Po walked into the large barnhouse-like structure and took a seat. He sat on a large wooden laid-back chair, and his arms dropped off of each side like limp worms. He was a fairly large man, both in height and in width and most chairs didn’t meet his requirements for comfort. So Po, being the man he was, had built his own.

There were two other cleaners who did the same job as him. They emptied chamber pots into large drum-like containers and brought them here for Po to deal with. And he paid them decently, about one tenth-silver per day and they did their job. It wasn’t a Trader’s pay, but it was enough to live on, though it wasn’t like anyone could starve or go without shelter in this village. Chin would give them shelter, feed, and a hoe, and expect them to work with him from dawn till dusk.

But either way, Po would need to hire more hands when the merchants came around. Especially since it was the Kong Clan that was responsible for this year’s rainy season. The village didn’t host all of the merchants that crossed the Great Desert Strip. They didn’t even host a fraction of them. Only five merchant clans would need to use this place as a rest stop, but still, that meant for a period of two months their population would grow an astounding amount.

And a greater population meant a greater amount of waste. But that wouldn’t be the only problem Po would be dealing with. The biggest issue were their animals. Those giant insect-like beasts could eat half a forest's worth of grass in a week, and they would, once they got here, but they wouldn’t take that grass with them. No, they’d leave a mess of manure in the valley and Po would have to find some way of treating it on the spot. It was far too much for him to move and leaving it there would only make it a huge waste of nutrients.

If Po could process it, then Chin could use it over the coming year as fertilizer for his farms. But that was an if, a large and difficult if.

“Big man Po!” Mister Bill exclaimed behind.

Po could tell it was Mister Bill, because he was the only one that came out here to talk to him, and he was also the only one who called him ‘Big Man Po.’

“How ya doing?”

Po shrugged.

“That’s good. How’s the manure looking these days?”

Po shrugged, a bit more vaguely this time.

“Worried? About what?”

Po pointed up.

“Ahh… that’s got you concerned too, huh? The Kong Clan’s rainy season?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Po nodded and pointed to the left and then to the pile of manure on his cart.

“Yeah, those merchant bugs drop big loads. Are you still trying to find a way to process them?”

Po nodded.

“Hmm…” Mister Bill said in contemplation.

Po sat up. Mister Bill was an intelligent man. The man was a reservoir of untapped information. He had helped Po test almost every theory he had ever had about plants. And whenever he wondered like that, one hand on the chin, the other crossed across his chest, it meant that he was thinking about helping, but hadn’t decided on how yet.

“Say would you-”

Po nodded vigorously.

“I haven’t even told you what-”

Po nodded vigorously once more.

“Are you sure-”

Po repeated the action, this time with a slightly tired neck.

“Okay, but remember, you asked for this,” Mister Bill said as he walked out of the building.

Po got up and followed him excitedly. Mister Bill never failed to deliver. He knew too much. Whenever Po had an idea, it was Mister Bill he would go to verify it to be true. For some reason, the man generally refused to outright tell him the correct answer but he would tell him whether or not his hypotheses were correct.

There was no reason to doubt-

Po blinked. There was someone else here. A woman.

“Po this is Xi Lu, Xi Lu, this is Po.”

The girl smiled and gave a light bow.

Po looked back and forth between Mister Bill and the new girl in confusion.

“Xi Lu has some particular training in plants and herbs that you might find useful. She’s also got some knowledge in insects and the like, I’m sure she can help you with your endeavors.”

Po did another take, looking between the young girl and Mister Bill.

“Now, she can help you from noon to sunset and I expect you to pay her the same rates you do for your other cleaners. If you can provide her with the proper clothing, she can even start today-”

“What?” Po said, looking at the girl and then back at Mister Bill. The words came out coarse and horse-like, and Po’s throat itched at the attempt.

“Not you?” He added for clarification.

“No, not me. But she knows a lot. And she can help you think of a way to deal with all of that manure.”

Po frowned. He didn’t like this. He knew Mister Bill and Mister Bill knew him. And somehow, the man was able to understand his thoughts almost perfectly from a few gestures and nods. And this person, this new girl, well he doubted she could do the same. And besides, she was small. She might know stuff, but he doubted she could lift a barrel of shit that was twice her weight.

Po almost shook his head in rejection. Almost. But he didn’t. Mister Bill knew what he was doing. Po Pen looked down and thought in silence.

Then, eventually, he nodded.

“Okay,” Mister Bill said with a smile on his face, and then he left. Po would’ve yelled at him to come back if he could.

“Hello. Mas- Mister Bill says that I will be helping you with your job today. This Xi Lu hopes to assist you the best she can,” the girl said, giving him an elegant half-bow in greeting.

Po said nothing. This was going to take some getting used to.