Chapter 228 A Small Harvest: Return, Harvest, Opening a Shop
It's already the height of summer, and all the vegetables planted in the manor are thriving. Before long, there will be a bumper harvest.
However, the people at Victor's Manor were not happy.
The reason is somewhat tragic: the family heir, whom they had waited for twenty years and who had only returned a few months earlier, has disappeared for nearly a month.
As the manor's butler, Cher was the pillar of support for everyone when the owners were away.
He knew where Ray had gone; Ray had told him before leaving.
For the first two weeks, Butler Cher managed to maintain a calm facade. But as time went on, his brow began to furrow more and more deeply.
Ray hadn't returned yet, and like everyone else, he became anxious and began to take a series of actions.
First, Vincent was sent to look for them, but he only found horses that had been boarded at a nearby hotel for some time.
In the end, they paid more than a dozen silver coins to redeem the horse.
They even searched the old site of the Elgrich family home, but couldn't find Ray. Nobody knew where he had gone. A perfectly healthy person can't just disappear like that.
They searched almost every town near the old site, but still found no trace of it.
Desperate, Cher sought out Edmund and asked him to help with the search.
More than ten days have passed in the blink of an eye, and there is still no news.
Everyone in the manor wore a sorrowful expression, and could only place their hopes on the supreme deity.
Therefore, Karma and Diana would take the children to church every day to pray, hoping that God and the God of Light would bless Ray's safe return.
"Mom, when will Lord Lei be back?"
Another prayer session ended, and Jane was very disappointed. Or rather, everyone was in a bad mood.
"Young Master will be back soon."
Diana patted Jane's head.
The girl's hair was still an unhealthy yellow, and it would take a long time to recover. But her cheeks were finally less gaunt, and she was gradually gaining some weight.
Ray's arrival made life on the manor better and more vibrant, giving everyone something to look forward to every day.
But now all news about him has been lost.
"Are Father and Second Brother going out today too?"
Diana asked Karma, who had come with her.
Thinking that perhaps the small church near their home was not very effective, they made a special trip to the Papacy in the center of the royal city today.
"They went out; they plan to go back to the old site to take another look."
"Any new information from Baron Hilton?"
Kama shook his head.
If they can't find Lai, they can't continue this large-scale search; they don't have much money left.
It's common knowledge that the site of the Egrich site is haunted.
Everyone knew perfectly well that no matter how much manpower and resources were spent searching, it might all come to nothing in the end, but no one was willing to give up so easily.
Especially the old butler, Cheshire, who had dedicated most of his life to the Victor family. The manor held a place in his heart that far surpassed even his own family.
The two sisters-in-law were both in low spirits, but all they could do besides come to church to pray and take good care of the house so that Cher and Vincent wouldn't have any worries.
"Mom, is that Lord Lei?"
Jane pointed to a man who had just come out of the Mage's Association; he was dressed in tattered clothes and had rather long hair. But his build did look very similar to Ray's.
"I'll go take a look."
Kama quickly stepped forward, intending to call out to the man, but before she could even touch his shoulder, the man had already turned around.
"Karma? What are you doing here?"
"It's Master Vic! It's Master Vic!"
Kama exclaimed excitedly, and Diana and Jane rushed forward. When they saw it really was Ray, they also shouted excitedly, attracting the attention of passersby.
"Where did you go! We thought something had happened to you and you would never come back."
Kama and the others were very emotional.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Ray tried to calm them down. The street was too crowded and noisy to be a good place for catching up.
He sent Karma and Diana to find a carriage for their return, while he waited for them on the street with Jane.
"Jane, how has everyone been lately?"
"not good."
The little girl looked at Lei with a wronged expression.
"Grandpa, uncles, aunts, brothers, and many other uncles and aunts are all helping to find you, but there is no news at all. I'm so afraid that you've died."
Jane became more and more upset as she spoke, and tears streamed down her face.
Lai was a little embarrassed; he hadn't expected it to take so long.
Physically, he only felt like he had been in that subspace for about three days, but in reality, almost six days had passed outside.
There is a significant time difference between the two locations.
It took him almost half a month to get out of the Soul Ruins. Later, he finally managed to borrow a teleportation array from a nearby magic guild. After several twists and turns, he finally returned to the royal city.
Only those who have traveled this route know the hardships they endured.
Ray awkwardly tried to comfort Jane, who couldn't stop crying, and it wasn't until Diana and the others returned that the situation was resolved.
The city center was still quite a distance from the manor. On the way, Lai briefly learned about the recent situation and then asked the coachman to deliver the news that he had returned to Edmund.
Vincent's eldest son, Duncan, was left to look after the manor; everyone else had gone out to find help.
The large manor felt somewhat empty because there were hardly any people around.
Upon hearing the sound of the carriage, Duncan ran to the gate to greet it and immediately spotted Rye, who had just alighted from the carriage.
"My lord, you're back!"
"Um."
"Duncan, go to the kitchen and boil some more water. The adults need to take a hot bath and get some rest."
Kama instructed.
"Okay, I understand!"
Duncan rushed into the villa, afraid of disturbing Rye's rest.
They returned to the manor at noon.
When Ray came downstairs after his shower, Kama had already prepared a sumptuous lunch to welcome him back.
She specially slaughtered a red rockbird, roasted it with a secret sauce containing honey until it was fragrant and the skin was very crispy.
They also made cream of mushroom soup and a vegetable salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and other vegetables from the estate's vegetable garden.
They also prepared chilled fruit wine and fruit pie for Lei.
Karma was a little disappointed that she couldn't prepare more, but there really wasn't any other meat at home.
Because Ray wasn't home, the old housekeeper hadn't bought any meat in a long time.
People usually don't dare to eat bird eggs; they usually just pick old vegetable leaves to make soup.
Lai, who hadn't had fresh food for almost a month, was deeply moved when she sat down at the table and saw the food.
Kama and his team thoughtfully left the entire restaurant to Ray.
Both Ray and Ryan thoroughly enjoyed their meal.
Lai spent the entire afternoon catching up on sleep in his bedroom, and the whole manor was quiet.
Everyone tacitly kept quiet, afraid of disturbing his rest. It wasn't until Edmund rode in to visit him just before dinner that the tranquility of the manor was broken.
The two of them inevitably chatted for another two or three hours in the study.
Lei tried to make up an excuse about what he had been doing during that time.
He could sense that Edmund knew he was being dismissive, but Edmund didn't ask for details.
He was relieved to know that Ray hadn't encountered any danger and hadn't been discovered and taken away by the Arcanis family.
After telling Lei to get some rest, he left the manor.
Edmund realized that someone had been following him for the past few days. He dared not associate with Ray too much, fearing that someone with ulterior motives would also target Ray, and that their plans would be affected again.
Cher and Vincent will be back later; to save money, they won't stay overnight.
When Cher returned to the manor with a worried look on her face, but then learned from her daughter-in-law that Ray had returned, she couldn't hide the surprise and joy on her face.
Of course, when Cher asked about what happened that month, Rye used the same excuse to brush it off.
Necromancers and skeletons, gathering places of the undead, bone dragon attacks, and the like. These things are really not suitable for ordinary people like Cher to know.
No matter what, it's good that everyone comes back safe and sound.
That night, everyone slept well, which was a rare treat.
According to the timeline, it is already August.
The vegetable seeds in the field have been planted for more than two months now, and those planted in the two greenhouses are growing even faster.
The first thing Ray did upon returning was to lead Vincent and the others in a harvest rush.
That's right, it's a rush to harvest.
The bean trellis is high, and the beans climb high too; countless beans hang from the trellis, which is more than two meters high from top to bottom.
The bean pods are all plump and swollen. If they are not picked soon, they will all be too old in a few days. Even if you give them away for free, no one will want them.
The cowpeas hung in clusters on the vines, many of them quite old and inedible.
We also need to harvest the vegetables quickly and plant a new batch so that we can still enjoy the tender ones in the fall.
Carrots are safe to eat now, but it's best to wait a little longer.
It's a pity that Lai arrived too late, and the potatoes missed their planting time. This year, the vegetables produced in the field were missing potatoes.
In another month or two, potatoes will be fully available on the market, and when prices are at their lowest, you'll inevitably have to stock up on a few bags.
Vincent's family, along with Diana, had everyone who could work, so they all went to the field to pick vegetables.
Ray then took the old butler Cher to the two shops that Edmund had lent him.
It was called a loan, but it was practically a free gift, so Lai naturally wouldn't let him suffer a loss.
The shop's original tenants have moved out, and the place is very clean. It's not big, but it's big enough for Lai to sell vegetables.
It remains to be seen how long he will stay in the capital.
There's no need to renovate the shop; just go to a carpenter's shop and nail together a few wooden frames to display the vegetables.
However, the place we're planning to use to sell strawberries definitely needs some renovations, but we still have more than two months, so there's still plenty of time.
After inspecting the shop, Ray and the old butler went straight to the carpenter to order all the shelves they needed.
After paying the deposit, the food could be prepared and delivered to the shop the next day, which saved a lot of trouble.
In the afternoon, Lai simply contacted a craftsman and finalized the renovation arrangements for the other shop.
The small shop, barely over forty square meters, cost a full fifteen gold coins. They also ordered exquisite chandeliers and floor lamps; the money just kept flowing out like water.
Although the initial investment was quite large, Lai was confident that he could recoup all the money.
Although these two shops are not located in the center of the royal city, they are both in the market near the wealthy area.
Those who come here are all servants of noble families. The prices of the goods sold in the market are generally high, and since there is a market for them, they are sure to fetch a good price.
On the way back, Lai took Cher to the market near the manor and bought several large baskets for carrying vegetables. They were all woven by the villagers themselves and were reasonably priced, reflecting the principle of saving money where possible.
A day passed quickly.
The next morning, Ray and Vincent took the carriage to the shop.
Outside the manor, a plot of land was fenced off, where some fresh vegetables and bird eggs collected over this period were displayed, and a sign for selling vegetables was hung up.
Jane and Ross sat on small stools, playing and selling their wares. Karma and Diana, after finishing their chores, continued picking vegetables.
Whether you sell a lot of vegetables or a little, it's still some income, better than just sitting around and running out of money.
Although Lai is rich, he will eventually run out of money if he doesn't have an income, so everyone is very enthusiastic about selling vegetables.
The road to the shop is quite far; taking a carriage would be faster.
The journey was a bit bumpy, so I couldn't bring the bird eggs. Those eggs were all from my own farm.
The red rockbirds kept in the warehouse were taken excellent care of by Kama and his team. Of the original eighty birds, nearly fifty remained, and they gradually began to lay eggs.
Although the bird eggs were a bit small, the yolks were golden brown and tasted excellent.
During his absence from the manor, Cher and the others spared no food and saved up more than three hundred coins.
We couldn't finish them all in a short time, and they would spoil easily, so we simply sold them all.
Duncan's driving skills are getting better and better, and the car is running very steadily.
Ray and Vincent sat in the carriage chatting, discussing what to plant next, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the shop.
Before the shelves they ordered arrived, Vincent and Duncan carried several baskets of vegetables into the store.
Green beans shouldn't be covered up, they spoil easily.
The shop floor had already been cleaned, so a tarpaulin was laid out to pour out the green beans.
The remaining green peppers and various vegetables were not taken out because there was no shelf to put them on; they were simply placed at the entrance for anyone who wanted to buy them.
They arrived a bit late and missed the morning market, so they didn't sell much all morning.
Just in time for lunchtime when there were fewer people, the vegetable display racks that Lai had customized were also delivered.
The top has a sloping surface that can hold a lot of vegetables, and the space at the bottom is just enough to fit a basket.
Outside the shop, there was an even larger shelf, specifically for displaying cheap vegetables to attract customers.
After the shelves were set up and the vegetables were neatly arranged, the store instantly transformed.
"No wonder you had to remove the roots and bad leaves; this arrangement looks really good!"
Vincent praised him repeatedly.
He felt that Lai's request was a bit unnecessary when he was working yesterday, but after seeing it today, he couldn't help but praise him.
Rows of neatly arranged vegetables were laid out on top, including various green leafy vegetables, as well as red and yellow bell peppers, red-skinned and purple-fleshed garlic, and white onions.
With their varied colors, the vegetables looked clean and fresh.
Lei looked at the shelf and nodded in satisfaction.
"Let's see how business is these days. I'll buy some potatoes when I go back tonight and transport them here to sell tomorrow."
"good."
"Keep track of the manor's daily expenses and the shop's costs separately. Vincent, are you good at keeping accounts?"
"I learned from my father in my early years."
"Okay, then I'll leave the shop to you for now."
Lai plans to focus mainly on the strawberry business from now on, as she doesn't have the energy to get involved in everything.
He trusted Vincent completely, adhering to the principle of "trusting those you employ and not employing those you don't trust."
That way, even if they leave the capital in the future, the Cher family will have a way to make money and won't live such a miserable life.
Vincent became somewhat agitated after hearing that Ray intended to hand over the shop to him.
He knew he wasn't the best in any way, and the fact that Lai entrusted the vegetable shop to him showed that he had great trust in him.
For him, it was like the host paying him to learn how to run a business.
There are only benefits, no drawbacks. Besides, Lai has never treated them unfairly.
"I will definitely take good care of the grocery store!"
Vincent solemnly promised.
Ray patted him on the shoulder.
"I'll give you two gold coins to buy potatoes. Buy whatever you like. We'll start keeping accounts from today. If there's anything you can't handle, you can come to me."
"good."
Ray handed Vincent the money box he had prepared for selling vegetables.
"There are three hundred copper coins and twenty silver coins inside. They're for giving change to customers."
Vincent accepted the heavy money box with both hands.
Duncan watched with bright eyes as his father took the box.
"And here are two gold coins."
Ray took two more gold coins out of his pocket and handed them directly to Vincent.
"Do a good job."
"Um."
Shelves, shop owner, and all kinds of vegetables are all available in one place.
Lei was happy to be a hands-off manager.
As for how much of the vegetables from the estate can be sold this year, it doesn't matter; it's just a bonus at most.
His ultimate focus remained on winter strawberries.
He's determined to make sure these white strawberries have a place at this winter's social dance.
A glint appeared in Ray's eyes.
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