General Guan was Guan Su. When An Zi Ran asked Fu Wu Tian to help him look for cottonseeds, Guan Su was the one that Fu Wu Tian had assigned to the task. Although Guan Su had just sent out the subordinates below him to search for the seeds, the fact that he was back meant that there could be some news on the seeds.
It wasn't the first time that An Zi Ran was meeting Guan Su, but the first time they met was at night. The light from the candle was dim, so at that time he couldn't see the other person very clearly. Looking at him now, Guan Su's appearance when compared with Fu Wu Tian was at two extremes. He could be classified as a handsome beauty, confident, and unrestraint.
"Guan Su pays respects to wang ye, wang fei!"
He was robed in white and a slight smile curved the edges of his lips. He cupped his hands and bowed to the two people. His every move was free and at ease.
When An Zi Ran saw that Fu Wu Tian did not respond right away, he nodded and said, "General Guan, no need for formalities."
"Let's talk in the study."
After a while, in the study room.
Guan Su had a servant carry in the box that he brought with him. The box wasn't very big; it wasn't even half the size of a cubic meter. The servant placed the box on the table, lowered his head, and then exited the room. Guan Su closed the door after the servant. Then he opened the box, took out a bag, and poured the seeds inside onto the table.
An Zi Ran was actually not that familiar with cottonseeds, so he looked at Guan Su.
Guan Su took out some more things from within the box.
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Seeing the things in his hands, An Zi Ran's eyes flashed brightly. On a small branch, a few blades of yellow leaves were sandwiched under a group of white cotton wadding. This was the cottonseed that he was looking for. He could not be mistaken. He didn't expect that it would really exist in this world!
When he first discovered that the most commonly used fabrics in Da Ya were only limited to a few types, such as linen and silk, his first thought turned to the most common cloth in his previous life: cotton.
Cotton was better than linen. Although the strength and breathability of linen was very good, linen was rough and hard. It was uncomfortable to wear and easily chaffed the skin. But because there were no better alternatives, the people who could not afford better types of cloths could only bear with it. Therefore, clothes in Da Ya were mainly made of linen, followed by silk.
Fu Wu Tian went to An Zi Ran's side. "This is the hemp seed you are looking for?"
An Zi Ran did not correct Fu Wu Tian's wrong word, nodded faintly, and then placed that branch of cotton on the table. He looked at Guan Su and said sincerely, "You can even find such a rare thing. General Guan really is extraordinarily capable."
Guan Su smiled and replied, "Wang fei is exaggerating. This general merely moved his mouth a bit (to order his subordinates). The ones who really worked hard are those who went around searching. It is they who had to go through a lot of trouble."
"Then please thank them for me, General Guan." An Zi Ran knew that those people who went out to sea to search for the seeds must all be people that Fu Wu Tian trusted. He never thought of mistreating them. To have found the seeds within such a short span of time, they must have ran to a lot of places. The things that must be rewarded, he would not be stingy even if it were just one coin.
Guan Su replied, "Certainly."
Translations by Vanilla Muse.
Guan Su didn't stay for too long. After a short while, he got up and excused himself. An Zi Ran had Steward Zhou send him out.
In the study room, Fu Wu Tian helped him take out the seeds and the cotton in the box. There were not many varieties of seeds, but the quantity was high, and it was sorted by quality.
An Zi Ran had a servant bring in a few basins of hot water. Then he sprinkled the seeds in to soak.
In order to understand how to filter seeds, An Zi Ran deliberately learned about it, so right now he wasn't confused about what to do. He had yet to find a suitable place to plant the cottonseeds, so he decided to give this a try.
Fu Wu Tian watched his series of actions. His movements were fluid. It was obvious that he had practiced before.
An Zi Ran noticed his gaze but didn't pay much attention to it. Only after he finished did he say, "Help me put these basins in the corner."
Fu Wu Tian carried one in each hand, placing them in the corner. Then he helped An Zi Ran put away the box. After finishing these tasks, he came over, and in passing, he picked up the cotton branch. It didn't look like anything edible. Up till now, he still did not know what his wang fei had planned for these seeds. He looked at An Zi Ran, and waited for him to explain.
An Zi Ran took the branch from him. In a few moves he plucked the cotton from the branch. "This thing is not for eating, but its use is the same as other types of hemp plants, and it's even better than those kinds."
Fu Wu Tian's pupils suddenly shrank.
He was clever. He didn't need An Zi Ran to explain in detail what his words meant.
Although he was a child of royalty, he had stayed at the border for so many years, what has he not seen? Even though he wore precious silks, he knew that the linen the people wore was made of various hemp plants. If this thing was the same as linen, then the meaning was self-evident.
Fu Wu Tian finally understood that what his wang fei wanted to earn was not ordinary silver!