Chapter Seventy: Down Comforters and Down Jackets

Unconsciously, Lan’er, nestled against Chen Ying, had fallen asleep. Chen Ying gently placed her on the bed and soon after drifted into slumber himself.

At some unknown hour, clouds thickened in the night sky. The cold wind howled fiercely, and the biting chill roused Chen Ying from his sleep. He looked up to find Lan’er curled tightly into herself.

In this era, quilts were exceedingly expensive. They were considered vital possessions by the ancients, a symbol of wealth. According to historical records, Pei Zhiheng, who was unruly in his youth, was given a narrow quilt and only vegetarian food by his elder brother to encourage him to improve. Pei Zhiheng resolved, “If I become prosperous, I will make a hundred-panel quilt!” Eventually, he did succeed and crafted such a quilt, the largest of its kind—what would today be a Guinness World Record. Yet one wonders how one might cover oneself with such an enormous quilt.

The quilt covered Lan’er, but she still remained curled up. During the Tang Dynasty, cotton had not yet been widely adopted; bedding was filled with various fibers—reed down, willow catkins, silk waste, or straw. Chen Ying’s quilt was stuffed with willow catkins, valuable but far less insulating than cotton.

Chen Ying rose quietly, wrapped himself in a wolfskin cloak, and stepped outside. To his surprise, the ground was now blanketed in snow.

Even with the cloak, it was as flimsy as paper, failing utterly to shield him from the piercing wind.

Watching the snow tumble from the sky, Chen Ying suddenly realized the gravity of the situation. In such frigid weather, countless people might freeze to death this night; by dawn, cries of mourning would surely echo throughout Chang’an.

Though Chen Ying knew cotton was an excellent material for warmth, in the Tang Dynasty it remained a rare ornamental flower—he had never even seen cotton. Even if it were to be promoted, it would take far more than a few days.

But he knew warmth could be achieved by other means—he thought of heaters and down garments.

Suddenly, Chen Ying slapped his forehead, lamenting his own foolishness.

The city where he had lived in modern times was renowned as one of China’s eight major down markets. Each summer, the town’s 160 square kilometers were enveloped in foul odors and polluted air. The environment was harsh, but it had given Chen Ying the chance to learn the entire process of down processing, free of charge.

Though down jackets were common in later ages, few truly understood their manufacture. Yet the process was not complex and could be done by hand in this era.

This would not only bring warmth but also open a new source of income for Chen Ying.

At the break of dawn, Chen Ying roused the entire household. All eighteen servants shivered with cold, especially Li Chuqian, whose lips had turned dark purple.

“I have a task for you all,” Chen Ying announced. “Go to the West Market and buy duck feathers!”

“Master, why do you want those? They’re neither edible nor warm,” protested Zhou Mancang, the oldest among the young servants, feeling compelled to advise Chen Ying to be prudent.

“Don’t ask. Just buy as many duck feathers as you can find! I’ll pay five coins per pound,” Chen Ying replied.

Chen Ying felt this was a fair price—down in later times cost hundreds per pound. The raw duck feathers, at five coins per pound, amounted to just over thirty coins, a bargain.

Six men rushed out, each carrying several pounds of money, heading to the market in search of duck feathers.

Within half an hour, driver Old Zhou was the first to return, having driven his cart out and now bringing back an entire cartload—over two hundred pounds of duck feathers.

But what surprised Chen Ying most was how little money Old Zhou had spent—not even fifty coins.

Old Zhou, seeing Chen Ying’s astonished look, became quite smug.

“I didn’t buy the feathers. They're dirty and hard to clean. I bought ten jars of wine and visited several cooked meat shops; each gave me their unwanted duck feathers for free!” Old Zhou explained.

“Lan’er, make a note—Old Zhou handled things efficiently; reward him with a hundred coins. Unload the goods and keep buying, the more the better!” Chen Ying said.

Old Zhou’s smile stretched wide at the prospect of reward. “Master, just wait—I’ll bring every duck feather in Chang’an here!”

He Liu-shi asked, “Master, what are we to do with these?”

“Do as I say—thoroughly wash the duck feathers and steam them for half an hour!” Chen Ying instructed.

He Liu-shi and maids Hongxiu, Lvzhu, and others quickly got to work.

The process for preparing down was quite simple, divided into three steps: cleaning, high-temperature sterilization, and expansion.

Ducks carried parasites and bacteria; without these steps, wearing down could lead to skin diseases or worse. The expansion technique, the most technical, was unavailable to Chen Ying now, but that did not hinder the making of down quilts and jackets—at worst, they would be less visually appealing.

Four large cauldrons at Chen Mansion were filled with clean duck feathers. The lids were placed, fires lit, and high-temperature sterilization began.

Once the feathers were disinfected, Chen Ying faced a new challenge.

With snow falling, sun-drying was impossible. Yet time was of the essence. Chen Ying sent Liang Zan to fetch several masons, and by Chen Ying’s design, three storage rooms were converted into drying chambers.

When over three hundred pounds of sterilized duck feathers were dried, Chen Ying instructed Lan’er, Lvzhu, Hongxiu, and the maids to begin sewing the down quilts.

Chen Ying, nearly frozen to death, had long grown weary of sleeping under willow catkin quilts. He yearned for the comfort of a lightweight down quilt.

Fortunately, the women’s needlework was skilled, and they quickly finished the simple sewing required.

…

At Princess Pingyang’s residence, though she possessed remarkable constitution, even Li Xiuning could not venture out in such breath-fogging cold and stayed within the palace.

Still, Li Xiuning persisted in her exercise, practicing swordplay in the snow until her brow was damp with sweat. She sheathed her sword just as her maid, Cui’er, came beaming, carrying a large red bundle.

“Lan’er, what is this?” Li Xiuning asked.

“Your Highness, it was sent by General Chen!” Lan’er replied.

Hearing it was a gift from Chen Ying, Li Xiuning’s expression softened.

“And what is it?”

“General Chen said it was a down quilt.”

“A down quilt?” Li Xiuning examined the quilt, nearly four panels wide and almost a zhang long. “Does the palace lack such things?”

Cui’er said, “General Chen especially requested that Your Highness try it.”