Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Soon, Martin returned with old Mr. Feynman. If it were modern times, Mr. Feynman would look more like Martin's grandfather than his father, with his dark skin, face creased with wrinkles, and hair more white than brown.

Recognizing Aul's uniform, old Mr. Feynman visibly startled upon seeing him, his face betraying fear: "Good day, sir, how may I assist you?"

He brushed past Martin, adopting a posture of respectful yet fearful subservience, bending slightly and bowing his head as he stood before Aul.

"I'm here to buy food. Your son mentioned you might be willing to sell flour, potatoes, and soybeans?"

"I have some potatoes and flour, but the soybeans aren't ripe yet," Mr. Feynman replied, bowing his head even lower. Martin, who had been lively earlier, now sensed something amiss and hid behind his father.

"I'm not a robber; I'm here to purchase food. After all, as a policeman, my salary isn't high." Aul smiled, trying to appear friendly and approachable.

"Please wait a moment, sir," Mr. Feynman said nervously, retreating back into the house with Martin.

He didn't invite Aul inside, a sign of caution towards him. However, Aul was also relieved by this, as he didn't want to enter a stranger's home alone.

Mr. Feynman eventually carried out two sacks, one filled with flour, weighing at least fifty pounds, but it was the poorest quality from George's Flour Mill.

Aul wondered why people were reluctant to remove the stones from the flour, or if the mill really had that many stones and dust.

A thought struck Aul – mills weren't owned by common folk, and they charged for grinding flour. When stones and dust took up the flour's weight, the "extra" flour ended up in the miller's pocket.

Of course, this was just Aul's speculation and any similarity was purely coincidental.

"5 Aikos for 10 pounds... 4 Aikos would also do," Mr. Feynman hurriedly revised his offer after just one glance from Aul.

Aul asked, "Do you have sifted flour?" The flour he was being offered would require double sifting, and he didn't have the time for that. Although he felt sorry for the Feynman family, he couldn't afford to waste food or money to help them.

"No, sir."

"Then I'll take a look at the potatoes."

Mr. Feynman's expression turned curious.

Potatoes at that time were quite small, most only as big as an egg, some only the size of a table tennis ball, with a bitter taste and potential for poisoning if not handled carefully. Respectable people wouldn't eat such things—similar to sweet potatoes, which were small, fibrous, and not sweet at that time.

Mr. Feynman probably thought Aul was mocking him, but as a commoner, he dared not show anger or speak out.

"10 pounds for 2 Aikos," Mr. Feynman said, bowing even lower, fearing a sudden outburst of violence from Aul.

"I'll take 60 pounds of potatoes." Although small, potatoes are much easier to handle.

"Additionally, I'd like to see your soybeans. I know they aren't fully mature yet, but they are still salable, right?"

This season's soybeans are actually edamame. Every year around this time, Aul at the Kindler residence would buy a big bag of edamame and cook two large pots for himself. In this world, he couldn't afford the luxury of many seasonings, but boiling them in plain salt water was still feasible.

Mr. Feynman hesitated until Aul handed over the 12 Aikos for the potatoes.

Two 5 Aikos and one 2 Aiko coin – Mr. Feynman inspected them carefully before clutching them tightly in his hand.

"Okay," he agreed seriously, as if he had just agreed to something as grave as selling his soul after a fierce internal struggle.

"I just wanted to get some soil and buy some food." Aul mused inwardly, wondering whether the people of this world were prone to overthinking, or if he had somehow been misleading in his actions.

Regardless, Mr. Feynman led Aul to the soybean field. The field was a mess, and although Aul wasn't knowledgeable about crops, he could tell there was a wide variety of plants.

Mr. Feynman grabbed a plant and pulled, causing numerous insects to fly out, including but not limited to mosquitoes, grasshoppers, crickets, moths, mantises, and ladybugs...

The sight made Aul's skin crawl, and he was extremely grateful to be wearing his uniform, which covered him from head to toe.

Once the swarm of insects had cleared, Mr. Feynman also pulled out the soybean vines Aul had requested.

They indeed had clusters of pods, although they were shorter and more shriveled than the ones Aul had seen before.

"Are you selling these?" Aul asked.

"You want to buy this?"

"I want to buy the pods on it."

In the Norton Empire, the upper echelons consume butter and ghee, while those slightly less affluent, like Aul currently, use vegetable oil. People do not consume soy oil. Tofu and soy milk do not exist, as beans are considered undignified due to their ability to aid digestion.

"How much would you like to purchase?"

Considering the 60 pounds of potatoes he had already bought, Aul's plan was to ask Mr. Feynman to help carry the items to the station. The transfer from the public horse carriage to the train wasn't far. On returning to the Fishtail District, the precinct, dormitory, and station were all nearby, so he might run into someone he knew, right?

"20 pounds, and you can include a small amount of the vine." Aul emphasized again that he only wanted the pods, otherwise, the vine alone Mr. Feynman had pulled out would weigh over 20 pounds.

"That would be 8 Aikos in total," Mr. Feynman said, biting his lip. "Pay first, and I need to exchange for two 10 Aiko coins."

He handed over the previously received 12 Aikos.

"Alright." Aul felt in his pocket; he had brought only 50 Aikos today and now only had one 10 Aiko coin left, which he handed to Mr. Feynman. "I need to find a place to exchange money."

Receiving the 10 Aiko coin with the sun's portrait, Mr. Feynman's mood brightened considerably. His gaze at Aul no longer resembled that of a criminal: "Of course, I'll pick the pods for you! Let Martin take you to the town! Martin!"

"Right here!"

Aul thought Martin had stayed at home, and was startled when the boy suddenly appeared.

"Take this gentleman to the town. And call your mother to bring a new hemp sack."

"Yes, Dad!" Although not privy to the details due to the distance, the sharp boy could tell Aul had bought more items. He was excited and eager to ask many questions but restrained himself.

"If it's good quality, I'll come back again," Aul said before following Martin away. He would inspect the goods later, but less trouble was always preferable.

"Of course! Certainly, sir!"

Aul and Martin walked back to the town. Compared to the city, the temperature in this rural area was slightly higher, giving Aul a faint sense of a real summer—just faintly, as he never thought he'd miss the scorching heat of summer days.

Eventually, Aul found himself standing at the door of the legendary cheese shop.

Filled with the aroma of milk? No, it was quite smelly, somewhat similar to sour milk, but the intensity was at least a hundred times stronger.

Just as Aul was about to enter, he realized Martin was gone. Looking around, he spotted the boy hiding around the corner of a building a hundred meters away, peeking out at him. Their eyes met, the boy waved, and then quickly hid again.

It seemed that while Martin highly regarded this cheese shop, its reputation among children like him wasn’t particularly good.

"Oh! Hello, sir, are you here to buy cheese? Our cheese has a history of over a hundred years, all top-quality. Of course, we also sell butter, which is also premium!" The short, chubby shopkeeper in an apron came out to greet Aul immediately upon seeing him.

— His apron, covered in green mold, hardly seemed functional anymore.

Aul decided he would order extra fresh milk in the future to make his own butter and cheese.

"How much are you selling for?"

"23 Aikos per pound for cheese, 17 Aikos for butter."

Aul resisted the urge to frown. "Your prices are even higher than in the city."

The general store also sold cheese and butter, and the shopkeeper's prices were significantly higher—8 Aikos more for cheese and 5 Aikos more for butter. It seemed he was being taken for a ride.

"I sell premium products, sir," the shopkeeper replied, still smiling. "Not those cheap imports. Our cheese is made with local Norton Empire cows and milk, top-quality local cheese."

"That line sounds familiar; it seems that no matter the world, businesses always come up with similar advertising slogans."

The shopkeeper showed no intention of lowering the price, so Oll reluctantly agreed: "Half a pound of butter, 8 Aiko will do."

In truth, Oll had no desire to buy anything, but without making a purchase, the shopkeeper wouldn't have exchanged his money.

"Just a moment, sir," the shopkeeper said as he cut a piece of butter for Oll. The size and weight seemed about right.

Having bought the butter, Oll successfully got a 10 Aiko coin in exchange from the shopkeeper, feeling as if he had completed a quest in a game.

Oll stuffed the half-pound of butter into his pocket and left the cheese shop.

Martin immediately darted out from a corner, continuing to lead Oll. However, on their way back, the boy suddenly lost his earlier liveliness.

"Sir."

"Hmm?"

"I heard from my mom that you're a royal, guard, police," he enunciated each syllable heavily, his eyes shining as he looked at Oll. "How does one become a royal guard, then?"

"I don't know, as this job was secured for me by my father," Oll didn't feed the boy any idealistic notions about being good, studying hard, or training, for even though he had only been in this world for a short week, he was well aware that this was a world where upward mobility was almost entirely blocked.