Chapter 964, Refinement of New Products

Translator: Silavin

 

Su Bai brought Yu Ying to the Research Department, preparing to inspect the latest researched products.

 

Ever since he became the Tribe’s Shaman, he had to think of various methods to improve their quality of life. After all, the living environment of the primitive era was harsh. Since he could not change the environment of the Wilderness, he would change the quality of life instead.

 

“Shaman!” Jue immediately came forward to greet him.

 

He was the person in charge of the Research Department, already over thirty years old, and could be considered a veteran of the Tribe.

 

“How is the curtain development I asked you to work on?” Su Bai asked.

 

The curtains used at the Yong’an Building were System rewards. They were excellent in blocking light and texture.

 

But it would not do if only he used them. Curtains were a necessity if one had windows. Once the rainy season arrived, it would rain continuously, and the lighting would certainly be poor.

 

If the windows were opened, water vapour would drift in together, and people would easily fall ill. But closing the windows would cause it to be stuffy, with no air circulation indoors.

 

Summer was the same. Although opening windows would be cool, one would also have to endure the torture of direct sunlight, making the room even warmer. Using tree leaves to block the sunlight was a good idea, but at the same time no wind could blow in, and the room would be equally stuffy.

 

At this time, curtains were the best regulator. As long as there were curtains in front of the windows, many difficult problems could be solved.

 

“Shaman, we’re working hard on development. We’ve already developed several samples. Would you like to look at them?” Jue said respectfully.

 

“Let me have a look,” Su Bai instructed.

 

Since the Research Department’s establishment, it has been developing many new products.

 

Of course, the development materials for these new things were all provided by Su Bai. Otherwise, people of the primitive era would not understand these matters.

 

“Yes.” Jue immediately had the apprentices bring over the curtain samples they had made these past few days.

 

Since they were still in the experimental phase, the curtains wouldn’t be made directly, but only rough samples instead.

 

Jue passed over several small curtain samples, saying respectfully, “Shaman, please see if there’s anywhere that needs improvement.”

 

He had truly devoted himself to this. Ever since receiving the task of developing curtains, he had been busy with it constantly.

 

Su Bai picked up a greyish-brown curtain sample to examine. Its size fit just right in his palm.

 

As soon as he took it, he frowned and asked, “This uses the same material as linen, doesn’t it?”

 

The feel of this small curtain was too familiar. It was the same as the linen he had overseen development of when he first took over the Tribe.

 

“Yes, Shaman.” Seeing Su Bai frown, Jue began sweating and immediately explained, “We wanted to try various different approaches, so we also selected linen material to test it out.”

 

He was extremely regretful now. Never mind how young the Shaman was, that sense of dignity radiating from within him was truly daunting. Not to mention the Shaman was frowning, showing he must be angry.

 

“It’s fine. Using linen for curtains is a bit extravagant, and many people can’t afford to exchange for curtains made of linen.” Su Bai put down that curtain sample and continued, “As for other Tribes, we definitely can’t let them exchange for these curtains.”

 

“Shaman, aren’t they things that can be used to exchange for many things? Why not let other Tribes exchange for them?” Yu Ying asked curiously.

 

“Silly girl, curtains need a lot of material. If we really used linen to make curtains, we’d waste a lot of linen.”

 

Sha Lan stepped forward and continued, “Also, after those people exchange for them, they may not actually use them as curtains. It we want to keep it affordable, wouldn’t that just be making things cheap for those people?”

 

“I see. Then linen absolutely cannot be used for curtains.” Yu Ying said immediately.

 

“I understand. I’ve noted everything down and will continue developing suitable materials for making curtains.” Jue responded at once.

 

Seeing that the Shaman was not angry but was picking up the second curtain sample to examine, he breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“This material is good at blocking out light, but it’s a bit hard. It’s uncomfortable to hold in hand. How can wind possibly still enter the room?”

 

Clearly, Su Bai was also unsatisfied with the second curtain sample. The texture was very much like randomly washed and dried socks, hard and completely rigid.

 

“Shaman, we also feel this one isn’t suitable. It’s indeed too hard. It might even injure others.” Jue laughed awkwardly. When this curtain was developed, he had also made such self-deprecating remarks.

 

Su Bai did not continue to speak, only nodded faintly and picked up the third curtain to examine.

 

He nodded thoughtfully and said, “Although this curtain’s softness is good, it is too effective in blocking out light.”

 

Su Bai held the curtain up towards the ceiling for quite a while, discovering it completely blocked out the sunlight above.

 

“This is also our problem. After the lesson from the second one, we wanted to focus on softness, but who knew…” Jue lowered his head in embarrassment.

 

Su Bai looked at the last remaining curtain sample. After picking it up and examining it for a while, he also shook his head, saying, “This one is too heavy. You must have used quite a lot of material, right?”

 

Curtains were not luxury goods to begin with. They were just everyday items. If the materials and production costs were too high, there was no need for them.

 

People in the Tribe now used labour value to exchange for food, items and so forth. If curtains required very high labour value when launched, probably no one would be willing to exchange for them.

 

“Yes. These several curtains are all very unsatisfactory. We’re still continuing development and will definitely integrate the advantages of these samples in production.” Jue said immediately.

 

He had already broken out in cold sweat, his entire person quite tense.

 

“You can try going to the forest to find more materials. There are many plants in the forest. Maybe some plant fibres would work better,” Su Bai reminded.

 

He did not want the Research Department’s people to be too rigid. They needed to learn to utilise everything around them.

 

Rather than continuously consuming what already existed within the Tribe, when there were no leads, they should innovate even more.

 

“Thank you for the reminder, Shaman. I’ll take people into the forest to start looking for different materials.” Jue said, suddenly enlightened.

 

He had always relied too much on the Shaman, temporarily forgetting about that forest they had always depended on for survival.

 

That forest had nourished generation after generation. Many of the Tribe’s things almost all came from the forest.

 

“Pay more attention to plants with large leaves. If they feel light and have good flexibility, you can bring them back to try,” Su Bai instructed.

 

Curtains for Primitive Tribes could only rely on plant fibres to create. Weaving several types together to see the effect.

 

Materials like nylon and polyester from Earth did not exist here. They could only use local materials.

 

“Understood. I’ve noted it all down,” Jue said immediately.

 

The apprentices beside him also nodded repeatedly, thinking that listening to the Shaman speak was truly beneficial.