"Wang Quan! The silk stack that the widow asked you to prepare, is it ready? After the two agricultural officials left, Li Chengqian asked.

Silk stack, also known as white stack, white stack, etc., is an annual herbaceous African cotton, that is, familiar cotton.

The matter of hybrid rice is not in a hurry, but cotton cannot be delayed, which is a major event in the manufacture of cotton clothes and cotton pants.

Now there are no cotton clothes and cotton pants in Datang, and the people are covered with silk in the middle of the clothes in winter.

Although that thing can also play a role in keeping out the cold, the main thing is that it is not very warm, and it is not as warm as cotton-filled cotton clothes.

Before cotton was introduced to China, China could only provide kapok to fill pillows.

Kapok is produced from the kapok tree, although kapok can also be used to make cotton clothes, but the production cost of kapok is high, the yield is low, and ordinary people simply cannot afford it.

Compared with kapok, it is still more affordable to produce cotton with large yield and low cost, and it can be popularized throughout the country.

"What Lang Jun ordered, how dare the slave and maid snub! It's already ready! Wang Quan said with a smile.

"Oh! Where is it? Take a look at the widow! "Li Chengqian is overjoyed!

"Slave and maid, go get it!" Wang Quan said, turned around and ran out.

A moment later, Wang Quan came back with an object in his arms, and Li Chengqian saw that his head was full of black lines, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

Isn't the potted plant in Wang Quan's arms the cotton that Li Chengqian wants, what is it!

"Lang Jun! The slave and maid brought you the silk stack! This thing is good-looking, but it's far worse than Hanmei Aoxue. Wang Quan put the potted plant in his hand on the ground and wiped the sweat from his forehead, but he was tired.

Fortunately, I completed the prince's orders! If you are tired, you are tired, it's nothing!

Li Chengqian sighed and didn't blame Wang Quan, after all, he didn't give him a careful explanation of cotton!

Wang Quan also thought that he, Li Chengqian, wanted this cotton for ornamental use.

Cotton was introduced from India and Arabia during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but it was regarded as an ornamental flower by people in the Central Plains.

At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, a large number of people began to realize the role of cotton, but the promotion and application of cotton nationwide was in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang was compulsory.

"Wang Quan, I don't want this silk stack to watch, but to use the white flowers on it, you go and pick the white flowers on it for me, the more the better!" Li Chengqian said.

Wang Quan was stunned!

What do you do when you pick its flowers? This flower is not edible.

I thought so, but the prince ordered him, and he had to do it.

"No!" Wang Quan answered, picked up the potted plant and turned around and walked out of the hall again.

Half a day later, Wang Quan finally picked off the cotton used and sent it to Li Chengqian.

"That's all?" Li Chengqian looked at the pile of cotton in front of him and asked.

"Yes, these are still the slaves and maids who got them with great difficulty, Chang'an City and the vicinity, except for the families of high-ranking officials and nobles, no one will plant these ornamental flowers." Wang Quan said.

"Why don't other people grow cotton, isn't this thing bad to grow!" Li Chengqian was puzzled.

"Lang Jun doesn't know! This silk stack is an ornamental thing, ordinary people are busy with life all day long, where is the leisure to watch this thing. ”

"Moreover, not everyone among the dignitaries likes such things, it is not as beautiful as plum blossoms, it is still a species from the Western Regions, and it is not a valuable item." Wang Quan said.

Li Chengqian was very helpless, the Tang Dynasty had not yet discovered the specific role of cotton, and did not know that its greater role was to keep warm and keep out the cold.

Now that he has been reborn in Datang, how can he make such an important material as cotton waste, and he should make good use of it.

If all the freshly picked seed cotton in front of you is processed into cotton skin, you can make a quilt and two or three sets of cotton clothes.

However, this cotton skin still needs to be processed through the step of playing cotton, and the elastic cotton can be used to make quilts, cotton clothes, etc.

"Wang Quan, you have people stack these silks, remove the seeds inside, and leave the outer layer of cotton skin."

"Besides, find another craftsman with the best skills, I have something to tell them to do." Li Chengqian said.

"No!" Wang Quan received the order, beckoned the attendants to hurriedly take down the cotton, do as Li Chengqian instructed, and send someone to invite the craftsman back.

To play cotton is naturally indispensable tools in this regard, the slingshot used to play cotton, large wooden hammers, shovel heads, grinding discs, etc., these are indispensable tools for playing cotton.

Although Li Chengqian had never played cotton, he had watched a documentary about playing cotton before crossing over.

I have never eaten pork, I have never seen a pig run, and Li Chengqian has always remembered the process of playing cotton.

When the craftsmen come, let them build these tools according to their own words, and after the tools are made, they will select some palace people from the palace who are ingenious and know how to weave to learn to play cotton with him.

"Lang Jun! The craftsman you want has arrived! A chamberlain led a craftsman in his thirties in, and the chamberlain saluted.

"See His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" The craftsman hurriedly saluted.

"I came to you to build a few tools! Are you the best craftsman? Li Chengqian said.

"Back to His Royal Highness the Prince! It's best not to say that the craftsmanship is also among the best! To put it mildly, there are not many people who can be better than me. As soon as the craftsman spoke of his craft, a proud look appeared on his face.

"Good!" Li Chengqian didn't care if the craftsman was arrogant, he only cared if he could make what he wanted.

"I'll tell you about the tools you're going to build, and you'll take note of them." Li Chengqian said.

The craftsman hurriedly took out the pen and paper he had with him, and wanted to record the things that Li Chengqian wanted, draw them into sketches, and then create them again.

"Your Highness, please speak!" The craftsman was ready and motioned for the prince to begin.

"The first is a large wooden bow, about four feet long, with ox tendon as the string," Li Chengqian was afraid that the craftsman would not know what kind ......of bow he wanted, so he said while gesturing.

“…… Finally, there is this wooden disc, which is smaller than the average grinding disc, about this size, do you understand? Li Chengqian finished explaining the comparison.

"I've memorized them all, and I've sketched them all, Your Highness! You look at the sketches, is there anything that needs to be revised? After the craftsman said that, he showed the sketch to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian took the sketch and carefully examined it one by one, and it was basically the same as what he said, without any flaws.

"Just follow these sketches, I'm in a hurry, you build these for me as soon as possible, how long will it take you to build." Li Chengqian said.

"Everything else is easy to say, but this bow will take some time." Craftsman Road.

"Okay! You go back and build it as soon as possible! Li Chengqian said.

"The villain is gone!" The craftsman took the drawing, took his leave, and left.