When Gian arrived in the Marquis' office, he saw his father and older brother having a serious discussion. Gian can feel the tense atmosphere between them. Gian is about to ask what happened when they stop what they are talking about and pretends as if that discussion didn't happen. Viel takes a deep breath before he urges Gian to sit next to him.
"What do you want to discuss with me, father?" Gian asked, ignoring his older brother who's tapping the small space on the sofa. He chooses not to ask what they are discussing. Maybe it concerns with their careers and they don't need him to interfere with it.
"Sit down first." Frederick said and points the chair next to his table. Gian sits on it and asks his father again. Viel whines asking him why he doesn't want to sit next to him, but Gian ignores him again.
"During my inspection, I discovered that one of our biggest plantation of sugar canes was destroyed. We actually expect to harvest it after two months. But because of the abnormal hot weather this year, the sugar canes were destroyed and the soil became dry. It was estimated that we can't plant any sugar canes for the whole year."
Viel gasp while Gian listens calmly. He already experienced this problem in his first life. The drought unexpectedly occurred at that time and it destroyed a lot of plantations. There sugar cane plantation was also included.
The sugar used in different bakeries, pastry shops and desserts in every nobles' table all came from their plantation. The nobles were already used in eating sweets during tea parties. Without sugar, even the most delicious dessert will taste bland.
"Not only that, some of our tea plantations too are affected." Frederick continues. "Many of our plants used to make tea were destroyed by the pests and dry weather."
Tea is also considered as a luxury item for the nobles. Tea is always served for the nobles and they cannot be missed drinking a cup of it before the day ends. Without any kind of tea to brew, there will be no tea party in the next few months.
When this problem occurred in Gian's first life, the whole kingdom of Fresiala was in deep crisis. The people lose their appetite, especially the nobles. Having used at eating desserts and drinking tea, the nobles can't easily adjust when these two temporarily disappeared on their tables.
They can possibly buy sugar and tea from the neighboring country, but chose not to do it. The neighboring kingdom is selling those things for a very high price. The kingdom of Fresiala is being tight with the budget in case there's another problem that occurred.
"How many sacks of sugar and boxes of tea are there in our storage houses?" Viel asked.
"We still have three storage houses full of sugar and tea. Each storage houses have 200 sacks of sugar and 100 boxes of tea. The first storage house will automatically reserve for the Royal family. In my estimation, the remaining two storage houses it will only last for four months." Frederick answers.
"How about if we try to get these items from our neighboring country?" Viel asked again.
"Not possible. The drought is not only happening in our kingdom. They will surely try to conserve their supplies too. Even if they can sell us these items, they will triple the amount of it."
'As expected.' Gian thought. 'The things that happened before are happening again.'
"Ha! I'm so glad that I don't need to eat just to survive." Russel said.
Gian glances at his father and older brother who are still talking about the situation. As expected, he is really the only one who can hear Russel.
"Being a noble is really troublesome sometimes. So what if there will be no sugar and tea for the whole year? Eating less sugar will prevent them from getting a diabetes. Didn't they know that drinking too much tea is also harmful to our bodies? Boo! I would still prefer to eat pizza and drink a glass of cold beer to satisfy my appetite."
Gian just let Russel to talk since no one can hear his rambling aside from him. Although Gian heard some foreign words from Russel again, he just keeps his mouth shut. It would be weird if he will ask Russel while he's in the presence of his family.
"If they still want to intake any sugar, they can actually use crystallized honey or coconut sugar."
"Honey? Coconut?" Gian repeated the words.
"Are you saying something, Gian?" The Marquis asked.
The two people having a serious discussion a while ago are now looking at him.
"I mean... Why don't we use any substitute for sugar and tea?" Gian asked.
"Substitute?"
"Yes. We can actually find a good substitute for these items until the drought disappears."
"Mind sharing your idea with us, little brother?" Viel asked with a smile.
"Honey." Gian said.
"Hey! You are stealing my idea!" Russel protested, but Gian ignores it.
Actually, Gian remembered something when he heard Russel's rambling. A few years later, after the drought incident happened in the kingdom, someone discovered that they can use honey as a substitute for sugar. A commoner actually thought of this idea, but was rejected because people are not used to it. When people were introduced to something, it was either they accept it or not. Since it was just a commoner who introduced this idea, then the people in high society didn't need to bat an eye and reject this idea immediately. But when the Duke of Argenta introduced honey as a good substitute for sugar, the people that time welcomed it with open arms.
Gian looked at his father. Frederick has a good reputation with all the nobles in the kingdom of Fresiala. He also has a large connection in business. If his father will help him introduce this idea, there's a huge chance that people will choose to adapt and accept the idea.
"I don't doubt you, Gian. But I want to know if it is possible?" Viel asked.
"Yes." Gian answered immediately. "Honey is made by bees from plants that produced nectars. This is much sweeter than the usual sugar we used in our food. Not only that, but it can also give a distinct flavor to our food which makes it tastier."
"But because of the drought, the bees will also be affected by it." Frederick said. "Even if we use your idea, we're still not sure if the supply of honey will be enough for us."
"Because we rarely use honey, we often ignore it and use other ingredients to make our food. The production of honey this year were enough to supply our needs until the drought disappears."
"Will it do well if we release it in the public market?"
"Of course. In fact, we can sell it for a cheap price. Because the procedures of it are not complicated like how we make the sugar, we can lessen the amount of its production cost and sell it for a lower price. Even the commoners can afford to buy it."
Frederick is silently listening to his youngest son. With Gian's words, he starts considering the cons and pros if he will use honey as a substitute for sugar this year. Just like what Gian said, honey is cheaper than sugar. It can also give a distinct flavor on the food if used as the main ingredient.
"How about the tea? Half of the kinds of tea we usually drink are is affected by this drought. The main types of tea we drink will be limited and can possibly be sold in the market for a higher price. Do you also have an idea or suggestion for it?"
"That's..."
"Lavender, Turmeric, Lemon, Hibiscus, Ginger, Rose, Jasmine, and Spearmint." Russel suddenly said. "Aside from the things I've mentioned, there are still a lot of plants that can be used to make tea. It's not limited to chamomile and camellia only, you know."
While listening to these family discussions, Russel suddenly has a realization. In this era, the people's way of thinking and their civilization are still undeveloped. There are things that haven't been discovered. The example of it is the usage of honey.
Just like what Gian said a while ago, the people here are not considering the honey as a substitute for sugar even if the similarity of the sweetness level is the same. It is because they are still ignorant about its contribution and usage. If they already knew about it, the Marquis or Viel will think of it immediately. Discovering this problem, Russel praises himself.
As a former human who lived in a modern world, Russel is certain that he can definitely help Gian in a lot of ways. This will be much easier than he thought. But since he can't move, Russel will think of all the ideas. And then, he should let Gian do the physical works.