Chapter 185. We leave tomorrow

Chapter 185: 185. We leave tomorrow

His grandfather made him explain the tomato containers before agreeing to anything.

They had barely sat down for dinner. A plate of warm food stood in front of Carlos, but the older man had turned a clean wooden tray over and was drawing spaces on its underside with his finger.

"How far apart are you keeping the fruits?"

Carlos showed him with his hands. "About this much. The padding stops them from rolling and we carry the container with both hands."

"And if someone drops it?"

"That is why Kaia, the one I leave in charge for things like this, makes them practise with ordinary tomatoes."

His grandfather looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "I can make a divided box that supports each fruit. You will still need the practice. Send me the dimensions of the ones you actually use. Guessing the size now will waste both our time."

"I can do that when I get back. I can even get you one of those tomatoes with an average size."

Elena pushed the tray away and put Carlos’s fork into his hand.

"You can also eat while talking."

He obeyed, suddenly noticing how hungry he was. His grandfather began asking about the seeds after a few mouthfuls, and Carlos described the little packets and trays he had seen scattered between Rowan’s workers.

They agreed on a first small order after the measurements arrived: fitted containers for the held fruit and dry seed trays.

Ordinary wood, properly joined, with removable divisions so the Farmers could clean them. Carlos would pay the quoted price after checking it.

The arrangement pleased him. Someone who knew what he was making would be preparing things for Ironroot, and Cosmic could handle the actual order without having to search another dozen listings.

"Why didn’t you tell me you made all these things before?" he asked.

His grandfather looked across the table. "You knew I worked with wood."

"Furniture. I thought mostly furniture."

"It was mostly furniture when you last asked. Then I had a customer who kept ordering replacement handles. Another wanted boxes. People give you ideas about what to make by paying for it."

Carlos smiled at that. He had been doing something similar, though his first customer had wanted food nobody in his territory knew how to cook yet.

He told his grandfather a little about the special meals. He left out Mira’s exact process and the ingredients they were still testing. His grandfather asked about regularity instead of asking for the recipe.

"Every day?"

"Twelve portions. We have a short agreement running now. The buyer supplies the difficult meat and other vegetables before Mira cooks."

"Then your next problem will be making the same thing properly when you have another order beside it."

"She has Hearthkeepers learning from her."

"Good. Listen when she tells you what she can manage. If you overwork her, she will not tell you to your face, but the next thing you will realize is a rock-bottom favorability."

Carlos looked toward Elena again. This time she was already looking at him.

"I do listen."

"You do," she said. "But you need to be careful in telling them when to stop too. Sometimes a troop gets too engrossed in their work and can burn themselves out, Carlos. If that happens, you will have to get them to rest for a few days, which hurts business."

Carlos nodded as he could hardly deny it. He tried to etch it in his memory for the future.

After dinner his grandfather stayed seated while Elena collected the plates. Carlos helped carry them, ignoring her first attempt to take the stack from him. When he returned, the older man was looking through the open window toward the workshops.

"Will you keep going out with them?" he asked.

Carlos sat again. He knew which people he meant.

"For the conquests? Yes."

Elena paused by the door.

"Even with all this production?" his grandfather asked.

"The production is why I need to get stronger. Other Lords have more troops than I could feed right now. I have the Goldwins’ protection, but I still want to be able to defend my own people."

"Your mother told me about the office."

Carlos waited, wondering whether another warning about Arthur was coming.

His grandfather rubbed one hand over his knee. "I am glad you have support. Let us know when you need something too. You hardly contact me and all I ever hear about you is when your mother talks about it."

The words made Carlos uncomfortable in a different way.

He had spent so much time explaining that he was busy, and nobody here seemed particularly impressed by it. They had just wanted him to come.

"I will call," he said. "And come over. It won’t be this long next time. I am sorry, Grandpa."

Elena sat beside him and took his hand beneath the table.

"That is all we are asking."

They stayed together for a while after that. His grandfather asked about Cosmic’s parents, and Elena told him about the meal Mira had given her in Ironroot.

Carlos listened with a warmth in his chest, occasionally correcting something when his mother made Rowan sound even more impressive than he already was.

Before leaving, he helped his grandfather back through the Earth portal. He said goodbye at the house, then returned to his own home and entered Ironroot from there, leaving his phone behind again.

The kitchen fires had been lowered when he arrived. Mira was putting away a covered bowl, and she asked about Elena before Carlos could ask anything himself.

"She is good. She says I have to keep eating your food properly."

"Hehe, you already do."

"I told her that."

Mira smiled, then pointed him toward the fields. "Sela wanted you to see something when you came back."

The Hellfire plant had dark peppers hanging beneath its leaves.

Carlos stopped beside the marked space. Sela showed him the completed first-harvest record before touching the plant. Rowan joined them as she supported the first fruit, its red lines bright against her fingers.

"Six ripe ones," she said. "We kept them on until you came."

Carlos watched them pick four for Mira, leaving two marked for seed collection. The original seven reserve seeds were still sealed. He wanted more plants already, but Rowan was examining the first harvested pepper rather than reaching for the packet.

"Let Mira compare it with the bought ones," Carlos said. "Then we decide how much space to give them."

Rowan nodded. "There is another place I would like to see tomorrow, my lord."

"The district?"

"Those preserved beds. I could feel what the plants needed before. Now I want to see what I can understand when I stand beside them."

Carlos looked from the pepper to Rowan’s young face.

"Good. I will speak to Cedric and Lydia. We will leave tomorrow morning."