At the Sedona City Food Processing Workshop.
Today, Lucas came to inspect the food processing workshop. Before he even stepped through the doors, he saw cart after cart filled with wild fruits parked in the workshop's courtyard.
"What's going on here?" Lucas turned his head and asked Max. "Why are there so many wild fruits?"
"My Lord, these were all purchased from the commoners," Max hurriedly replied.
"Are there that many wild fruits right now?" Lucas asked, watching the continuous stream of workers carrying wild fruits into the workshop.
"There are many. You could say the mountains are covered in them," Max said with a bitter smile.
He had followed orders to purchase wild fruits, but who knew so many commoners would go out to pick them? There was still a long line queued up outside the workshop, waiting for them to buy their harvest. After all, there was still some time before the grain harvest, and the commoners wanted to earn a little extra money.
"How many canned fruits have been produced?" Lucas nodded. He wouldn't complain about having too many wild fruits; he'd only complain if there were too few.
It was summer, and with plenty of sunlight, an abundance of wild fruits was perfectly normal. This was especially true near the Forbidden Mountains; as long as people went out to pick, it was easy to gather a large amount. He had designated several specific types of wild fruits to purchase: sweet ones, sour ones, ones that could be pressed for oil, ones that could be brewed into wine...
"They've already filled several warehouses. The supply of ceramic jars can't keep up with the production volume," Max smiled bitterly.
He had no idea why the City Lord wanted so many canned fruits. Very few people bought canned fruits right now; if they wanted to eat fruit, they would just buy it fresh.
"As long as we have jars, keep producing. Don't worry about having too much." The corners of Lucas's mouth curled up. Right now, a single copper coin could buy dozens of pounds of wild fruit; it was practically dirt cheap.
"My Lord, if we stockpile too many canned fruits, we won't be able to sell them right now," Max reminded him in his aged voice.
"Who said I wanted to sell them right now?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Ah? Not selling them now?" Max's eyes widened.
"Selling them now won't earn us much." Lucas shook his head and smiled faintly. "Only when winter comes will they fetch a good price."
He thought back to last winter when a single jar of canned vegetables sold for over a hundred copper coins—a hundredfold increase compared to current prices. Now, the canned fruits were being stockpiled specifically to be sold during autumn and winter. The more they stored now, the greater the future profits. Especially once he opened up distant trade routes, the price of canned fruit would likely surge even higher.
"Winter?" Max froze for a moment before realization dawned on him. "Ah, yes! I nearly forgot about the winter," He said in surprise.
"Furthermore, the abundance of wild fruit is unique to our region. You won't see this much fruit inland," Lucas pointed out.
"This subordinate understands," Max said, suddenly enlightened. The way he looked at the wild fruits now was as if he were looking directly at gold coins.
"Since we don't have enough jars right now, dry the rest into preserved fruits. Dried fruits also make for a great snack," Lucas said softly.
"Right, I almost forgot about that." Max slapped his head in frustration.
"Keep buying the wild fruits—take as many as they bring. In a couple of days, I'll give you a few recipes to turn some of these wild fruits into fruit jams." Lucas recalled that this era severely lacked seasonings.
Fruit jam would surely be highly popular. Dipping meat into fruit jam would create an entirely different culinary experience. Or, cooking the meat together with the fruit jam would introduce a completely new method of cooking. Most importantly, fruit jams could be pushed to the market right now; there was no need to stockpile them until winter to sell.
"Yes, my lord," Max immediately agreed.
"How many canned meats do we have?" Lucas's main reason for visiting today was to ask about the canned meat; this was strategic military material.
"We've already produced over thirty-seven thousand jars, and production is still ongoing," Max lowered his voice.
"Remember to conduct spot checks. I don't want to find out months later that all we have are rotten cans," Lucas warned. Canned meat had far too many crucial uses. Most of the sheep he had purchased from the steppes had been sent here to be processed into canned meat, specifically to prepare for future military campaigns.
"This subordinate will send people to conduct random inspections every day. Any problems will be dealt with immediately," Max said with a stern face.
"Excellent." Lucas nodded in satisfaction and strode into the food processing workshop.
Upon entering, he saw several large iron pots boiling ingredients. The workers standing nearby, all wearing linen face masks, were staring numbly at the chunks of meat tumbling in the boiling broth.
"It smells so good." Mina twitched her nose; this was her first time visiting the food processing workshop.
"Where are the instant noodles processed?" Lucas asked, scanning the area.
Instant noodles were currently highly sought after by many nobles. The batches that had just hit the market in Sedona City had been completely bought out in a frenzy.
"My Lord, they are in another workshop," Max quickly replied.
"Can production be increased?" Lucas asked, beginning to walk around.
"We've already reached our limit, unless we expand the workshop," Max said quickly.
"Expand immediately. Build five more workshops, and I demand that the quality must remain excellent." Lucas's face turned serious as he said earnestly, "In a few days, the grain harvest will begin, and the workshops will need a massive amount of workers. Hurry up and recruit enough manpower to train them."
In a little over a month, some of the early-maturing grains would be ready for harvest. Many crops that couldn't be stored for long would need to be processed and turned into dry rations for storage.
He was already preparing for winter now. The quantities required would be massive because he was planning to expand the military again, aiming for a force of four thousand men. Therefore, military supplies needed to be stockpiled in even greater amounts.
"Yes, my lord," Max respectfully acknowledged.
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200 power stones.
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