Rising from the Slum City of Reincarnation in Another World ~ Gathering, Hunting, and Living a Slow Life by Eating - Chapter 33

Rising from the Slum City of Reincarnation in Another World ~ Gathering, Hunting, and Living a Slow Life by Eating

Chapter 33   Basket making

Wednesday morning.

Once again, I wake up to the sound of the church bell.

“Hehe, Ed, I love you.”

“Ah, Minya, good morning. I love it too.”

“Nyaha, I’m so happy.”

Minya is adorable.

She’s attached to me, like a cat.

Looks like it’s going to rain today.

After breakfast, I’ll start my activities.

“I used the basket for fishing yesterday, so I’m thinking of making a new one today.”

“Oh, that sounds good.”

The one I used for fishing yesterday got soaked, so I’ll use it specifically for fishing.

I’ll need to get a new one for regular use, but for now, let’s make it ourselves.

Yesterday, I had them gather some ivy for me.

“Oh, right. I’ll go pick up Lania.”

“Yes, yes.”

Minya and I head out to pick up Lania, and together we make our way back home.

“Hey, Melun-san, do you know how to make a basket?”

“If it’s just a basket, I can make one. What kind of basket?”

“Like this.”

I show her the basket I used for fishing.

“If you have a sample, I can simply weave it to look the same.”

“Well, it’s actually quite difficult.”

“That might be true. Hehe.”

Melun seems quite relaxed.

“Oh, right. I’ll also go and talk to the neighbor while I’m at it.”

I leave the house and head to the neighboring house.

“Rudolf-san, Quest-san.”

“Yes?”

“Um, do we have any work today?”

“Well, to be honest, we don’t have any today either. It’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Well, I’m going to weave baskets. Would you like to join me? You’ll get paid once they’re finished.”

“Oh, really? How much?”

“About one silver coin per basket.”

“I see. I’ll give it a try then.”

I bring both of them back home.

Melun-san is in charge as the instructor.

Using the ivy we collected yesterday, we all start weaving together.

“It’s quite challenging.”

“Shaping it properly is the difficult part.”

We continue working while exchanging such comments.

“We did it!”

“You’re quite skilled.”

Minya was the first to finish since she started weaving with Melun-san. Lania finishes shortly after.

Rudolf-san and Quest-san are a little behind.

“We’re done over here too.”

“Yes, it’s finished.”

Everyone’s completed baskets are lined up.

They are all ordinary baskets, about 30 centimeters in size, and they look similar. The point is that they are all the same.

“See, like this.”

I demonstrate how to stack them.

“They overlap because we made them the same way. It doesn’t take up much space when not in use.”

“I see.”

“That’s amazing.”

The shapes might be a bit uneven at first, but that can’t be helped.

However, with more practice, we should become even better.

“There’s plenty of ivy growing on the southern side of the main road, near the river and the plains. Just gather some from there.”

“Indeed.”

The materials are free. The weaving process takes about two hours. It’s not much different from using a spoon.

“With wooden spoons, it’s difficult without a high-performance knife, but with this, if you have dexterity, you can do it.”

“Wow, that’s amazing, Ed-kun!”

Rudolf-san praises me.

What we need now is patience.

We need to keep winding round and round, and it requires quite a number of repetitions.

It’s challenging for those who get easily bored.

“To be honest, I’m not sure if they’ll sell.”

“No, it’s baskets. They will sell,” Melun-san says.

“There are things that won’t fit in bottles or jars. Even for bread, baskets are better,” she adds.

“I see.”

“And you know, baskets are much lighter than pots. Especially for women, lighter is better than heavy,” she explains.

Indeed, it’s a brilliant observation. As expected from the refined lady, Melun-san.

“For the first batch, let’s consult with Dridon-san on whether they can be sold,” Lania suggests.

So, we all gather and head to Dridon General Store.

We have the baskets in hand.

“Everyone’s together. Are you here for some shopping?”

I suppose Dridon-san seemed to assume that we came for shopping, given that we were all carrying baskets

“Well, I was actually wondering if these baskets could be sold. We came to consult with you.”

“Hmm.”

I hand my basket to Dridon-san, and he flips it over and rotates it to inspect the quality.

“Well, it’s not bad in terms of quality. How about selling them for one silver coin each?”

“Yes, I think that’s fair.”

I agree.

I can make one in two hours, and the net profit per basket is eight copper coins.

Not bad.

While spoons had a lower unit price due to their small size, these baskets are quite large, so they have a higher price.

Considering the similar level of effort required, making spoons may be more cumbersome.

On the other hand, there are fewer people specializing in spoon-making, so there is an advantage of less competition.

Therefore, it’s hard to decide between the two.

Ultimately, if there is no demand, making them becomes meaningless.

“Let’s see, one, two, three, four, five, six baskets, right?”

“Yes.”

There should be six of us: me, Minya, Lania, Melun, Rudolf, and Quest.

Gid-san is at home making spoons.

“Alright then, that’s six multiplied by eight copper coins, and I’ll add five silver coins.”

“Thank you very much.”

It was an upfront payment.

Even the spoons were paid for upfront.

During tea time, there was no credit in transactions, and since jam is a perishable food that can spoil if left unused, I suppose it’s customary to pay afterward.

Considering the relatively high cost of jam, it can be challenging to provide it in advance.

“If we make more, will they buy them from us?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been making good profits lately, so I can buy more. And if we have any leftovers, we can sell them to that spoon-themed general store. I think they’ll buy them.”

“Understood.”

For now, it’s confirmed that we can sell them and get paid.

Imported baskets from rural areas tend to be more expensive.

By promoting local production and consumption and eliminating transportation costs and intermediaries, we can sell them at a lower price and get a higher buying price.

Indeed, the baskets already available for sale are of better quality than ours, but they cost twice as much, two silver coins.

With this, the old man seems happy and satisfied that he can buy from us.

As it’s raining, we return home and continue making baskets.

We’ll keep the ones Minya and I made for our own use.

The rest will be made together and sold collectively.

The work continued for a whole day.

As we made more and more baskets, we began to grasp the tricks of the trade.

At this rate, it seems like we can achieve a decent income.

Rudolf-san and Quest-san will no longer be without income.

It seems that Melun-san will make them when there are no patients to treat.

With this, our income at home is likely to become more stable.