I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 232 Silk Floss

Bamboo won't work, and wood probably won't work either; Bai Ling can't grind such a thin strip of wood.

Seeing that he couldn't grind the bamboo into the desired shape, Bai Ling decided to try drawing bamboo into strips.

Bamboo is very fibrous, and you can pull out strands with a strong pull. However, Bai Ling may not be strong enough. He used pliers to pull the bamboo strands that were protruding from the bamboo, but he couldn't pull out much length even with a strong pull.

Bai Ling handed the bamboo to Yue and said, "Yue, use pliers to clamp this bamboo strip and pull it outwards with force."

Yue didn't ask why. She placed the bamboo under her feet and pressed it down firmly. She gripped the pliers tightly with both hands and pulled the fibers outward with all her might.

Yue was much stronger than Bai Ling, but the bamboo strip she pulled out was less than half a palm's length.

This method doesn't seem to work either. He silently watched the bamboo strips being pulled out, his eyes lowered as he pondered what other silk threads could be used to make a comb.

The yarn is a bit too coarse. If we had silkworm cocoons, we could extract the silk to make a comb, but unfortunately we don't eat silkworm cocoons now, so we have to use something else instead.

Bai Ling suddenly remembered the seeds the Sky Beastmen had given him—the kind of seeds that could produce silk threads. He reached out and patted his head; how could he have forgotten about that?

Bai Ling pulled Yue towards her home, and the two jumped over the fence and jogged home.

At this time, only Lin and Cang were at home. Feng and Qu had gone to the meeting room to knit sweaters, and Chen had gone out to play with her friends. Cang and Lin had nothing to do, so they stayed home to take care of the children and do housework.

Seeing Bai Ling drag Yue into the house, Cang was a little surprised: "Ling, what's wrong? Why did you run so fast?"

Ling said, “Father, we’ve come back to get our things,” and rushed into the storage room as he spoke.

Yue explained to Bai Ling, "Uncle Cang, Ling is looking for a special kind of thread, but he hasn't found it yet. Didn't the Sky Beastmen send him some seeds? He wants to look for it among those seeds."

Cang nodded and stopped talking. The cub on Lin's shoulder stared at Yue for a moment, then leaped from its father's shoulder to Yue's shoulder and grabbed Yue's hair tightly.

Although the cub was holding on tightly, Yue didn't feel any pain. However, he didn't dare to move at all, for fear that the cub would fall off his shoulder.

Of course, the cubs don't actually fall off. Yue is just a little unaccustomed to it. All the cubs he's ever been around since he was a child have to be held in his arms. He feels that the cubs are in danger because he can't hold them with both hands.

Lin reached out and took her cub off Yue's shoulder, smiling, "Yue, you go ahead and do your work."

Yue nodded to Lin and went to the storage room to help Bai Ling.

*

The storage room in the house wasn't big; only the most important things were kept there. The seeds the Sky Beastman had brought him were all piled together in a basket. Bai Ling carefully took the basket down and finally found what he wanted.

This is a fruit about the size of a fist. When you peel off the skin, you see white, fibrous stuff inside. It's lighter and softer than cotton, and it's similar to a ball of willow catkins. Inside, there's a seed about the size of a large jujube pit.

The Sky Beastman gave Bai Ling a whole basket of these fruits, which Bai Ling took out completely. The peel of the fruit was green, and even after being stored for so long, it remained greenish-yellow, without turning black or spoiling.

Bai Ling took two more baskets and began peeling the fruit. She didn't throw away the peels but carefully collected them.

When you peel this fruit, it stains your hands with a bluish-green color. Maybe it can be used as dye. Keep it for now, and you can throw it away if it's not useful.

Bai Ling dug out all the fibrous stuff from the fruit and threw it into a basket. Seeing Bai Ling working, not only Yue, but also Cang and Lin came over to help. The four of them quickly finished processing all the fruit.

The processed silk floss was piled in the basket, white and soft like white clouds. Bai Ling thought this stuff felt very nice to the touch, and the threads could be pulled out. Although it couldn't be used to make quilts and clothes like cotton, it should be fine for weaving cloth.

The seeds inside the white silk fibers had to be removed, which was also very simple and was done quickly by a few people.

The retrieved items were placed in a basket. Bai Ling looked at them a few more times, wondering if this kind of tree was easy to grow and how big it would have to grow to bear fruit. He planned to plant all the seeds next year, and if he couldn't find cotton, he would try to make it into a substitute for cotton.

*

To turn cotton into cotton wadding, you need to use the cotton carding method. Bai Ling decided to try to process this fibrous material using the cotton carding method to see if it would work.

Bai Ling found a wooden stick and had his father gently tap the silk fibers repeatedly. Yue went to his house to bring back the bamboo that had just been cut down that day, while Bai Ling found some animal sinews to process.

Split the bamboo, cut off a section about the thickness of a thumb, heat it over a fire, and the bamboo can be easily bent into the desired arc. Then tie animal sinew to the bent bamboo, and a simple bow is made.

Bai Ling and Yue stood facing each other. Bai Ling held one corner of the bow with one hand, while Yue held the other corner with both hands. Bai Ling called out "one, two." When he said "one," the two of them raised their hands at the same time, and the bow was lifted slightly. When he said "two," the bow fell and gently patted the silk floss. The silk floss naturally stuck to the animal sinew. Bai Ling used his other hand to take a wooden stick and tap the bowstring to knock off the silk floss stuck to it.

Bai Ling and Yue worked together seamlessly, patting the silk threads apart, making them longer, finer, and softer.

Bai Ling stopped what she was doing, reached out and grabbed a handful of silk floss to look at it, then reached out and pulled out a thread. The thread was very thin and felt quite soft to the touch. It didn't break after being pulled out. Bai Ling pulled hard on it, and the thread could be stretched quite long.

Bai Ling was delighted; this might actually be able to be used as a comb for a loom.

Once the loom is finished, he will weave the silk threads made from these silk flosses into cloth. If it is strong and durable, he can try to promote it throughout the country.

Although silk is beautiful, it is not suitable for daily use. Orcs need to hunt and work, so sturdy and durable clothing is the most suitable.

Bai Ling didn't need much silk thread, so he simply didn't go to the council room to get a spinning wheel, and instead found a spindle to start spinning.

Yue clasped her hands together and placed the ingot between them. Bai Ling twisted a silk thread and wrapped it around the ingot. Yue gently rubbed the ingot in her palms, and the ingot slowly began to rotate. Bai Ling held a long strip of silk floss in one hand and pinched the pulled silk thread in the other. The two worked together very well, and as the ingot rotated, more and more silk thread was wrapped around it.