On the road outside the market.
"We're leaving soon, and unfortunately our employment relationship is coming to an end," Ed said to the little guide.
"No, sir, there is nothing to regret. It has been a pleasant journey for me, and it has been an honor to serve you."
"I'm very satisfied with your service. Here's your payment." Ed took out several loaves of black bread.
"Oh, sir, you are the most generous person I have ever met. Thank you for your gift, and thank you for the present." The little girl waved her hand.
"No, you deserve it," Ed said to the little girl who had run away.
"Let's go back."
Ed had completed his mission and wanted to return as soon as possible. He had a bad feeling; his first long journey had gone too smoothly, which didn't make sense.
It was in another, rather ordinary house, but compared to the other houses around it, it seemed somewhat out of place.
"Carly, where did you go?"
A middle-aged man looked at the little girl who had run back from outside and asked her a question.
The middle-aged man was wearing coarse linen clothes, which were tattered but still looked neat.
"I'm going to be a guide for a stranger," the little girl whispered.
"Carly, this is not something a noble lady should do." The middle-aged man was very dissatisfied with the girl's behavior.
"Oh, Father, but we have already lost our land, even long ago."
"Carly, your grandfather was too kind, but we cannot be corrupted." The middle-aged man looked at the little girl with some anger.
"Oh, Father, we are already starving, and my younger brother is very thin."
Hearing the girl mention her son, the middle-aged man's anger lessened somewhat, and after a pause, he said:
"Carly, I apologize for what I just said, but please don't lose the manners of a noble lady in public."
"No, Father, we are already commoners."
The middle-aged man's anger, which had just subsided, surged up again.
He glared angrily at the little girl, Carly.
The atmosphere became a little tense, probably because she didn't want to anger her father to death.
The little girl, Carly, quickly took out the bread from her back and said, "Father, this is a reward from the generous strangers."
Seeing that the middle-aged man was doing better, it became clear that his family was indeed experiencing a food crisis.
"That damn lord not only stole his land, but also raised the mill tax so high. I really want to kick his ass out of his body."
However, he only dared to say these words in his heart; it would be unbecoming of his status to say them out loud.
"Carly, who is this stranger? Why are you giving him so much bread?" the middle-aged man asked curiously.
"He is a very young person, probably the same age as us, but he is definitely living a better life than us."
"Oh, so he's a nobleman. What's he doing here?"
"He needs some salt, and I've already gotten it for him."
"Salt? What did he trade for it?" the middle-aged man asked curiously.
Salt is readily available because there are boats that can reach the sea. There isn't much forest, so fur is relatively scarce.
"Take a look, this is it. Give it back to me right away." After saying that, the little girl handed the gloves to her father.
The middle-aged man took the gloves and examined them, marveling at their exquisite craftsmanship.
"What about the outsider? How do you want him to change?"
"A pair of gloves and a jar of salt."
"Who did you ask to exchange it? How was it exchanged?"
"Of course it's Uncle Grandet, a pair of gloves and two cans of salt."
"I knew you wouldn't trade something this good for just a jar of salt."
Middle-aged men generally understand their daughters quite well, just as daughters understand their fathers well.
"Where's the extra salt?"
"Uncle Grandet will give us bread."
The middle-aged man looked at the gloves repeatedly, thinking they were better than those worn by many noble ladies.
"Carly, this glove might contain more than two cans of salt!"