179: Chapter 179 Hidden Treasures in the Sleeve

"Correct!"

The speaker was Old Man Mo. Stroking his gray beard, he said with a face full of admiration, "It was His Majesty the Head of State who led us in the research and development."

As expected...

Zhang Han was not surprised at all.

He looked at Zhao Fusu with admiring eyes.

Only His Majesty the Head of State possessed such world-shaking talent.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Han's admiration for you is like the waters of the Great River, endless and flowing, and like the flooding of the Yellow River, uncontrollable once it breaks forth."

Zhang Han spoke with a face of absolute sincerity.

When he said this, it was definitely not to flatter Zhao Fusu, but rather his true feelings.

"Alright, I called you here not to listen to your flattery."

Zhao Fusu looked at Zhang Han and said, "Transport these two machines to the Cloth Workshop and have the workers produce Wool Sweaters. See what the minimum cost per sweater can be reduced to."

Zhao Fusu estimated the cost of producing one Wool Sweater to be 20 coins, but the specific cost would only be known once one was actually made.

He also needed to understand how much the cost of each sweater could be compressed during mass production!

"Understood."

Zhang Han nodded in response.

"However..."

Zhang Han did not take his leave. After a pause, he asked, "I do not know exactly what the Wool Sweater Your Majesty mentioned looks like?"

Based on his understanding of His Majesty, the Wool Sweater in His Majesty's mouth was definitely something he had never seen before.

He managed the Cloth Workshop.

The attire of Great Qin included the Mianfu, Tongtianguanfu, Junxuanfu, Changguanfu, battle robes, armor, Shenyi, and Duanhe.

The Mianfu was worn by the Emperor during major sacrificial ceremonies and other grand occasions.

The Tongtianguanfu was worn by the Emperor during daily court sessions.

The Junxuanfu was the court dress of Qin Dynasty officials.

The Changguanfu was shaped like a magpie's tail, hence it was commonly called the 'Magpie Tail Crown.' This crown was a ceremonial crown worn during ancestral temple sacrifices in the Qin era, used by officials and attendants on specific ritual occasions.

Battle robes were worn by Qin soldiers, generally with a cross-collar and right-lapel, and were short in length to facilitate combat actions.

The color of the battle robes was mostly black or gray, and the texture was primarily made of hemp, kudzu, and other woven fabrics.

The cuffs and hem of the battle robes usually had a cinched design to prevent them from being grabbed by enemies or hindering movement during battle.

The Shenyi was common attire for the people of the Qin Dynasty.

The characteristic of the Shenyi was that the upper garment and lower skirt were connected, with different colored fabrics used for the edges. Its style featured a cross-collar, right-lapel, narrow sleeves, and a belted waist, with no slits at the hem, and the length generally reached the ankles.

The Duanhe was a short upper garment made of coarse cloth.

The style of the Duanhe was relatively simple, generally with a straight collar, a front opening, narrow sleeves, and a length reaching around the hips, making it convenient for labor.

In Zhang Han's knowledge, he had never heard of a garment called a Wool Sweater.

Judging by the name, it was likely made of wool, but Zhang Han didn't know what its specific style was.

The First Emperor didn't ask much after hearing about the Wool Sweater he hadn't heard of.

But Zhang Han had to ask clearly.

His Majesty the Head of State wanted him to produce the Wool Sweaters.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Fusu took out a pen and paper and began to draw very abstractly, saying, "It's like this, then like this, and then like this. Do you understand?"

Zhang Han also fell silent after looking at it.

Although Zhao Fusu's drawing was quite abstract, he gained an understanding of the Wool Sweater's style.

This narrow-sleeved design was somewhat like the Duanhe worn by poor commoners or those engaged in manual labor.

Nobles all wore wide-sleeved robes.

Robes here referred to both the Pao and the Fu.

The characteristic of these two clothing styles was that the sleeves were very wide and large.

Large cuffs symbolized status and position.

Ordinary commoners rarely wore such large garments.

Large sleeves were not only aesthetic but also displayed the power and majesty of the nobility.

And some officials wore large-sleeved clothes just to show off and flaunt.

Therefore, in the strictly hierarchical old society, those who wore such clothing were either officials or nobles.

The significance of wide-sleeved clothing representing power far outweighed its practicality.

Since wide sleeves inherently represented power...

Pockets were sewn inside the large sleeves, which could be used to carry things.

The opening of that pocket was opposite to the direction of the sleeve, and the pocket inside the sleeve had a trapezoidal opening.

This way, if silver, letters, fans, or anything else were placed in the pocket, the items would not fall out even if the hands hung down or if one bowed upon meeting an acquaintance.

The cuffs were large, and with pockets sewn inside, it was very convenient to hide things.

In the records, there was a filial son who went to a banquet at a wealthy person's house. Seeing many delicious things during the meal, he couldn't bear to eat them himself, so he secretly hid them in his sleeve pockets to take home for his mother to eat.

Others, for their own safety, would hide a sleeve knife, sleeve arrows, or other concealed weapons in the sleeve pockets, which was also very convenient.

Thus, there was a term called 'Universe in a Sleeve'.

Zhang Han breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, he was quite clever to ask His Majesty in advance; otherwise, His Majesty would definitely not be satisfied with the things he produced.

"First, make a crew-neck Wool Sweater with simple craftsmanship," Zhao Fusu said.

The simpler the craftsmanship, the lower the cost, and naturally, the higher the potential for sales volume.

It was also impossible to put any patterns on the Wool Sweaters.

Adding patterns would mean needing jacquard accessories and increasing the number of operators.

This would mean an increase in manufacturing costs.

This did not fit the current market.

For now, it should be as simple as possible to keep the price as low as possible.

At most, offer different colors.

"Is it like this?"

Zhang Han took out a brush and began to draw carefully on the white paper.

In every stroke, he displayed profound skill, which was by no means comparable to Zhao Fusu's abstract drawing.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Seeing Zhang Han draw the crew-neck Wool Sweater, he nodded repeatedly and said, "That's it, that's it, exactly!"

Zhao Fusu hadn't expected Zhang Han to have this talent.

Zhang Han nodded.

Zhao Fusu asked, "How much do you think it would cost to make such a Wool Sweater?"

Zhang Han said, "If we only produce one, that would be custom-made, and the price would be quite expensive."

"If it's mass-produced, the cost will be compressed."

"The production cost for a single Wool Sweater, including worker expenses, would be 20 coins!"

Zhao Fusu nodded slightly; Zhang Han's estimate was the same as his own.

The cost of a single crew-neck Wool Sweater was still relatively high.

What he was curious about was how much the production cost could be reduced after mass-producing the Wool Sweaters.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Han replied, "A skilled worker can process one hundred and twenty Wool Sweaters in a day."

"If the cost is spread out, a crew-neck Wool Sweater will only cost three coins."

When Zhang Han said this number, Zhao Fusu asked with a look of pleasant surprise, "Can the cost really be compressed that low!"