pappabearbooks Chapter 4: Cheap Wine, Lies, and the First Deal
Chapter 4: Cheap Wine, Lies, and the First Deal
Fiona clutched the few cold pennies tightly, the metal in her hand becoming slippery from the sweat on her palm.
As she stepped out of the warehouse, the cold December wind hit her face, making her shiver uncontrollably.
But this chill was dispelled by a long-lost flame of hope in her heart, which made her straighten her already proud chest.
She is Fiona Cahill.
She is no longer the maid who steals bread, but a "partner" of a mysterious Easterner.
The alleyways in the northern district are jagged and intertwined, and the air is filled with the smells of fish entrails, cheap gin, and damp coal ash.
This is the world she knows.
Fiona kept her head down and walked quickly, the hem of her maid outfit sweeping across the dirty cobblestones.
At a corner, she suddenly stopped and pressed herself against the rough brick wall.
Across the street, she saw that familiar figure that filled her with dread.
Fiona's former employer, Mr. Boyle, a baker, was talking animatedly to a local sheriff, his fat, salted pork knuckles gesturing in the air to indicate a certain height.
It's her height.
She knew she was wanted by the police.
Panic lingered in Fiona's mind for only a moment before being replaced by Levi's unmoving face.
Run? Run where?
She didn't run away.
Fiona quickly tore off a corner of her maid's apron, stirred it vigorously in a muddy puddle by the roadside, and then smeared it on her face without a care.
The cold mud gave her another jolt, but it also calmed her panic.
She untied her hair tie, coiled her striking flaxen blonde hair into a tight bun, and tucked it all into her hat.
After doing all this, she didn't back down; instead, she took a long detour and walked towards another street.
That street leads to a more chaotic and noisy market, a place a sheriff would never set foot in.
……
A faded bell hangs on the door of Parker's Grocery Store.
When Fiona pushed open the door, the bell rang weakly.
Mr. Parker, the shop owner, a bald, shrewd-eyed man, looked up from behind the ledger and sized up the filthy girl.
"Licorice, peppermint leaves, juniper berries, a dozen small burlap sacks..."
Fiona rattled off the list of items in one go.
Parker raised an eyebrow and sniffed the air as if he could smell the combination of these things.
Bootleg liquor dealers, or smugglers of tea.
He made up his mind.
"Licorice, three pence per ounce."
The price he quoted was double the market price.
This is a test.
Fiona did not respond.
Her gaze passed over Parker and landed on two men drinking in the corner of the shop.
They were dressed in dockworkers' clothes, burly, with rough, red faces etched by the sea breeze and alcohol.
He is Irish.
Fiona walked over and muttered a complaint in Gaelic, her voice low but just loud enough for the two of them to hear.
"The liquor here is as black as the owner's heart."
The two workers were taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.
One of the burly men, who had only one eye, stood up, walked to the counter, and slammed his large, fan-like hand on the wooden board with a "bang."
"Parker," he roared in heavily accented English, "give our sister a fair price. Otherwise, next time your rum barrel might just grow legs and fall into the sea."
Parker understood the formidable nature of this one-eyed giant, and although he still looked somewhat resentful, he reluctantly reneged on his offer.
Fiona paid the money, picked up her packed items, and prepared to leave.
The one-eyed strong man stopped her.
"New here?" he lowered his voice. "You're not working for those 'Sons of Liberty' guys, are you? They've been buying all this stuff lately."
Fiona's heart was pounding, and she could only vaguely reply, "It's all just to make a living."
The burly man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"If you have any trouble, you can come to the Green Dragon Tavern at the docks and find a man named Finn."
He didn't ask any more questions, but simply took out a hard, dry piece of black bread from his pocket and put it in Fiona's hand.
After leaving the general store, Fiona went to the black market.
She didn't dare ask about gunpowder directly, but only said she wanted to buy some cheap stuff that could be used to hunt deer.
A dealer with blackened teeth told her that all the lead and gunpowder were now bought up by "big shots," and the price had more than tripled.
Perhaps it was the natural advantage that came with her good looks, but the black market dealer even kindly reminded her, "Young lady, those things won't save your life, they'll only take it."
Fiona returned to the warehouse with bags of supplies and two crucial pieces of intelligence.
Inside the warehouse, Li Wei had finished his work.
Two completely different "products" were laid out on the ground.
One type is a fine powder packaged in a small, palm-sized tin box. The fragrance of tea mixed with the coolness of mint is what he named "Oriental Awakening Powder".
Another type was small square packets made of coarse linen, filled with a mixture of broken tea leaves and licorice root. They looked cheap and rough, and he called them "convenient tea soup".
Fiona placed the groceries and change on the ground, and then recounted in detail everything that had happened to her since she left the house.
He was wanted by the authorities, Parker tested him, one-eyed Finn helped him, and there was news of a monopoly on arms.
After she finished speaking, she looked at Li Wei nervously, waiting for his judgment.
Li Wei listened without showing any expression, as this was something he already knew.
In reality, he only stepped into the house five minutes earlier than Fiona.
From the moment Fiona left, the muzzle of that rifled flintlock musket never left her.
The Irish girl was beautiful and captivating, but if necessary, he wouldn't hesitate to turn that rose into a blood-red thorn.
As it turned out, he made the right bet.
Li Wei didn't offer any praise; he simply bent down, picked up a packet of coarse "convenient tea soup," and handed it to Fiona.
"Your 'friend' Finn will like this. Next time, send him a pack and tell him that drinking this will help him stand taller in the winter than drinking cheap rum."
Then, Li Wei's gaze turned to the exquisite box of "Eastern Awakening Powder".
"Our original plan was to sell the products to grocery stores like Parker's, and then use him to get in touch with big shots. Now it seems that was too narrow-minded, and he's already become suspicious."
He looked up at Fiona, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.
"Do you think that former employer who issued the warrant for your arrest is trying to curry favor with those British gentlemen wearing wigs?"
Fiona was stunned. After thinking for a while, she slowly said, "He's a complete snob. He dreams of getting an invitation to the governor's ball."
"Very good." Li Wei stood up. "Then you should go see him tomorrow."
"what?"
"You are no longer Fiona, the bread-stealing maid. You are now the maid of a mysterious Eastern tycoon. Your master is interested in the life of Boston's high society, but is very disappointed with the drinks here."
"He had only heard of Mr. Boyle's exceptional taste, so he specially sent you to deliver a 'small gift from his hometown' as a token of his greeting."
He held Fiona's shoulder with one hand and stuffed the box of "Oriental Awakening Powder" into Fiona's cold hand with the other.
"Tell him that your master wants to know through him who the 'real' respectable people are in Boston. If he can make an introduction, your master will show him how incredible the wealth from the East truly is."