Chapter 24: Combined Textile Machine

The implementation of the new standards allowed the factory to undergo a comprehensive reorganization from top to bottom and vice versa, unifying all units and measurements. As a result, research, production, and statistics within the factory were all rejuvenated. The work became much easier for everyone, and both scientific research and industrial production made significant progress.

Over the course of a month, Li Xian realized that he had been in this world for over 200 days. With just over a month left before the Spring Festival, he checked the calendar.

“Why isn’t it cold?” Li Xian observed his surroundings—there was no heavy snow or ice, just a slight chill. Given that he was now at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, he was quite indifferent to the cold.

“The eighth layer of Qi Refining seems a bit slow. Ah, I’ve been so busy with research lately that my cultivation has been delayed.” Li Xian felt quite frustrated.

If others knew that Li Xian had risen from the fifth to nearly the peak of the eighth layer of Qi Refining in just over 200 days, they would be envious. Are you envying or boasting?

It seemed that even the heavens couldn’t tolerate his self-satisfaction. A little figure named Xie An bounced over. “Big Brother, Grandma He said the combined textile machine is ready and wants you to take a look.”

Xie An’s way of addressing him was always endearing. Li Xian laughed heartily and took out a small jar of honey from his drawer. “Little guy, make sure to grow up quickly.”

“I don’t want to grow up,” Xie An said seriously.

“Why not?”

“If I grow up, Grandpa won’t pat my head anymore.”

What came out of the cheerful child’s mouth was something that Li Xian couldn’t take lightly. Xie An’s parents had died at the hands of bandits, and his grandfather, Xie Jun, had escaped with the infant Xie An in his arms.

Although this Immortal Realm had transitioned to an era of nation-states, the lingering influence of the sect era had not yet faded. Outside the city, there were many bandits, especially now with the Great Xia Kingdom on the brink of collapse and chaos spreading throughout the country.

Li Xian patted Xie An’s head. “Then you should grow up quickly. When you’re grown up, you can support your grandfather as he walks.”

“Yes, I’ll listen to Big Brother. I’ll eat more and grow up quickly.”

“And you need to practice hard as well. By the way, take these books and read them. Remember not to show them to others. If you have any questions, come and ask me.” Li Xian handed over several books. These were materials he had organized from Earth, including even some three-dimensional pictures of airplanes and ships.

“Mm-hmm.” Xie An clutched the books with one hand and grabbed the honey with the other, quickly running off. Having endured hardship from a young age, Xie An no longer displayed the typical childlike exuberance.

Watching Xie An leave, Li Xian smiled slightly before heading to the textile factory with a thick workbook in hand. This workbook recorded everything, including future plans; it covered technological research, industrial expansion, urban construction, commercial capital, and even Li Xian’s developmental journey.

By the time Li Xian arrived at the textile factory, it was already crowded. The factory gates were open, and almost everyone from the factory had come to watch. In the center of the workshop stood a very rudimentary machine, but this simple textile machine had sent countless textile workers into a state of joyous excitement.

They cheered, seemingly celebrating a monumental victory that belonged to them.

When Li Xian arrived, He Lin was cheerfully cheering like a young girl.

“Aunt He, it seems there’s been quite a progress this time,” Li Xian had to interrupt He Lin’s cheers.

He Lin’s excited voice was a bit high-pitched. “Young Master, you’ve arrived. This old woman is so happy. Young Master, the first combined textile machine is complete. It can currently handle spinning and weaving. The remaining functions are still under research.

The machine uses 4 engines, is 12 meters long, over 3 meters wide, and 2.5 meters high. It’s expected to produce 50 bolts of fabric per day, which is 500 meters. 500 meters—that’s the annual output of a skilled textile worker, and it only requires 14 people to operate.

With further skill development and improvements, we expect to produce 100 bolts of fabric a day. For general silk, one bolt is worth one or two taels of silver.”

Li Xian listened attentively. The ingenuity of the working people was truly boundless, and this once again proved the truth of that statement. Li Xian did not need to be involved in every detail of the research because no one understood the textile machine better than these textile workers; he only needed to set the direction, provide the basics, and offer rewards. The rest of the research could be left to the workers.

Indeed, this confirmed Li Xian’s approach.

After the introduction, with a command from He Lin, the 14 textile workers who had been ready for some time began their tasks. They sequentially turned on the switches and started the machines.

Soon, after a series of operations that Li Xian couldn’t fully comprehend, the textile machine began producing fabric. The skilled textile workers quickly mastered the operation, and the speed of fabric production began to gradually increase. Although the machine was still the same, the skilled workers could optimize and adjust the processes.

The machine clattered and roared, and everyone watched quietly, though they were all filled with excitement.

The rollers at the output spun, gradually marking a line at the 10-meter scale; then a line indicating "ready for washing" was drawn. Currently, the textile machine could not cut the fabric, only mark it. However, this marking method was effective and could be used for cutting later based on needs.

"The first piece of fabric took just a little over three quarters of an hour, less than 50 minutes," He Lin, who was in charge of timing, reported.

The timing tool used for now was a jade plate engraved with an array from fairyland, using the principle of yin and yang rotation for timing. The accuracy was, at best, barely adequate.

Li Xian thought, “Perhaps we should make clocks. With current technology, we should be able to create large clocks.”

Setting this thought aside for now, Li Xian continued to observe the combined textile machine. After some practice, the workers reduced the time for the second piece of fabric to half an hour, and by the fifth piece, the time was shortened to just over twenty minutes. In the following two hours, they produced a total of five pieces of fabric!

The expected output for a day was 60 pieces of fabric! Seeing this result, He Lin and many others involved were even more thrilled. They cheered and celebrated, as this was an extraordinary achievement. The combined textile machine had saved the spinning time, resulting in a speed increase of over a hundredfold!

Liu Bin, who was in charge of producing the textile machines, spoke up, "I've observed for a while and found that there are still some areas that can be improved. Perhaps the next combined textile machine could reach a speed of 80 pieces per day."

He Lin immediately sprang to Liu Bin's side, "Then hurry up and start production! What are you still doing here?"

Then He Lin jumped in front of Li Xian, "Young Master, I’m already impatient. What about the raw materials? With about thirty days left until the New Year, if we hurry, we should be able to produce over ten thousand pieces of fabric. We need to lower the fabric prices in the capital by 20% this year and make those unscrupulous merchants cry on the streets."

"If Liu Bin's machine factory works efficiently, we might even reach the goal of twenty thousand pieces of fabric before the New Year!"

Many of the textile workers here had been exploited by unscrupulous merchants and had only recently come to work in the workshop.

"Do you have enough manpower now?" This was Li Xian’s primary concern. When leaving the capital, he had only brought over three hundred people, including more than eighty textile workers. Now, with various divisions within the factory, the shortage of manpower had become urgent.

He Lin laughed at the question, "Young Master, you’ve been so busy these past few days. I went to An Yang City to recruit workers. We've already hired over three hundred female workers with basic textile skills, and they’re currently undergoing training. They should be ready to start work within three days."

"What about the initial textile workers?"

(Note: There is no specific standard length for a piece of fabric; some are 10 zhang, while others are 12 zhang . Modern textile machines can reach 500 meters. Here, we use a memorable length of 10 meters.)

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