Chapter 148 Trust Is Hard To Gain And Easy To Lose
"Mr. James really loves Ms. Cindy, doesn't he?"
As Sara said this with a hint of sarcasm, Robert became flustered.
"No way, I'm the one who...!"
Rebecca chuckled and brushed off Robert's remark.
"You've been a failure for over 10 years, Father. You don't have the right to make such claims."
"Ugh..."
Of course, no one supported Robert, so Sara continued talking without worrying about it.
"The labor shortage is becoming a serious problem. Bureaucrats are a given, but even skilled workers are in short supply. The merchant guild can't even find enough employees. Considering this, Mr. James's love for Cindy, a skilled worker, is making a significant contribution to the territory, isn't it?"
Castor looked at his notes and added to Sara's statement.
"It's not just glassworkers. At the very least, we need craftsmen who can build distillation furnaces, carpenters who can make cosmetic boxes, miners who can extract magic stones, and if we're going to increase Elma Brandy production, the farmers at Elma Farm might even start their own breweries. Of course, if Miss Sara is willing to disclose the manufacturing process, that would be great, but..."
Initially, Sara had no intention of keeping the Elma Brandy manufacturing method a secret. If possible, she wanted to spread the existence of 'distilled liquor' and have various types of distilled liquor, like brandy and whiskey, circulate.
However, on the other hand, she also felt that they should keep the manufacturing method a secret for now and monopolize it in the Grandchester territory.
"It's really troubling, isn't it? For a while, I think it's better to keep it within the range that can be controlled by my merchant guild."
"Yeah, it'll probably be traded at a high price for a while, so the profit margin will be big too. Isn't it better to monopolize it?"
Everyone around nodded at Castor's statement.
"Hmm... For merchants, monopolizing profits is extremely appealing, but that's not the only thing I'm worried about. Is it really okay to keep the technology a secret?"
"What do you mean, Miss Sara?"
Castor leaned forward, his eyes sparkling. Sara's previous statement had stripped away several layers of Castor's pride as a bureaucrat in charge of commerce and industry, and he felt like he was being lectured by a professor at the academy.
"It's great that the number of farms producing Elma Brandy is increasing, but we need to maintain a certain level of quality. If low-quality products flood the market, it'll damage the overall image of Elma Brandy."
"Image, you say?"
It seems that Castor and the other bureaucrats are still not convinced.
"Elma Brandy can't be cheaply made, considering the cost of raw materials. Even if it's low-quality, it requires a large quantity of Elma, barrels for fermentation, fuel for distillation, barrels for aging, glass bottles, and labor costs. If people buy such an expensive liquor and it turns out to be low-quality, what happens then?."
"If I were me, I'd think 'this is all there is to it' and never buy Elma Brandy again."
Cindy answered, and Sara's face lit up with a bright smile.
"I think so too. And bad reputations spread faster and stick more easily than good ones. I don't want our truly delicious Elma brandy to be avoided because of a few bad apples."
"That's so true. It's frustrating when a great liquor like this gets a bad rep."
Cindy nodded vigorously, looking very cute, while James wore a lovestruck expression.
"That way of thinking about maintaining a good image is probably deeply ingrained in nobles."
Marquis then muttered under his breath.
"The wheat exported from Grandchester is also divided into special, first, and second grades. It's unacceptable for second-grade wheat to be mixed in with the special-grade exports. If such an accident were to happen, we would take responsibility and offer refunds or compensation, even if it means paying damages. That's how valuable trust is――it's extremely hard to gain and impossible to recover once lost."
"Yes, I think that's what grandfather would say."
"But Sara, doesn't that mean we need to quickly develop people who can create high-quality Elma brandy?"
Sara let out a deep sigh.
"It always comes back to the lack of manpower, doesn't it? We're already short on bureaucrats to begin with. If we had enough, Mr. James' wedding wouldn't have been delayed either."
"That's true. We should arrange to start recruiting as soon as possible."
The matter of the embezzlement was revealed to the royal family, and Grandchester's dark secrets (excluding Sara's involvement) were cleared up. Now, they can confidently hire a new bureaucrat.
"It would be great if a talented person comes."
"But if we recruit now, they won't arrive until after summer is over."
Sara muttered, and Robert responded. Indeed, the academy's graduation ceremony takes place in early summer, so new graduates won't take office until after summer.
"Is it no good to hire someone with experience as a mid-career bureaucrat?"
"You mean hiring someone who quit being a bureaucrat in another territory or the capital? That's a tricky one. Maybe they quit due to some problem. If they had unavoidable circumstances and quit, they would have a referral letter."
It seems that quitting as a bureaucrat is a very serious matter. It's not like in Sara's previous life where she could change jobs lightly.
"Still, I think we should consider hiring experienced people. Above all, Grandchester needs immediate strength. We could at least ask about their reason for quitting their previous job. We would investigate new graduates, too, so it's not like it's a problem to investigate experienced people. For example, if they quit because they had a bad boss and couldn't get along, they wouldn't get a referral letter."
"That's a great point when you think about it."
James and Benjamin also sparkled with excitement.
"Miss Sara, that's a brilliant idea!"
"No, 'immediate strength' is a great phrase, isn't it?"
Sara floated a black smile while saying to Robert and the bureaucrats,
"I think it's a much more decent idea than asking the Governor's wife or a little girl to do the paperwork!"
"Well!"
As expected, Robert and the bureaucrats were taken aback, while Marquis and Rebecca burst out laughing. And Cindy, amidst the chaotic atmosphere, was finally able to laugh from the bottom of her heart.
'It feels like the tension's been lifted, and that's great.'
"There's actually something else I'd like to ask Ms. Cindy."
"What is it?"
"I'd like to sell not only Elma Brandy but also Elma liquor in bottles. So, I need sturdy bottles. If possible, could you make thick, dark green or brown glass bottles with a wide base?"
"That's doable, but what about the corks?"
"Like wine, with corks."
"Then, should I imagine a wine bottle?"
"That's fine. I'd like the silhouette to be thicker than a wine bottle, with a bigger curve at the bottom. And, I plan to wrap the cork with wire to secure it."
"May I ask the reason?"
"Because Elma liquor is a carbonated beverage, and I want to sell it. Since it's a low-malt beer, the pressure builds up from the inside out, so the bottle needs to be thick. Also, the curve at the bottom is more important for distributing the pressure."
Cindy asked questions with a puzzled expression.
"Um, what's this 'pressure' thing?"
'I see, so that's why an explanation is necessary.'
"Ms. Cindy, when you make a bottle, you blow air into it to expand it, right?"
"Yes."
"That's right. By blowing air into it, the air... or rather, the 'wind' that's heated up makes the bottle expand outward."
"I understand."
"There are fine bubbles that rise up from the bottom of Elma liquor, right? That's because the 'wind' that's dissolved in Elma liquor is rising up."
"Um, is it like when you blow air into a pipe in water and bubbles form? Or does the wind dissolve into the liquor?"
"Yes. I won't explain it in detail, but basically, the 'wind' that's dissolved in Elma liquor tries to escape, so we need a strong bottle to hold it back."
"So, that's why Elma liquor bottles are prone to breaking if they're not strong enough."
"That's right. If we don't use a strong bottle, it'll break on its own even if we just leave it alone."
"Does the color have a meaning too?"
"It's a measure to prevent Elma liquor from changing quality when exposed to sunlight."
"I see. I understand."
Cindy borrowed a note from James and started writing down the necessary points.
"So, I'm really sorry to ask, but..."
"Yes?"
"Could you provide us with about 100 bottles ahead of time?"
Sara asked Cindy with an apologetic look, and Cindy's eyes widened in surprise.
"Um, did you just say 100 bottles?"
"Yes, I did."
"And by 'ahead of time,' you mean you need them even more urgently, right?"
"Yes."
"And isn't that separate from the contest for Elma brandy bottles we were talking about earlier?"
"...Yes."
Sara's aware that she's being unreasonable, so Sara's resolve is weakening, and her voice is getting smaller and smaller.
"I think I'm being extremely demanding... Ah, of course, I'll pay the proper price. I promise I won't haggle or anything."
Then Cindy burst out laughing.
"I understand that Miss Sara is going to be a very important customer. If the materials are gathered, it can be made, so don't worry about it. I'll do my best at my workshop. However, please decide the priority order for the delivery."
"Really?"
"Yes. There's no other store that would take such a large order, so I was surprised. Is it okay with you?"
"I don't know any other glassworkers or workshops, so it's hard to give out jobs. Maybe depending on the contest results, I might give out jobs to others. But, the vase Ms. Cindy made is my favorite!"
Sara smiled brightly.
"I've heard from James that 'Miss Sara is an exceptional person who goes beyond the norm.' But, when I actually met you, you were even more amazing than I had imagined. I'm so happy that Miss Sara likes my work!"
And so, Sara successfully obtained the bottle for storing Elma liquor. In other words, she was able to decide on the forbidden brewing method of secondary fermentation in the bottle.
'Mike, wait for me. I'll make you do the super troublesome brewing job!'
However, Sara had forgotten an important thing. Mike needed Sara's magical power to use magic.
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