Chapter 20: Alden

A little later, the crowd finally started to disperse. Caelan and Eveline were already back at their table, with the old man sitting across from them.

The old man still looked a little shaken from what had happened earlier, but he seemed much calmer now.

"Here. You should eat something." Caelan pushed a plate of food toward him. The man looked like hehadn’t eaten for a day, so he was actually worried a little.

"You don’t have to do this, young man." The old man looked at the food before slowly raising his head.

"It’s fine." Caelan waved his hand. "We were already eating earlier. I also got hungry again because of the fight." He tried to not make it awkward by ordering a set of light dishes for himself too.

"Yes, Sir. Just eat it." Eveline nodded beside him.

The old man became quiet for a moment before giving them a small smile.

"Thank you."

"By the way, we haven’t even introduced ourselves properly." He looked at the old man before pointing at himself.

"I’m Caelan, and this is..."

"Eveline." Eveline smiled as she pointed at herself.

"A pleasure to meet you both. My name is Alden." The old man nodded as he introduced himself too.

"Alden?"

"Yes."

"So, Sir Alden, what were you doing here?"

"I came here to look around."

"Look around?" Caelan glanced at the old man’s cane. He seemed to be way past the age to use that excuse.

"Yes. I heard that there might be some work available around this village, so I thought I would come and see if there was anything I could do."

"Work?" Caelan quickly asked when he heard that.

"Yes. I’m from a village a little farther from here. Things haven’t been going well lately, so I’ve been trying to find ways to earn a little more." Alden nodded.

Caelan slowly looked at him. Now that he was actually paying attention, he noticed that Alden’s clothes were old and worn out. His shoes were also nearly falling apart, and his cane looked like it had gone through a lot already.

Wait... Is he poor? Caelan frowned.

"So you’re not a merchant or anything?" Caelan asked.

"I used to be." Alden shook his head.

"Used to?"

"I had a small shop in my village. I sold various goods that I bought from nearby towns. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get by."

"Then what happened?"

"Business slowly declined because others started copying me." Alden gave a small, defeated sigh. "There are also fewer travelers these days because of what was happening. Eventually, I had to close the shop."

When Caelan heard that, he realized that the man was actually not really rich. It was unlike those tropes where an old guy pretends to be poor to see people with goodness and reward them nicely afterward.

"..." Caelan leaned back slightly as he took another bite of his food.

Then what the hell was the system talking about?

Caelan looked at Alden. If this guy was poor, how was he supposed to help them?

Caelan suddenly felt confused. He thought, maybe the system was wrong? But that didn’t make sense at all.

"So..." Caelan leaned forward slightly. He wanted to fish for more information about it. "What kind of goods did you sell?"

Alden looked surprised by the question. He hadn’t met someone who would be as curious at what he was doing as this.

"I sold mostly food and other basic supplies from neighboring villages that we don’t have. Sometimes I also sell some crops and handmade goods, depending on the time of harvest."

"I see..." A small smile slowly appeared on Caelan’s lips.

"Sir Alden."

"Yes?"

"Do you want to talk about business?"

"Huh?" Alden paused

"Have you ever tried selling high-quality produce?" Caelan leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on the table.

"Of course I have." Alden nodded as if the answer to the question was so obvious. "Back when I still had my shop, I tried to sell them whenever I could."

"Then why don’t you do it now?"

"It’s not that simple." Alden shook his head. "Only a few farms can produce high-quality crops, and the ones that do usually sell them at a much higher price and to established shops. For someone like me, having enough money to buy a few of them is already difficult."

"I see."

"Still, there are many people interested in them."

"Really?"

Alden nodded.

"The village where I live is much bigger than this one. There are many families there who can afford better food, so high-quality produce always sells well. The problem is getting enough of it at a price that I can afford."

Caelan listened quietly as Alden continued explaining.

"That’s actually why I came here. Smaller villages like this one usually have cheaper produce because the farmers don’t have as many buyers. If I can find good crops here and sell them in my village, I can make a decent profit."

Caelan’s lips curled into a small smile. So that’s why he was here. The old man was looking for cheap goods that he could take back to his village and sell at a higher price. If he just bought there, he wouldn’t have enough profit margin anymore.

"Hehe..." Caelan suddenly let out a quiet chuckle.

"Did I say something funny?" Alden looked at him strangely.

"No, no." Caelan shook his head, trying to hide the smile brewing on his face. He finally understood what the system meant.

It wasn’t saying Alden had money to help them. Instead, it was saying Alden could help them make more money. And right now, that’s exactly what he needed.

A channel to sell what they’re good at. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Caelan glanced at Eveline to give him a smile. She immediately noticed his expression and seemed to realize where this conversation was heading.

"Sir Alden." Caelan then turned back to Alden a second after.

"Yes?"

"What if I told you that we can produce the best-quality crops?"

"W-What?" Alden froze.

"The kind that you’ve never seen before." Caelan’s smile grew a little wider.

= = =

A/N: It’s my birthday today, so I’ll publish additional Chapters for all of you. Have a good day, everyone!