Chapter 1128, A Substitute for Cotton

Translator: Silavin

 

Sha Lan led the Totem Warriors deep into the forest to search for materials. Every one of them searched with great care, afraid of missing something.

 

It had been somewhere around eight or nine in the morning when they set out. They didn’t turn back until the Sun was going down in the evening.

 

Everyone had gathered a great deal. In the end, all of it was brought together by Sha Lan and taken to the Yong’an Building.

 

*Step, step, step…*

 

“Shaman, I’m back.” Sha Lan set a large basket of materials on the table and wiped the sweat from her brow.

 

She still felt a small flutter of embarrassment whenever she faced Su Bai now. The events of the morning came back to her at once.

 

Sha Lan’s memory was especially sharp, and so the matter was not going to leave her anytime soon.

 

“You’ve all worked hard. With this many different materials gathered, there ought to be something useful among them.” Su Bai said encouragingly.

 

He was not entirely certain, but he needed to offer the girl some encouragement, so he said it all the same.

 

“Shaman, please have a look and see if anything is suitable. If not, we can go again tomorrow.” Sha Lan said with a smile.

 

She had come to feel a particular satisfaction in being useful, whatever the task, large or small.

 

“Let me take a look.” Su Bai smiled and placed the Night Glow Insect lamp beside the table.

 

Ever since the Yong’an Building had been fitted with lamps made from Night Glow Insects, the building cast a strong, steady light at night, much like the incandescent bulbs from the modern world.

 

People outside always marvelled at the light coming from inside the Yong’an Building. It was a brightness they had never seen in the dark before.

 

From time to time, they would glimpse the same light in the Chieftain’s quarters, or in the rooms of other Totem Warriors.

 

Whenever they did, they knew this was another of the Shaman’s new inventions, and they began looking forward to the day it might appear in the Central Market.

 

By now, they had grown quite perceptive about this. The moment something strange appeared that defied explanation, it had to have come from the Shaman.

 

They believed firmly that this was a wisdom that belonged to the Shaman alone, and their reverence for him deepened a little more each time.

 

Su Bai spread out everything the Totem Warriors had gathered, laying it all flat across the table, and began examining each item in turn.

 

He worked hard to reach back into his memory, trying to see if any of these plants connected to something he had known in the modern world.

 

After some time, it was clear none of them did. Everything on the table was particular to this Primitive Era.

 

He could only examine each plant for their properties. He looked at the root structure to see if it could be woven into fabric, and checked the buds to see whether there was anything like cotton fibre inside.

 

It was a disappointing survey of what had been brought though. Nothing suitable was found. He was close to giving up when he happened to notice one plant bud that had not yet been opened.

 

He placed all his remaining hope on that single bud, and slowly prised it apart.

 

The moment it opened, what was inside burst out like something under pressure, though it unfurled in springs rather than fragments. Each one was a slender coil, uncannily similar to a cotton bud.

 

Su Bai picked up one of the little coils and felt the texture between his fingers. It was remarkably soft.

 

“Hmm… this seems promising.” Su Bai said with a low sound of consideration. He continued, “Though I don’t know yet whether this can be spun into thread. If it can, it might work as a fabric.”

 

“Really, Shaman?” Sha Lan had been watching the whole time from the side.

 

She had watched through to the end without sensing that anything had satisfied him. This one thing, tucked inside a bud, was the first to bring a smile to his face.

 

“Worth a try. This is somewhat similar to kapok fibre, and also very much like cotton, but denser and finer than either. It could be excellent material.” Su Bai was not entirely sure.

 

He simply felt that the texture of it was unusually pleasant. It had the quality of silk, the way it slipped through his fingers the moment he pressed them together.

 

He had originally thought to use cotton as the fabric for the fitted undergarments, but that would be far too extravagant.

 

And besides, the Flame Dragon Tribe had no actual cotton right now. The System had yet to produce cotton seeds. The most they had was Kapok Fruit, which had something akin to cotton.

 

Su Bai had sent Totem Warriors out into the forest and the Hunting Ground to search, and found none.

 

He had also considered using fibre from Kapok Fruit at one point, but it was a little too coarse. The fabric made from it would likely not be that comfortable.

 

His thinking had been that if there was truly no other option, he would use kapok fibre and make do with it.

 

But now that he thought about it, he had once considered using wool as well, only to set that idea aside too, on account of how scarce it was.

 

“Alright. Tomorrow I’ll have the people at the workshop spin this into a fabric.” Sha Lan said at once.

 

The machinery at the workshop had been through several generations of upgrades, every one of them built from diagrams Su Bai had drawn and handed to the carpenters.

 

The speed of weaving now was far greater than before. Several dozen bolts of fabric could be produced in a single day.

 

Even if another Tribe required great quantities of fabric, the Flame Dragon Tribe could meet the demand without difficulty.

 

“Then take this diagram to them, and tell them to send the fabric directly over once it’s ready.” Su Bai passed over the completed diagram.

 

“Understood.” Sha Lan received it with both hands.

 

“Wait, wait, wait. I nearly forgot something important. You’ll need this diagram as well.” Su Bai held out the diagram for the men’s fitted undergarment.

 

He had spent the whole day focused on the design of the women’s fitted undergarment and on finding suitable materials, and had completely forgotten the men’s design he had drawn at the very start.

 

“Shaman, will these be made from the same plant we found today?” Sha Lan asked.

 

“Yes. If the fabric produced from today’s find turns out to be sufficiently soft, we’ll use it for both.” Su Bai nodded.

 

“Understood.” Sha Lan flicked her cat tail.

 

“Is there much of this plant in the forest? Do you know what it’s called?” Su Bai asked.

 

“We don’t know what it’s called either. We found it quite far from the Tribe. There’s an entire field of them out there.” Sha Lan shook her head.

 

“If that’s the case, there ought to be plenty of this material available. Let’s hope it is actually usable.” Su Bai said calmly.

 

All his hopes were resting on this plant now. He hoped it could take the place of cotton.

 

“Shaman, should we bring some back to cultivate?” Sha Lan asked.

 

“No need to rush. Have the workshop spin it into fabric first, and we’ll take it from there.” Su Bai waved his hand.

 

There was no point in getting ahead of himself. If this plant turned out to be unsuitable, it would all have been for nothing.

 

“Understood.” Sha Lan’s clear voice answered.

 

“One last question. Is this plant within the area enclosed by our city walls?” Su Bai asked.

 

His thinking was that if the plants were already within the walls, there was no need to cultivate them separately. They could be left to grow on their own, and they could go over to collect it in time.

 

“They’re within, Shaman.” Sha Lan had barely finished saying it before she understood exactly what he meant.

 

“Alright, go.” Su Bai smiled.

 

“Understood.” Sha Lan gathered up the materials and headed off to the workshop.