Chapter 101: Tea Tree
Duane’s actions puzzled his attendants, and they too began to look.
It was a bush, one to two meters tall, with a coarse, grayish-brown trunk from which slender branches extended in all directions, sprouting numerous offshoots.
The branches were covered in an abundance of deep green leaves.
No matter how they looked at it, it was just an ordinary plant. They didn’t understand why the Baron was so interested.
"My Lord, is there something wrong with this plant?" Kaelon asked, walking over.
Duane’s face lit up with joy. "This is a tea plant! This is wonderful!"
In all his time since arriving in this world, the only beverages available to him besides plain water had been various alcoholic drinks and fruit juices.
Duane preferred plain water over the other two, but after so long, he naturally started to crave something different.
He had assumed tea didn’t exist in this world and never expected to stumble upon it on his way to inspect the iron mine.
Duane looked at the tender buds growing on the plant. They were perfect for harvesting right now.
"A tea plant?"
Kaelon was stunned. He had never heard of such a thing.
"Is it special in some way?"
Duane explained, "If you pick the leaves and process them into tea, then steep them in hot water, they make an excellent beverage."
"As for its benefits, there are many. For instance, it can sharpen the mind, aid digestion, boost one’s resistance, and more."
Simone was very surprised to hear this.
"When I first arrived on Black Forest Island, I saw quite a few of these plants. People just thought they were a nuisance and cut them down for firewood. I never imagined they could be used like this."
He plucked a leaf, put it in his mouth, and chewed. The taste wasn’t great.
"You’re not supposed to eat the leaves directly."
Duane inwardly chuckled at Simone’s antics.
’Perhaps tea never became popular in this world simply because no one had discovered how to process it.’
’This, however, gave him the perfect opportunity to create a "tea economy."’
"Owington, on our way back, gather some of these tender buds. I’m going to make tea."
"As you wish, my Lord!"
Although Owington had no idea what tea was, judging by the way the Baron spoke of it as if it were some miraculous thing, it had to be good.
After a brief stop, the group continued on their way.
Along the way, besides encountering workers transporting iron ore, Duane also had the unexpected pleasure of meeting Ronald, the doctor, who was gathering herbs in the mountains. His back-basket held several stalks of Vigorous Grass.
Recently, Duane’s Skill Level for Delicious Fish Soup had risen to (Skilled 258/300).
He had wanted to advance it further, but the Vigorous Grass confiscated from Daniels was all gone.
Ronald’s latest task was to gather Vigorous Grass to help Duane break through to the Mastery level for Delicious Fish Soup as quickly as possible.
Gathering Vigorous Grass was only the first step. The second was to begin large-scale Planting.
Only then could Duane produce Delicious Fish Soup in large batches.
The group traveled at a steady pace, taking occasional breaks, and finally arrived near the mine after more than two hours.
In fact, from a mile or two away, the air was already thick with the smell of dust and rust.
The ground was coated with a fine red iron powder, a residue left from years of transport.
Seated on his horse, Duane gazed at the open-pit mine before him.
Scores of miners were hard at work.
They were bare-chested, their skin dark and weathered. The iron picks in their hands struck the ore relentlessly, filling the air with a CLANGING sound.
Other workers loaded the mined ore into baskets, hoisting them onto their backs or carrying them with shoulder poles.
Not far away, a furnace billowed thick smoke.
It was an iron-smelting furnace, and the iron ingots it produced were mainly for use by the island’s inhabitants.
On the other side of the smelting furnace stood several simple wooden and thatched-roof huts, the living quarters for the miners and stationed Guards.
CLIP-CLOP-CLIP-CLOP.
With the sound of approaching hooves, Gaius emerged from the trees and offered a respectful greeting. "Baron, good day!"
Once the Vice Leader of the Broken Wave Gang, he was now merely a Captain under Duane.
At first, Gaius had a hard time adjusting.
The change in status was significant, after all. And as a surrendered commander, he was naturally treated with suspicion and caution by the Baron’s original followers.
However, over the past month, his interactions with Kaelon, Raymond, and the others had been smooth. And compared to his old life, his new one was much more stable.
Because of this, Gaius had come to accept his current position.
"Good work out here, Gaius. Your relief should be arriving soon, correct?"
"Yes, Baron. Simone will be here to take over the day after tomorrow."
Duane nodded. Guard duty at the mine was rotated between four teams from Broken Wave Bay and Forest Village, with the active team receiving an additional stipend.
"Report on the situation. Any Demon Beast intrusions lately?"
Gaius reported, "A couple of reckless black-hide boars wandered this way, but we dealt with them easily."
"Overall, things are stable. I think those beasts know this is a dangerous area, so they generally stay away from the mine."
’Life here is a bit rough,’ he mused, ’but it’s not actually that dangerous.’
Duane glanced at the squat huts. "Once we have the spare manpower, we’ll need to improve the living conditions here."
’If their living conditions improve, they’ll be healthier and have more stamina. That means they can work more effectively and mine more ore.’
Gaius let out a hearty laugh, assuming the Baron was simply acknowledging their hardships.
"We’re a hardy bunch; we can make do anywhere. As for the miners, they’re even less particular about such things."
As the two were talking, a dark-skinned man dressed in coarse linen ran over.
"Edwin, at your service, Baron!"
He was the manager of the iron mine, the so-called "Iron Official." He was also a Blacksmith and was in charge of the smelting furnace.
Although Edwin had never met the Baron, he had heard of his deeds. The heads that rolled at Judgment Crossroad had earned the young Lord a formidable reputation.
So, he was extremely nervous when he heard the Baron was coming for an inspection.
To ensure nothing went wrong at the mine today, he had even given the miners extra food so they would work with more vigor.
"I’ve heard about you from Julian, Edwin. Your management of the iron mine has been good. Keep it up."
"Thank you for the encouragement, my Lord. I will do my utmost to manage this place for you."
Duane dismounted. "Give me a brief overview of the operation here."
"Yes, Baron!"
The entire iron mine was an open-pit operation. They only needed to remove a seven- to eight-meter-thick layer of overburden to begin extraction.
Compared to an underground mine, extraction here was far less difficult.
Currently, there were a total of thirty miners doing the extraction. The sorters and transporters made up the bulk of the workforce, numbering ninety in total.
It was this number of workers who, for many years, had generated immense wealth for Bard and Daniels.
A few years ago, Bard and Daniels had tried to expand production by increasing the number of miners, but it hadn’t resulted in higher profits.
For one, the operational costs increased. But more importantly, there was no market for the excess iron ore, as the number of ships arriving from the Starfall Islands was limited.
But things were different now. Duane could do business not only with the Starfall Islands but also with other nobles from the Pruck Kingdom.
He didn’t have to worry about being unable to sell the mined ore.
Moreover, to meet the island’s ever-growing demand, he also needed to increase output.
For now, however, he had no intention of simply adding more miners. Instead, he was considering the problem from a different angle.
"Thirty men to mine, and ninety to transport? Doesn’t that seem like too many transporters?" Duane asked.
’The Baron really doesn’t understand,’ Edwin thought.
"My Lord, ninety transporters is the number we arrived at after reducing it as much as we could."
The Iron Official explained, "It’s too far from the port, my Lord. A single round trip takes almost an entire day! For these ninety men to transport all the ore that thirty miners dig up, they can’t afford to stop for a moment!"
Duane asked, "Have you considered any other methods to save manpower on the transportation side?"
This was the angle he was looking for to increase the mine’s output.