Chapter 175: Interests First

The arrival of the Half-elves brought new vitality to the territory. After hearing that there were skilled weavers among the Half-elves, Su Lun immediately ordered the establishment of a weaving factory.

The amount of cotton originally planted in the territory was also doubled. Previously, cotton was grown to make cotton clothes, but now Su Lun had a new plan: to produce Cotton Cloth. Although Silk was smooth and comfortable, it was too expensive. Cotton Cloth was also considered a high-quality fabric and was more popular in the north because it kept people warmer.

Besides skilled workers, setting up a weaving factory required specialized looms. There were not many looms in the territory, and their weaving efficiency was low. The fabric they produced had large gaps. Su Lun looked at the spinning wheel in front of him. It was a single-spindle spinning wheel that could only spin one thread at a time.

The Half-elves, however, used a three-spindle spinning wheel technology that could spin three threads at once. Even without considering other factors, the efficiency alone increased threefold.

After studying the structure of the spinning wheel, Su Lun made some improvements and upgrades to the existing ones.

With the powerful skill Mechanical Mastery, Su Lun had a thorough understanding of these machines. After talking with several master weavers for a while, Su Lun modified these spinning wheels based on their suggestions.

The three-spindle spinning wheel technology was not difficult. In simple terms, once you understood the principle, it was easy to make. Often, it was not that the technology was unattainable, but that people were stuck in the wrong way of thinking. After identifying the issues with these spinning wheels, Su Lun first made a three-spindle spinning wheel.

If it could spin three spindles at once, why not add more spindles? After further modifications, Su Lun successfully created a spinning wheel that could spin five spindles at once and another that could spin nine spindles at once.

The structure of the five-spindle spinning wheel was not difficult and was similar to the three-spindle one. The nine-spindle spinning wheel, however, was much more complex and fundamentally different from the five-spindle one.

The efficiency of the nine-spindle spinning wheel was comparable to the spinning jenny from the early Industrial Revolution in his previous life. As for making a spinning wheel that could spin even more spindles, Su Lun had no such plans for now. It was possible to make one if he continued, but this era was not the highly prosperous society of his previous life.

Producing too much would directly cause the price of Cotton Cloth to fall, which was not good news for Su Lun. The production level of this world was only at the medieval level, and the consumer market was limited. A large amount of Cotton Cloth appearing on the market would directly lead to a price drop. Unlike White Sugar, Cotton Cloth was not a perishable item.

If a large amount of Cotton Cloth entered the market without the market expanding, the price of Cotton Cloth would plummet. The more powerful and efficient the spinning wheels Su Lun worked hard to create, the more the price of Cotton Cloth would drop. The result would likely be that Cotton Cloth became a commodity even ordinary commoners could buy and sell freely.

What was once an easy way to make money from Cotton Cloth would have to rely on small profits but quick returns. Similarly, the increase in Cotton Cloth production would lead to an expansion of cotton cultivation, and the price of cotton would also rise. This would further reduce the profits from Cotton Cloth, and Su Lun might end up doing all that work for nothing.

Of course, in this scenario, the commoners would benefit a lot. For example, when the price of Cotton Cloth dropped, they could afford to wear it. But what did that have to do with Su Lun? So, using the best technology was not the best choice. He did not want to turn a luxury item into a common commodity, as that would not benefit him either.

Often, technology was not about being stronger but about considering economic interests.

To prevent the spinning wheel technology from leaking, Su Lun specifically used the structurally most complex nine-spindle spinning wheel. Additionally, the nine-spindle spinning wheel had the advantage of requiring fewer weavers. The fewer people involved, the lower the risk of leaks. The nine-spindle spinning wheel was very complex, making it extremely difficult to steal the technology.

[New Spinning Wheel: An improved and upgraded new spinning wheel with a leap in efficiency and quality. Work efficiency +30, quality +10, output +40, durability +15, work diligence +15]

With the new spinning wheels, the weaving factory was quickly built. However, the timing of the factory’s establishment was problematic. It was a period of scarcity: the cotton had not been planted, the snow and ice had not melted, and the trade routes were not open. Even with the machines, production was impossible. Zhenbei City had the machines but no raw materials to start production.

Although there was no cotton, the Wasteland grew many plants like flax, ramie, and jute. The Half-elves often collected these plants, processed them, and wove them into fabric. Since there was no cotton, they would first produce various types of linen.

Moreover, some linen fabrics were not inferior to Cotton Cloth. For example, fine linen and ramie, when woven by experts, were very comfortable to wear. Many churches used fine linen and ramie to make clothes.

Some churches forbade the wearing of Cotton Cloth or Silk, originally intending for their members to wear common linen to temper their will. However, they did not wear Cotton Cloth or Silk; they wore fine linen and ramie.

The land outside Zhenbei City was extensively cultivated. Over a hundred Wild Oxen were used for plowing. After being trained by the Barbarians, these Wild Oxen became much tamer.

The Barbarians were not human, especially the Barbarian Warriors. In their free time, they helped with training. These Barbarian Warriors could easily subdue the Wild Oxen, forcing them to follow the Barbarians’ commands.

After being disciplined a few times, these Wild Oxen became qualified plowing animals. However, with only a little over a hundred plowing animals, tilling fifty thousand acres of land was unrealistic. In many cases, human labor had to be used. After defeating the Orc Alliance, many slaves were captured, including Orcs, Gnolls, Hobgoblins, and Bugbears. These slaves were strong and perfect for plowing.

Outside Zhenbei City, there was a simple sewage treatment plant. All the sewer drains converged here. Su Lun, wearing a mask, was directing his apprentices to make farm manure. Besides domestic sewage, there were also feces and other excrements. Even the cow, horse, and sheep dung from the territory were collected and sent here.

Besides a few humans, there were more Goblins and Kobolds here. After the feces were fermented and processed through several steps, they became farm manure. Although the fertility of this farm manure was not as good as chemical fertilizer, it was still effective. Combined with the effect of the Harvest Altar, the land yield in Zhenbei City was sure to increase significantly this year.

Of the newly opened land, only half was used to grow food crops. The other half was planted with various crops like soybeans, sesame, ramie, fine flax, sugar beet, cotton, and more.

Among the food crops, besides Potatoes, there were wheat and barley. The brewery in Zhenbei City was experimenting with brewing alcohol from various grains. Su Lun planned to make some high-proof liquor. The cold weather in the north made high-proof liquor more popular.

After this year, Zhenbei City would definitely have more food than it could consume. If stored for too long, the food would spoil and mold. So, the best solution was to sell it or use it up. Transporting grain from the Northern Wasteland to human kingdoms was bound to be a loss. However, it could be sold to some tribes in the Wasteland that were willing to be friendly with Zhenbei City, such as the Centaur Tribes. Speaking of which, Su Lun had not seen the young filly for a while and wondered how she was doing.

If handled well, Su Lun could quickly form an alliance in the Wasteland using grain. Besides selling grain, brewing alcohol was another major way to consume grain. Moreover, the price of alcohol was much higher than that of grain. Other races in the Wasteland also enjoyed drinking, but due to low grain production, alcohol was more precious. Even selling it to Karlt City would bring considerable income.

In this world, there were two types of alcohol: wine, which was for the Nobles, and Ale, which was for ordinary people. The Rum Su Lun produced from waste molasses was also targeted at the Nobles. Low-end Rum did not sell well, as Mercenaries and Caravan guards found it too weak. This type of alcohol would be more popular in the Southern Provinces, but Zhenbei City’s channels had not yet reached there.

The brewery was experimenting with brewing alcohol from oats, barley, and Potatoes. To produce high-proof alcohol, distillation was needed. Making a distiller was not difficult; the only problem was sealing. However, in this magical world, there were many ways to solve the sealing issue.

These technologies required gradual exploration and experimentation. Many of the knowledge Su Lun brought from his previous life was not applicable in this world. In the first few years after his arrival, Su Lun had tried many things. For example, he had once made black gunpowder, a powerful weapon, according to the proportions. However, it turned out that black gunpowder could not explode in this world.

There was something similar to black gunpowder in this world called Dwarf gunpowder. Su Lun did not know the exact formula, as the Dwarves kept it strictly secret. It was said that this gunpowder was very costly. Another reason was that high-level professions in this world were too powerful. The power of Dwarf gunpowder was not as strong as imagined. At least, a single Fireball Spell cast by a Wizard was more powerful than a barrel of Dwarf gunpowder.

Su Lun was very busy during this time. Through his hard work, large areas of fertile land were cultivated, the irrigation facilities outside the territory were gradually improved, the farm manure fermentation site was built, the weaving factory was established, and the oak forest in Zhenbei City was growing very well.

Miss Chris was also very busy during this period. Su Lun assigned the affairs of the Administrative Hall to her. At the same time, to improve her strength, she set aside time every day to train at the Training Ground. Her evasion skills had improved significantly during this time.

The weaving factory was also handed over to her. Chris was still learning various management skills. The little maid’s studious attitude was commendable. He indeed needed a capable head maid.

For now, Chris was very capable. However, as Su Lun’s strength continued to grow and the affairs of the territory increased, Chris alone would not be able to handle everything. Su Lun needed to hire more maids to share her workload.