All right, then. I have built the second armory, planted the Tome of Secrets, and started with my first Silk Manufactory.
This is what my city looks like at the moment:
My plan is to have more Silk Manufactories so that I can enjoy a serious production, upgrade some of the Workshops for superior supply necessary for the production of troops and silk, and upgrade a couple of Residences so that I can enjoy a large population.
Before that I will upgrade all the Residences to level 8, of course. By upgrading a Residence from level 7 to level 8, you get a surplus of 10 people (100->110). By upgrading a Residence from level 8 to level 9, you get a surplus of 150 people (110->260).
Higher level Residences and Workshops require more space, but the advantages are obvious. Level 6 Workshops produce 223 supply per hour, whereas level 7 Workshops produce 380 supply per hour.
Thus, my plan is move two Residences across the road to the right and upgrade them to level 9. This will leave room three Workshops to be upgraded to level 7. Next to the my first Silk Manufactory, there is room for two additional Silk Manufactories.
Soon I'll be researching a new City Expansion and I'll be able to occupy the left bottom corner. I will probably need to rearrange everything to accommodate higher level armories. And the Culture department will have to keep up with all this.
Yup. That's all for now.