Chapter 1475: What the Outside World is Like

"King, this was boiled from a type of wood. We don't know the name of the tree; we only recognize the tree itself, but we never asked."

Baifeng stroked his beard: "You all need to research this dye more and see if you can deepen its color. What are the other types?"

Zhinu pointed at the yellowish-brown dye and said: "King, this one is willow leaves, and this one is root of Chinese pulsatilla. We have basically tried every grass and tree we could find, and only these can leave behind relatively clear colors. As for the previous dyes, the others were not very good."

Miaoyin gently tugged on Baifeng's arm: "Father, Father, do you know how to dye that begonia flower color, or the color of a peony? I picked many peonies, but I still couldn't dye that color."

When a daughter acts spoiled, a father must find a way to satisfy her, especially when she is such a smart and beautiful daughter. However, Baifeng was very troubled: "Miaoyin, I have already found the main material needed for dyeing cloth, which is this Alum. You should just have people keep experimenting, seeing whether to add the Alum to clean water or to the dye. Based on the current tests, it seems that different methods produce different colors on the cloth."

"This water isn't that clean either. You should try it with cleaner water later to see if you can get a different effect. This is all your father can do."

Miaoyin did not feel sad because she had received a definite answer: dyeing cloth uses these things—dyes and Alum. Previously, progress in dyeing had stalled because there was no Alum. Now that they had Alum, there might be a major leap forward in the future.

As for the colors, materials that were previously tested and felt to be ineffective can now be tested again on a large scale.

"Alright Father, is there a lot of this Alum? Can you give it all to us? Is there any other department that needs to use it?"

Baifeng looked at the people from the Ministry of Works. This was the responsibility of the Ministry of Works, but they had only dug up some samples, and Baifeng had brought most of the Alum over, so there probably wasn't much left there.

"The Alum produced should all go to the Weaving Department first. How much more of the ore did you bring back?"

The people from the Ministry of Works shook their heads nervously: "King, we were just out exploring, so we only carried back a little. What is here is two-thirds of it. There is a little bit more, and we will bring it over in a moment. The mine is completely empty."

Miaoyin's mood plummeted to the bottom, and she almost wanted to cry. The Alum here was only the pile left on the tray, which was estimated to be enough to dissolve only a dozen or so buckets of water. However, they still had to constantly adjust how much Alum to add. This bit of Alum was at most enough for them to mess around with for two days, and they could only test it with scrap cloth samples; they definitely couldn't dye a piece of cloth large enough to make clothes.

"If you go to that mine, how long does it take? How dangerous is it, and is the road difficult to travel?"

The people from the Ministry of Works hurriedly replied: "King, I remember that if the goal is clear and we walk straight there, it takes about twelve or thirteen days. The road is also fine; it passes through a large area that is relatively flat and doesn't have too many woods."

"The mountains are not very high or large either. That mine is still a long way from the Qinba Mountains you mentioned. It should be said that it is at the edge of the Qinba Mountains."

Miaoyin poked Baifeng with her finger: "Father, I've never heard of the Qinba Mountains. Didn't you say before that it was called Qinling, and that it was the edge of our territory?"

Baifeng explained patiently: "The Qinba Mountains refer to the area where the Qinling and Bashan meet. If we are being strict, it can also be considered Qinling, but we are on the further edge of Qinling. The whole world is just mountain range after mountain range piled onto the plains."

"We are only on the edge of a few large mountain ranges here, and it is just relatively flat. Once you leave here, there are higher mountains. Where the Shennong Clan is, that is the endless plain."

(Author's note: In the book's setting, Huaxia is located in the Wei River basin, which is the Wei River. This is the main birthplace of Huaxia civilization. The Majia Yao Culture, Yangshao Culture, Fuxi, and Nuwa were born here. The Yangshao Culture went from the Wei River into the Huanghe, developing into the Shaanxi Yangshao Culture, and later entered the Central Plains, contributing to the Henan Yangshao Culture. Therefore, the current birthplace of Fuxi and the place where he created the Eight Trigrams is within Tianshui, Gansu, but Fuxi's burial site is in Henan.)

(Of course, the specific timeline and the time span in between are things I cannot explain clearly, but from early to late, this order is correct.)

(The Alum mine in the book is in present-day Wudu. Since the Zhou Dynasty, there have been records of mining, but the reserves were small, and it was gradually abandoned in later history.)

"Father, can I also go out and take a look after these things are done? My brother has already been to many places, but I have never left Huaxia."

When Miaoyin said this, the most nervous person was not Baifeng, but the people beside them. Zhinu hurriedly advised: "Princess, you must not think like that. There is nothing good outside. There are wild beasts everywhere, as well as the Cannibal Tribe. You can't even get enough to eat, and sometimes you have to go hungry for a long time, starving people to death."

"There are no clothes to wear and no houses to live in. If you don't find a suitable cave at night, you will either freeze to death or be snatched away by wild beasts. It is too dangerous and too terrifying."

"I was only able to come to Huaxia because of the King. Now, if the King doesn't let me leave Huaxia, I don't want to leave Huaxia City even by a single step. Princess, everything that is in Huaxia City is not outside, and everything that is outside can be seen in Huaxia. You must not have such a dangerous thought."

The people from the Ministry of Works also hurriedly advised: "Exactly, exactly. Princess, look at us—we were just exploring for mines for the sake of Huaxia. If it weren't for the fact that we have many people, good Weapons, and our Huaxia Tent, Dry Rations, and Bomb, we might not have even been able to reach that mine. We encounter tigers and leopards almost every day. If we didn't react in time, we would have been bitten to death directly. And there are bears; those bears like to eat living people. They bite your bones with a crunching sound, just like eating roasted beans. It is especially terrifying. The outside is not good at all; Huaxia City is better."

Although everyone advised her this way, Miaoyin, who had been pampered since childhood but had never seen the outside world, still wanted to see a different landscape. She wanted to see the sea, and she also wanted to see the endless plains that her father spoke of. She did not want to only look at these landscapes of Huaxia for her whole life; she really envied her second brother.