Chapter 16: In the midsummer of the royal capital, we went to the Raven Messenger Post Office together...

The summer in Calmette is extremely hot. The asphalt covering the ground is made like soft candy by the sun, and it becomes sticky when you step on it. The roof of the iron shed is so hot that you can fry eggs.

Ye Wan had no choice but to subscribe to the "Starry Sky Daily". It was said that this newspaper was backed by the Royal Astrology Hall and the daily weather forecast was very accurate. In this way, Ye Wan could arrange his daily meals according to the weather forecast and consider whether to dry the quilt.

She soon discovered that this decision was a big mistake, because due to the letters of complaint from the public (Dorothy wrote more than ten of them alone), the city hall was forced to start the annual cooling measures early.

First, several ice butterflies were released to fly back and forth in the royal capital. These magical creatures captured from the Ice and Snow Kingdom looked like they were carved from ice crystals. Every time they flapped their wings, the temperature around them would drop rapidly.

The Garden Department began to place sunflowers in the green belts of major roads. This flower looks like a sunflower and has a huge red disk that absorbs heat and converts it into energy for its own combustion, thus lowering the temperature everywhere.

Finally, the tallest building in the royal capital: the towering rain-praying tower also started working. There is a cloud needle on the top of the tower to absorb water vapor in the clouds. When enough water vapor is absorbed, the giant tower will start to spray water out, just like it is raining in the royal capital.

Therefore, the weather forecast was no longer of any use. Ye Wan looked at the quilt in the yard that was soaked by the rain and felt very angry. He decided not to subscribe to the "Starry Sky Daily".

But Emma suddenly became interested in the daily newspaper, which had a section dedicated to gossip about aristocrats and celebrities. The hottest topic recently was that the witch singer Selina secretly kept a male merman at home. According to insiders, when the Department for Protection of Magical Creatures broke into her home at midnight, the singer, nicknamed "The Queen," was in the fountain with her merman...

"Stop, stop, stop." Ye Wan interrupted her muttering with relish: "Stop talking, it's beyond my comprehension."

She sat on a small stool by the bar, shaving cucumber shreds. Because of the ice butterfly, Cinderella Square had been very cool in the evenings recently. Many people went there to cool off, and it also attracted many vendors to sell things.

Ye Wan made a lot of cold noodles and boiled some iced sour plum soup, and also went to the square to sell them at dusk.

It is not difficult to make cold skin. Rub all-purpose flour with water and then steam it in a pot. It is considered successful when the cold skin is as thin as a cicada's wing and then chewy and elastic.

Next, Ye Wan grated a lot of emerald green cucumber shreds, juicy purple cabbage, carrots and mung bean sprouts, fried a lot of crispy peanuts in a frying pan, and prepared some soul-stirring garlic sauce. Then, a bowl of delicious and fragrant cold noodles was ready.

People in Kalmedo rarely see delicacy like Liangpi, and hot weather is very suitable for eating cold food, so Ye Wan's business is pretty good and he can sell out every day.

The only worry is pricing. In the summer, the price of vegetables increases exponentially, and the vegetable vendors can't do anything about it. There was little rain this summer, and farmers have to find ways to divert water. The cost is high, and the price of vegetables is naturally high.

Emma ate a large bowl of cold noodles and put a straw into the sour plum soup. Then she gave her a suggestion: "Go to Green Sand Hill Farm and order directly from Annie. There are no middlemen who make a profit from the price difference."

"But how can I contact her?" Ye Wan was a little distressed.

Emma finished her sour plum soup in a few gulps. "You can write a letter and send it to Green Sand Hill Farm. Annie will know about it soon."

When Ye Wan was born, Nokia and Motorola were already popular. She had only been to the post office once when she was traveling abroad. She wanted to send a postcard home. She just bought stamps, put them on, and threw it into the mailbox. It was quite convenient.

The post office in Kalmedo should be similar, Ye Wan thought.

"No way." She thought to herself as she stared at the tall building in front of her in amazement.

It was a tall black tower with a Gothic spire, glowing with a cold light. The tower was entwined with thorny brambles and blood-red roses. On either side of the door stood two black ravens carved from black iron, their eyes inlaid with blood-red gems, sparkling in the sunlight.

Ye Wan was at a loss at the door, but Emma calmly waved to her and asked her to come in.

The dome of the hall is dark purple, with a huge star map painted on it. Those star maps move with time like the real starry sky. There are countless colorful mailboxes on both sides of the hall.

There are many windows in the business hall. A fluffy fire fox wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a white suit stands at the service desk, enthusiastically taking numbers for everyone who comes to handle business.

"Are you sending a letter to the human race, beautiful lady? You must be from the East." The Fire Fox said enthusiastically.

Ye Wan's mind had adapted to this world with magical creatures, but his body hadn't yet. For example, when talking to a standing fire fox in a suit, he could only stammer, "Yes, send a letter to the human race."

Emma added: "Sending a letter to a living person."

The Firefox's paws were covered in white gloves. He deftly took out the B004 number plate from a stack of gold-plated numbers. "Second counter on the left, miss. We're a bit busy right now. There are free cookies and coffee in the tea room. Feel free to help yourself."

Ye Wan took it, thanked Firefox, and then sat with Emma in the waiting area, where there were rows of soft chairs.

"What does it mean to send a letter to a living person? Can you send a letter to a dead person?" Ye Wan pinched the number plate in his hand nervously.

"Of course you can send letters to the dead." Emma looked calm, as if she was chatting with Ye Wan about the rainy weather. "My mother has sent no less than twenty letters to my grandmother, but she never received a reply. The probability of the dead replying is very low, apparently only 0.02%."

Emma pointed to a black and white window on the right, where a woman with a sad face and a black veil on her head was sitting. She was handing a parcel into the window. Ye Wan noticed that a transparent hand took the parcel.

She was so frightened that she almost fell down.

Emma patted her shoulder kindly and said, "Don't worry, the capital has strict surveillance on ghosts. Apart from a few fixed places, you won't see them anywhere else. After all, they are really scary."

Two more armored guards speared a huddled dwarf out of the window.

The dwarf cried loudly, struggling and shouting: "I was wrong, I was really wrong!

The two guards threw the dwarf out.

Ye Wan asked: "What's going on then?"

Emma took a look and said, understandingly, "It's obvious. The dwarves are trying to mail out the contraband again, hoping to find a loophole. But by the Goddess of the Underworld! The post office is probably one of the most heavily guarded places in the capital. My father always taught me never to cause trouble there."

These words deepened Ye Wan's nervousness, and the paper in her hand was soaked with sweat.

"B004, B004 is here." A female voice with a mechanical metallic accent sounded.

Ye Wan hurried to the counter. Fortunately, there was no strange magical creature behind the counter this time. Instead, there was only a kind, white-haired old lady.

"Where to send it, dear?"

Ye Wan quickly handed her the letter in his hand: "There is a girl named Annie at Green Sand Dune Farm in Rainbow Valley. She is my friend."

The old lady nodded and threw the letter into the brass basin beside her. Ye Wan exclaimed, "My letter!"

Emma comforted her, "It won't get the letter wet. It's a revealing potion. It's just to check if there are any traces of a curse on the letter."

She suddenly felt angry. "Only the capital city has strict inspections. The border regions don't care at all. I remember one time someone who owed my family a debt sent a letter from the southern border with a curse on it. It almost burned my house down."

Ye Wan's letter passed safely. The old lady fished the letter out of the basin of water. The letter was intact and still dry.

"Which method of delivery do you want to choose? An owl costs 10 copper coins, a signal bird costs 20, and for the others, you can check the menu." The old lady pointed to the big screen above her head.

Ye Wan was stunned. She felt like an idiot. Luckily, Emma, ​​who was accompanying her, was an experienced operator. "Owls are too slow, and there's a chance they'll get lost. The farm isn't far away, so a signal bird will suffice. There's no need for those more expensive ones."

The old lady nodded, took the 20 copper coins, and put a stamp and postmark on Ye Wan's letter: "Just throw it in the green mailbox."

Ye Wan did as he was told and returned to the tavern with Emma.

The main dish of tonight's set meal is hot pepper chicken. Ye Wan put the chicken into the pan and fried it until it was golden brown and the chicken skin was slightly crispy, then added the spicy sauce and stewed it together. Soon, the tender chicken pieces and the shiny green and red peppers in the iron pan began to swirl.

When the dish was finally served, Ye Wan sprinkled some chopped green onions and fried white sesame seeds on top.

This chicken is very delicious and goes well with a large bowl of white rice. Emma picked up a piece of chicken and found the skin crispy. When she took a bite, the tender chicken inside came out along with the spicy and rich soup.

At this time, taking a mouthful of white rice soaked in reddish-brown soup was so delicious that Emma felt she could eat several more bowls.

But she didn't forget to get down to business. "Honestly, going to the post office every time is too much trouble. You'd better buy a signal bird. Forget about owls; they're unreliable and often lose mail. It's said that great wizards used to communicate only with ravens, but ravens don't obey commands very well, so not many people use them."

Ye Wan was battling wits and courage with Pancake. He quickly snatched a red pepper from its claws and replaced it with a carrot stick. "I prefer that cell phone-like thing you use to contact the Night Watch Association."

Emma was a little embarrassed. "That communicator belongs to my father. It's very expensive, 50 gold coins. And because it's expensive, most people don't use it except for busy merchants, various associations, and wealthy nobles. Even if you have one, Annie won't be able to receive your message."

Ye Wan sighed: "Forget it, tell me about the signal bird, what exactly is it?"

Emma didn't need to explain anymore, a mechanical bird suddenly flew in happily from the window and delivered the letter to Ye Wan accurately.

Ye Wan opened the letter. It was written in Annie's elegant and somewhat ugly handwriting: "You're most welcome. I'm on summer vacation now and I'm here every day. If you'd like, you can take the first train to the farm tomorrow. I'll pick you up at the platform."

"She agreed." Ye Wan said.

"That's great." Emma nodded.

The signal bird that had completed its mission suddenly disintegrated into countless small round parts in her hands, squeezed out from the gap in the window, and then floated away.