Chapter 15: Chapter 15- New Seasons, New Problems, New Innovations
The new year came and went with little fanfare and soon John found himself in 1765. The last months of winter are over it soon became spring. John had returned from his sword lesions with Alois when he heard a loud shout from his grandfather's office. Hurrying over to it he opened the door and found his grandfather at his desk with his glasses on staring down at a piece of paper in his hand. What he saw caused him to freeze in the doorway as he observed a sight he had never seen before
On his grandfather's face, he saw emotions that till that day he had never. It was one of pure rage, a face that showed a combination of fury and disbelief that would make even the bravest men hesitate. But Jon steeled himself and walked forward into the fray.
"Grandpa, you look upset what's wrong," he asks in the most disarming voice he can make to ease Williams's mind.
Lowering the paper from his eye line he sees his grandson and the face that was seconds before consumed in rage immediately begins to soften. "Oh, it's just some blasted new trade laws and taxes. The British passed an act regulating and taxing the sale of paper as well as enforcing some new trade rules."
Setting the paper down on the desk he lets out a long sigh, "Come take a seat, you also need to hear this news."
Walking toward the desk he sits in a slightly smaller chair, as his grandfather ordered it just for him, and looks upward at his grandfather.
"The British have levied taxes, but also put trade regulations on the sale of manufactured goods, these goods can no longer be sold to anyone except those from Britain."
Suddenly the gears start turning in Johns's head before he gains a look of horror across his visage, "Wait, that means my pencils, I can't sell them to the Spanish or French, and you can't transport them with your ships."
Leaning back in his chair he rubs the top of his nose, "Yes, the British cut off one-third of my shipping business, I will be forced to redirect trade from Portugal and Spain to English ports."
"Will we be okay Grandpa?" asked John, who is beginning to feel increasingly nervous about his family's prospects.
Sensing his grandson's discomfort he immediately changed his tune, "We will be fine, our family has always relied on the land to sustain ourselves, It was my father who started shipping around the colonies, I was the first carpenter to ship across the Atlantic, and you are the first of our family to start a manufacturing business. You already also sell mainly to other colonies and the British so your company will remain mostly unscathed."
Hearing this he began to calm down a bit, 'Grandpa was right, we already live well below our means and will be fine in the long term after the markets stabilize, but this still sucks.'
"So, does this mean we are going to be investing more in farming and local businesses? Maybe even invest in industries that British exports dominate so that we can undermine them and force them to repeal the taxes."
This line of thinking makes William smile with pride, a face all too familiar for the young boy as he consistently impresses his grandfather. "That is right, over the coming years will you help me in making the British look like fools."
This made John laugh alongside his grandfather as it was around time for lunch. As the two of them made their way to the sitting room. Currently, his mother was out for a few days in Philadelphia to pick up a shipment of books and clothes that she wanted to oversee their transport personally. John always did admire that about his mother, she never wanted much but when she did have her eyes set on something there was little one could do to dissuade her.
Taking their seats the two men had a pair of sandwiches brought to them, a simple dish that while already created in 1762 by the Earl of Sandwich Johns's introduction of it to America would lead to debate on whether the Americans or British invented the iconic dish.
As the two ate John decided that it was the time to present his biggest idea yet. Sitting as straight as he could he began.
"Grandfather, I have an idea, one that could revolutionize our entire agricultural output and increase efficiency."
Slightly surprised by his grandson's sudden seriousness he put himself in a businessman's mindset because while he loved his family he would rarely throw away money. "You have my attention, fire away."
Taking a deep breath John began, "So you know how we are buying a lot more land west along the Susquehanna River, on top of the lands around our own home and those we own in Delaware along the Susquehanna River." at this his grandfather nodded. "I was thinking that instead of relying on a few dozen smaller mills we could build one large mill for each of the three regions of land we own to reduce costs, and on top of this, we could automate most of the procedures with waterwheels."
Making an intrigued noise his grandfather spoke, "I assume you have a design," John nodded, "How much would this cost?"
"It would cost between two hundred and four hundred pounds for each mill," John said trying to stay strong because even though they were wealthy this still was a lot of money.
"Hmm, this is quite a bit," William said while scratching the bottom of his chin, after a minute of silence John broke the tension.
"There aren't any mills in the new farms out west, how about we build only one and test how well it works."
Hearing a simple solution from his grandson William smiled and clapped his hands together, "That is a brilliant idea, well bring in some engineers from Philadelphia and have them begin construction imminently so that it will be built by the fall harvest."
"And if it works can we build more across the colonies and buy the grain from the farmers and sell the flour back to them."
This caught William off guard and recoiled for a second, seeing the reaction John shrank in his chair, "Sorry if it was a bad idea, Grandpa."
Seeing his beloved grandson disheartened he immediately perked up, "No, no, it wasn't that it was a bad idea but that I'm surprised that I didn't think of it."
This caused John to immediately regain his spirit, "so that means that If it is a success this year then we can do my idea."
Giving a faint nod to his grandson the two of them finished their meal and John left for his afternoon lesions with a smile on his face.
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