Chapter 87 Sackcloth Can Serve as a Betrothal Gift
Henry never expected that Bunny Girl would be so shy and faint just by wearing his clothes. He thought it might be due to her illness and the sensory stimulation that caused her discomfort.
"Looks like I'm not bad-looking after all. The girl got so excited wearing my clothes that she fainted." Henry said.
Henry's narcissism made Ellie chuckle, covering her mouth. She wouldn't say that Emily had been in an excited state since early in the morning, constantly on edge.
Like the clothing of the thirteen gold coins, the shock of orcs and humans peacefully coexisting, even just eating a hamburger could elicit strange sounds
The group had no choice but to return home. Bunny Girl, carried by Mila, woke up halfway there. She had been pretending to be unconscious, afraid to face Henry. The biggest issue was that even the clothes she wears were Henry's.
'What should I do? Does this mean I'm impure?' Emily was constantly agonizing over this issue in her mind. 'My mother always said that before a girl gets married, she must remain pure, not hold hands with boys, not let them see her body, not... not wear boys' clothes!'
Emily always remembered the 108 techniques her mother taught her to guard against boys, which she heard were devised by her parents after she was born.
Emily thought, 'Oh no, Emily, you're really impure now! You'll definitely get pimples on your body. Mother always said that after touching boys' things, you must wash your hands constantly, or else you'll get pimples.'
Emily thought about how she had been wearing that nobleman's clothing from last night until now. She thought, 'Would my whole body be covered in pimples?'
With that thought, Emily shivered and felt a bit dizzy.
If Henry knew what Bunny Girl was thinking, he couldn't help but sigh at her innocence.
"Alright, Ellie was just teasing you. The clothes are brand new, and Henry hasn't worn them at all."
A soft voice suddenly sounded in Emily's ear. She turned her head and saw Mila's profile, her fair skin with a faint blush. Even her profile was so beautiful.
"Really?" Emily asked softly.
"Yes!" Mila nodded slightly. She remembered her mother teaching her that girls shouldn't let boys take advantage of them, and one of the rules was not to wear boys' clothes.
So, she understood Bunny Girl's feelings. Perhaps a white lie would be helpful?
Most orc families taught their girls this way, using scare tactics to prevent girls from being led astray.
"That's great!" Emily breathed a sigh of relief, her tense heart finally relaxing.
Mila tilted her head, a smile playing on her lips. Bunny Girl was unexpectedly cute. No, it should be that her parents had protected her too well. Orcs who had ventured outside for a few years would understand that it was their parents' way of preventing girls from getting into early relationships, and the most important thing was to avoid certain taboo behaviors.
Back at the Lord's Manor, Henry went to the study, and the three girls took Emily with them, saying they wanted to get to know her better.
In the study, Henry looked at Eldoria's financial report, and his frown deepened.
Eldoria's sources of income were indeed too few, almost nonexistent. It relied solely on the small amount of wheat from outside the city. Previously, they could sell the wheat to earn copper coins, but now Henry had taken control of the wheat and prohibited its sale to other cities.
'It seems we need to find something to replace wheat for export. Otherwise, in the long run, Eldoria will face a shortage of raw materials.' Henry pondered.
A city couldn't isolate itself; it had to engage in trade with the outside world in order to develop quickly.
He had ruled out food, as he would not sell the basic wheat. If he were to sell it, it would be after processing, such as turning it into coarse wheats or making it into wine, to maximize profits.
So, for now, food was not considered, and he could only start with handicrafts. Henry decided to start with the production of linen.
In this era, linen was slowly woven by hand without any spinning machines.
But there were already looms, with very crude performance, weaving linen with coarse and uneven stripes that would chafe the skin.
The linen worn by nobles, on the other hand, was made from carefully selected linen threads of similar thickness, and the cost of a piece of clothing would increase several times, making it unaffordable for commoners.
After all, many people couldn't afford linen and could only wrap themselves in animal skins or wear clothes made of grass fibers. It was okay in the summer, but in the winter, many people would freeze to death.
Otherwise, nobles like Brandon would not consider using thirteen gold coins to purchase Henry's robe, as they were interested in studying the clothes and what they could learn from them.
Clothing was essential for everyone, and in this era, commoners who could afford complete clothing were considered to be living a decent life. In contrast, many families could only afford two or three sets of clothes.
Henry had once read an interesting story online, saying that in ancient times, poor commoners didn't have enough clothes to wear. If a family had several men, there would be only one or two sets of clothes, which would be worn by those who went out to work. The others would have to wait at home until it was dark and then go out to work in the dark, so they wouldn't have to wear clothes, and no one would see them.
The statement is a bit exaggerated, but in reality, some families are like this, with children running around naked and some little boys completely naked.
In the end, it is still the backwardness of industry, with a small output of linen and a high price.
3.2 feet of linen cost several dozen copper coins, and a set of linen clothes is not affordable for many families.
Take Emily's parents as an example. Why did they scare her and say she couldn't wear boys' clothes? One reason was that the linen was expensive and scarce, so wearing boys' clothes represented accepting the boy's love.
If a boy came home with his shirt off, there were two possibilities. One was that the boy gave his shirt to the girl he likes and asked her to take it home. The girl's family would examine the quality of the shirt to determine the boy's situation.
The second was that the boy was robbed, and his clothes were taken.
In an era when linen clothes could be used as a betrothal gift, they also represented a person's face. The family that can afford new clothes was the object of envy for the neighbors.
