Gunpowder...!
1802 Words
"Andy, would you meet me back at Old Jack's place? I have something to hand over to you in the presence of His and Her Majesty." Eagle approached Andy while he was having mouthfuls of roasted meat stuffed in his face.
His lips were coated with grease, black pepper and the condiments that were used to coat the roasted meat and it was smeared across his mouth. Not only was he the only one like that but the rest of the citizens were also in a similar manner.
"Wes wir, wai will we wright where woon. Wowwy wo weak wif whe wouff wull." Hearing that he was summoned by Eagle and also to be witnessed by His and Her Majesty, Andy immediately covered his mouth as he replied to Eagle.
He placed a few slices of bread over his plate of sliced roasted meat and hurriedly wiped his mouth and went along with Eagle to old Jack's blacksmith, which was also part of Andy's little workshop.
Eagle had mentioned to me that he had something to hand over to Andy as Heather and I went over to Old Jack's place to witness what Eagle had in store for Andy.
When Andy seated himself on one of the stools inside the blacksmith, Eagle took out a small package that was covered up with a hemp sack. It looked slightly bulging as it was layered with at least two sacks to prevent the discovery of the item within.
"Sorry Sir, I was too engrossed with the roasted meat earlier and spoke with my mouth full. What could I be of service, Sir?" Andy lowered his gaze as it fell on top of the hemp sack that Eagle was carrying.
"Here is it, as witnessed by His and Her Majesty, 3 pounds of gunpowder that would be used for your explosive concussion arrowhead that could knock a Knight off his warhorse," Eagle announced and handed Andy the sack of gunpowder that he had mentioned before to Marcel.
"Store it in a cool and dark place, don't expose it to any heat or else this blacksmith shop would blow sky high, alright?" Eagle mentioned to Andy and he quickly stores it away at the back of the storeroom where there won't be any heat source at all.
"Thank you so much, Sir, His and Her Majesty. I never thought you would be able to acquire those and it's more than I could have imagined."
"Each of the explosive concussion arrowheads would just require just a small pinch to fill the gaps. I have a few of the arrowheads made and just waiting for the gunpowder."
"Once it's ready, I would be showing how it worked. Its a one time use for this arrowhead because the force of the explosive concussive force would render this arrowhead useless after its being deployed."
Andy highlighted to us as we nodded our heads and informed him to resume what he was doing earlier so he could show us a demonstration when it's done.
"Mmmm, Yes, Your Majesty. I will get to it first thing in the day tomorrow. Once it's ready I would show you a short demonstration. Old Jack might have an old helm lying around somewhere. If we can use it to stuff a pumpkin over it then we would be able to know what kind of impact it would be."
"Alright then, Andy. Take good care of the gunpowder. Once you had made a few of those arrows for demonstration, would you be able to supply to our men first? At least about a dozen each for the archers?" Eagle negotiated with Andy and was agreed right on the spot.
"Sure thing, Sir. A dozen for each archer. It won't take long because all I need would be a ball and a sharpened end of an arrow tip. There are no other special designs to it and it would take some time just for me to make the arrow tip as Michael would be helping me to make the ball end."
We excused Andy and he went to finish off his meal and then shared the good news with the rest of the Priests and Priestesses who were around at the dining areas. Although it was rude to leave the table while eating halfway but there's always an exception.
=*=
"Your Majesty, the owners of the tavern had been notified and we had set a date for them to come over here on a single day. It would be 5 days from now and it would have ample time to showcase the Standing Icebox as well."
Marcel approached us and related the good news. Well, in 5 days time, the set of Standing Icebox that would be meant to be displayed at all the Merchants Association in the 15 towns would be duly completed by then.
"Good job there, my good friend. I am sure this will be a boon for the economy. So these Standing Icebox would be transported by the tavern owners by then, innit?"
I inquired since Marcel had managed to entice the tavern owners of the new innovation that would reap more income for their taverns as well as to assist us to ferry these Standing Icebox on our behalf.
"That's right, Your Majesty. At least our day to day operations would not be disrupted we would be expecting some 15 wagons heading this way and I am sure that they would be here to purchase the copper tuns and have a high possibility to order the Standing Icebox as well."
"What we need is to have these two Standing Icebox in full display in front of patrons later and place them in Gracehaven's Greasy Spoon and Gracehaven's Finest Bakery. In this way, the Standing Icebox would be decked full with fish, meat and other goodness that's being used by each of the stores."
"That's a great idea there buddy. I totally agree with it. Even if I myself do not have a use for the Standing Icebox at the moment but these locales would definitely be able to find some use for them. This would definitely be a great help in the marketing and promotions for these Standing Icebox."
I patted Marcel shoulders and we went over to meet Jennings who was stationed at the bakery as usual as she was helping the rest to make additional bread for their meal. These bread that was not provided for dinner or supper were snapped up immediately by the residents at 2c each.
"Jennings, there would be a Standing Icebox later to be placed inside the bakery. Do you have any idea about where you are going to place them and also what you would be storing inside them?"
Jennings looked at us and beamed with smiles. She was ecstatic when she heard about the provision of a Standing Icebox for the bakery.
"Thank you much, Your Majesty. At least I would be able to store some seasoned meat and fish inside it. There's the salad dressing that I would be preparing for the tortoiseshell buns and there would be custard fillings too."
"With the cool temperature, I am sure the salad dressing and the custard fillings would not be spoiled. Besides, there might be a possibility of chilled desserts too."
"Remember the rainbow-coloured steamed tapioca cake? It would last longer is it is chilled. Same goes to the thousand layered cake as well." Jennings added another two more products for bread distribution and we all thought it was going to be a good idea.
"So what you mean to say is that these 2 cakes would also be marketed to the masses as well? But what about the Standing Icebox? Does it have to be the same size or of a different design?" I inquired because I can't imagine a Standing Icebox would be on a placed on a rickety and swaying wagon.
"Hahaha... Your Majesty, it is just like the small icebox that was made on the first time to showcase how it would be used to store the chicken before. Besides, the cakes would not be on a large scale but more like a driving force to get people to buy these Standing Icebox instead."
I thought about what Jennings had said and it was agreed on the spot. At least people who bought these chilled pastries, they would be enticed to get a Standing Icebox to store other stuff as well. It's a long shot but it's better than nothing.
"I guess the steamer baskets would be in full production once again. Because these chilled products could be steamed before consumption. Like the cream puffs, it could be eaten chilled or steamed slightly."
Jennings suggested to us and Heather immediately noted it down in her journal so it would be emphasised when the time comes. It may not make a significant impact but in the long run, there would be more products to be showcased in this way — Frozen Food Products!
=*=
"Dear, we do seem to have a lot of events and innovations coming our way. Have you noted them down so we would be able to process them accordingly?"
I was all smiles at the thoughts of production that would be implemented soon in the future and the thought of it alone made me exuberant.
Not only there would be another building to process these frozen food products but there would be an additional trickle of income coming in.
Besides, there would also be an extension of woven products that would be emplaced and this would increase the workforce indefinitely.
"Yes, dear. I have noted down what there is to be prepared in the future as well as other incoming events that would be significant to us in the long run. Moreover, we would be having another 20 or so new induction of citizens soon and we hope that everyone would be able to agree on what they see here."
Heather pointed to me and I nodded my head. To fill up the remaining 180 plus residential lots would be a breeze and this would lead to an influx of population increase.
We have 45 farmlands measuring 60 feet by 60 feet that would be able to produce approximately 0.112 lbs of wheat per sq foot. With the help of Penelope, she would be able to conjure up these crops to mature within 7 to 10 days once it had been sown.
We may have an endless supply and we need to work fast since its only the first month of autumn and there would be no work during wintertime.
At least everyone put their effort for 9 months and rest during winter. The only thing left was to wait for the completion of the cold storages.
- Writer
