From a distance, Aegon saw his enterprise.
There was no other way; the assembly line itself required a certain amount of space and distance, and relying on the rapids of the Blackwater River for hydraulic power limited the orientation and shape of the production line distribution, which in turn affected the factory's location and appearance. The factory building was a rectangular prism, fifty to sixty meters long, thirty to forty meters wide, and seven to eight meters high. From afar, it looked like an enormous brick lying perpendicular to the waterway along the Blackwater Rush. Its several thousand square meters of floor space might be unremarkable in a modern industrial zone, but here—in a wilderness outside King's Landing—even to Aegon, who had served on The Wall, it was conspicuous and eye-catching, let alone to the natives of this world who hadn't seen much.
Nina told Aegon that when the merchant who invested in the second factory building saw this "spectacular sight" from a few hundred meters away, he immediately declared that he would definitely join the game. Thinking about it now, this decisiveness wasn't without reason—seeing is believing, and no matter how much he and Tyrion boasted about the Night's Watch Industry, it couldn't compare to bringing people over to see the astonishingly large factory buildings and Industrial Park with their own eyes.
Besides one workshop already in production and another under construction, there were many slightly smaller, elongated buildings scattered around, likely residential areas... At this distance, the specific structure wasn't clear, so everyone had to keep moving forward.
As they approached, Aegon made a new discovery: the entire Long Night Industry Park was enclosed by a wooden fence taller than a man. The fence extended with a slight curve towards the edge of the view; only the gods knew how much land Tyrion had enclosed. The gap served as the entrance and exit, equipped with gates and a large sign, just like schools and companies in modern society... and a security room. A row of large characters, "Night's Watch Industry," half a person tall, could be seen from a distance.
There was a row of people at the main entrance, about a dozen, standing by the road and looking towards King's Landing. Although their faces weren't clear, the figure of one small person among them was quite conspicuous, almost certainly Tyrion. Jaqen had probably arrived a few dozen minutes before Aegon. Who knew how long this group had been waiting?
This truly made Aegon feel a bit overwhelmed. He and Tyrion were partners; Tyrion had noble status, and his contributions to the Night's Watch Industry were second only to Aegon's... Yet in public, he always gave Aegon ample respect. With such a divine teammate who was not only capable but also gave you credit, helped you show off, and took you to new heights, the feeling was something only those who experienced it would understand.
Kicking their horses slightly, the four of them quickly approached the main entrance.
"Aegon, it must have been tough following King Robert on the campaign!"
"Didn't do a thing, just played for two months! And accidentally stumbled into a big achievement at the end." Returning the favor, Aegon also said modestly, "But you, Tyrion, have made this place so different I can barely recognize it!"
Aegon dismounted and walked towards his divine teammate. The height difference prevented them from embracing, so they just exchanged a strong high-five and a firm handshake.
"Attention, everyone! This is Aegon Westerling, the legend who has traveled the world, the Chief Logistics Officer of the Night's Watch, the highest manager of the Night's Watch Industry, and the big boss and supreme leader of everyone here, including myself!" Tyrion turned and said loudly to the others also waiting at the main entrance, "Don't meet him next time and not recognize him!"
"Welcome, Lord Aegon!" Because it happened suddenly, the first batch of managers of the Night's Watch Industry welcomed Aegon's arrival with loud but uneven voices.
"Hello, everyone." Aegon smiled and waved. Last time he inspected the paper mill, he was still immersed in the pleasure of being a leader. This time, he was truly the big leader: "For certain reasons, I, the founder who should have led everyone in working together, disappeared without a trace for two months. Fortunately, we had a capable and wise expert like Tyrion in charge... Of course, everyone's efforts and diligent management are also indispensable. Please allow me to say thank you!"
"It's our duty!"
"Lord Aegon is too kind."
"All right, let's skip the formalities. We're still expanding; it's not time yet to happily flatter each other and divide the money." Tyrion interrupted the pleasantries among everyone: "This is Lazer, the person in charge of the first workshop."
Just a workshop director! Aegon nodded at him, memorizing his appearance.
"This is Enoch, the boss of the construction team cooperating with the Night's Watch."
The general contractor of the construction team? Aegon also noted down his appearance and name.
"It's the first time we've gotten such a big job, and we've been hiring people, but it's still not enough." The general contractor pretended to complain, but his smile couldn't be hidden. In this era where infrastructure updates were extremely slow, people in construction-related industries—masons, carpenters, and tilers, etc.—spent most of the year idling at home waiting for work. They had never even heard of such a good time as now, with work never stopping and counting money until their hands were soft.
...
Tyrion continued introducing people to Aegon. Before long, all dozen or so people had met Aegon. It was a bit difficult to remember everyone, but the Night's Watch could only try its best... Additionally, he noticed that most of these people had no surnames, and even if they did, they were from small families he hadn't heard of.
This was good, as it could effectively prevent the penetration and influence of those great families on the Night's Watch Industry, ensuring its pure commercial nature.
After the introductions, Tyrion waved his hand: "Alright, let's go! Let's show our big boss around our Industrial Park!"
Within the vast area enclosed by the fence, large tracts of undulating, overgrown land had been leveled, and the roads already in use had been prioritized for gravel paving to ensure sturdiness. Walking along the gravel road, their feet were completely free of mud... Aegon could see directional signs beside the road and drainage ditches dug on both sides. These ditches connected to the Blackwater River, ensuring that the Industrial Park wouldn't turn into a swamp even during heavy rain.
Inside the massive first factory building, hundreds of workers were constantly busy. Shouting, yelling, and directing sounds were incessant. Raw materials were transported to the factory in small pushcarts, entering the production line from the feeding port, passing through over a dozen processes until the pulp was scooped out at the end of the line and sent on another cart for drying... Although there wasn't much machinery, these enthusiastic workers somehow created a feeling of "bustling activity."
It actually took several days for plant tissue to finally become paper, but relying on the advanced system of assembly line production, large sheets of undried and uncut raw paper flowed out from the end of each production line every minute.
***
Resource controllers hired free laborers for large-scale production to meet market needs... Reaching this level truly showed some early signs of capitalism. But Aegon knew that this was ultimately just a false prosperity limited to the small area of the Long Night Industry Park: within the paper mill, the level of management and planning had indeed reached the world's leading level, but besides the feeding and crushing step which utilized hydraulic power, the remaining steps still primarily relied on human labor... And in the vast world outside the wooden fence enclosing the Industrial Park, Westeros and even the entire Ice and Fire World remained backward and ignorant.
In this world of irregular climate change, if Winter arrived and lasted for a long time, it could easily freeze this phenomenon of prosperity to death in its early stages: slow development—then suffering devastating blows—barely surviving the cold Winter—and once again welcoming a summer of unknown duration that allowed society to slowly recover... It was precisely under this hopeless cycle that the people of the Ice and Fire World lived day by day, had low expectations for the future, and lacked a strong subjective will to develop and build society, remaining in this backward state for thousands of years.
(Only by allowing society to develop rapidly within a long summer, progressing to a level where it can calmly cope with Winter and prevent the severe cold from destroying commercial and technological achievements, can this damned "backward cycle" be broken.)
Of course, this was still a problem that only the highest ruling class needed to consider, and Aegon had not yet reached that level. Winter had arrived, but there was still a brief buffer period of perhaps several years from the temperature drop and the start of autumn until the official arrival of Winter. What Aegon needed to do now was seize the present and ensure he could survive safely and decently.
***
According to custom, when a leader visits, they always say something, but capital is truly the best way to attract talent. With the planning and improvements by Tyrion, who gathered this group of intelligent people, the paper mill's production model was already at the forefront of the current era... Specialization is key; a navigator who spent all day thinking about how to attract business and steer the large ship of the Night's Watch Industry could no longer provide detailed guidance now.
Since that was the case, he should talk less nonsense. No matter the era, laymen leading experts and superiors giving random orders based on personal ideas would lead to wasted manpower at the grassroots level and emotional dissatisfaction.
Aegon highly praised the workers' morale and their smooth coordination and cooperation, and then signaled to move on to the next location. It was the same in the cutting and printing workshops; the group left the factory without stopping and arrived at the area with the scattered small buildings they had seen earlier.
He hadn't guessed wrong; these elongated buildings were indeed the employee living quarters. The employee dormitories were straw mats inside wooden houses, and the mess hall consisted of a few large pots and countless simple seats... Although he knew in his heart that these living conditions were no worse than those of most ordinary farmers in this world, Aegon still couldn't help but sigh: even a guy like Tyrion, who seemed like a good person no matter how you looked at him, once he became a capitalist, his exploitative nature was still fully exposed.
"The dormitories must not leak wind or water; that's the bottom line. When there's enough funding, try to provide wooden beds, they don't need to be fancy, just make sure they're off the ground to prevent insects and dampness. The food must be hygienic, filling, and nutritious. When conditions allow, add a medical room." Aegon said to the person in charge of logistics management, then looked at the head of the personnel department: "Employees cannot all eat from the same pot; there must be a distinction in wages. Recognize ordinary and outstanding workers, give skilled workers raises, and especially find ways to keep talents with multiple skills. They are the most valuable resource!"
"Write it down quickly!" Tyrion chimed in from the side, playing along.
"Alright, I've seen most of the places. Overall... no, you've done a great job! Keep it up!" Aegon encouraged everyone, "Next, take me to see the security team's training and work."
Outsiders only thought he hired so many people to guard the factory area, but only Aegon himself, and perhaps Tyrion at most, knew in their hearts that what he wanted was a professional army.
Making money, he didn't care how his subordinates did it—standing, sitting, lying down, or even running... As long as he had enough money when he needed it, Aegon didn't care where it came from. But only for the "Night's Watch Logistics and Security Department," he wanted to personally oversee its formation and growth, ensuring it developed entirely according to his own ideas!
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