Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 952: Merchants from Ayutthaya Kingdom

Ekathat and Ramesuan were prominent merchants from the Ayutthaya Kingdom of ASEAN who had arrived at the empire for business. At the port of Puducherry, Ekathat got down from a medium-scale 800-tonne ship and let out a sigh of admiration as soon as he took a look at the bustling atmosphere at the port.

"I wonder when our country will be so developed," Ekathat made way for his partner and lamented.

Ramesuan, getting down from the stairs, was sweating profusely. Hearing the complicated emotions in his friend’s words, he couldn’t help but take a look at the atmosphere in the Puducherry Port with some envy.

"I don’t know if it is even possible, brother."

This was not the first time Ekathat and Ramesuan had come to the empire, since, being spice merchants, it is almost inevitable that they would travel to the Bharatiya Empire, especially its spice capital of the East Coast, Puducherry, so they came once or twice every year.

Getting out of their stupor, no one had to tell them what to do, as they quickly ordered the workers at the port to unload all the different spices they had brought from the Dai Viet Kingdom and the Sulawesi Federation, while they themselves went to the Port Administrators’ Office and registered their names with the immigration bureau.

It only took a few hours for their ship to be filled up with industrial goods of the Bharatiya Empire, especially the metal utensils and Rice cookers, which are very popular among the high-class people of all ASEAN countries.

However, Ekathat and Ramesuan did not board the ship and go back to their homes; instead, they handed over the responsibility to two young men who were none other than the eldest sons of Ekathat and Ramesuan, who were tasked with such a responsibility.

"Be careful, brat, if something has gone missing, I will break your legs," Ekathat said as he looked up at his son, who was even taller than him and glared.

"The same goes for you, don’t spend too much time in Nakkavaram, get back home quickly and deliver all the cargo to your uncle or else..." Ramesuan simply clenched his fist, causing his knuckles to crackle.

’Gulp!’

Both sons nodded their heads like chickens pecking at rice as they quickly boarded the ships and set off into the Bengal Sea.

Ekathat, who finally saw the silhouette of the ship disappear on the horizon, couldn’t help but look at the fat man right next to him.

"Hey fatty, when we came to the Bharatiya Empire, weren’t you the one who insisted on staying in Nakavaram for a few more days until you played all the games in the city and lost over 4000 Varaha? Now, with what face are you warning your son against gambling?"

"...."

Ramesuan immediately became embarrassed but he was not to be outdone, "I remember there was a case of XXX rum brewed in one of the Bharatiya Empire’s overseas territories. Originally, we decided to sell it to some local shops to test the market, but I wonder where it has gone missing."

Now it was Ekathat’s turn to be embarrassed, and Ramesuan took the opportunity to rub salt into the wounds.

"Hey, stick man, weren’t you the one who drank all the rum? How can you preach to your son something which you yourself don’t follow?"

"...."

"Forget it, although those brats are unreliable sometimes, in the matter of serious business, they could be trusted."

"Ohh, look at the time, come on, let’s go, we have a long journey ahead of us."

Ramesuan agreed with his friend and turned around to leave.

"Hey, stickman, wait up."

"Damn, fatty, walk fast."

---

Ekathat and Ramesuan are traditionally spice merchants, but over a year ago they purchased a large plot of land stretching over 2000 acres in Cebu Island of the United States of the Philippines, right on the outskirts of Cebu City, mainly because they wanted to see if they could do the spice processing themselves by opening up a small factory. They found the business environment in the United States of the Philippines to be better than their own kingdom, so they chose it instead of Ayutthaya, but who would have thought they accidentally discovered a porphyry ore with at least a 1000 tonne deposit of copper.

They initially wanted to sell the whole plot of land to some mining companies for a huge profit and buy land somewhere else in the Philippines, but a wrench was put into their plans when a local small time mining contracter Who works for other large mining companies in the Philippines and Southeast Asia based off of Cebu Island approached them and asked them if they would like to do the mining business in partnership.

The person who came to them came with a deal of mining the ore for them, and his offer was very attractive as well. Although the person said that he doesn’t have his own company and he himself does not have a lot of funds, being a contractor for the last decade and working for several mining companies, he had rich experience in handling the mining operations of any type of mine, and he had over 1000 miners ready to work. In exchange for his and his people’s expertise, Ekathat and Ramesuan would provide the land, mining rights, and equipment for mining.

When this offer came, Ekathat and Ramesuan were extremely excited because they knew how profitable the mining industry was, especially the mining of copper. If gold was the most sought-after mineral in the world, then copper was only a few minerals below it, and copper had become even more sought after in the Bharatiya Empire after the emperor’s first 5 year plan came out.

So, making the determination, Ekathat and Ramesuan opened a mining company called Eastern Ayutthaya Mining Company Pvt Ltd and set off to the Bharatiya Empire to purchase necessary equipment and tools for deep pit mining.

They both came to a carriage stand hoping to find a carriage which would take them to either Mangaluru or Thiruvananthapuram because they learned that the Devaraya atmospheric steam engine could be bought and taken away with them in those two places.

When they were looking for one that would be willing to take them to one of the two places, a small carriage driver asked them a question that took them by surprise.

"Sir, why don’t you use the GSBC for travel? You could reach the western coast within the day, and it’s cheaper as well."

"GSBC?"

"It’s the Great Southern Bharatiya Canal, sir, we shortened it to GSBC for convenience."

Ekathat and Ramesuan looked at each other in surprise. "Is the canal open?"

"Haha, it looks like you haven’t been in the empire for a long time, the canal has been open for a few months now. If you are interested, I could take you to the canal. In fact, my carriage is specialised in running tours from Pondicherry to Chidambaram."

"Chidambaram?"

"Chidambaram is a city on the northern bank of the canal, only 4KM away."

Ekathat and Ramesuan were silent for a few minutes contemplating if they should really tread the uncharted waters, but looking at each other’s eyes, they both understood that they valued the time and money that would be saved by using the canal.

"Alright, we might as well follow your suggestion, Mr Driver, we will be in your care."

"Haha, welcome, sir, welcome."

From Pondicherry, Chidambaram was over 60 kilometres away, but due to the national highway laid down between the two cities, it only took 7 to 8 hours to complete the whole trip. At the time Ekathat and Ramesuan reached Chidambaram, it was 8 or 9 at night, so they simply rented a room in a hotel at Chidambaram and took some rest. Early in the morning, they finally got to see Chidambaram in the light.

"Not too shabby..." Ramesuan commented as he looked at the orderly streets and beautiful Vedic-style buildings all around.

"True, although it is not as good as Puducherry, it’s already catching up with our capital."

They quickly took a bath, ate a traditional Tamil breakfast, and set off to the canal.

Getting to the banks of the Kollidam river, Ekathat and Ramesuan were surprised to see a large platform that was built right on the banks of the river.

"Hello, sir, are you coming to the Empire on a tour? Might you be interested in touring the major attractions along GSBC?"

"Huh, no, we want to get to Mangaluru."

The man, who was an independent travel broker, looked a little disappointed, but he quickly recovered because he already suspected something similar, since who would come on a tour with a middle-aged man in tow? But he was not done yet, as he continued to offer his services.

"There are multiple ships operating this route, sirs, but if you are willing to spend a few hundred Varaha, I’m willing to get you the best seats on the fastest ship that will get you across the empire."

To be Continued...

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