Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 302: Goose Tail Feather Fan and Cool Bamboo Mat
After the meal, Zhao Zhen took out the ordinary feather fan that Wu Yong had sent him and said, "Ladies, this is a new goose feather fan made in the workshop. It can be used in the summer. You two can take one to cool off."

They each took one, and Hu Sanniang fanned twice and said, "My husband, the wind you fan is too gentle."

Cheng Wan'er smiled and said, "Sister, this goose feather fan is not as good as a straw fan. Just wave it gently and there will be a cool breeze."

Hu Sanniang said, "I am impatient to fan you so slowly."

Zhao Zhen heard this and took out three first-grade [Goose Tail Feather Fans] and asked Hu Sanniang to try them out. He said, "These three [Goose Tail Feather Fans] are made of first-grade goose tail feathers. Unfortunately, there is not much material, so only four were made. One of them was given to Wu Xuejiu."

Hu Sanniang said, "It is indeed much cooler. Sister, try it too."

Cheng Wan'er took one and tried it: "It's indeed much cooler."

Zhao Zhen said, "Each of you can take one. When you find another feather as good as this, you can make one for Bai Zhi and Cui Lian. By the way, the woodworking workshop has already made a lot of cool bamboo mats. Madam, please have someone bring them and spread them on the bed. If there are any extra ones, such as Master Lin, Jiao Ting, and Ruan Xiaoer, who have families, you can also send a cool mat to them."

After hearing this, Cheng Wan'er nodded in agreement and immediately asked Zhao Ji to go and take a look.

Hu Sanniang said, "Sir, I have been a disciple for the shortest time, so how can I get it first? I will just use an ordinary goose feather fan. If I find a good feather fan in the future, I will take another one."

As she spoke, Hu Sanniang put down the [Goose Tail Feather Fan] in her hand and said, "Sir, I am still short of an assistant in the cavalry. Can I let Sister Hua Baoyan take the position?"

Zhao Zhen heard this and said, "During the trip to Tai'an Prefecture, I saw that she was not the type to stay at home, but Brother Hua Rong was too restrained. I have no objection, but Brother Hua Rong may not agree. But does she want to come to the cavalry?"

Hu Sanniang said, "Sister Hua mentioned this on the way to Tai'an Prefecture. After she came back, she also came to the village to practice with the team twice, and she mentioned this matter again yesterday. Although Sister Hua's martial arts are not as good as mine, her archery skills are first-class, and she can hit seven or eight out of ten shots on horseback. She couldn't tell General Hua, so she came to me. It was difficult for General Hua and I to speak, so I asked you to speak for her."

Zhao Zhen said, "I didn't expect that the younger sister of the Hua family would also learn the archery skills from General Hua. Tomorrow morning, take the female cavalry and follow me to Jingyang Town. I will discuss this with General Hua, but I can't guarantee that it will work."

Hu Sanniang was naturally delighted to hear this. She put down the feather fan in her hand, went down the mountain to gather the cavalry, and went to the South Camp for training.

Zhao Zhen talked with Cheng Wan'er for a while. Then Zhao Ji went to the carpenter's workshop and came back, saying, "My Lord and Madam, the carpenter's workshop has woven hundreds of ordinary mats. Would you like to take them all?"

Zhao Zhen said, "So many have been made? Let's go and take a look." Then he took Cheng Wan'er to the carpenter's workshop.

When Zhao Zhen arrived, Tao Youda, the manager of bamboo craftsmen, was in the workshop. There were more than 30 apprentice bamboo craftsmen in the workshop, and the rattan strips were still being soaked. These bamboo craftsmen were weaving mats here.

Including Tao Youda, there were a total of three highly skilled bamboo craftsmen, and the rest were still apprentices, all of them weaving mats on the ground.

When he saw Zhao Zhen, Tao Youda stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Sir, the finished mats are all in the storehouse. I'll take out a few right away."

As he spoke, he called out the names of four or five apprentices in succession and asked them to go to the storehouse and fetch ten mats.

Zhao Zhen said, "I heard from Zhao Ji that he has woven hundreds of mats. How come he is so fast?" Tao Youda said, "Sir, making a mat is both difficult and easy. It starts with selecting bamboo, breaking it, cutting it, passing it, arranging it, weaving it, trimming it, turning it, and polishing it to make a mat. If we only weave it according to the warp and weft, these apprentices can weave one mat in a day."

"If we need to weave patterns, these apprentices don't have the skills to do it. Only I, Zhang Maojin and Wang Ming, two experienced bamboo craftsmen, can do it. It takes three days to make one mat. Most of these mats are ordinary mats woven by apprentices. With so many people, it's naturally faster. We have only woven nine mats with patterns, and we can finish three more today."

As they were talking, five apprentices brought in ten mats. When Zhao Zhen looked at them, he found that the ten mats looked different. Eight of them were the same as the mats being woven on the ground, and the other two were made of a bunch of bamboo pieces connected together.

Just as Zhao Zhen was about to speak, Cheng Wan'er beside him asked, "Manager Tao, is there anything to say about this mat?"

Tao Youda quickly replied, "Madam, this bamboo mat is made by a carpenter who cuts bamboo into pieces of the same size, drills two rows of holes horizontally and vertically with a hand drill, polishes it, and then uses silk mixed with cow tendon silk to twist it into thin ropes to string them together. This kind of mat is hard and stiff when spread on the bed, and it is not comfortable to sleep on. It is made according to the size of a cross-bed, and only ten of them were made."

"The rest are made of bamboo strips. The green ones are made of green bamboo strips, and the yellow ones are made of yellow bamboo strips. Green bamboo strips are more flexible, so they are better."

As he spoke, he had the bamboo mats spread out so that Cheng Wan'er could take a closer look.

Cheng Wan'er walked forward to take a look, then turned to Zhao Zhen and said, "My dear, look at this one, it's the medicinal herb Angelica dahurica. This one is perfect for Sister Baizhi's room. This one is two little tigers and a fox playing around, they are so cute, put it in my room. Do you have any other designs?"

World Log:

Cool bamboo mat (different types of cool bamboo mat, made of broken bamboo strips, woven by expert craftsmen who select green strips.)
There is a characteristic of the material itself: coolness.

Tao Youda said: "There is also one with lotus and mandarin ducks, one with a mare and her offspring, and the others are in the shape of the Chinese character for happiness, copper coin patterns, and water ripples. The main surface is made of blue bamboo, and the patterns are woven from yellow bamboo."

Zhao Zhen said, "You are so thoughtful. I will give you three ten gold melon seeds each. I see that these ordinary mats also have clear textures, fine and firm. I will also give you one gold melon seed. In the future, you should learn more from the master and strive to be able to weave textured mats as soon as possible."

The apprentices heard this and cheered.

Zhao Zhen continued, "Manager Tao, how many mats can be woven from these bamboos?"

Tao Youda said: "I haven't calculated it carefully, but three or five bamboos can make a mat."

Zhao Zhen nodded, knowing what was going on, and said, "In that case, we should weave more mats while the rattan is still soaking. In addition to this large mat, we should also weave some single mats four or five feet wide, all made of yellow bamboo shoots. I will use them in the army."

Tao Youda heard this and said, "Your Excellency is so kind that ordinary soldiers can enjoy such good things."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "You don't have to be envious. After a while, when there are more of these mats, we will sell them in the shop. You bamboo weavers can take one home."

After hearing this, everyone smiled happily.

(End of this chapter)