Enlightened Empire

Chapter 427: Worker Cooperatives

As Kyunya's story continued, the atmosphere around the table became heavier and heavier. Just in time, the flippant blacksmith chimed in again.

"Well, we handled the war just fine in the end, even without you," he joked.

"Wait, you were in the army as well, Mallku?" a surprised Alcer asked. Before, when he had been introduced as a war hero by Killari, the blacksmith hadn't said a thing. Yet now, he no longer hid his achievements for some reason.

"Of course. Fourteenth Infantry Division, Private Mallku, at your service," he said and added a sloppy salute.

"Ensign Alcer, First Special Batallion," Alcer shot back almost on reflex, before he remembered his current status and deflated again. "I mean, I used to be, before I retired."

"Don't worry about it, I'm also out." The casual Mallku grinned. "Just reserve now. In the first place, I mostly just stayed in the back to fix rifles and cannons, so it's hardly worth mentioning."

While the two were talking about their time in the army, Kyunya looked more and more uncomfortable as he fidgeted in his seat. Rather than join in, he tried to continue with his story.

"Anyways, we won the war-"

"To victory!" Mallku suddenly shouted, and raised his tankard into the sky.

"Victory," the more reserved Alcer called, almost out on reflex again. While he was neither as enthusiastic as the blacksmith nor did he have a tankard in his hand, yet he still couldn't hide his pride at their achievement.

"Victory!" Voices from the celebrating craftsmen in the center of the room chimed in.

Meanwhile, Kyunya just raised his tankard in the air without a word. While Mallku and the craftsmen emptied their wine, the papermaker just stared into his third drink of the day for a while, before he let it back down onto the table and let go of the handle. While Mallku was still drinking, Kyunya continued, his voice even lower than before.

"We won, and then, a month ago, came the final grain that sank the boat," he said, but once again, Mallku interrupted him.

"Gosh, you could feed an army with that much rice," he complained. However, Alcer was quite sympathetic to this young craftsman by now. If nothing else, at least his attitude was proper. He didn't deserve this kind of treatment.

"Just let him finish his story," Alcer said, and added a stern look towards Mallku for good measure.

"Sorry," the loudmouth said, and looked over at Kyunya. "I apologize. Please continue."

"Thank you," he said, before he added a grateful nod towards Alcer. "About a month ago, an official from Rapra Castle came to visit our manufactory, straight from the kingdom's ministry of industry. He called all the workers together, including myself and Rimaq, and informed us that the crown would no longer operate our manufactory for us, and that the entire building would be put up for sale very soon."

"Wait, how come they want to close you down? I thought you were the biggest papermakers in the country?" Alcer asked.

"We are, but the great Master Rimaq had to find some way to pay for his manor." Again, Kyunya's bitter sneer from before had returned. "With all kinds of tricks, the man stole every coin he could from the business he had been entrusted with. Thus, we made less and less money for the crown, until, it appears, they finally lost patience with us. The decision to sell was irreversible. Though there was still a silver lining. Together with the announcement, the official also made us an offer: Instead of selling our manufactory off to some private merchant or great lord, who would just exploit us even worse than Rimaq had, we were given the option to transform our business into a worker cooperative."

"A what?" Alcer asked, confused by the word he had never heard before. Still, it sounded important, somehow.

"A worker cooperative," Kyunya repeated. "It's a business, just like any other. Only that there is no owner who takes the profits at the end of the month, neither the crown, nor the master who owns the workshop, nor some landlord who owns the building. Instead, the ownership is equally shared among all the workers, so all the profits at the end of the month are also equally divided among them."

"That sounds good," Mallku commented. "Would have got a lot more money for drinking and whoring than that pittance old man Asiro throws me.

"So your manufactory didn't make money any more, and as a result you would have just received everything for free?" Alcer asked in disbelief, but Kyunya soon shook his head.

"No, while we would have been required to pay nothing in advance, we would have been indebted to the Medala Central Bank. Still, we would have only needed to repay a small amount every month, until about seven tenths of the manufactory's current value would have been paid off. After that, the entire building, and everything inside it, would have been ours, profits and all. It was the perfect opportunity both for me, and for all the workers there, to make something of ourselves. If only we had agreed, we could have all lived prosperous lives. And yet..."

As Kyunya trailed off, Alcer realized what had happened, though he didn't understand.

"Wait, you didn't take the offer? Why?" he asked in consternation. How could anyone not take such a deal?

"Rimaq was against it, of course." Kyunya sneered. "I argued in favor, and tried to rally the workers behind me, but many didn't quite understand the official's words. Others didn't believe that such a good offer could be real, so they remained cautious. In the end, the official left while we were still undecided, and he told us that we had a week to come to an agreement and make an application at the castle. You know, in case we agreed to transform into a cooperative. After that, I spoke to the workers one by one and convinced a few, but it was all for naught. After a few days, master had bought some of the workers with bribes and cheap promises. By the time I noticed, he had intimidated even more into rejecting the offer as well. In the end, most workers were against the transformation, so nothing happened. As of now, our manufactory is still to be sold to the highest bidder. I hear it will be up for auction soon."

Thus, Kyunya seemed to have finished his story, or at least the most upsetting part of it. Slowly, his clenched fingers let go of the third tankard — still full — and pushed it to the side. As he sank back into his seat, he closed his eyes, his brows furrowed in irritation. However, Alcer still didn't quite understand the whole story.

"Wait, I get why your master would be against turning over his life's greatest achievement to the workers who used to be beneath him," he began. "But still, he won't be any better off if it's just sold to some other private citizen, right? Once he's no longer protected by the crown, some merchant will probably buy it and then take a much closer look at his books, especially at the source of Master Rimaq's sudden wealth. Wouldn't he be in trouble then?"

Finally, Kyunya opened his eyes again. By now, they were no longer bitter, or irritated, he looked furious as he stared at Alcer.

"No, I already know why Rimaq was so opposed, and what he has planned," he said. "None of your worries will be a problem for our great master, because he wants to buy the manufactory himself. He already has a loan line up with those wolves from the Tasa Bank. He has planned it for a long time. Apparently, those bankers came to him even before the official arrived with the offer. I overheard them scheming about the takeover a few days ago. When I found out, I lost my calm and confronted him about it. Of course, he just denied everything and sent me home. When I came to work the next day, Rimaq framed me for stealing some minor goods to discredit me, and threw me out. Now, because my old master removed me in shame, I have lost my official qualifications as a papermaker. Do you understand? My future has been destroyed by my own master and those greedy wolves from the Tasa bank, for nothing but some coin."

At the mention of the familiar name of Tasa, Alcer's face changed slightly. However, before he could say anything, Kyunya had already continued.

"That is my first condition if you want me to work with you: You can't accept a loan from the Tasa Bank. Not to build your manufactory, and not ever. Or you will have to do so without my help."

Of course, Alcer immediately reminded him of the flaw in his brilliant plan.

"But if I don't take out a loan, I won't have the money to even start the business," he pointed out. "How will I pay you without a loan?"

"Not a problem, master. So long as you can accept my second condition as well, everything will work out, for both of us: Instead of a normal workshop, simply open up a worker cooperative."

For a second, Alcer was confused. How could he open up such a cooperative without having his own manufactory first? The officials wouldn't just give him one, right? After the second of thought had passed, he realized that he was still confused, so he had to ask for help.

"I don't understand. I don't work in a manufactory," he pointed out.

"No need." Finally, Kyunya had traded in his permanent frown for a smile. "Since I have been relieved of my duties, I have had a lot of time. Whenever I was not busy tasting the assortments in this fine establishment, I invested some energy to inform myself on the official's offer. It is possible to receive a loan for the founding of a manufactory from the central bank directly. This is far more reliable than a deal with those greedy Tasa wolves, and the conditions are better as well. All you have to do is prove that you want to start a viable business as a worker cooperative, and they will give you the money."

"That loan is only possible for those cooperatives?" Alcer asked, just to make sure. If he was honest, he would rather start his business on his own, without getting anyone else involved. The bayonet design had been his idea after all. However, Kyunya's answer disappointed him.

"Yes, the kingdom specifically wants to foster the creation of worker cooperatives. Apparently, it is one of the measures to help the retired veterans, since many of them were workers before the war."

Again, Alcer thought for a while without coming to a decision. He still wasn't convinced of the idea, but it wouldn't hurt to get some more information.

"In that case, what do I need to do?" he asked.

"Well, your business idea needs to be approved first, since the bank will not hand out free money for a loss-making business."

"That's not a problem," Alcer stated confidently. After all, he already had a product and a buyer lined up.

"In that case, you just need a minimum of ten people, all of whom need to be workers in that company," Kyunya continued. By now, he seemed completely sober. "Though if they stop working there, they automatically lose their shares, and if the number drops below ten during the loan period, there will be an investigation. Apparently, it's meant to prevent fraud."

At least in that regard, Alcer didn't care. He had no problem with working in his own manufactory. What else would he do with all his time anyways?. However, the conditions presented another problem.

"Ten people... that's a lot," he thought aloud.

"With me, we already have two here, master," Kyunya added.

"What about you, Mallku?" Finally, Alcer remembered that there was still someone else sitting at the table. When he turned towards the blacksmith, he was already greeted by a wide grin.

"Of course I'm in. Why do you think I asked this drunkard to come over in the first place?"

"Good, then we have three," Kyunya said. "I can bring a few more over from my old work. Do you know anyone else?"

"Maybe one." When he said so, Alcer thought of Kichka.

"Well, I can maybe grab a few more from the old man Asiro, but we'll need a whole lot more than just ten for this job," Mallku commented, less enthusiastic than Kyunya.

"To be honest, I thought we should start small at first, and then scale up when our operation is stable," Alcer argued, but Mallku wagged his finger in the veteran's face in an annoying manner.

"You want to sell this bayonet to the army, right?" he asked, to which Alcer had ot nod. "They'll need tens of thousands of these things, because that's how many rifles they have. A decent blacksmith can make maybe three of these in a day, and only if he works efficiently. If all ten of our workers make three a day, that's only about ten thousand a year, not considering waste products or accidents. The army won't wait half a decade on their order. So we need sufficient numbers right from the start, or we won't get the army's order in the first place."

"The central bank also gives out larger loans if the number of registered workers for the cooperative is bigger." Kyunya added. By now, both craftsmen seemed fully on board with the idea. However, Alcer was still hesitant.

"Well, so far I haven't even decided if I want to do this 'cooperative' in the first place. How about this: I'll talk to a few people and think it over for a while. If I don't contact you in a week, feel free to do something else with your lives."

Thus, with a dampened mood at the table, Alcer paid for the wines he hadn't drunk and quickly left the ale house. For now, his head was full of new ideas. If he wanted to make the right decision, he had to be alone for a while, so he could order his thoughts.