Banished Prince Charming

Chapter 29 - Systematic Plots Of Residential Land

After we had settled the majority of the tasks at hand, all the golden wheat, corn, cane sugar and bamboo had been settled accordingly. Since there was still time to go across the riverbank, the pioneers took a ball of string that was being used to measure up to 30' on length.

Armed with a few reed stalks, they went to mark out the plot of lands meant for 2x2 farmlands on both the left and right-hand side of the bridge. A path was marked that leads to the bridge with a width of at least 10'.

After we had marked out the 2x2 plot of farmlands, a space of 3 feet wide was made to divide portions of residential plots where it would be lined with bamboo paths. Not only would it prevent soil erosion, but it also prevents the path to be muddy.

After marking out 30 plots of residential lands on each side, we left the area and headed back to our courtyard. It seems 60 plot of lands for 60 families would be more than enough at this moment.

"How many families would you be expecting to fill up this space, young master? Would you be expecting the arrival of new immigrants? By the way, do you think the miners would be able to transmit the message that we require the 4 artisans?" asked Ben as we walked back to the courtyard and planned about the 3 more stores for the artisans.

Since there was a need for the future buildings for a tailor, stonemasons and a brewery, the storefront for both tailor and brewery would be set opposite the Blacksmith. The stonemasons would be placed next to the Blacksmith as it would be accessible to produce and sunbake the clay bricks.

The process was much speedier and would definitely generate income faster. A wooden mould would be made to accommodate at least 4x4 clay bricks per process. A large clearing would be required to sunbake the clay bricks before they were fired in a kiln meant for producing clay bricks.

The problem lies with the clay which means the riverbanks would be sacrificed. Then Frank gave a suggestion. "Would it be a good idea if we were to dredge the riverbanks and widen them downstream to get the clay?"

"In this way, a 10 feet wide and 50 feet long would be dug up. We would do it on both sides of the riverbank. If the need arises, it would be dug on both sides upstream. The depth of the dredge would be 2 feet deep."

"Right now, we could rely upon to widen the whole river banks as suggested. Why not we construct the 3 stores first. Then we make a few samples of the clay bricks and see if there's a market for it."

"Or we make a few clay brick samples and then we see hows the market before we fully embark on the project?" I gave the pioneers a chance to think of a solution and be autonomous since I don't want to be spoon feed them all the way.

Besides, these pioneers would be assigned to be the ministers that I had in mind for the structuring of the governmental system.

"I think we could make a few samples of clay bricks to sell to Marcel first. We could sell 16 pieces first and see how much it would fetch. Besides, we would need them to be of a specific size so it would be of the same size and density throughout." I concluded since it would be best to do see how well it would be accepted in the market.

Besides, if Marcel was able to find the market for this, it would be a boom for the economy. The only thing would be the limited supply that would not be able to meet the demand.

There was a lot of pros and cons in the business, so I guess we need to find other alternatives to produce clay bricks in case there was a sudden surge of demand for them.

=*=

Within the one week, the construction for the 3 other buildings had been completed since it was built bu using a mixture of Reed as its frame and clay as its walls.

The building of the stores was slightly bigger than the Blacksmith store since the artisans would be spending more time working in them indoors and won't be exposed to the heat and elements unlike the blacksmith's furnace,

By the end of the construction, we were once visited by Marcel where he had brought along the 3 bundles of cloth that were ordered by Gwen. It was made of cotton and it seems that the person who spun these to make the cloth had done a decent job,

We made several transactions as goos and some silver changed hands. Marcel had brought along a large amount of ale in kegs and I bought the 2 dozen of those, the used kegs were being recycled to be made into water and food trough for the livestock.

"So young master, did the miners came here a few days ago?" Marcel asked as he was from another town besides Corral and hadn't had any feedback from the miners that he had contacted earlier.

"Aye, I even proposed something and would only know the results in a few days time. Besides, they would need about 5 days o travel over here so I guess the ned to gather the information for those who wished to relocate here as well." I simply replied as I related the future investments and expansion for GraceHaven.

"Oh, it definitely is a splendid idea. I can help you by asking around as well and I am sure there are people who would like to start their lives anew. Besides, a group of nomads were seen travelling about 2 towns before this. I guess it would be a month or so when they reach this part." Marcel pointed out to me.

He also mentioned that he had seen several marked out plots on the ground as he entered the village and he was pondering whether it would be turned into farmlands despite its small size.

After Jack explained to him, Marcel's thoughts were cleared and he knew that this village is serous in restructuring into a proper village and in time to come, it would urn into a flourishing town with a good trade link.

As Marcel prepared to leave, I asked him about building materials, for firewood, rocket stoves, milk, butter and cheese, to name a few business proposals. He mentioned that while the majority of homes were made from stones, the clay bricks would be welcomed too.

"Let me have a few samples by next week and I would like to see the response from the builders. If they find that it's more favourable and beneficial to switch from stone to clay bricks, I don't see the reason not to have GraceHaven to be solely responsible for the manufacture and distribution for these clay bricks."

"But the land around the riverbanks would become wider. There would be a problem of a shortage supply over the demand." I scratched the sides of my face when I was countered with a great solution. "Look beyond and you see a small hill. I am sure with Jack's expertise, you could easily flatten that hill. There's a lo of such hills around you and by flattening them, you made travel in wagons easier."

"Hahaha... That's a great solution that you had given us over our predicament. In that case, we would be flattening the hills for the purpose of extracting these clay then. Wonderful idea my good friend." I guffawed at my short-sightedness and slapped Marcel's back.

Besides, the exchange a pound for a pound for the golden wheat to the processed flour had gone smoothly and we now have an excess of 10 pounds of flour. I was amazed that even Marcel owns a simple weighing device to get things done. He was able to equip himself with the tools of his trade to aid in his business after all.

After Marcel had gone, Kayla approached me and asked, "Young Master, do you remember the colours of Darlington?"

"It's white black and red, why do you ask?" I furrowed my eyebrows as I answered her.

"Look at the bundles of cloth behind me, that is the colours of Darlington right? From now on these colours would be made into 4 banners and also represent the colours of our tunic. I would make a sample for the children first and let you decide, alright?"

"Red, white and black were the colours of Darlington and I used to wear a tunic with quartered red and white as its front and black on the back with matching black breeches." I thought to myself and our banners had a black square on top and were half red and black in the centre.

Author's Note: Things are pretty picking up now. From nothing, they now had a little of something and now, boom...! A sudden expected expansion of a proposed 60 families that would soon emigrate from nearby settlements or even nomads looking for a better future.

There were parts when it was very narrative while some parts were based on Audemars point of view. At least readers would be able to understand the storyline and the development of the novel.

Everything starts from the surface just like throwing a pebble on a lake's surface. It will create a ripple effect and slowly the whole lake would be affected. Somewhat similar to this part of the novel then.

Thank you for your kind patronage, happy reading and keep those power stones rolling in...!