Not a Single Copper Coin of Profit

The newly built factory filled the air with the smell of limestone. Workers bustled about, while the foreman's shouts and reprimands rang out without pause.

Paul met Ayla at the factory, but the materials had just arrived and had to be processed as soon as possible. If they were stored too long or kept improperly, they might grow moldy or be gnawed by rats, causing losses. She could only chat with him briefly.

Most of the workers had only just been hired, and many were still inexperienced, so Ayla had to keep an eye on them.

First, the workers tipped arm-sized Wine Roots from handcarts into a hopper. A conveyor belt carried them to a washing machine, then on to a peeling machine, where two rough rollers spun at high speed and rubbed away the skin. Next, the roots went into a Slicing Machine. Evenly cut slices dropped into a grinder and were ground into pulp. After several rounds of filtering, the pulp was left to settle. The sediment was rinsed repeatedly with clean water to remove impurities, then left to settle again, producing clean starch.

In another factory building, the starch was mixed into a paste, then forced through molds into thin strands that dropped into a vat of boiling water. They instantly set into transparent Crystal Noodles. The workers quickly scooped them out to dry, then packaged and sterilized them.

Paul followed Dafranche around the factory building. Remembering something, he asked curiously, "I heard Wine Root is poisonous. How do you remove the toxins?"

The story of how Frederick had dealt with Wine Root poisoning among the Red Ants years ago had been circulating for a long time. Many people knew about it.

Dafranche said solemnly, "We can say publicly that the toxins are washed away with clean