Chapter 70 Business Preparation
When Andre came back on horseback, pulling the rented cart, the skeleton was grunting as he carried a pile of pots and pans into the yard.
He jumped off his horse and looked at the sacks, bamboo dustpans, and bottles and jars scattered on the ground. He was speechless for a moment, and after a long while, he said with difficulty: "...Do you really need to take so many things with you? Are you moving?!"
"There's no other way," Jiang You sighed. "Either we move these things over there and make them on-site, or we bring the filling machines and bottles back, finish the work, and then move them back... The former only requires one trip and we can brew endlessly, while the latter requires two trips and we can't even restock. What do you think?"
Andre: "...You are right."
Fortunately, Diego is a heavy draft horse. With its ability, dragging supplies on the battlefield is a common task for it. The highest record is even pulling several tons of cargo. Jiangyou's belongings are no problem for it at all.
"We need to buy some salt on the way," Jiang You said, the fire in the skeleton's eye sockets dimming with fatigue, "and we need to buy some herbs from Holly."
Perhaps fearing Andrei would find it troublesome, she emphasized, "This is all for tomorrow's soft opening."
Andre also sighed: "Doing business is really not easy."
"Yeah, there's no such thing as an easy business in this world."
Diego neighed and pulled the fully loaded cart. The two of them went to the market and Ax's house again, and spent another two silver coins, five copper coins and three nickels, and finally bought all the raw materials.
After a long search, Jiangyou and Holly finally found all the ingredients, including star anise, straw mushrooms, licorice, and bay leaves. While it wasn't quite the perfect thirteen-spice recipe, it was enough. She also bought some rice and vegetables for daily necessities, as she needed them to open her business tomorrow.
After loading the goods onto the cart, the man and the skeleton continued their journey. As they headed back to the Witch's Forest, facing the setting sun, Takumi was already sound asleep, leaning against Andrei's back. There was even a suspicious liquid dripping from his jawbone.
Andre: I always feel a little wet on my back...
Although the two had been running around all day, the work had just begun. Andre only had time to hand Ma and Jiangyou over to Jericho before he had to go on patrol.
But Takumi has more to do.
She first found Lolisa and the dwarf craftsman at the witches' gathering place. The dwarf craftsman's name was Tux Links, and he looked a bit like the owner of the printing shop, except that his hair was more neatly groomed, and his overly long beard was tied into a small braid that hung down on his chin, which looked quite cute.
Jiangyou found that the names of these dwarves and the Haf people were very similar. He wondered if there was any racially specific pattern. Anyway, it was quite interesting.
After successfully reuniting, Lolisa led them all the way to the warehouse where the filling machines were stored. After listening to Jiangyou's description of the bottle caps, the dwarf craftsman Tux stroked his beard with his thick fingers, thought for a moment, and concluded, "It can be done. It's not difficult, three silver coins."
"Oh? How to do it?" Jiang You asked curiously.
At this time, several people had walked to the front of the warehouse. Lorisa opened the warehouse door, and the short Tukes appeared in front of the machine in a flash. He took out a strange-shaped wrench and fiddled with it for a few times, then took out a round mold plate from the nozzle.
"Just adjust this." Tux pulled out an anvil and a hammer from somewhere. "Want to pay? I'll fix it."
At this point, Jiang You had no other choice. She gritted her teeth and said, "Pay!"
So Tux banged and banged for a while, and after a flash of magical light, the mold changed from a shallow beer bottle cap shape to a deeper, cylindrical shape with a few strange depressions on the top.
Before Jiangyou could fully understand, Tux had already turned around and reinstalled the mold. The dwarf craftsman said simply, "Try it."
Loris operated the filling machine again. This time, the tinplate slid into the nozzle slot, forming a cylindrical lid. The lid was a slightly raised circle, with a faint notch pressed into the lower opening, seemingly half-broken. Jiangyou tried turning the bottle upside down, and surprisingly, no water leaked out.
"Break it." The dwarf craftsman continued.
Jiang You followed his instructions and pried off the raised part of the lid. The groove was completely torn apart by the external force, and the bottle was opened.
"Try closing it again."
Jiangyou pressed down on the lid and surprisingly found that the edge of the broken notch curved inward slightly, forming a slot that just caught the bottle mouth. She pried the lid open again and successfully opened it. Pressing it closed again, it was just the right tightness.
"This tinplate is very flexible," Tookes said. "It can be opened and closed and bent thousands of times without any problem. Even if it breaks, the groove is still there and it can still be used as a lid."
"Awesome!" Jiangyou finally realized the value of the four words "dwarf craftsman". His imagination and skills are no less than those of modern people, and even better!
She was somewhat glad that she had not had time to bargain with Tukes just now. A craftsman with such craftsmanship was indeed worth those silver coins, and even more worth maintaining a good relationship with.
"Okay," Jiangyou paid the three silver coins, turned to Lolisa, and bought the filling machine and all the glass bottles and tinplate for four gold coins, of course, as well as the contact information of the glass bottle and tinplate suppliers, and the contact information of Tuks, the machine maintenance craftsman.
The witches in charge had already prepared the contract, and the witnesses were none other than the Winchester clerk who had just finished his shift and the apprentice knight Pacha fa Otsu.
Jiang You also did not bargain. She and the witches still had a lot of business to cooperate on in the future, so there was no need to be stingy in such a place. It was more important to leave a good impression on people.
Therefore, the signing went exceptionally smoothly. Jiang You not only bought the machines, equipment, and bottles and jars, but also successfully rented the warehouse and the land in front of the warehouse for three days at the price of seven copper coins.
It was at this time that Jiang You learned that the witches' Midsummer Carnival was not held for just one night. Guests from afar were accustomed to staying here for two or three days. Therefore, the three days starting from tomorrow night would be a lively celebration similar to a temple fair.
Jiang You: It’s a trial operation but it coincides with the Oktoberfest trade fair, I understand.
Before the business even opened, she had already spent four gold coins, six silver coins, twelve copper coins, and three nickel coins. Jiang You suddenly felt a pang of pain in her flesh—even though she had no flesh on her body—but this was not the end, because she also needed to set up a stall outside the warehouse.
She could borrow tables and chairs from the witches, but she had to prepare the magic stove separately because the witches' own magic stoves were not enough.
Lolisa pointed out a clear path for her: "In previous years, Tukes would bring some magic stoves to sell. You can ask him if he has any left."
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