The Magic Thief - v1c2 part4
In fact, the old man's strange smile had made everyone scared of making any sound, including those who had suffered a great deal.
As the old man waved his hand, all the golden fingers quietly retreated to their bedrooms. There was no sound at all in the hall. Even the occasional soft cough would immediately be blocked the thick blanket, leaving only soft and dull sounds.
The old man smiled knowingly at the obvious effect. It seemed that he was as powerful as he used to be.
He looked up at his room upstairs and walked up.
He pushed the door of Fabian's room and saw that the cunning boy lying on the bed and eating snacks. There were piles of such good stuff on the table beside the bed.
"Steamed bun with crab stuffing. you got rich in the trip to South Port, and even can afford such expensive snacks." The old man was quite surprised by the snacks he was eating, "I think they cost you a gold coin." The old man reached our one of his hands.
Fabian took a fish cake from the table and stuffed it into the old man's hand, pretending to have no idea about what he had said.
"Don't pretend to be stupid, take out what you've got." The old man still smiled and spoke slowly.
"I didn't get much. Don't be suspicious. These things aren't worth much. I spent two silver coins in total."
"Two silver coins?! The steamed bun you are chewing worth more than two silver coin. If you make a big basket and got 30% discount, you still need to pay twenty silver coins. " The old man replied.
"So you know about the basket, but you've never told me, and never bought to me." said Fabian indignantly.
"Well, you really bought a basket? Rich boy."
"The basket was thrown outside, but it really only cost two silver coins. If you don't believe it, you should ask the newcomer. He bought it, but he has a trick. " said Fabian proudly.
The old man glanced at Fabian and nodded. "Then when you go to South Port, bring me some. What happened to that newcomer? Tell me about it and don't let me give myself away in front of him. " The old man replied.
Realizing that the old man no longer mentioned what he had gotten from the trip to South Port, Fabian was more than indescribably happy. He explained in details what happened before and after South Port, except for the two moneybags he stole and what he did in the casino.
"I'm glad to hear that. You seem to get to know how to use tactics. This is very good, I can rest assured. " The old man replied.
"What? What're you talking about? " asked puzzled Fabian.
"I'm old, and I should retire. I'm going to take you as my successor. Tomorrow you'll have to come with me to meet the boss. Get to rest early." the old man walked out of the room.
Fabian was left speechless. He had never thought that he would be able to sit in that position one day. It was really great news, and Fabian was extremely excited.
The old man returned to his room as he walked out of the narrow, dark bedroom of Fabian's.
He was interested in what he saw. The boy was sitting under a lamp and reading the book that he used to keep up appearances.
"You like reading?" asked the old man.
The boy didn't notice someone had walked into the room, so he was shocked by the sudden voice. He had been immersed in a state of extreme anxiety all day long. This little shock was absolutely not a small strike to him.
Looking at the pale, bloodless face, and the terrified eyes, the old man felt that he should console the child. He smiled and said, "Don't worry. If you like it, you can read whatever you want. I'm glad someone here is interested in reading, which is quite rare."
"Thank you. There are so many books." The boy spoke sincerely as he recovered from the shock.
"Not bad, isn't it? Why are you so enjoyable of reading?" The old man pretended to be curious as he asked. He wanted to get to know this boy better.
The boy replied without any doubt, "Yeah, Mr. Madild has a pile of books. Oh, Mr. Madeloud is my former boss. He is a very learned man. He said knowledge is the only wealth that will never be lost or let down, and books are the treasure house of knowledge. He has so many books, most of which I can't understand, but those of which I can understand, I found them very interesting."
"Which book is the most interesting?" The old man asked calmly.
"A lot, those about plants and animals, about every corner of the world, about sailing, oh, yes, especially sailing, I like books about it." The youth said excitedly.
"Any novels? What sort of novels do you like? "
"Novels? No, there're no novels on Mr. Madild's bookshelves. There are quite a number of poems, and some about myths , legends and religions, which I don't understand, but I don't think there are any novels. "
"Haven't you ever owned your own books?"
The youth revealed an awkward expression and said, "They're really too expensive. I don't have much money. Although Aunt Betty once said she could borrow me money to buy books, but I can't let her waste money. She has already been so hard to take care of me."
"Aunt Betty? Is she good to you? "
"Yeah, she's just like my mother. she's been taking care of me since I was a little child. My father and uncle Caul were both sailors, but my father died of illness, a terrible and infectious illness. I missed the final meet with him. Nothing left, even nor his ashes. " said the boy sadly.
"Was that plague seven years ago?" the old man asked. In fact, people in Leila also had a vivid memory of the plague. It was like a living hell at that time. Every each day, dozens of people died. The crematorium outside the city were burning and fuming thick smoke all day. The air was filled with the rotten smell of burned corpses. All the clothes and blankets of the dead were thrown to the street to burn up, some streets were totally burnt down where the plague was severe.
"Yes, Aunt Betty and Uncle Caul also lost their own family members. They came together after that." The boy's voice was filled with sadness. What a sorrow! Only the ones who had been experiencing that disaster would be able to feel how bad it was.
Now the old man had known that the boy had lived in a family that was reconstructed because the man and the woman both lost their family members in the plague. It was very valuable information. Because different experiences meant different methods to control them.
The old man was quite satisfied with the results of the talk. He touched the boy's head and comforted him. "I'm sorry to recall you of the unpleasant memories. You must be tired today. Go to rest. You can sleep on the sofa in the outer room. There are blankets and pillows inside the wardrobe ."
"I'd like to read a little more." The boy said.
"You can pick a few books, as a gift I give you, but you need to sleep early. I'll take you to see the boss tomorrow morning."
"Just for a while, please. Anyway, the lamp oil nearly run out. Let me read till it's done." the boy pleaded.
"Alright then, I'll go to sleep. Don't be too late." The old man told the boy.
After that, he returned to his bedroom, without closing the door of the study. He left a crack of his room door, so that he could be warned of whatever happened.
Through the crack, the old man saw the lamp light was dim, and the lampwick was obviously tucked smaller, so that the lamp oil could hold on for longer.
The old man shook his head and grined. He believed Eckert would be interested in the newcomer who was such a hard-working student they had never seen.
The Old Nest in night was very quiet, but no one could fall to sleep. Since the golden fingers had been ordered to sleep early, they dare not to disobey. But how could they get to sleep so early for that all of them usually messed around into very late night.
And what about Fabian? He was indeed tired, but he couldn't fall asleep because of what the old man told him.
"The old man's to retire?" Fabian was thinking about this.
To him, the old man's retirement was a rare opportunity. He could be able to ascend to a new position that he had never imagined before.
For such Fabian who used to grow up in the slum, and hung out on the streets all day as a golden finger, the old man's seat was the toppest position he could reach. The upper position was for Boss.
Perhaps Eckert would take place of the Boss in the future. After all, the Boss was old. Fabian had a good relationship with Eckert, so should be able to live better under Eckert's cover.
Once sitting in the old man' seat, earning money should be out of problem.
Although Fabian didn't know how much wealth the old man had, he knew he owned at least one villa in Franco. He was more or less a rich man.
What would he do if he had so much money? Fabian was thinking about it.
He would not just live as a landowner as the old man.
He need to learn from the merchants of South Port. He might be able to earn more money by investing in business. When he earned enough money to invest over again, his assets would get more and more, just like a snowball got bigger and bigger. At that time, he would be a rich man.
Fabian submerged himself in the beautiful vision of the future.