Herald of Steel

"The amount of money these women will get you by working double the hours will easily offset that five thousand (5,000) ropals slave cost." Alexander pointed out the simple fact.

And as Gelene's eyes began to bulge with realization, Alexander further added, "And if you really wanted, then you could make these women pay for the slave in installments.

"For example, you can make them pay 50 ropals of the 200 ropals they earn every month and you will recoup that cost in only about eight years."

And then using some more simple maths, Alexander showed Gelene that even after paying 50 ropals for the slave and another 60 to 70 ropals looking after the slave, the tailors will be able to make at least 80 ropals a month of their 200 ropal salary, which would be 30% more than the current 60 ropals.

As Alexander patiently explained this to Gelene, a large, happy smile bloomed on the slave's face, as she exclaimed, "Ahh, master, that's why you're my lord and owner," and then being unable to stop herself, jumped and hugged Alexander.

Feeling Gelene's soft, mature body crush against him, Alexander only lightly chuckle and patted her back."Hahaha, okay, okay,"

But then, as if cashing on Alexander's good mood, Gelene sent a sweet smile and asked, "But master, giving each of the thirty-three tailors under me a slave is too expensive. I can't afford that…" she trailed off suggestively.

'Is this where you suggest another form of payment and then proceed to suck me off?' Alexander rolled his eyes at this play, as he could not help but connect Gelene's way of talking with the cliche 'plumber x housewife' scene.

Though in all honesty, he would not be averse to such an arrangement.

"Fine, fine, will two hundred thousand (200,000) ropals be enough?" Alexander decided to directly give the money Gelene was so coyly asking for.

"Yay, master is the best!" Gelene cheered animatedly like a little girl, raising both her arms up in the banzai pose, another huge smile on her face.

Though manpower was a bit short now, she was confident she could get around that amount of slaves from the recent refugees.

After this was said, Gelene returned to her seat, and then Alexander further advised, "Gelene, do you think we should also expand the spinning shed? We can sell those spun yarn."

The kind of spinning wheel that Alexander invented could spin a bobbin full of yarn in an hour – which was about 100 grams.

But such yarn would be singles.

To make it usable, they had to be plyed, or spun together with another single yard.

This took about another half an hour.

To put into context, an average tunic, depending on the size and thickness, used approximately 700 grams – 1000 grams of yarn.

And the yarn needed for it required close to 50 hours of traditional hand spinning.

Whereas, with the spinning wheel, it would take just 12-15 hours to spin the yarn for it, reducing the cost by at least 20 - 30 ropals.

"Then I will follow master's instruction." Gelene was quick to recognize this potential.

But then she then added, "Also master, you said spinning can be done by everyone. But I think that is not true. I once tried it for myself, and after a few hours of pedaling, I found it to be tiring."

"Also, other than having to constantly move one's feet, they also have to constantly adjust the strength of pinch holding flax to make sure that the leader draws the correct amount."

"Or else the yarn will have different thicknesses along different points. It's all a demanding job." Gelene finished by saying this.

"Hmmm, do you think men would be better then?" Alexander felt that was the reason Gelene was telling him these.

To allocate more even men for her workshops.

"No…no…umm…I was asking if I should increase their wages too," Gelene instead asked about the money issue that they just discussed.

'Hmmm, she seems to be a quick learner,' Alexander liked this question but decided to let Gelene figure this out on her own.

"Do what you think is profitable for the business." Alexander gave an answer which was not an answer.

And this made Gelene imperceptibly pout before immediately hiding it.

'He is hard to make talk,' Gelene had known Alexander to be mostly immune to her charms but still felt a bit disheartened that she could not get everything she wanted out of him.

She had dolled up herself all morning for Alexander, powdering her nose, applying her lipstick, and wearing her best dress and jewelry.

But Alexander had not offered a second glance or uttered a single word of praise.

Alexander pretended to not notice the little bitterness in the ebony beauty's heart, as he instead said, "Gelene I saw the yarn spun and weaved, but where are the dyeing baths? Are they not here?"

All weaved fabric was white until they were put in huge dye baths and then given color.

This dye was extracted from various plant leaves and then soaked in warm water.

And the color extracted depended on the type and even the season the leaves were extracted in.

Additionally, new colors could be made by mixing two different colors, like green was obtained by mixing red and blue.

"Master, dying takes a lot of space and needs to be built near the river or sea to wash away the wastewater. So we send the spun yarn out into the city to get clothed." Gelene told Alexander, adding, "We usually tell the dye house what dyes we would like the day before. The yarn is then mordanted and put into the dyebath by the workers there."

And she finished by saying, "And depending on the color we want and the type of dye we are using, the process can take from several hours to even several days."

"For example, red is particularly hard to dye because the color does not like to sink into the fabrics."

"But once the dyers are confident that the color won't watch away after a few rinses, the dyed yarns are removed from the dyebath, rinsed, and allowed to dry. And all this, from sending the yarn to getting it back typically takes about a week."

'Huh, you learn something new every day,' Alexander said to himself as he did not know all these.

Ancient dye houses were huge industrial buildings that looked literally like modern bathhouses, with the only difference being that instead of just plain bathwater, the tubs were filled with warm dyed water being heated from below, and instead of people taking baths, clothes were bathed in this colorful liquid.

And this huge need for water was also why they needed to be built near a water source, both for its input, but also as a medium to discharge the dye house's waste.

"Hmm, so much does dying cost?" Alexander then asked about the price.

He knew that it could not be cheap.

And the evidence was that almost everyone, or more accurately about 80% of the public wore white or some shade of that.

This also meant that the colorful clothes that TVs and especially isekai animes liked to show were all inaccurate.

And the reason for choosing only white was because clothes, even minus the dyes, just by themselves were very expensive.

For example, even a simple tunic, after all the costs of spinning and weaving, and stitching were taken it account, would cost a hundred twenty to thirty ropals (120 - 130).

And if it was dyed, that could reach 300 to even 500 ropals.

As such the dress Alexander was wearing under his armor, a simple blue tunic, and brown pants that were bought by Nestoras had cost him 6000 tustas (600 ropals).

And that was Alexander's reward for designing that 'super' tent.

While the price of what Gelene was wearing, a bright orange full-sleeved gown, that was probably at least a few thousand ropals.

So it could be seen that clothing was a very lucrative business, and Alexander would just need to break into it.

And Alexnader's spinning wheel was just the thing that could give him the price advantage.

"For the panties and bras, it costs us two to twenty depending on the color," Gelene answered Alexander's inquiry.

The duo then spent a bit more time discussing a few other things.

Particularly they discussed the wedding dresses Alexander had ordered Gelene to oversee, a suit for Alexander, and a crimson, red gown for Cambyses.

"Master, don't worry, I'm personally seeing to it," Gelene seriously swore.

She knew how important that day was to Alexander, and any mistake on her part could easily make Alexander turn her life very uncomfortable.

Soothed by Gelene's words, Alexander did not pry any further, content to let her handle it, as he said, "Good, I trust you and your expertise."

Gelene smiled at this, and then, as if reminded by Alexander, suddenly asked in a pitched voice, "Ahh, master, about the shop? When should I open it And what will be the name?"

Gelene had the product, but her showroom was yet to be opened.

"I will introduce your business with its name and all during my wedding. And you can open the shop the day after." Alexander planned to use that day as a PR stunt, as he then waved his hands and said, "And I will leave the store design and location up to you."

"Then master can I choose a noble's manor?" Gelene quickly asked as she already had some ideas on where to place her shop.

"Sure." Alexander gave his permission and with that, after a bit more casual talks, this fourth shop visit came to an end.

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