The Progress of the Three Branches

The first shipments left Northport before sunrise.

Dozens of wagons rolled out through the factory gates loaded with wooden crates stamped with the Helmarte Soap Works seal.

Drivers shouted to one another.

Horses pulled against their harnesses.

Workers checked manifests one final time before departure.

For the first time, the Northport factory was no longer preparing to sell soap.

It was selling soap.

Inside the loading yard, the factory manager watched the wagons disappear down the road before letting out a long breath.

Months of construction.

Months of planning.

Months of preparation.

And now everything depended on whether customers actually bought the product.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Ernest sat inside the Helmarte office reviewing production reports when a clerk hurried into the room.

"Master Ernest."

"What is it?"

"The first sales figures arrived from Northport."