Chapter 234 Daily Plans at the Manor, Hot Pot, Hagrid's Letter
"There's no need to exaggerate like that."
Rye spoke with Nash for a while, and Nash genuinely offered Rye a price he couldn't refuse.
The two of them settled the matter without much effort.
Ray gained a new understanding of the White Tower's financial resources and Nash's social status.
Not everyone can pull out so many gold coins at once. Organizations like the White Tower aren't places where just anyone can give them money immediately.
Baitaken must have paid so much for the keel, so it must be for a very important purpose.
Lei thought to himself.
After all that commotion, it was already quite late, and I could see the sunset through the glass window.
The plan to go to the library floor had to be abandoned. After obtaining the Dragon Tooth, Nash was anxious to appease Golden Oak.
Ray could only politely say goodbye to him.
Without a pass and with such strict guards, I don't know when I'll be able to come here again.
It's absolutely impossible not to feel regret.
Clearly! Those notes were right in front of me, just one step away!
Leigh left the White Tower somewhat dejectedly, knowing he could only contact Nash another time.
I was so engrossed in chatting with the Holy Archmage at noon that I only ate some snacks there.
When they returned to the manor, it was quite late. Feeling bad about bothering Kama, who had already gone to sleep at the gatehouse, Lai went to the kitchen and cooked a bowl of dumpling soup himself.
Without turning on the lights, a person sat by the fireplace, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Neil has hardly had any time alone like this since he was abducted.
The fireplace in the manor is warm and comforting, giving one a sense of grounded security.
Eaton Forest was incredibly dangerous; I couldn't sleep well almost every night back then.
After arriving in the Elf Kingdom, they were safe, but Neil's matter remained on their minds, and they didn't know what kind of situation they would face after arriving in the royal city.
Then, after parting ways, I arrived in the royal city. I inherited the manor, but also took on new responsibilities.
Then came the matter of Xiudun.
Although he hadn't spent much time with Hughton, he didn't think he was a bad person.
He was just a pitiful man tormented by fate; may his soul find eternal rest.
"By the way, Ryan."
"explain."
"Does Shumpun's soul still exist?"
"He's gone. He had no obsessions, and he was no longer bound by necromancy, so he naturally disappeared."
Will I disappear from this world when I die?
Ryan was puzzled as to why Lai asked such a tricky question. He looked at the human and found him staring at him intently.
"If you wish, I can turn you into a living corpse."
Ryan was clearly not joking.
"No need for now, thank you."
Ray had intended to discuss some questions about the soul with Him, but it was clear that the one had a magical ability to easily kill a conversation.
He got up, cleared away the dishes, and took them to the kitchen. He then returned with a wine glass and two sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes were buried in the glowing embers, and half a cup of dark red wine was poured into a glass as a solitary figure drank alone.
"What are your plans after Neil returns?"
Ryan floated onto the extra footstool.
"To be honest, I don't know."
The fire in the fireplace had gone out, leaving a pile of glowing red charcoal inside. Lai poked at it with a spade, and the flames suddenly popped back up.
"I don't know if Neil will still be willing to come back to the small mountain village with me when I have the ability to rescue him."
The city is bustling and has a rich material life; the conditions here are better and more suitable for Neil's growth.
If he can get a better education and reunite with his family by staying here with Edmund and the others, then I shouldn't bring him back.
He should enjoy these resources and see a wider world, instead of confining himself to a small town.
"And what about you?"
"Me?"
Lai took a sip of wine; the alcohol tasted a bit too strong.
"The apples in the low hills are out of season. I wonder if Yilu and the others have picked any."
The meaning behind Ray's words was self-evident.
"Young Master."
"Butler Cher, did I wake you up?"
"No, I just got up to add some charcoal."
Cher took some charcoal out of the small barn where charcoal and firewood were stored and put it into the fireplace with a small shovel.
Ray didn't know if he had heard what he had just said, but it didn't matter if he had.
He was just talking to himself.
"We have freshly roasted sweet potatoes, would you like a piece?"
Ray sat up and took a chair from the side for Cher.
"Okay, thank you, young master."
Ray went to the kitchen and got a glass, then poured some wine for Cher.
The two sat on opposite sides and silently peeled the sweet potatoes.
The sweet potato skin was roasted until it was slightly charred. When you break off the outermost layer, you can see the slightly charred inner layer. This part tastes the best, both charred and fragrant.
The sweet potato flesh inside is golden brown, both mealy and sweet.
"This batch of sweet potatoes was a really good buy."
“The ones grown by the farmers themselves may not look quite as good, but the taste is unbeatable. Every autumn I ask Vincent to buy a couple of bags to last through the winter.”
"I can buy more next year."
"Yes. There weren't many snacks in winter back then. When your father was a child, he would sneak out of the kitchen at night when he was hungry and grab a handful of dried sweet potatoes to eat."
Aunt Elaine is a great cook, making delicious snacks and cookies; all the kids in her family love to pester her.
Cher couldn't help but smile as he recalled the days when everyone was still around.
"We still have a lot of sweet potatoes, so we can make some for everyone as a snack."
"good."
"Business is now on track, and we can just buy whatever the estate needs."
We can buy more meat; Duncan and the others are still young and growing. The adults work hard taking care of the greenhouse and need more nutrition.
"Okay, no problem, I'll make time to go to the market tomorrow."
"Is there beef at the market?"
"some."
"Buy some beef and butter."
"good."
"Are you making hot pot broth?" Lian asked.
"Yeah, make less, just enough for our own family."
After giving his instructions, Ray and Cher started drinking again.
After a moment of silence, Cher finally spoke up and asked.
"Young Master."
"Um?"
"Do you plan to leave the capital later?"
Cher looked at Ray, expecting to hear a negative answer from him.
"Chel, I don't want to hide it from you."
Cher looked somewhat disappointed.
“I also have a home in Rosen, where I’ve lived for over twenty years. I have a small hill there with lots of apple trees and a beautiful little cabin.”
I will return there someday, even though it may be ravaged by war.
But for me, that small mountain village is where my roots lie.
"I see."
"Don't worry about Cher, I will come to the capital to visit you from time to time. Your lives will not be the same as before."
The dejection on Cher's face was clearly visible.
Ray didn't know how to persuade the old man who had dedicated half his life to the Victor family.
The two sat for a while longer before returning to their respective rooms.
The next morning, Cher acted as if he knew nothing and was no different from usual, which made Ray secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
After consulting with Ray, Kama called over the tailor shop owner to take Ray's measurements.
I ordered three formal suits and some everyday clothes.
Most of Ray's clothes were ready-made garments he bought in Rosen a few years ago. The fabric was so-so, and since he had grown taller, they no longer fit him well.
This time, we can resolve the issue all at once.
Lai saw how hard everyone had worked, so he had the tailor make new clothes for everyone.
The three children were the most excited and the most shy. Only Diana and Vincent, the siblings, were in town minding the shop and hadn't returned yet.
Kama has their measurements, so there's no need for her to make that extra trip.
In the afternoon, Cher and Karma took Jane to the market and bought some meat.
In winter, the cold weather allows meat to be stored for a few more days, but it still won't last very long.
Although there is a special ice room in the wine cellar for storing food, there is no ice in it, so it is practically useless.
Cher didn't dare buy too much meat, but he did buy the beef and butter that Ray wanted.
Fearing that the food would spoil if left out for too long, Lai borrowed the kitchen that afternoon to cook a pot of hot pot broth.
The food was divided into small jars and cooled. After it solidified, some was put into the pendant space, and the rest was kept for daily consumption.
Cher and his companions naturally had no idea what hot pot was or what hot pot broth was.
Lei didn't mind the trouble and prepared beef slices and various washed vegetables with Kama, and took out a copper pot that hadn't been used for a long time.
That evening, he treated his family to a hot pot meal.
The manor was unusually lively for once.
Everyone was captivated by its numbing, spicy, and fragrant flavor.
There were also freshly picked strawberries from the greenhouse, which served as dessert. Lian was particularly satisfied with his meal.
"You should make hot pot more often."
Ryan offered his sincere advice.
"Okay, maybe I can try congee hot pot sometime in the future, but that depends on me being able to find rice and paddy rice."
What are rice and paddy rice?
"Rice is the seed of paddy rice, a staple food that can be eaten. In our area, rice and wheat flour are the staple foods."
"sounds good."
"It's very good."
Dinner ended, and it was already dark, marking the official end of a fulfilling day.
As dawn broke, everyone began another day of work. One person carefully cut the strawberries with a pair of scissors and put them in a basket.
Diana saw that it was almost time and went back to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Today, Karma is at the store, so she needs to prepare three meals a day for everyone.
Before she got married, she enjoyed baking cookies, so she made some really good pastries.
Lai's breakfast consisted of several small bread rolls with milk, a tender and juicy pork rib, and two soft-boiled fried eggs.
Diana also made him a fruit salad with lettuce, corn kernels, cherry tomatoes, and cheese.
The Cher family's breakfast included meat, but the bread was just a regular baguette.
Although Leigh explicitly refused to be given special treatment, the two head chefs, Karma and Diana, simply ignored her.
Apart from Ray, everyone else assumed this approach was correct.
Vincent drove the carriage to the shop with Karma and a full load of goods, while Cher met the messenger who was delivering a letter to Rye at the manor gate.
The letter came from the Hagrid family, who hadn't heard from them for several months.
With a woolen blanket covering his legs, Ray sat by the fireplace, carefully reading through Hagrid and Lamb's words to understand their current situation and the battle situation in Eaton.
The grown-up orange kitten lay at his feet, licking its paws and purring softly.
Diana is washing dishes in the kitchen.
Cher looked through the ledger and carefully recorded each recent expense.
Duncan, as the eldest brother, was teaching his two younger brothers arithmetic and basic literacy. Although the church school had already started its winter break, Cher instructed them that their studies should not be neglected for even a moment.
The living room was filled with a warm and peaceful atmosphere.
I started by saying the same thing again: everything is fine, so he doesn't need to worry.
Food was very expensive in Eaton, so they cleared out all the flowers and plants in their little garden and planted potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins.
In the fall, we harvested several bags of potatoes and sweet potatoes, which solved our family's immediate financial crisis.
Vivian managed to get a few bags of food through connections, and with the help of Farah's family, the family of eleven had no problem getting through the winter.
They had money, but the food supplies in Eton were prioritized for the soldiers, so they were having a relatively difficult time.
Ray knew all of this.
However, the distance between the royal city and Eton City was too far, and he was willing but unable to send some food over.
The letter mentioned that Xiao Bao could already talk and was the family's source of joy, bringing some happiness to everyone's gloomy mood.
Also, Brian's wife, Kelly, is pregnant, with her due date next summer.
The child's arrival was somewhat ill-timed, a fact everyone knows. But it's simply impossible for a mother to abandon her child.
Even if Kelly had done many wrong things, they couldn't send her back at this critical juncture, so Linda had no choice but to take on the task of taking care of her.
Hagrid certainly didn't tell Lay about any of that nonsense; he only mentioned Kelly's pregnancy.
The rest were all mentioned in Lamb's letter.
The situation was critical at the time, and out of consideration for his son and daughter-in-law, Hagrid asked them to tell them that their parents were moving away from Rosen and temporarily moving to Eaton.
With Vivian, a magician who has already settled in Eton City, around, they might be allowed to pass out of consideration for her.
And so, the three families teamed up and headed to Eton together.
Along the way, Kelly received some good things and always thought about helping her family by sending them to her parents.
It was all for her own share, so once it was given away, no one said anything.
Once in Eaton, Kelly didn't stay home much, often visiting her parents. Whenever they ate meat at home, she would specifically go and bring her two nephews over.
In early winter this year, Kelly's parents used the excuse that their grandson had fallen ill to call Kelly back home. That very night, she stole half a sack of grain and some rare medicine from home and went to her parents' house.
Food was already scarce, and medicine was an even scarcer resource. Those medicines were specifically reserved for the three children in the family.
But she did something like this.
Brian felt guilty towards his parents and siblings and wanted to move out, but Linda persuaded him not to. Kelly was too scared to come back and waited for Brian to pick her up.
But Brian was really furious and left it hanging for almost a month.
With one more person, there would be one more source of food. Kelly's parents believed that once their daughter was married, she was no longer a part of them. So, when Kelly brought them food and drink, they naturally welcomed her with smiles.
But as she stayed longer and no one came to pick her up, they became increasingly dissatisfied with her. They were only given one meal a day.
Later, Kelly started nausea and had obvious pregnancy symptoms, so the family packed her things and saw her off at the front door.
Lamb was still as impatient as ever, and he complained a lot to Ray in his letter.
But for now, they have no choice but to continue like this, given the special circumstances they are in.
Lamb felt very sorry for Linda, who had to do housework and take care of Kelly's health every day.
However, the men, along with his sister Vivian, all had to go out to work every day and simply didn't have time to help ease her burden.
Every family has its own troubles.
After reading the letters, Ray felt somewhat uneasy. These letters were from almost a month ago, and he wondered how Hagrid and the others were doing now.
He wrote a reply, asking Cher to prepare some medicine and some small but useful and easily transportable items.
Finally, a small package, about the thickness of a book, was delivered. It cost an extra fifty silver coins before it was finally sent out.
Ray didn't dare put the gold coins in; doing so would only make it harder for them to reach Hagrid and his men. Whether they would receive them in the end was up to fate.
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