Chapter 348 - Chapter 348 Chapter 347 The Bargain Delivered to the Door The
Chapter 348 of "Exploring Technology in a Wizard World" starts the action: âLord Richard, you donât know, although this glass tube might be a bit expensive, the... Find out what happens!
âLord Richard, you donât know, although this glass tube might be a bit expensive, the glass factory gave this as a bonus!â Alex said as he opened the box.Richard looked inside and saw that the box was divided into many small compartments, each containing powders of different colors, blue, red, greenâŠ
âWhat is this?â Richard asked.
âThis is⊠a treasure!â Alex raised his voice, his eyes quickly darting around in their sockets as if looking for the right words, âLook at these colors, look at this vibrance, lookâŠâ
Eventually, perhaps realizing that he couldnât think of any new words to say, Alex swallowed and added, âAnyway, itâs very precious, thatâs for sure. Itâs a⊠dye given by the people at the glass factory, can be used for many things. So, if the glass tubes are a little expensive, itâs still⊠justifiable.â
âReally?â Richard asked.
âReally.â Alex nodded, though in his heart he was thinking: Not really. He had acquired it a long time ago from a down-and-out minstrel and to this day had no idea what it was good for. According to the minstrel, it was indeed a pricey dye, but in his view, it was worth crap! Not even a single silver coin. Today Richard had shown dissatisfaction, so as a favor, he decided to get rid of the item by giving it to Richard, just not sure if Richard would be satisfied with it.
With some trepidation in his heart, Alex watched Richard take the box and begin to examine it closely.
A quick glance was all it took for Richard to be sure that most of the dyes in the box were common and worthless. But when his gaze fell on the red dye in the box, his eyes flashed and his eyebrows raised.
Richard had thought that the red dye in the box would also be a common Medieval dye, extracted from sappanwood, shellac, or lichen. After use, it would fade to different degrees, slowly turning reddish-brown, or brown.
But after a closer look, Richard realized that the red dye might actually be a special material with high medicinal value.
Logically speaking, such dye would be chemically synthesized and should not exist in a Medieval world. However, considering that this world had wizards, and that alchemy and alchemy practices were rampant, it wasnât impossible that it was indeed produced.
If it really was the caseâŠ
Richard turned to Alex and said, âWait for me a moment!â
He took the dyes from the box and hurried into the house to start testing what exactly the dye was.
After a short while, the test was complete, and Richard was certain in his heart that his guess was rightâthe dye was not normal dye but a very special, very useful material. To be honest, the red dye in the box was worth far more than the price paid for a thousand, two thousand glass tubes. He had found a great bargain, a very big oneâa bargain proactively brought to him by Alex.
Perhaps the dye wouldnât be of much use now, but in a critical moment, it could save a life.
After closing the box, Richard walked out of the house, went into the yard, and looked towards Alex.
Alex was still feeling uneasy when Richard asked, âWhere exactly did you get the dye in this box?â
âThe glass factoryâŠâ said Alex weakly.
âReally?â Richard didnât believe it at all, âAre you really sure itâs from the glass factory? Then if I ask you to bring another box of the same dye, can you do that?â
âUh, wellâŠâ Alex looked at Richard, his mouth opening and closing, and then caved in, deciding to come clean the next moment.
âMy dearest friendâLord Richard, I was wrong, I shouldnât have lied to you, this dye isnât from the glass factory, itâs actually from a pauper who owes me moneyâŠâ
After a while, Alex explained the provenance of the materials clearly, his small eyes hopefully looking at Richard, tentatively asking, âUm, you⊠you wonât hit me, right?â
âIf I wanted to hit you, youâd already be lying on the ground,â Richard said.
Alex: ââŠâ
âAlright, letâs leave it at that,â Richard sighed, not bothering to argue with Alex any more. âIâll take the box, and Iâll pay you the price for the glass test tubes, two and a half silver coins each. If you find similar dyes in the future, make sure to bring them to me. Iâll pay top dollar.â
âDefinitely!â Alex patted his chest and said, âGuaranteed.â
âGreat, take this money,â Richard said, handing Alex ten low-grade crystal coins and a papyrus scroll he took out from his pocket. âFive of the coins are the final payment, and the other five are a deposit for the next order. I need a batch of new glassware, long glass tubes and such. The list and specific requirements are all on the papyrus scroll.â
âIs that soâŠâ Alex opened the papyrus scroll, quickly scanned it, and said, âNo problem, Iâll make sure itâs done. Iâll get right on that.â With that, he stepped towards the exit.
Just then, Pandora, who had been cleaning flasks in the laboratory, came out the door. She first glanced at Alex, then saw two boxes of glass tubes in the courtyard. Pandora blinked in surprise before her eyes lit up.
âRichard! Richard!â Pandora called out. âDo all these new tubes need to be cleaned?â
âUh, wellâŠâ
âIâll clean them!â Pandora said loudly, striding over to the boxes.
Alex, who hadnât left yet, saw that the boxes he had struggled to move were effortlessly picked up by Pandora, one in each hand, as she quickly carried them towards the laboratory.
ThisâŠ
Alexâs eyes widened as he instinctively shrank his neck, feeling sure that this little girl in purple could punch him flying with a single blow. He hurriedly quickened his pace, eager to get out and away from this terrifying place.
Just then, as Pandora carried the boxes towards the door, she used a bit too much force, and the poorly constructed box cracked. Pandora was left holding a plank in her hand, while the rest of the box fell apart and unceremoniously crashed to the floor.
âCrash, crash, crash, crashâŠâ
The sound of glass test tubes shattering had never been so clear.
ThisâŠ
Pandoraâs initially joyful expression froze. She looked at the plank in her hand and took a while to realize what had happened. She quickly protected the other intact box by holding it close to her chest, then, blinking, she looked at Richard with a touch of guilt, âUm⊠Richard, it wasnât on purposeâŠâ
âMmâŠâ Richard exhaled and said in a calm voice, âI believe you didnât mean to do it. You⊠um⊠just take the remaining box of glass test tubes and move it inside to wash slowly. Iâll take care of the rest.â
âOkay.â Pandora nodded and carried the box inside.
Richard watched the box smashed in the courtyard, the glass shards scattered on the ground, and couldnât help but shake his head.
He had thought that 500 test tubes would satisfy Pandoraâs needs for at least ten days or half a month. Now, it seemed overly optimisticâon just the first day, half were destroyed, and the other half probably wouldnât last much longer.
Looking up, Richard called out to Alex, who was almost out the door, âAdd 500⊠no, 1000 more glass tubes to the list I gave you.â
âAlright, alright, no problem,â Alex agreed, nodding and fleeing out the door.