Project Department Meeting

When Frederick and Manuel returned to Oak Village's village hall, everyone attending that day's project meeting had arrived.

There was no meeting room here. Just like the villagers' meetings, everyone sat on chairs around the hearth. A pot of tea hung over the fire, and anyone who wanted some could ladle it into a cup.

Frederick ladled himself a cup of tea, sat down, and calmly took a sip. Now they could finally sit down and discuss the canal.

He named the canal the Carolina Canal, after his mother.

Today was the first full meeting of the Carolina Canal Project Department. Those attending were the client, Baron Frederick von Weissen; his representative, Ah Fu, steward of the Weissen Family; the design firm's representative, Professor Einhard, the civil engineering fellow from Weissenburg University; the construction firm's overall supervisor, Master Edward of the Stonemasons' Guild of the City of Nuremberg; and the supervising representative, Bishop Clement of the Weissenburg Cathedral of the Church of Light.

Edward had worked on plenty of construction projects, but this "supervision" business was a first for him. For a while, he couldn't figure out what these clerics were supposed to do.

Bishop Clement didn't know why he'd been invited either, but when he heard it was a job worth about sixty florins, he came all the same.

The Weissen Family had never been particularly susceptible to the clerics' persuasion and hadn't donated much in the past. The clerics lived on tight budgets, and dozens of gold coins were no small sum.

Holding his cup, Frederick looked around at everyone and began, "I'm glad to meet you all here today. Together, we'll build the Carolina Canal, which will transform the economic landscape of the continent."

"Work has its rules. I'll explain mine first. If anything isn't clear or anyone has an objection, we'll discuss it together. Once we've agreed on something, everyone must abide by it. Does anyone have a problem with that?"

This was only natural. No one objected.

Frederick pointed at Ah Fu and said, "He'll be my representative on the project, responsible for coordination and management, scheduling, quality inspections, and payments."

Then he pointed at Einhard. "Professor Einhard is the design firm's representative. He and his students designed the canal."

"In principle, construction will follow the design drawings. If any problems arise during construction, he'll be responsible for resolving them. If necessary, the design can be changed. Major changes must be documented in writing and submitted to me for approval; once approved, they'll be paid for separately."

Edward's eyes began to gleam. In the past, projects had always been fixed-price contracts. The client would constantly make changes, but never pay extra. The possibility of getting paid more for the work was unprecedented.

Frederick immediately poured cold water on his enthusiasm. "Edward, you quoted your price based on the drawings. The possibility of extra payment is good news for you, but I'm no pushover."

"I have to approve any documents requesting extra payment. I've got an expert who'll review them for me. You can try adding charges where they don't belong."

The expert Frederick was talking about was actually himself. In his previous life, he'd worked his way up from construction worker to project manager, taking on everything from plumbing and electrical installations to converting dry fields into irrigated ones. He'd seen it all.

Edward quickly settled down. Remembering the detailed prices in the contract—such as the price per worker-day, the rate for earthworks, and transportation costs—he immediately realized they'd been included to account for changes to the project.

He thumped his thick chest with his muscular arm and said, "You can rest assured, Baron. We earn our money honestly."

"Your willingness to pay a third up front shows that you trust us. We won't do anything to harm your interests."

Frederick nodded. "Work hard. I haven't started looking for people to build those bridges over the canal yet. You understand."

Edward's smile grew even brighter. If he couldn't understand a hint like that, he'd have wasted his life.

Frederick nodded to Bishop Clement, then said, "Your duty and that of the other clerics is to supervise—not only the workers, but also whether we pay according to the contract."

"We'll pay a third up front. The remaining five tenths will be paid in installments across ten milestones. The final balance will be paid once the first ship has passed through the canal."

"One of your duties will be to confirm when the workers complete each milestone and sign their payment requests as proof. Once we've paid, you'll also sign the payment receipts as proof."

Frederick didn't expect the clerics to have the architectural knowledge to act as professional supervisors. Nor were professional supervision companies an option at this point. To dig a canal, they only needed to measure its length, width, and depth and calculate the volume of earth. That much was manageable.

Money was an easy thing to argue over, and Frederick didn't want to waste his time on it. So he'd brought in a third party that both sides trusted to serve as a witness.

Bishop Clement thought he understood Frederick's intentions. He'd never seen a contractor go unpaid, but he'd heard of it happening. He bowed slightly and praised him, saying, "Baron Weissen's benevolence will surely earn him the blessing of the God of Light."

"We'll do our duty."

Frederick nodded slightly in thanks, then asked Edward, "Do you agree to this?"

The smile never left Edward's face. What he feared most was the client withholding payment. Now that a cleric would witness the arrangement, if Baron Weissen failed to pay, they could take the case all the way to the King.

"I agree!" he replied happily.

Frederick nodded slightly and said, "This is hard-earned money. If you run into any difficulties, speak up right away and we'll work out a solution together."

"From now on, we'll meet like this on the fifth and tenth of every month to discuss any problems you can't resolve yourselves and find a solution."

"I'll come when I can, mainly to handle major issues."

Edward immediately thumped his chest and said, "You can count on us, Baron. We'll do as you say!"

Frederick only nodded. That was what Edward said, but who knew what he'd actually do?

"You can rest assured too," he said. "The wages are already sitting in my treasury. As long as you do the work, you'll get paid."

"The first payment will be released as soon as you clear the trees within the canal's boundary."

Edward immediately replied, "The carpenters we've organized are already on their way. Neither the tree clearing nor building the wooden houses will be delayed."

Frederick nodded, then said, "Pay attention to fire safety where the workers are staying. If a fire breaks out, we're finished."

For the rest of the meeting, they carefully discussed the workers' food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

After the meeting, Frederick sent everyone away, ladled himself a cup of tea, and quietly drank it to the bottom, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

Digging the canal was not only a major undertaking for his territory, but also a wonderful opportunity to promote the image of the Wessen Territory to other territories.

In the future, the Wessen Territory would need to attract craftsmen from the surrounding regions to develop. If he could set an example that people who did good work would get paid what they were owed, he wouldn't have to worry about craftsmen refusing to come.