Parallel Ming Dynasty: The more he compared, the more devastated Zhu Yuanzhang became.

If it weren't for the prestigious reputation of the Peace Trading Company, these people would probably have quit long ago.

But it wasn't long before they fully understood the deeper meaning behind Zhu Duo's instructions.

This was because Zhu Duo had presented them with several sets of brand-new, intricately crafted items.

The three technologies that were finalized first were wool spinning technology, soap making technology, and a completely new glass firing process.

These people had heard a bit about the wool spinning craft.

After all, the herdsmen in the north usually wear wool and mink fur. Although the silk weaving industry in the Central Plains is the best in the world, the production of silk has its limits. It often takes an entire prefecture's mulberry fields to raise silkworms in order to barely supply the production of high-quality silk. Moreover, the price of this silk has always been frighteningly high.

However, this wool textile technology can solve this problem at its root.

Faced with the doubts on everyone's faces, Zhu Duo simply said, "This is a textile machine that I designed and built. Theoretically, it is more than five times more efficient than any textile technology currently on the market. It can not only save a lot of wool raw materials, but also make use of the waste wool that was not used before, and can spin out extremely fine and even plush."

After hearing Zhu Duo's words, everyone present was stunned.

They could barely understand the idea of ​​increasing the spinning speed fivefold, but to say that they could utilize more wool was clearly just a matter of mixing in inferior wool.

"Boss—is this really the right thing to do?" someone asked cautiously in a low voice.

"Why is it inappropriate?"

"I think it's best to discard the inferior wool if possible. If you mix inferior wool with high-quality wool to spin yarn, it might damage the reputation that our Peace Trading Company has built up over many years once our customers find out."

The person who said this was actually trying to subtly advise Zhu Duo not to engage in such unscrupulous business that harms the people, since the reputation of the Peace Trading Company had been painstakingly built up step by step.

Zhu Duo simply smiled faintly and gestured to his subordinate to hand over two tufts of cashmere.

One portion is whitish in color, and the other portion is yellowish.

The man took the two tufts of cashmere and held them in his hands, examining them repeatedly, but he still couldn't figure out Zhu Duo's intention.

Zhu Duo smiled and asked, "Which of these two tufts of cashmere do you think is of better quality?"

"Although the white wool looks better, in terms of texture, the yellow wool is actually finer and softer."

Zhu Duo nodded and asked, "Can you tell which two parts of the sheep each tuft of wool came from?"

"This white wool should be high-grade sheep wool, which is considered second-class wool in terms of quality. But this yellow wool..."

The man spoke with a tone full of hesitation.

Judging solely from the feel, this yellow wool is clearly top-grade wool, specifically the finest wool from the neck to the back of the sheep.

But the wool in this area never turns yellow.

Zhu Duo didn't wait for him to ponder any further and directly revealed the answer: "This yellow wool is the stray hairs from the edges near the base of the sheep's leg."

"What? Isn't that fourth-grade scrap wool? That part is constantly subjected to friction, so the wool is already fine and brittle and easily breaks, but this feel..."

"That's why I say my spinning machine has extraordinary abilities."

Zhu Duo smiled and said, "Because ordinary spinning machines can only shear wool a hundred times at most, and then these scraps can only be thrown away as waste."

Moreover, ordinary textile machines simply comb and smooth the wool; spinning and weaving ultimately use whole, intact wool fibers.

But my spinning machine can shear wool more than a hundred times. First, it completely breaks up and shreds all the wool, and then it is combed and shaped again. Even the best wool from the first grade must be completely broken up first, and then combed and patted evenly again!

This is a completely new textile process, unlike any other technology currently on the market!

What is technological innovation?!

This is technological innovation!

In the past, craftsmanship simply utilized the inherent characteristics of materials, at most making some adjustments and modifications to the existing materials; but after technological innovation, the fundamental properties of materials are thoroughly understood before their value is fully extracted, leaving no stone unturned.

If it weren't for the limitations of current technology, Zhu Duo would have even considered bringing over the entire polyester production technology! {Original World: Hey, you guys from another world, do you really have such advanced textile technology?}

{Original World: You're absolutely right! Is the wool in your world really as amazing as Zhu Duo says?}

{New World: We can't say for sure if such amazing technology exists. All we know is that wool sweaters in our world are genuinely inexpensive; even ordinary people can afford them.}

{New World: And more importantly, the winters of the past few years were terribly cold, and it was precisely because we could afford these wool sweaters that we easily survived those unbearable winters!}

{Original World: Now that you mention it, I remember that the winters a few years ago were indeed ridiculously cold, and many people here froze to death.}

It is said that during that harsh winter, many farmers couldn't survive because they lacked warm clothing, resulting in the abandonment of vast tracts of land.

{Original World: And even if we didn't freeze to death, we could only huddle at home burning firewood, taking it one day at a time, not daring to step out of the house even half a step.}

{Original World: And during those winters, the price of winter clothes increased several times over. It is said that an ordinary wool coat had risen to six taels of silver!}

Six taels of silver! That's our whole family's income for a whole year!

{New World: Perhaps thanks to Prince Zhu Duo, wool coats in our world haven't increased in price; they've always sold for only one tael of silver each.}

{New World: Now that you mention it, I realize how lucky we are. If it weren't for Prince Zhu Duo during those years, we would most likely be like your world, with countless people freezing to death.}

{New World: And that year, the price of cotton-padded clothes here actually dropped compared to previous years! That must be thanks to Prince Zhu Duo.}

{New World: It's truly all thanks to Prince Zhu Duo. Because the production of wool sweaters increased, the price didn't rise, and the supply of cotton-padded clothes was also sufficient. So even though those two years were extremely cold, the price of winter clothing didn't increase at all!}

{Original World: Why doesn't our world have Zhu Duo?! If our world had Zhu Duo, my uncle wouldn't have frozen to death at home back then! Waaaaah…}

{Original World: Honestly, we are so envious of your world having Zhu Duo. Because of Zhu Duo, your world is so much better than ours.}

I really want to switch places with the me in your world...

{Zhang Shouwang, the former governor of Xuzhou in the original world: If Zhu Duo existed in our world, so many people in Xuzhou wouldn't have died in that devastating flood. Over the years, I often dream of those people who perished in the flood.}

I often couldn't sleep at all, and I wished that flood had never happened.

I would give my life for it!

{Original World: Prefect, please don't blame yourself. We all understand you. This has never been your fault.}

{Original World: Yes, Your Excellency, you don't need to take this to heart at all. It's all fate. We ordinary people can only do our best in the face of natural disasters, and that's enough.}

{Original World: Do your best and leave the rest to fate!}

{New World: Prefect, please let it go. It's all in the past, and the departed have rested in peace.}

The barrage of comments posted by the governor in the original world was seen by everyone, and in an instant, the screen was filled with words of comfort for him.

Although no one had ever seen what the prefect of the original world looked like, through Zhang Shouwang, the prefect of Xuzhou in the new world, everyone knew that when faced with that monstrous flood, the prefect of Xuzhou in the original world had done the best that an official could do.

As for why he ultimately failed to protect the people of Xuzhou, it was simply because in his world, Zhu Duo did not come to his aid.

Everyone present was so astonished by the earth-shattering technology that Zhu Duo had presented that they were speechless.

If what Zhu Duo said is true, then wouldn't their textile technology be several times more valuable than that of other textile workshops?

While other families might produce fabric worth one tael of silver from a single textile machine, their machines could produce fabric worth six or seven taels of silver.

Such technology is a revolutionary innovation, a divine tool capable of shaking the entire textile industry of the Ming Dynasty!

Seeing the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, Zhu Duo continued, "Not only that, my textile machine has an even more impressive feature."

Once it's running, it doesn't require any human intervention. You just need to continuously add wool raw materials, wait a while, and you can directly collect finished cashmere.

This brings us to a core issue: energy.

"Energy?" the group asked, their faces full of confusion.

"To put it bluntly, it's about the driving force. We can completely operate these textile machines without human intervention."

"No manpower? Then will you use donkeys and horses to pull it around?" someone suddenly realized and asked.

But Zhu Duo shook his head. "That's not the case. We can use a waterwheel to drive it."

"A waterwheel?"

Everyone's eyes lit up at first, but then they frowned.

"But boss, there isn't enough water here in Yingtian Prefecture. Besides, to support a large textile workshop, you need a huge amount of water power, which is probably impossible."

"I never said that the future Peace Trading Company would only be based in Yingtian Prefecture." "Isn't Xuzhou a place with uniquely advantageous water resources?"

Moreover, Xuzhou is located north of Muzhou, where sheep farming is most prosperous, making it even more convenient to collect wool nearby.

"Furthermore, the textile machine I designed can not only spin wool, but also cotton."

Even during wool-free seasons, the loom can be used directly to spin cotton without any modifications!

Zhu Duo spoke loudly, his tone full of excitement, "Remember this, everyone: don't just focus on this small piece of land right under your feet. What we, the Peace Trading Company, want to do is spread throughout the entire Ming Dynasty, not shrink into one place!"

Our Peace Trading Company aims to become the top trading company in the entire Ming Dynasty within three years!

To benefit all people and bring happiness to ordinary citizens!

Zhu Duo's passionate words instantly ignited the passion of everyone present.

The crowd cheered loudly in response, each one rubbing their hands together, as if they were fully prepared and just waiting for Zhu Duo's order.

Being able to work for a boss like this is a hundred times luckier than marrying the right wife!

Instead of diving headfirst into the technical research of textile machines, this group of people surrounded Zhu Duo and asked him about the details of soap-making technology.

In this day and age, ordinary people have no concept of soap. At most, they use herbs to boil water for cleaning or wear a sachet to cover up odors.

In fact, the rudimentary process of making soap already existed as early as the Song Dynasty.

People back then would crush and grind natural soap pods into a fine powder, add spices and other ingredients, and make them into spheres the size of oranges, specifically for washing their face and bathing.

To be precise, those soap balls at that time were actually a kind of synthetic cleaning detergent.

It was this soap ball that laid the initial prototype foundation for later soaps.

Unfortunately, this technique did not spread during the Ming Dynasty, and only a very few people know about it today.

With this in mind, Zhu Duo began to explain the soap-making process to everyone in detail.

After listening, everyone still seemed to only have a vague understanding.

"So, this soap and the sachet are pretty much the same thing?"

"No, it should be considered a cleaning aid used during washing and grooming."

"What you've said is somewhat relevant, but to be more precise, this soap is a specialized skin cleansing product. Its core function is to wash away dirt from the skin's surface, leaving the skin clean and refreshed."

After discussing it for a long time, everyone finally figured out the use of the soap, but they were still unsure whether it would sell.

"I know what you're worried about."

Zhu Duo smiled, having already figured out what everyone was thinking.

In this era, people did not yet have the concept of bacteria. At most, they only knew that if the body was not clean, it would be easy to get sick. But that alone was enough.

"As for how to sell it, that's not something you people who do technical research and development should worry about."

"I'll discuss how to open up sales channels with Shen Bi. All you need to do is manufacture all the materials required for these processes according to the specifications."

Zhu Duo set two production directions for them: one was affordable sulfur soap, and the other was high-end refined soap with added fragrances.

Sulfur soap can be sold to ordinary people, which can greatly reduce their chances of getting sick and make their daily lives more hygienic.

This can be considered a genuine effort to improve people's well-being.

On the other hand, securing the mass market early on can prevent unscrupulous merchants from using inferior products to produce and sell counterfeit goods with harmful raw materials in order to seize the market, ultimately harming the people and causing disaster.

-

After hearing Zhu Duo explain the purpose of sulfur soap in preventing and controlling diseases to a certain extent, the onlookers from both worlds felt an overwhelming sense of respect.

Zhu Duo always kept the well-being of ordinary people in mind. What else could he be but a sage descended to earth?

Although agriculture has been valued by the imperial court since ancient times, the people who farmed the land were truly poor.

Zhu Duo ran such a large business and set up such a large operation, yet he always kept the suffering of the people in mind. If he is not worthy of being called a saint, then who is?

{Original World: Although we've never seen what sulfur soap looks like, we can imagine how helpful it must be to you.}

New World: Of course! When we first bought the sulfur soap, we wondered what it was for. It didn't have a particularly strong smell, but after washing, our faces felt clean and refreshed, without any oiliness.

Furthermore, after using it for a period of time, we all clearly felt that we were getting sick much less often.

{New World: We don't understand the intricacies of this either, but while it's not some kind of miracle cure, it's more effective than any miracle cure!}

{New World: What's even more remarkable is how durable this thing is. Our family of five bought one, and we use it for washing our faces, hands, and body—it's lasted for over two months and we still haven't finished it.}

{Original World: Was it because a bar of sulfur soap was made particularly large?}

{New World: No, a bar of sulfur soap is only about the size of a baby's fist. More importantly, this bar of sulfur soap only costs a few dollars!}

{Original World: I'm so envious! I really want a bar of sulfur soap too!}

{New World: Hahahaha! We can't help with that! After all, there's no Zhu Duo in your world, and our Prince Zhu Duo can't just go to your world.}

{Original World: People who sincerely create things for ordinary people are all great people! We poor people don't have money, so we can't afford any good things. We can only look at the various novel items that others talk about, but we can't touch any of them.}

But in your world, you can afford cheap wool sweaters, Mixue orange juice, and sulfur soap.

It's so enviable!