Chương 95: Chapter 2.32: The Long Term

Favius nodded solemnly and shifted in his chair. God damn it. Even with the extra cushion.

"Yes, Father, I believe I found a site. It will be the last one." Serran's eyes fell onto one of the wax tablets, and he clicked his tongue.

"The one with the high valley and the village?"

"Yes," interjected Urania.

"And Favius wants the village to be gone." She grinned at him, and Favius rolled his eyes. Serran merely nodded.

"That ought not to be a problem." He gave Marcus a smile, in response to which the Senator nodded.

"Our tenancy contracts always contain a buyout clause. All else would be foolish." Favius sniffed. Well, that certainly beats sending in the guards and seizing the land. Though even that is probably in the cards here.

"Yes," said Favius.

"It's also relatively close to the estate. Do you have the surveying materials ready?" He looked at Serran, and the man nodded.

"Indeed. A work crew with ropes and stakes will be at your disposal tomorrow." Marcus whispered with Antonius while he bent over one of the more detailed maps.

"A curious location," began Marcus after Antonius had finished.

"And you're insisting on height differences and small creeks in close vicinity instead of just building our workshops where the logistics of river transport would be favorable." He narrowed his eyes.

"Son, by now I have learned to recognize the shape, if not the objectives, of your schemes. Tell me why." Marcus demanded, and his eyes flashed golden. Favius smiled and looked first at Urania, then at Caliga, both of whom were grinning. He remained silent while smiling mysteriously until his older sister huffed.

"Come on, don't be so mean to Dad." She turned to her father.

"You know those bucket wheels that they use down in the plains for irrigation, right?"

"Indeed," began Marcus.

"But if you desire running water in the workshops, wouldn't one of the many smaller creeks with a slight height difference have done the same? Or using a screw pump to get water from the river? After all, slaves and oxen are far from expensive." Urania and Caliga looked at Favius. The question appeared in their eyes. He let out a long breath. Well, I mean, at some point I'll have to tell them. And given the current situation, is there really any point in being coy around such ideas? Fuck it.

"Urania, would you please explain it for the rest of the class?" Urania straightened with a smug expression.

"Well," she began in a lecturing tone, "you see, Father, while for the screw pump it is muscle power that turns it, the bucket wheel is turned by the water itself, isn't it?"

"Indeed," answered Marcus, his voice oddly careful. Favius grinned. I think his political education is hurting him. Instead of being curious, he is looking for a trap. Urania rotated a finger in a small circle.

"But the interesting thing is that the bucket wheel uses the movement of the water to lift water with its buckets. Yet it still rotates around its axle. If you were to affix a wagon-like, long axle to the wheel, you could use the water's movement to move some device like a press." Marcus narrowed his eyes.

"That is certainly an interesting idea." Antonius took in a sharp breath, and he looked at Favius.

"You mentioned that there is a need to pulp the cloth and to transport things uphill. You mean to use water wheels powered by the flow of water to drag the wares up to the workshops instead of using ox carts?" Favius couldn't help but snort.

"Well, I didn't actually consider a lift, but no," he replied.

"It's not something that will be immediately useful, but in the future..." He tilted his head. No, a lift would be ridiculous, but how did he figure that one out so fast? He gestured at Urania, and she went on.

"Mechanical power—""—is free and consistent and does not require the overhead of oxen or laborers," began Serran. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He looked at Favius.

"You mean to suggest that pressing, milling, grinding, and crushing might be powered entirely independently of muscles?" The Majordomo shifted about excitedly.

"If that would work... the amount of labor we could save..." Marcus shook his head.

"Surely a small rushing river cannot contain enough power for meaningful applications." Brutus snorted.

"It is clear that you never witnessed the power of the sea, Brother. If you had ever been on the ocean during a storm, you would think of the lengths water will go to reach the abyssal depths where it belongs with more respect. After all..." He gestured in the direction of the mountains.

"Is it not the water that carves deep gorges into the soil?" Favius and Serran began murmuring, and suggestions were flung about until Favius cleared his throat loudly.

"Please, I believe we had another subject for today. Using water to power devices is only a theoretical curiosity." Marcus gave Favius an abashed smile.

"Indeed, son, indeed. We ought to focus on what matters in the present." Yet Favius couldn't help but reciprocate the man's smile. It's actually fun to see him getting excited. Shows that they aren't dumb. He has the vision that I need him to have as the CEO of my business empire. Serran, too, nodded.

"Very well, Young Master. Then tomorrow I shall accompany you with the surveying crew and serve the eviction notices to the villagers." He nodded, considering.

"It would be wise to simply use the village for accommodations while we are building the dormitories." Marcus studied Serran.

"Couldn't we simply use the village in the long run? Grow it? Potentially use the freedmen for all the other tasks that will surely be required outside the skilled labor at the workshops?" Serran tilted his head in consideration, but Favius shook his head.

"No. I have plans involving the entire valley. Suffice it to say that should those ideas you all just discussed regarding the power of water work out, nobody will live in that valley in a few years." Serran shrugged.

"I bow to the wisdom of the Young Master." The twitching of the side of the man's mouth did not escape Favius. Caliga leaned forward.

"All right. Serran, Dad." She looked to the side.

"What do you think about the blueprints we came up with?" Majordomo and Senator exchanged another look as Serran shifted his stack of wax tablets about.

"Your ideas for the workshops. They speak to an interesting philosophy of design, that much is certain." Marcus nodded.

"Indeed. Using long buildings and placing them with the explicit intent to elongate them further to extend the workshop." He let out a long breath.

"It makes me shudder to think of the scale you eventually intend to produce things at." Favius just shrugged while Urania sniffed.

"Well, if something is worth doing, it's worth doing big, isn't it?" Brutus chuckled and nodded.

"Indeed, Brother. I thought you had by now grasped your son's ambitions." Marcus shook his head and gave Favius an unreadable look.

"Ambitions indeed. My son has ambitions that I would dismiss as hubris if I had not seen and verified every detail for myself. Still, the thought that all those ventures could again double in size before any of you reach your second majority..." He shook his head and took a rather long drink of wine before refilling his cup. Favius grinned sheepishly, observing his father. Well, let's hope that his alcohol consumption doesn't actually scale linearly with learning about my business goals.

Otherwise he'll be an alcoholic in a few years, and I certainly can't have that. Caliga looked at Serran.

"So, Majordomo, you're going to design all the stuff outside the workshops?" Serran raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I do indeed believe that taking care of stuff is part of my sworn duties." He, too, took a sip of wine before studying Favius's blueprints again.

"Those ideas of long buildings with identical sections..." He scratched his chin.

"It might indeed be wise to apply that to the dormitories and warehouses as well." Marcus tilted his head.

"You mean to say my son's ideas constitute a useful advancement of architecture?" Serran nodded eagerly.

"Yes, yes. Currently, whenever we need a new building, we build it for that purpose. And once it has reached its capacity, we build an additional or new one. But this approach of..." He paused and snapped his fingers.

"Modularity," Favius suggested.

"Exactly," added Serran.

"I will think on how to integrate it into the future planning of our estates." He grabbed an empty wax tablet and began scribbling and murmuring. Favius let out a long breath while Marcus gave him a fondly exasperated smile.

"Well, son, perhaps I ought to arrange for a tutor to teach you the art of civic architecture in the course of your education." Favius was about to shake his head, but Brutus gently elbowed his arm. He paused. Why? Oh, this isn't actually a bad idea. With my plans, understanding civic engineering and architecture, and the building of buildings... it won't only be useful, but necessary at some point. He gave Brutus a smile and a nod before inclining his head to his father.

"That would be most appreciated, Father. Not that I intend to become an architect, but..." Urania's eyes lit up.

"Planning cities sounds exciting!" She sniffed.

"There's so much weird stuff I saw in Cindrath, like stalls and hovels. All that could all be much more sensibly organized." Favius took a deep breath. Why do I have a feeling that Urania is going to independently derive brutalist-style living blocks? Well, something to nip in the bud when the time comes. Waiting for the Majordomo, they all enjoyed some snacks until Serran finally raised his head and blinked. The man's face reddened.

"Excuse me, Lords and Ladies. I did not mean to interrupt our discussions. I just—" Marcus laughed and slapped the Majordomo on the shoulder.

"No need to apologize, old friend. After all, I would be foolish to interrupt you when the Muses have gifted you with inspiration for improving my lands."

"Thank you, Dominus," murmured Serran.

"But indeed, the buildings, warehouses, and dormitories will be designed based around the idea of being modular. As for the administration building..." He trailed off, and Brutus snorted.

"Do not be shy, Serran. I do have a feeling that that might become your new main office, and you ought to build all that you think necessary." Favius shook his head.

"No. Decide what you think is necessary, and then triple it." Marcus stroked his beard before nodding.

"That seems prudent, given how things are developing." Serran smiled.

"Very well. If those affairs are settled now, we need to speak of one last thing. Personnel. Until now you have been using estate slaves with other duties. And—""I'm taking Beren and Veren. They're working for me," cried Caliga, almost jumping out of her seat. Urania, too, stood up, glaring across the table in indignation.

"No, that's unfair," she hissed.

"You can have Beren, but Veren has been helping me a lot. I want him."