Sanzo's Journey - Part 4 - Unexpected Duties

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Fall, 1139

The sounds of forges in full swing can be heard all through the small town. Blades and armor from these men have always been in high demand, but never so much as they are now. Despite the amount of work that needs to be done, smiles are seen on almost every face in town.

A young man wearing the new mark of the Oriole strides into the largest forge in town, belonging to Tsi Xing Guo, the lord of one of the newest minors clans in the Empire, “Uncle, I’m back!”

Without even looking up, the old smith replies, “Sanzo, it’s about time. I trust it’s good news.”

“Very much so,” the young man replies, looking over his notes. “Apparently I managed to start a bidding war and the Mantis Clan pulled a lot of strings to gain our favor, ensuring that we’ll have little trouble performing our new duties. I’ve gotten us enough food to keep both us and the peasants fed for some time, enough materials to keep the forges in full production, and a few odds and ends to cut back on the costs to keep everything running smoothly.”

“Good news indeed.” the old man nods, still focusing on his work.

“I do have one question though. Who’s going to be overseeing all of this?” Sanzo asks.

“How about you take care of it,” the old smith says dismissively.

The young Oriole turns to the door, “That’s great, have him meet me out front so I can go over... the... what did you just say?”

“Take care of it yourself,” the old man repeats again, in the same dismissive tone as before.

“Say what?” Sanzo replies, seemingly confused at what he was just asked to do.

“Handle it,” Xing Guo replies, annoyance growing in his voice.

“So... you want me to find somebody to take care of this then?” Sanzo suggests.

The old smith stops working and turns to his nephew speaking slowly and deliberately, “I want you, to take the caravan, to the warehouse, unload the supplies, record the inventory, and make sure they get distributed appropriately,” pantomiming the tasks as he speaks, ensuring that he isn’t misunderstood again.

“You’re kidding, right?” the younger man replies with disbelief in his voice, “Why not make one of the younger students do it? It’d be good practice at bookkeeping for them. And besides, it’d let me get back to work.”

Xing Guo turns back to his forge, “If I wanted to have to fix it later I’d just do it myself now. With how obsessed you are with doing things right I know you won’t screw it up.”

“But I have a lot of work...” Sanzo begins before being cut off by his uncle.

“Then work faster,” the old smith replied dryly. “With our new place in the world, we all have to do more.”

“But...” Sanzo starts again as his uncle turns to him with an intense look in his eyes.

Xing Guo doesn’t generally make a habit of raising his voice, so when he shouted “GET TO WORK!” Sanzo knew that there would be no more discussion of the matter, and as such, quickly ducked out the door, before provoking his sensei any further. After a few moments, Xing Guo turns back to his work, muttering to himself, “I do hope somebody informs that fool boy that extra responsibilities are generally considered a privilege, not a punishment among clan samurai.” He chuckles a little at the thought, “Especially since I’m going to be sending him to get more.”