Chapter 414: To be shocked once again
The northern border was very suitable to plant cotton. Cotton had already been imported from the Western Region.
Some manors planted cotton plants and then spun them into cotton for sale.
However, just as Xu Ziqin had said, because the price of cotton cloth was neither high nor low, the sales were very average.
However, if the price was lowered, the sales volume would definitely go up.
The soil and weather in the northern border had always been a great advantage for growing cotton.
It would be a pity to lose it.
She looked at King Jin and Xu Ziqin.
“After a large amount of cotton is produced, it can be made into cotton clothes and quilts. This will keep the residents warm in winter. They will not freeze to death again.”
She didn’t have a quilt yet.
She had never seen clothes made with cotton here yet.
Therefore, this was a gap in the market.
If they made good use of it, they would definitely make a profit.
The key was that the people would benefit.
King Jin felt that what he said made sense. “Can cotton clothes keep people warm?”
Shi Qingluo nodded her head. “Yes, the cotton-filled duvet is also very warm.
“Although it’s not as light and comfortable as the silk blanket, it’s definitely a good thing to keep warm in winter for the people.”
Nowadays, the poor people covered themselves with blankets made of sackcloth filled with hay, straw, reed flowers, and other things.
The rich and powerful usually covered themselves with animal fur or animal skin.
The more luxurious ones were silk quilts.
In this era, cotton was not popular yet, so no one used quilts.
She suggested, “Your Highness, you can get someone to make a cotton-padded coat or a quilt to try. You’ll know how effective it is to keep warm then.”
If there was a large cotton plant production, not only will more people be employed, but the cotton made can also be sold to every part of Daliang.
It would also be a cash cow.
This last point was what moved King Jin.
Previously, when Shi Qingluo arrived in Heyang County, she had wanted Xiao Hanzheng to promote cotton planting.
However, the power of a county magistrate was too limited, and the other counties would not listen to Xiao Hanzheng.
Therefore, the most suitable person to do this was King Jin.
As long as he was keen to promote the large-scale planting of cotton, this would be possible.
As expected, King Jin was tempted when he heard the phrase ‘cash cow’.
He looked at Xu Ziqin. “What do you think, Ziqin? ”
“If it’s like what Mdm Shi said, I think it’s feasible,” Xu Ziqin said after a moment of deep thought.
He emphasized, “That’s only if we increase cotton plantation and create machines to pick cotton seeds and spin cotton cloth.”
Shi Qingluo was already prepared. She took out a few pieces of paper from the pouch on her back and handed them over.
“These are the things you need to pay attention to when growing cotton, as well as how to top it. As long as you plant according to these, the yield will definitely not be low.
“When the time comes, if the farmers don’t know how to do it, Your Highness can set a time and venue. I’ll personally do it, and then get others to learn it and go to other places to teach the farmers.
“The other two are the drawings for two types of machines. Your Highness could get the craftsmen to try to make them.”
King Jin took the paper and looked at it.
The detailed planting process of the cotton flower, what to pay attention to, and how to increase the yield were all stated.
Shi Qingluo was indeed very wicked right now.
She had just come to the northern border, but she actually knew how to plant cotton and increase its yield.
He then looked at the detailed machine diagram and was shocked.
This was too amazing. Even a powerful craftsman might not be able to draw such a blueprint.
He handed it to Xu Ziqin after reading it.
After Xu Ziqin read it carefully, he had the same feeling as King Jin.
The way they viewed Shi Qingluo was a little different.
“Mdm Shi is truly an expert!” Xu Ziqin couldn’t help but say.
Shi Qingluo laughed. “Mr. Xu, you’re too kind!”
“Mdm Shi, what’s your second idea?” King Jin asked impatiently.
He personally felt that the cotton plant idea was feasible.
He planned to get people to make cotton-padded clothes and quilts, as well as try out these two machines.
If it really produced the results that Shi Qingluo mentioned, he would immediately get his people to promote large-scale planting at the northern border.
“With regards to planting medicinal herbs, ” Shi Qingluo replied, “the environment here at the northern border is suitable for artificially planting many expensive medicinal herbs.
“Your Highness can get the people in different places to grow different medicinal herbs based on the environment there. When the time comes, whether it’s processed and sold to other places or made into pills to sell, the profit will be great.
“The price of the medicinal herbs is not low, so the profits from the crops planted by the people will not be bad. When the time comes, they will all thank you.”
Nowadays, there was basically no artificial cultivation of medicinal herbs. They were all picked from the wild, so the quantity was limited, which was why the price was so expensive.
Many commoners had to endure their illnesses because medicine and treatment were too expensive.
In order to improve this situation, it was necessary to popularize the medicinal herbs that could be artificially planted.
Not only the northern border, but the entire Daliang country could participate in cultivating medicinal herbs artificially.
Now, the northern border could be the venue for demonstration.
After it succeeded, the emperor could also learn from it and then promote it.
Hence, it would not be so expensive and difficult for the people to see a doctor and take medicine.
King Jin was stunned. “A lot of medicinal herbs can be planted? ”
Shi Qingluo nodded. “Of course they can. ”
She took out another stack of paper. “This is the list of medicinal herbs I listed based on the booklet that you gave me.
“I’ve made a detailed explanation of specific places that are suitable for planting medicinal herbs. ”
She presented it in a table format, so it was clear for one to look at it in a glance.
This caused King Jin and Xu Ziqin to be shocked once again.
In the past, they had only heard that Shi Qingluo knew a lot of money-making ideas, but they had never expected her to have such an ability.
After looking at the situation of the various places in the northern border, she could list out what medicinal herbs were suitable for planting in different places.
Most importantly, it didn’t look like she was scribbling. She had written down all the herbs and how to grow them.
“Before this I heard that Mdm Shi was good at planting, but now it seems that the rumors were too light.”
“I personally like all these so I’ve studied it myself,” Shi Qingluo smiled.
She added, “My master also taught me some.”
King Jin and Xu Ziqin believed her words.
If the old immortal had not taught her, she would not have known so much.
However, this was already very impressive.
They had underestimated her value before, it seemed that they had to pay more attention to her from now onwards.
“If we were to plant these medicinal herbs in the northern border, it would take a long time, right?” King Jin asked after some thought.
Shi Qingluo nodded. “It’ll take at least a year, at most a few years before we can see the profits.
“However, as long as we kick start this, once we receive some profits, there will naturally be a steady stream of profits later on. The most time-consuming part is the initial investment.”
Her suggestion of letting King Jin plant the medicinal herbs would not only benefit the people, but also limit King Jin’s ability.
Who knew if the northern border would still be King Jin’s fief after a few years?
When it was time to enjoy wholesome profits, the person benefiting might be the emperor.
Although she had to give King Jin a taste of the sweetness and come up with ideas for him, she could not allow him to accumulate a large amount of wealth in a short period of time.
Otherwise, he would use all of it to recruit soldiers and buy horses to improve and replace the weapons, which would be detrimental to the stability of Daliang.
Hence, Shi Qingluo had already taken this into account and King Jin would not have thought of this.
As expected, even though King Jin felt that it was taking a long time, he was still very concerned about the long-term benefits.
Now was not the time to fight for the world.
He could still wait.
Moreover, even if he rebelled in advance and seized the world, the northern border would still be his territory.
It would be beneficial for the people to plant medicinal herbs on a large scale.
“Alright, I will get people to arrange it according to the list you gave.”
He changed the topic and said, “If we encounter any problems, I’ll still need your help to guide through the procedures.”
Shi Qingluo nodded with a smile. “No problem. I can go and help teach at any time.”