As soon as Ma Si Ke returned home, his wife Mara and son came out to greet him.
His wife, Mara, had tears welling up in her eyes. "Have you seen Carly?"
"I saw her. It's alright, it's alright. She's fine. She's plump and fair-skinned, much prettier than she is at home."
The middle-aged man took the paper and letter that Carly had given him from the cart and handed them to his wife, saying, "This is from Carly."
Mara took the items but did not open them immediately. Instead, she went back inside to prepare food and water.
The middle-aged man looked at the people who had followed him back. "You all did very well this time. I will give you your reward later. You can also take these leftover black breads with you. After you sell these things, I will go back again, and of course, the reward will be more."
"Really? That's great! We'd all love to go with Mr. Ma again."
These people were very happy to accept. The pay was already quite good, and now they wanted to get some more. They could also take the delicious bread with them, so they wouldn't have to pay for food there next time.
The journey is relatively safe, though it's a bit tiring. But as long as it's hard work, they can get enough to eat. They're not stupid, so of course they're willing to go.
After the goods were sorted out, the caravan temporarily disbanded. Ma Si Ke returned inside.
What did Carly say?
"Nothing else, just some details about this paper." Mara carefully put the letter away.
"Okay, you should keep it safe. That piece of paper is very precious. By the way, has anything happened while I was gone?"
He had been away for almost half a month, and he wanted to see what the market was like now. Since he could now be considered a merchant, he naturally wanted to keep an eye on this kind of news.
Mara put the things back in the inner room before coming out and saying to her husband:
"Those gloves are getting more and more expensive because more and more noble gentlemen and ladies know about them, and I've heard that many gloves are already being sold in faraway places. Grandet even came to our house the other day and asked where you'd been?"
"What did you say?" Ma Sike asked nervously. It seemed he'd have to be more careful next time; he couldn't let anyone else know about the place for now. He needed to make a quick profit first. However, he also knew that secrets couldn't stay secret forever; they would eventually be discovered. His priority now was to make as many trips as possible before others found out.
It seems I need to sell these gloves quickly; I can't afford to wait and find a high-priced buyer. Lord Edd has plenty of gloves. The shoes and money pouch, however, can be sold for a slightly higher price.
Another point is that these things are easy to counterfeit. Although they are not as exquisite as those made by Lord Edd, it is hard to say whether the price will still be as high.
Mara glanced at her somewhat nervous husband and said, "I told you you went to see Carly."
"Hmm, that makes sense." Ma Si Ke was slightly relieved, then took out a money pouch from his waist. This money pouch was given to him by Carly, and now it not only had rabbit markings on it, but also the totem of the Gray Castle territory.
"Here are these copper coins. You can buy anything suitable at the market."
"How do you have so many copper coins?" His wife Mara was astonished and took the large bag of copper coins.
"You know, this business is very profitable. Carly gave me some more copper coins when I got there, but they're useless there. Take these copper coins to the market in the next few days and buy anything you recognize or don't recognize. I'm taking them with me."
Ma Sike looked at his wife again, "You can buy whatever you need for the house. I need to get rid of the goods I brought back as soon as possible. I'll leave the task of buying these trading items to you. You know how important this is."
"Okay, I'll go to the market tomorrow."