Saturday, March 28, 2015

Westershire: Cheap Peanuts for The Masses pt. 2

That last statement pulled both men out of their pleasant reveries. Gaelor remembered his business manners, straightened his cotton vest, and pulled up his chin.

"Right, of course. So what brings you here today, Mr. Farmer?"

"Well, I've got a full load of peanuts, lying in the 'ole cart back there. Are you still buying at the same price?"

"A copper piece a tentame, like usual. No fluctuations in demand at the marketplace. Loxim says all his parchments add up just right. I'll bring out the scale."

Mr. Breckerstone practically skipped through the door to his back office, excited to grab his shiny new brass scale, which he had recently purchased from Farnan the Smith. Meanwhile, Gregory Farmer strolled out to haul a heaping sack of freshly harvested peanuts from the back of his cart. He lugged the sack over his left shoulder and tottered unevenly back into the shop. He made a mental note to visit to Ranjan later, to see if the carpenter could build a small wooden dolly, this time one with wheels. Or maybe he would just buy some smaller sacks. Back inside the shop, he met Gaelor finishing his calibration with the metal blocks you had to buy from Lord Tame.

"Excellent, just bring those over here, Greg; I've got it all evened out for a tentame."

Greg observed the apparatus, which had a tentame block on one side, sealed with the Lord's brand, and a wooden cup on the other, which from experience both parties knew held about a tentame of peanuts. Everything looked solid, so Farmer heaved his bag onto the counter and untied the twine holding it closed at the top. He poured a good amount into the cup. Critical hit, it was perfect.

"Allright, Greg, that's one", said Gaelor, "let me just pour that into my bag over here and make a tally on my chart. You want a copy as usual, right? Ok, let me just make a tally on this copy over here, as well. And let's go ahead and measure the next tentame.

This process continued all day long, with Greg bringing sacks of dirty peanuts into the shop, and Gaelor helping him to measure them out, very carefully. By sunset, both parchments were full of tallies, Greg's cart was empty, and Gaelor's backroom was full of fresh peanuts. Greg took his tally sheet; Gaelor took his own. They both agreed on the same number, one-hundred and thirty tentames.

Gaelor handed Greg a glittering gold piece and three shiny silver coins. Both were exhausted, and the oxen needed to be fed. The journey home would feel long, but it still wasn't as bad as digging in the dirt all day, collecting the crop. Greg took his coins, placed them in a small velvet sack, and stood up. It was time to go home.

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