Quest： Book 3
By Yufeng Zhuang
Copyright 2012 by Yufeng Zhuang
1
The tearful Kelly was dragged away by Feline, after restore the calm, it's obviously that my father and my two elder brothers looked at me with blame. This made me feel a bit nervous and guilty.
"Let's continue our conversation," after a while, my father broke the depressing atmosphere first, "Kone, have you figure out a way yet?"
"It's not that easy to fill the gap of hundreds of thousand of fund." my eldest brother kept on saying, "that's a lot of money!"
"Can the towns that Kone is building around the Darkness city relieve some burdens?" my elder brother said, "why this is so difficult?"
"Those small towns are mainly offering foods for the construction sites," I lowered my head and said, "even they can be built in half a year, and the agricultural products yield two crops a year with the growth circle in the Darkness city, it still needs the second year to provide a certain scale of foods. It even can't have any accidents in this period."
"Then do we still have other ways?" my eldest brother asked, "like letting the dwarves to expand the sales of weapons, in addition, can we also sell the rare minerals of the Dark Forest?”
"Because we need to set up the army in the Darkness city, so the dwarves artisans are not enough." for discussing the proper business, my mood was gradually improving, my thought is gradually clear, I began to explain the details for everyone, "I have the ore samples that auntie spirit sent to here. They can be divided into two kinds, the real good stuffs! They can be used in both military and civil life. No matter what, we can't let such stuffs to fall in the hands of strangers!"
"Then what shall we do?" my elder brother said with worry.
"I'm going to go back there immediately after the wedding," I roughly thought for a moment, because I was interrupted the thinking by Kelly not long ago, now all the things I said are which I just thought of. "We need to have reasonable distributions and trainings for the artisans, we need to do our best to let them have the highest operation efficiencies. In order to shorten the construction period, to reduce the cost input. On the other hand, I want to gather the weapon artisans of the dwarves, let them to provide the weapons in a new model, in a short term to have enough equipments to provide the army. If it’s successful, we can sell the extra weapons to reduce some of the burdens."
"In the short term?” my father had a smile unexpectedly and asked me, "how can you do that?"
"When the dwarves made the weapons for us, I found out that they have a big problem." I stood up and took off the etiquette sword to explain to everyone.*1 "Please take a look at this sword, just from the view as a sword, it’s very perfect, there's almost no any defects. This means that nobody can match the manufacturing ability and the understanding of weapons that the dwarves have in metal items! But the excessive pursuit for the perfection makes them spend too much time in a weapon. it costs great waste in human powers, it virtually also increase the costs. It takes three people to spend ten days or more to just finish to make a sword like this! And on the battlefield, the consumption of the weapons is very huge. Obviously, this production way can't meet our needs."
"I see what you mean in general," my father stood up and crossed the steps, "but to shorten the production time will inevitably affect the quality of the weapons. If it's like that, what's the difference between the weapons made by the dwarves and the normal artisans?"
"Of course we are not just simply to shorten the time!" I pull the sword out with my hand and put it evenly on the table, I speak to everyone, "it takes dozens of procedures to make a sword like this, the main procedures include material, smelting, purification, forge... And it's finished by several people working together, even the scabbard is the same."
"It should be like this," my eldest brother said, "what's the strange about that?"
"If it's like this, the whole process must be hosted by an outstanding people. But there are how many good artisans there?" I said, "he must be good at all the processes and the technologies! This can't be achieved through hard working by the average people, this must need the amazing talent! The consequence is, the whole dwarves just have a cast sword master for now! Of course the swords that he handles are all high quality goods, but there are not that many of them. The swords others made are not as good in quality, and they drag a lot behind in time."
“The model you said will change all of these problems?" my father asked me.
"Yes, that’s for sure!" I answered affirmatively, "first we select the people who are very good at one certain main process, not the comprehensive ones, as long as he is specialization! He is only responsible for one process, and he doesn't need to care for the rest. These include the design, the material... Etc. The users of the weapon put forward the requirements of the weapons in terms, and they will be designed by the people who are good at designing. Then the manager… that's the people like the master, puts the order and standards to all the procedures based on the design. Started from the most beginning of the materials, all the people operate in strict accordance with the instruction of the manager. According to the requirements of the standard, select the ores, send to melting, and then send to purification and then the forge... Till the final completion of the weapon. The weapon just like the water runs through every single procedure. Every artisan that it runs into is like a master, so there's no problem in quality."
"And what's the benefit for this?" my elder brother Sefta held his head and asked, "it takes dozens of people to make a sword like working your this way!"
"Really?" I was made laugh by my elder brother.
"It's really a good way!" my father smacked on the table, "let the artisans specialize in one procedure and centralize the production. It will increase the quantity but not lower the quality, and it can also have the quick training. It's a good idea!"
"If it's like this," my eldest brother said in knowing, "the quantities not only can match your needs, but also can be sold in large!"
"Yes! That's right!" I said, "we can make a lot of money!"
"Hey hey!" my elder hadn't come to understand yet, "what's the benefit?"
"Sefta, you think about this," my father smiled at my elder brother and said, "why Kone said that it is like a water flowing through dozens of artisans' hands..."
"I understand now!" my elder jumped up, he said with a loud voice, "Continuously! Everyone keeps working!"
"That's right," I laughed too, "this is called the assembly line production!"
"Since when your brain becomes so useful!" my elder brother knuckled on my head with his finger, "think one more way, that will solve all the problems for the rest of money!"
"Stop..." I covered my head and said, "it hurts!"
"Yes," my father stooped my elder brother, "what else can we do to get the rest of the money?"
"I have already thought of all the ways we can do," I shook my head helplessly, "I can't think of another way..."
"Really? I think what about like this," my father said, "you can go to the Wanpu city to take a look."
"Papa, I also thought about that business city," I said, "but there's only enough money over there for Wanpu to consummate its own imbalance development."
"You still can go there to take a look, perhaps you can solve the problem with your intelligence!" my father smile and said, "and that's all!"
"Alright..." it seems that it's only can be like this, I couldn't help but nodded my head.
"Lef, Sefta!" my father spoke to my two brothers, "make sure your people arrive as soon as possible."
"No problem!"
"We'll do it once we get back to there!"
"Kone! My people here will go to your place with you t
ogether," my father said to me again, "I think it is necessary to fix the road from the Darkness to the Dark Moon, I'll do this thing, I will come to take your place to command at the construction sites after you leave for Wanpu."
"Papa's in," I was glad and said, "of course it's not a problem!"
"Then..." my father took a look at everyone, "if there is no other thing, let's just stop here."
Everybody nodded his head, it meant that there were no other things.
"About the attitude which you had to Kelly just now..." my father looked at me and said, "I'm not satisfied, don't you want to explain it to me?"
"I... That... I," I had no words to say, I just thought how to make it passed, my two brothers were waiting for my answer.
"She will be your wife soon, I hope that you can give her enough respect in the future in any situation." my father said to me earnestly, "of course, it takes the effort of both sides for the harmony of the relationship between husband and wife. But I still hope that you can do it a bit better."
"I know! I'm going to apologize to her!" I escaped to come out like flying, I pretended that I didn't hear my father's words which was asking me to stop.
............
Outside of Kelly room, Feline and Wensly were banging on the door anxiously and calling Kelly's name. Seeing I walked over to there, both of them stopped, Wensly looked at me with somewhat a bit angry, Feline shook her head to me helplessly.
"How's everything?" I asked.
"She locked herself in there and is crying!" Feline answered me.
"It's all your fault! We don't care it any more, you help yourself." Wensly pulled Feline and left, “if Kelly can't forgive you, you will not have any bride tomorrow!"
"Hey!" not until I said anything, they two people had already run far away giggling... It can't be, they formed me the military alliance this quickly? "Kelly, open the door," for the happiness of my future life, I started knocking at the door, "it's me!"
"Who are you?! I don't know you!" I know that Kelly still had the surplus anger, with the sound "Pa", I didn't know what thing was thrown at the door.
"I'm Kone," I said, "Kone Cada, your fiancé."
"Are not! Not, Not!" another thing was classed as "waste" with the sound "pa".
"Alright," I continued to knock at the door, "let me in."
"No! No No No!" this miss's temper can be really amazing, "I'm not opening the door!"
In the upcoming time, no matter how I explained, Kelly was not in concession, she even answered me with the "Pa Pa" sounds at the end.
I don't know how others solve the problem like this in this kind of situation. Anyway, I carefully calculated what was left in Kelly 's room, I compared the value of all the goods that can make a "Pa" sound with the door, and then I gave the door a kick and got it opened.
"You!" the tearful Kelly would not think of me getting into the room with this way, she was half lying on the bed and couldn't find a word to say momentarily, "get out!"
"You're kidding!" I walked to the bed and sat down, "If I walk out now, doesn't it mean that the kick is wasted?"
"......"
"My dear wife," I looked at Kelly, I began to use my magic weapon, "you take a look at my foot, it's still all in red."
"Who cares?" Kelly didn't have a good temper, "I'm still not your wife yet.”
"Yes, yes yes yes." I said with grinning cheekily, "I know you miss your young girl's mood! Some say that the marry-to-be girls are the most beautiful, that's really right.”
Kelly was not arguing with me, she turned her head around to ignore me.
"Kelly, today it's my fault." I whispered to her, "I'm sorry."
Seeing Kelly's shoulders began to twitch slightly again, I know that my words were getting good effect, I called "games" in my heart!
"Forgive me," I said, "I have the great sincerity."
"No!" although Kelly was refusing, but her tune had been much more moderate.
"Then how should I do to make you forgive me?" I asked her.
"Will not forgive..." Kelly was turning her head to talk to me, she was made laughing by the face that I made.
"You're sick!" Kelly could never have the look of anger again, "you're still like this even you're apologizing to me. Now you're not a child but a viceroy!"
"What's wrong with this?" I said, "Who ask you to be Kelly! As long as you're happy, it's also nothing that I play dress-up like this!"
"You talked to me like that just now," Kelly said, "now you change like this that fast."
"Am I coming to give you an apology?" I smiled and said, "forgive me?"
"I was running to there to play a joke with you." Kelly beat me on the shoulder slightly with her small fists, "as long as you would say a few good words, my sister and I will tell you that we don't have any objection to this thing..."
"It's my fault," after I heard Kelly's words, I can't help to have the deep sorry to Kelly, "forgive me!"
"If you do the thing like this again in the future..." Kelly looked at me and said, "I'll never forgive you!"
"Just like what I said! Kelly will surely forgive Kone!" before I could answer her anything, Feline and Wensly walked in from outside of the door hand in hand, "well, well, Kone, you get out! We still have to prepare the things for tomorrow!"
(Note 1: Because he is in the dress, so Kone carries the etiquette sword, not his that knife.)