Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 521 Gaoyaling DR 1366 Annual Industrial Development Memorandum (Part 1)

Four days later, the mage stepped ashore from the Auerbach, which had just arrived in port. He did not linger in High Cliff Port for long, and after giving instructions, he headed to the location of the alchemy workshop in the Shadow Plane.

“Recruiting people from outside is absolutely not feasible. Even if we select people from within the territory who are of good character and skillful, there is not enough time to train and educate them.”

The monk immediately concluded that he wanted to select qualified apprentices from a group of uneducated, rough men who couldn't even write their own names.
That's just wishful thinking.

However, it would be unacceptable for Mr. Zhang if the completed production line could only operate at less than one-third of its capacity due to a lack of manpower.

After much deliberation, the monk came up with a temporary solution:

"You just focus on clockmaking. As for the bicycle parts, once they come off the production line, Balasan will transport them to the blacksmith's shop in the Prime Plane, and the assembly process will be handled by the dwarven blacksmiths."

"As for the soap production line, it doesn't need an elemental reactor for power anyway, so it can be placed in an empty hall of the High Cliff Castle. The busy farming season is over, so let the Siren sisters work a little harder."

“They’ve had plenty of experience with herbalism during their druid apprenticeships, so you should be able to explain it to them and take them through the process a few times. Rick and Morty can assist them; the physical work of feeding and mixing the ingredients can be left to the two of them.”

After arranging everything in one go, the monk couldn't help but sigh:

"Ultimately, it's still a shortage of manpower. I'm afraid other projects in the territory will have to be suspended in the next few months."

"In my opinion, both you and the dwarves need to train a group of apprentices. The current situation is really a bit tight."

“We don’t mind having someone to help out, but that can only happen after we finish this batch of goods. If a bunch of inexperienced people come along and don’t cause any trouble, we’ll be grateful.”

"I know, I won't add any more burden to you at this critical juncture."

On the day of their return, the Canaan team members, despite their fatigue from the journey, held a working meeting overnight to set the tone for their current development focus.

Thus began the first step into industry and commerce for the newly established agricultural infrastructure of the High Cliff Territory.

Like a colt cautiously probing the water with its forelegs as it tries to cross a river…

Shit!

After a series of outrageous actions by Master Zhang, not even a wild donkey could outrun this guy, let alone a little horse!
The opening act, which played a trump card with heavy notes, was not intended to deal with the various entrenched local tyrants in the traditional way, nor did it have the time to painstakingly unravel the intrigues within each city-state.

Or at least not now.

With several powerful weapons in hand and a strong backing, Gao Ya had no need to hold back. The welfare period following the exchange of benefits with the Gongde Church was not meant to be used for feigned kindness and gentleness.

The primary task at hand is to expand aggressively in the early stages when profit margins are highest; subsequent operations and business maneuvering will be handled by our underlings.

The fact that the mage lord could find time amidst his busy schedule to develop a few core products and expand the market is already a testament to his diligence and love for the people. He can't really turn himself into a corporate slave, can he? With the lord's decision, the central area of ​​High Cliff Territory began to operate like a tightly wound spring.

The elemental reaction pool, located deep underground in Shadowcliff Fortress, increased its output energy level by several levels. The four basic particles rotated and collided, generating pure arcane brilliance. The tamed energy flowed along the lines and was injected into the furnace and manufacturing workshop.

Inside the workshop, small pieces of metal, after being smelted and forged, continue to be processed by robotic arms and lathes, being cut and squeezed into the initial blanks of parts.

The more refined processing was taken over by two master craftsmen. The delicate metal wires were bent into springs by the old clockwork, and the tiny screws and gears, which were only in their infancy and resembled grains of metal, were obediently bound in the magnetic device, obediently accepting the exquisite carving and shaping from Ritotrap, and becoming a usable style.

The repairman then picked up his mini laser gun and etched a complex, multi-layered skeletonized structure into the metal disc. The quartz crystal on the surface was cut into multiple facets in his hands, reflecting a diamond-like brilliance.

The process involves assembling, carving, and finally plating with gold and silver. In the top-of-the-line batch, setting small diamonds and gemstones on the dial is also standard practice.

Even with the skills of the master craftsmen of Keane, this semi-manual production method required a lot of time and effort. The processing speed could not keep up with the forging efficiency of the alchemical furnace. The surplus production capacity, however, was used to forge a considerable number of bicycle parts.

While micrometer-level clocks are out of the question, millimeter-level steel frames and chains are certainly not a problem for an enchanting workshop.

After a month of hard work, Lin Linlang had barely produced more than two hundred clocks, but had accumulated enough components to assemble nearly five hundred bicycles.

However, the dwarven craftsmen in the blacksmith shop still needed to improve their understanding of bicycle structures and their skills in assembling and adjusting them. The two Keen craftsmen drew up very detailed structural drawings and gave several demonstrations and training sessions before letting the dwarves figure it out on their own. As a result, it took them more than half a month to assemble a dozen or so usable bicycles.

The number of bicycles they accidentally damaged, crashed during test rides, or even crushed is close to double digits.

After all, these short, stocky guys are not tall but they are heavy. Even a steel frame can't withstand three short, fat guys pressing down on the front bumper and back seat!
Fortunately, the dwarven blacksmiths' skills weren't built on the bubbles of beer; their proficiency increased rapidly through repeated practice with a plentiful supply of raw materials.

The foreman of the blacksmiths, burping from his drink, patted his chest and boldly declared that the number of units assembled next month would increase tenfold. The lord, while pleased and appreciative of this self-imposed pressure, said that if the task was not completed, the future supply of alcohol would be reduced to one-tenth.

The latter left happily, while the former was dragged into a corner by his dwarf friends, whose faces were contorted with shock, and beaten until he sobered up.

The soap production line, managed by the sirens, was the easiest department. After all, the physical labor was done by the ogre brothers, and tasks like pouring and mixing were just a warm-up for them, who seemed to know no fatigue.

The only thing that bothered Hill and the others was that they not only had to keep an eye on the progress of the saponification reaction, but also had to be wary of these two greedy big guys trying to take advantage of them.

Don't get the wrong idea, it's legitimate groping.

The main ingredient of soap is oil, and the idea of ​​pouring oil, which is mainly composed of animal fat, into a reaction vessel is, in the eyes of these two, an utterly heartbreaking waste.

Rick and Morty were like two greedy eight-year-old kids stealing candy. Before you knew it, they'd stick their carrot-thick fingers into the oil drum and scrape around it, scraping out a lump of oil. With a smack of their lips, the raw material for a bar of soap was gone.

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(End of this chapter)