The factory for the production of the steam engines has finally been completed. It was located on the opposite shore of the Redwater River, on the western side, next to Leaves’ experimental field. The entire site was surrounded by a wooden fence, there was also had a smooth and simple road leading to the pontoon bridge. In Roland’s plan, this area would in the future be turned into an industrial park.
As a result of his wish to expand the building space to far out as was possible, the factory was built using a comparatively easy to use wood material, covering an area of??about 1000 square meters. Anna’s self-built machines had also already been shipped in. There were two steam-driven boring machines, two manual milling machines, a manual grinding machine as well as a manual lathe.
Although the machines were quite simple, at least in theory, its workmanship was nonetheless of the best quality. Apart from the pedals and the other similar parts which were made out of wood, all the other parts were made out of wrought iron or cut out of steel. It could be said that it had been processed from the best materials currently in existence and with the highest possible precision.
Roland feared that he currently would only have ten workers that could come to work in the factory. They were the former town blacksmiths and their apprentices who had seen his presentation in the castle backyard and were now recruited by Roland with a fixed monthly salary of fifty silver royals so that they could learn how to operate the high-end machines. The blacksmiths, together with their forging tools, would all move into the brick house that stood outside the factory. Yet with the exception of some unimportant parts, the steam engine would soon be produced by using only these machines.
To celebrate the opening of the factory and to strengthen morale, Roland decided to gather all the City Hall officials and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and together with a short speech in front of the factory building. With Echo’s simulation of a gun salute, Graycastle Industrial Company had formally announced its establishment.
During the next few days, as the company’s executive Roland came to visit the factory several times. Demonstrating the uses of the machines in person as well as an overall of the steam manufacturing process in general.
The best way Roland could think of to let the illiterate blacksmith grasp the processing and assembling of a steam engine was to map the whole process out. Following the usual process of creating a simple manual, he labeled every part with a name, number and size. Afterward, he used a diagram to show the installation order and the connection pattern. With this task, Soraya had also helped him tremendously in making sure that he could finish this task quickly.
The first few days of production went exactly as he had expected, almost no part that they had made had met the requirements, not even to speak of trying to piece together a whole steam engine.
However, Roland didn’t care about the scrapping rate, in the hands of Anna, in just the blink of an eye, these formerly defective products were soon remade into a new plate. And he believed that with repeated practice, it was only a matter of time before these blacksmiths mastered the production methods to be used in the new era.
In addition to the industrial factory, the Prince also changed the backyard at the North Slope Mine into his own military factory and was now mainly using it for the production of revolver rifles and bullets. Since by now, Karl’s recommended “furnace expert” Lesya had also arrived at Border Town, a new batch of airbags had been installed, substantially increasing the temperature of the furnaces, even making it possible to independently calcining cement powder, making the former calcination room obsolete.
But limited by the current crafting ability, the revolver rifles and bullets production was still completely in Anna’s hands. At this moment, Roland was still busy designing a bullet stamping sheet for a stamping press, although its cutting efficiency wouldn’t be as good as Anna’s direct forming, it could at least reduce her burden.
And also, to thank Anna for nearly half a month of rushed work, he had decided to send her a gift.
*
“A gift?” Anna put down the recently cut part that was still in her hand and stroked a strand of hair that had slipped in front of her forehead back behind her ear, revealing a brilliant smile, “Well?”
“Don’t you want to know what kind of present it is?” Roland teased her.
“En…” she earnestly reflected on it, and after a moment before she said. “I like all the presents that you’ve given me.”
After six months of being nursed back to health, there was now no longer any traces to discover of her time spent in the dungeon. Where she had previously been thin and weak she was now slim, her blues eyes brimming with spirit. Dressed in a white dress she seemed to be fresh and cool, her whole body seemed to be filled with vitality.
