Chapter 452: M45i^SsRnUiitiit_i
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
If Bai Wutong had not ascended the throne and become the Great Empress, the southern frontier would still be the territory of the Ling Kingdom. They could have bought a large amount of cotton from the Ling Kingdom.
But now, it was clearly impossible to trade with the Ling Kingdom.
They had planted a lot of wisteria, but the linen and clothes made of wisteria were far inferior to the comfort of cotton. With poor craftsmanship, it was even rough to wear them.
The increase in the price of wool was caused by the situation where the supply could not meet the demand. Forcefully suppressing the price would cause dissatisfaction among the Syrians.
However, blindly accommodating their prices would also keep the price of cotton high. The commoners could no longer afford low-cost and comfortable cloth.
It is time to both regulate market prices and market demand.
Actually, cloth made of cotton and wool and silk was not cheap compared to the price of linen. In modern times, a short-sleeved shirt marked with 99% pure cotton was often very expensive.
Everyone was used to it. Synthetic fibers and other artificially synthesized materials were popular in the city.
Synthetic fiber was the most common man-made material extracted from petroleum. It was also called brocade, nitrile, and so on depending on the material type.
It was a compound that had been transformed into liquid by oil refinery processing and then compressed to form synthetic fibers. These fibers had many advantages, such as anti-UV, preventing clothes piling, resistance to wear, and so on. It made up for the shortcomings of natural fibers.
Therefore, many modern clothes labeled with pure cotton products had actually added a lot of synthetic fibers.
With the shortage of cotton, Bai Wutong immediately thought of petroleum as a subst.i.tute for raw materials.
Previously, a batch of petroleum had been transported over. A portion of it had been extracted from fuel, and the waste had been made into asphalt. There was still some left.
Bai Wutong thought for a long time. In any case, since they had already gotten to this point, it was not too surprising to use petroleum to make clothes.
She got someone to tear the high-temperature burning of the oil waste into a filament and found another big shot in the research lab, Hai Dongli.
Hai Dongli was a mute. Before Bai Wutong discovered his talent, he had always liked to fiddle with strange things.
Everyone thought that he was a lunatic. Only Bai Wutong, who had seen the flying mold he had made, said that he was a genius and recruited him into the research inst.i.tute.
Hai Dongli was very grateful for Bai Wutong’s recognition of him and was very satisfied with the environment of the research inst.i.tute. He stayed in the research lab every day and often forgot to eat.
People gave him nicknames, like big bee, the kind that wanted to ascend to the heavens all day long.
After Bai Wutong found out, she specially instructed someone to be his a.s.sistant and take care of his food and daily life.
He was even more grateful to Bai Wutong. As long as Bai Wutong needed something, he would do his best to research it. He even explored the prototype of an engine under Bai Wutong’s guidance and could skip the steam engine era.
When Bai Wutong suddenly looked for him, Hai Dongli’s sloppy beard could even be used as a broom. Afraid that his smell would affect Bai Wutong, he quickly washed up and tidied up before meeting Bai Wutong.
Hai Dongli could not speak. But his eyes were especially lively and filled with wisdom.
Bai Wutong went straight to the point and placed the oil waste that had been torn into shreds in front of him. “I think this material can replace cotton and become the main fabric for daily use. What do you think?”
Bai Wutong had extraordinary courage, intelligence, and an unfathomable mysterious aura. Before Hai Dongli could pick up the oil waste, he felt that Bai Wutong was not asking a question, but making a statement.
He tugged at the pieces of the petroleum waste, sniffed under his nose again, and felt that his previous thought had been wrong.
The oil waste that smelled so bad was black and hard. How could it be made into a soft material that could replace cotton?
Hai Dongli couldn’t make any promises. He gestured with his hand. “I can try.”
It was impossible for Bai Wutong to let him research on it like a headless fly. If he didn’t have a rough direction, she did not know how long it would take him to master the real technology.
Bai Wutong handed him the old blueprint. “This is the metal forging and purification method I saw in an ancient book. I think you should be able to use it.”
Although it was only a rough and simplified hint, Bai Wutong believed that if he was given a little time, it would not be too far for synthetic fiber to become popularized.
Hai Dongli took Bai Wutong’s blueprint and looked at it. It was the process of transforming oil into a certain substance and condensing it into some advanced product like resin. It was the process of spraying out silk threads through compression. However, it was drawn in a different form.
This process looked quite simple, but it was unknown if it was simple to operate.
Hai Dongli took the blueprint and gestured at Bai Wutong again. “I’ll definitely do my best.”
Bai Wutong nodded. “I’ll wait for your good news.”
Hai Dongli kowtowed and left the study.
Bai Wutong looked out of the window at the falling leaves. The process of making the fiber was actually not difficult. What was difficult was to ma.s.s produce the equipment to circulate the fiber.
This required him to understood many principles. She hoped that it would go smoothly. Otherwise, she would have more work to do when the child was born.
When Hai Dongli returned to the research lab, many people brought him a large amount of oil.
The others in the research lab thought that he had created something again and obtained Bai Wutong’s recognition as a reward.
They came over to watch the commotion, but the entire room smelled of oil. They wanted to ask him what he was doing with the oil, but they remembered that he couldn’t speak, so they swallowed their words.
Oil was considered a flammable and explosive dangerous product. Bai Wutong also opened up a separate venue for Hai Dongli in the backyard of the research room for him to experiment.
Hai Dongli alone already had many experimental areas. Now, there was another one. Everyone was extremely envious.
Hai Dongli was indifferent to other people’s curiosity. He was focused on his experiment to refine the fiber.
He repeated the steps on the blueprint and quickly produced the spinning silk fluid. However, the color and feel of the spinning silk fluid were unsatisfactory. Even the clothes made from bark were softer than this.
Hai Dongli also did a lot of research on the spinning fluid and found a textile worker to get inspiration from him.
He also flipped through all kinds of books that might be relevant. Finally, in the materials that Bai Wutong had handed over to everyone to make white paper, he found the relevant mixing, filtering, defoaming, and other processes to overcome the spinning fluid.
After a while, he finally obtained the snow-white spinning silk.
During this period, he even made a silk extractor and quickly gathered all the spinning silk so that it was easier for the female workers to use it directly.
When the female worker produced the first batch of synthetic fiber fabric overnight, Hai Dongli touched the soft silk-like fabric and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
He had succeeded. He had used the black oil to develop the fabric that the Great Empress wanted to replace cotton.
Hai Dongli danced excitedly. The others in the research room walked in and did not look at the cloth in his hand.. Instead, they walked towards a few dark containers in the field and asked, “Is this a new product you’re researching?”