Carly was looking at the items on the shelf when her father's sudden question caught her off guard.
Does she want to go back? No, she doesn't. It's very good here, and she doesn't want to go back. She just saw her father, and her longing for her family has lessened.
"Father, I don't want to go back yet. Please take these papers and this letter to Mother."
Carly bought some softer paper and a letter she had already written and handed it to her father.
Carly's father, a middle-aged man named Ma Shike, looked at Carly but didn't say anything.
He turned to Ed and said, "Lord Ed, Carly doesn't want to go back, so I'll have to trouble you."
Ed looked at the father and daughter. "Mr. Ma Si Ke, Carly has helped our territory a lot. She can stay as long as she wants."
The middle-aged man, Ma Si Ke, felt a little sad. He had just met Ma Si Ke and was about to leave. He hadn't been moved to tears during their previous meeting, but now that it was time to say goodbye, he couldn't hold back his emotions.
He wanted to stay a couple more days, but time simply didn't allow it.
He suppressed his emotions so that he could still appear as a debonair middle-aged man.
"Well, thank you for your generosity, Lord Ed. We're heading back now, since gloves might be more expensive when it's cold."
Ed understood him; after all, who doesn't travel a long way hoping to gain more?
"Father, please change into these shoes!" Carly brought over another pair of extremely unreliable shoes.
Because it's really hard to describe Ma Si Ke's shoes. They're so unreliable, but the only unreliable thing about them is the smell; everything else is pretty reliable.
Carly's actions made Ma Sike's already somewhat saddened emotions difficult to contain. He secretly wiped the corner of his eye while changing his shoes and looking down.
As people reach middle age, their emotions become quite peculiar. Sometimes, even small things can make you think for a long time, and you lose the carefree attitude you had when you were young.
Carly didn't know how her actions made her father feel; she only saw his shoes, which were already in terrible condition.
Sometimes emotions are so subtle, always hidden unexpectedly.
The group returned along the same route. The wide road was full of people coming and going, chatting and laughing in twos and threes. It was lunchtime.
Ma Sike felt a pang of envy for these people. He had only seen the scenery of this territory before, but now he saw its people. He knew that only those who lived well could have such smiles. This kind of smile couldn't be faked.
The others who came with them were also somewhat envious. They were still struggling to find food, and they wondered how the people of this territory managed to eat in such a luxurious place. Where did their copper coins come from? Of course, no one would tell them unless they stayed for a long time.
All good things must come to an end, but this one ended rather quickly.
At the place where Carly's father, Ma Si Ke, had just arrived, Carly looked at her father who was about to leave, and she felt a little sad.
"Father, please be careful on the road. Although there are no robbers now, there may still be some fools who go back to doing that job."
Ma Si Ke looked at Carly with a puzzled expression.
"Carly, how did you know there weren't any robbers on the road?" He was wondering. What were those robbers up to? He had even prepared things for them.
Carly was also a little stunned. Although the matter of the kidnappers was over, she was still unwilling to tell her father the truth: it was the kidnappers who had brought her here.
"Father, it was Lord Ed who dealt with the robbers."
Carly remained standing there, stunned, until her father, Ma Si Ke, disappeared into the jungle.
"Carly, let's go back. Tomorrow will be another beautiful day."