I come to see my father again while bring the gyoza dish to taste. This time beside bring the gyoza to taste, I want to talk about the master plan for territory development in the future. When I enter my father's study room, I see him busy checking documents in his desk.
"Good morning, Father"
"Good morning, Henry…although it's almost noon"
Well, I left my sister's room around 10 o'clock and spend about an hour in the kitchen. My father is not wrong when say it's almost noon.
"You're not playing a game again with uncle Jake? I will feel guilty if you neglect your work because the game I give to you"
"In working time, I'm working, in leisure time, I'm playing. Oh, how if I retired and make you the successor? I can use my time to playing all day"
"Father!!"
"Just kidding Henry, if I give you my position now, you will not have enough time to make children with your beloved women"
"That's not funny, father, if you really that busy, that's mean my little sisters will never be born in the first place"
"Hahaha…that's only proof your father still a man at least. So, what you bring this time, Henry?"
"A dish called gyoza, please have a taste father"
I put the gyoza plate in front of him with the dipping bowl too.
"Am I supposed to dip this gyoza first on this sauce before eating it, Henry?"
"Yes, that how to eat it"
"Alright, let me try"
My father takes one gyoza from the plate and dips it on the sauce before takes a bite and chews it.
"Hmmm….nice, but the size is rather small. What is this dish would be? A snack?"
"Can be eaten as snack or side dish when served with noodles"
"Noodles? Is that a new dish name?"
"Yes, it would be served during lunch today along with this gyoza"
"Hahaha…now this castle will not lack snack. After frikadel then croquette and now gyoza. Tell the cooks there to make more gyoza, Henry. I will have it for a snack in the afternoon"
"Sure father, I still going there to make another dish again for dinner"
"Hmm…good. This gyoza tastes good and suits my taste. So, what do you want to discuss with me? You're not just come to have me try your new dish, right?"
"Ah yes. There's something I want to discuss with you, father"
"Alright, speak up your mind, son…I'm all your ears"
"For the first, I want to hear, father's plan in managing the territory. What's your plan in the future for this land, father"
"Plan? There's no such thing in my mind"
I get dumbfounded when hearing my father's words. No plan? How did he manage his territory so far?"
"Huh? Then how you manage your land all this time, father?"
"Same like other nobles for their land. I give my people protection and they pay the taxes for whatever they make in our land"
"Err… Did you ever told to our people like 'Hey, this land is good to grow wheat, you should cultivate wheat here' or 'the woods in here is good for building, you can make lumbermill in here'…something like that, father?"
"Nope. I let our people decide their own way of living by their selves. I don't interfere with their choices to make living, but if there're threats for their peaceful life in here likes bandit attack, I will hunt and exterminated that bandits with my own hand"
Ugh, I wonder how he manages other matters besides security matter in his land. It's like a miracle that his land still on the good condition under such management.
"Father…what if your people need something from you?"
"Usually your late mother that gives me the proposal to improves living condition in our land. Like when we lack clothes, your mother will say 'darling, I think we should bring more people who can make clothes for our land' or when we understaffed to running castle business, she will say like this 'dear, there's a lot vacant place in our castle while there are many people who don't have shelter to stay, why don't we take them to stay with us'…and I always did what she asks from me"
Oh, so it's Henry's late mother who supports her husband to manage his territory. It's like what people saying, 'behind a great man there's a great woman'. No wonder after my mother passed away, Harvard territory facing trouble and declined.
"Father….I also have a proposal to improve our land for a better place. Would you listen to me?"
"Sure. Looking at you make me remember your mother. Not in her appearance but for her wisdom. You're like a combination between my traits and your mother traits. You're brave like me and also wise like your mother. Please say what in your mind, son"
"Well, actually I get this idea when I return from the beach. Do you remember the Silver grass village that I told you before? Near silver grass village, there are lies a vast grassland which make that place suitable for husbandry and raising cattle. The location also strategic as a place that connected between settlement in beach and our castle. My intention is to make Silver grass village as center for horse breeding, cow and sheep domestication, trading post, meat, skin, milk production center. Other than Silver grass village, after the salt production is stable, I want to make land survey in the entire our territory and mapping potency from each place. For the place that good for potato cultivation, I will make that place as the potato production center, which also applied for other agricultural product like wheat, corn, vegetables, and fruit"
My father's listening to my proposal carefully. After I finish explaining my plan, he asks me questions
"Henry…is that some kind of centralization of production? And what are difficulties that we will face to apply this system?"
"Yes, father. It's some kind of centralization system. the problem is this not supposed to stop just in production, this must be supported by processing industry, like for wheat production center, should have mills that changed the wheat into flour and bakery which turn the flour into bread. This will create things with a higher value than the original product"
"Interesting idea. But that will require big capital for the realization that idea, right?"
"Yes, father. We need capital for that in big amount, so I also propose to spare some parts from salt profit to support this idea"
"Hmm…I don't mind, besides this salt production is your idea in the first place. If you want to use the yield from this salt to support your other ideas, you got my approval"
I still have more issues to discuss with my father when Uncle Jake knocks the door, open it, and bring news for my father.
"Master, a soldier guard from East border fort comes to seek audience and have an important matter to report"
My father frowned when hearing this news. I also curious with what that guard will report to my father
"A guard from the East border fort? Let him in, you can stay here and listen too, Henry"
I stand up from my chair and move to stand behind my father. Not waiting too long, Uncle Jake return with a guard that belongs to east border fort. I wonder what news he brings to my father. I hope the news is not bad news about bandit attack or disaster happen on the east region.