It’s another Sunday morning. The city of Kalliu will hold a special market on this day every week. Before the sun rises, you need to take a horse-drawn carriage from the center of Kalliu to the southern town, and then along the river. Walking for a distance downstream, this urban area is called Piero by the locals, named after the surname of an arrogant knight.
There are fewer residents here, and although there are fewer buildings than in the city center, the overall style is much more comfortable and spacious. And since freight carriages often pass through here, the roads are generally very wide, but the rough and dirty stone roads may be a bit rough. Feet, the dust rising in the sky will also make some people with respiratory sensitivities feel uncomfortable.
In addition to not paying attention to the yellow and black river water, you should also pay special attention to the horse manure accumulated on the road and covering the uppers of your shoes. No one likes to accidentally step into the smelly quagmire, but the local residents have already adapted to it. The environment here, and they are always willing to see the expressions of noble gentlemen after soiling their boots. This is one of the few entertainments here, but you must not laugh out loud.
The so-called special market is held in the city of "Piero". The reason why it is special is that it only exists on Monday mornings, and wonderful products from all over the world will have a chance to appear here. If you arrive late, , you will miss the opportunity to feast your eyes.
However, Cesare Hunya came to this city early not to participate in the market, but to arrive at the Heike Machinery Workshop here to pick up the order from Henry's grocery store. This is considered part of his job, and You can find matchmakers only on today of the week.
The Heike Machinery Workshop is not only the most iconic presence in the city of Piero, but also the largest building in the entire city of Carlisu, except for the cathedral.
The workshop is built close to the river. The waterwheel that provides power is as majestic as a giant standing in the river. The whole body of the workshop is almost made of pure metal. It has a huge integrated arched roof and can accommodate two heavy vehicles. The open door allows rail trains to enter and exit at the same time. Endless black smoke is discharged from the surrounding pipes, like a huge and permanently burning boiler. The noise of metal collision in the workshop can be heard across several streets. Perhaps This is why there are fewer residents here.
In addition to seeing workers and carriages carrying goods coming and going, there are also a large number of child laborers who may not be in their teens. The Orsini family hires these young children with pitiful wages to speed up the city's development. Production capacity, they wear small work clothes, black like elves rolled in kerosene, twisting screws, fixing gears, cleaning oil stains, whatever they can do.
Thinking on the bright side, working here is much better than cleaning chimneys at rich people's homes. They will always get stuck or fall off. After all, not all children are as lucky as the students in aristocratic colleges.
"Cylinder gears, bevel gears, helical gears...and iron sheets, angle steel, wooden boards, flints." The workers loaded the goods onto the carriage, and Cesare stood next to the carriage in plain clothes. In contrast to a group of burly workers, the young man His body looks a bit thin. At this time, Cesare carefully checked the goods on the carriage according to the list given by Henry. After all, this was related to whether this month's salary could be paid normally.
When everything is ready, cover the carriage's pallet with a big cloth and secure it tightly. A seemingly old but strong man wiped his hands full of olive oil, walked out of the spark-scattered workshop to the carriage, and took out a bag of tied things from the pocket of his work clothes. , stuffed under the cloth.
"This is this?" Cesare on the side asked with some confusion. No matter what this thing was, it was definitely not on the manifest.
The old man who looked like a worker grinned. "New gum, fresh stuff brought back by the pioneers from the south, old guy Henry definitely likes it." The old man's hair is all gray, but the muscles all over his body are very strong, his skin is tanned, and his work clothes are also stained. It was full of oil stains and traces of smoke. Seeing that Cesare had just added a few words to the cargo list without making any other response, he asked in turn.
"If I guess correctly, you are Cesare, the boy who works in Henry's shop. Henry always mentioned you before, saying that you are good and a good material."
Hearing the other party's compliment, Cesare raised his head and put a polite smile on his face. Then he seemed to suddenly remember something, looked at the goods tied on the car, and then looked at the old worker in front of him. "Excuse me, do you have any extra ink here to draw the magic circle?" Although Cesare did not express hope, since he was here, he might as well give it a try.
After hearing this, the old worker scratched the beard on his chin. "Are you going to draw the magic circle of the power machine? This thing is not like gears and iron sheets that can be given to you in excess. The magic circle ink is personally supervised by the church. Even the amount used in our workshop is limited. You Don’t be delusional, kid.”
Although it was expected, Cesare was inevitably a little disappointed, and finally struggled to ask: "Well, have you ever heard of a magic circle drawn with something similar to squid juice?" Cesare recalled the mechanical heart. The ink inside the magic circle, the black, viscous and putrid liquid, other than squid ink, I really don’t know how to describe it.
Squid juice? "The old worker laughed a few times. "I've never heard of it. I thought using swan blood and bat urine to draw a magic circle was outrageous enough, but squid juice? You really know how to joke, kid. "His words completely dispelled Cesare's thoughts. If he has never heard of the largest workshop in Carlisle, then even a market with abundant products is unlikely to be profitable. This topic is considered to be over.
But as if he hadn't had time to chat with anyone for too long, the old worker didn't stop talking. He smacked his tongue and continued to ask Cesare: "Seriously, how is the old guy doing lately? Is he feeling well? ?”
"Mr. Henry? God bless him, he is in good health." Cesare responded politely.
"Yes, God bless you, but if he gets fatter, he will really go to see God." As the old worker spoke, he suddenly stretched out his hand to pinch his nose, and blew his nose violently. At the same time, Cesare said with a smile on his face. Smile took a few steps back to avoid the liquid from splashing on her clothes. Calculating the time in his mind, he interrupted the old worker's tendency to speak apologetically: "I'm sorry, sir, but the time is almost up. I may have to rush back."
"Ah, go back. Go back." The old worker shook the hand he had just blown his nose and patted the carriage again. "Remember, don't talk nonsense about my purchase. Henry should have told you that these parts are not allowed to be sold normally." After saying that, the old worker twisted his neck and looked around, then reached out and patted Cesare. He turned around and left. This time Cesare couldn't escape. He had no choice but to take out his handkerchief and gently wipe off the sticky liquid on his shoulder.
At this moment, two petite figures appeared on the road in the distance, walking towards Cesare. Sandino and Crocia seemed to have just finished their trip to the market. They were holding large and small brown paper bags in their hands. At first glance, it seemed that they were not something that the residents nearby could afford.
But Crocia, who was walking in front, didn't look happy, and the reason was obvious. Her originally pure white dress had turned gray in just one morning. The unevenly distributed mud spots looked like the clothes of a peasant woman who had just stepped out of the fields. Her originally beautiful long pale golden hair was also covered in dust. The dust stained it, and when the strong wind blew, it turned into a mess.
Sandino, who was walking behind, was not much better. He seemed to have fallen down and was walking with a limp. His body and face were covered with unwashed mud. Sandino's embarrassment and Frustration was hidden behind the stains. As for the composition of the black mud, it was yet to be verified. He hoped that there would be no strange smell on the way back. Cesare felt a little regretful that he had missed the most exciting part.
When the two people approached, Cesare held his shoulders and looked at the two disgraced people, seemingly waiting for the other person to say something, while Crocia and Sandino both had their faces turned sideways, like children who had done something wrong. Same, in the end it was Crocia who took the initiative to speak: "Okay... what I said is right... I really don't like this place as much as I expected, and it's not suitable for wearing skirts..."
Cesare nodded, as if he had expected this. He calmly took out a clean handkerchief, walked quickly to Crocia, and gently wiped the dust from her sister's face. , there was a little doting in the helpless smile, and Crocia gradually raised her head and smiled. Even the dust on her body could not cover up the sweetness of the girl's smile.
Then Cesare looked at Sandino, who was covered in mud, and the other party coughed awkwardly: "It's okay, you don't need to wipe it for me, I will do it myself later."
"You are worrying too much. I have never thought about it that way." Cesare said coldly.
Desperate to change the subject, Sandino forced a smile: "Haha... you are so funny... but at least we really bought a lot of interesting things!" Sandino put the things he and Crocia bought together. On the front seat of the carriage, he took out a strip of yellow fruit shaped like a crescent moon from one of the bags.
"Cesare, you have never seen this kind of food. It is said that it was brought overnight from the south by clippers." Sandino then took the fruit and wanted to take a bite, but he couldn't take a bite. "Uh... Crocia, what did the stall owner say about eating this?"
"It seems...just bite it." Crocia said with a wink.
After getting the answer, Sandino couldn't wait to take a big bite of one end of the fruit, including the flesh. His expression gradually changed from the initial pride of showing off his new discovery to Cesare to a look of embarrassment. Every time he chewed, the boy's expression became more serious. Twisted, and finally couldn't help but spit it out. "Ugh... It feels like chewing an old rag from last year. Is this really edible!?"
Cesare, who witnessed the whole process, shrugged his shoulders. "I believe that's not how bananas are eaten."
"Oh yes! Banana, that's the name, huh? Do you know this too?"
Ignoring Sandino's performance, Cesare untied the horse and went straight to the front seat of the carriage, and stretched out his hand to gently pull Crocia up. Seeing that dear unfortunate Sandino was starting another bad day, Cesare sighed, and after a moment of hesitation, he extended his arms to his good brother.
"Want to come up? My Lord Baronet, you can continue to share your findings on your way back."
