Chapter 207: The Feeling of Trust

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There were quite a few people interested in the foot-treadle loom.

Li Du raised the price to 2,000 dollars, but there were still two bidders who continued to bid.

But Li continued bidding patiently; the two contenders gave up on the traditional loom, shaking their heads when the bid increased to 2,800 dollars.

The auctioneer pointed at Li Du, "2,800 dollars, 2,800 dollars, 2,800 dollars, the traditional loom now belongs to this young man over here! Everyone, let’s give this young man a round of applause. Congratulations."

For every item that was auctioned off, everyone would clap to congratulate the new owner of the item; this was one of the reasons the atmosphere of the Old Goods market was amicable.

Someone came over to Li and said, "Hi friend, thank you. I didn’t expect a young man to bid for this old loom. I thought only older people would like it."

Li Du laughed when he heard that and replied, "That’s because I have an old heart. Is this loom yours? It’s very well-maintained."

"Your heart is full of vigor," the mustached white man laughed. "I can sense that. It’s going to supply you with energy that will last for a hundred years."

After payment was made for the loom, Li Du had successfully completed the last of the Amish woman’s requests: the rawhide parchment, the woodworking tools, a young horse, and a foot-treadle loom— he had acquired all this in just three days!

Li Du gave the credit to Hans: His contacts and knowledge was a major factor why they could complete the requests in such a short time.

On Monday, the sky was clear and bright.

Mr. Li was in a good mood, just like the beautiful sunny day. With G.o.dzilla’s help, both of them moved the loom onto the Iron Knight while Hans contacted Jones and provided the destination address to deliver the filly to.

Li and his team set off earlier than Jones, as his ranch was closer to the Amish family.

They had it planned in a way so that neither party would need to wait for the other for long; in fact, they arrived around the same time.

When they reached the Amish woman’s house, there were still several items displayed on the front porch. Li Du thought that this could mean that there were not many people nearby who were interested in bartering.

Both trucks stopped beside the house; shortly after, two young children ran out of the front door. They were wearing black clothes and looked at Li Du and his friends curiously.

When the children saw the young horse being led down from the vehicle, they cheered and exclaimed, "Mom, Mom! Look! Someone brought a young horse!"

The Amish woman quickly came out of the house, wiping her hands as she walked up to Li Du. She smiled when she saw the items that she requested being carried down from the trucks.

"Mam, these are the items you’ve requested, please have a look."

The woman said, "Nicholas, go to the fields and get your daddy to come here."

Jones was stunned for a moment and said, "Huh? Why do—"

"Okay Mom!" a little boy’s crisp voice was heard and he ran off toward the fields.

The woman turned toward Jones and asked, "I beg your pardon, sir, but what did you say?"

Jones was embarra.s.sed. "Oh it’s nothing, just a misunderstanding—my name’s Nicholas too."

Hans laughed, "Without a doubt, it’s a great name."

The little boy came back with a few men walking behind him; they wore similar clothing and were of similar height as well. As the group of men all had a beard as well, it seemed that a small group of clones was walking toward them.

The Amish men would keep their beard once they came of age, but they were not allowed to keep a mustache; anything above the lips had to be shaved.

Li Du noticed a familiar face from the group of men. It was their neighbor, Toma.s.son.

Toma.s.son also remembered both Li Du and Hans. "Nice to see you again," he laughed. "So, both of you are the men that Ashley told us about. I should have known better. There aren’t many Oriental faces here."

Li Du shook hands with him and replied, "Yes, Mr. Toma.s.son. It’s nice to see you too. Please take a look at the items we brought."

Toma.s.son then introduced Ashley’s husband to Li Du. His name was Ricky Tacoma, a bearded blonde with green eyes.

After shaking hands with Li, Ricky seemed embarra.s.sed and said, "I need to apologize for something I said earlier: After knowing that my wife had given the specimen to you before you fulfilled the requests, I doubted her decision, and felt that it had been foolish of her to do that."

Li Du laughed and said, "I understand your concern. There are people who don’t keep their word."

He started to like these Amish people. If Ricky had kept silent about this, he wouldn’t have known about that anyways. But yet, Ricky chose to be truthful and apologize to him.

Hans gave his thoughts as well: "Pal, you were right to think this way. Your wife might be too trusting of others."

Ashley was a lucky woman. If she had met someone of a doubtful character, they would have taken the specimen with them and not come back.

An Amish man checked the young horse carefully and smiled. "Ricky, you just got yourself a strong, healthy filly."

The little boy, Nicholas, declared excitedly, "I want to ride it! I want to ride it! This horse is mine now."

The little girl opposed her brother’s declaration loudly: "No, this is a filly—she’s a girl just like me, and she’s going to be my friend. I’ve already thought of a name for her. She shall be called Irene."

The Amish were very pleased with the items: good quality rawhide parchment, a complete set of handmade woodworking tools, a strong, healthy filly, and an old but well-maintained foot-treadle floor loom.

Ricky invited Li Du and friends to his house. "The weather’s getting warm; we shouldn’t let our guests stand under the hot sun. Please come inside and enjoy some iced tea."

Hans winked at Li Du in a teasing manner. "Wow, good begets good. G.o.d is so right about that."

Li Du was baffled. "What do you mean?"

"The Amish may be friendly toward outsiders, but they are wary of them too," Hans explained. "They allow outsiders to take pictures or film their houses and their buggies, yet they seldom allow outsiders into their houses."

When they were about to enter the house, Toma.s.son said, "My friends, please do not take any pictures—is that fine with you?"

Li Du nodded. "We understand, we won’t take any pictures."

"Thank you for your kind understanding. Toma.s.son wore a grateful smile, showing a row of teeth.

The wooden house was s.p.a.cious. The floor was covered neatly with a clean rug. There weren’t many decorations in the house, only two vases with fresh-looking wildflowers.

Ricky brought some chairs out so that everyone could sit together. Ashley went to prepare tea for them. She drew some cold water from a well, and placed the metal pot of tea she brewed onto the cold well water to chill it.

Li Du noticed that there were a couple of gas lamps hanging at the entrance of the house, but there were electrical lightings and bulbs present as well. It meant that the Amish did use electricity.

Toma.s.son saw a puzzled look on Li’s face as he stared at the lamps.

"Do you think we are a primitive group of people?" he smiled. "Actually, we have adopted some modern technology. As you’ve already guessed, we do use electricity."

Li Du waved his hands and said, "No, no, no—you misunderstood. I didn’t think that. I am just puzzled because since there’s electricity, why don’t you use electrical tools like an electrical loom?"

Ricky explained, "Our electrical energy is generated from wind energy and solar energy. We need to conserve it. As for why we don’t use an electrical loom: my wife doesn’t know how to operate one."

Li Du tried to utter something but nothing came out of his mouth.