the heaviest and humblest expectation of the sages.
Therefore, even if you are from a poor family and your clothes are in rags, you still need to have a piece of clothing. On the run, you will rarely see anyone walking naked in front of others, with a sallow complexion and thin skin, dying of hunger on the road.
Of course, those in later generations who are eager to show everything to everyone are not among them. They are female Bodhisattvas who help the poor and save all sentient beings.
"But how do you remove the cotton seeds? I just looked at them. The cotton seeds are very small and are inside the thick cotton wool. It seems a little difficult to take them out..."
Mi Ji is usually good at spinning and weaving at home, and she also checked the cotton just now, so she discovered the key to the problem right away.
The other female relatives couldn't help but nodded.
They had also watched just now, and it was true as Mi Ji said, the cotton seeds were so small that they were hard to pinch with their hands. If they wanted to take them off one by one, the effort required would be almost unimaginable.
"I already have a preliminary idea. I'll think about it after dinner. It shouldn't be a big problem..."
Zhao Ying couldn't say that he had many techniques for removing cotton seeds in his mind, so he could only deal with it vaguely. Although what he said was vague, Mi Ji, Wang Nan and others had full confidence in him.
After all, this guy has such a good brain that there is no problem that he can't solve.
Not to mention anything else, the pedal spinning wheels lying in the room were all created by this person's random thoughts. Before that, who could have imagined that spinning wheels could look like this?
Remembering that Zhao Ying was going to be busy with business, he ate dinner three times faster than before.
During this period, the younger sister Zhao Xi struggled several times to get closer to him, but Mi Ji mercilessly pushed her away.
"Don't disturb your elder brother, he has business to do today..."
Zhao Ying was made to laugh and cry.
However, he couldn't say much, so he could only smile and eat faster. Xiao Zhao Xi was so anxious that he kept gesticulating on himself.
Those little arms and legs give people an indescribable sense of humor.
Zhao Ying didn't think much about it.
He smiled and gave her a piece of chicken with chopsticks.
"Come and eat more, and I will play with you when big brother is free..."
Xiao Zhao Xi was so suppressed that her face almost turned red, but she remembered that Da Guo told her that the matter about the little mouse was a secret between her and Da Guo and could not be told to others, so she actually held back and did not say anything.
"You should go and do your business first..."
Seeing her eldest son put down his chopsticks, Mi Ji immediately began to urge Zhao Ying to leave.
Zhao Ying:......
Back in the study, Zhao Ying took the paper and pen and began to wonder in his mind which set of techniques for removing cotton seeds he should come up with. In fact, in later history, around the Song Dynasty, a very simple method of removing cotton seeds appeared.
It's called the rush rubbing method.
The tools are simple and rough, just an iron rod and a supporting board. During operation, place the seed cotton on the supporting board and roll it back and forth with the iron rod. Since the friction between the cotton fibers and the iron rod is large, the fibers will roll against the iron rod, while the friction between the cotton seeds and the iron rod is very small. Eventually, the fibers will be taken away by the iron rod, leaving only the cotton seeds, thereby removing the seeds. Effect.
The advantage is that it is easy to learn and the tools are simple. Even ordinary people can do it at home. The disadvantage is the same as simple tools, that is, low efficiency.
In the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, Huang Daopo invented a more efficient rocker based on the rushing rubbing method. The main part of the rocker is two rollers with different thicknesses, which are connected to the rocker respectively. During operation, two people rotate the two rockers respectively, and the other person feeds the seed cotton between the two rollers. The lower roller is thicker and rotates slowly, which is equivalent to the original pallet. The upper roller is thinner and rotates faster, which is equivalent to the original iron rod.
Of course, the most powerful thing is the four-legged truck mixer that appeared during the Ming Dynasty, which can be operated independently by one person and is more efficient.
But the tools are also relatively complex. In this era, the cost is not low, and it is not easy for ordinary people to make them.
As the emperor's eldest grandson, when he thinks about problems, he can no longer just consider the issue of high efficiency, but also has to consider the affordability of the people. Just like the water-powered spinning wheel he launched earlier, the efficiency is really high and far ahead of the times.
But judging from the feedback later, he felt a little regretful.
That thing was only suitable for large-scale production, and ordinary people couldn't afford it. Apart from government workshops, the only people who could afford it were the local wealthy nobles.
Even if ordinary people are willing to spend a lot of money to build it, it will be of no use because they simply don’t have that many raw materials available!
What was it built for?
Do you want to keep it at home?
But the worst thing, and what annoyed him the most, was not this, but the emergence of water-powered spinning wheels, which greatly improved the efficiency of spinning by the government and wealthy households, which directly caused the price of cloth produced by private textiles to drop!
Not only did the common people not benefit from it, but they became the biggest victims...
Fortunately, the Qin Dynasty implemented a policy of restricting business. Otherwise, the impact would have been greater on the people under the small-scale peasant economic model.
With this lesson learned, when Zhao Ying launches new farm tools now, he will subconsciously think about whether this thing can be used and whether it will be a good thing or a bad thing for the people, instead of simply considering production efficiency as before. .
After pondering for a long time, Zhao Ying decided to introduce the first two types first.
Rush rubbing method and rocker.
Nothing else, except that the cost is low and ordinary people can afford it. Moreover, he does not want to encourage the development of the commodity economy on a large scale at this stage. This stage is not the time to develop this.
In this era, the small farmer economy model is the most suitable model for this era.
Others, no matter how advanced they are, are poison to the people of this era.
Therefore, after thinking carefully, he no longer hesitated and drew a rough drawing based on the old objects he saw in the museum. After thinking about it, he drew a schematic diagram of the hanging bow, and then directly asked someone to take it to his house. The carpenters rushed to make it.
Since these two tools were so simple and required little effort, several carpenters sent him the tools he requested within two-quarters of an hour after the drawings were sent out.
Whether it was a hanging bow or a rocker, this was the first time he had touched the real thing.
"Let's go and try -"
He also wanted to try to see if these two gadgets could be used.
But he was too tall and it was not suitable for him to use this. So, Zhang Liang moved the rocker, and Zhao Gao took the initiative to put on the hanging bow. As for Zhao Ying, he picked up the iron staff and the support. plate.
Mi Ji and others were all paying attention to what was going on here. They heard that the tools for removing cotton seeds had been brought here, so they stopped talking or doing any work and came directly to watch the excitement.
So, at night, the courtyard of the eldest son's residence was brightly lit.
"Here, untie the cotton and try -"
Zhao Ying stood next to Zhang Liang and carefully explained the operation method to him - this thing is not only simple in structure, but also simple to use. Everyone can understand it with just a rough explanation.
Two people were needed, and Zhao Gao did not need Zhao Ying to greet him. Zhao Gao took off the hanging bow and took the initiative to cooperate with Zhang Liang.
They watched helplessly as the seed cotton was fed in, and after a round of rotation, all the cotton seeds were taken off. A group of people couldn't help but look excited. Although even now, they still can't understand why it was so simple to grind. The cotton seeds came off on their own.
"Brother, big brother, what is this used for..."
Zhao Qi curiously touched the iron rod and pallet on the side. He could see that his eldest brother was holding this thing just now.
"It's also used to remove cotton seeds..."
Having said this, Zhao Ying paused slightly.
"If ordinary people can't even afford to make a joystick, they can use this instead..."
With that said, Zhao Ying took the iron rod and pallet from Zhao Qi and placed them on the table nearby. He grabbed a handful of seed cotton and rolled it - then he coughed lightly and put the things away.
The first time I did the operation, I didn’t control the strength well and directly pressed out all the oil from the cotton seeds...
It’s very annoying when you have too much strength.
However, fortunately, Zhao Qi didn't notice his elder brother's embarrassment at all, so he took it enthusiastically, followed Zhao Ying's example, and rolled it back. After being patient and rolling for a long time, I finally took off all the cotton seeds. At this time, Zhang Liang and Zhao Gao had already taken off a lot of cotton seeds, and they suddenly lost their enthusiasm.
"This won't work, the efficiency is too low..."
Zhao Ying nodded and said to his younger brother with deep feelings.
"Don't underestimate anything. For the people in the world, there is no best, only the most suitable - no matter how good the tool is, it is not really a good tool if the common people cannot afford it..."
Zhao Qi was confused when he heard this, but Zhang Liang, who was busy removing seeds from cotton, couldn't help but his eyes lit up. Zhao Gao couldn't help but glance at Zhao Ying, who was holding an iron staff with a look of emotion on his face.
Although he has long been accustomed to the extraordinary qualities of the emperor's eldest grandson, he was quite shocked when he heard these remarks today, especially Zhao Gao, whose mood was a bit complicated.
In just a short time, the emperor's eldest grandson has grown to this point.
Thinking back to the beginning, when the emperor's eldest grandson launched the emperor's car, he didn't have much worry, because all he saw was the emperor's eldest grandson's talent, intelligence and eagerness to perform. But today, the emperor's eldest grandson gave His feeling, however, had lost half of the original fireworks.
It even gave him the illusion that he was facing His Majesty directly.
He suddenly felt very lucky that he had decided to refuse to participate in that matter. Based on his understanding of the First Emperor, let alone a groundless frame-up, even if such an emperor's eldest grandson really did something treasonous, it might not have fatal consequences.
And if you can't kill him with one blow, you may have to bear all the terrible consequences.
He suddenly felt that it was necessary for him to go back and warn his stupid brother. Even if he is beaten to death, he cannot interfere with it!
"Mr. Zhao, be careful..."
After hearing Zhang Liang's reminder, Zhao Gaocai suddenly came back to his senses. He was so distracted just now that he almost put his hand in.
"Mr. Zhao, you might as well take a break and let me try -"
Mi Ji couldn't help but be eager to try when she saw how passionate Zhang Liang and Zhao Gao were.
"I'll come too—"
When Wang Nan saw this, he couldn't help but walk out with a smile.
Zhang Liang and Zhao Gao turned to look at Zhao Ying. Zhao Ying nodded before they bowed and backed away, giving up the joystick. Zhang Liang stood behind Zhao Ying. Zhao Gao thought for a while, silently walked to the Xuan Gong and put it on again.
He jumped up and pulled the bowstring.
Watching the snow-white cotton wool beating, Zhao Ying's mind inexplicably remembered that song full of magic:
"Bounce cotton, bounce cotton/Half a pound of cotton has become eighty-two-eight/Old cotton has become new cotton/It has become a quilt. That girl is going to get married. Ouch Leyo Le Ouch Leyo..."
By the time everyone got over their fresh energy, more than ten kilograms of cotton had popped out!
Zhao Ying happily played with the freshly baked cotton and looked at Mi Ji and his several wives and concubines.
"With elasticity like this, it can be stuffed into bedding or clothes to make a quilt or jacket. If you like, you can also use it as a defense line and weave it into cotton that is thicker and warmer than silk..."
(End of chapter)
