Chapter 93: Dyeing Cloth Craftsmanship Achieved
“This is a treasure!”
A Man stroked a piece of eggshell-blue fine cotton cloth, finding its texture soft yet smooth. When angled towards the sun, the fabric’s surface seemed to flow with a silver stream, as if starlight had been woven into it. It possessed an almost brocade-like quality, and even with her extensive experience, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “How was this achieved? Was this truly dyed?”
“Of course, it was dyed, just casually dyed,” Yuan Ye said humbly. After all, explaining the ‘paste-immersion process’ would be too troublesome and couldn’t be done in a few sentences. She wouldn’t understand anyway, so he could only be humble.
Nene also held a piece of bean-green cotton cloth, examining it with surprise. She stroked its smooth surface, feeling its extreme delicacy. Then, looking at the neat and beautiful pine leaf patterns, she asked curiously, “Master, was this also dyed?”
It was truly beautiful. She had never seen such beautiful and soft fabric before. The colors were incredibly vibrant, unlike the usual dull and faded fabrics. At first glance, they seemed to glow. Moreover, the patterns on the fabric were exquisite and beautiful, uniform in shape, with clear edges, subtly visible, as if woven. It was truly extraordinary.
She liked it at first sight and even felt like buying it. She imagined it would make a beautiful kozode, and she wanted to buy it even though the color and pattern of the fabric were clearly more suited for men.
Yuan Ye glanced at it and smiled, “Of course. First, dye the base color, then tie-dye it for color layering, and finally apply the paste to achieve these uniform patterns.”
Tie-dyeing techniques already existed in this era, but in Japan, it was called ‘shibori’ at the time. Typically, raw silk would be bundled and the fabric would undergo secondary immersion dyeing to achieve patterned effects.
Depending on the bundling method, the duration of the secondary immersion, and the tightness of the bundling, the patterns would vary. For example, the famous ‘shibori’ of the time could produce ‘deer patterns’ resembling the natural markings on a deer’s back, which were very popular and considered top-tier high-end fabric.
Since tie-dyeing technology already existed, he naturally wanted to utilize it, but he made improvements, using a ‘printing paste chemical tie-dyeing method.’ First, paste was applied using carved blocks, allowing only the unpasted areas to undergo chemical reactions during secondary immersion dyeing, thus creating dyed patterns. The final result was more stable than the original bundled tie-dyeing method, and the pattern edges were clearer. With the original bundled tie-dyeing method, the dyer could not fully determine the final pattern, and the edges were usually blurry with severe color bleeding. Producing a masterpiece relied solely on luck, resulting in a high scrap rate.
These techniques were the result of Yuan Ye’s efforts over nearly half a year. He experimented repeatedly in the laboratory, barely mastering the techniques for Shilin dyes and sulfur dyes. He then tried to recall modern printing and dyeing processes and further improved the existing techniques of the era. Finally, he conducted a small-scale trial, resulting in these samples.
He could now dye in five colors: red, yellow, blue, green, and black. Furthermore, depending on the process, the color spectrum was very stable and broad.
For example, with red, he could achieve various shades such as silver-red, water-red, scarlet, crimson, and purplish-crimson, depending on the immersion time and different raw materials and additives.
Similarly, with yellow, using similar procedures and different raw materials and additives, he could obtain shades like goose yellow, chrysanthemum yellow, apricot yellow, golden yellow, earth yellow, and tea brown.
Other colors were similar, all capable of multiple variations and stable coloring that wouldn’t fade after repeated washing. He also recalled the old TV dramas he had watched 《 Dyeing Workshop 》 and independently restored the paste-hanging technique. This made the cotton cloth, which felt slightly rough in this era, appear silky and smooth after printing and dyeing, even slightly reflective, resembling coarse silk. It was somewhat of a showpiece—after a few washes, although the color wouldn’t fade, this smooth and silky feel would completely disappear, returning to the original texture of the cotton cloth.
However, he felt it was sufficient for the Japanese Medieval Period. It could already deliver a crushing blow to all the dyers and artisans in current dye workshops. He had also calculated the costs. Even though the process was slightly more involved, the efficiency of raw material usage was high, making the cost significantly lower than his competitors. Even if they sold at the same price, he could make a substantial profit. He could even slightly lower the price and drive all of them out of business.
Once a monopoly was established, he would dictate the price, and becoming the king of dyed cloth was within reach!
Seeing that the first batch of ‘target audience’ seemed to react very positively to these samples, his confidence surged again. He brought out more of the better trial-dyed samples from this period for them to appraise, to see which colors and patterns were most popular. He had wasted more, having spent five to six hundred *koban* on repeated trials over half a year, a considerable cost.
These fabrics, with their bright colors and varied patterns, made A Man and Nene, who had more outgoing personalities, even more excited. They touched and looked around, feeling they couldn’t get enough.
Yayoi and A Qing, with their more introverted personalities, were also very interested in these bright fabrics and the beautiful patterns on them. Perhaps all girls were irresistible to such things. Nene, after her initial delight, became thoughtful, feeling she should learn this craft so she could open a workshop in the future and bring the Kinoshita Family greater prosperity. She had arrived at a good time; Oda Nobunaga was promoting ‘free trade,’ and in the future, even she could open a workshop.
A Man was even happier. She wasn’t particularly interested in wearing beautiful clothes, but with her sharp eyes and experience, she could already see countless copper coins rolling in. She immediately rubbed her hands together and said to Yuan Ye with anticipation, “These fabrics will surely sell for a high price. Let’s start!”
She had long realized Yuan Ye was no ordinary person, certainly not someone whose head was frequently kicked by a donkey. Her judgment had never been wrong, and Yuan Ye had indeed come up with something new.
The rest would be up to her to handle; Yuan Ye wouldn’t need to worry about it!
“Not so fast!” Yuan Ye also wanted to make a lot of money, but real-life problems were far more numerous than in games or novels. Technology and craftsmanship alone were useless; there were still a lot of miscellaneous tasks to do.
He immediately and enthusiastically began discussing with A Man how to stably and in large quantities obtain raw materials.
Raw materials like alkali, sulfur, salt, and limestone, which provide acids and bases, already had stable procurement channels, requiring only an increase in purchase volume. However, to open a dye workshop, they would also need fine hemp cloth, cotton cloth, indigo plants, gallnuts, alum, madder, hematite, mercury, acorns, persimmon leaves, holly leaves, chestnut shells, sage, gromwell seeds… and dozens of other miscellaneous raw materials. Finding them all, or even a large quantity of them, in a short period would be a significant undertaking.
Furthermore, there was the issue of space, which was also difficult. He had previously borrowed a piece of wasteland in Takeuchi Manor from Oda Nobunaga to open a soy sauce workshop. As the workshop grew, it constantly emitted thick smoke and foul odors, leading to a shortage of fuel supply in the manor, severely impacting daily life. Okuruku Kiyobee was already showing displeasure.
If a dye workshop were to be opened, the dye vats would also require long-term heating to maintain water temperature. The demand for fuel would be even greater than that of the soy sauce workshop. If they were to chop down more trees near Takeuchi Manor to burn charcoal…
Kiyobee’s face would likely stretch longer than a donkey’s, and he would truly come to settle the score.
Moreover, he had been recruiting and arming followers. Kiyobee was also very wary of this and had subtly warned him to stop. If the number of armed followers increased further, he would have no choice but to suggest to Oda Nobunaga that he move out of Takeuchi Manor. Yuan Ye currently had over thirty armed followers who were constantly training, and a surprise attack could potentially raze Kiyobee’s residence, leaving Takeuchi Manor leaderless and directly seizing it.
Even though he never had such intentions and wasn’t crazy enough to seize Oda Nobunaga’s direct territory, Kiyobee was a very rigid person and still considered him a threat, unwilling to let him expand his power.
He had no choice. Two months ago, he stopped recruiting new members and dismissed a few troublemakers who had made mistakes. For now, he maintained an armed force of just over thirty men, and his plan to accumulate one hundred and twenty followers in a year had fallen through.
Ultimately, these were all land issues. It was no wonder land was the number one means of production. Without one’s own territory, nothing could be done conveniently. Even chopping wood for charcoal required looking at others’ faces. A Man also had no good solution for this problem, as land was the lifeblood of samurai. They constantly chanted “issho kenmei” (dedication to one’s work), believing only land was their place of existence and the source of their power, thus yielding not an inch. Even with money, it couldn’t be bought.
They discussed for a long time without coming up with a solution for acquiring a large plot of land. Nene was also interested in management matters and joined in to offer suggestions. However, although she was intelligent, she was too young and lacked experience. Yuan Ye and A Man couldn’t think of good ideas, and she was even more at a loss, only able to fulfill her filial duty.
The three of them whispered together for a long time without any results, causing Yuan Ye’s excited mood to cool slightly. He felt the road ahead was long and arduous, and making a fortune in ancient times wasn’t that easy. Damn it, the protagonists in transmigration novels had everything they wanted, but he had nothing. It was too difficult!
However, it didn’t matter. They could take it slow; they would eventually find a solution. He pondered for a moment, then put it out of his mind, and invited the whole family to have a good meal to celebrate the successful dyeing of the cloth.
He was in a very good mood and enjoyed a delicious meal. Then, he sent off Nene, who was reluctant to leave, and also picked out a few superior sample cloths as gifts for her to take back to the Asano family. This would help maintain their relationship and serve as an early advertisement. His little disciple was increasingly fond of staying with him, as the food was good and life was interesting. However, it was inconvenient for her to stay overnight, so she had to return to the Asano family.
When the night was deep and quiet, he lay awake, unable to sleep, and began to ponder the land issue again. He planned to spend some time in the next couple of days dyeing a good piece of cloth. The ‘printing paste chemical tie-dyeing method’ wasn’t limited to just one color; the more colors, the more complex the pattern, requiring more repeated washing, paste application, and immersion dyeing. The scrap rate would increase, and the cost would skyrocket to the point of no profit, making it uneconomical.
However, it would be excellent for gifts. He planned to dye a piece of cloth with extremely bright colors and a very complex pattern, preferably incorporating gold and silver. He would then use it to bribe Oda Nobunaga. Oda Nobunaga, being a lover of novelties and an eccentric, should be very interested. Perhaps then he could persuade him to lend him another piece of wasteland, even a remote corner would do. If he lacked water, he could pay to dig a well himself.
If that still didn’t work, Oda Nobunaga still owed him a favor, which he might be able to use now. With the favor and the cloth, he could directly exchange it for ownership of a piece of wasteland in Takeuchi Manor and obtain free logging rights in the vicinity of Takeuchi Manor, thereby silencing Okuruku Kiyobee, the village head and magistrate.
As for continuing to arm followers, that was not so easy to ask for. After all, raising an army in someone’s heartland, even if he had no intention of rebelling, could easily cause misunderstandings. He would have to find another way in the future. He had thought too simply before. He had no malicious intent, and his armed followers were legitimate, but in this unfortunate era, betrayal and conspiracy were mainstream. It was no wonder Kiyobee was constantly vigilant.
Of course, this problem would naturally be resolved if he moved out of Takeuchi Manor. But leaving to slowly recruit followers felt less secure than relying on the nearly three hundred followers and six to seven hundred rookie ashigaru within Takeuchi Manor. He didn’t want to move out yet. If he were to move, it would be after he had enough money to recruit and arm everyone at once.
He was contemplating his next move, his thoughts drifting further and further. Suddenly, he heard a commotion, as if someone was shouting, and not just one person. It sounded like a disturbance had broken out, though it was distant, seemingly from another part of the manor. The noise wasn’t very loud.
He had been in this era for over a year and had even played a minor role in several major battles. His temperament had become much calmer, so he didn’t panic. He went outside to see what was happening. As soon as he stepped out, the distant commotion grew louder, and even red light began to appear in the night sky, suggesting a fire.
