Big G, Coffee Machine and Goblin

Chapter 38 Recruiting people
With the mystery of the missing supplies solved, Garcia was finally exonerated.

Charles gathered the children of the village, and with Mali personally testifying for the boy, the misunderstanding between the children was cleared up, allowing them to reconcile.

After they left, the half-elf girl picked up a basket full of alfalfa and prepared to go out to feed the goats.

She noticed that Ma Li also came out of the house and was gazing into the distance under the cherry tree.

"Are you leaving?" the girl asked.

"How did you know?"

"These past few days, you've been gazing into the distance whenever you have a spare moment, or discussing alchemy and history with Master Levi." The half-elf girl paused here, "You seem a little troubled; have you encountered some difficulties?"

“Yes, the world is a little different from what I imagined,” Ma Li admitted.

Upon hearing this, Charles put down the grass in his hand, straightened up, and asked curiously, "What kind of grass do you want it to look like?"

“I don’t know either,” Ma Li shook his head. “Maybe I just want an answer.”

"what is the answer?"

"Where has everyone gone?"

The half-elf girl clearly didn't quite understand what Mali meant. She tilted her head and thought for a moment, "If you're talking about Solo, he left two days ago to go back to Eaglebeak City, but Horton told me he wants to stay."

"Because of that, uh, nickname... he couldn't find any work in Eagle's Beak City, so he planned to stay and help with the wheat harvest. Although the village didn't have the money to pay him, Chief Diamond promised to find him a place to stay, and we also had enough food to at least let him get through the winter safely."

“Will and Melissa, I haven’t asked them yet. Perhaps they will leave the village once Will can pick up his sword again. What about you? What are your plans?”

"I'm going home for a visit."

Although she was mentally prepared, Sharl still felt a strange sense of loss when she heard these words. The half-elf girl forced a smile and said, "Your hometown must be very far from here."

“Not far,” Ma Li said. “I told you, it’s in that red mist in Black Rock Canyon.”

Charles was stunned. "You're not joking?"

"No."

"So... you mean, there's a large group of people living in the red mist? They've been with us for decades, but nobody in the village knows?"

“I’m all alone there,” Ma Li added. “At least for now, I’m all alone.”

Charles seemed to have thought of something, and his mood quickly improved. "So you're coming back?"

Ma Li nodded, "Two or three months, maybe a little longer, or maybe sooner, depending on when I'm ready."

"what to prepare?"

"When traveling around mainland China, the most important thing is to make some money first. Without money, you can't do anything. I originally had a plan that should have made me a lot of money easily, but now that plan doesn't work, so I have to find other ways to make money."

“We can become adventurers and earn money!” The half-elf girl’s eyes lit up. “My father is an adventurer. He always tells me stories of his adventures. Ever since then, I’ve thought that when I grow up, I want to become an adventurer too.”

Ma Li shook his head and said, "But I don't want to be an adventurer. That's too dangerous for me. I know that danger is everywhere in this world, and I can accept taking certain risks sometimes, but I don't want to make a living by adventure."

"Oh, so what do you want to do?"

"Let's go into business."

Ma Li didn't come up with this idea on a whim. In fact, he had this idea back in Eagle Beak City. However, at that time, he thought it was simple: to take the things that supermarkets didn't need and sell them on the mainland.

If he could sell everything for the price of alchemical creations, he wouldn't have to worry about money for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, when he discovered that the items he brought out of the red mist would disappear, this plan was clearly no longer feasible.

Fortunately, the problem isn't too serious; we just need to make a few minor modifications to the original plan.

He has a vehicle, so he can buy goods from one place and transport them to another place to sell, earning the price difference, just like a traditional traveling merchant, only much faster, which also means he can make money faster.

In addition, Ma Li plans to get a bigger vehicle, one that can carry more fuel and more cargo, and his bodyguards can ride with him. He also wants to see if he can find some weapons and equipment.

The half-elf girl became interested when the topic of guarding her came up. "Do you think I can do it? I killed four goblins this time."

"Didn't you want to be an adventurer?"

“Yes, that’s my dream, but being a caravan guard is good too. You can go to many places, right? Most importantly, that way we can continue to be together,” Charles said excitedly.

"I will do everything in my power to protect you and your goods. No one can harm you until my sword and bow break!"

Her cheeks flushed halfway through her sentence, as she thought of the battle that had taken place in Trembling Fortress.

Mali single-handedly took down the powerful warrior named Hunter with almost no effort.

Does someone like this really need her protection? Charles thought to himself that the one who had always been saved and protected was clearly her, not only in Trembling Fortress, but also in Blackrock Canyon, it was always Mali who stepped forward.

But the half-elf girl quickly rallied; she was young, still growing, and had limitless potential.

Just like my dad always says, every experienced adventurer started as a novice.

As long as she continues to practice diligently and accumulate experience, one day she will be able to put her skills to good use and impress Ma Li.

Of course, this was on the condition that the latter was willing to take her along, and fortunately, Ma Li's answer did not disappoint her.

"Then I'll leave it to you. Oh, and Horton, could you ask him if he wants to come along?"

"And us, we want to join too."

Melissa returned from the direction of the forest, still holding the herbs she had just picked. She was about to change her brother's bandages when she heard their conversation and stopped in her tracks.

Ma Li looked into her amber eyes, "You're not going to be adventurers either?"

“My brother and I have discussed it, and we may not be suited for this line of work.”

“The chances of encountering wild boars while clearing out goblins are actually quite slim,” Sharl kindly reminded them. “Usually, those guys will run away before you even get close.”

“It’s not because of the wild boars,” Melissa sighed. “It’s our own fault, especially my brother. He’s a bit too…naive and not good at handling interpersonal relationships, especially with people from the lower classes.”

“You’re not civilians, are you?” Ma Li asked.

"How did you know?" Melissa asked, quite surprised.

“Master Levi told me that your and your brother’s speech and mannerisms suggest you may be of noble birth. Are you really siblings?”

"That's right, we have the same eye color."

Why did you become adventurers?

“That’s a long story.” Melissa didn’t seem too keen on the topic. “Anyway, my brother and I discussed it, and he also felt that following an alchemist was more promising than continuing to be an adventurer.”

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(End of this chapter)