14 - Chapter 12
Again Sa Bina dreamt her now recurring dream about warm clouds entering her body. She awoke refreshed, not remembering her dreams.
Her talk with the cook the night before had given her a direction, the sleep had further crystalised her ideas into something that Sa Bina thought had a good chance of working.
She got herself ready, then after a quick breakfast, she joined the cook in the kitchen. The other staff were shocked to see the lady of the house in the kitchen discussing ingredients with the cook.
They started by reviewing the available ingredients. Sa Bina would have to start with something that used commercially available ingredients, then she would look at reducing costs by producing her own. It would also add another stream of revenue.
The main ingredients that she cared about were flour, sugar, egg, water, oil and a rising agent. She would prefer yeast for bread and baking powder for cakes.
The water was well drawn, she would prefer filtered but it was something she could live with. The eggs were also acceptable, they weren't quite chicken eggs, but eggs were eggs, a little bit of experimentation would give her a good handle on how they would work in baking. Likewise the oil was an acceptable quality and reasonably neutral in smell and flavour.
Her problems were the sugar, flour and rising agents. The yeast was the easiest for her to procure. She could make her own yeast at home using flour and water. Yeast is attracted to the sugars in flour, so combining the two would start the process. She instructed the cook to put some dried fruits in a jar, fill the jar with filtered water, about one inch above the fruit, then seal the jar and leave it at room temperature. After about five days, the liquid will be frothy and bubbly, indicating that the yeast is ready. Straining the liquid using a cheesecloth should produce good natural yeast.
The bigger problem was baking powder. Yeast was not a good substitute for baking as the taste and texture left a lot to be desired. Baking powder was made up of two ingredients, one was cream of tartar, that was usually a byproduct of wine making. So Sa Bina thought she could probably find it. She knew the taste and texture. The bigger problem would be baking soda. Baking soda was a by-product of some industrial processes, and she would have to see if she could find it. Otherwise it would massively impact her ideas for a good cake.
That left the issue of the flour and sugar. The sugar was not highly refined, and would need to be ground down from the rough crystals to get the consistency she wanted. For now the available sugar would do, in the longer term she would need to process her own refined sugar to get the pure white sugar that was best for baking. The brown sugar or molasses could be used in some recipes for great effect, cookies would work well with unrefined sugar.
The biggest issue was flour. The flour available was rough and contained whole bran. She would need to sift and mill the flour multiple times to get the quality she wanted. Without good quality white flour, she would have issues with both bread and cakes. It would leave a gritty taste in the mouth, not to mention the density wouldn't be right.
Since she could do bread more easily than cakes, she decided to start with the ingredients for bread. The process to make yeast had already started. So that left grinding down the sugar, for some sweet bread recipes, refining the flour for everything and some tools to make it easier to produce large amounts easily. If she wanted to run a businesses, she would need a lot of things.
A large oven, with good insulation and temperature control was a must. The running cost would also need to be considered. Then she would need baking pans and trays that would perfectly fit the oven. She would need large mixing bowls, ideally steel. Then she would need a large whisk and some sort of mixer to knead large amounts of dough. Those could be manually run, but the process would need to be managed to allow the speeds she would need to make it work.
Then for cakes, she would need to find a wine maker, and see if she could get cream of tartar and that would leave baking soda. She would need to work with a chemist or alchemist, whoever was available locally to produce baking soda in large quantities. If she could create baking soda, it would become an excellent product by itself for her and her kingdom. Given that she had only a couple of days before she started school, she would need to get on with finding the businesses or people to get herself going. So the list was a blacksmith, an artificer, a wine maker, and an alchemist.
Sa Bina decided that she would rather control the processes if possible and would rather buy the businesses. It would also save her money, as the business would become tax exempt. Also if she procured a winemaker, she could expand into more alcoholic drinks that would give her another avenue for growth. Sa Bina decided to ask Han Ji for ideas on how she would procure the right people and businesses.
“Well,” replied Han Ji after Sa Bina proposed the problem to him, “the best way would be to go and see the various guilds. All the businesses you are looking for need to be members of the appropriate guilds to be able to produce and see their products. They won't entirely be happy that you are going into that business. As a kingdom, you can technically operate your own guilds, and not come under their remit.”
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“Wouldn't it be better for us to find the people who are upset with those guilds, and want freedom?” asked Sa Bina. “That way we can get the resources cheaper and they will be more loyal to us than they would be to the existing guilds. I am guessing there is some sort of baking guild too?”
“Yes there is, also I have no idea where we would even go to start to get a list of disgruntled people.” replied Han Ji.
“Who would they complain to,” asked Sa Bina, “if people are not happy with the way the guilds are treating them, is there a government department that would deal with it?”
“If it was anyone, it would probably be the ministry of commerce.” replied Han Ji, “But how we would get the information out of them is another thing entirely.”
“I think I have a good idea of how I can get the information, and be thanked for it.” replied Sa Bina with a twinkle in her eye. “Let's drop in to see our good friend Hang Fo.”
Sa Bina, Han Ji with her usual coterie of guards made their way to the city administration building.
They were again taken in to see Hang Fo. It seemed he didn't have that much to do as there weren't that many diplomatic tasks for this office to handle.
“Greetings my lady,” said Hang Fo standing to greet her. “It seemed that you missed me. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today.”
“Greeting Minister,” replied Sa Bina, “I heard of an issue plaguing the administration offices, and thought I would come and offer my support and a potential solution.”
“Oh what issue is that my lady?” replied Hang Fo not looking most curious.
“Well, I have heard that the ministry of commerce is having a hard time dealing with small business owners that are entirely unhappy with the current monopoly of the various guilds.” replied Sa Bina, sounding most concerned. “However, as I understand it, being part of a guild is required to operate most trades and businesses. That leaves the ministry with little wiggle room to actually address the grievances raised leaving them looking impotent to both sides. Have I been misinformed?”
“No,” replied Hang Fo, now looking apprehensive, “I am not sure how you heard about the issue, it is not something that is widely shared. Though I am not sure how you can help with the issue.”
“Why don't we invite the Minister of commerce into our impromptu meeting, I am sure they would also be interested in the solution.” replied Sa Bina, “You would of course need to be the main point of contact as the minister for diplomatic affairs. I am sure you would be most appreciative of my solution”
“Are you sure you don't want to give me a hint?” asked Hang Fo.
“I want to see both your reactions together.” replied Sa Bina. “Let this lady have a little fun. I promise you that you won't be disappointed.”
“You sure are full of surprises.” replied Hang Fo. “Let me invite my colleague to join us. I shall return presently”
Once he departed Han Ji looked at Sa Bina in shock, “How, just how did you know about this issue?” he asked exasperated. “You were just questioning me earlier, was that all for nothing?”
“Not at all my deal Han Ji,” replied Sa Bina with a sly smile. “The more things change, the more they remain the same. Once I understood that there were guilds that held monopolies on business licences, it was an inevitable conclusion that there would be those that would not be happy with the situation. Further, if they were complaining, that would leave the ministry in a difficult position. They would have to either overrule the guilds, thereby making them an enemy of all guilds, or have a significant number of business owners feeling ignored. Either way they would look impotent, and any action would make them even more enemies. Even nobles wouldn't want to step on the toes of the guilds, leaving only the royals as an avenue for redress. I can't see them wanting to get involved in every little spat.”
“So based on what little I told you, you guess that this problem would exist?” asked a shocked Han Ji, “How did you even work it out, and what can you even do to provide a solution. And how would that help you find the business and people you are looking for?”
“Wait for the ministers to return Han Ji, “ replied Sa Bina, “Sit back and enjoy the show.”
It wasn't long until the two ministers returned.
“May I introduce Minister of commerce Hao Rong, my lady” said Hang Fo, “ Minister, may I introduce Duchess Sa Bina of the kingdom of The Rising Dao. She is the one who purchased the diplomatic estates recently. She is also staying incognito so is presenting herself as the ambassador and not the duchess.”
Hao Rong’s eyebrows shot up during the introduction. He bowed low. “My pleasure to meet you my lady, how may I be of service today?” he asked. It wasn't usual to meet royals, let alone one from another kingdom.
“Please join us,” said Sa Bina. After they both took a seat, Sa Bina continued. “I understand that you have several problems. I wanted to offer my help in alleviating those problems, in return for fair compensation of course.”
“What problems are you referring to my lady?” asked a very confused Hoa Rong. “And what compensation?”
The other two just looked between Sa Bina and Hao Rong, just as in the dark.
“Well, we should always specify the problems we are hoping to address, and if the solution is satisfactory, then we can talk about an equitable agreement.” replied Sa Bina. “As I understand it you have several problems. Firstly your ministry is getting a lot of pressure from a small minority of very vocal businesses about the conduct of the guilds. The problem is you can't really start to be too aggressive in addressing the behaviour of any one guild for the fear of making all the guilds your enemy. It makes you and the ministry look incompetent and impotent. The second problem you have is that you have a number of junior officers, some of the well connected, that are pushing the ministry and the seniors officers to publicly make changes, some are doing it just to gain political points and potential promotions, but a few are true believers, predominantly from rich but relatively newly raised families? Is my characterisation of your two main problems accurate?”