Free Web NovelChapter 94: Chapter 80: Major Purchase
"Miss Mary, are you saying you need a minimum of one hundred of these wooden beds?" Old Wick asked, his tone surprised as he looked at the order form in his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Carpenter," Mary said as she poured him some tea.
"That’s quite a large quantity. It will take some time to prepare." Old Wick lifted his teacup and took a sip. "Hm, this is chrysanthemum tea from the Archipelago, isn’t it?"
"You can also deliver them in batches. Just send them over as you finish them," Mary said, setting down the teapot and picking up her own cup.
"Are they urgent?" Old Wick set down the order form. "1.8 meters long by 1.2 meters wide—are these children’s single beds?"
"Yes, you could say that," Mary replied without argument.
"The beds don’t need any carvings? Or leather upholstery?" Old Wick asked, making sure.
"No, just the most basic style will do." Mary set down her teacup and pointed to the number written for the quantity. "One hundred is just the initial order. If the quality is good, I’ll be adding more. And we might need other furniture made as well."
"In that case, how about 25 Silver Coins? A regular child’s bed on the market goes for 30 Silver Coins, but since you’re ordering in bulk, I can give you a bit of a discount."
"No, we’ll stick with 30 Silver Coins. I need this rushed. If your workshop is short-staffed, you’ll have to find other ways," Mary said, rejecting his offer. "If need be, you can go through the Artisan Association. I know there are plenty of freelance artisans. You can post a notice there. If you can complete this order in ten days, I can raise the price to 32 Silver Coins per bed."
"If that’s the case, make it 35 Silver Coins, and I’ll go post a recruitment notice at the Artisan Association immediately." Old Wick countered with his price and waited for her response.
"Done. 35 it is." Mary didn’t haggle, accepting his price without hesitation.
Old Wick was a bit surprised. ’She’s clearly not short on money.’ "Pardon my asking, but why are you ordering so many custom children’s beds?"
"Oh, there’s a need for them," Mary said casually, glancing at him.
"Is the Four Gods Church opening another Basic grammar school?" Old Wick asked with a smile. He could only think of one type of buyer who would order so many small single beds at once. "We will finish as quickly as possible. Please tell the Priests for us... we pray for the blessing of the Gods."
"Ah, yes..." Mary saw the deep respect in his eyes. It took her a moment to realize it was because of the elegant, high-quality dress she was wearing.
The dress she’d worn while fleeing for her life in the forest had been torn to shreds by branches and brambles. At the time, she’d thought it could be mended, but her boss, Shire, had simply told her to buy several new, higher-quality outfits. After all, when she went out to conduct business, Mary would be the face of their enterprise. So, she had gritted her teeth and spent the money on three dresses she had long coveted—dresses she could previously only admire from outside a shop window while other girls tried them on.
Old Wick briskly signed the contracts and took the deposit from Mary. He had to get back right away and rally his workers. ’I’ve landed a huge order!’ he thought. A grammar school, after all, would require a great deal of furniture.
’I need to post the notice at the Association right away. And call my brother and his crew. This business is huge.’ He planned excitedly, completely failing to notice when he bumped into someone’s shoulder.
"Hey, watch where you’re—" The person frowned, turning back to speak.
"You must be Mr. Rudy," Mary said, greeting him from the warehouse entrance. The day after arriving at the Alchemy Workshop, she had immediately begun negotiations with the owner of the warehouse behind it. It had only taken an afternoon to settle the purchase. She’d paid a slight premium, but it was acceptable overall; the warehouse was a fair distance from the docks, so few people chose to store their goods here.
"And you must be the Miss Mary from the message," Rudy said, removing his hat and holding it to his chest with a slight bow.
"Please, come in, Mr. Rudy." Mary led him into the warehouse and to a reception room. "I am Mary, of the White Shell Trading Company here in Torch City."
Shire was the one who had come up with the company name. All future large-scale trade would be conducted under it.
"Was that Old Wick just now? So reckless," Rudy said, accepting the tea Mary had prepared. His tone was slightly complaining.
"It’s nothing. He’s just happy," Mary said with a smile, producing a procurement contract. "I mentioned in my message that I need a batch of Leather Armor made. Here is the order form."
"No, before we look at the order, could you show me the hides first?" Rudy asked, setting the contract aside.
"Of course. Follow me." Mary led him into the main warehouse, where several foul-smelling hides were laid out in a corner.
"This hide..." Rudy murmured, stroking the material with a look of amazement. "Such a massive snakeskin... it must be from a Magical Beast."
"Yes. I’m hoping your workshop can craft these hides into Leather Armor," Mary said, standing a short distance away with her hand covering her nose and mouth.
Lady Virdini had come to the workshop last night. Mary had been studying by candlelight when Little John arrived, leading a mule that was hauling the massive hides. It had taken her and Little John a tremendous amount of effort to get the hides sorted out, and they were busy until dawn. Afterward, Mary had to bathe four times just to get the smell off of her.
"What fantastic material! Truly excellent. But it needs to be processed quickly. Any longer and it will start to go bad." Rudy didn’t seem to mind the smell at all; it was clear he was genuinely thrilled.
"How long would it take to turn these into Leather Armor? The sooner the better," Mary asked. ’Can we please go back to the reception room to discuss this?’ she thought, but judging by Rudy’s expression, he preferred to stay right where he was.
Rudy didn’t answer right away. Only after carefully examining the hides did he say, "Three to six months. The winter weather isn’t as suitable for processing hides as the summer."
"Can you rush it? I can pay extra." Mary knew a new, standard leather breastplate cost 1 Gold Coin. Tanning the Cyan-eyed Dragon Snake Hide and crafting it into armor would certainly cost much more, but Shire wanted it done as soon as possible, and any price that wasn’t completely outrageous was acceptable.
"That would require more manpower, as well as special alchemical solutions. The absolute fastest would still be over three months," Mr. Rudy said, pinching his chin in thought, completely oblivious to the snake-hide stench now on his hand.
"Why don’t we discuss this in the reception room?" Mary hadn’t once lowered her hand from her face. She was desperate to get away from the smell and discuss the details.
"Ah, yes. My apologies," Rudy said with an embarrassed laugh. "I get carried away when I see fine materials. I’m sorry if I seemed unprofessional."
The two returned to the reception room, chatting and laughing along the way.
A short while later, Rudy was putting on his hat at the warehouse entrance. "There’s no need to see me out. I’ll have my people come for the hides as soon as possible. We’ll take good care of them, you have my word."
"Thank you," Mary said with a nod and a smile.
Rudy waved goodbye and started walking, muttering to himself. ’White Shell Trading Company... I’ve never heard of them. But for them to get their hands on the hide of such a powerful Magical Beast, they must have some noble backing.’
’Strange. I haven’t heard any news about someone killing a Magical Beast.’
CLANK. CLANK. CLANK. The sound of clashing armor interrupted Rudy’s thoughts. He looked up to see a group of people in mismatched armor walking past. They came in all shapes and sizes, but every one of them wore the same expression: a look of untamable aggression.
"Oh, the Storm Brotherhood is here!" a few children shouted, running and laughing around the armored figures.
