Chapter 123: 123. The Master Craftsman is also Flustered

Shanlin Town.

Over the past two days, Luoning had already held a mobilization meeting for the craftsmen who came from Shanlin Town, letting them understand their respective divisions of labor.

The Blacksmith and the blacksmith apprentices were busy manufacturing plowshares and farm tools, and during this time, they also had to instruct the masons to build a new Blacksmith Shop;

Some of the carpenters were arranged to make the Plow Body of the Curved Plow, while others were put into the Ironwood Workshop to start fulfilling the orders for Wushan Castle;

The masons were put into the construction work of new houses, and so on.

At the same time, in order to allow the residents to safely survive this winter, Luoning specifically permitted all residents in the town to fell trees along the area south of Shanlin Town, north to Qingzhu Village, and around the Tie-wood Forest.

All obtained branches, trunks, and even leaves belonged entirely to the feller, no longer requiring them to purchase felling rights from the lord as before.

For a time, the entire Shanlin Town entered an era of large-scale construction.

"My Lord, I visited Kalesi's Blacksmith Shop these past two days and found the bellows you designed to be very interesting."

Master Craftsman Dan followed behind Luoning, walking through the Outer Castle of Wushan Castle, not knowing where Luoning was taking him.

But this was not important; he had studied the bellows yesterday, and although the structure was simple, there were exquisite points in the design. He felt increasingly curious about Luoning; this young noble had many ideas!

"Those are just small gadgets."

Although Luoning said so with his mouth, he still felt a little smug inside; after all, this thing came entirely from his own hands.

"Mr. Dan, the thing I want you to help me make today is extremely difficult, but if it is made well, it will absolutely be an unprecedented advancement!"

Luoning turned to look at the other party, emphasizing specifically: "If it can really be built, it would not be an exaggeration for outsiders to honor you as a Grand Master Craftsman."

Dan was completely captivated by this title of "Grand Master Craftsman"; he had no other pursuits in his life, only this one remained.

Hearing Luoning speak so impressively, he felt as anxious as an ant on a hot pan inside, very much wanting to know what Luoning needed him to do.

However, he appeared quite steady and was not impatient.

"My Lord, please do not be so polite to me. Like those other craftsmen, I came to Shanlin Town to serve you. If you have any arrangements, please tell me; if you have any requirements, please mention them to me. I will definitely do my utmost!"

The two walked and talked, and soon arrived at a room on the inner side of the west side of the Outer Castle.

This was the place where Tangmu's mother, Mrs. Lia, lived and worked; it was a tailor shop.

The three tailor apprentices who came from Wushan City were arranged here.

"Lord of the Manor, you have come!"

Lia saw them from afar and came out to greet them, feeling somewhat restrained. She knew her son was not dead, but was just staying by the lord's side in the guise of Tangmu.

Although at the very beginning this mother and son were very worried about Luoning's attitude and lived every day in fear, ever since Tangmu was arranged to be made a regular after returning from Muma City last time, this worry of theirs had completely turned into respect and gratitude toward the lord.

Therefore, Lia was particularly serious about the things Luoning specifically entrusted to her.

"Mrs. Lia, how are the silkworm cocoons I gave you before I left coming along?"

When Luoning left Shanlin Town for Wushan Castle last month, he had handed a hand-cranked Spinning Wheel and several large baskets of silkworm cocoons to Lia, and had taught her how to reel silk and fluff cotton.

"My Lord, it is already finished!"

As Lia said this, she led Luoning into the inner room, and Luoning signaled for Dan to follow as well.

Arriving inside the room, Lia took out the several dozen skeins of silk that had already been reeled, "My Lord, this is the silk thread made according to the method you provided."

"This is?"

Master Craftsman Dan's eyes widened, looking incredulously at the large coil of silk thread Luoning had taken into his hands.

"Is this wool thread?"

He subconsciously assumed, but soon shook his head, "No, this is not wool! Wool is not this fine, nor could it possibly be this white and bright!"

Dan looked at Luoning with eyes full of confusion; he really wanted to know the answer.

Luoning held this strand of silk thread before his eyes to observe it carefully, and after Along while, he nodded, "Lia, you are worthy of being the most famous tailor in town, meticulous and skillful. I am very satisfied with this batch of silk thread!"

The tailors here did not just cut and make clothes; they also involved the production of Linen Cloth, the spinning of wool, dyeing, and other work, which is why Luoning entrusted the matter of silk to Lia.

"Many thanks for your praise, My Lord!"

Luoning turned to Dan with the bundle of silk thread, and the latter could not help but stand straight, appearing to listen earnestly.

"Master Craftsman Dan, this is a special kind of silk thread I discovered. Before it is made public, please keep it a secret for me."

Dan felt shocked; this young lord was even more mysterious.

"Please rest assured, My Lord, I will absolutely not say a word about this to anyone else!"

Luoning nodded slowly, then stated the purpose for having the other party come over.

"The looms we currently use for weaving are either the Heavy Hammer Loom or the Waist Loom, but for me, the efficiency of both is too low. What I need you to do for me now is to design a type of loom that can significantly increase weaving efficiency!"

Huh?

Dan was somewhat stunned; he never expected that Luoning had brought him here for this matter.

"A loom?"

He was somewhat hesitant, "My Lord, the loom you speak of... what exactly is it?"

Dan was a bit confused at this moment; he had no concept of these things at all.

"Weaving is the interlacing of warp threads and weft threads to create fabric. Whether it is the Heavy Hammer Loom, the Waist Loom, or the loom I am talking about, it is all the same."

Luoning began to explain, "But the cloth woven by the first two is relatively coarse, especially the Heavy Hammer Loom; we cannot use it to weave fine silk threads like this."

"Later, you can let Lia take you to look closely at the working principle of the Waist Loom. The loom I want is to use a frame to support the wooden sticks of the Waist Loom, and use feet to step on pedals to achieve the opening of the warp threads, allowing the weavers to focus only on passing the weft threads and beating the weft threads."

"In this way, the work efficiency of the weavers can be improved, and at the same time, due to mechanical control, the fineness of the weaving and the quality of the fabric will also be greatly improved."

Dan was, after all, Along-established Master Craftsman, but as he listened to Luoning's account, panic flashed in his eyes.

He only now knew why Luoning had just said that if he could build this thing, he might become a Grand Master Craftsman.

"My Lord, please forgive my clumsiness. I... I didn't understand what you were saying for a moment."

Luoning scratched his head and took out the loom diagram he had attempted to draw.

It was a pity that this thing was too complex, not as simple as the bellows, and since he had not seen it with his own eyes, he could only draw a side view, and only a rough outline at that.

"Look, this is the pedal; the weaver only needs to step on this with their feet to achieve the up-and-down interlacing of the warp threads. This is the reed used to guide the warp threads. The gauze I mentioned uses eight hundred reeds as a standard, with four threads passed through each reed, for a total of three thousand two hundred warp threads..."

This explanation lasted half a day, and midway through, Mrs. Lia even brought a glass of water for Luoning.

The more Dan listened, the less his brain could keep up, and the more cold sweat broke out on his forehead; the amount of information his brain had received today was a bit much, and it had already started to ache.

Fortunately, through this entire explanation, he roughly understood what the Lord wanted to make.

At the very least, he could understand the shape of that frame.

"My Lord, you are truly a genius!"

After hearing the explanation, Dan wiped the sweat from his forehead and couldn't help but praise him.

Luoning handed the parchment to him, "It's just a pity that I only thought of a rough idea; the person who truly needs to design it is you."

Dan solemnly took the parchment, carefully tucked it into his bosom, and a fighting spirit ignited in his eyes.

"My Lord, please give me some time; I will first learn the working principle of the Waist Loom from Mrs. Lia, and then I will come to study the Loom you mentioned."

Luoning nodded and patted his shoulder solemnly, "I believe in your ability, Master Craftsman Dan; I hope that in the near future, Shanlin Town will be able to possess such a Loom!"

Dan felt a heavy weight in his heart, but he still gave a heavy grunt of affirmation.

Coming to Shanlin Town was indeed the right choice; he had finally found a goal!

"Mrs. Lia, I also have a matter to entrust to you."

"I am happy to be of service, my Lord." Lia listened attentively.

Luoning said, "Although the efficiency of the Waist Loom is low, it can still be used to weave Silk. I need you to use these silk threads to weave a scarf for me."

"The last day of next month is the birthday of Marquis Lulansi, and I want to use this scarf as a congratulatory gift."

Upon hearing the first part, Lia felt the pressure; this was her first time coming into contact with silk threads like silkworm silk, and it was very difficult to control.

Hearing the latter part, she immediately felt immense pressure.

Heavens, she was actually going to weave a scarf for the Marquis!

"My Lord, I am worried..."

Luoning comforted her, "Do not worry, just do your best. Even if it isn't finished by then, I will prepare other gifts."

Lulansi had shown great kindness to Luoning, so for the other's birthday, Luoning naturally could not go empty-handed.

Making a scarf with silkworm silk was only one of his gifts; he had other preparations, such as the hide of a Storm Magic Beast, which could be used to make a coat.

The fur of a Level 4 Magic Beast was also a precious material, and giving it away would not cause him to lose face.

(End of chapter)