WHAT CAN YOU DO?

The next day Chu whistled and skipped through a light snow drizzle on his way to the Smithy. Mr Thomas walked beside him holding in his hands some rolled up parchments in a small bag. The two bore a stark contrast to the dismal and near deserted streets.

They had returned to the farm where the boy spent his time scribbling and scrawling for nearly half the night. He did not understand what drove the boy to such lengths under the dim candlelight.

Chu entered the Smithy like a typical boss. The few years of work in an office and his interactions with business people gave him a confident air. Like an experienced supervisor he gave a nod to his new subordinate and made a quick inspection.

"Good day Mr Chu. I have already cleaned the workplace and had all our materials stocked in the small storage shed. Last night I started the forge, it should be ready soon for work."

"Good Morning. You can skip the formalities and call me Chu or boss."

Dareck placed the broom on the side and reported to Chu. He had dropped of his belongings at the house and spent the entire night here in the smithy. According to him the forge needed time to restart until the temperature was suitable for 'striking iron'.

Chu had not the foggiest idea what he was talking about. He left him to do as he pleased. A good supervisor was one who worked on his subordinates strengths. Proper allocation of labor was a key to efficient job completion.

He called over Dareck to a small table and laid out the parchments containing some sketches and little worded scribbles.

"This is going to be our first project. Once completed all we have to do is iron out a few kinks and we can sell the idea. If you are worth my trust, then you will be one of the few chosen to follow me in the future."

He chuckled inwardly at his little joke.

The first invention Chu decide to go with was a simple well pump. The workings were not complex and he remembered actually using one when he lived out in the country. Using trial and error he hoped to bring it to reality in this world.

Once it was built he would test it out in the farm and work out any modifications needed. As long as he could get a working model, he was sure Griz would be able to sell it to the Empire. It was after all a high-tech invention for this age.

Currently well water was drawn by the old-fashioned rope bucket. In those noble houses they moved it by using slave or servant labor. This invention was suitable for release in this time. He felt ashamed because it was also one of the few inventions he could sketch out a complete diagram.

"How long do you want this pipe? Is it for a stack like the one over the forge?"

Chu inspected the pipe Dareck pointed at before speaking.

"It should be about twelve feet. We can cut it after to suit the site. I preferred it to be one solid pipe and not like that chimney. It should definitely not be a flat plate rounded into a tube and held together by rivets."

The smoke stack was constructed out of a piece of iron sheeting that had then undergone some pounding into a cylinder. It was then crudely riveted together. The three to four feet cylinders were then fitted into each other at the ends to make the long stack.

After yesterday Dareck made sure to treat this young kid with respect. Whether he liked it or not the boy was actually his boss.

"Beg your pardon Mr Chu, I mean Chu, but I am afraid we cannot make such a thing. This forge is a simple one designed to handle menial task like bending iron or hammering out kinks.

The work you are calling for requires a Master forge made for smelting and molding iron. Even then it takes weeks to prepare a mold and hammer out the final product."

Chu felt his world shudder on the brink of collapse.

"What the heck are you talking about?"

***

Chu returned to the village home in a dejected manner. He did not bring all the plans for the pump that day. Being on the cautious side, he was hoping to construct the parts and then try to piece them together by himself at the barn.

That way he could safeguard his intellectual property rights until he trusted Dareck. Who knew he would end up being stonewalled even before he actually started. Only after spending the entire morning with the junior smith did he actually learn his limit.

'Making horseshoes was not exactly what I had in mind.'

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He did get a bout of inspiration at the end and made out another set of drawings for Dareck to work on. It surprised him that such trivial things were not in use in the Empire. He could only imagine the possibilities of what was going to happen when he released this crude invention.

"Elder, can you check with John and see if he has those tree saws for sale? I want another one for our use. When Dareck gets our materials he might need hand tools, let John purchase it through our Company."

Chu moved his finger to his lips as he was thinking.

"Aren't you afraid he would take things and run?"

The question only brought a laugh from the boy.

"Ahem, Elder look around you. First only a madman would decide to steal those heavy loads from a forge and brave the winter in no mans land. Second and more importantly, I just asked you to let John spend our Merchant money to buy things for the guy."

Mr Thomas nodded as he understood. He was worried that the young man had plenty leeway since they lived some distance away. In the event of they being stranded by a snowstorm or other means at the barn, the young man could grab anything of value and run.

He never took in consideration the Master of the Trading Post.

Even though John was the Master, he still was a shareholder in the merchant company consisting of Chu as one of the partners if not the most important partner. A scrooge like John would never allow someone to take advantage or worse rob them.

Out here in this village, that guy moved like a miserly lord. One could only imagine his reaction if he was scammed.

The boy grinned as he witness the man having a glimpse of understanding.

"Remember Elder, we will not be confined to this place. It will be however, our stronghold. Soon with a little push from us, Griz will stake claim in Limerock. John naturally has to fill the void in Karst.

In such a future scenario, anyone wishing to deal or conversely harm us from the Empire has to trek through our turf. There is no way we can be caught by surprise."

Chu left Thomas with his mouth open as they trudged along the snow filled road. The old man never expected the kid to plan so far ahead. The little brat was truly unfathomable.

Chu made a brief visit to the house before leaving.

"Ms May, I need some quilts large and thick enough to seal out a wall this big. If I can get it in one piece it would be perfect. Also Dareck will be a tenant here until his probation time is up. Please ensure his everyday needs are taken care of."

Ms May nodded as she replied.

"No problem Boss Chu. We have enough food and firewood to more than cover the rest of the winter. Any more and these scoundrels would begin to get fat and lazy. Even if we have to work at night the quilts will be done long before you need us for the fields."

Chu smiled at her reply. Ms May was a dedicated worker and a hard taskmaster.

At the moment there were three girls and two older couples who were busy in the main room sorting and handling those rags. The village home now had a total of ten tenants working for food and board.

"Next week I am going to be bringing some wood blocks for Dareck to use in the Smithy. He is going to need some extra help there to do some fine work and smoothing. Get some helpers for him, that work will take priority."

Before she could answer, her husband Jim came in the kitchen to join them. Evidently he had overheard them talking.

"Boss, let me and the other two old guys help the smith. I promise we will not disappoint you. Hopefully I can do more than stringing needles with my shaking hands waiting for Spring. I prefer the working in the forge."

Chu looked at the expectant faces of the other two men. He sighed and turned to the woman.

"Ms May is your immediate boss in the village. She will decide how to allocate the work. Some of future work may need small and stable hands, so the girls may be necessary. Talk to Dareck to find out how much help he needs."

Chu left after giving some added instructions.

Mr Thomas looked at the boy sitting besides him on the wagon on their way home. Sometimes he would snicker and then calm himself only to cycle through that kind of disturbing scene.

"What the heck is wrong with you?"

He finally had to ask.

The boy was in the middle of a chuckle when Mr Thomas inquired turning the laugh into a coughing fit.

"Ahem, what is it?"

"What the hell are you so happy for. I was sure you were ready to cry when the smith busted your plans."

Chu grinned as he replied

"Elder, elder. No matter the setback, I will never give up in this world. Sure I was ready to slap Dareck back to Karst but in the end he opened another door. In fact I believe that come next winter our little merchant company is going to make it big. Really, really big!"

Chu rubbed his hands as he thought of all the possibilities opening up. He had seen too many fantasy and medieval times movies from all different cultures not to know the many uses of this simple piece of machinery.

What was perfect was that this civilization had not even thought of implementing it on a widespread scale. Maybe somewhere they had begun to use it without understanding its real value but to the senile inventor like him it was a boon from heaven.

How stupid of him to rack his brains thinking about complex inventions when he should have focused on where exactly this world was in terms of technology.

In an Empire that resembled the middle ages of the past world, it was the simple inventions that paved the way for the more complex ones of the Renaissance age.

For Heaven's sake, the people here still told time using a sundial. According to Mr Thomas, the Military used banded candles at night to estimate time to the nearest hour. Maybe only the Tower Mages had access to an hourglass for their needs.

The Empire was on the brink of an age of enlightenment and he was going to capitalize on it before someone else did.

'Blatant Plagiarism!'

"Mr Thomas, do you know what a Gear is?"

Even an idiot like Chu could think of uses for this simple machine.