Chapter 91: 91 Ginning Cotton

Chapter 91: The Carding of Silk

The kitchen of Janny’s home, within the Purple Fruit Tribe.

Ronin and Horn began their attempt at boiling the cocoons.

At first, Ronin had no intention of reeling the silk, opting instead to guide the process toward "silk carding."

To card silk, one needed to introduce soda ash or baking soda into the boiling pot, but he had no such commodities on short notice.

Consequently, he resorted to making wood ash on the spot; it was an alkaline substance, and though it appeared rather blackened, it would adhere to the cocoons once added to the water.

Yet during the boiling, the wood ash would react with the sericin and impurities upon the cocoons and eventually rinse away, leaving no stain behind.

As this was the first trial, Ronin selected a mere dozen or so cocoons to test the waters.

He first stripped away the loose fluff from the outer layers of the cocoons, then cast them into a small pot, added fresh water and the wood ash, and set it over a roaring fire to boil.

After more than half an hour of continuous boiling, Ronin judged it sufficient and ladled out the yellowed cocoons, washing them clean with fresh water.

The moment they touched the clear water, the yellowed cocoons whitened at a speed almost visible to the naked eye, drawing an exclamation of wonder from Horn.

What followed pushed him further into disbelief; Ronin peeled open the cocoons, discarded the dead pupae within, and stretched the silk with his hands to fit it over a cotton ring fashioned beforehand from a slip of bamboo.

Despite a few initial failures, practice brought deftness, and Ronin quickly mastered the rhythm.

At the beginning, a thin layer of silk sheet showed little to the eye, but once Ronin had stacked seven or eight together, a piece of "cloth" manifested before them.

"This step is called 'silk carding.' Stacking these dozen cocoons together in this manner forms a silk pocket."

Ronin explained, "Make a few more of these silk pockets, then take them out to wash twice and dry in the sun. Afterward, they can be cut, stretched, laid out, and layered together to yield a silk quilt."

Horn carefully took the silk pocket handed over by Ronin, his gaze brimming with the impossible.

He had always believed that boiling cocoons was simply another method of preparing pupae for consumption, never imagining that what lay before him was a singular variety of cloth.

Beside them, Janny watched the scene in equal astonishment.

At this very moment, they finally understood a measure of why the Lord prized sericulture so highly; it possessed such a marvelous utility!

"My Lord, your profound knowledge leaves me utterly humbled."

Janny bowed deeply to express her admiration. "Though I do not yet know what this silk quilt you speak of truly is, I foresee that such a thing must be worth an extraordinary fortune."

"Naturally," Ronin said with a smile.

Though this world possessed battle qi and magic, it could not divest itself of clothing, food, shelter, and travel; excellent things would always find those who needed them, particularly items that could symbolize noble status, which commanded exorbitant prices.

"Horn, since you harbor an interest in sericulture, you may experiment further, but you must take care to leave enough seed cocoons. Do not use them all for your trials."

He advised, "Furthermore, this is but one method of utilizing cocoons; we can also reel the silk."

"Reeling silk?" Horn asked, his curiosity piqued as he pricked up his ears to listen.

"You may look upon a cocoon as a ball wound from a single thread. What we must do is find the end of that thread, then draw seven or eight strands of silk together to form a single thread of yarn."

Ronin gestured with his hands as he spoke. "Then we can use these threads to weave cloth and fashion garments."

His description remained far too abstract; Horn and Janny found themselves in the state of poor students listening to a master deliver a lecture on mathematics.

Yet this did not hinder the pair's admiration and wonder for Ronin, just as Horn had thought—though I do not understand it, it feels magnificent.

Horn looked at the silk pocket in his hand, and thinking of the countless pupae he had eaten and the myriad cocoons he had discarded in the past, he suddenly felt a pang of having wasted heaven's gifts.

While the two conversed, Maken walked in from outside. "My Lord, Rhaegar and Tom have arrived."

"Very well."

Ronin turned to Janny and Horn. "Rhaegar is my commander; I shall go meet him. Horn, if you are inclined, you may first try your hand at silk carding. We shall study how to reel the silk a bit later."

With that, he departed the kitchen.

Neither Horn nor Janny discerned Ronin’s purpose in summoning Rhaegar; they merely assumed it was to deal with Slane.

Once they withdrew their gazes, they lowered their heads to observe the silk pocket in their hands with great care.

"This thing is so light!"

Janny caressed it. "If it truly can be made into a quilt as Lord Ronin says, it must be wonderfully light as well."

"Beyond quilts, it can be fashioned into garments. His Lordship said that over a thousand cocoons can produce a silk dress."

Horn emphasized, "The Lord also said that in the future, he will recruit dyers to create multicolored silk. A dress made from it would possess a rarity far exceeding that of ordinary noble formal wear!"

He looked earnestly at his wife. "I must fashion such a dress for you and Irene!"

Janny was deeply moved. "I believe you can do it!"

Within Ronin’s temporary quarters, he met Rhaegar and Tom, who had hastened from the Green Bamboo Tribe.

"My Lord, Wilson arrived safely at the Green Bamboo Tribe yesterday and began the population census today."

Rhaegar reported on the situation there. "With the assistance of Juwitt and Sim, the people of the Green Bamboo Tribe have been quite cooperative. According to Wilson, he will be able to complete the registration today."

Ronin nodded; the Green Bamboo Tribe numbered only a little over three hundred people, and their dwellings were relatively concentrated, so it presented no real difficulty.

Returning to the main matter at hand.

"Janny and Horn should present no issues, but it was necessary for you to come."

Ronin said, "If matters progress as Janny anticipates, the people of the Ash Tribe will likely arrive here later today. Rhaegar, Tom, take your men and conceal yourselves within the forested hills on both flanks. Once they enter, cut off their retreat."

The Purple Fruit Tribe was situated in a circular mountain basin with a single opening; blocking the rear path meant inviting the target into the trap, closing the door to strike the foe.

"Leave it to us with confidence!"

Rhaegar smiled. "I heard from the administrative officer that the savage tribes in the woodlands have existed for twenty years. I did not expect you to resolve the greater part of them so swiftly. If the outside world were to hear of this, they would surely marvel at your capability!"

"They simply were unwilling to expend the effort."

Ronin shook his head; if a noble truly resolved to eradicate the savage tribes, it could be achieved, but they lacked the motivation and, moreover, wished to bear no losses.

The reason he had conquered them so quickly was, on one hand, a blitzkrieg wherein the Green Bamboo Tribe failed entirely to react or form any potent resistance, while the Purple Fruit Tribe surrendered without a fight.

As twilight deepened, Janny had already arranged for the servants to prepare dinner. Horn was in the storehouse selecting the better cocoons to preserve as breeding stock according to the method Ronin had taught him; this time, the number of breeding cocoons needed to be greater, and he set aside a full hundred.

Rhaegar, Tom, and the others had gone out early to lie in ambush, while Maken remained constantly by Ronin’s side, serving as his personal guard.

"How did the tally go today?"

Ronin sat in a chair within the parlor, reviewing several sheets of parchment presented by Irene, which recorded the information she had gathered.

Irene stuck out her tongue, looking somewhat abashed. "It is not quite finished yet. Give me another morning, and I will absolutely complete it!"

Ronin looked through them with a smile.

There were scarcely any specialized artisans within the savage tribes; a few names had words like mason or carpenter marked behind them, but their precise level of skill remained unclear.

Yet to Ronin, anyone with a foundation in these directions could be put to use.

"Your handwriting is quite good, far neater than Wilson’s."

"Really?"

The young girl, Irene, was delighted to hear this praise, even giving a small skip.

Ronin did not understand why she was so excited, but he nodded nonetheless. "Of course, I never speak falsely."

He spoke no lie; Irene’s writing was orderly, and the comfort it afforded during reading was indeed a measure better than Wilson’s.

Today’s registration wasn’t finished—probably because we’re still unfamiliar with the process.

Luoning returned the parchment to the man. “Keep at it. Your magical aptitude is impressive—don’t forget to train. To me, a powerful mage is worth far more than any bureaucrat!”

Bureaucrats can be produced in batches. Mages cannot.

What Luoning had always valued in Elin was her magical talent.

“My lord!”

As they spoke, a soldier sprinted in from outside. “Horses are approaching in the distance. The commander sent me to warn you—it might be the Gray Soil Tribe.”

Luoning raised an eyebrow. “How many?”

“About a dozen. The road’s too far to see clearly.”

“Good. Go notify Jennie and Horn. Open the gates—we’re receiving guests.”

Thank you to the benefactor with ID 160703171657310 for your generous tip, and to the dozen or so benefactors this month for your monthly votes and recommendations. The year-end is busy, and I haven’t had time to read or comment on every interaction—please forgive me.

(End of chapter)