Chapter Text
Year 1 : Merchant and a half.
Myne got up full of energy to start this new week, but her enthusiasm was quickly shut down by the clatter of heavy rain on the shutters. She peeked through a crack and the plaza was drenched in rain. Clearly they would not go foraging with such weather.
Deflated, she tried to crawl back under the covers but Effa sternly told her to get dressed. The rain would not stop her from working in the house. Effa still left for work and she borrowed Myne’s rain hat to protect herself. Myne and Tuuli spent the morning cleaning their home, preparing dough and taking care of the yeast. Having a clean home had Myne feeling more at ease, and she could see it was growing on her family too.
While tidying the pantry, she gathered the nice smelling herbs that were drying up and would not be used in the kitchen. With Tuuli’s help, they took half and made small bags of drying herbs and put them in the chest where they kept their spare clothes. She explained the clothes would smell of the herbs when they took them out. She kept the other half by the side to make more shampoo in case they managed to get more meryls.
Tuuli got Myne to work some on stitching the dress as Effa would not be impressed if it had not advanced. Myne felt like wailing in despair, but knew it would not change anything, so she sat at the table and started to work. Sewing was bad enough, she kicked herself for proposing that they embroidery the dress, it would be such a time consuming hassle. As she was sewing she wondered if there was a way for her to simplify it. And then, she turned to Tuuli who was carving flowers on the back of their brush.
“Tuuli, do you think you could make a special wooden needle for me? I’d like to try a different embroidery method.”
She then went on to explain the hook needle she wanted, how thin and how polished she wanted it.
“I guess it would not take too long to make one. I’ll see with dad tonight and we’ll make it together.” Tuuli answered while she kept engraving.
“Thank you, Tuuli. I am sure dad will be happy to make something with you.”
“So what is this embroidery method?”
“I’ll make embroidery off the cloth then it can be sewed on the cloth, giving it more depth. We could even do all see through embroidery that can be worn like a shawl or apron to add decoration to a more basic outfit.”
“Seems like rich people stuff. Do you think mom will let you do that?”
“I’ll show her once we get the needles. Could be a good way to make money. And I’m sure she would be happy with that.”
“Fine. Now put away the cloth, we’ll bake the bread and make lunch.”
“What are you doing this afternoon, Tuuli?”
“I was thinking of coming with you and studying if it was ok?”
“Of course, Timia loves having you to study with.”
So after a good lunch with fresh bread, they left to go to study. The staircase of the building was quite noisy as most farmer families were stuck inside by the heavy rain. When they reached the ground floor, they used the inside corridor running from their end of the L shaped building to the other end where the mayor’s office was. Myne had always gone there through the plaza and she was quite disgusted by the state of the inside corridor. She wondered if she could get something done about it. It was a health risk in her humble japanese opinion. Tuuli did not seem to be bothered, even if she was quite pleased to have a clean home now. Myne guessed it would take time to get people in the right mindset to have general cleanliness.
When they entered the meeting room, they were greeted by Cathia and a hopping Timia that showed them her new rain hat.
“I got her one from Lilla, “said Cathia. “From what she told me, when she showed it to Mendo, the merchant she was making baskets for, he urged her to switch to hats. Guess you gave away another valuable idea.” Myne could guess something was bothering Cathia.
“Did I do something wrong ?” she inquired.
“You see, Myne, and that is a good lesson for you too Tuuli. Having new ideas is fantastic, but if you just give them away without return for you, people will get used to getting things for free and will be angry when you ask for a fair price. Millio is going to present you to the merchants this week and they will not hesitate to take advantage of your generosity. I must say I worry about you. Millio will try to protect you, but they are powerful individuals in the town, being the wealthiest.”
“I understand, Miss Cathia. but do not worry, I have given away simple ideas that are easily copied. Take the rain hats, one would just have to take one to a weaver and they could replicate it without trouble, same thing for the fish trap I gave to Murno. I am happy to give them away as it helps me with making contacts among artisans. I will be more careful with products for which I can protect the recipe.”
“It is good that you are not blind to the risks. And I am looking forward to your new inventions. Anything you can tell me about them?”
“Oh, that would ruin the pleasure of the discovery.” Myne laughed while giving a wink to Cathia.
“Ha ha ha, good for you, Myne. Let’s get to work now. You tutor Timia and Tuuli and I’ll show you how we write contracts.”
“Ok, can you give me information on the beruf certification as well, please? So that I can get mom ready. And dad as well as I have an idea that would ask for brawn.”
Myne was so glad to spend the afternoon learning new words while she had Tuuli and Timia working on word puzzles.
Towards the end of the afternoon, Millio stopped by the meeting room.
“Hello, girls. I came by to inform you that the meeting with the merchants will take place in two days at the third bell. Be sure to have your parents coming with you and the samples for the shampoo and the brushes. We’ll have the town merchants and a few craftmasters who want to meet you. We are lucky that the town has only one dyer workshop so your new technique will not cause infighting. This is something that will be discussed at the meeting to prevent possible conflicts.”
“ I understand. Of course, we need to discuss with interested parties as soon as possible. I’ll think about what we could put in place to promote a more harmonious crafting environment. It could be a good way to improve crosstrade work as well.”
“Yeah, yeah, just go one step at a time. You do not want to upset everyone.”
“I’ll be careful not to ruffle too many feathers.”
“I guess that’s the best I can expect from you,” said Millio, defeated. “And now, we have to discuss how much you will earn for your tutoring of Timia.”
“Oh, do not worry about that. I am happy to help Timia and Miss Cathia is teaching me a lot too.”
Millio mercilessly bonked Myne’s head, shocking her speechless.
“Stop selling yourself short. Even if you are really young, you are working and doing a valuable job at that. What does it tell others if you give away your time like this? What does it tell your family?” Millio thundered while knuckling Myne’s hair.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch, I understand. Sorry, sorry.” Whimpered Myne while rubbing her head after stepping back from the onslaught. “So how much are you going to pay me?”
“One small copper per half-day.”
“So 6 small a week,” Myne said, clearly showing disappointment. “Just after telling me it is a valuable job, I say it is worth at least 5 small per afternoon.”
Tuuli’s eyes were as big as saucers while Cathia was playing with Timia who seemed nonplussed by her grandfather’s barks.
“2 small, I cannot go further than that, I have a budget to keep.”
“I feel hurt that you respect me so little, Mayor Millio. I was waiting for the moment when I could help you with bookkeeping, but it seems my valuable work is not worth 4 small coppers. I guess it is time for me to go home and reevaluate my participation.” And Myne slowly started to turn towards the door of the room. Tuuli’s mouth was agape with dread.
“Fine, Myne, I’ll give you 3 and that is my last offer.” conceded Millio but he did not seem sad about it. “So you’d like to get your hands in bookkeeping for the town, no less?”
“I think I would be a valuable addition to your office even as a part time employee. As we discussed with my parents, my poor health, even if it is improving, will not allow me to take on a physical job, so it is better for me to try more office work.”
“Good for you to think ahead. I guess in a few weeks you will have seen enough with Cathia to start moving on to more advanced teachings. We’ll talk then about you storming my office.”
“Thank you so much for the opportunity. I’ll be sure to work hard.”
“Good, good. I’ll pay you for the work already done when your parents come for the meeting. would not want you to carry too much money on your way home.”
Soon after, Myne and Tuuli finished their study time and rushed home as it was still raining heavily.
Gunther then came home with the shumil meat he had finished smoking.
“Dad, can I use some of the shumil meat for dinner? And I’d like to use some for the merchant meeting as well. Oh, Mayor Millio said the meeting will be the day after tomorrow at the third bell and he wants you and mom to be present.”
“Ok, the day after tomorrow. But what is this about bringing food?”
“If we bring some of my food for them to taste, they will know that we have more to offer, and with the needles you will make with Tuuli today, I hope we will have time tomorrow to make something new.”
“Huh, what needles? I don’t know how to make a needle.”
“It is more like a hook needle made of wood.” And Myne used her tablet to make a drawing to show Gunther and Tuuli what she wanted.
So Myne busied herself in the kitchen making a rich shumil hotpot that soon and put some of the meat in a second pot by the side with lots of tallow to make a slow cook spread like she did with the fish adding tubers that would complement the shumil taste. With these and fluffy bread, she would make small sandwiches for the meeting; it was such a shame they were not in a season when she had access to fresh produce. Come spring and summer, she would unleash her culinary knowledge. Actually she knew there were three inns in the town that served cheap meals and were used by travelling merchants; maybe she could influence one to upgrade it with a better standing, good food would surely interest wealthier patrons.
She checked on Gunther and Tuuli and they were making good progress carving the needles, they were making a few using shardwood as while it was not useful to make furniture or building, it was fine for small pieces like these needles. Tuuli was so cute when she worked, focused on her task, absently pushing away a rebel lock of hair.
As they worked fast, she went to the stockroom and grabbed a spool of thread. She rushed back to the kitchen as she just got an inspiration while thinking about what she could make first with the needles.
“Tuuli, can you please look at the hotpot and put it on the side? Mom should be home soon.”
“Ok.”
“Dad,” whispered Myne after stepping close to Gunther. “Do we have some springy wood? I’d like you to work on a present for mom and Tuuli.”
“I could get some if it is for Effa and Tuuli.”
“Cool, I’ll tell you later.” Myne cut under her breath. “Better tidy and set the table before mom arrives.” she added with a wink at her dad who gave her a quick hug before putting away his tools.
When Effa came home, they had dinner and after cleaning quickly, they gathered around the table for Myne to explain what she wanted to do with the wooden needles.
She slowly showed how to make lace work, starting with simple flat flowers and birds. She explained they could then be sewn on Tuuli’s dress as decorations. Tuuli and Effa were quick to try their hands with this new craft and, while they were busy, Myne nodded to Gunther to move to the side.
“So; dad,” she started softly. “If it is possible, I’d like you to make softwood headbands for Mum and Tuuli. And then I’ll sew lacework to it so they have beautiful headdresses.” She then gave him the details of what she wanted and he went to the stockroom to find what he could use.
Myne rejoined Effa and Tuuli at the table. They were making quick progress, and once again Myne noticed that Tuuli really had a knack for understanding artistic crafts. Could her sister become some Leonardo da Vinci, master of numerous different crafts? It would not surprise Myne, and it gave her more incentive to show her sister different trades for her to expand her opportunities.
They worked a bit longer but the light got too dim to keep at it. But this clearly had potential to be a really profitable trade. She was sure lacework would bring the interest of merchants with wealthy customers, maybe even these nobles that ruled everything around here. Money would open doors if she played her cards right.
Before going to bed, they took the slow cooked shumil of the hearth and spent some time removing all the bones from the pulled meat. Myne filled several bowls with the meat and tallow broth. It would set overnight and they would have a tasty topping to go with fluffy bread for the meeting.
While lying in bed with Tuuli, Myne reviewed everything she needed for the meeting. Murno had the brushes, they had enough samples of the shampoo, tomorrow she would have to ask Gunther to get some minnows to make more fish spread, that would give another choice to the guests. She wondered if she could get some pickled vegetables as a bonus topping, that would go well with the savoury spreads. The morning of the meeting, she would make some honey cream to have a sweet spread as well. Yeah, that should be enough to prove she could be a valuable asset to the town merchants.
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The day before the meeting was quite busy. Gunther came back all happy because the fishermen had given him a full bucket of minnows. He explained it was to thank Myne for the fish traps. They would make more during storm days this winter and that would boost their takings come springtime.
Myne and Tuuli were working on lacework. Tuuli had taken out the dress and was placing and sewing the flowers and birds she had made with Effa the evening before, sewing them; it was time consuming work but Tuuli kept at it, clearly happy with the result.
While working, Myne was thinking about making some starch next time they cooked potatofels. It would allow for more structured clothing. Tuuli in a pleated skirt would be so cute. Thinking about cute Tuuli kept Myne’s resolution strong to make the long lace net she was working on, with Gunther’s headband it would make a lovely headdress for her sister.
Their morning flew by, but they had made good progress. With some effort, they would have the headdresses ready. Myne was quite hyped about meeting the merchants. As they were eating their lunch, she talked with Tuuli about what she hoped to achieve at the meeting. Tuuli was really impressed by her little sister's foresight, as she tended to live day to day herself. But she guessed as you worked, you had to plan what you had to do. She would have to learn from Myne to get better at it.
After lunch, Myne left to go to the office while Tuuli stayed home and Tuuli used Myne’s lacework as a template to start one big piece of her own. She had lots of fun varying the design along the length of it. She would have to ask Myne the best way to finish the cloth so that it would not fray. In the meantime, she went back to carving the back of the brush, shumils and leaves of the windy willow were appearing under her sharp knife. She was so focused on her work that she did not see the time go by and jumped when Myne opened the door.
“Geez, you scared me, Myne. Is the afternoon already gone?” She said while looking outside to get a sense of the time it was.
“Indeed,” answered Myne while looking at the work Tuuli had done. “You have worked a lot, Tuuli. The carvings on the brush are beautiful. Oh, that lace work is really well done too.”
“I did not finish the lace as I wanted your advice on how to finish it.”
“Ok, you could keep going but making tighter lacework to finish in a point that would fall on the nape of your neck, or make multiple points to have more of a flare. If we have a thicker thread, you can use it to give more weight to the lace.”
Tuuli went to look in their stock of thread and came back to work on her piece. Myne had retrieved her own work and started on it again. They worked side by side, Myne telling Tuuli how her afternoon went and how little Timia was sad not to see Tuuli. She explained that Miss Cathia had started to show her the office where they stored documents and forms. She was really excited by the room with all the boards and kept gushing to Tuuli about all the written things she had seen. Tuuli rolled her eyes and warned her not to bother Miss Cathia. Myne said she knew, but she had a gleam in her eye that worried Tuuli.
When Gunther came back home, he went straight to working on the wooden headbands. Effa joined them as well a bit later, and while working, she told how the workshop was working full tilt to make bolts of cloth dyed in different patterns. It was really nice to try something new and everyone in the workshop was learning new things. Myne was happy that her ideas were well received and she hoped it would spur more innovations from the crafters.
They kept working on the headdresses till dinner was ready, and it was a quick affair before they went back to work. Gunther enjoyed being part of the team and was oozing with pride at his talented daughters. He got them to try on the headbands and made adjustments to be sure it would be a smooth fit. When the first one was ready, Myne went to prepare some glue and with Gunther, they glued cloth to the wood to make sewing the lace easier. All the while she explained how the headband could be made more luxurious for rich people by using better cloth on it and adding gems or precious metal decorations.
Effa sewed the lacework finished to the headband when the glue had dried. Tuuli and Myne kept working on mire lacework. Myne was so surprised when she saw Tuuli’s new work that looked like the net of stars in the night sky.
“This is so beautiful, Tuuli. I am amazed at how good you got so fast.”
“Oh really. When you know the principle, it is quite easy to make, no?” Tuuli said while looking puzzled at Myne.
“Knowing is not all, Tuuli. I am as amazed as Myne at the way it seems so natural to you.” Effa complimented her daughter. “Here, the headdress is ready. Myne, can you help Tuuli to put it on?”
“Yes, mom.” Myne stood up on her chair to adjust the headband to hold onto Tuuli’s green hair and made sure the lace veil was falling behind covering the back of Tuuli’s head. The web of flowers she had made were beautiful.
“How does it look?” asked Tuuli anxiously.
“You are the most beautiful.” Boomed Gunther, taking his daughter in his arms.
“Dad, don’t mess it up.”
“It goes really well with your hair, Tuuli.” Said Effa while examining the headdress and keeping Gunther from spinning around with Tuuli in his arms.
“With time, we could make a longer veil or add small lace flowers to the headband to decorate it more.”
“Let’s finish the other ones,” said Effa while sitting back down and resuming her work. Tuuli and Effa were working on the veils and Gunther was glueing cloth on the other headbands. Myne started to make some small lace flowers they could add to Tuuli’s headband.
“Mom, if you tie the end of the lace net closer, you can have it cupping your hair as you tie it up rather than just falling on the back.”
They kept working till it got too dark to continue. They would have the time to finish the next morning before leaving for the meeting.
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They woke up early, and Gunther went to draw water from the well so that everyone could wash up and use shampoo.
While they took turns washing up, Myne started to prepare what food they would take with them for the meeting. She had Gunther knead the dough to make enough bread.
After breakfast, they donned their best clothes and Tuuli and Effa put on their headdresses. Tuuli worked like mad to finish Myne’s.
Gunther got the basket in which they kept the pots of shampoo and the one with the spreads to go with the bread.
Effa sewed together Myne’s veil then put it on her dark shiny hair. Everyone was pleased by the result, the net of stars perfect for her. She thanked them all for making it for her.
They baked the bread that had risen and they were finally ready to leave for the meeting. They walked through the corridors to stay inside as it was running still.
As they were early, they had time to exchange greetings with the Mayor and his family before anyone else arrived.
Myne could see that Gina and Cathia really wanted to ask about the headdresses. Yup, she was sure it would be a success.
They took their seats while chatting with Gina and Cathia while Millio and Alfo were welcoming the merchants, and to Myne’s surprise quite a few craftmasters. Myne saw with joy that the carpenters had brought the black board and a few chairs for children. She glowed with joy at the sight of her school taking shape.
Once everyone was in the room and seated, Millio went to the centre and gestured for their attention.
“Friends, I have called you today to talk about the new inventions you have heard about recently. Little Myne, here, is the source of these ideas.” Millio gestured towards Myne who stood up from her chair with Gunther’s help and saluted the room.” She has the potential to be a boon for our town. So I’ll be clear that nobody is to monopolize her. Her Mother, Effa, will receive help to open a workshop, where they can make new products that are not the purview of another workshop, for example that hair cleaning liquid.”
“Why not have them join an existing company?” Mendo, a prominent merchant in town, asked. “We have the network to promote and sell whatever new products.”
“Don’t be greedy, Mendo. Myne has a lot of potential, and, as Mayor, I want everyone in town to profit from her ideas.” Millio sternly drew the line.
“Millio is right, Mendo.” calmly said Cilia, the other big merchant in Fraistein. “We have to band together to protect her if she is that valuable for the town. Otherwise, we will be in trouble when the large merchants' houses from Frenbeltag get wind of her.” And Myne noticed she eyed Cathia suspiciously. Could she be from one of these houses? Alfo put a soothing hand on Cathia’s shoulder, as she was bristling with anger and ready to pounce into the discussion, but Millio intervened first.
“Right you are, Cilia. And more than Frenbeltag’s houses, I am worried about the nobles. We all know they are always fighting for social status. The shampoo alone could get us caught between factions trying to monopolise it. So, we have to band together to insure Myne’s protection.” At the mention of nobles, Myne noticed everyone got stone faced. Dimir, the main carpenter in town, used the moment of silence to stand up.
“We, the workshop owners, want to make sure we get access to Myne’s inventions. Whatever the plan you have, Millio, we do not want to be squeezed out by merchants.” The masters in the room nodded and grunted their agreement to that.
“Mayor Millio, could I speak, please?” Asked Myne.
“Of course, go on.” Millio said and everyone in the room looked at her. “Gunther, Put Myne on the table, so that everyone can see her.” So Myne ended up standing on the table that had been pushed in the corner of the room to make space.
“As Mayor Millio told you, I am Myne, daughter of Gunther and Effa. First, I’d like to thank all the masters I dealt with when I came up with new ideas. You have all been really welcoming and open to my weird proposals. I want to thank in particular Murno for his help with the brushes and the fish trap. “Murno nodded to her while showing the basket of brushes he had brought, and a fisherman who had come to the meeting agreed noisily. “Till now, I have freely given away ideas, because they are easy to duplicate. But I have other products that require specific tools, and with their potential value, I have been thinking about the best way to develop them while protecting the interests of my family and our town.” Myne took a breath while eyeing the crowd to gauge their reaction. The merchants were intrigued, but the crafters nodded approvingly.
“As I already told Mayor Millio, I would have liked to register patents with the guild for my inventions, but it seems that does not exist.”
“What is this patent?” asked Cilia.
“Basically, you register the method to craft your invention with an official. Then others can buy this method with your agreement. So your invention is protected, and you receive a payment when it is purchased. I think it is first a good way to promote innovation, and it allows the conservation of new ideas.”
“I can see the advantages of such a system, but it would have to be overseen by the guild in Frenbeltag, maybe even by the Aub’s office.” Said Mendo pensively, clearly impressed by the idea, and turning towards Millio he added. “We will need a proper proposal for the guild and Giebe Fraistein. But we have some time as there will not be much movement before the end of winter.” Cilia agreed to that and turned towards Myne.
“So, young lady, Millio told us about the creation of a workshop. What would be crafted in it?”
“My idea is to go for cosmetic products and items to start with. As these are items with a good market value, I hope it will bring us enough funds to progress to other ventures. Of course, these will be items for which my family can manage the production. The prime example is the shampoo, a liquid to clean hair and give it a gorgeous shine and smell. I feel confident we can produce it at various levels of quality for different markets. And while I have no doubt it will be copied in time, It will just spur us to improve the formula and the presentation. We will also look to produce veils like the ones we are wearing today. Of course, these are just simple veils, a proof of concept if you will.” And she removed her own to show it to the merchants, everyone was really impressed by the lacework.
“How did you embroider without the support of cloth? I mean, it looks like embroidery but stands on its own.” Wondered Gina as she had joined the merchants to look at the headdress.
“Hehe, it is our trade secret. This is soft lace, but we will make hard lace as well in time. Tuuli made this one for me as my hair is like the night sky.” She could not help bragging about her talented sister who glared furiously at her as everyone was now looking at her. “I was wondering what your opinion on these is. Do you think they could be an interesting item to offer customers? The headband part can be improved with more decorations and richer cloth, and the veil itself can be more complex in design.”
“Depends. How much are you going to sell them? How long does it take to make one? What is the cost of the materials?”Myne hesitated unsure, but Effa stepped in front of her.
“For a simple one like this, it would go for a large copper. Of course, more elaborate ones will reach small silvers or more depending on the materials the client wants.” Myne was so glad her mom was here, as she knew more about the cost of materials and work. “As for the shampoo, before you ask, it will be five medium coppers for a month's worth of product. Are you interested?”
“As you know, I deal more with farm produce. Cilia is more in tune with this kind of market.” said Mendo, clearly miffed that his competitor was more likely to have the contacts to take advantage of this opportunity.
“I think we will have to discuss more when you have established your workshop, Effa. I heard you do not have your beruf certification yet. But Tuomo told me it would not be too hard for you.” Cilia said encouragingly to Effa before turning to Myne. “And you, Myne, what will you do this winter while your mother works to get her beruf?”
“I will keep tutoring Timia and learning more from Miss Cathia. Now that the carpenters have made some of the furniture for the classroom, I am hoping to find more students who want to learn to read and write here.”
“Ah, yes, “cut in Millio, “it is something I wanted to present today as well. Another of Myne’s ideas. A classroom, as she said, is a place where children come and learn from a tutor. Myne convinced me that it would be an improvement for the town if we organised a place to make sure children could learn the basics of writing and counting.”
“Yes, I was thinking that children could spend some time each week learning together. Then it would be easier for them and for their tradeplace when they became apprentices.”
“And you are good enough to teach others?” Myne was about to answer when Cathia joined in.
“You have no idea. My Timia has learned so much since Myne started to teach her. At the rhythm they are going, she will know more at 7 than most apprentices when they reach adulthood.”
“Clearly, Myne has a way to teach that gets the best out of the children,” chimed in Gina. “Actually she has started to teach her sister Tuuli as well and is doing a fantastic job getting Timia and Tuuli to learn together.”
Cilia looked at Myne and after thinking a moment asked her.
“You know accounting is really important for us merchants. With the numbers your mother gave us earlier, if I was buying 25 shampoo a season and 15 headdresses as well, how much would it cost me a year?” The adults around them were taken aback by such a difficult question for a small child, but Myne did not seem bothered at all.
“Would it be ok for me to use the black board Master Dimir brought?” She asked and Cilia nodded. “Mister Dimir,Dad, can you put the black against the wall on the table, please? Miss Cathia, could I have some chalk please?”
When she had the board and the chalk ready, Myne started to make the calculations on the board while explaining what she was doing. The merchants and masters were exchanging incredulous looks at the speed of Myne.
When she gave the total, she turned around to look at Cilia.
“If you tell me your retail prices, I can calculate your turnover for these products and your profit on them.”
“No, it is fine. You did not even use an abacus to calculate this much.”
“Never seen one. But I guess I can learn to use it if this is a necessary skill.” Myne said while giving an inquiring look at Cathia who just chuckled. The whole room was silent and Tuuli just rolled her eyes.
“This blackboard works really well, Master Dimir. Well done. I saw you brought some chairs as well.”
“Ah yes, we made three basic ones for you to have a look at.” The carpenters brought the chairs forward.
They clearly had her height in mind when they made the chairs. She tried each chair and explained what was good about each one. She stressed the back of the chair needed to be straight as a good posture was important to writing, and rounding the edges was important for comfort. When you spend time sitting to learn, little discomforts can really mess with your concentration, she added.
Dimir told her they were not done with the tables yet, but were making good progress. They thanked her for the jobs as they were indeed good exercises for the apprentices. Myne told them she was looking forward to seeing the result.
As they were finishing the discussion, Hadu presented to Myne small writing boards he had treated like the wall blackboard they had made.
“Oh my god, that would be so useful in class as they are lighter than slates. But I am not sure it would fit in the budget.” Myne said with a sad smile. She heard Millio’s sigh, but he nodded when she turned towards him. Her smile bloomed and he just looked defeated. “Thank you so much, Mayor Millio. You can have one to make quick notes at the office.”
“Of course, I can have one. I am paying for them.”
Myne grinned sheepishly having been caught, and she quickly escaped from the reach of Millio’s knuckles to hide behind Gunther.
The other carpenters having finished presenting the result of their work, Murno stepped forward with his basket.
“Oh, Murno, you have brought the brushes. Good good good. Miss Cathia, could you bring Timia here, so that we can show the effect of the brush on hair?” Myne knew it would not be proper to ask an adult woman to untie her hair in public
Timia was really happy to join them. Tuuli had her sit on one of the new chairs before starting to brush her hair carefully. It took a little while, but the result was really nice. Myne was telling everyone how the brushes had been done, and how they could be made more high quality by sculpting the handle or using more precious wood. A different range of bristles could also be used as she showed by having them feel the soft and hard ones. Cilia seemed really interested in the brushes and started to talk to Murno about production times and prices.
As their daughters were busy, Gunther and Effa took out the bread and the different spreads they had cooked as well as fresh butter. Millio and Gina as well as some crafters gravitated towards them.
“So, trying to bribe us with some food, Gunther.” Joked Millio. “What is that bread? looks unusual.”
“Secret Myne recipe. She wants people's advice as she’d like to research new foods. You’ve tried her food already, Millio, so you do not need to eat this here.”
“Behave Gunther.” chidded Effa. “Myne made a new type of bread and she wanted us to bring some shumil and fish spreads so that you could try it. It is even better when it comes out of the hearth, but still really tasty.”
Mendo came towards them at the sight of food.
“So your daughter invents food as well?” Is there anything she cannot do?”
“She sure has trouble not charging ahead when she has a new idea in mind. But yes, she likes making good food. She has started recently, but she will surely run rampant in the spring with fresh produce everywhere.”
“Fantastic,” beamed Mendo, “do not hesitate to come and see me if you need good ingredients. I have the best in the province, and I have contacts to get more from abroad.”
“That would be most helpful, Master Mendo.” Said Myne who had approached after letting Cilia and Murno discuss the brushes. “Good food is joy for the soul and I hope to discover lots of new things.”
“I’ll make sure to keep some for you when spring comes. You are really a little Flutrane.” Myne looked at him puzzled. “It means you bring change and prosperity, like the goddess Flutrane does after the harsh winter. And even before that I hope, we’ll have to see about my nephew, Ebrim, he is five years old and I hope you can tutor him as you do Timia.”
“It would be my pleasure to teach him as well. And I hope to have more children come and learn. Even when you know the subject yourself, it is not easy to teach children, and I am proud to say I seem to have a knack at it. If it was possible, I would love to have all the children attending the school, but I guess it is too early for such aspirations. One day for sure. For the moment, the teaching is done in the afternoon in this room. Mayor Millio is paying me three small copper per session. We could have someone come with Ebrim on his first session to see if it is satisfactory.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that. Tomorrow should be fine.”
“I thank you for your patronage, Master Mendo.”
“It is normal for us, prominent members of the town, to promote such an initiative. It will indeed make apprenticeship easier. Make sure to have him learn your way of calculating. And actually, would it be possible for you to teach adults as well?”
“Absolutely, we could maybe organise evening classes for people who are working during the day. Maybe just a bell long. Keep it short for people who have already had a day’s work.” The masters listening around were agreeing that it would be really better in the evening, less disruption to the workshop and quite a few of them were interested in attending.
“What do you think about this, Millio?” Asked Mendo.
“We have the room ready now, and we even have a teacher willing,” Millio said when looking at Myne who nodded happily. “I’ll organise a town meeting on waterday to see how many are interested and organise it.”
They all moved to the table to try the new bread, and the reactions were really good, particularly from the women who appreciated the lightness of the bread while the men liked the tastiness of the different spreads. While they were enjoying the food , Myne was inquiring if there were sources of sweet products like honey, and while there were some sweet fruits, in particular from the duchies to the south, none that was used like honey was. She asked Mendo if he could set up a meeting with the farmers as Myne would like to have an extensive discussion about what was produced in the province. He was more than happy to get it done.
Myne informed all that she would be selling the recipe to make the fluffy bread on earthday, and that it took about five days then to have the secret ingredient ready for use. As for the spreads, she could as well sell the recipe but it asked for different kitchen practices so she would just visit the homes that wanted to buy it. After some discussions, they agreed that 5 medium coppers for the bread recipe should be fine and 5 large coppers for kitchen techniques. While she knew that past the first sales, it would naturally spread through the community with the grapevine, it would bring her initial funds for other projects she could have.
Before the end of the gathering, Myne took a moment to congratulate the carpenters for their work. And she hinted that she would have new orders to pass for a new project closer to spring. It would be mostly for the furniture makers, but she was going to visit Dimir’s workshop first as she needed a big discussion about trees. She needed information about young trees and their fibres, so she would like to have a long chat with lumberjacks.
As they were talking, she could see the ladies were talking with Effa and Tuuli who had taken their veils. So she excused herself to the carpenters and as she approached, she heard they were making a deal for Effa and Tuuli to visit them at home and take a personal order to craft veils for them. Myne felt really proud that her family was beginning to strive with the new possibilities she offered. Her sister was not yet an apprentice and she was already receiving orders.
She went to sit beside Gunther.
“Mum and Tuuli are truly working hard. I am so proud of them.”
Gunther put his big arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently.
“Of course, Effa has always been the best. And Tuuli is our daughter, so she is perfect, just like you. I’ll have to step up my game to keep up with all you wonderful ladies in my life.”
“You don’t have to worry. You’ve always been there to support us. I am the healthiest I have ever been thanks to you. I could not ask for a better dad.” Myne put her arms around his waist and gave him a big squeeze. “Come spring, I want to see and try lots of new things so I am sure you’ll be there to guide me.”
“You can count on me, sweetie. I’ll be sure to show you everything I know.”
“Thanks, dad.”
With the discussions coming to a close, everybody filed out of the meeting room, Timia parading with her neatly brushed hair. Millio took the family to the side and paid for Myne’s lessons to Timia. From the following week, Effa or Gunther would come to get Myne at the end of Fruitday to get her pay for that week. That way she would not have to carry too many coins. Better safe than sorry, concluded Millio. They went home for lunch.
“So Mom, Tuuli, did you get orders for veils?”
“Yes, Mom and I will go visit to discuss what they want exactly. We’ll have at least six to make. I already have things I want to try.”
“Oh, I’ll show you how to craft a really nice padding to make the headband look more luxurious. And, mom, do not hesitate to use my earnings from teaching if you need materials for the veils.”
“Actually, I might do that, and buy clothes to make you a dress appropriate for someone who will be teaching the children of important people in town.”
Myne looked at her patched up dress and had to agree that a new dress would be a good thing for her position.
“Maybe a kind of light cloak I could wear when I teach would be nice. Oh, I have an idea. Tonight I’ll ask you to carve some buttons for me, dad, if that is ok with you.”
“Arf, you know it is always ok to ask your dad.”
That afternoon, Myne and Tuuli went to study with Timia and Cathia. They actually spent more time talking about the veils. As they were really engrossed in the discussion, Myne slipped out of the room and went to Millio’s office where he was working with Alfo.
“Good afternoon, Miss Cathia is talking veils with Timia and Tuuli. so I thought I could maybe come and help you with anything you need.”
“Afternoon Myne. so you are going to cost us a fortune in novelty products for the ladies?” Joked Alfo.
“Stop joking, Alfo, it will come out of your pay.” grunted Millio. “After what you showed us this morning, would you be fine doing some account checking, Myne.”
“Of course, if you show me the documents, I’ll do the calculations.”
Millio took boards off the desk and showed them to Myne. He explained that, as mayor, he was responsible for reporting what the town and the surrounding farms produced. That way, taxes were calculated by the noble scholar that came during the fall. It was important to keep abreast of the accounting boards. Trying to calculate everything a week before the scholar’s visit was the best way to lose your life. Myne was quite taken aback by the harsh possibility, but Millio explained that, while the provincial nobility was quite good humoured, the tax scholar was a noble from the capital working directly for the Aub’s office and after the embezzlement done by the previous Giebe, they had a strict eye on the province accounting.
Once Millio had shown her the boards he wanted verified, Myne went full calculator mode. The two men were bemused by the girl and the speed of her work. But she was clearly gifted in maths. After a bell of work, she had finished and was asking questions about the organisation of the paperwork. Alfo took some time to explain to Myne how they stored the different forms they used to follow trade and production. Myne started to offer some different ways they could improve it to make verifications and follow up easier.
She told them she would be happy to come and help them in the morning as the winter weather would prevent her from going foraging with Tuuli.
Millio told her that would have to wait for her to have the school up and running as it was more important. For the children and for the adults too, so Millio did not want her to work in the morning as well.
On the way home, Tuuli and Myne talked about what Tuuli had planned for the veils with Myne offering insights. That evening, Myne showed Effa and Tuuli her idea about padding for the headbands and how with stitching you could shape the padding to improve the look of the headband. It was a nice evening working together as a family.
The following days were quite busy for Myne as she was making lace in the morning, before going to teach in the afternoon. She soon had six children from three years old Timia to 8 years old Alys. The first day with the guardians watching was stressful, but the children took well to her teaching and the adults were all really impressed.
From then on, it became her routine each day, trying to improve the school. It surprised everyone when she asked for cleaning supplies and got the children to clean the room and the corridor outside at the end of the school time. She explained it was to teach the children respect and responsibility, as well as improving their learning environment.
The following week, she started teaching her maths to adults who wanted to. It looked funny to her to have all these adults, merchants and crafters, usually a dozen each evening listening to a small child. At first they struggled, so she slowed down her teaching speed. She had worked out a discount scheme for families to try and get the most people in class.
She had some families, Millio’s amongst the firsts, asking her to come and teach her cooking and fluffy bread. She then put aside a morning to come to their home and show them. There were quite a few chuckles at how easy making her bread was once you knew the method. On Myne’s side, she was pleased to see new vegetables, fruits and local meats. When she was home she would talk to her family about it and what she would like to cook.
She was surprised that they did not get any snow. One day, Mendo explained to her that in the past, winters were harsher because of a really powerful fey beast from some other duchy to the north, but it was weaker now, and so were winter. He guessed some day, they would not need a winter house anymore and farmers would stay in their farms all year round. This magic land was really magical if the weather was decided by monsters far away.