Section 031 The First Garment Is Completed

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It was only after the two war wolves had completely vanished into the dense forest that Li Zhan and the four villagers stepped out of the ship design room. Li Zhan walked straight to the remaining dead deer, shaking his head and murmuring repeatedly, “Strange, so strange... How could these two war wolves appear here? And both are injured. It doesn’t look like they belong to that group of five. Where did they come from, and where are they going?”

According to the official website, war wolves are found in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze. Danyang is in the lower reaches, not part of their territory. Yet, since yesterday morning, Li Zhan had already seen seven war wolves in succession.

What was going on? Could the official data be wrong?

Li Zhan couldn’t figure it out.

When he returned to the tribe, the cotton yarn had already been dyed—a total of twenty-five bundles. Ruoyan, with the help of a female villager, dehydrated the dyed yarn and hung it on the drying rods. Then, they soaked another five bundles of cotton yarn in each dye vat.

Under the dyeing shed, four looms had already been set up. Wang Hui and Little Feng were working faster and faster. All four looms were operating, with Zhou Min and three other female villagers busy at the machines. Zhou Min had already finished weaving four bundles of yarn; just one more was needed to make a full bolt of cloth. The other three women each progressed at their own pace, their hands fluttering over the looms like butterflies dancing among flowers.

The number of spinning workers had increased from two to four; they had moved the spinning wheels under the dyeing shed, too. As soon as they received freshly picked cotton from the cotton farmers, they began spinning it into yarn.

The cotton fields continued to expand steadily—even two plots had been planted beyond the wooden fence. The number of cotton farmers had grown from seven to ten, all selected from the women of the village. Compared to the men, the women were more meticulous and nimble-fingered, which made Li Zhan feel at ease entrusting them with this work.

The berry fields remained at two mu, tended with care by two fruit growers. The fruit was larger and plumper than before. Li Zhan intended to use pruning and grafting to produce even tastier berries for the villagers but had no plans to make them a commodity. The clothing project already demanded all his energy and focus; for now, he had no attention to spare for other ventures.

In the afternoon, Zhou Min finished weaving the first bolt of cotton cloth—the very first for the Yanhuang Tribe. She then loaded blue-dyed yarn into the loom to begin weaving colored fabric. Ruoyan laid the finished cloth on the wooden table, measured out narrow strips over a foot wide, cut them, and set them aside. Soon after, the fifth loom was completed; Wang Hui and Little Feng had fulfilled Li Zhan’s earlier request and could finally slow their work pace a bit. With the help of several villagers, they moved the new loom under the dyeing shed and set it up. Wang Hui, after hesitating beside Li Zhan for a long while, finally spoke up:

“Chief, tomorrow... I’d like to go to Danyang County.”

“Oh?” Li Zhan turned to him with a puzzled look.

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“To Danyang County? What business do you have?”

Danyang County was more than thirty li from the Yanhuang Tribe. For Wang Hui to go, he would have to travel by boat. Since Wang Hui lacked fishing and hunting skills and didn’t know how to steer a boat, a fisherman would have to accompany him.

Scratching his head, Wang Hui explained, “I want to see my master and also learn more about the craft of forging weapons.”

Li Zhan felt relieved at this and laughed. “Since that’s the case, starting tomorrow, as long as the tribe doesn’t have any urgent manufacturing tasks, you can go to your master’s place to study. Now that we have as many looms as we need, Little Feng can manage the work for the time being. Remember to learn as much as you can. When the tribe establishes the joint workshop in the future, we’ll be depending on you to take the lead.”

Wang Hui, delighted not only by Li Zhan’s permission but also by the prospect of long-term study with his master, replied enthusiastically, “Rest assured, Chief! I will not let you down and will do my best to learn everything I can.”

...

The next day, Li Zhan instructed Zhang Chong to ferry Wang Hui to Danyang Town by boat. Before they left, they loaded some choice and medium-grade raw fish fillets—those that didn’t make the cut for premium quality—into the cabin. (Meat and fish products are graded: inferior, medium, superior, premium.) Zhang Chong would sell these at the Danyang market and return with Wang Hui in the evening. Barring special circumstances, this would become a daily routine.

That evening, Zhang Chong and Wang Hui returned from Danyang County, both visibly excited. Wang Hui had gained more experience in swordsmithing and even unlocked a “Ordnance” branch skill. Zhang Chong, on the other hand, had sold all the fish fillets at the market, bringing back two gold and thirty-five copper coins for the tribe.

At the same time, Zhou Min and four female villagers had woven three bolts of blue cotton fabric. Ruoyan took one, measured Zhou Min’s bust, waist, and height, and, surrounded by the curious villagers, began cutting the fabric according to the measurements. After cutting, she threaded blue cotton yarn into a sewing needle and began stitching the pieces together.

The entire process took more than two hours. Finally, to the astonishment of all, the Yanhuang Tribe’s very first garment was completed—a women’s dress, primarily blue, with white trim at the cuffs and hem, elegant and fresh in its simplicity.

When the dress was handed to her, Zhou Min was so delighted she nearly cried out, pressing her hands to her mouth. With Li Zhan and Ruoyan’s encouragement, she hurried back to her house, and soon reappeared in her new outfit, cheeks flushed with excitement and shyness. Surrounded by villagers in their dull yellow hemp garments, Zhou Min’s blue cotton dress was strikingly bright and beautiful.

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The villagers gazed at Zhou Min’s new dress with envy, exclaiming one after another—

“Amazing! If I could wear a new dress like that just once before I die, I’d be satisfied!”

“How beautiful! When will I get to wear one too?”

“It’s not just pretty, it’s got better defense too—absolutely perfect!”

...

Listening to the villagers’ chatter, Li Zhan felt a great joy in his heart. Not only the villagers, but even he envied Zhou Min for being the first to wear a new garment. Compared to his own and the others’ coarse yellow hemp clothes—differing only in slightly finer craftsmanship—her cotton dress was like something from heaven, utterly beyond compare.

Amid his happiness, Li Zhan checked Zhou Min’s attributes. Sure enough, her “armor” defense had increased from zero to two—just as the official website described: ordinary cotton clothing provided two points of defense.

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Notes:

1 Loom: Research cost—350 wood, 120 food. Production cost—80 wood. As Wang Hui has intermediate crafting skills, the research and production costs are slightly reduced.

2 Joint Workshop: Formerly known as the “Artisan Workshop” (Old Wu, please change the name; this one sounds better). Feudal era building, requires 500 wood, 50 stone, and 70 gold. As the era advances, more types of craftsmen can be accommodated in the workshop.