Torsten Hewson
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v2c72.2 Metal and Glass Part 2
🕑 Added 2021-10-16 01:05:14 +0000 UTCGuan Chyou walked beside me as the employees of the establishment led us to a private and well appointed room. She was a bit less dressed up than yesterday, but was still wearing one of those fine and colourful silk dresses with long sleeves. Noodle and I had decided to part ways. He was at the room I had been given, going over some scroll on glasswork, and pondering at the rough shitty drawing I had done of the metal bath to float the glass on. I know it needed to be hot, and I think it was either lead or tin that needed to be used. I shook my head, and looked around the restaurant. Well, calling it a restaurant wasn’t really right.
It was basically a housing complex, with giant, disconnected rooms, surrounded by beautiful gardens, and small, koi- filled ponds. Some rooms, I was told, could fit nearly a hundred people. The one we came to was much cozier. It was pretty nice. The sounds of the city were muffled, and it was almost like we were back in the countryside.
“I hope your day was fruitful, Master Jin. Did my brother perform to your standards?” She asked, as we sat down at the table. It was a large piece of solid wood, with a hearth in the middle to warm our tea and broth. She poured me a drink, while the servants set down plate after plate of food., before retreating out of the room. There was a bell we could ring if we wanted them, but this was technically a private meeting, and so the staff would be out of earshot.
“Yeah, it was a good day today. We got everything we needed, including some other bits. It was nice having a guide, so my compliments.”
“I shall inform my superiors of your compliments, Master Jin. Thank you.” She smiled, but it wasn’t flirty like it was yesterday.
“So, what about you?” I asked. “Everything turn out alright? It was kind of an awkward request, when I was a bit drunk. I was expecting you to take longer.”
She shook her head. “Your request was most interesting, Master Jin. I still have several other esteemed gentlemen to meet over the next few days, but I believe that their voices should not add anything noteworthy.”
She handed over the piece of parchment.
“I have grouped the ones similar to each other together, and the ones that came recommended by all are in this section.” I nodded, looking at the spreadsheet that Chyou had given me. Authors that were considered the most respected in their field. Price points. Shops that carried which scrolls, some that could be effectively bulk ordered to save on costs, and ones that were rarer.
“In addition to the medical scrolls, I have also requested the doctors to prepare larger parchments with diagrams of the body, and of energy flows.” She informed me, I glanced up, as she unrolled a larger piece of cloth parchment to reveal a diagram of a body, what looked a bit like a vascular system.
Something somebody could just look up anywhere on the internet in the before, but here it was handmade and painstakingly labelled. I had seen one kind of like it before in pop’s house in Hong Yaowu. A treasure of the family, he had called it.
“It would be one hundred and eight detailed drawings and diagrams of organs, limbs, bones, and spiritual energy flows. I additionally have a pending request to Chief Doctor Ganji. One of his fellows is in Grass Sea City, a doctor who was once an apprentice of Spiritual Medicine. His cultivation was completely destroyed, but doctor Ganji is certain he will be able to convince his fellow to part with some of his own knowledge upon Spiritual Medicine. Of course, if you do not require them, and this Chyou has overstepped her bounds, she humbly apologises.”
Her head bowed at this.
I just kept looking over the extensive and detailed list. I really should have thought a bit more on the stuff I needed, but Chyou had covered that. And...well, I had the money, and I’d told Meimei I wanted to learn medicine.
“No, these are all fantastic ideas. I appreciate the initiative, Chyou.”
She got an odd, calculating look in her eyes for a moment, her eyes flicking over my face, before she abruptly relaxed. She raised both of her sleeves to cover her mouth demurely.
“This Guan Chyou thanks you for your praise, Master Jin.” She stated.
“What do you normally do for the company?” I asked after a moment. Chyou glanced up from her food, and gave me a measured look. Like she wasn’t quite prepared for me to ask her what she did.
“Do you truly wish to know Master Jin?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t interested.” I replied. She nodded.
“Normally I work on logistics, and acquisitions within the city itself.” She started tentatively. “I direct the movements of most of the regular caravans.”
I whistled in appreciation. “Sounds like a big job.”
I certainly couldn’t do it. I was disorganized at the best of times, and planning my own crops was about the limit.
But it was definitely a good topic for conversation.
“So, how does that all work, anyway?” I asked.
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Guan Chyou pondered, as her brush moved.
Ever since her grandmother had taken her under her wing, Chyou had been determined to prove her value to her family. To be as great as her grandmother. The woman behind the throne, who had taken the Azure Jade Trading Company to unparalleled heights. Grandmother had forged the company into mere mortals that even the sects would often step lightly around, else their competitors would find themselves with a sudden windfall. It was not perfect protection. But for these Azure Hills, it was enough. Courtly manners. Musical lessons. Logistics.
She was raised to be the flower of the family. A gift to those they determined could be swayed by a pretty smile and a warm bed. After the initial embarrassment of her grandmother commanding her to be a bedwarmer had passed, she agreed with the decision. It was the right one.. Some tried to dress it up, but that is what it was. Sharing a bed to further a deal was no different than bribing a guard to look the other way. Chyou offered a product of value and in return she made sure to gain far more.
They said cultivators were lusty beasts. The three times she had met the Young Masters had proven that right. Their eyes honed in upon her red hair. But with her unavailable, and connected to valuable resources that they needed, most had kept it limited to glances. She was pretty, but not some manner of world-shaking beauty.
Chyou had smiled, and flirted with Master Jin, her interest clear. She had been fully prepared for what was to happen that night. She wasn’t even dreading it. His form was not unappealing.
Then, she was rejected. Politely. Politely, and with another order to allow her and the company to save face.
There had been no lust In Master Jin’s eyes. If anything… he seemed to have some strange sympathy for her.
With the rejection, she had immediately changed tracks. He demanded medical scrolls? He would receive medical scrolls. She visited every doctor who was available. And the ones who weren’t quickly opened their doors to the name Azure Jade Trading Company.
The cultivator, Master Jin, was even impressed.
So impressed he had asked her to explain the logistics of her company to him.
“And then it goes into storage and proceeds to distribution.” Chyou narrated, as she finished drawing another part in the chain.
Why was he getting her to explain mortal supply chains to him?
“It all comes back to this distribution center?” Master Jin asked, scratching at his chin. He considered the paper carefully.
“No, not all of it. We have smaller depots scattered throughout the hills, but these are for common goods and repeat customers.” She said, as she switched to another, rough map of the Azure hills, marking out the various substations they used.
He was listening. Listening intently, and nodding along. She watched his eyes. Her grandmother had taught her how to read people. How to read the minute facial expressions, until she was confident enough that she could deduce what even the Masters of the Azure Hills were thinking.
In this man she saw only genuine interest.
Master Jin spoke the way one would expect of a farmer. Direct, honest.
What did he want?
“Do you enjoy your job?” He asked, as he examined the other diagrams. The question was a surprising one. It was something she rarely thought about.
“Enjoy it? I suppose I do. It is the life I’ve known, though I’ve largely been confined to the capital.” It was a better life than most. She had wealth and power, but… there occasionally felt like something was missing. Her brother was the one who got to go out and tell his tales, while the family’s flower was protected so she didn’t wilt.
It was an intelligent thing to do. She saw Master Jin look at her. A small flash of sympathy formed on his face.
They lapsed into silence, and Chyou wondered how to proceed. If one door was closed, open another.
Bluntness, and honesty?
“Master Jin, I apologise for my bluntness. I desire to be useful to my company and my family. My fate has been thrown in with yours; and so, I would undertake any task you wish for me to do.”
Master Jin’s eyebrows rose in surprise at the bluntness, before a small smile formed on his face. He snorted. “If only everybody would just ask outright sometimes.”
He chewed his lip, as he pondered.
“...You said you were confined to the capital, most of your life?” He asked her, as he took another swig of his drink. “What do you think of travelling?”
Chyou froze.
“Master Jin...what are you offering?” She asked tentatively.
“Well,Guan Bo did a good job with the stuff I needed, and so did you. You really went above and beyond. So it’s like this, there are some rare mortal fruits that I’m looking into. They’ll probably be down south. I would need somebody to go and check it out. If you’re up for it.”
Chyou kept her face neutral, as she processed the words. The images of far off places flashed in her mind.
“It will be possibly dangerous.” Master Jin said after a moment, warning her. She nodded, but there were already facts and figures whirling in her mind. Ship, supplies, and the need to recruit trustworthy sets of guards.
It appeared bluntness and honesty was the correct choice.
“It would be my honour and privilege to prepare an expedition, Master Jin.” She stated, bowing low. “What would you have me look for?”
The man’s gaze sharpened. He took a piece of paper, and began to sketch his own diagrams. sketching out strange looking fruits, and stanger trees.
“The pods of the Coca Tree. The beans of the coffee plant.”
She stared at the plants she had never heard of. She memorized the detailed descriptions.
And she turned to Master Jin. There was a strange thrill, as she raised her cup, and they both drank to a fruitful translation.
He even escorted her home, as a gentleman should, and gave her a warm smile, as they parted ways.
...It was almost a pity he was uninterested.
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Somebody kill me. Chyou was murder to write.
Normally the protagonist gets the quests. Here, the protagonist is the Quest giver.
Comments
Mickey Phoenix
But I hope to heck he omitted tobacco. That stuff is *nasty*!
Mickey Phoenix
I'm not just thinking of getting high. I'm thinking that cocaine, opium, and marijuana all have significant medical uses, and that rubber is incredibly useful (especially if he remembers that latex plus sulfur plus heat equals vulcanized rubber).
Mickey Phoenix
To be entirely honest, I'm curious whether the plants he drew included coca (source of cocaine), poppies (source of opium), rubber trees (source of latex rubber) and cannabis (aka marijuana).
Kara Nina
Nah, Big D has to solve the formation riddle first. Maybe she could take a combat Bunny along. They would probably both enjoy that.
Gremlin Jack
Mate, given the prices those commodities commanded in the age of sail, coffee and chocolate ARE treasures.
Carl Mason
Is he actually after coca or is he after cacao? Because he should know better than to get mixed up in drugs.
Lazerus56
An expedition, not for ancient treasure or cultivation boons--but for freaking chocolate and coffee is incredible. Hell hire her and have her lead Jin's new trade empire hahaah. No seriously tho you could send Big D on this epic quest haha.
Midjji
Noo its way funnier if she brings him coca and he does not realize his mistake untill he speeds up all of the children of the village ^^
John Pratt
Silk and poppies I'd bet they already have.
Zeta
or maybe coca cola. who knows :D
Dion
I’ll be happy if we get just weed lol
Lochar
I'm almost curious what cultivator qi grown cocaine would do to someone here.
Alan McBrayer
Seriously, the last time one of the disciples got a stimulate in them Washy swam so far he made it to a mystical grotto overseen by a grumpy old turtle.
Alexis Lionel
First you get the coca, then you get the cocaine. Then you get the power, and the power gets you the women.
Ricardo Torres Guzman
I think you ment cocoa not Coca tree
Devin Jones
My wife once made vanilla from vanilla beans, following some Martha Stewart recipe. You soak the beans in vodka for several weeks then remove the beans and what is left is vanilla extract.
Onathan
Ri Zu isn't the one I'd worry for. It's more like "run various cultivators in the competition, run!"
J B
Oh gawd - Ti Gu on coffee?!? RUN, RI ZU! RUN!
Kara Nina
Also the smart characters don't just get a 'smart graduate of whatever or famous for something to do with chess/strategy' and instead the 'this character is smart' is a conclusion based on the thoughts and actions of characters - and not everyone is smart. Also smart isn't the same as wise or experienced in this story which is just amazing. Gou Ren and Yun Ren's dad for example is nice and experienced, but he's certainly no genius and lacks the drive any real master needs but he's a villager, not a great artist and you just notice how limited his expertise is despite his years of experience.
Demian Buckle
Thank you for the Chapter. Cultivator on Spirit Coffee, could be very interesting.
J B
Better to be the quest giver than the subject of a quest, IMO. Also, what do you think merchants see the world as? An endless sea of quest givers with nice rewards, if only you are smart about how to get 'em fulfilled!
J B
I think you just boggled my noggin - Jin becoming Iroh/Yoda/Rafiki/Jimminy Cricket/... as he ages
J B
*groaaaaan*
J B
Yeah, Jin's chosen cultural outlook is WILDLY different from what this world is expecting. I can't WAIT to see the old-Jin's ancestor (father?) get taken aback by his offspring's differences!
J B
Instead of Irish coffee, Jin coffee? Cultivator coffee? Mana go-go juice?
Aesoir
FYI although vanilla is a common flavor now, most times it’s artificial, real vanilla, even to this day is one of the more expensive spices out there.
J B
And Ghu only knows what specialness mana might bring about in plants that Jin has no idea about. . . So maybe, "And other goodies as she finds them" or the like?
Aesoir
Considering that it was mentioned that “Jin drew many diagrams of different plants” while only specifically mentioning coca and coffee plants. The author left room for many other plants Jin may have mentioned, also he praised chyou for going above and beyond his initial request. Once she’s down there and realizes that all the plants he wants are edible/consumable she’ll be on the hunt for other “rare goods” that he didn’t ask for. I wouldn’t be surprised if she came back with coconuts and banana seeds, or even more exotic things (like vanilla or saffron)
Grasenrack
Author: thank you, I appreciate your work and am impressed by the changing perspectives. You are obviously way deeper than I on the metal quality and Glass production issues as I had to use Wikipedia to sort of follow along. In my perspective, this is a positive since you encouraged learning. TLDR: Thank you.
Skippy
All of the farming was just a long con so that Jin could lay the foundations for the Snowflame Cultivation Style.
John Brady Anderson
Oh, and sugarcane or sugar beets! He only has honey and maple to sweeten his hot chocolate, I think he needs a form of sugar. Beets refine into sugar relatively easily, if not quite as easily as sugarcane, and grow in much more temperate climes.
John Brady Anderson
I was wondering if he would also seek out peppers of any sort, whether Bell or a hotter type.
NoChill
I was going to make a Coca-cola joke but turns out Old school Coca-Cola needs Coca and Cacao. fun fact Coca-cola had Cocaine in it all the way up to 1929. P.S: Might want to fix that before it hit's RR xD
Molochors
Yeah, coca grows in bushes. Though it would definitely be worth to have some of those
Khanalas
The man just wants his fizz
Big I
Jin should also have her look out for spices, like vanilla
Jack Trowell
You write that as if we weren't all addicts to chocolate and/or coffee
Daniel
coca => cacao Since coca plants don't have pods, and aren't trees, I'm pretty sure you meant cacao. translation => transaction?
David Bean
I’m guessing he meant cacao trees not coca? Unless he’s looking to get into a completely different type of business…
Keifru
Mmmm, with chocolate he could make some dessert crepes. Yum
Julius Dubasas
Really like how you write smart characters. Each is distinctly different in character aand has their own internal logic for what they do. That you fit this seemlessly usualy in one chapter is brilliant. Kudos CasualFarmer!
John Pratt
Yeah, that's a really unfortunate typo
Kara Nina
Chyou kept her face neutral, as she processed the words. The images of far off places flashed in her mind.
Kara Nina
I think Chiyou's reaction was a little too short in this one:
Adam Rosenberg
Not to mention qi infused silk or poppies!
Adam Rosenberg
I think it's more the "Mighty Cultivator" expectations clashing with the "Honest Farmer" that's being presented
Adam Rosenberg
Well farmers ARE all about plowing and doing lines!
Adam Rosenberg
I would've reversed it myself "forged mere mortals into a company that even the sects would often step lightly around"
Adam Rosenberg
Well, it's Very valuable in medical terms. Right up there with opium poppies
Kadhat
OhHo, youngadventurer! Is it travel you seek? Hark! Fetch me the Beans of Alertness and the the Pods of Dark Temptation. Endless riches await you, look to the southern lands.... and beware the dangers of the jungle!
Connor
“ Grandmother had forged the company into mere mortals that even the sects would often step lightly around.” Idk I think saying ‘forged into mere mortals’ is odd maybe say ‘a company of’ instead of into and then rework the sentence to fit, it’s a bit of a… contradiction? I’m not sure.
Michael Maor
No, I mean it sounds like there's a fireplace they can see in the middle of the table. "hearth" is the floor of the fireplace, so a table like that might have a stone fireplace with a hearth below the center part of the table or an iron stove, or something else heating it, but you couldn't see that, nor would you comment on there being a hearth in the middle of the table,
LittleWhite
coca tree and cocoa trees are used to make two very different things
LittleWhite
Hell yeah, jin is ordering up some of that cocaine!
Enochi
Well I just read your entire story over the past two day and I am in love with it. Thank you so much for this. Greatly enjoyable!
jimmie lee
So was there a mix-up between cocoa and coca, or is Jin looking to bring the party to Fa Ram?
Digdug
Chyou POV was good. Ty for chapter. I like her I hope we get more. Any chance we get an update for the ones left at the farm? I need some Meiling time.
Arnon Parenti
Jin giving quests to new Player, git these seeds for 10 goldloons. Yes master Jin 3 dragon encounters and a boat 2 ways ride later, MC is back with the beans,
Jan Alexander
Its good to see Jin as the quest giver. Good job, author-san.
Carl Mason
If writing this PoV was murder, then you, my friend, got away with murder. This was very well done. On a completely unrelated note, was the line toward the end supposed to be "they both drank to a fruitful transaction"? Because to me the word "translation" feels wrong.
Imspinnennetz
This will start the coffee wars that will lead to the Magistrate becoming the new emperor.
Artur Vogt
I like this delevelopement
crusaderstar
I received email! Also nice chapter
The Lost Pages
This was most excellent. Thanks for writing it.
Daniel Preston
Yep it sounds like that's because that's what it is. Something like this https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0d/f1/e9/ef/an-traditional-table.jpg
Lochar
stranger trees, you have stanger trees. You also have a fruitful translation, which I think should be fruitful transaction. Very good character in Chyou though.
Mrdelta
Qi infused coffee 0.0
taukid
Yeah, he talk like a farmer because he is one. Where did you think the rice came from?
Randall C
but if I kill you, there won't be any more chapters :( ... Thanks for caring enough to push through and give us another great chapter :)
Mrdelta
I remember some quest from the undead early levels in WoW. I liked being the quest giver.
Michael Maor
I really liked Chyou, sorry to hear it was difficult to write, especially as I'm guessing that means we won't get to see much of her POV. I'm a bit surprised Jin knows enough abut coca and coffee to provide useful sketches of the plants from memory. I was thinking he'd be restricted to descriptions of the plant, where it grows and how locals might use it. One nitpick on the chapter, this: "She asked, as we sat down at the table. It was a large piece of solid wood, with a hearth in the middle to warm our tea and broth. " makes it sound like there's a fireplace in the middle of the table
Seanfrks
I would love to know how good coffee with qi in it would taste! I absolutely love coffee, and seeing how qi makes apparently rice taste amazing, I am sure it would make the coffee absolutely divine!
Ironforge
Whelp, if Jin gets whats he wants and is able to make qi infused coffee and chocolate I'll fear for him. As those two things will pretty much end up sparking some kind of conflict. Since those two goods have done so repeatedly in our history.
James Squibb
If it was murder to write, then you are a very dangerous individual! It was a wonderful chapter. Thank you for all of your hard work!
Yshua
This is just one of my favorite things to read. I keep trying to get my friends to read it but I’m striking out. Someone give me a better elevator pitch! :D
WyldFyr3 Damon
U mentioned it was murder to write, but I feel that u pulled it off very well. Her motivations are clear without being vapid or one dimensional. You left plenty of room for her to expand as a character. Well we have a clear understanding of her motivations atm, we still don't know Her yet like we do the other characters so u have plenty of room to pick a direction to develop her even more fully and keep from being a stale, flat character. So good job and don't stress so much, ur doing good.
Havefeith
Heh. It may not be a starting line like "It's Dangerous to go Alone, Take This!" But it'd still be an interesting Questline, "Finding Coffee, so you can Ask If They Want to Come in for Some After a Successful Date!" Yes, the capitailzation is needed i this case, makes it look more dynamic.
Sassy
I love that he is making an effort to find stuff he wants. Many other isekai just have the protagonist bitch and moan about not having it or getting dumped on them without any effort.
Troy
New favorite character. You did great.
Empty Shelf
So, once Jin has the still, he'll have cultivated alcohol. If Chyou succeeds, he'll have cultivated coffee. The world isn't ready.
Bonifacio Mario Peña Jr.
She's interested now. And when he produces chocolate she'll fall in love. When he roasts coffee she'll kneel in worship. And when the hospital stands she will receive a medical plan. Truly the most inciting of incentives
Ashlazaria
It may have been murder - but, it was so well done :)
Eric Hicks
Thanks for the chapter, I do like this version of Chyou a lot more than the original first look at her, perhaps that is simply because of the deeper look.
Gary Hixenbaugh
Great chapter
Andrew Jones
i love this book so much
on the upside
thanks for the chapter
