The Printing Press

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

This was a room in a workshop located on the southern bank of Wes River. Inside, strange machines were displayed, along with stacks of paper of various sizes. Workers were busy placing the paper on the machines, and after a series of operations, dense text would appear on the paper.

By mid-February, after overcoming technical difficulties with ink and metal movable type, Alden's first printing press—indeed, the first printing press in the world—was finally established.

"Sam!"

A voice filled with anger echoed from a corner of the workshop.

"Yes, Mr. Director, I'm coming!"

A typesetter hurriedly ran over to the workshop director. From the director's tone, Sam sensed that he was in serious trouble.

Sam was a refugee who had arrived in Alden the previous year. He knew a few characters and originally wanted to take the civil servant recruitment exam when looking for a job, but his scores were too low, and he failed.

With no other options, he had to settle for a job at the factory. He secretly resolved to use his spare time to learn more characters and try the exam again. Unlike other places, Alden didn't require connections with the lord's family; as long as you passed the exam, you could become a highly respected civil servant in the eyes of the common people.

After careful comparison, Sam discovered that jobs requiring literacy clearly offered much higher wages. Thus, he became a typesetter at the printing press. At first, he didn't know what a typesetter did or what a printing press was. It wasn't until he started working that he realized what a magical place it was.

In his previous understanding, books were copied by scribes, one character at a time. However, this place called the printing press had a magical machine that could mass-produce books in an astonishing manner.

Sam cherished this job immensely; being a typesetter was an excellent training opportunity, allowing him to continue learning while working. However, due to his limited literacy at this stage, he was only assigned simple tasks, such as typesetting literacy booklets for the Education Department.

Currently, he was filled with unease, worried that he had made another mistake, causing the workshop director to lose his temper.

"You worthless, foolish outsider, you big clumsy oaf who can't watch where you're going!"

A stream of profanity spilled from the workshop director's mouth as he pointed to the already typeset printing plate on the table—Sam's previous work.

"Idiot! Look closely at this word. Did you get the letters in the wrong order?"

Sure enough, it was a problem with his previous work. Sam nervously looked at the word the director pointed to and found that the letters were indeed in the wrong order.

"Mr. Director, it's my fault! I'm sorry! I swear I'll be more careful in the future!"

He hung his head, repeatedly apologizing, regretting not checking his work more thoroughly.

"If I remember correctly, this isn't the first time you've made this mistake! If I hadn't decided to check it, another batch of books would have been ruined!"

The workshop director waved his fist as if ready to hit him, making Sam extremely frightened. Even if the director did hit him, he wouldn't dare to fight back.

"Do I need to remind you? You're still in your probation period! As the workshop director, I have the authority to fire you immediately!"

"Sir, please give me another chance. I swear I won't make another mistake!"

Sam's voice was on the verge of tears, terrified of losing his job.

Seeing that his intimidation had worked, the workshop director felt secretly pleased. He didn't actually want to fire Sam; finding a literate worker was still quite difficult, even one as mediocre as Sam.

However, he had to speak harshly. He couldn't allow typographical errors in the books printed in his workshop; such occurrences had to be eliminated.

He threatened viciously:

"Alright, I'll give you one more chance, but I swear if you make such a foolish mistake again, I'll kick you out of my workshop. If no other workshop will take you, you can pack up and leave directly."

"Yes! Yes, sir, thank you! I swear I won't make another mistake."

Sam nodded repeatedly, bowing in relief that he hadn't been fired.

"Half of your salary for this month will be deducted!"

"Ah? Mr. Director... Yes, yes, whatever you say."

Sam felt a pang of pain. The probationary salary was already low, and now half of it was being deducted.

"Oh my goodness! There are so many books here!"

A voice as clear as a nightingale sounded at the door, drawing everyone's attention.

"Ah~ it's so beautiful!"

Sam looked towards the door and saw the factory manager accompanying two women into the printing press.

The one walking in front had striking golden hair and a face full of liveliness and surprise.

The one walking behind had green hair and a more composed expression, observing the workshop with curiosity.

Both girls were very beautiful and had an extraordinary aura. The workers couldn't help but stop what they were doing, staring dumbfounded.

The factory manager, maintaining an authoritative look, shouted at the workers, "Why have you all stopped? Get back to work!"

The workshop director immediately gave Sam a hard kick, "Focus on your typesetting and remember what I just said."

Sam rubbed his sore butt and focused on his work. He couldn't afford to make another mistake.

The workshop director recalled that the factory manager had mentioned two important figures from the civil affairs office would visit today. Judging by the manager's courteous demeanor, it must be these two.

He hadn't expected them to be such young girls, but their attire clearly indicated they weren't from ordinary families.

After shouting at the workers, the factory manager turned with a smile and introduced the two girls, "Supervisor D'Arshi, Advisor Ladia, this is our largest printing workshop. We plan to print the samples you provided here."

So, one of them was the new "acting supervisor of the education department." This had been the talk of the town, especially since the acting supervisor was a woman. It was unprecedented for a woman to hold such a position, and many thought the lord's decision was ridiculous.

The workshop director hurried over.

"Heaven above! I've never seen a book 'manufactured' so easily."

Eileen was full of disbelief. Although Paul had told her about the concept of the printing press, she was still amazed to witness the book printing process firsthand.

(End of the Chapter)