CHAPTER 71: THE BEGINNING OF INDUSTRY

Yaaawn!

Arthur stretched tiredly and gazed at the clear blue sky, staring at it in a daze for a short while before muttering, "What beautiful weather. Makes me want to lie by the pool and sip a refreshing soda."

Then, calmly lowering his head, he looked at the group of builders in front of him who were busy constructing a large wooden structure next to the river. A resigned look appeared on his face and he sighed, ’But unfortunately, I have no time for rest. This place won’t develop itself.’

However, he didn’t allow his laziness to hinder his work. With sharp eyes, he observed the builders for a moment, then looked at a stack of papers on a table in front of him, filled with diagrams of a large watermill, along with some strange-shaped gears and hammers.

When he saw that the structure matched the blueprint, he felt somewhat relieved and said, "Alright, no point in me staying here. Luckily, the builders are good at their jobs."

Without delay, he turned and looked at the group of soldiers around him led by Chadwick and said, "Let’s go," then headed towards a beautiful white carriage parked nearby.

When he reached the carriage, he happily opened its door. Ever since he got it, traveling around the foul-smelling town no longer bothered him. The carriage seemed designed to prevent odors from entering. Not to mention, it was equipped with some simple enchantments that made it solid and very comfortable, with features close to cars from his previous world, such as a small dining table, transparent glass windows that could be opened and closed, and a soundproofing enchantment.

But he hid his excitement, boarded slowly as if accustomed to it, and sat on the comfortable red seat, touching it briefly before sighing, ’This is nobility.’

Then he said nonchalantly, "Take me to the soap workshop."

"Let’s go," Chadwick signaled to the soldiers and the coachman, and they set off towards the soap workshop. On their way, they passed through the town, now heavily crowded, but everyone cleared a path for them, making their passage easy.

Through the luxurious glass window, Arthur watched the town with a somewhat stern face. He observed the faces of the builders and the new recruits scattered everywhere and thought:

’It’s been four days since my return, and the changes I’ve made have thrown the place into great disorder. Due to the large number of recruits, I’m forced to spend more money to provide them with decent housing. Fortunately, I acted preemptively and set up the lumber workshop, otherwise I would be facing a problem due to the shortage of construction wood.’

’Overall, everything else is going well. People have started to adapt to the Public Morality Law. The lumber workshop is functioning excellently; all the carpenters and lumberjacks I forced to work there are no longer pessimistic, rather, they’re pleased with the organized work system.’

He paused for a moment and sneered, ’Who am I fooling? What pleased them most was the good salary and lighter workload. Clearly, money is the fastest way into the hearts of the people. Even the laziest builders turned into tireless machines once they received their wages earlier.’

The ease of winning over these people amused him, but at the same time he shook his head in disappointment. "Unfortunately, I’m still broke. Let’s hope the soap workshop and the paper factory I plan to build will solve this problem."

"My Lord, we have arrived."

Absorbed in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed they had reached their destination until he heard Chadwick’s rough voice.

Calmly, he stepped out of the carriage and looked at the soap workshop. Unlike previous days, the workshop was now filled with busy women moving from place to place; some carried raw materials, others carried newly made soap molds to the heat furnace for drying, and nearby, the ground was filled with rows of soap being sun-dried as a final step before storage.

Seeing this made him somewhat happy, and he quickly headed toward the workshop. As soon as the workers saw him, they cleared the way while one of them hurried off to inform their supervisor.

Golda quickly emerged and greeted him: "We are honored by your visit, my Lord."

Without arrogance or pretense, he nodded naturally and said calmly, "Lead the way, I will inspect your work."

"Follow me, my Lord."

Golda quickly gestured for him to enter.

But as soon as Arthur entered the workshop, his face darkened, and he felt some discomfort due to the heat and the dense, varied odors.

He looked around, noticing that the workers were performing their tasks diligently, yet his expression grew sterner.

Golda noticed this and asked with some concern, "My Lord, is there something bothering you? Is the work pace too slow? Or have I made a mistake?"

But Arthur shook his head, "No, that’s not it."

Inside, he thought:

’It’s not your fault, it’s mine.’

He walked calmly and inspected the workshop tools, examining the burning furnaces and the huge metal pots placed on them, which the workers filled with lye solution and aromatic substances. He sighed, ’The safety conditions in this place are nearly nonexistent. Not to mention the cramped space and poor ventilation. It seems my design wasn’t very good. I can think of some modifications, but I can’t stop production at this stage.’

While observing, he suddenly saw a worker running quickly near the furnaces, which made him extremely angry and he shouted, "You, stand still!"

The worker froze, trembling, and looked at the ground, afraid that she had done something wrong and would be punished.

But Arthur did not scold her. Instead, he looked at Golda and said:

"Listen carefully. You must keep this place organized. The workers must not act randomly or hastily. Handle everything carefully. Running in this place is forbidden, and the furnace fires must be monitored carefully. Place some buckets of water nearby in case of emergencies. Every hour, the workers should step outside to take a breath of fresh air."

Golda didn’t understand the reason for these orders but realized that his words weren’t arbitrary. She automatically replied, "Understood, my Lord. I will watch over them carefully and won’t let them violate any of your orders."

"Good." He nodded with some satisfaction, though deep down he was worried, realizing that even a small mistake in this place could lead to a disaster that might cost some workers their lives.

But he didn’t dwell on it for long. After taking a quick look around, he asked: "How many soap pieces have you made so far?"

Golda quickly pulled out a small notebook filled with numbers and replied: "There are fifty pieces ready for use, eighty are being sun-dried and will be fully ready by tomorrow, and also one hundred more pieces have been made, some of which are currently drying in the furnace."

"Good. What about materials? Do you need anything?"

"At this stage, we don’t need anything, my Lord. We receive enough wood and animal fat daily, but our stock of aromatic oils, herbs, and honey won’t last long—maybe just six more days. What will we do afterward?"

Arthur sighed, understanding the reason for her question. He had invested all their stock of oils and herbs into this project. If he wanted to continue, he would have to import more from outside. But he couldn’t do that at this stage, so he replied somewhat disappointedly:

"We will think of a solution when the time comes."

’The current materials are enough to make at least another thousand pieces of soap. At this rate, I will make good profits.’

’Tsk, if I hadn’t distributed a large amount of soap to the recruits, I would’ve saved much more and earned more money.’

He shook his head, rejecting his greedy thoughts. ’There’s no need to think like this; nothing I do is wasted.’

"Alright, return to your work, and don’t forget what I told you."

"Yes, my Lord."

Without wasting more time, he headed to his carriage. As he was about to enter, he paused and turned to Chadwick:

"Send someone to the nearby villages and tell him to bring twenty craftsmen, preferably skilled in pottery and metalworking. Also, bring me ten skilled butchers, and if possible, gather all the hunters in the barony as well."

"Yes, my Lord. Tomorrow morning I will personally carry out your orders."

"Good. Let’s go to the slaughterhouse now." Upon saying this, he sneered, ’I feel that place will be in utter chaos because of what Novarian is doing.’

After returning earlier, he had ordered Novarian, Thorne, and the new scouting and surveillance squad to head into the forest and wipe out all the beasts within the safe borders. His goal was to reassure the people and at the same time provide enough beast fat for soap production. However, he had truly underestimated Novarian, who had killed dozens of beasts—perhaps even hundreds. As a result, they couldn’t handle all the carcasses.

As a temporary measure, he set up a slaughterhouse at a spot near the forest. Nevertheless, things were chaotic. Most of the beasts’ meat was tough and inedible, but their hides and fangs were valuable, not to mention their magical cores, so he didn’t want to waste these precious resources needed for arming his soldiers.

Upon arriving at the slaughterhouse, Arthur found the place as chaotic as he had expected. Corpses were scattered everywhere, and the ground was stained with coagulated blood, while the important materials were stacked in clean spots. The butchers were in foul moods, handling matters roughly due to the pressure.

Seeing this, he sighed heavily and ordered a soldier nearby, "Tell the butchers to take a break. At the same time, bring some of the new recruits and have them clean up the mess here. Also, order one of them to fetch a carriage and transport the edible meat to the castle. Additionally, hire some extra maids to help the cooks prepare the recruits’ meals."

"Yes, my Lord."

The soldier quickly mounted his horse and departed for town.

As for Arthur, he continued staring at the chaos in irritation:

’Due to lack of time, I rushed too much. The barony is not ready for this level of pressure.’