A cotton peach is peeled off, the roller of the ginning machine shakes, and the silky strands of snow-white cotton wool are brought through the middle of the drum, and the cotton seeds are stripped out. A very simple device, but it makes it very easy to remove seeds.

The cotton after deseeding is stranded one by one, and it cannot be used yet.

The servants deseeded a large basket of cotton peaches and put them in a wooden trough with the "big bow" hanging on it, and then asked Fang Jun how to operate it.

Fang Jun said calmly: "We must have a sense of continuous innovation, and only then can we be more impressed by the knowledge we have studied, and we must have the ideal of becoming the first batch of 'cotton makers' in Datang." People don't have ideals, what's the difference between them and salted fish? ”

A group of servants of the Great Khan.

We're just slaves, and we don't want to be any "cottonmakers"......

Fang Jun was indifferent, letting them experiment and figure out by themselves, while he stood by and watched. The fact is that he has only seen it on TV, so how can he do it himself?

Neither will he ......

However, it is not difficult to play cotton, you only need to understand the principle of breaking up cotton fibers to make them closer and tighter, of course, if you want to play well, you need a certain talent and long-term practice as the foundation.

Fang Jiafa's slave was obviously above the average line, and a teenager named Zhao Erniu chattered for a long time, and finally played the cotton as if it were like it. Although the cotton that popped out was far from being as dense as Fang Jun imagined, it was white and soft like a white cloud, soft and soft to the touch, and the comfortable temperature could be felt, which had already shocked the servants.

Fang Jun immediately made a decision and appointed this Zhao Erniu as the steward of the Fang family's "cotton maker".

Zhao Erniu was crazy with happiness, who would have thought that he would suddenly become a steward just after his brain opened his mind and fiddled with the device invented by Erlang? Could it be that Erlang takes such care of everyone for the sake of being the second in the ranks?

Well, it must be the case, everyone is "two", so get close!

Fate is really amazing, those who are promoted, raised, and then work as a matchmaker will line up at the door of their homes, and suddenly they will reach the peak of their lives!

Zhao Erniu didn't say a word, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, pointing to the sky and swearing allegiance.

It's not good for the cotton to pop out, such cotton can only be made into cotton jackets and quilts, and Fang Jun naturally can't be satisfied. It has to be twisted into thread, and then spun into yarn and woven into cloth, so that cotton can enter thousands of households, and the low cost and excellent quality of cotton cloth can benefit the public, and bring wealth like sea water to Fang Jun.

Of course, if you want to show the value of cotton to the fullest, you have to wait until it is developed for military use.

It's a pity that Fang Jun's chemistry was taught by his Chinese teacher, and he couldn't do smokeless gunpowder even if he was killed......

Twisting is a very ancient craft, and there are many primitive looms among the people, just leave it to Lu Chenglai to be responsible, and you only need to look at the finished product. Although the process is primitive and backward, Fang Jun really doesn't know how to make the kind of textile machine that can place dozens of spindles at a time, but he just wrote the general process requirements on a piece of paper and promised that whoever can develop a more advanced textile machine will be rewarded, and then he simply doesn't care.

He has great trust in the wisdom of the Chinese nation.

Most of the time, they just don't want to think about it or don't bother to go where to go, and they lack the sense of innovation. When they have enough motivation, they can immediately develop unparalleled creativity, as history has long proven.

He told the cotton in Zhuangzi not to use the machine to remove the seeds, the seeds are too precious, he is afraid that the machine will damage the seed skin and affect the seedling rate, so he must remove the seeds by hand.

"After the beginning of spring, all the dry fields in the Zhuangzi will be planted with cotton."

Fang Jun commanded.

Champa rice belongs to the southern rice species, and the growth cycle of crops with low temperature in the north is slow, even if there are excellent rice varieties, they cannot reach the natural conditions of double cropping or even three crops a year, so they can only be planted in the south.

Fang Jun has instructed Suzhou Thorn Shi Mu Yuanzuo to choose a place to plant in the spring of next year to see if it can adapt to the climate of the Yangtze River Basin. The current situation in Fujian and Guangdong is not stable, Fujian is more barbaric, Guangdong is the territory of the Feng family, and changes may occur at any time, once they get advanced rice seeds, it is tantamount to fueling their ambitions.

Lu Cheng was taken aback and persuaded: "Erlang, you have to be cautious about this." We have a lot of dry land, and if we grow cotton, we will have a lot less food. ”

"Don't worry, there is food."

The fleet that purchased grain in Linyi estimated that the grain would be able to transport back before the Yellow River froze, and Guanzhong would no longer have to worry about food shortage. Cotton is a very good cash crop, after weaving and selling, the output of one acre of land can be worth planting five acres of grain, why not?

Anyway, as long as there is money, the rice of Lin Yi will be transported to Guanzhong in a steady stream. It doesn't matter if there are any variables in Linyi that cause you to not be able to buy rice, Nanyang is a big place, as long as you have a fleet in hand, even if you can't buy food, you can grab it!

"By the way, you go and tell Mei Niang, don't be in a hurry to sell the rosewood you brought back from Nanyang, the price is dead, I'd rather let those nobles can't afford it, and you can't sell it cheaply! In addition, pick two pieces of high-quality longevity materials and send them to the Zheng Guogong Mansion, and tell your subordinates to be polite. ”

There are so many rosewood trees on Sandalwood Island, but Fang Jun didn't want to make sandalwood to the point of selling it cheaply on the street. Sandalwood is a luxury, it has nothing to do with the national economy and people's livelihood, and making a fortune from it has no moral implications at all. This is the source of money for the entire water division, and it is necessary to maintain a high income.

Without affordable benefits, who will give you your life?

*****

The servants of the Fang family drove the cart through the market, and the two one-foot-thick rosewood trees on the car attracted passers-by to marvel.

In this era, shipping was not yet developed, the Tang Dynasty did not produce red sandalwood, the red sandalwood flowing in from overseas was extremely limited, and the scarcity was precious, and the saying of "inch sandalwood and inch gold" has been passed down from the Han Dynasty to the present. Of course, most of the pedestrians on the road are not illiterate, but some passing nobles have already spread the word about it.

When the carriage arrived at the Wei Mansion, Wei Shuyu was about to go to Chu Suiliang under his father's orders. Seeing the two one-foot-thick rosewood trees on the carriage that drove in from the gate, Wei Shuyu's eyes straightened, and he swallowed his saliva subconsciously.

No matter how poor the Wei family is, they always have knowledge.

The value of these two rosewood sticks is definitely not less than a few thousand, and if they are cut to make a coffin, not only will the father and mother not be able to use it up, but I am afraid that their future share will be settled......

Sure enough, it is worthy of Fang Er, the biggest mallet loser in Datang, how can there be such a gift? As soon as you make a move, you have to take money to smash people!

Wei Zheng's status is extraordinary, and this gift was given by Lu Cheng in person. Under the arrangement of the servants of the Wei family, the rosewood was unloaded in a warehouse, and Lu Cheng was called to the main hall.

Wei Zheng's face was a little gray, his spirit was very sluggish, and he said with a strong spirit: "I'm tired, go back and tell Erlang, thank you, old man." ”

Then he ordered someone to reward Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng refused, bowed down and said with a smile: "How dare you accept Zheng Guogong's reward?" My Erlang said that Zheng Guogong has broken off his friendship with Brother Kong Fang, don't let such vulgar things defile Zheng Guogong's eyes. ”

Wei Zheng laughed and said, "Interesting, interesting." The Fang family is really Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a steward can have such elegance, is it the old man of the Fang family? ”

Lu Cheng said respectfully: "The old slave is a woman's dowry, and he has been in the Fang family for decades. ”

Wei Zheng nodded suddenly: "It turned out to be from the Fan Yang Lu family, no wonder, no wonder." ”

As one of the five surnames and seven sects, Fan Yang's Lu family's heritage naturally needs not be said, and the stewards who can marry with Miss Lu are obviously all educated, how can they be compared with the stewards of ordinary rich people in the countryside?

After a few words of conversation, Lu Cheng said goodbye and left.

Wei Zheng waved his hand at Wei Shuyu: "Go to Chu's house." ”

Wei Shuyu nodded and turned to leave.

When I arrived at Chu's house, I was just in time for Chu Suiliang to go out.

The Wei family and the Chu family are world friends, Wei Shuyu came to say that he was ordered by his father, and the disciples of the Chu family directly invited Wei Shuyu to the study without notification.

Chu Suiliang was wearing a regular suit, sitting on a chair drinking tea, and when he saw Wei Shuyu respectfully saluting, he waved his hand and said casually: "Why should your family be polite? Sit down. ”

Wei Shuyu naturally couldn't be rude, and after saluting, he sat down, and Chu Suiliang asked, "The virtuous nephew is here, but is there something?" ”

Wei Shuyu is upright and wooden, he doesn't have any fancy intestines, and he can't be euphemistic or anything, so he said bluntly: "My father has an order, let the little nephew come and retrieve the manuscript that was handed over to Uncle Chu Shi before." ”