"Yes, how would you like to change it?"
Carly's words startled the middle-aged man. This daughter was really unlike a noble lady; she dared to say anything, even claiming something when it was clearly not true.
The middle-aged man was about to speak when he saw his daughter's fierce gaze. He quickly swallowed the words he was about to utter.
Grandet was preoccupied with Carly's words and didn't notice the subtle movements between the father and daughter.
Does Carly's niece really still have these gloves? Could it be that the stranger left some for him? That little girl, it was so hard to fool her last time, and now they've probably heard some of the rumors. It might be difficult to exchange two cans of salt for a pair of gloves again. But let's test the waters first and see what she says.
Grandet then put on a pitiful look.
"Nignie Carly, do you really still have those gloves? That's wonderful! You know, a noble lady offered three cans of salt for a pair of gloves. You know I also need some profit to buy food. Look, I traded all the gloves you had left with two and a half cans of salt. Of course, if you don't need salt, anything else is fine."
"Oh, Uncle Grandet, of course, look at my hand." Carly raised her hand.
Grandet glanced at it and confirmed that Carly was indeed wearing the same gloves as last time, but his face remained expressionless.
The little girl, Carly, lowered her hand and continued:
"However, it's a bit of a shame that I'm not planning to exchange these gloves for the time being. As you know, I've heard some rumors lately."
Grandet was startled; as expected, there was no way to get the gloves at a low price. But it didn't matter; the royal family of the other country had already contacted him yesterday, offering him a price of one silver coin per pair of gloves. He just needed to keep the cost below five cans of salt, since he still had to pay taxes.
Here, one silver coin can be exchanged for about seven or eight cans of salt, and the silver coin can be used anywhere. Although the designs on the coins may differ, the weight is always the same. This is a legacy left by a great empire from the past.
Grandet looked at Carly and said, "Yes, my niece Carly, I may have misspoke. The lady said four jars of salt, so you will receive three and a half jars."
"No, Uncle Grandet, you may not have heard me clearly. I said that we are not planning to make an exchange for the time being."
"That's a real shame. Oh no, my niece Carly, I remember now, the lady was talking about five jars of salt. You see, I'm getting old, and my memory is getting worse."
The little girl Carly was overjoyed:
This should be his bottom line; four and a half cans of salt for a pair of gloves is already quite good. However, she doesn't have gloves right now, so she can only delay for now. She plans to wait until the outsider arrives, or find him, then trade one can of salt for one pair of gloves, getting the outsider's gloves in return, making a net profit of three cans—no, three and a half cans. She won't go to the market; she'll intercept him on the way. That way, she won't have to pay taxes.
Carly couldn't help but laugh.
"Niche Carly, Niche Carly, did you agree? You're smiling so happily."
"Ah! Uncle Grandet, your price has indeed tempted me. I have to reconsider what I just said, but it will take some time. I will come to the market to find you later."
"That's great, Niece Carly. I've never been a stingy person, you know that."
"Yes, Uncle Grandet, your salted fish is really good."
"Don't underestimate it. It's a noble fish, very hard to come by. It used to be as elegant as your father." He then glanced at the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man smiled slightly, exuding elegance from head to toe.
This pre-transaction was satisfactory to all three parties.
Watching Grandet Carly leave, she felt a pang of helplessness. Her father would lose all sense of direction as soon as someone praised him.
"But where can we find outsiders?"