RPAGF Chapter 91 Scottish Folded Blankets
Chapter 91 Scottish Folded Blankets
Chapter 91 Scottish Folded Blankets
The lord's family consisted of three people, seven or eight servants, ten soldiers, plus crew members and sailors, along with seven or eight blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, and their apprentices who had temporarily come to the manor to earn a living.
The ledgers of the Milk House Manor show that the number of people who need to be supported by the lord directly has exceeded thirty.
This doesn't even include the large number of employees in the textile mills and saltworks who consume food and are paid wages every day.
The fact that people eat and horses chew is terrifying no matter how you calculate it.
These past few days, his brows have been constantly furrowed, and he's even stopped trying to force a smile.
Holding the ever-thickening account book, he sighed and approached Roger, "Sir, the treasury and granary won't last until the wheat harvest next summer or winter."
He had to build three new factories, recruit dozens of subordinates, participate in a martial arts competition, and also entertain several noble families according to the rules.
After a series of events, the meager savings that had been accumulated in the Milk House Manor's treasury, plus the 120 or 130 pounds that had been scraped together through loans from various sources, were about to run out.
To the butler's gloomy warning, Roger simply replied, "It's alright, we just need to hold on until next spring. Besides, the saltworks and textile mills will soon turn a profit, and then our cash flow will be much better."
He paused, then added, "I'll go out to sea again when the time comes, and I'll be able to get through the most difficult stage of starting a business."
Ignoring the strange words Roger uttered, the man with the bitter face slowly closed the ledger and sighed, "God bless, may it be as you wish."
At the end of November, Roger began his first winter in this world.
Although winter in Scotland is not as icy and cold as one might imagine, the damp and chilly air makes it feel even colder.
That kind of cold seeps into your bones, clinging to your skin; no matter how many clothes you wear, you still feel a chill.
Early in the morning, the sky outside the window was still dark and gray.
Last night it rained and snowed, and gusts of cold wind kept blowing in through the small, unshielded window.
If it weren't for the firewood burning in the fireplace for half the night, still radiating a last bit of warmth, this attic bedroom would have long since turned into an ice cave.
The night was cold, but Roger longed to stay in bed a little longer. He wanted to lie there a little longer, but he couldn't fall asleep.
Lately, I've been having recurring dreams of being chased in dark alleyways. When I wake up, I always feel a strange sense of oppression, which reminds me that Roger is living in a cruel era.
I got up, put on a linen robe, tied the drawstrings of my two "stocking-shaped" wool breeches and underwear, put on a thick, long, cylindrical coat, and then picked up the Scottish pleated blanket.
This is a magical artifact. After the weather turned cold, Roger gradually accepted it and fell in love with it completely.
The Scottish pleated blanket of this time was not the pleated skirt of the otaku of that time. It originated in the Scottish Highlands and was usually made of two pieces of high-weight wool tartan narrow fabric, one yard wide and five yards long.
Wearing a pleated blanket is quite complicated. The most common method is to lay a large blanket, five yards long and two yards wide, flat on the ground, and then make about ten pleats until there is enough space on both sides of the blanket to reach the length of a calf.
Next, thread a belt through about a quarter of the way down the blanket, and have the wearer lie flat with the edge of the blanket just above their knees. Then, evenly cover the body with both sides of the blanket and finally secure it with the belt to get up.
This method couldn't be used in the wild or on dirty ground, so Roger learned the standing dressing method—holding the long side of the blanket, folding it with one hand and grabbing it with the other, folding the long blanket and draping it over his back, adjusting its position, and then tying it with a belt.
Roger also put his creativity to good use by sewing a belt buckle at a short interval where the belt was fixed. When wearing it, you simply pass the belt through the buckle and pull it to turn it into a pleated skirt tied around your waist. Although it doesn't look as neat as the first method, it is simple and convenient.
This was only half-finished; once the lower half was put on, it became a Scottish kilt.
More than half of it was still dragging on the ground.
There are many ways to wear the upper body. For example, you can fold the two upper corners of the long blanket and tuck them into your lower back. There is a small pocket on each side of the front of the hips and a "big tail" hanging behind. The upper body is not covered, which is suitable for summer or work. However, this way is easy to "drag the tail".
Another example is the "cloak method," which involves simply swinging the "big tail" from the previous method over your head to form a cloak. This is suitable for sheltering from the wind and rain or for keeping warm by a campfire in the wild.
After comparing various options, Roger adopted the third method, the "shawl method," which is also the most traditional and formal way of wearing it. He pulled the extra part of the upper body out to an arm's length at both ends, then wrapped each end around the back and right armpit and fixed it to the left shoulder. Ordinary people would tie the two ends together with leather rope, while more particular wealthy families would use exquisite brooches to fix it, but brooches would damage the fabric.
The "shawl method" is not only aesthetically pleasing, but more importantly, it creates a large pocket on the back, allowing you to put lightweight personal items or spare clothes inside for everyday outings. It's a perfectly durable and sturdy crossbody bag.
When it's too hot or you need to work, you can simply let the "shawl" down and let it hang naturally around your waist. Without the "big tail," it won't get in your way.
The reason for saying so much is that Roger discovered this thing is not just a warm garment. Due to the oil contained in the wool itself, the blanket has a good waterproof effect, and the effect is even better after being soaked in oil. In the cold, damp and cloudy, rainy North, this is an essential item for hiking trips.
Moreover, once unfolded, the two-yard-wide and five-yard-long blanket can be used to set up a felt tent in the wild, or folded in half along the long side to become a sleeping bag, or even a large bundle for carrying items.
It's definitely a must-have for marching and field operations.
The downside is that it uses a lot of fabric and is expensive.
Especially high-density, densely woven fabrics with patterns and dyes—those aren't everyday items, they're luxury goods.
This is not the era of industrial goods that will be abundant in later times. Even in peaceful times with favorable weather, ordinary people mostly use coarse cloth spun by family workshops or their own women to sew their clothes, or at most buy some scrap cloth to make clothes.
Even so, not everyone can afford to buy or wear them.
The clothing of this era is an important heritage, passed down through generations.
Even in his previous life, Roger had heard of families sharing a single pair of trousers, let alone in Scotland, a remote and war-torn country hundreds of years ago.
We're lucky if we don't starve to death.
Of course, for wealthy farmers, gentry, and nobles, a pleated blanket was not considered too extravagant.
While Roger was talking, he had already put on the pleated blanket, tied the shawl with thin leather rope, hung up the hunting knife and battle axe and put them back in their sheaths, opened the door and went down the stone steps to the first floor.
It was only about seven o'clock in the morning, but the servants of the mansion had already been busy for two hours.
Half an hour ago, the plump cook and her two assistants had finished preparing and distributing food for ten soldiers, eight craftsmen, seven servants, and three crew members.
The heat from the kitchen hadn't dissipated yet, and the burnt smell of barley porridge mixed with the smoke from the firewood wafted through the corridor.
Roger wasn't the first to come up with the concept of breakfast, but providing hot porridge and large loaves of bread was definitely a rare and special perk.
On the island and everywhere else, a formal breakfast is the exclusive privilege of nobles or the wealthy.
For ordinary people and the poor, during the busy farming season they might get up early and eat a small piece of leftover hard bread from yesterday's dinner with cold beer, but most of the time they only have lunch and dinner.
The happiness of the "official" workers at the Milk House Manor is gradually rising with the warmth of the porridge.