Eva Charles
"Look at this wonderful mist," said Arina as the large amount of mist bloomed out of her hand. "I hope you will no longer complain about cramped space anymore,"
The old woman didn't even look at me. All her focus is on mist, which she turned into hundreds of fine strands.
Her control is impressive—one of the best among the artisans.
"Even here, my station is just as big as it was in Namdar, but I like the new tools and this sweet mist," she replied as she wove mist strings into a beautiful design.
I rolled my eyes hearing that, and turned into the large hall.
There are twenty-four jewellery stations, with the best tools, better than they used to be, even in Namdar. Once they sat down, they didn't have to move for any process.
There are also four larger cabins where Ariana and my best artisans would work.
The jewellers had already occupied their stations, with mist coming out of their rings. They have already started working on the pieces, and there is a lot of commissioned work.
Not only for them, but Ariana and I as well.
The Mage tower wants extra-fine mana conduction threads; these threads are extremely thin, eighteen times thinner than hair, and made of gems of Vanmasi sapphire, which are very hard to work with.
Only a limited few, like Ariana and I, can do that.
It made me very curious about the tower; it is of average height, but given the sheer amount of orders they have placed. That tower is going to be anything but ordinary.
"Stop playing around, Arina, and get back to work," I said to the woman.
"I was planning to," she replied with a huff and walked away, but even then, she didn't pull back the mist. She kept working on it.
The artisans in the room are my best people, but the numbers aren't enough.
I have a higher number of people than any other store, and I am only comparing it to my existing people. Miss Cain had the highest total with the new additions.
"We need more people; the orders from the tower are going to increase, and soon, new orders from the stores."
"You cannot give too much of your time to commissioned work; you have that piece to focus on," said my son, and I smiled, not because of his words, but because I did not smell the stink of alcohol as he spoke.
He did not stop drinking, but he lessened it a lot.
In the past few months, he even started working on enchantments; his old passion seemed to return. Seeing that brought me great joy.
"We have a lot of candidates coming to interview. I am sure we will find some gems in there," I replied and walked out of the hall.
I stepped into the elevator, and a few seconds later, I exited into the grand hall.
I looked around and saw the projection board, and there were already requests or jobs, as they say. This is a new system. Now, instead of asking any one store or its people, one could simply place the request here.
Each job costs a specific number of points, and one will receive them after finishing the job.
It is like guilds, but those points are more valuable than money. This is also more efficient than what we were doing, as it will save time and increase productivity.
Currently, there are only a few jobs, but I know that within a day. All these notice boards will be filled with jobs; I alone will post thirty-plus jobs, and that is only the first week.
Over time, there would be many more.
I scrutinized it for a minute before walking out of the main building. The moment I did, the calming fragrance became denser, so I stopped and took a deep breath.
Andrea had said that as these little plants mature, the fragrance would become more powerful.
It is going to be very useful.
I walked toward No. 5, one of the buildings surrounding the central tower, and soon it appeared in front of me. This entire building belongs to us. Well, Miss Cain, her people work here.
They opened the door for me, and I stepped inside; the moment I did, the sound hit me, and the visuals.
In front of me are large machines of wood and metal, and behind them are people. Humans, elves, half-elves, and even dwarves. Each of them is working behind the huge machines.
These are spinning machines; they are spinning the raw cotton into threads, while the mist fuses into them.
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There are five steps that turn raw cotton into cloth. Aside from ginning, where seeds are separated, and cotton is cleaned, we are performing all the steps in-house now.
Before, we used to work directly on the finished cloth, but now we work at the beginning.
Spinning, weaving, dyeing, and finishing. In each step, we will infuse more and more mist into the fabric. Through this process, we will be able to embed the mist into the fabric's core.
We tested a small batch a few months ago, and the fabric we got was amazing.
We are not just doing it with cotton, but also with linen, wool, and many other things. Trying to take as many processes in-house as possible with the most advanced tools and high-level artisans.
"The quality of fabric we will get from it will help us craft an amazing work," Miss Cain said, looking at the machines.
"It will," I replied.
It will let her do that, and I cannot fall behind. It is why I have asked my people to focus on techniques that let them infuse more essence and create the most intricate work.
"I hope it's enough. We have a lot of orders." She said, and I nodded.
Many nobles and influential people used their connections to place large orders, many of which were custom-made. Our designers have already started working with them, and my jewellers have already started working on pieces.
Her people will begin as soon as the fabric is ready, which will take only one and a half to two days.
…
Remus Silver
"The smell," said Zela, and cast a spell.
Immediately, the heavy, pungent smell lessened, but it had not fully disappeared.
"No matter how advanced the machines and skills and how powerful the skill one uses, they can't remove the smell from a tannery," said Valentina, shaking her head.
I looked at the large underground hall, with people working to process the leather.
This is one of the things that the Velvet Garden directly controls. Leather is required in all things, in clothes, in shoes, in weapons, and in many other things.
"It was a good idea to take leather under our control," I said to Andrea. It was her idea, and it's great.
"It is efficient this; given how many stores require leather, it would have been chaos sourcing it if we didn't have direct control over it," she replied.
Many store owners were resistant to it, but they accepted after we told them it was a final decision.
We were talking when a man in his mid-thirties walked in. He is tall and could be considered handsome. He has dark blue eyes and pale green hair, and an enviable square jaw.
He walked with a natural type of confidence that I have seen in people like him.
The scions.
"Lord Silver," he greeted, before nodding at Valentina and Andrea. "Can you do something about the smell, Mr. Maston?" " It's unbearable," said Andrea, to which the man grinned.
The man is Gerand Manston, scion of the House of Manston.
When we took control of leather into our own hands, we searched for people who could develop this craft.
We contacted people in the Empire and the merchant states.
House Maston put in the best proposal. It is a top mercantile house in Marsin, a city famous for its leather industry and controlled by Lady Ashenwood.
Leila officially recommended them; they are her partners in the monster leather business.
Lady Ashenwood had called personally. This man is related to her by blood.
The recommendations were good, but it was their proposal and work that made us choose them. If it were not for that, then no amount of recommendations would have been helpful.
Still, I was quite surprised when they put the name of one of their scions forward.
"We are already doing everything we can, Madam. If not for the skills of my people and enchantments, it would have been even worse," he replied, shaking his head.
"The smell doesn't matter; what mattered was the work, and looking at the things you were doing well," I said as I looked at the process.
Mist is swirling everywhere, fusing into the leather. "You are absolutely right, my lord," he agreed. I talked to the man for a few minutes before walking out.
We moved to the other facilities; there are a lot of them.
This is just the beginning, as this place is going to get bigger. Most of the store owners and artisans working are from existing stores, not from the new stores that will open in the relaunched Velvet Garden.
We are searching for stores and interviewing these people.
We plan to select them soon and teach them mist control, before starting production of their goods. That will require space, and the current ones wouldn't be enough.
There are going to be a lot more stores in Velvet Garden than there are right now in the new Artisan Garden.
Not to mention the new stores we are opening; currently, only two are planned, but already many cities and nobles are contacting me about opening stores in their cities.
Though not as intensely as they are vying for the store within the legacy. That is something else.
This whole year is going to be a busy one, and I hope no trouble comes with that. These challenges that I have already faced are enough; I need no more of that.
Though I know there will be more of them.
We walked through most of the workshops before stepping into Andrea's new office on the top floor of the central building.
"We built it, but that was the easiest thing; we now have to run it and do it successfully to achieve all our objectives," I said.
"We will," replied Andrea.
"My team has already started going through applications; I will also send people to the undiscovered gems that some of our staff and trusted patrons have suggested."
"I have also organised trips for students from schools and the academy," she informed.
We don't just want to hire people; we also want to foster our own. They are the ones who will bear the greater loyalty to the dominion. It will also make us more secure if their lords or kingdoms call back their specialists.
"In six months, we have to complete all the new stores. Only then will they be ready for the inauguration," I said.
"I will make it happen," she replied. I nodded.
It is a monumental task, and she will have help, but the bulk of the responsibility is on her shoulders.
I am also unloading a lot of meetings with representatives, coming to meet me for the stores in legacy, on her. I don't want to do it, but I am already too busy.
We discussed things for a few minutes, and I was about to leave when I remembered something important.
"Rexy Karto, I am thinking about elevating her to Grade III. What are your thoughts about her?" I asked. Her expression turned serious upon hearing that.
I have created a whole hierarchy and am slowly advancing the girls to higher positions as they become capable, but we need more at both higher and lower levels.
I couldn't just fill all the vacancies; they need to be ready for it.
"She is undoubtedly loyal. While she may not be the most inventive or resourceful, she reliably follows the instructions and carries out the tasks diligently," she replied.
It's the same answer I got from most of the others.
I prefer the resourceful ones. All Grade I to Grade III have that capability, but I am also aware that not all have that quality and don't need to.
Sometimes, a loyal one who will just follow orders is what one needs.
She is one of the most loyal; she nearly died protecting her sisters at sea.
I have already done the same with Hendricks. I will elevate the girl after I talk to Carla when she returns.
"Good luck, Andrea," I said as I finally got up. "Thank you for your trust, Master Silver," she replied. I smiled and walked away from her office with Valentina.
Feeling the heavy load on my shoulder lessened a little as I stepped out of her office.
