I Got Carried Away...
1884 Words
The 15 copper tuns that were ordered from the Engineering Guild over from Corral had arrived and Marcel was there to receive it. He had planned for the tavern owners over in the 15 towns to actually come and grab one of those.
As the copper tuns had a dispensing tap at the near the bottom part, Ben had fashioned out a small round wooden stand to support it to a considerable height.
The copper tuns had been washed clean and each one had been insulated with a layer of frost that would need no replenishment or replacement for many years to come until the copper tun itself was somehow destroyed.
It was a day that was anticipated by Marcel as he arranged the copper tun on a dining table and set it beside the Gracehaven's Greasy Spoon.
Since the project for the production of the Standing Icebox was still ongoing, the prototype was set beside it as well and was loaded up with fish, game meat in the frozen compartment and vegetables, fruits as well as a jar of milk, some cheese and butter in the chiller compartment.
This was to entice the tavern owners to order for their locale for whatever reason they may deem fit. Besides, in this way, he would be able to kill two birds with one stone.
In order to spread the word to the public, someone would need to actually do free advertising for Gracehaven.
If the general public came to know of these Standing Icebox that was being utilised in the taverns, they could place their orders directly at the Merchants Association.
The move for this form of advertising would be slow but it would surely entice the public to place orders for it. Marcel had deduced that the projected outreach for the 15 towns would be at least 5% of the whole population of the Lords and Ladies.
Not only would the tavern have the opportunity to own this Standing Icebox first, but they could also help to spread the word to the commoners as well. One way or another, things have to move forward for Gracehaven.
=*=
"How is the drying kiln for the commode, would it be pulled down once the last piece had been removed?" I inquired to Farah who had just turned off the radiating heat within and had opened up the ventilating flaps and the door open.
The draft of cold air around the area rushed in automatically and helped to cool down the drying kiln of the commode. Once the stoneware commodes were cooled off, it would be brought out and placed into the vacant privvy on the residential lots.
The clay vats that were meant for the washing and flushing of the commode had long been completed and all 300 of them had already been emplaced in all the privvy.
A radiating heat of 100°F was set for all the clay vats in the privvy so anyone could even take a comfortable warm shower on a cold winters day. The surrounding privvy was laid with 2 layers of clay bricks so water would not splash and flood the privvy.
The ground was laid with a layer of gravel and would be porous to drain all the liquid as the sewerage underneath that was planned by Earl would carry it off 2 miles downstream.
That's one of the special ability that had been conjured up by Earl.
"Your Majesty, we would be removing the radiating heat walls now and Earl would be taking the foundation back to the ground. Please stand back a bit." Farah spoke and woke me up from my stupor as the foundation slowly sank into the ground, leaving the stacks of commode that was earlier being dried.
The commodes were loaded up onto several handcarts and brought to the locations that need to be fixed in the residential lots. The rest of the production team members were exuberant since they had finally accomplished the task within the time period of only 10 days instead of a month.
"Hahaha. A job well done folks. You would not have achieved this without the help of Farah and Earl. All of you deserved to be rewarded tonight." I exclaimed and this brought beams of smiles across everyone's faces.
=*=
"Your Majesty, according to the clay bricks production team leader, there is no need for a kiln to be constructed as the process of drying is much different than the stone commodes."
"Once the clay bricks had been dried, it would be arranged in a circular manner and had a pit lit up in the centre instead. The heat radiating around it would be kept lit for several hours and then would be ready by the day after."
Farah explained to me and I nodded in apprehension. Since there was no need to build a permanent firing pit for the clay bricks since they decided to use the existing one, Farah would be able to concentrate on the drying kiln of the grains once the building structure was complete.
=*=
"Hello Old Jack, how was the progress for the metal wire shelving that you had been getting on?" I inquired our trusted blacksmith while Heather was sauntering beside me, as usual, to record down the progress.
"Hahaha. I've completed the shelvings already, Your Majesty. Come in and take a look at that I had created." Old Jack flourishes a wave of his hand and invited both Heather and I to enter the drying kiln for the grains.
The structure was almost complete and the only thing was the ventilation flaps above. Old Jack has yet to build them as the drying kiln for the grains would be a permanent fixture jb the courtyard.
The structure was longer and wider than we had actually planned. It was 25 feet long and 15 feet wide. Inside the structure, rows of metal shelvings had already been emplaced and were made up of metal rods as thick as 15/64" thick.
There were 10 shelvings altogether that lined the whole stretch of the 25 feet long wall. It was 2½ feet wide to accommodate the 3 feet by 3 feet drying tray, much like the trays that were being used in the baking ovens.
"Your Majesty, 210 trays could fit in this structure alone and with a regulated heat of 100°F, grains, as well as hay, could be dried easily."
"The process would then move to the grain husker and once its cool to touch, it would be milled during the day to turn into flour and then stored inside the clay vats."
"The milling would only be done in the daytime. At least the grains that had been dried would be slightly winnowed to cool off before storage."
Old Jack and Crystal were there to explain the process to us and I find that it's impressive for the process in the drying of the grains. Too bad the baking ovens could not be done in the same manner.
The baking ovens were literally 400% hotter than the drying kiln...!
"Your Majesty, see that space in between the shelving? Farah informed us that she would make a dual line of radiating heat there that surrounds the whole structure. In this way, the top and bottom drying tray would be equally heated up."
"Farah explained that the moment the door is opened, the radiating heat around the area would stop radiating and would continue when the door was closed. This is to prevent accidents such as suffocation."
"So once the trays were loaded in and the doors were closed, the radiating heat would then commence and it would take different timings for the grains to dry."
Crystal explained to us regarding different types of grains that need different timings to be dried out completely. Heather took down the notes diligently as Crystal explained and the list looked generally the same across the board. Unless it's for feeds, corn drying temperature was to be set at 180°F.
"This innovation is much better than windrowing as space is rather limited and also the would-be possibilities of impurities such as grains of sand and gravel when it was being dried."
"In this way, things could be speeded up accordingly, it became more productive and it would take a day to complete from drying to husking."
"If we do not have the Priests and Priestesses to help with the community here, we would not be able to garner much harvest. Even in autumn, we would still be able to get 2 or more harvest per month."
"How about winter? Do you think the Priests and Priestesses would be able to do something about the crops?" I inquired because, through the books of Agriculture that I had read, temperature for the soil would be 70°F, and it would need plenty of sunshine when the grains were filling."
Farah overhead and butted in the conversation, "Your Majesty, there is nothing we could do with the sun in winter. Why not let the land regenerate itself within that 3 months so we would have a bountiful harvest in the months thereafter?"
"Hahaha... I think I got a bit carried away and somehow turned greedy for the moment. My bad. Please do understand because this is my first time to see so much development within our town that benefits the whole community."
"What Crystal had said is true. The changes you had brought for us is tremendous and we are truly thankful for what the Priests and Priestesses had done for us. Thank you... Please forgive me if I went overboard just now."
I profusely apologise while Heather, Crystal and old Jack laughed when they saw Farah scratching her head when she heard me apologising.
Who in the world would expect royalty to ask for forgiveness before His subjects?
The commodes in all the privvy had been installed and everything was good to go for the community. All the ribbons that were used to secure the doors on the privvy had been released and were readily available to the citizens to freely use.
Earl made some last minutes checks on the underground sewerage that separated liquid and solid waste and then began to conjure up a dome of the earth to cover up the latrine pits.
Only a long 10-foot gooseneck ventilation pipe protrudes out from the top of the earth dome. This helps to release the trapped gases or heat from within.
When he had completed everything, the citizens went about the areas and was elated at the development that was been improvised so far. There would be no more potties to clean and cleared daily.
The citizens then turned their potties to become flower pots instead to beautify the small patch of land within their 10' by 10' residential perimeter.
The citizens congratulated Earl for a job well done and improving the lives of Gracehaven after he had finished creating the dome to cover the latrine pits.
Much earlier before, I had requested Eagle to utilise his men to capture some wild boars to be roasted over the pits tonight after the nightly conference. Since dinner was not provided, this little gift for them would bring joys and morale booster for them.
- Writer
