Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Tongan County Government Office, afternoon.

The backyard of the county government office.

Mr. Qiao strung the spun cotton threads onto the warp pieces one by one, and then placed the warp pieces in the loom.

The step of threading the warp must be completed extremely carefully, requiring both eyesight and craftsmanship.

If Shen Zheng were asked to thread the cotton threads into the small holes on the bamboo strips, her hands would have to shake for a long time before she could get it right.

She and Yu Zhengqing stood aside and watched carefully, not daring to say a word, for fear of disturbing Mr. Qiao and causing all his previous efforts to go to waste.

Old Qiao looked at the cotton threads and said with some dissatisfaction:

"We have spun this cotton thread thicker. If we can wash and dry it, the cotton cloth will be softer. Also, if we can find some plants like blue grass to dye the cotton thread, the cloth will look even better!"

Yu Zhengqing was dazzled by the spinning just now. Now, when he heard that Mr. Qiao wanted to starch, wash and color the yarn, he admired him even more.

"Master Qiao, do you know how to wash cotton thread and dye it?"

Of course, the colors of cotton, linen, silk and satin are slightly different. Although they are all fabrics, a slight difference can make a huge difference.

Of course, Mr. Qiao couldn't say that he saw it in the "instruction manual" of the textile machine, so he could only say: "I learned it on the spot when I was making the textile machine."

Yu Zhengqing nodded in understanding, "Master Qiao is truly amazing."

This compliment made Old Qiao feel very embarrassed. He coughed lightly and said, "Everything is almost ready. Yu boy, come and get the shuttle. My two lords, I'm going to start!"

After he finished speaking, he sat down at the weaving position in front of the loom and handed the wooden shuttle to Cheng Yu.

"When the old man asks you to shuttle later, you should aim at both ends, understand!"

Cheng Yu was a little nervous. He nodded heavily to Mr. Qiao and stood at the shuttle position with the shuttle threaded on it.

Not only was this his first time weaving, but the two adults were watching him, so he didn't dare to relax at all.

He was also involved in the manufacturing of this textile machine. If it succeeded today, he knew that he would have a broader path in the future.

Shen Zheng and Yu Zhengqing stood up straight, staring at the warp threads being pulled on the loom.

Old Qiao took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Start weaving!"

As soon as he stepped on the ground with his feet, the loom started to make sounds, and the rhythm of each sound was consistent with Mr. Qiao's movements.

Shen Zheng and Yu Zhengqing both subconsciously stopped breathing.

To Shen Zheng, this sound was an ancient and elegant chant, the wisdom accumulated and passed down for thousands of years in her time.

After Mr. Qiao stepped on it twice, he shouted to Cheng Yu, "Shuttle!"

Cheng Yu threw the shuttle in his hand, and the shuttle passed through the stretched warp. Old Qiao stepped twice again, making the warp and weft on the loom intertwined.

At this moment, the four people present were staring intently at the place where the shuttle passed.

Did it work...

When the loom returned to its position, the warp thread underneath was slowly revealed. In Shen Zheng's eyes, this scene seemed to be slowed down countless times as if in slow motion.

Cheng Yu, who was closest to the scene, jumped up immediately after seeing it clearly.

He could hardly hold the shuttle in his hand and shouted, "It's done, it's done, Master Shen, we've done it!"

Shen Zheng and Yu Zhengqing's hearts trembled. They were standing a little far away and the view was a little unclear. After hearing what Cheng Yu said, they hurried forward to check.

I saw that at the place where the warp thread had just been passed by the shuttle, a small piece of cloth had been woven. It was no longer a warp thread in one direction, but a piece of cotton cloth closely connected with the weft thread!

Shen Zheng suppressed the trembling in her heart and looked at the piece of cotton cloth carefully.

The length of the first piece of cotton cloth is just over one millimeter, not even as long as half a grain of rice, and it cannot be seen unless you look closely.

But is this just a small piece of cotton? Of course not!

It’s a big step for her and Tongan County!

"Hahahahaha, good! Good! Good! Cotton cloth! Hahahaha, we in the Great Zhou now have cotton cloth! County Magistrate Shen, it's all thanks to you! Hahahaha!"

Yu Zhengqing was so excited that he was a little incoherent. At that moment, he had too many thoughts in his mind.

He did not expect that the first textile machine capable of weaving cotton cloth and the first piece of cotton cloth in his Great Zhou Dynasty would actually be born in Tong'an County of Liuyang Prefecture.

How can other states envy them?

How will His Majesty react if he finds out?

No, no, no, the most important thing is that people can really wear cheap and comfortable clothes!

Nowadays, there are large areas in the western part of Da Zhou where cotton is grown. Cotton is not very valuable, so they don’t need to grow it, they just need to pick it.

No! Not just the western part of Da Zhou!

There are also nomadic tribes who also grow cotton.

When Yu Zhengqing thought of those nomadic tribes, he felt as sick as if he had eaten a fly.

Those scoundrels did not dare to go to war with the Great Zhou, and only dared to come to the border of the Great Zhou every winter to harass and take advantage of the situation.

To say that they committed arson, murder, looting and all sorts of evil is not entirely true.

It's like a toad sitting on your instep. It won't bite you, but it's disgusting. Today it will rush over to steal your food, and tomorrow it will rush over to steal your clothes.

Over time, the residents of the border of his Great Zhou moved away one after another.

It’s not that his Great Zhou army is afraid of trouble and can’t afford to provoke, but those nomadic tribes are like cunning rabbits with three burrows.

Those scoundrels are not like the people of the Great Zhou, who love home! They always need to have their own house to feel at ease.

Those scoundrels would run around with a tent, and wherever they went, that became their home.

How should the Great Zhou respond? They couldn't just chase them around the grasslands every day, could they?

But now they can make cotton cloth. Firstly, they can purchase cotton from nomadic tribes at a very low price, and secondly, they can sell the woven cotton clothes back to them.

Now the disgusting one has become Da Zhou!

The cotton is of little use to them, so should they sell it to Da Zhou? They must sell it if they have money!

Clothes made of cotton are comfortable and affordable, will they buy them?

What? You don't want to buy it but want to rob it? Then it depends on whether the tens of thousands of border troops of the Great Zhou agree or not!

Thinking of this, Yu Zhengqing couldn't help laughing out loud. How come County Magistrate Shen happened to come to his Liuyang Prefecture to take up the post?

Shen Zheng felt uneasy at his fatherly look and coughed lightly, "Master Yu, Old Qiao needs to continue weaving."

Yu Zhengqing came back to his senses and explained for himself: "I am just too happy, Mr. Qiao, please continue."

Old Qiao nodded and started spinning the loom again with a creaking sound.

After completing this most important first step, Old Qiao and Cheng Yu began to weave the cloth easily without any pressure.

The two of them cooperated tacitly, one stepped and one threw, and in just a few moments they had woven an inch of cotton cloth.

Yu Zhengqing looked at the cotton cloth, feeling a lot of emotions in his heart.

He turned around and whispered to Shen Zheng: "County Magistrate Shen, where did you get this cotton, and how much did the seller pay for it?"

"Your Excellency, this cotton was purchased by a merchant from the county. He also asked a friend to help him buy it when he went to Liuyang Prefecture to purchase goods. It costs 20 wen per pound."

Shen Zheng recalled what Hu Likai said when he handed the cotton to her.