Cotton Bolls (continued)

Perhaps because their chieftain is a sub-beastman, the Long Years Tribe has closer relationships among its members than in other tribes, and its people are more lively.

Everyone was a little afraid of Wu Jiong, but very close to Jian Mo. They chatted around Jian Mo all morning, talking about gossip from various tribes and asking about health issues.

Jian Mo answered them all.

They walked uphill and soon stopped in front of a large tree.

Xin Jun turned to Jian Mo and Wu Jiong and introduced, "This is the tree that grows cloth threads; we rely on it to make clothes."

Jian Mo looked up at the big tree.

The tree's bark is quite smooth, and its leaves are somewhat like those of a palm tree. A large leaf is composed of countless long, thin leaves forming an oval shape, resembling a large palm-leaf fan.

The trunk of this tree is green, and its leaves are also green.

He stared at it for a long time but still couldn't figure out where the so-called fabric threads were.

The people of the Long Years Tribe had already placed their baskets on the ground, tucked their metal knives into their backs, and, using the trees as a springboard, quickly climbed up the trees.

Immediately afterwards, the person who was almost at the top of the tree cut down the leaves.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong stood aside and waited until most of the leaves had fallen before the leaf cutters slid down the tree and picked up the leaves.

Once Jian Mo had the leaves in her hands, she noticed that the edges of each leaf had hard, fibrous material that, when torn slightly, turned into threads.

Jian Mo Xin Jun, "Is this the thread used to make clothes?"

Xin Jun nodded. "That's it, but it needs to be processed first before we can do it."

As he spoke, Xin Jun picked up a leaf, cut the long green leaf directly from the base, and with a couple of quick swipes, tore off the veins on both sides of the leaf.

He moved quickly, and in no time, he had gathered a small handful of pale green veins in his hand.

Jian Mo looked at it and found that the ribs torn from both sides of the leaf were of different lengths and thicknesses, which probably wouldn't meet the requirements for direct weaving.

He had originally thought he could skip the spinning step, but now it seemed unlikely.

Perhaps because the large leaves were too difficult to carry back, everyone stood under the tree, tearing the leaves apart and only taking the veins from both sides of the leaves.

After collecting the leaves, the people of the Long Years Tribe gathered them up and piled them back under the big tree.

Jian Mo looked up and saw that the leaves at the top of the tree were still lush.

When the people of the Long Years Tribe cut the leaves, they left some of them, not cutting them all off, so it did not affect the growth of the tree.

He now understood why the tree trunk was so smooth; the people of the Long Years Tribe must have been cutting off the leaves from the tree when it was still small, so that over time, there were no leaves left at the bottom.

Xin Jun gestured for Jian Mo and the others to continue forward, "There are many more cloth trees ahead."

Jian Mo: "Looks like getting some fabric isn't going to be easy."

Xin Jun laughed, "What is easy? Hunting is difficult, gathering is difficult, and weaving is naturally difficult. For your tribes that weave cloth directly from animal hair, aren't there even more steps involved?"

Jian Mo nodded. "Yes, that's why everyone is working so hard."

Xin Jun: "It's alright, we just chatted and did a little manual labor and it was done."

The people of the Long Years Tribe led Wu Jiong and Jian Mo onward.

Jian Mo didn't find much of interest, only a few new wild fruits and spices, all of which were rather ordinary and not worth bringing to the Riverside Tribe.

Everyone worked all day and didn't go home until the afternoon.

Upon returning to the Long Years Tribe, the Long Years Tribe lit a fire, boiled water in several large earthenware pots, and then threw the cloth into the pots to boil.

The village was steaming hot, and the air was filled with the unique aroma of boiling plants.

Jian Mo understand. After all, plant materials definitely need further processing to remove organic matter that is prone to mold and deterioration; otherwise, the fabric would be unusable.

However, to Jian Mo's surprise, when the broth was almost cooked, the people of the Long Years Tribe took out a strange-looking wooden frame.

The wooden frame is somewhat like a floor lamp, except that the top is just a piece of wood the size of a lotus bud.

Jian Mo observed for a moment and then realized that they placed the wooden frame in front of them, then picked up the freshly boiled cloth, threaded it through one end, and pulled it out the other.

While pulling the cloth, the orc transformed its hands into claws, its long claws gripping the cloth, pulling and tugging with remarkable agility.

Jian Mo, "Is this to remove the leaf tissue from the fabric?"

Xin Jun gestured for him to come over and look. "Of course not. If you just want to remove the leaf pulp, you only need to boil it for a little longer, then pound it repeatedly and rinse it. Doing it this way is too troublesome."

Xin Jun: "Our main goal is to draw the fabric threads into uniform thicknesses. You see, there are metal blades around this eyelet. We insert the thread and pull it through; any thread that's too thick will be scraped off by the metal blades, and then it's usable."

Jian Mo squatted down and examined it closely. Sure enough, she saw tiny metal blades inside the wooden frame. She couldn't help but exclaim, "How did you guys come up with this?"

In this day and age, the people of the Long Years Tribe are actually doing quality control; their awareness is incredibly advanced.

Xin Jun: "Before, we made clothes directly by weaving fabric, and the clothes were rough, ugly, and uncomfortable to wear. Later, we invented this little tool."

Jian Mo: "That's amazing. You told me so right away?"

Indeed, one should never underestimate any tribe.

Xin Jun laughed, "It's nothing. Even if I told you the secret, you'd probably still be too lazy to cut leaves to make clothes, and you'd still end up asking us to exchange them."

Jian Mo: "It really is, it's too much work. You guys are experienced, that's why you did it so quickly. If it were me, I probably wouldn't even be able to insert a single wire in half a day."

Xin Jun: "That's not necessarily true; it's quick with claws."

Xin Jun's words were just a casual remark, but Jian Mo and Wu Jiong exchanged a glance.

Jian Mo waved her hand in front of Wu Jiong, and her hand transformed into a claw with exceptionally sharp tips.

However, his claws were not very well developed; they were relatively thin and long, lacking the sharp, gleaming claws of typical sub-orcs.