Ores and School

When Theus returned to the manor, he encountered Alexei waiting for him.

Seeing his somewhat awkward smile, Theus guessed the reason for his visit.

"...Out of money?"

"Yes," Alexei sighed. "Whether it's recruiting people to survey the island or establishing the school, everything costs money, not to mention renovating the workshops."

There was no way around this; any industry required initial investment, and these costs could not be avoided. Theus was already mentally prepared for this.

"Don't worry about the money. I'll find a way. Tell me about the progress."

Alexei nodded and hurriedly took out his notebook.

"The mineral deposits have been basically identified. This is mainly based on the previous surveys of the island; we went to the sites to investigate according to the records, then organized and summarized them."

Theus took the booklet and flipped through it casually, but his eyes widened.

"Are you saying there are iron ore, copper ore, limestone, sulfur, and gypsum on the island? These have all been verified?"

"Yes, I personally went to see these mining areas. Aside from not being entirely sure about the specific quality, there are no issues." Alexei shrugged. "We don't have professional prospectors here, so we could only find some blacksmiths to take a look."

"How did you find these mines without prospectors?" Theus's eyelid twitched. "They aren't open-pit mines, are they?"

Alexei nodded: "They all are."

Theus fell silent.

The quality of ore from open-pit mines might not be the highest, but it certainly wouldn't be low.

Moreover, for Castel as it stood now, mining veins that were even slightly difficult to access would have to be abandoned. Theus hadn't held much hope, yet it turned out they were all open-pit mines?

"Why weren't these mines exploited before?" Theus took a breath.

"My lord, this is the Storm Ocean." Alexei gave a bitter smile.

Indeed, this was the Storm Ocean. The pirates lacked smelting capabilities; they preferred to buy finished products directly.

The White Crow Duchy to the north and the Empire to the west were not lacking in ore, so there was no need to transport it from thousands of miles away.

As for the south? Were they supposed to cross the storms at the center of the Storm Ocean?

Speaking of mines, Theus suddenly remembered that when he was on the seabed, the primary work of the Banshee race under the enslavement of the Fishmen was mining.

There were mineral veins on the seabed too; it was just a matter of driving the Fishmen away from the mines.

Wait, why did the Fishmen need to mine? Could they even smelt ore underwater?

Theus narrowed his eyes.

"Let's put that aside for now. How are the factories doing?"

"The olive oil factory is on the right track. The trial production period was very successful, and the process is now quite stable. Production capacity is constantly increasing, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"The current yield of olives can't keep up. Castel does have many olive trees, but many are on the mountains, making them difficult to harvest."

Theus nodded; he had noticed this.

Olives were not actually well-suited for tropical cultivation. Castel had a towering volcano, and the climate at the foothills was completely different from that in the mountains. Most of the olive trees lived in the valleys, and there weren't many in areas convenient for harvesting.

Transporting olives down from the mountains increased the difficulty exponentially.

Without proper transport equipment or even paved roads, this kind of harvesting consumed a massive amount of manpower.

"Do not force the harvesting of olives in the mountains. Manpower is a very precious resource, and our goal is not just to produce olive oil, but to cultivate qualified, skilled workers."

"Skilled workers?"

Alexei was stunned. He had no experience managing factories. In his view, these craftsmen were like the logistics troops during a battle—there were elite combat units, but he had never heard of elite logistics.

He had visited the factories, and the craftsmen were just doing repetitive and simple tasks. What was there to be skilled at?

Theus smiled. "Look, I call the people in the factories craftsmen rather than workers because they haven't fully adapted to the factory's operation. Even in the factory, they are doing work similar to the workshops of the past."

"And my definition of a worker is someone with the most basic discipline—knowing what they should do, what they can do, what is dangerous, and what is life-threatening."

"Don't underestimate this. Industrial processes require learning to be gradually understood. Many dangers aren't visible at a glance. If they don't learn to adapt..."

"Then we'll have to pay with human lives."

Alexei was choked up; he truly hadn't thought of this.

"You can watch. Once the craftsmen in these olive oil factories have basic proficiency, there will be a huge change in production efficiency and accident rates."

Theus flipped through the notebook in his hand and asked again:

"How is the school?"

"I've found a few empty houses. Tables, chairs, and furniture are easy enough, but it's hard to gather enough books and paper for the time being..."

"It doesn't have to be that complicated." Theus laughed. When people of this era mentioned schools, it was more akin to the modern concept of a "university."

As for basic education? Nobles hired private tutors, and commoners?

Why would commoners need to go to school?

What Theus needed to solve right now was basic education, to cultivate qualified engineers—or even lower, to cultivate qualified workers.

"Our schools don't need paper and pens. Find a wall, or a wooden board large enough, and paint it black." With a blackboard, teaching could begin. The territory produced gypsum and lime, so making chalk required no technical skill at all; one didn't even need chalk, as clods of dirt could be used to write on the board.

"Education isn't such an inconvenient thing. With students and a blackboard, knowledge can be passed on."

Alexei opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he didn't know where to begin.

Although he was an orphan, he had received an elite education, and he knew the consequences of what Theus was doing.

Universal education? Teaching a bunch of peasants to read? Even if word of such a school just spread, Theus would become the laughingstock of the noble circles.

Yet, Alexei felt something he couldn't quite put into words.

He had grown up in an orphanage and had seen the toilsome and bewildered lives of those at the bottom; he was not one of those high-and-mighty nobles, and his own feet had once trodden upon muddy ground.

In the end, he said nothing, only gripping the scimitar at his waist, which Theus had gifted him.

This had become a recent habit of Alexei's; whenever he held this blade, strength would surge from the depths of his heart to sustain him.

"...In any case, the school must start classes as soon as possible. I will personally select the instructors, and the renovation of the workshops cannot be delayed either. We don't have much time."

Alexei took a serious look at Theus, offered him a salute, and left the manor.

"Why does he keep using that military etiquette..."