Moonlight pierced through clouds as bonfire danced, witnessing the crowded street that filled with laughs and complaints.
"Man, this grilled chicken is the best. Hehehe, I eat dried meat this past few days, now I feel like in heaven."
"Ugh, I need more drink. Give me more you bloody mustache!"
"Hey, that noodles are great! We should invite others to taste it. Hurry up!"
"You finished three plates and you want more? Sigh, the event hasn't started yet. Stop it now."
" Hahaha, one more shot!"
Looking around the crowded street, a flash of excitement filled Ziya's eyes. She came with her father. Her mother had to stay home, preparing the place for Mora's goods.
Ziya wore a hairpin with her ponytail swinging every step she took. Her oversize sleeves fluttered, accentuated her tiny, cute figure.
She held her father tightly while running from one booth to another, pointing to something she was interested in. Many people greeted them, a casual greet as a fellow villager.
In the middle of the square, there was a stage for talents to show off their skills and lighten up the mood.
Sapa was talking besides the stage with some crews, buds of sweat visibly seen on his forehead. He wore a simple shirt, no different from a villager with no position.
A middle-aged man offered him a bottle. "Chief, please take a break. Leave the rest to us."
As he spoke, Sapa noticed Yolk and Ziya from afar. "Finish it in five minutes."
Sapa left the middle-aged man, walked toward them. With a smile adorning his face, Sapa said in teasing tone. "Hey, little kid. You look pretty with your hairpin."
"I am pretty without hairpin too. Mother said natural beauty is me." Ziya pouted.
"You rascal." Sapa messed her hair.
"Anyway, I have invited the talents last week. I told them that it will be three nights. They will be here tomorrow," said Yolk.
One of Yolk trip purposes was to invite talents from town to perform in this feast, but not so the famous one.
"We are blessed. The harvest is abundant. We can spare some for the talents." Sapa nodded in approval.
Ziya pulled Yolk's sleeve. "I come here to eat, father. Let's leave uncle."
Sapa laughed. "Hahaha, sure. Go to backstage, there are some steam potatoes from your aunt."
As they left, the clouds dispersed. Moonlight shone brightly, illuminated the darkness; people looked up to the sky.
Before they realized it, a bulky man with two carriages step in. The carriage noise gathered their attention, and they couldn't help but wonder what business the man had in this feast.
As the onlookers guessed privately, the bulky man spoke to one person nearby, and that person pointed to the backstage. After thanking the person, he left without a word.
"Who is that?" someone in the crowd asked the person.
"I don't know. He's looking for uncle Yolk." People let a sigh of relief after hearing this.
At backstage, Yolk watched his daughter that greedily eat meals. This rubber belly knew no limit.
While he enjoyed the moment, someone approached him then whispered something. He smiled, then told Ziya to wait.
Not long after, he saw Mora and invited him to have a meal and have fun at the wonderful feast. He noticed two carriages parked near the backstage, that same carriage he rode on the way back to the village, and two men; Mora's companions.
The rest villagers welcomed the three guests warmly. Some offered a drink, some offered to sing.
As a merchant who used to mingle, Mora got along with villagers easily. From the harvest commodities, the pain if they had bad weather, until some village flowers gossips, he swept it through.
It went until almost midnight. Today's feast was the first one, the introduction.
The village would hold it for at most a week. Various talents would come and go, including the one Yolk had invited.
After the feast finished, the pair of father and daughter immediately went home with Mora's carriage.
Lena stood in front of the house with a lantern on hand. Her tired eyes could visibly be seen but she greeted them with a smile.
Yolk put his coat on Lena. "Did you wait for so long? Get inside, you'll catch a cold."
"I'm fine." She gently held Yolk's arm on her shoulder. "Anyway, are you Mora?"
"Yes, pleased to meet you." Mora cupped his fist.
Exchanging greeting took a moment, and Ziya went inside with Lena, while Yolk led Mora to the backyard. "It's already late, where should we move it?"
"Here, it's quite spacious. What do you think?" asked Yolk.
Mora nodded with satisfaction. "More than enough."
There were five boxes. Each weight was quite heavy as it needed an adult to carry.
Every box was carried cautiously, and after it moved to the backyard, Mora checked the content and note it down.
He then ripped one page and put it on top of the box. "This is all. I'm sorry to bother you with this. I owe you a lot."
"Nothing much, we should help each other. Would you like to have a tea?" said Yolk with a smile.
Mora stood in front of his carriage, looked at the sky. "Next time. Have a good night."
"You can have it anytime. Good night."
The carriage slowly dispersed from the corner of Yolk's eyes, making the house extremely quiet.
…
On the carriage, Mora put off his coat. He drank a little then put his hand on his companion's shoulder.
"First plan, approved. We have plenty of time to slowly merge the second plan. This village is a bunch of good-for-nothings," said Mora.
The man beside him chuckled. "This place is perfect, at the border of black and white. We can dominate the route and be the lord of this land."
The man that drove the carriage shook his head. "Roe, this village survived the calamity for a reason. We have to find out why and get rid of potential threats."
Roe sneered. "Wang, take it easy. Information is cheap for us."
Mora let out a big laugh. "We should thank factions for fighting in town because we can create ripples here and higher-class won't notice."
The rest laughed with contempt.
"So, when will you test the water?" asked Roe.
"What do you think, Wang?" Mora fell into thought, then asked the horseman.
"We can use the talents." Wang replied.
Hearing this, Mora drank again. "Wrong. We are benevolent merchants, so we should let the feast go safe and sound."
Wang smirked. "What are you scheming?"
"No such thing. We should gather information during this feast regarding insider situation." Mora lifted his index. "One week. That's the limit."
As clouds gathered, their eyes flashed with anticipation, closing the sky from the moon and stars.