Free Web NovelChapter 790: Chapter 85: The Flourishing Sericulture Industry and the Power of Rainbow Silk
As silk was the focus of the territory’s development, Su Li placed great importance on it and personally inspected the silkworm houses on Maiden’s Ring with Vandar.
The silkworm house was located in the tower on the right side of the monastery’s courtyard. The stone and wooden structure of the monastery was covered in honeysuckle vines, making the building lush with greenery, perfectly fitting the style of the Dawn Goddess Convent.
Pushing open the door, two silkworm house priestesses wearing crowns of Reya’s wheat immediately curtsied slightly to Su Li: "May the dawn light forever shine upon your robes, Lord."
Their chiffon robes of a sea-green hue shimmered with silver thread as they moved, the high slits of their skirts revealing legs as entrancing as the morning waves. As they bent slightly forward, their chests displayed a dazzling expanse of fair skin, full and enticing curves.
Su Li couldn’t help but take a few more glances, then asked Vandar, "Your church’s members are growing quickly, it seems I haven’t seen these two before?"
Vandar beamed with a smile and said, "Lord, your eyes truly are sharp as an eagle’s. Just as the Moon Crown Tree grows strong, our church grows alongside the expanding territory. Let me introduce these two to you; they are Sister Catherine and Sister Lolita, both members of the Order of Reya’s Daughters."
"Reya’s Daughters?" Su Li raised an eyebrow and said, "I recall your church didn’t have such an order."
Vandar nodded: "As I mentioned earlier, the rise and expansion of the territory is far from limited to just the Sun Goddess Church. Our Dawn Church is also growing during this resurgence, its numbers swelling continuously."
"The Order of Reya’s Daughters is one of the orders that have joined our territory in this period. Of course, do not misunderstand; the Church of Reya’s Daughters is fundamentally different from Yurik’s Son Church. Their name derives from their membership being entirely female, focusing more on matters relating to women."
"For their order, priestesses and devout followers are inviolable. The happiness and well-being of family, children, crops, and livestock are of utmost importance, as is the sanctity of life and love."
"They emphasize procreation, and in the rural communities where they reside, there is a belief that the firstborn animal from the village livestock must be sacrificed to Reya, and fish and wildlife are proscribed since they belong to Manan and Tal respectively."
"They also believe that all love that provides satisfaction is sacred. They protect lovers from opposition, allowing, of course, that the partners must respect each other first. Another important activity for Reya’s Daughters is for priestesses to officiate weddings in the countryside, and sometimes in larger towns. The wedding ritual is a symbolic union of the couple, with specific customs varying by locality in the old world. Most commonly, the priestess would tie the couple’s wrists with mistletoe when they vow faith and devotion. It is said by Reya’s Daughters that those who see Reya walking outside on the Summer Solstice will find new love by the next Summer Solstice."
Love and beauty are truly words that bring joy upon sight.
To this, Su Li thought, truly, one should fall in love, for sometimes the tender love of a gentle woman, her warm concern and gentle care, becomes a very pleasant emotional source for a man.
Of course, as beautiful as love is, it cannot be food on the table.
After a knowing smile, Su Li asked, "Aside from officiating love, what other production do they engage in?"
"Primarily production activities women can engage in, like sericulture and silk spinning, child care, textile, and medical care. The territory’s silkworm beds and support frames are taken care of by them."
With that, Vandar and some of the sisters led Su Li to the silkworm beds and said, "These are the Moonlight Silk taken care of by the sisters."
Su Li took a look and found that most of the Moonlight Celestial Silkworms had already cocooned, with only a few plump white ones still munching on mulberry leaves in the support frames, producing a rustling sound.
Sister Catherine introduced, "Lord, the Moonlight Celestial Silkworms have high yield, able to produce for spring, summer, and autumn batches in a year. We are now at the spring batch, during which the climate is mild and mulberry leaves are tender and plentiful, so the silk quality is best, known as premium silk. Its silk is uniform in fineness, glossy, and strong, suitable for high-end silk weaving. Many of our Dawn Church communities hold spring silkworm festivals, using silk to pray for harvest."
Su Li bent down to look at these important assets of the territory and asked, "How is the growth condition of these Moonlight Celestial Silkworms?"
Sister Catherine’s face was full of intellectual light, elegantly replying, "A silkworm’s life goes through about five instars; during the 1st to 3rd instars, they are mainly fed tender mulberry leaves, keeping the temperature suitable to help them develop physically."
"In the 4th to 5th instars, their appetite increases massively, requiring a large amount of mature mulberry leaves. At this time, diligent maidens need to constantly provide them with fresh mulberry leaves, keeping food ample. The rustling you hear is the sound of them feeding; typically, after covering the silkworms with mulberry leaves, they will finish eating within a morning or afternoon. Common silkworms eat very quickly, and the Moonlight Celestial Silkworms exponentially faster. Someone must specifically pick mulberry leaves to feed them."
As they spoke, Sister Lolita took a stack of mulberry leaves from a nearby basket and replenished the silkworms’ food.
Under Su Li’s observation, the Moonlight Celestial Silkworms finished off this thick pile of mulberry leaves within less than ten minutes.
