Chapter 4: Twenty Million Dollars
"Papa, I am ready."
Isabela came out of her room after what felt like an hour of preparation, wearing a dress and some makeup. Even here, it was customary to wear formal attire when picking up guests. I wore a Western-style suit and a top hat.
"Let's get going then."
Below, the carriages awaited. They were nothing like the carriages I was accustomed to. They were much smaller but sturdier, built for rugged roads. Each had a small passenger box that could only fit two, while the coach driver sat in front on an elevated seat. Both were pulled by locally bred horses, the size of ponies.
Isabela and I took the first carriage, snugly fitting into the tight cabin. The young lad called Rodrigo took the driver's seat as our calesero. The second, empty carriage followed behind as we set out.
The wheels treaded over the shadows cast by the houses against the early morning sun. The residences of the affluent lined the roads at the center of town. A few familiar faces gave us a wave, a smile, or both as we passed by.
There was negligible traffic on the road. Carriages, even small and simple ones like the one we were riding in, were extremely rare in the province due to the rough roads. I could count on one hand the carriages in town, and two of them were mine.
As we got farther out, the buildings became sparser, and trees and bushes grew more abundant. The outer part of town was where the middle class and the lower class lived. They resided in bahay kubos, which, unlike the bahay na batos, were made primarily of nipa leaves and bamboo.
The nipa huts varied greatly in size and aesthetic quality. The wealthier ones lived in bigger, multi-room, well-maintained huts, while the lower class settled for two-room or single-room bahay kubos.