Carlotta and Ella's lives finally calmed down.
The days passed by day by day, and it was the end of July in a blink of an eye.
In the past month, although everyone in Mellaren knew that the Danes had attacked the south, the enemy had no intention of going north to continue fighting. The people of Mellaren were on alert, and all the men also made the most basic preparations for war.
The enemy did not expand the war, and as time went by, people gradually stopped worrying.
Because the climate is getting cooler.
Autumn is coming, and the wheat fields around Mälarenberg are entering the final state of earing, one step away from maturity.
But before the wheat harvest, many crops are ripe and traded in the market.
Gould didn't know if the Russians were interested in the pile of goods he brought back. After all, Rurik's attitude was that he wanted anything useful.
Onions, cabbage, yellow root carrots, such vegetables that are durable and large in quantity, Gould has stored a lot of them.
There were also a lot of fresh raspberries, and he also sent people to buy these plums and bake them into dried plums.
He thought about it. Rurik promised to buy grain at twice the market price, but what about fruits and vegetables? Is it also doubling the purchase price?
The only thing he can be sure of is that the Russians are in great need of food this year.
In the past, the fleet heading north often had a large number of empty ships, but this year the situation will completely change.
Gould himself took charge of the island and sent his eldest son back to his hometown to deliver the order to move.
In this way, his family members in Oncras, as well as the large amount of property still hoarded there, must first be transported to Gould Island.
In the conceivable future, this island, which is about the size of two football fields, will become a huge cargo yard, with a large number of ships anchored around the island.
Even before Gould moved, his reputation was already spreading around the market.
Because the Britten men and women captured by Norwegian traders were all bought by Gould.
He also took away all the dirty little beggars on the street.
Beggars, those ragged people squatting in the corner, they are real beggars.
They don’t ask for money, they just ask for a bite of food. Even if it’s a fish bone they’ve finished eating, they’ll try to eat it again. Sometimes a stench comes from the hidden places in the street. Not surprisingly, it is the rotting corpse of a beggar who has been dead for a long time.
Who would have mercy on such a person? Yes, there are, but there are too few merciful people.
The Melalen tribe is indeed prosperous, and the gap between rich and poor within it is even more extreme. Once there is a natural disaster, the tribal tenant farmers immediately go bankrupt. If they do not want to become slaves, they can only stay on the streets.
Businessman Gould almost collected all the beggars, and the security of the entire market suddenly improved. For example, during this period, traders who buy fish basically no longer have to worry about their fish being stolen, and farmers who sell carrots don't have to worry about their "extra losses."
Because all the beggars are on Gould Island, it has become a children's nest!
There are more than seventy children to feed. If you just feed them, it's not a big number. What's more, the children here are mainly girls, and some boys are too young. It doesn't take much food to feed them.
Are so many children going to become Rurik's servants?
Maybe the problem is not that simple.
Gould will transport as many children as possible as agreed, and he will make a reasonable fee from it. So where does this group of children end up? He naturally thought of the group of boys who followed Rurik for war training. Maybe Rurik was already preparing wives for his young subordinates ten years from now?
Thinking about this, he was quite excited.
Gould has been doing nothing recently, and even the two Ostara girls have nothing to do.
The boring days are temporary. He knows that when the wheat harvest season comes, he will lead people to the market and buy the wheat as soon as possible, even if the wheat kernels have not yet been dried.
Finally, a fat old guy came to visit unexpectedly in a boat.
The man wore a beautiful ferret hat with two beautiful feathers on the top. The man also wore a ferret coat, with a belt wrapped around his waist with gold thread. His boots are made of black calfskin, and the upper and sole are stitched quite tightly.
Such a well-dressed man is none other than the businessman Fo Degen.
The appearance of this person made Gould instinctively think that he was about to seal a big deal again.
At the dock, Gould met him personally.
Two wealthy businessmen embraced each other enthusiastically. It was this smile that was full of business atmosphere. They smiled on each other's faces and talked about business topics, both trying to get the most benefits.
Goodell was willing to do business with Fo Degen, and what he wanted was the leather and leather clothes in Fo Degen's hands.
Because in the Melalen business circle, mainstream businessmen all know this Verdegen. After buying cowhide and processing it into leather clothing, they still have to earn a processing fee. In the past, only a few scattered tailors did this kind of work, but Fo Degen gathered a group of tailors to work for him.
"My friend, is it my good stuff that attracts you? Maybe you should land on my island earlier. I'm sorry, all my high-quality goods have been sold out."
Fordegen gently pushed the old man away: "Don't mention it, I suffered a big loss this year."
"Something happened to you?"
"South! The Ostara people were attacked, and I was also implicated. You should have heard about this. I escaped with the Gran people to avoid being hacked to death by the Danes..." Fodegen deliberately He described his experience as miserable, but in reality, his loss was not serious.
"Oh, it's so tragic. Let's talk about it in the house. Someone, come and make arrangements for my friend."
Gould recruited two mercenaries and welcomed Fordegen and his attendants into the meeting hall.
He turned around and called Yevluo again: "Go and call those two girls over."
"As you command, my lord."
Jevro ran away quickly, and soon grabbed Carlotta and Ella who were having fun, and brought them to Gould, who had been waiting for a while.
"Sir, is there something important?" Carlotta asked weakly with a happy face.
"There is one thing. A friend of mine just came here. I suspect that your sisters also recognize that person. Now come with me and verify my suspicion."
"Do we recognize him?" Carlotta thought for a moment in suspicion, "Well, it would be great if we could know the whereabouts of my people."
What other acquaintances can I have? Carlotta felt that this fat Gould was a businessman with great powers, and maybe some of her own tribe had dealt with him.
The two girls followed Gould closely and entered the meeting hall through a side door, where business discussions were held.
At this time, Fodegen, who had arrived earlier, was already staring at the transparent crystal glass filled with wine, his mind filled with envy. He wanted to take it for himself, just because there were always Gould's mercenaries around him, staring at him like door gods.
Gould came and coughed twice, which made Fordegen suddenly look up.
It was at this look that Carlotta and Ella were stunned.
"It's you?! Fordgen!" Carlotta exclaimed and suddenly covered her mouth, subconsciously grabbing Gould's belt.
Ella was even more frightened, so she hugged her sister's body tightly and closed her eyes tightly.
"You... you? Carlotta, Ella?! Is it you? Why are you two here?!" Fodegen was stunned on the spot, and his trembling hands almost caused the glass to fall. on the ground.
Gould was a little surprised by this. Thinking about the girl's previous self-statement and even Voldegen's self-statement, he estimated that they might have been in contact with each other for a long time.
"Haha, I guess you guys know each other. Haha, Fo Degen, it's really you." Gould laughed out loud, then shook his head with a tight mouth. "Sit down, Fordgen, my friend. I hope you will never frighten these two canaries again."
"I..." Fodegen was stunned for a while. He sat down and thought about the current situation, and couldn't help but think more about it.
Even if they gained a little weight, the two-faced Fordegen would still remember them.
Fordgen grimaced: "My friend, I saved these two canaries. They escaped. They don't belong to me, but they don't belong to you either. We are friends. I advise you, no matter how beautiful they are, , neither you or I can take her as a wife or concubine."
"Yes! I heard about it. These two girls told me about your inappropriate thoughts."
"Indeed, if I had known their identities earlier, I wouldn't have had those thoughts. But you!" Fo Degen said with a heavy old face, like dark clouds suppressing the earth. "Friend, no matter what the reason is that led you to get them. Believe what I am saying now, they are the nobles of the Ostara people and cannot be owned by businessmen like you and me. For our benefit, you should let them go! .”
"Oh? What if I don't agree?" Gould knew what the man meant and he asked this question deliberately.
"You don't agree? Then maybe I'll lose a friend like you."
Now, Gould was smiling while sipping his glass.
After calming down, Carlotta sat next to Gould. She was surprised and tried to cheer up. First, she coughed twice and said: "Fordgen, now that you know our identity, will we still have that kind of behavior now?" Any ideas?”
"You...Carlotta, I don't dare. You are very beautiful, but you are not a gem that someone like me can possess."
"No!" Carlotta shook her head, "Not only did you want us to be your concubines, but you also stole our amber and our gold coins. You are really greedy."
Gould immediately echoed: "I heard what they said about this, but I didn't expect that it was really you. Fordegen, if you take advantage of others' danger, your business will not last long."
"I...you two joined forces to attack me?" Fo Degen suppressed his blush and defended: "If I knew her identity, I would not ask her to be my wife."
"And you also forced many of my people to be slaves. You are so cruel." Carlotta continued to criticize.
Carlotta was young, and she said harsh words like a knife with a sullen and delicate face, which made Fodegen feel uncomfortable all over.
He immediately defended: "Carlotta, you can't say that. I didn't force your people! Your people are starving to death. I bought cattle from the Gran people and gave you beef. I am a businessman. , it’s right to ask for a reward from you! Children, you don’t have to deny it, if you and Ella didn’t eat my beef, you would have starved to death long ago!”
There is indeed nothing false about this matter. Carlotta nodded: "That's right. But our surviving tribesmen have still become your slaves. They must have all been sold by you, because that's what you said at the time."
Gould also interjected with a sullen face: "You were a businessman who did your duty, but unexpectedly you became a slave trader, just like those Norwegians. If you are selling enemies, I have nothing to say. Now you It has become so depraved that it even sells out its allies.”
At this time, Fo Degen seemed to be trying to defend himself. He was already very angry and simply accepted their reasoning for the time being.
Vordegen deliberately put on a fearless look: "You are right, when doing business, I just want money. The people of Ostara are indeed miserable. Compared with the Danish army who kills everyone on sight, I at least We saved a hundred people, so at least they are still alive.”
"Slave? Life is worse than death." After saying this, Carlotta shed two lines of tears.
Seeing Ford's denial, he wavered his hands desperately: "My child, you are wrong. Gould, you are all wrong. Don't misunderstand me again, I did not really become a slave trader."
"That's a liar! Greedy liar! You have offended me." Carlotta said the most vicious words in the weakest manner, and her little face was red with anger.
Fordegen did not talk to the little girl. He told Gould: "I have heard some things these days. You said that I want to be a slave trader. Gould, aren't you also working hard to collect beggars from the streets of Mälaren?" Son. I have heard about this. It is said that a businessman almost captured the beggar. There are rumors that the businessman is you, and you are also a slave trader."
"I don't deny it. What you learned is a fact, but it is not the truth. I have raised those children well, and now all the children are healthy. In the future, I will send the children to the Russians."
"Send it to the Russians? For what?"
"Because..." Gould thought again and made up a reason at random: "The leaders of the Rus like children very much. They finally realized that abandoning female babies is a stupid thing. They have even gone to the east to absorb foreign women. Wife, I think you can understand."
"It's incredible. I thought they simply couldn't afford to raise more children. Did they just not like little girls in the past?" Fordegen shook his head, "So you collected a lot of children? Oh, then you You are so kind. You actually feed so many beggars, you are so rich. Oh no, you are such a kind person."
"Haha, put away your flattery! Of course I am rich." Gould laughed. "The Russians said they need more children, or more people. Friends, maybe you can guess, the Russians..."
"Were they merciful?"
"No! They are too ambitious!" Gould said solemnly.
