What is Ma Si Ke doing that Carly didn't even know when she arrived?
Actually, I didn't do anything. I was just enjoying life at home. Ma Si Ke was sitting comfortably at the long table, drinking ale.
His wife, Mara, was excitedly counting the copper coins piled up on the table, while she was also tightly clutching several silver coins in her hand.
The youngest son, Carlo, held a small wooden box very carefully, as if it contained something very important to him.
" Carlo, can I have one of the foods your sister gave you?" Ma Si Ke reached out to her son, though it was understandable, as the taste of the cookies lingered in his mind.
The little boy, Carlo, was clearly unwilling to give it up and dawdled for a long time without opening the small wooden box.
"Aren't you only a few years old?" His wife, Mara, slapped her husband's outstretched hand away.
"Next time you go, ask Carly to give you more."
Ma Si Ke glanced at his wife and said, "You think this thing is a chestnut, something you can find everywhere? You have no knowledge at all."
Mara remained silent; she had only expressed some dissatisfaction with her husband's actions and had simply made a casual remark.
Anyone who saw what Carlo was holding would know it was a very precious food.
She still remembers the first time she opened that paper package, the particularly enticing fragrance that wafted out.
She truly never imagined that one day she would be able to eat something so delicious.
"Oh, by the way, when are you going to Carly's again? Some women here are asking me about you." The delicious food reminded Mara of some recent events; her husband Ma Si Ke's affair was about to be exposed.
"I'm buying horses recently, and I'll be heading there as soon as I've made the purchases." Ma Si Ke knew that some things couldn't be kept secret. Those who were interested should have already found out where he was going and the exquisite things he was bringing back.
However, he doesn't care much about it now. He has already made money in the early stages and has some capital now.
The goods here are almost sold out, and he no longer has the ability to sell them to more distant places, so there are some things he can't earn money from.
Furthermore, when he visited Lord Ed last time, he had already seen all the items there; there were no new goods, and some fine ironware was difficult to transport.
He hasn't found any strange stones to trade with Lord Ed yet, so he'll have to bring more seeds with him.
However, Carly's presence reassured Ma Si Ke considerably. She could at least tell Lord Ed what he needed.
Is anyone home?
Just as Ma Si Ke was thinking about Lord Ed's problem, a sound from outside interrupted his thoughts.
"It looks like the Grandet. I'll go open the door." Martha quickly put away the copper coins.
A moment later
"Haha, Ma Si Ke, I'm bothering you again today. This fresh fish was just caught, and I brought it to you specially."
Grandet's voice preceded his arrival. Ma Si Ke quickly stood up and took the fresh fish from his hand.
The current Ma Si Ke has lost the self-perceived elegance she once possessed.
" Grandet, thank you for the fish. Come sit down and let's talk." Ma Si Ke led Grandet to the table and made him sit down.
"Hey! Ma Si Ke, I see you seem to be getting richer and richer lately. After all these years of friendship, could you share some news with me? I have a lot of family members, and many of my children are going hungry."
Grandet got straight to the point, without much preamble.
Ma Si Ke glanced at Grandet. He knew Grandet wouldn't take him, but there was no need for him to hide it anymore. Whether he could find him or not depended on his luck.
"Go north, then west."