"What the heck are these things?"

Chu walked out from the passage entrance into the cavern. Under the flickering light cast out from the torches, he saw the creature.

'A Barrel Worm'

Living up to its name the round barrel entity moved with the speed of a snail on the rock floor. Chu moved cautiously to the side for closer inspection. The 'worm' ignored his presence and continued on its path. As mentioned by Thomas, it was as wide and long as a barrel.

The worm resembled a maggot, fat in the middle and tapering on both ends like a dumpling. It had bands circling it like an earthworm except that they were as wide as an arm. When it moved it left behind a trail of thick slime in its wake.

Chu uncontrollably pulled out his sword and poked the creature on its side. The sword slid on the slime-coated surface as it bounced off. The resulting response came as if he had struck a large slab of 'Jello'.

"I seem to recall that the Barrel worm is mostly made up of liquid. Looking at it again, these things must consist of mainly water. No wonder they only live in these damp and wet caves. Out in the sun, surely they might just dry up."

Mr Thomas said as he bounced the base of the torch on another worm's back. The worm showed no signs of counterattacking except for speeding up its movement.

"Damn it just boosted its speed from snail to tortoise mode!"

Chu remarked as he walked into the cavern.

The place was so large that the light from the torch failed to illuminate the walls on the far end. They slowly made their way around the cavern, looking for any passageways and hidden threats.

The Barrel worms were docile and showed no reaction as they walked among them.

"Urgghh!"

Chu exclaimed as he stepped into a small pothole filled with slime. The thick liquid seeped over the top of his boots. The resulting effect raised the hairs all over his body. Luckily he pulled up before his boots became filled with the viscous liquid.

He was still sitting in a corner using a rag to clean his foot when Miki and the others completed their preliminary survey.

"There are four small passageways but they all lead to a dead-end. Nothing dangerous here, not even a Black Scorpion."

Rose talked as she moved her hands over a smooth pillar near the end. The cavern reminded Chu of those limestone caves. Complete with stalactites, stalagmites, and pillars. It even had small shallow pools, filled mostly with slime mixed water.

"Holy crap this thing is sticky. Elder give me a water bottle. It looks like only water can be used to wash it away. I only need to wash it off my foot, I'll clean the outside of the boot later."

He wiped out the insides of the boots and dried it out with the rag. In the dim lighting, the exterior of his boot looked like it was covered in a thick blob.

"Chu take a look here!"

Miki called from a place near the passageway they entered.

When the group strolled over she pointed to a place on the ground.

"This is probably why this place has no Black scorpions and other creatures. The slime is so sticky it traps them. No wonder these worms have no enemies here."

Miki mumbled as she used her own sword to prod a dead scorpion.

"Seems to be the case, I think we should focus on securing properly hidden entrances to the cave. We will leave these worms here for now until we get some free hands to deal with them. When the work in the fields is over we will focus on the cave."

Chu commented.

He wanted to convert the caves into a hidden base. He could use it as storage and a place of retreat if he ever encountered trouble. There was maybe about forty of those worms in the cavern but they were lost inside its large size.

All these things could be placed on the planning list.

They left the caves and walked to farmer Brown's farm where they parked one of the wagons. Chu took his time because of his blob covered boot. The viscous liquid had not taken very long to dry into a near transparent coating.

***

The group returned to the barn in the evening drenched in sweat. Chu made a bee-line to a water barrel near the stables to take a quick rinse. He still felt some stickiness mixed in with his sweat that he wanted to wash out.

If it was not for him sweating the liquid might have been even slimier.

These days the farm was a hive of activity. Clod had just gone to the village with the other wagon carrying a load of wood along with Jim. By sawing the wood into rectangular blocks of around the same width, they further reduced the workload on Dareck.

In the village, Dareck and the others were busy manufacturing and also assembling the package for the Geared well handle. The finished product was very simple with all the gears enclosed in a sturdy wooden housing.

One end was open to fit the final gear onto the wooden shaft. The case contained holes so as for it to be nailed or riveted onto the side support.

Production was slow at first but Dareck showed some ingenuity in designing and beating out an iron stamp. With this, all wooden blocks were cut to nearly the same size and width. These cogs were reinforced with thin iron bands to ensure durability.

According to the requirements, workers moved from the village to the farm. The only constant was Doug and his group, they were working non-stop to frame and cover the workshop.

Ming was washing his boots near the front of the farm. He had just returned from the forest. The wagon was stuck in some soft mud that needed everyone to help free it. Chu gave him his boots to wash before entering the barn.

"Chu the goal you set is too high. There is no way to reach those numbers."

Sakura complained to the boy as he ate at the table. She had grown her black hair below her shoulders and also kept it loose. She retained her normal bashful character except when it came to accounting and bookkeeping. Then she turned into a little she-devil.

"I agree with Sakura, you keep saying you want one hundred every month, but right now we are making not even half of that amount. Now even mother and Sue have to lend a hand."

Amanda chimed in on the side.

With her golden locks curled and loose over her shoulders, a beautiful face and killer body she always provided a welcome distraction to Chu. This girl would crush the hearts of countless men back on earth. Unfortunately, she had a strict no-nonsense attitude when it came to handling money. Even Ming was loath to try begging from her.

Towards Chu both these girls maintained a reverent relationship. The boy was after all their mentor and a walking treasure trove of all kinds of knowledge. Just last week he had created a table of 'multiplication' making complex additions a breeze. He was even akin to a fish in water when it came to using the abacus.

Chu furrowed his brows as he chewed.

"Okay, let me see. Presently with everyone's support, we are making a little over thirty complete packages per month. Seems like we have topped out on production there. Let's keep it exact thirty after we weed out the defective ones. When the workshop is completed we will then reset the goals."

Chu replied to them.

"Thank goodness, you don't know how close you were to getting a wooden cog in your soup."

Amanda patted her chest lightly.

'This damn woman is not aware of how dangerous that action is to the opposite sex!'

He sobered up on observing her callused hands. She did not shirk away from her responsibilities on the farm. Chu decided that once he settled his business venture he would give these girls access to some of the best beauty treatments available.

If they did not exist then he would invent his own brands. Oils and fragrances were not hard to make since there was too much information on beauty products on earth.

'Which man in his right mind did not want the best for the girls in his family?'

Chu understood he should never try to provoke the kitchen team. They worked in silence without complaints, but they had lots of means to voice their discontent.

When he checked it, they were about two months into spring. Manufacturing was going to slow down when they started planting crops. Therefore the best time to ship his product would be close to the end of summer.

It takes four to five months for a caravan to travel from the village to the Capital. If he followed this thinking his invention would hit the Capital by storm before winter. It was certain to be sold to those wealthy folks.

By the time winter was over, he would have another shipment ready to be sent out. The plan was to focus on the wealthy cities at first to lock in the most amount of profits. It would also open the doors to ply other inventions.

Having a steady stream of wealthy buyers was any merchants dream.

When the time came for the introduction of competition, all he had to do was drop his prices to crush his opponents. His manufacturing overhead could be measured by bowls of soup since it remained practically near zero.

He gave some instructions to Sakura and Amanda before leaving. His work for the day was done so he decided to spend the rest of the time practicing his archery skills. He considered himself average in both sword and crossbow.

He was sure he could at least be able to stand his ground for a time against one of the village guards. In a couple of years, he was confident in being able to fight a skilled commander on equal terms. If he incorporated some martial arts into the mix then with some well-timed kicks he may end up unstoppable.

Unfortunately, such things required time and practice which at the moment he lacked.

To him, Military skills did not pan out to be some meridian opening, Qi releasing secret. It did contain some concoctions for pills to build and strengthen one's body but that was all aside from the sword moves. For him, it was like taking this worlds equivalent of muscle-building tonics.

The sword skills were built on the basics, requiring constant practice and enlightenment to become superior to others. Heaven shaking moves were limited only to Ming and his dreams. The Military moves remained grounded on the basics while adding on to it for combination attacks.

He stepped out of the barn wearing another pair of boots. When it came to clothing for the family he never skimped. Especially while living in a harsh environment such as this.

'You can never have enough boots...'

Damn, he certainly sounded like a woman!

'Thud, thud, thud!'

Hearing the banging noise coming from the side of the barn his curiosity got the better of him. Chu at least knew enough of the work schedule that no job was carded for around the barn. He rounded the corner to be greeted by a strange sight.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Chu asked as he stared at the boy who was busy throwing an object onto the side of the barn.

'Didn't this guy have anything better to do?'

He walked slowly towards Ming, with his hands itching to connect with that stupid head.

"Hah, hah! Look at this Chu, see what I invented? I'm going to be rich, rich Chu."

Ming laughed like a manic overdosed on drugs.

Chu already arrived near him with his hands halfway raised for smacking. From time immemorial this guy only had money on his mind. His hands suddenly dropped when he finally comprehended what was going on.

The boy was bouncing his 'boot' off the barn wall. Ming threw it high against the wall and it rebounded towards him. Chu caught the boot as it rebounded in his direction.

The thick blob had dried out leaving a milky but spongy layer around the boot over an inch thick in some places. He squeezed the front of the leather booth in shock of this startling discovery.

"What do you think Chu, isn't your elder brother so amazing? I call it 'Ming's Bouncing Boot', too bad I only have one. All I need you to do is get some more muddy boots like these for me.

Do you know what's the best thing about this?

All I have to do is put the boots out and forget to wash them. Water cannot remove it off when it gets hard. Didn't I say you guys will one day worship the grou..."

Chu could not resist launching some slaps at him.

"Ming's Bouncing Boot my ass. Do you know what this is?"

'Gloves, waterproof clothing, elastic, seals...'

One important discovery.

One word.

"Rubber!"