After traveling to ancient times, I became a superb shrew

Grandma Zhu led the way, and twenty or thirty women went in together. It wasn't the first time they came here, but every time they came in, they didn't dare to make loud noises or whisper to each other, and followed very quietly. Go to the study.

The study room here is not big, there is really no room for twenty or thirty people, so Gu Qing can only take everyone to the living room.

Xia Zhu, who was serving at the side, served the tea with a wink, and also brought up the melons and grapes of the season, filling a large table.

Seeing that everyone was very cautious, Gu Qing smiled and said: "Why are you being polite when you come to me, there are too many melons in the field, and you can't finish them all, please help me to eat more, don't waste it."

Jin Huaniang was the first to eat: "Can I bring back some of these melon seeds, and I will plant some next year."

Gu Qing nodded: "Of course. Speaking of saving seeds, I just want to tell you about cotton seeds. There is a hard cotton seed in the cotton. This is the seed. After drying, store it well. It is waterproof and moisture-proof. It will be planted next year. It will germinate."

The village women asked: "Then how do you know if it is dried in the sun?"

"Bite it with your teeth, and it will be completely dry." Gu Qing was reading a book on cotton just now, and he said it logically.

Modern cottonseeds are all purchased, and the bought cottonseeds are generally not self-sustaining. The cotton seedlings she has carefully selected this time can be kept for seeds. If they are planted in March and April next year, the germination rate can reach 60.00%.

"One more thing, when you are picking cotton, if the sun comes out to pick cotton, if there is dew, you can directly pull down the whole peaches that have been spun, take them home and peel them out, and if the sun comes out, then directly in the Pulling cotton wool in the ground, because the leaf is dried, it will shatter when touched, and stick to the cotton wool, it is difficult to get it off..."

After the first batch of cotton was dried, Gu Qing called Nanny Zhang and Nanny Li at home.

The peasant women carefully wrote down all the points that needed attention, and then told the other peasant women who did not come.

All the cotton bolls pulled back were piled up in the first yard of the house, occupying one-third of the area. A large group of old ladies around 60 years old came with a low bench each and gathered around to peel the cotton. The wages are calculated in two pounds, these old ladies have someone to talk to, and they can still make money. The most important thing is that it is so comfortable to work in Gu Qing's house and have unlimited supply of tea and snacks.

These two people are both from the palace, Zhang Nanny can make clothes, and Li Nanny can embroider.

Gu Qing chatted with the two nuns a lot, and even thought of what style to make of the cotton cloth after it was woven.

"After the cotton is taken back, you must remember to expose it to the sun, fully expose it to the sun, dry it thoroughly and store it in a waterproof and moisture-proof place... After the work is done, I will teach you how to use cotton to make clothes and quilts..."

Although she knows that cotton can be used to make clothes, she really doesn't know how to turn cotton into cloth. The book talks about modern technology. She can't figure out how to do it in ancient times. not understand well.

The newly built dyeing workshop is not too big, and the dyeing ponds only have the most common colors.

The two carefully pulled the cotton, observed for a while, and said: "The loom brought by the servant from the capital is specially used for weaving silk. The silk is very long, but the cotton is too short. You have to spin the yarn first, and then weave the hemp." Try it on the loom, it’s not a big problem..."

In addition, cotton cloth is highly dyeable, and can dye more than a dozen reds between light red and water red. It is more difficult to replace it with silk, which requires a lot of manpower and material resources...

In addition to making quilts for sale, a lot of the cotton on her two hundred acres of land will be made into clothes, and planning is really about to start now.

The three of them chatted more and more, and the more they chatted, the more speculative they became. Gu Qing talked about theoretical knowledge, and Zhang Nanny and Li Nanny would directly point out the feasibility and complexity of the actual operation...

Gu Qing looked at the several colors hanging in the yard, mainly red, green, and cyan, with a small amount of light pink and aqua blue.

Gu Qing purchased a batch of hand looms in the shopping mall, and went to the town to hire several weaver girls. After half a month of busy work, the first batch of cotton was spun into thread.

"Princess, hurry up and take a look at the newly dyed cotton cloth." Madam Li immediately greeted Gu Qing when she saw Gu Qing: "This cotton cloth is very soft and soft, and the color is easy to fade, but it will fade a little after the first washing, but the dyer tried it. After that, just wash it two or three times and it will be fine..."

The busiest one was at Gu Qing's house, with a total of [-] mu of cotton land. The ten long-term laborers hired by Yang Pei had just collected and pulled them all in order.

Gu Qing nodded. Silk clothes are indeed comfortable to wear, but they also have their unavoidable disadvantages. Cotton clothes greatly make up for this defect. Not to mention softness, the key is to absorb sweat, which is very suitable for children and the elderly.

At the end of August, the cotton in the cotton field finally became thinner, and everyone relaxed.

Naturally, the women and maids at home were not idle, sitting and peeling cotton with the old lady in the village.

Then, after being woven into cloth, it was sent to the dyeing workshop made by Madam Li to be dyed. She had to see the color on the spot.

Because each household does not grow much cotton, it is not a big deal to spend a quarter of an hour every day pulling back cotton bolls and letting children peel cotton.

After these colors are dyed, it looks very bright. Compared with silk with excellent drape, cotton cloth is more skin-friendly, that is to say, it is more comfortable to wear, sweat-absorbing and breathable in summer, and warm when worn inside in winter.

Because they sit and chat together every day, these ladies and maids from the capital can now speak the Gujia village dialect fluently, and they even know which family in the village has just married a wife and which dog has given birth. It can be regarded as completely integrated into this big environment.

Gu Qing pointed to the dried cotton in the yard and said, "Mother Zhang, Mother Li, can you weave cotton into cloth?"

After all, she is a professional, Zhang Momo thought for a while and said, "This cotton is soft and highly absorbent. It should be easy to dye. It should be very good for children's underwear..."

The peak season for picking cotton is in August. During this month, Yang Pei did not have a good rest. He was busy in the fields with the long-term workers every day. It's pitch black.

But among these colors, the color she wanted was missing, so she asked, "Has Mother Li ever dyed bright yellow in the palace?"

Nanny Li hurriedly said: "Of course it has been dyed, but bright yellow is the color used by the imperial court, and the princess's private smudged dyeing will violate the law!"

"December this year, the emperor's 40th birthday, as the princess, I have to offer a congratulatory gift." Gu Qing said, "I can't do this myself, so I can only ask Nanny Li for help."

Nanny Li's face immediately became serious: "The princess just orders."

The congratulatory gift that Gu Qing wanted to send was bedding, plus a set of bright yellow inner clothing, all made of cotton cloth.