Isabelle was still withing the promised week, yet she wondered if Corey truly kept the bottle of oil she had wanted to buy. She guided Felix, who had been eagerly looking around town and the market, towards the woman's stall. The market was a bit empty at that time, so the merchants were loudly yelling for their wares and even pulling the two to look at what they were selling.
It was a bit chaotic, but the two safely made it to Corey's stall.
"You came!" Corey cried out in delight. "Someone was interested in buying that bottle, but I still saved it for you!" She playfully commented.
Truthfully, Isabelle was a bit surprised Corey still remembered her face as the latter recognized her as soon as she saw her. She was only another costumer among the many after all. Coming out of her surprise, Isabelle noticed the woman had indeed been selling her bottles of oils as she had new ones on display. So, she really did Isabelle a favor.
Isabelle thankfully smiled at Corey after the latter took out the bottle of oil and the other container with the dried herbs.
The container for dried herbs was bigger than Isabelle thought, thus she expected for the price to be higher. "I found this bigger container and filled it up. I told you 3 coins, but it's now going to be 4. There's no problem, right?" Sure enough. Well, Isabelle could not complain as she did say she wanted the biggest container.
"None at all." Isabelle smiled. She took out the purse with her money and took out one bill, the equivalent of 10 coins. Just like that, 6 coins were gone. Life in town was really more expensive. But she was really buying those containers more than the contents, and that was the plan.
The thing was that she thought her salary of 10 coins was good, yet she realized it might not be enough to keep up with the expenses of their family of five. No wonder Jean had said ten coins was pocket money.
They really needed to be more self-sustainable.
Felix put down the basket he had on his back and placed the things inside. He was careful not to jostle the basket too much when he heard the sounds the two bottles hitting made. He had been totally spooked at the prices, but trusted Isabelle to know what she was doing. And even if she did not, he was never going to complain.
"Right, when the oil is finished, can I come here to refill it?" Isabelle suddenly queried after she got her 4 coins change.
Corey paused. She had never thought on refilling the bottles. Many usually just bought the whole thing again. And seeing how the bottles were not that profitable, she had thought to just get rid of them and go back to ceramic; but there was a new chance for business!
"Of course!" She replied as she looked at the bottle and the quantity of oil it held. Oil itself was pricey as most people still used lard, yet it was gaining ground, so she just threw her offer. "1 coin for it."
Isabelle had to mull for a few seconds before agreeing. "Also, give me another bag of flour, salt and sugar, please." Cooking more meals meant using more ingredients, that was why their supplies were gone after a week. There was no way they could produce it themselves, so she had taken the expense into account for the future.
Taking notice that Isabelle was going to become a recurrent client, Corey sold the three things for 1 coin. She was on the margin of making a profit anyway. But a client was worth more than profit in her opinion. And if she could also sell her the sugar and salt in those containers…
"I also have containers for sugar and salt if you're interested." She did not contemplate the idea too much and voiced it out.
Isabelle felt the terror of a merchant's money-grubbing ways. Sadly, she was tempted. "As big as the one for herbs?" She was not going to be on the losing end, though.
"Closely. I can show them to you the next time you come." Corey hooked.
"Let us talk about it next week." Isabelle easily closed the deal. She had to make a budget first before thinking of making yet another big expense. And with their purchases done in Corey's stall, the two headed to their next stop: David's stall.
The five had talked about it and decided which saplings they wanted to buy to try growing: tomato, lettuce and cucumber were the sorted-out plants. The brothers had seldom bought them yet liked their juicy and crispy consistence, in the case of lettuce and cucumbers. Either way, it was a chance to vary their meals with the introduction of new ingredients.
Joseph once tried to plant them, but the plants did not grow. And none of their fellow villagers planted it, so he had no one to ask for help. Not even the Chief knew. So, they decided to ask someone in town who knew about them. Having found David, who seemed to know a lot about plants, it would not hurt to query the man.
Before they reached the stall, Isabelle suddenly halted, making Felix almost bump on her. The teen wanted to ask why she had stopped, but then, his eyes focused on what she was staring at. He saw Joseph walking away with a woman. Felix felt cold sweat starting to pour out of his body and dreaded Isabelle's reaction to such an easy to misunderstand situation.
Joseph had gone ahead of them to the market to ask about rice saplings. The two thought he had some contacts in the market who could tell him more about the plant, or that he knew a stall that could sell them cheaper and with a good quality. Never they thought he would actually meet up with a woman.
Felix looked at Isabelle nervously, yet she showed no expression. And, as if she had not seen anything, she calmly continued on her way.
The teen had no idea what to do; if he had to comment about the matter or talk about something else, or reassure Isabelle that there was nothing between them. But he could not say something even he was not sure of. Besides, the new environment, with many people around, made him very timid and not able to speak. He was not very eloquent to begin with, so he could only remain silent.
"Hi, David!" Isabelle cheerfully greeted the stall owner.
"Oh, it's you!" Same as his Wife, the man also recognized his new client.
"We have come to buy some saplings." Isabelle directly went to business. "By any chance, do you have tomato, lettuce and cucumber?" Looking down at the plants, she asked.
"I do… People don't usually plant them as they prefer to buy the things directly on the market, less trouble." The man commented as he took out quite big saplings. "The tomato is quite big now, so I cannot give you the discount. 5 dimes. The cucumber's also big, so same price. It grows well on the ground, but I recommend letting it grow as a vine and let it climb; it'll extend more and you'll get more cucumbers. For lettuce, I'll sell you the seeds. They grow kind of fast if the soil is a good mix."
"What kind of mix?" Felix asked. Since Joseph was not there, then he was in charge of buying the plants and ask everything about them.
"For all three, you'll need loose soil, the one that has these small white stones and doesn't compact easily." David explained as best as he could. Felix nodded and hesitated. The soil in their patch was not very good, so they could possibly not be able to grow them. With that possibility, was it a good idea to buy them?
"Mulch works?" A voice interjected. Felix and Isabelle jumped at Joseph's voice. Neither expected him to return that fast from his rendezvous.
"If mixed well, yes. Not too much, though, or the roots won't have a good grip on the soil. Just make sure the soil has a way to drain well." David said. He had seen this newcomer stand close to the woman, so he guessed they were all together. He was curious to know why she came with two different men than last time, but he was not a gossipy man.
"How much for another tomato and cucumber?" Joseph had seen the man had one more sapling for each of them.
"Together with the bag of seeds, 2 coins and 2 dimes."
"We'll take them." Joseph said, taking out some coins from his pocket. He counted them and gave them to David who started accommodating the plants inside the basket Joseph put on the ground; the basket they had specifically brought for the saplings.
As both men talked about the watering frequency, plagues to be careful of, fertilization and all the topics concerning the care of the saplings and seeds, Felix and Isabelle shared a look. Joseph seemed… angry… or vexed. Definitely displeased. Quite weird if someone asked them, considering that he came from seeing a woman.
Felix could not see very well who that woman was, yet knowing his brother's tendencies, he could guess it was a new whim of Joseph. Thinking that, the teen got mad on behalf of Isabelle. Was it because Ethan had forbidden them to go all the way with Isabelle that Joseph had gone to take care of that need? That was too… too… too hateful of Joseph!
Isabelle's train of thought was not the same way as Felix's. She thought the woman was perhaps one of his past lovers as she noticed the eagerness with which she had been talking to him. Joseph seemed responsive, just not that enthusiastic. Isabelle trusted Joseph to a point, but she still expected for him to be open to tell her anything that needed to be told.
Their way back, though, was made in silence.