Bambus Village (3)
By the time we finished dinner, Dino arrived.
He seemed to have brought the tea whisks.
“Dino, you could have brought them tomorrow.”
“I thought it might be better to bring them early since they’re a bit of a load.”
Each whisk was in a bamboo basket lined with cloth, and all of them were packed together into a single carry basket.
“Dino, I’d like the cooking utensils used for today’s meal as well.”
“I have two ready if that’s enough.”
“Not for an order, just for us.”
“That’s fine, no problem.”
I paid for the 12 whisks—10 additional ones plus the original order—along with the shipping costs through the guild.
“Dino, is there a reason for the basket with bamboo charcoal among the room’s furniture?”
Brother Chris asked.
“Bamboo charcoal has deodorizing effects. At night, if you sprinkle it in cloth and place it in boots or leather shoes, it’s very convenient.”
“What?” Brother Chris was surprised.
I looked at Meyer and the others.
“Did you know that?”
“No, we didn’t,” they shook their heads.
I had assumed everyone would know since it was in the corner of the room, but apparently not.
“Dino, if you filled small bags with bamboo charcoal for shoes, you could probably sell them,” I suggested.
“Fill small bags with bamboo charcoal?”
“For leather shoes and boots. Try making a few samples.”
“Understood. I’ll have my wife sew the cloth and we’ll make some.”
“What else is bamboo charcoal used for?” I asked.
“Well, we put it in after drawing water from the well, and also in bamboo baskets in the well. It can also help flowers last longer if placed in a vase.”
“Could we take some of the bamboo charcoal home?”
“Certainly. I’ll have it ready by tomorrow morning.”
“Sorry for springing so many requests on you.”
“No, it might bring profit to the village, so leave it to me.”
After Dino left, Brother Chris asked, “Hardt, you didn’t seem surprised. Did you already know about this?”
“I thought everyone knew about its deodorizing effect since there was so much of it in the room.”
“Even you overlook things sometimes. By the way, did you buy the utensils to be able to eat the food from today at home?”
“I wanted to see if we could replicate it using the steam from the hot springs in the new town.”
“Is it not possible at the mansion’s hot spring?”
“The temperature is too low, so I don’t think it will work.”
“Then we’ll stop by the new town on the way back and give it a try.”
Brother Chris couldn’t hide how excited he was. His gluttony seems to be worsening.
The next day, before leaving the village, we went to check the bamboo charcoal in the well.
On the way, we saw someone putting bamboo branches into a magic tool, so I asked the village chief what they were doing.
“They’re crushing bamboo into powder for fertilizer. It improves vegetable growth, increases sweetness, and makes them more delicious,” the chief explained.
“So it’s not just steaming that makes the vegetables different from other villages?”
“I haven’t compared with other villages, but the difference is clear between those with bamboo fertilizer and those without.”
“Village chief, I know this is sudden, but could we take some of your village-grown vegetables and bamboo fertilizer with us?”
“Of course. I’ll prepare it right away.”
“Do other places sell this bamboo-crushing magic tool?”
“No, it’s a custom-made item. We saved funds together to have it made.”
“What did you do before you had the magic tool?”
“We crushed it with ice magic and dried it with wind magic, but it required very strong magic, so we saved money to finally make this tool.”
“Have you heard of anyone else using this bamboo fertilizer?”
“No, not around here.”
“Have you thought about selling it?”
“We have plenty, but it would be difficult, and we haven’t tried.”
“If you wanted to sell, you could make a lot.”
“Since it’s made from bamboo branches and leaves, we have lots of it,” he said, pointing to the bamboo grove.
We decided to take an ample supply of fertilizer with us and test it elsewhere.
What do you think about this chapter?
