Chapter 127

Chapter 127

After handing over the breeding route of the bamboo lanterns to Jacqueline, Lorant and his companion saw off the grand mage who was almost jumping with joy.

They then began to discuss the planting matters of the cotton tree.

Lancelot sat obediently on the sofa, watching Lorant as he waited for him to speak.

Whether it was collaborating with Earl's Castle like Slime Ranch or using some other method, Lancelot would agree, and he did not want to say anything that might put pressure on Lorant.

"The matter of the cotton tree is as I mentioned before," Lorant naturally knew it was best to clarify this now: "This is a market even more astonishing than the pet slimes."

"Although the profit from Slime Ranch is quite meager, it has already started to make a profit. I am confident that if the cotton tree project runs well, it could generate several times the profit."

Previously, Lorant had planned for Slime Ranch to maintain a non-loss state for several years, which would be considered a victory. However, who would have thought that after such a long time, it had already begun to turn a profit.

Lorant carefully checked the accounts and found that the profits came from the high-end market, where the prices were set very high. This reassured him.

As long as the low-end market positioning remained unchanged, how the high-end prices were set was entirely up to Slime Ranch. Lorant only made the final decisions and did not intervene excessively.

Lancelot nodded in agreement; his perspective had gradually broadened, and he began to emulate Lorant by looking at a wider audience: "Of course, non-magical fabrics are virtually limited to hemp cloth right now. If the cotton tree project runs well, it will definitely capture a significant portion of the market."

Lorant smiled: "No, Lancelot, you've misunderstood one thing. We're not trying to capture the market. In fact, the current market is far from saturated, with a large amount of potential waiting for us to develop." His eyes grew brighter as he spoke.

Even with the addition of pet slimes, most ordinary people still struggle to clothe themselves adequately.

Due to the cost of slimes, although the prices of some low-end products have been reduced to the point of no profit, and even at a loss during holiday promotions, many ordinary people still cannot afford these two products.

The appearance of pet slimes has only made life a bit easier for relatively less impoverished families in the cities during winter.

But there are still those who can barely afford silver coins, let alone gold, and can only look on helplessly.

"My attitude towards this is the same as with pet slimes. I hope to plant as much as possible and promote this crop as soon as we can," Lorant said earnestly.

He looked into Lancelot's eyes, and they seemed to return to the pavilion in the backyard of the Animal Pet Shop, where Lorant had seriously shared his thoughts about pet slimes with the knight that night.

This time, however, Lorant did not prepare a backup plan. He fully trusted the white-haired knight, believing he would certainly support his approach and collaborate again.

Lancelot did not disappoint: "You decide, Lorant. I will provide everything you need, just like with Slime Ranch."

He understood that Lorant wanted to collaborate with him. They were already quite familiar with each other, so there was no need to go through the details of contracts.

By mentioning Slime Ranch, Lancelot actually intended to give Lorant an advantage.

Unlike slimes, once the seeds of the cotton tree were planted, the Animal Pet Shop would not need to be involved further.

It was essentially a one-time deal, but he offered a partnership-like profit-sharing arrangement.

Lancelot had his own considerations. The cotton tree farm could not exclusively collaborate with him, and he was aware of this. With him as the first example, future collaborators would have no choice but to accept the terms.

Perhaps Lorant did not lack money now, but Lancelot had to consider the long-term benefits.

Lorant smiled, understanding Lancelot's intentions, but he did not object. He was no longer as concerned about gold, but he could not ignore Lancelot's goodwill: "However, before that, we should prepare in advance. We don't want to repeat the mistake of starting to think about usage only after the first batch of materials is produced, like with the slimes."

He knew that cotton was an important economic crop, the source of materials for cotton fabric and cotton wadding.

But he was still unsure how cotton was transformed into these products.

He vaguely remembered seeing someone specializing in fluffing cotton wadding at the market when he was very young.

It seemed that the cotton needed to go through a process to become soft and fluffy before it could be made into a comfortable quilt.

But these were minor issues, and Lorant had great confidence in the craftsmen of this era.

Human ingenuity was always remarkable, regardless of the time.

Even in dire circumstances, they could display incredible creativity.

As long as a direction was provided, they would find their way forward.

With this in mind, finding craftsmen became a priority.

On one side, Lancelot began actively preparing to have Peter find a sufficiently large area within his territory to plant the cotton trees.

On the other side, Lorant asked Emma to contact Jeremy.

Jeremy arrived at the Animal Pet Shop with his young assistant, assuming Lorant had prepared the lecture and was notifying them. Little did they know that Lorant had completely forgotten about the lecture due to the recent focus on the cotton tree project.

"Lorant! Have you set a date? Is there anything I can help with?" Jeremy hurried from the porch, shouting before he even reached the small pavilion.

"What date? Oh... Jeremy, don't worry, didn't I promise you? There will be a suitable time, but it's not yet." Lorant lay back in his lounge chair, sipping a strange juice filled with ice cubes, and for a moment, he was confused by the priest's words. Realizing the situation, he quickly tried to evade.

Jeremy's young assistant twitched her lips. Hey! That's too obvious an evasion! You must have forgotten, right?

At least pretend a little! You called us here, yet you're lying around so leisurely, and then you say it's not the right time. That's not appropriate!

But she only dared to complain silently, as the church was currently seeking help from the Animal Pet Shop.

One had to bow under the eaves, after all.

Jeremy, however, had no such reservations. He simply believed Lorant and showed a slightly disappointed expression: "Alright, I thought you called me for the lecture. If not, what else do you need?"

Lancelot nodded and pointed to the shade of a tree not far from the pavilion, where several craftsmen were using a large and peculiar wooden tool. In front of them was a pile of cotton, and they continuously plucked the taut strings on the tool to fluff the cotton.

In just a few days, the craftsmen Lorant had gathered had developed this technique for 'fluffing cotton.'

Based on his vague memories, Lorant drew a rough sketch of the machine and described its functions, which the craftsmen then designed and built.

Fortunately, fluffing cotton was not complicated. The goal was to break down the cotton into individual fibers and then reassemble them into a fluffy whole.

After fluffing the cotton and securing it with fine yarn or hemp rope, it becomes the familiar large quilt that Lorant knows.

The amount of cotton provided by the cotton tree that Jacqueline had previously cultivated was astonishing; a rough estimate would put it at around five to six hundred pounds, more than enough for Lorant to have people study its specific uses.

So far, the process of making quilts from cotton has been largely completed.

However, the main challenge with cotton—how to turn it into fabric—is still being researched by craftsmen.

Based on his memory, Lorant instructed them to first spread out and align the cotton fibers, then spin them into extremely fine threads.

These threads can then be woven into bolts of cotton fabric.

But in practice, it's much more difficult.

Just the first step of combing the fibers has stumped experienced textile craftsmen for several days, and they only managed to successfully produce cotton thread this morning.

"What is this?" Jeremy was quickly drawn to this novel item.

Lorant, like a fox waiting for its prey, gave a barely perceptible smile: "This is cotton, our Animal Pet Shop's latest product."

"Oh? Is this another kind of pet?"

"No, it's more like a byproduct of pets, similar to Slime yarn."

He gave the curious young priest a general account of how he discovered these unique flowers from the flower roots, but omitted the crucial step of how to permanently preserve them.

However, Jeremy didn't mind at all.

"So, this is a type of warm fabric similar to what we get from Slime pets?" Jeremy's eyes lit up. He was just too sheltered by the church, not really foolish, and understood from Lorant's words how important this plant could be.

As someone who personally participated in all the distribution activities, Jeremy was well aware of the tremendous impact the products of Slime pets had. Although there were no precise statistics, Jeremy estimated that at least half as many more people in the Mauplan region had survived this year compared to previous years.

Don't underestimate this figure; the House of Slimes was just getting started, and the number of poor people around Mauplan was quite significant.

For such results, Jeremy wished he could offer Lorant two divine discs every day!

"And it's a plant that ordinary people can grow themselves, without the need for professionals to be involved," Lorant added, watching the priest's expression turn to surprise, as expected.

"Oh, Goddess of Light! Lorant! Do you know what a great achievement this is?" Jeremy's eyes sparkled, and if his little assistant hadn't held onto his coat tail, he would have already pounced on Lorant in excitement.

Lorant found it somewhat amusing; he had heard such praise many times since the Animal Pet Shop began.

Still, hearing it again made him feel quite pleased, especially when it came from someone as honest as Jeremy.

"Of course, I know, Jeremy." He smiled slightly: "But the prospects I mentioned will likely take many years to realize." He sighed regretfully.

Jeremy, like a fish that hadn't eaten for eight hundred years, took the bait immediately: "Why? Why does it have to wait so long? Can't you promote it faster? What do you need? I can persuade Archbishop Frank to help you!"

His anxious appearance contrasted sharply with Lorant's calm demeanor, despite his regretful expression.

At first glance, it seemed as if Jeremy were the one who owned the cotton tree.

"Yes," Lorant turned away to avoid seeing Jeremy's anxious face, feeling a bit guilty about deceiving him, as if he were tricking a child: "Mainly because so far, we only have the seeds of this plant."

"Without any disease, it takes three to five years for this cotton tree to mature and produce more seeds. This long growth cycle makes it difficult for us to promote it widely in the short term," Lorant said regretfully.

Jeremy also looked disappointed: "Is that so? Sigh."

Lorant glanced at Jeremy, noticing his genuine disappointment, seemingly forgetting his life magic. Lorant couldn't help but twitch his lips but decided to stick to the script he had chosen.

"But," he cleared his throat: "It's not entirely without solutions."

"Really? What can we do, Lorant?" Jeremy looked up eagerly, waiting for Lorant's answer.

"The batch of cotton I have now was grown using magic by a powerful mage."

"So, with the help of life magic, perhaps we can obtain a large number of cotton tree seeds more quickly and promote this plant," Lorant said, watching Jeremy's reaction.

The priest listened attentively and nodded, then suddenly clenched his fist excitedly.

"Lorant! If it's life magic, maybe our church can help!" He looked up happily: "Compared to elemental healing mages, we are the true practitioners of healing magic. Our divine spells can achieve similar effects to life magic!"

"The light of the Goddess shines upon every living being; perhaps this plant can also bask in the light of the Goddess!"

Lorant was glad that Jeremy finally thought of this on his own.

If he hadn't, the assistant behind him, whose expression had become peculiar, might have burst out.

"Really, Jeremy!" Lorant played along, equally enthusiastic: "Why don't you give it a try? I have a few seeds here; see if you can make them grow."

Jeremy naturally wouldn't refuse, but he was more concerned about something else: "Of course, but Lorant, can I go see the cotton first?"

He had been eyeing the cotton-fluffing scene nearby, eager to experience it firsthand after hearing Lorant's description.

"Of course, Jeremy!" Lorant got up and led him over.

Before asking someone to work, it's always good to show them what they're working for.

The three of them walked to the wooden frame where the cotton was displayed.

There were two craftsmen fluffing the cotton, both of whom Lorant had previously asked Emma to find to work at the Animal Pet Shop.

This batch included over twenty craftsmen, covering a wide range of professions, from carpenters and blacksmiths to textile workers and pottery makers.

Now, the three weavers have all arrived at the Animal pet shop in advance.

They have temporarily moved into the small houses next to the Animal pet shop with their families and have been researching this new technology without rest every day since they woke up.

The weavers who were willing to come to the Animal pet shop mostly did so with the hope of becoming servants like those in the Cavendish household in the future.

Weavers, especially non-professional weavers like them, hold a very low status in this world.

And it’s a vicious cycle where each generation is as low as the last; unless someone in the family suddenly mutates into a professional, it’s hard to change one's fate.

So when Emma recruited for the Animal pet shop, many weavers who were unwilling to be ‘commoners’ for life chose to take a bold step.

They had all heard of the Animal pet shop, whether from the grand parade during the Flower Festival or the popularity of the Glass Ice Flame Dogs and Windbreaker Horses throughout the city, which made them realize that Mauplan now had such a rising star.

They were willing to abandon their original lives and move their families to the Animal pet shop to become affiliated craftsmen, essentially betting on Lorant’s potential to gain a noble title and thus elevate their own status to that of noble servants.

Yes, noble servants.

While free citizens may seem stronger than noble servants, who are essentially ‘servants,’ in reality, any noble servant is not someone an ordinary person can easily defy.

Even as servants, they are seen by the lower classes as basking in the glory of the nobles.

They rely on their noble lords to eat well and stay warm, ensuring that their families won’t freeze to death in the coldest winter nights, and their children won’t be malnourished and weak.

Under these conditions, their descendants might have a chance to become knights if they are lucky, thereby changing the fate of their entire family.

This is what these weavers aspire to achieve in their lifetimes.

To stand out and earn the opportunity to become a servant, the three weavers naturally held nothing back, eager to showcase all their skills.

Their work enthusiasm was unprecedentedly high.

Based on their previous professions, Lorant assigned one of them, who was more skilled in weaving, to focus on cotton thread production, while the other two were temporarily placed in charge of carding cotton.

So far, the two have already carded three quilts.

Lorant took one quilt home and tried it out last night.

Honestly, a cotton quilt is much heavier than a down quilt. Having gotten used to sleeping with thick down quilts filled with Slime feathers, Lorant found it a bit difficult to adjust to the new quilt at first.

After feeling it for a while, he lost interest and hung the thick quilt back on the long pole in the yard.

Jeremy walked over and pinched the thick quilt, his face full of surprise as he fondled the fluffy, large cotton quilt, his heart brimming with joy.

"This warm, cozy feeling!" The priest, completely ignoring the hot weather, wrapped himself in the quilt and soon broke into a sweat, but his smile grew even wider: "With something like this, common people will be able to survive the winter!"

The joy on his face seemed genuine, and that simple happiness also infected Lorant, reminding him of the excitement he felt when he first created the pet Slime.

"Exactly, if we can promote these cotton trees sooner, perhaps some people will be saved because of it," Lorant said earnestly, looking at Jeremy. "So I need your help, Jeremy."

The priest's eyes widened, and he nodded vigorously, clearly inspired.

"Let's go, Lorant! I want to see if I can lend you a hand right now!" Jeremy rolled up his sleeves with enthusiasm.

Lorant looked at him and felt a sudden sense of reflection.

If he had to say, Jeremy's situation was actually quite similar to William's.

Both were exceptionally talented and were protected from a young age.

Both were somewhat naive and often appeared a bit silly when dealing with worldly affairs.

But the two took completely different paths.

William became indifferent to others, while Jeremy maintained a childlike innocence.

His kindness seemed to be ingrained in his bones.

Lorant had seen him distribute supplies with a kind smile, unfazed by the ragged and foul-smelling refugees.

Lorant knew he couldn't do that; he would only think of doing good deeds after ensuring that he and his family were well-fed and clothed.

He could only think of others when he had enough to spare.

But Jeremy was probably the type who would share the last half of a black bread loaf without hesitation.

Lorant knew he wasn't a saint, so he admired those who could do what he couldn't.

Watching Jeremy's hands glow with a soft white light as he focused on nurturing the seedlings, he saw a true cleric, not just a mage in a white robe.

"Lorant! I can do it!" Jeremy squatted in front of the small flower pot, excitedly watching the rapidly growing sprout. "It's wonderful!"

"Yes, it's wonderful."