Chapter 22: Japanese People Love the Bathtub
In the morning, I took a walk in the mountains with Rishu. The snow up high hadn’t melted, and more snow had begun to pile on top of it.
I needed about four tons of firewood for the winter. It’s a bit cheaper if I buy it as logs, but if I buy it dried and cut to size for the fireplace like I did yesterday, it costs a fair amount. Plus, once the snow starts piling up, the price of firewood just keeps rising.
Even though I know this, I can’t leave it lying around, so most households can’t buy it all at once.
My house doesn’t have to worry about firewood, but I think it might be a good idea to cut a few trees for maintenance of the mountain.
After returning home, I prepared an early lunch. Since Rishu is a Spirit, he doesn’t get dirty, but I kind of wanted to wash off the mud he got all over himself. I think my stamina has improved quite a bit, but maybe I was tired because he drank some water and curled up by the fireplace to sleep.
I decided to cook some winter vegetables called Rella, which have a strong bitterness, so I had soaked them in water before heading out.
While I was at it, I prepped the main dish. I took the beef that had been marinated in soy sauce, mirin, and rice malt, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and seared the surface in olive oil. Then, I kept it warm in a thick pot until the heat penetrated through the meat.
For the Rella, I sprinkled it with anchovy, salt, olive oil, a hint of garlic, and roasted walnuts.
The prepared meat turned into a makeshift roast beef, so I sliced it thinly and served it with bread. No, wait, soup! The soup is wonderful because if I just leave it on the fireplace, it’ll cook deliciously on its own.
Finally, everything was ready.
The salad had a crisp texture with a slight bitterness, the meat was tender with a hint of soy sauce, the bread was a bit firm, and the hot soup was just perfect. The deliciousness made the mountain hike worthwhile.
Since the Rella was quite tasty, I thought about planting some. No, before that, if a Spirit comes, it should be flowers. When I went to the Spirit’s Branch, it was all about water, flowers, and trees!
I checked on Ash and replaced the water for Az. I make sure to check on them morning, noon, and night. Az hasn’t moved an inch, though. Now, onto the bathtub.
But first, I needed to buy a few more dishes. The Gods have been too much… at least I want to change my dishes. I asked the shop where I bought them about the location of the workshop I was supposed to meet at.
The shop is in the town center, but the workshop is on the outskirts. I thought I saw a lot of large brick structures shaped like bottles, and it turned out they were kilns.
“Hey, I’m Malcolm. I hear you have a new product idea?”
“I’m Jean. It’s not so much an idea as it is a bathtub.”
I shook hands and showed him my scribbled specifications, insisting it was a design.
“Right now, we just received an inquiry for bathtubs from the neighboring country. This is perfect timing.”
When he mentioned the neighboring country… I couldn’t help but think that the inquiry probably originated from my sister and her friend.
It seems there have been several inquiries from high-ranking nobles, and they’ve started various prototypes. Since there are intermediaries involved, the requests have become a bit unclear, but it seems they’re hoping for clawfoot bathtubs.
I just wanted one for myself, but it looks like it’s turning into a flow for selling to nobles. Now that I think about it, the dealings at the Merchant Guild might have seemed odd if I was just trying to get one made for myself.
And then, the good news: it looks like they can do enamel, or rather, they already have enamel. It’s a type that’s baked onto ceramics, which doesn’t quite match my image of enamel, but it is what it is.
So, from that point on, the foundryman joined the meeting. I’ll be funding the development since I want it made anyway. I was a bit nervous, but it seems they’ll make two—one for me and one as a sample—then they’ll take orders and receive half the payment upfront for production, so I’m in the clear.
If it were a patron of the workshop or a secret technique, it would be different, but since I just came up with the idea, as long as it goes through the Merchant Guild, I’ll receive ten percent of the profits for three years. Everything is handmade, and it’s not uncommon for the delivery time to be six months, so I’m not sure if three years is long or short.
Thanks to my sister, it looks like I might be able to recoup what I’m spending? Since I have severed ties, my information shouldn’t reach her, but it feels strange to be involved in this way.
They said they’ve never made something this large before, but they seem to have experience with processing, so that gives me a bit of peace of mind. Since a bathtub takes up quite a bit of space in the kiln, it’ll be pretty expensive, so I hope it succeeds on the first try.
I’ll have to prepare myself for the time it’ll take since they’ll be making a mold from scratch. I should ask the foundryman if I can observe later.
Dinner was out, and the taste was mediocre.
Tomorrow, I’ll go bear hunting and earn a bit. The money I received has dwindled quite a bit. But once the snow piles up, I plan to take a break from hunting. There are demonized bears around, but soon the regular bears will be going into hibernation, and I plan to hunker down at home too.
I prepared to bake bread for tomorrow’s lunch. I planned to make easy sandwiches with the leftover makeshift roast beef and vegetables.
Once I finished preparing, I took a bath and downed a glass of milk before bed. …It would be nice if it could stretch a little longer, you know?