Chapter 217 Old Acquaintance Tavern, Completed, Note
The hottest part of the afternoon had passed, and Lai, dressed casually, went out alone.
The area is surrounded by various manors. Although I have lived here for a while, I am not familiar enough to casually visit my neighbors.
Rye decided to walk over to the pub Ross had mentioned.
If you walk west along the main road, there are trees that are only seven or eight meters tall planted on both sides of the road.
Its seeds are wrapped in a seed coat similar to that of a ground cherry, and they grow in clusters of three or four.
At first, it was just a pale yellow color, but now it is a fully ripe pink, hanging among the leaves.
When it was at its most vigorous, it looked like a large pink cloud when viewed from upstairs.
Standing under these trees now, all you can see are a few scattered blossoms that haven't fallen yet, as if they can't be severed.
The road was littered with the "remains" of those beautiful pink fruit peels, many of which had been crushed into mud.
Their mission should have been accomplished.
These sudden thoughts keep popping into Ray's head lately.
The tavern wasn't far, but it wasn't close either. It was a few miles from the Viktor family's estate, and it would take more than an hour to walk there.
Keep walking straight ahead in this direction, and you'll find a fairly large market. The tavern is located in an alleyway at the head of the market.
A round wine barrel, about half a person's height, was piled up in front of the door, along with a long bench, making it easy to spot.
He saw a sign on the tavern door that prominently featured a cast iron barrel and two knives, with a small glass lamp hanging beside it.
"Lord Lei, if you go to the tavern, be careful. I've heard the tavern owner looks fierce and has even killed someone before!"
The image of Ross's serious little expression flashed before Ray's eyes.
The tavern opens after lunch and doesn't close until late at night.
Pushing open the thick wooden door, you hear the clear, crisp sound of a copper bell.
He was initially choked by the smell of smoke, but quickly got used to the mixture of alcohol and tobacco.
Although it was only afternoon, seven or eight men were already sitting in the booths and at the bar, scrutinizing Lai from head to toe.
He seemed to be pondering where this unfamiliar face had come from.
Lai ignored them and calmly walked to the bar.
"A glass of tequila."
"good."
The bartender, with his back to the bar, skillfully took a bottle of wine from the third shelf.
The clear liquid was slowly poured into a crystal-clear glass, and the aroma of alcohol wafted from the bar counter.
Ray noticed immediately that the bartender was different from everyone else.
He was burly, with a neat buzz cut and a narrow headscarf tied around his forehead. Just by looking at his back, you could tell he probably didn't work in a pub before.
What's more, his original left leg had been replaced by a wooden leg.
"Your agave."
As Lai looked at the bartender's distinctive scars and broken eyebrow, the man's face gradually overlapped with the person in his memory.
"Commander Anderson?"
Anderson was taken aback, then smiled after a closer look.
"It's you, Ray."
I remember that year, before Anderson and his group went into the forest, they bought a lot of salted eggs and pickles from their own hands.
That income allowed him, Neil, and Tata to eat meat for a long time.
After that, the last news I heard about them came from the villagers. They said they were attacked by monsters in Eton Forest and were seriously injured.
After that, there was no further news.
Laiyi never expected to run into him again in the tavern in the royal city today.
"Why did you come to the capital? How are everyone in the small mountain village?"
"I'm here on business."
Lei made up an excuse.
Anderson seemed pleased to run into someone he knew from the past. He beckoned a young man wearing an eye patch to the bar to watch the business, while he led Ray to a more secluded back room.
Anderson's prosthetic leg thumped on the floor, his steps were a little unsteady, but his back remained upright.
"I own this tavern. You're welcome to come and sit here more often."
"Okay, definitely."
Anderson took a sip of his favorite Montmar.
"I've heard about the situation in Rosen Town. Things aren't peaceful outside right now, but things are relatively better here in the royal city."
"Only by dealing with those demons as soon as possible can everyone truly settle down."
That's right.
Anderson took another sip of his drink, his face looking somewhat weathered in the dim light.
"For the past two or three decades, we have been wandering in the Eton Forest. Now, some are dead and some are crippled. This is our just deserts, and we have no one to blame but ourselves."
"Making a stable living by running a tavern for a few years now is already quite good."
Anderson didn't complain much about the pain he had experienced and had a very open-minded attitude.
"It's just a pity that I probably won't have the chance to travel around the mainland again in the future."
For a bounty hunter who loves to roam and take on all sorts of missions, it is indeed a regrettable thing that he is unable to continue this kind of life due to force majeure.
"Stability isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I really hope to continue this kind of life."
"That's what Lei said."
The conversation quickly shifted to the situation of the villagers in the small mountain village, and outside the tavern, most of the topics of conversation were about the demon race.
The common people at the bottom of society are far more concerned about the current situation than the nobles.
Unfortunately, people only talked about it and couldn't do anything about the war.
Ray sat in Anderson's tavern for nearly three hours, and it was already dark when he left.
He didn't see the vice-captain, Sheen, the intermediate mage he remembered as having some skill. Anderson said that she had been asked by someone she knew to go out on an errand.
This unexpected encounter was quite pleasant, giving me a feeling of meeting an old friend in a foreign land.
After some time, Lei continued to devote most of his energy to the breeding of strawberry plants.
After several rain showers, the two greenhouses were finally completed, their transparent glass structures gleaming in the sunlight.
Whether it's the transparent lighting that covers half of the greenhouse or the ingeniously designed insulation structure inside, it's unique in the entire royal city.
After the fireplace was successfully ventilated, the craftsmen left, and planting could begin once the soil inside the greenhouse was turned over again.
After planning and reserving passageways inside the greenhouse for future use, Lei handed over the work to Vincent.
With the blessing of magic, and after such a long period of selection, breeding and hybridization, Lei has achieved its initial goal.
Pure white strawberry seeds are precious and rare, and the yield is low.
These days, the most common strawberry seeds I have are those light pink ones.
Only they know the hardships and difficulties they endured.
He vowed that he would never do such a thing again unless absolutely necessary.
However, now is not the best time to bring them to market.
Strawberries take at least three months to grow and ripen without external interference.
To get the produce ready for the Winter Ball this November or December, they need to start planting in August.
But there are only a few months left until August, and it would be a waste to leave the greenhouse empty without planting anything. Even just planting some vegetables would be good.
Vincent should be more adept at this, so Ray decided to leave it to him.
According to Edmund's message, the lady from the Toland family found several tutors for Neil to teach him about social etiquette and other related matters.
However, Neil was not provided with the necessary magic teacher.
Clearly, she wanted Neil to be a respectable successor, but at the same time, she was wary of him.
In that lady's eyes, Neil was ultimately nothing more than a pawn used to gain power.
I feel more at ease raising my younger brother myself.
Ray collected his thoughts. A scratching sound came from the study doorway.
"Tata, stop fooling around."
"Tata is still in Eaton Forest."
Ryan's voice came from the ceiling.
Yes, he's still in the forest.
As soon as Lei said Tata's name, he immediately realized he had mispronounced it. Habits are truly amazing things.
Ray opened the door and saw a small, orange figure.
Vincent found the kitten in his backyard while tilling the soil. Its mother and siblings were nowhere to be found, and it was the only one left under the bushes.
Meow~
The little orange cat meowed softly, rubbed against Lai's trouser leg a few times, and held its tail high.
After it stopped, it licked its right paw, stood up by pushing off with its hind legs, hooked its two front paws onto Ray's trouser legs, and began to sharpen its claws.
Lei: "......"
"I like this little thing."
The sound of Ryan watching the drama unfold came from above.
The cotton trouser legs were quickly snagged by the cat's claws, and several threads were pulled out.
"Kitty! Kitty!"
Judging from the sound, it seems Jane is downstairs looking for the little orange cat that ran away.
Ray carried the kitten downstairs with one hand and handed it to Jane.
"You can wrap some hemp rope around the log so it can sharpen its claws."
"Thank you, Lord Lei."
The little girl timidly accepted it, but the little orange cat was unwilling to leave Lai, its four paws outstretched, trying to hook onto his sleeve.
Where is your maternal grandfather?
"They went out to buy vegetable seeds. My uncle is turning the soil in the greenhouse, and my aunt, mother, and two older brothers are all there."
Lei nodded.
"I'm going out for a bit and will tell them they don't need to wait for me for dinner."
Jian nodded emphatically to indicate that he had memorized it.
It rains a lot in the capital; it rained for a while this morning, and the roads outside are still damp, though the air is nice.
Ray turned left and right, and ended up at Anderson's tavern again.
Pushing open the door, I found that there weren't many people, just two or three scattered around, and even the smell of cigarettes had lessened considerably.
"They're here."
"Um."
Anderson and Rye greeted each other, and Rye took a bottle of mead from his pendant and gave it to him.
Anderson carefully examined the seal and the bottom of the bottle.
"Wine from the Elven Kingdom?"
"Um."
"Good stuff, I knew it looked a bit like something from the Elven Kingdom."
Anderson moved the top shelf and placed the bottle of mead in the most conspicuous position, then took another bottle down from there.
"I also have a bottle of good wine here, why don't you try it?"
Amber-colored sake was poured into two delicate sake glasses; the liquid was pure and free of any impurities.
Lai took a small sip; the taste was very strong. It was rare to find alcohol with such a strong flavor on the market.
It was a bit sore, and Lai frowned as he swallowed it with difficulty.
"It's a bit spicy."
"Haha, this is strong liquor that I got from those dwarf alchemists. No wonder it's so spicy."
Lai tried another sip, but still didn't like the taste of the wine.
"Ray."
"What's wrong?"
Judging from Anderson's expression, I had a feeling that he had something to say to me.
Have you offended anyone before?
After thinking back, Lai realized that among those he had grudges against in the past, there was the goblin named Hru who led the attack on the small mountain village, and the bandits he encountered in Eaton Forest, though they were probably nowhere to be found now.
Why do you ask that?
“For some time now, people have been trying to find out about you. If they were just ordinary people, it wouldn't be a problem, but I sense a very cold aura about them.”
Anderson's words alerted Rye.
"Is it one person?"
"Two of them, wearing cloaks and masks, always came at night, and I never saw their faces."
This has been going on for several days, but you haven't come. The last person to arrive left you a note.
Anderson pulled a folded piece of paper from under the bar.
Could it be that Neil sent someone to deliver a message to him?
Lei thought to himself.
However, he has not yet made direct contact with Neil, so Neil should not know the location of the manor or the tavern.
Lei opened the note with a puzzled look on his face.
"Have you forgotten our deal? I'm waiting for you over there."
Ray's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly remembered.
It was him...
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Author's note: "Haha, the update is here."
(Serving up a fresh, hot update)
"Look, why aren't you looking?"
(The reader remains silent, watching the author in quiet contemplation.)
"Look! Show it to me, everyone!"
(Trying to feed the reader [doge emoji])
P.S. This is a parody of "Chicken Soup for the Soul".
P.S. My new no-CP (no romantic pairing) pre-order is "The Immortal Being - Today is Another Beautiful Day," feel free to add it to your collection! [doge emoji with rose in hand]
ppps. Hehehe, I'm completely absorbed in my own art, I love the new cover!
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