He sent Liu Meng and the others back to their own affairs.
Fang Er himself entered the gate of the vocational school.
In the courtyard, Zhao Gang was leading the artisans in experimenting with various tools to process cotton wads into the desired state.
Seeing them busy, Fang Er stood silently behind a tree to the side, watching quietly.
Zhao Gang was holding a wooden beater, patting the cotton on the table.
After patting for a while, he threw the wooden beater aside in disappointment.
This thing wouldn't work, it packed the cotton wads too tightly and couldn't make them interweave.
Then, the group started discussing again. After a while, one of the artisans said.
"Master Zhao, from my perspective, if we want the cotton to be fluffy and the structure to interweave, brute force won't work."
After speaking, he walked into the room and took out a small bow.
Zhao Gang looked at the small bow in his hand, deep in thought.
The man took the small bow, walked to the table, with the back of the bow facing up and the string against the cotton. He then pulled the string taut and flicked it downwards onto the cotton.
*Zing~!*
The vibrating bowstring struck the cotton wad.
He continued to flick the bowstring against the cotton, breaking up and shaking the wads.
After striking dozens of times, he put the small bow aside and picked up the processed cotton wad with his hand.
"Master Zhao, quickly come and see!"
Zhao Gang and the other artisans hurried over.
The cotton, which had been distinct wads, was now completely interwoven and no longer in a tightly packed state.
After examining it, Zhao Gang took the cotton and pulled it gently a few times, then shook his head.
"No, the force is still too great; the cotton fibers are breaking apart."
"However, this method should work, it's just that you pulled the string too hard just now."
"The small bow is too slow, let's make a bigger one! The bow body doesn't need to be as elaborate as a bow and arrow, as long as it can tension the string."
The others nodded and began to construct a large bow as Zhao Gang instructed.
Fang Er had been watching from behind the tree the entire time, not coming forward or making a sound.
The technical department was well-equipped with various materials for teaching.
In less than half an hour, a large bow was made.
It had a two-meter long bow body, strung with a piece of tanned ox tendon.
Zhao Gang and another person lifted it and placed it on the table. They plucked the bowstring several times in succession, then picked up the cotton that had been struck by the bowstring and examined it carefully.
"Success!"
"It's done!"
Indeed, with slightly less force, the cotton fibers no longer broke.
Seeing their excited expressions, Fang Er emerged from behind the tree.
*Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.*
As he walked forward, he applauded with both hands to show his appreciation.
"Good, in just two days, you've managed to figure out the tools. You haven't disappointed this Marquis!"
Zhao Gang heard Fang Er's voice and quickly turned his head.
"My Lord."
Fang Er nodded, walked to his side, and looked at the world's first cotton-bow.
"Send someone to find Hua Niang."
"Yes! I'll go right away."
The one who spoke was Liu Wu. He bowed to Fang Er and then ran towards a house in the vocational school.
Before long, he returned with Hua Niang.
"My Lord, do you have any instructions for calling for this servant?"
Fang Er pointed to the cotton on the table: "Bring your people and find a way to spin thread and weave cloth from this cotton."
Hua Niang picked up a wad of cotton and examined it carefully for a moment, then said, "My Lord, rest assured, this is easy."
After speaking, she called out towards the house she had just come from: "Girls! Come out, we have work to do!"
Fang Er......
The way she shouted was practically like shoving a handkerchief into your hand.
When people are accustomed to certain things, stopping suddenly always leads to discomfort. Since the incident at the workshop, these women had been somewhat idle.
The female tailors, who were idle in the house, chewing melon seeds and gossiping, became extremely excited upon hearing Hua Niang call out that there was work.
They instantly rushed out of the house: "Where is it, where is it?"
Zhao Gang and his group of artisans could only swallow.
"Damn, why does this scene feel a bit off?"
Fang Er quickly cleared his throat, pointed at the cotton on the table, and then pretended to speak loudly: "Spin thread, weave cloth!"
After they had taken away the processed cotton, Fang Er said to Hua Niang: "This Marquis needs a fabric that is strong, heat-resistant, and impermeable. Think of a way to see if you can produce it."
Hua Niang thought for a long time but couldn't think of any fabric that could meet these standards.
"My Lord, this servant has never heard of such a fabric before, but I can try."
Fang Er said: "If you encounter any difficulties, ask Zhao Gang and the others for help, or seek assistance from the cloth merchants in Chang'an city. This fabric requires a large quantity."
Hua Niang nodded: "My Lord, rest assured, this servant will definitely find a way to produce this fabric."
After speaking, she turned her ample waist and chased after the female workers.
"What are you looking at? They're already far gone!"
Zhao Gang slapped Liu Wu on the back of his head. The pain made Liu Wu grimace, and he didn't dare to talk back, instead, he went to the side, holding his head and rubbing it.
Fang Er paid them no mind and said to Zhao Gang: "There are still ways to improve this large bow. Once the improvements are finalized, have Old Ma bring all the cotton over for processing."
"It will be put to use soon."
ps: Second update