Chapter 49: An act of generosity
[Quest has been achieved.]
[You have earned +3 universal coins.]
[You have earned the title Child of Trade.]
Ren jumped the moment the notifications came in, throwing his hands up in elation. He had not felt this giddy since seeing the sizes of his crop produce for the very first time after the fountain of elaxis had shown its effects. Those still waiting in line wondered what all the happiness was about. His joy in that moment would quickly become the source of their dissatisfaction, as he declared that he was closing up and going home to rest.
"We have sold all our bottles. Come tomorrow for some more milk." They groaned. Some even protested by staying in line and pretending they had not heard what Ren himself had just said. A few bothered to stop by the other milk stalls and bought from them instead, but as expected, theirs was typical. It was bland, and it was not blue.
"Here, the five copper coins I owe you." Ren handed the blonde girl her pay, a small fraction of what he had made through the day. He would have to visit the local bank to get the copper changed into silver and gold, but that could wait. He glanced over his right shoulder, eyeing the spot where he had left the drunken boy. The young man was still there, still asleep, completely unbothered by all the noise and activity around him.
’So no one came to take him home. Must not be very popular.’ He was still thinking on it when a voice cut through and pulled his attention back. It was the girl who had sold the milk for him.
"Do you need an assistant to help you sell, sir?" she asked. Her face had gone quite red, and Ren could tell she was shy and pushing herself to ask anyway. He respected that. Not yielding to one’s feelings, and doing what needed to be done regardless. Unfortunately, he was not in need of an assistant, or rather, he had already found someone he thought would fill the role.
He smiled at her and lowered himself slightly to her level. "You seem quite eager to work, and I respect that, but I am not in need of an assistant, at least not right now. You will be the first I ask if I happen to need one." Ren nodded at her and she nodded back. She was a cute girl, and the fact that she was quite short, especially standing next to Ren, made him feel warmer toward her.
He had the money now. Perhaps he could let someone else do all the work for a change.
That aside, he had more business to attend to. He looked over at the two women with milk stalls not far from where he stood. One of them glared at him. The other’s eyes looked away entirely. He walked toward them. The one who had been glaring immediately began packing up her wineskins the moment she noticed him coming. He needed to put her at ease. He wasn’t approaching to intimidate her.
"Hey. I am not here to threaten you or cause you any trouble. I want to buy some milk."
The woman froze and looked back at him, her expression asking the question "Why?" plainly without words. The other woman had her eyes on Ren now too, clearly wanting in on whatever he was about to offer. Seeing them up close, Ren noticed how tired both their faces were, the bags beneath their eyes plain to see. He hated to judge people on how they dressed, but they looked as though they had overslept and walked straight out of bed to come to work, with no thought spared for their rough hair or their crumpled clothing. It did not matter, regardless.
"Buy some milk? Why not drink some of your own." Then she paused, leaned forward and eyed him with suspicion. "Or is your milk bad?"
"No, of course not. I would never do anything to harm anyone in this village."
She shook her head at that, though her expression softened slightly. Like the others, she knew how hard Ren had fought to save the poisoned children, and that counted for something.
"Alright then. You want to buy some milk?"
"Yes!"
"I have some too," the other woman called out.
"I will buy yours as well."
"For the same price? Three coins?" the bolder of the two, the brunette, asked.
"No. Two copper coins. You keep your wineskins."
It was clearly a good deal. They stood to lose the profit from selling with the wineskins included, but they got to keep the wineskins themselves, so it evened out. The brunette squinted at him for a moment, then nodded. "Deal."
Between the two of them, they had about twenty-seven wineskins of milk, which Ren poured into his bottles. A few wineskins were left over, and he exchanged his empty ones for theirs so as not to pay for the containers themselves. He owed the women a total of five silver coins and four copper coins.
The brunette had contributed more. Of the twenty-seven, eighteen were hers and the remaining nine belonged to the other woman. Ren paid them accordingly. They thanked him warmly, and from the way they spoke, it was clear they took it mostly as an act of kindness on his part. Had they failed to sell the milk, they would have had no choice but to carry it all back home and consume what they could before it spoiled. To them, what Ren had done was generous. They did not know that he intended to turn a profit on every last drop he had bought from them. He was, after all, the Child of Trade.
Ren got back home with his pockets considerably heavier than when he had left. Rokku still sat high above on his branch, eyes closed in meditation.
’I don’t think he has moved at all. Does he pee? No, chickens do not pee. But he is evolved, and he thinks the way I do. Perhaps he does pee.’
Ren set down his crate and dumped all the copper coins he had collected onto the table. They had to be in the hundreds.
"I am becoming quite rich here." He chuckled.