A Very Shameless Merchant

Everyone listened incredulously.

They never knew that such a seemingly ordinary job could be so dangerous.

The key was in the soot.

Chimney cleaners typically had to work as apprentices under their masters for at least 8 years before they could be released.

Every day, they would go to work cleaning one chimney or another because with how complex these chimneys were, they needed to be cleaned at least 4 times a week.

So if a single massive building had over 15 chimneys, there would undoubtedly be more than 40 flues connecting like a maze.

And that was just in a single building, not to talk of the other buildings within the estates or manors.

One should know that by the time the cleaners had managed to emerge at the top of the building fully nude, their entire bodies would be covered in soot.

So, since they worked every day, coming in contact and ingesting such large amounts of soot, of course 9/10 times, they wouldn't last long.