Chapter 45: The Travelling Merchant is Back
Robb smiled and said, “It’s good, isn’t it? How about we have a little discussion?”
The mayor listened attentively and said, “What discussion?”
Robb smiled and said, "I'll help you make this type of drink. But you'll have to provide me with apple, grape, and other fruit juice. We can make different flavors of Coca-Cola. What do you think?"
The mayor nodded without hesitation, “Of course! It’s July, and all kinds of fruits will be picked. I’ll get you all sorts of fruit juices. Ha, I’ll save it and drink it slowly for a year.”
The mayor left happily, and after a while, his servants brought in dozens of large buckets, which occupied half of Robb's warehouse, each filled with juice. Because Westwind Town is located at the foot of the Black Pine Mountains, next to the dense mountain forest, all kinds of fruit are produced, so the mayor got a lot.
The servant chief who brought the juice respectfully said to Robb, "the master said that there are still many fruits on the mountain that they haven’t picked. Since Father can use them, he’ll send someone to pick them all and get more juice."
Robb said with a smile: "Alright, go back first. Come back at noon tomorrow. I will give half of the produced Coca-Cola to the mayor.”
The servants left.
After they left, Robb made dozens of buckets of Coca-Cola. In fact, it was quite boring to do the same thing repeatedly, but for him, doing this was a very new thing. It was a piece of cake to do. It's really too easy compared to acting like the pope.
That evening, at dinner, Lillian placed two plates of steak and two slices of bread on the stone table. She witnesses a rare sight of Robb standing. He stood up and threw two magic, chilled cups of Coca-Cola.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, he raised his cup and told Lillian, “Come! Cheers!”
“Master seems to be in a good mood today.” Lillian couldn’t help but mutter. “Though this Coca-Cola is delicious, there is no need to be so happy.”
Robb smiled and said, "You don't understand. I'm not happy because of the drink. I'm glad this place has come to resemble my hometown a bit more. Maybe one day, I can make this place like my hometown."
“If you miss your hometown so much, why not return?” Lillian asked curiously. “I want to follow and see what kind of place master used to live in.”
"I can't go back. I don't really want to go back either." Robb looked up at sunset and said leisurely, "Though I miss my mom a little, she'll surely support me if she knew I was living such a happy life."
At noon the next day, the mayor’s servants came and took half of the Coca-Cola.
In the afternoon, several rich people from the town also came and brought a lot of juice. The town's too small to keep secrets. After the mayor brought back Coca-Cola, the rich people immediately caught on and ran to the mayor to take a taste.
It soon became the norm to trade two buckets of juice for a bucket of Coca-Cola. The wealthy tenants who came later didn't even talk bull; they just gave the fruit juice and left with the Coca-Cola.
July passed quickly, and August came in a blink of an eye.
That morning, Robb had just gotten up and was lazy in the yard when he saw the townspeople passing by at the yard gate, which he had not paid much attention to.
He saw three or five townsmen pass by, all heading towards the center of town.
Curiosity sprang up, and I couldn't help but ask a townsman, "Why are all of you going to the town center?"
"Father!" The townsman respectfully said, "Today is the day when the traveling merchant comes to Westwind Town."
“Travelling merchant? Is he the guy who sold me Lillian?” Robb asked.
"Oh, not that one." The townsman replied respectfully, "The merchant who sold her to you is a wealthy one. He usually comes to Westwind Town every three months to half a year and does high-end business. Generally speaking, he comes to a remote town like Westwind Town only to buy rare things or to buy the daughters of poor families, not to sell things to poor people. We can't afford what he sells. And when he comes to Westwind, we won't go to the center of town."
Robb understood, "That is to say, if you are all walking to the center of town, it means that this time you are going to a lower-end merchant?"
The townsman nodded respectfully and said, "Yes, the traveling merchant is a merchant in the daily necessities department. He comes to Westwind Town every two months to bring us salt, seasoning, and cloth. Anyway, what he brought were necessities that Westwind Town couldn't produce, so every time he came, we would flock to the center of town and buy things from him. " At this point, he looked embarrassed and continued, "I usually work hard, but almost all the money I earn will end up in the hands of the traveling merchant!"
Robb smiled, “That’s interesting.”
“My father, aren’t you going to have a look?” The townsman whispered, "many of the things he sells can't be bought in the town. You may need them. If you are free, you might as well go and have a look."
Robb thought about it carefully, whether he should or shouldn’t take a look. Although he didn't know if he needed anything, he might find something interesting. Anyway, it's just shopping, not a mission.
He shouted, "Lillian, grab a shopping basket. Let's go shopping."
Lillian ran over with a smile, smiling like a flower, "Ah, when my parents were still around, I liked shopping with them. There were always a lot of good things from big cities."
Seeing her lovely smiling face, Robb was also happy, "Then, every time the traveling merchant comes, let's go shopping."