239 Looking Around (1/2)

After they had left the manufactory with their newest burden, the two cousins walked along the roads of Sillu Island, towards the castle in the distance.

\”Are they heavy, brother?\” Tawo asked and pointed at the copper plates in Sawo's arms.

\”I do not require any assistance,\” a defiant Sawo answered. Even though his arms were tired already, his old illness – his stubbornness – had reared its head again. He didn't care how sore his arms would feel tomorrow, he would be damned if he were to be defeated by some money. Never would he give in to weakness.

\”At least we do not have to travel far to exchange the sheets. The castle is right across a single bridge.\”

While Tawo pointed towards their goal, Sawo's mind was already occupied with larger matters. His drifting eyes had spotted several workers with shovels across from the island. They seemed to be deepening a hole at the side of the river bank for some purpose or another.

\”Say, they have been working on these openings for several months now. What do you think they are building there?\” Sawo asked.

\”It should be some type of sewage or drainage system, should it not? Like the one in Arguna? Why else would they build holes all over the city?\” Tawo looked over to the workers before he made his guess.

\”That seems possible.\” Although his cousin didn't seem too interested, the workers captivated Sawo. Especially since he recognized one of them as one of his former warriors from his time as city lord.

\”Maybe we could get involved in construction as well,\” Sawo mused. \”After all, most of our men are working in this are at the moment. As soon as the sentences for our old warrior servants and the various bandit groups are up, they will be free men again. By that point, they will have a wealth of experience in construction, more than enough expertise for us to start our own business.\”

\”I am sure a construction business would make good coin in Saniya. With how fast the city is growing, there would never be a lack of work.\” Tawo nodded his head in agreement, which only increased Sawo's enthusiasm.

\”Yes, and ever since they built the improved roads and the new funerary site outside the walls, the workers have become quite popular in the city. Imagine that, some unskilled workers have more prestige than the former city lord now. This could be our way back up to the top. All we need to do is build things people use every day and they will love us like they used to fear us.\”

\”But even if we wanted to work in construction, our men are still tied up in the labor camps for a few more years.\” Tawo tried to change the subject from their fall of status, something Sawo was usually quite grateful for, though he would never admit it. However, this time things were different. Now that he had found a way back up the social ladder, he no longer felt indignant about his former glory. However, Tawo didn't know that, so he continued on with his ideas on the feasibility of Sawo's plan.

\”We need to keep up our merchant business until our men are released. No matter what we choose to do with our men, we will need far more starting capital than what we have right now. Wages, materials... not to mention that we would need some sort of permit to buy the exclusive liquid stones from King Corcopaca's manufactories. Do you believe we could get a permit like that? And do not suggest we could go without it. If we want to compete with the king's workers, we need to mitigate our disadvantages as much as possible.\”

\”So that rules out construction work, at least for now,\” Sawo grumbled. \”We cannot compete with their liquid stones, and that so-called king will never hand his secrets over to others, least of all us.\”

\”I believe we should simply stick with our merchant business. It has been nice and steady work, has it not? Maybe we could open an inn or a restaurant in a quiet place once we have amassed enough coin.\” Like he had done many times before, Tawo suggested a quiet life in shame, away from fortune and greatness. However, Sawo was far more ambitious than his cousin.

\”What about going into the craftsman business? Could we not hire a few of them and have them work for us like that king does?\”

With a glimmer in his eyes, Sawo thought back to the jewelry production line they had just witnessed on their visit to the manufactory. All the workers had been lined up along tables, everyone with a different tool or implement before him, all of them working in unison like a massive automaton, all of it for a singular goal:

To produce countless copies of jewelry, to be sold for massive profit. Just how much pieces of jewelry were produced inside of that place every single day? How many worthless plates of copper did they exchange for valuable resources every day? And how many valuables did their finished products gain them every day?

\”Craftsmen? Can we work any trades? Can our former people?\” Tawo asked the usual questions. On any other day, they would deflate Sawo and put a stop to his fantasies. This time however, he would not be deterred.

\”Of course they cannot work trades. You know that.\”

In defiance of Sawo's confident attitude, Tawo furrowed his brow.