The Empress' Livestream - Chapter 453
Chapter 453: Paragon of Craftsmanship (II)
Little brother Liyun was initially bothered by her request, but upon hearing it was to help the wider population get through the winter, he took the matter seriously, felt passionate about helping, and readily agreed.
His expression was so serious, it would surprise no one if he established a military order to get the job done.
Dalao Haoduoya: “Terrible! Rubbish streamer!”
Qiufangguo: “Previously, you had little brother Liyun to do agriculture, now you ask him to knit a sweater. You are too much!”
Rangwo Huanqingzai: “Rubbish streamer +1, let go of that little brother, come fight with me!”
Heihei Heihei: “Rubbish streamer +2, if you have the ability, don’t run away from work. Let’s have a challenge on the rooftop. You bullied innocent young brother Liyun, streamer, doesn’t it hurt your conscience? You tasked brother Liyun who holds a spear with his hands to use a needle to knit a sweater? How did you even think of something so mind boggling?”
Jiang Pengji was unmoved by the clamoring criticism. She went to the extent of shamelessly posting a comment on the bullet screen.
Streamer V: “This is called giving the able more responsibilities. How is it bullying him?”
After that, the bullet screen filled with a series of “Pei!”, clearly expressing their apathy and spite towards Jiang Pengji.
Soon the truth was evident, though: brother Liyun’s ability to execute was stronger than Jiang Pengji’s.
He carefully examined the basic stitching design, then he took the ball of yarn and studied it all day. At first his stitches were uneven and messy, but after much practice, he knitted very neatly. Before long, he had knitted the length of a small thumb.
“This is amazing, I didn’t know it can be done like that…”
Liyun looked astonishingly at the criss-cross stitches on the yarn, his interest heightened. He excitedly went on to study more complicated designs. “If these are combined together, both soft and thick, they feel like they’ll provide more warmth than ten layers of sackcloth combined.”
Feng Jin and the rest were curious, and they pinched the growing cloth. It was indeed soft and thick, but how much warmth it contained was still unknown.
Nevertheless —
“Following this rate of knitting, it’d take a long while to complete a sweater.”
The efficiency was too low, and that dissatisfied Feng Jin.
Jiang Pengji rolled her eyes, and she pulled out a bamboo paper detailing a draft of simple design for the coat.
Presenting it before all of them, she lowered her voice saying, “Did you really think we are using sheep’s fur to knit an entire sweater? Forget all else, just two sleeves will be very heavy, how are people to wear them? We will knit a tight fit piece something like this.”
She rejected the idea proposed by the audience of modern winter wear, and instead adopted a design that Feng Jin and the rest could accept. Only a wide sleeve was modified into a narrow one, the lapel was somewhat altered, and the long pants leaned toward peasant clothing design.
In general, it did not exceed everyone’s acceptable boundaries, only the raw material is substituted by knitting wool.
“My lord is indeed insightful and creative.” Liyun praised her, unabashed.
Initially he thought the lord was hands off and uninvolved, high and mighty all day long, transcendent from the sufferings of the average men…After getting to know Jiang Pengji, he felt having such a lord was beneficial. She was amiable and approachable, and had a heart for her people, considering their best interest daily.
Perhaps, this was teacher’s depiction of a saintly ruler.
Where can one find such an awesome lord.
“I feel the same way, continue to do a good job.”
Jiang Pengji patted Liyun’s shoulders, and the latter readily accepted the gesture.
In less than two days, Liyun had knitted a small set of clothes for Feng Jin’s Changsheng.
Feng Jin: “…”
Liyun’s knitting ability was comparable to his skills in agriculture. It increased exponentially in short periods of time. Within a span of one to two days, he completed knitted a simply designed, small blouse for Changsheng. The little lady wore it happily, she crawled all around in style.
In fact, the clothing was too warm, and she quickly couldn’t bear the heat and took it off.
“Truly able to keep one warm.” Feng Jin felt the temperature within the sweater. “Hurry, put on some clothes for Changsheng so she doesn’t catch cold.”
Feeling rather disappointed, Liyun said, “A pity the rate of producing the clothes is so slow.”
Feng Jin shook his head in denial. “You are wrong, this rate is already quite appalling. Han Mei, do you know how clothes are made? From silkworms spinning silk until they are synthesised as cloths, then for cloths to be created into clothing, the entire process has undergone numerous workmanships and expended a lot of human energy. Even the sackcloth worn by the average man demands an equally hefty amount of time. Whereas for these sweaters made of sheep’s wool, I dare say the production rate is rapid already.
Liyun understood Feng Jin’s idea, and a hint of joy played across his face.
They could rear sheep with longer fur. Cutting the sheep’s fur, processing yarn from the wool, and knitting sweaters would reduce wasted time in the process significantly. It would be much better than using cloth.
Such thick clothing could only be worn during cold weather, but the people lacked in winter clothing. The usual sackcloth could not keep them warm in the north of Dongqing which was cold beyond measure. How many people died from the cold?
If such a wool sweater could be sold widely, once winter hit, how many people might such an item save?
The more he thought about it, the more Liyun’s excitement increased.
“My lord is indeed a benevolent person.”
He tried his best to control the excitement on his face, clenching his fists very tightly.
Feng Jin laughed in his heart. He had never doubted his lord’s talents, but to describe her as a “benevolent person”?
Keke, he had his reservations concerning that description.
This Liyun was indeed an amazing man, and the lord has treated him as such, yet he could find entertainment for himself in knitting.
To put it more accurately, he was sold into slavery, yet he could naiively help the person count the money they earned from his labor.
With Feng Jin’s suggestions, Liyun was more motivated to work, and he almost spent the whole night researching.
He experimented with two kinds of design daily. Then he taught it to the female seamstresses who had a high capacity to learn.
Fur clothes had another advantage: one set of clothing could be broken into various parts to be sewn.
If the number of stitches was well controlled, the sweater could be well designed. Then all the parts could be placed together to synthesise a complete item.
Gu Xin stayed in Xiangyang district for more than half a month, he had three ready-made coats placed in front of him. Just touching them felt warm.
If the knitting yarn were to be dyed with different colours, many more patterns could be designed.
Gu Xin was a businessman. He would see the crucial aspect very soon.
However, the business could not be done outside Xiangyang district at present, it must not be sold at the north borderline yet.
“Rest assured, young master. This old servant will try my best to buy more sheep and get men to deliver them.”
The business of herding livestock was booming at the North borders, every household are overflowing with sheep’s wool, and they were clueless what to do with them. Some families even used wool as fuel. If they bought in bulk, surely the cost would be minimal.
Left in the north borders, they remained as waste. Yet if they were transported to Xiangyang district, they would become valuable winter wear and even other wool products. Their ability to conserve heat would save many lives. Gu Xin considered this, and his impression of Jiang Pengji deepened by many folds.
“Then I’ll have to trouble uncle Gu.” Jiang Pengji didn’t feel bad.
After they got through the winter, when autumn harvest approached, she intended to raise an army against Fengyi county.
She was unhappy with the Tsing Yi army’s dominance there, and it was time to expand the land.
“Right, when uncle Gu returns, could you do me a favour to help me pass an item to my father?”
Jiang Pengji passed a knitted sweater design to Liyun. She had finished developing a portion of the attack machinery.
She had nothing to do in the remaining time, so she might as well accept the livestream viewers’ suggestion to consider what to eat for winter.
Winter was perfect for eating roasted meat and steamboat.
