Chapter 2201 Desert Inn
There are no post stations in the desert, but there are inns that provide accommodation and supplies for passing merchants and travelers.
The inn was right on the roadside. Before their carriage even arrived, a waiter came to greet them warmly. Seeing how large their group was, he said apologetically, "Gentlemen, there are only three upper rooms left in the inn."
Everyone: ...That’s really unfortunate.
The waiter said, "But ours is the only inn within a hundred miles."
Master You asked quickly, "I remember there's a small town past your inn."
Generally, small towns are located on the edge of oases.
The man grinned and said, "Yes, there is an oasis about a hundred miles along this road."
So now the only place that can get supplies is their inn, and this is their only business.
Everyone had no choice but to stay. Master You said very tactfully, "The guys and I will squeeze into the lower room. The adults can rest in the upper room first."
Lieutenant Nie thought about it and felt that he could neither compete with the chief officer Zhou Man for a room, nor with the county man Yin Huo for a place to live. He glanced at Mr. Zhuang and felt that although his official position was equal to that of the other, it would not be good to snatch a room from such an old civil servant. So he waved his hand and asked someone to take the carriages and horses to occupy a good position and take good care of them, while the rest of the people went into the inn to rest.
Mr. Zhuang lived in the upper room with two travelers. The bed was a bit small, but there was a wooden couch in the upper room, so they could still sleep together if they squeezed together.
But Bai Shan and the others were different. The four teenagers went to see the so-called lower room, which was actually a large bunk bed, and then were successfully forced out. After returning to the upper room, they said, "Let's squeeze in together."
Manbao waved his hand generously and said, "Just move the wooden couch from my room over there."
Daji took his guards to move, and the servants took out their bedding, wooden basins and other items from the cart and brought them to the room to replace them.
Not only the shop assistants, but even Mr. You were stunned.
Seeing how surprised they were, the steward turned around, smiled, and said, "Several of our young masters are somewhat particular about their beds, so they need to use the quilts and pillows they are used to."
The guys reacted and took a look at them, only to find that they were different from the merchants who had passed by before, and their identities seemed to be more important.
They smiled, then took the bedding, wooden basin and other things from their inn and took them down.
It just so happened that so many people moved into the lower room all of a sudden and they needed quilts.
Zhou Liru also took out the bedding for her aunt and niece from the carriage, while Manbao took out daily necessities such as wooden basins and towels and put them in the room.
They did the same when they stayed away from home, except that they used to stay in post stations, and the servants at the post stations helped with these matters.
It’s pretty good to do it yourself. Manbao went up and down twice, and after exercising for a while, he felt that the soreness from sitting in the carriage for a whole day was much relieved.
She opened the window and looked down, and met the gazes of several people sitting under the shed outside drinking tea. Manbao smiled politely at them, nodded, and then looked into the distance. She saw endless yellow sand between the sky and the earth, and the yellow seemed to have no end. Then she withdrew her gaze.
She closed the window, and the people in the shed withdrew their gazes. One of them licked his lips and said, "Brother, this young lady is really good-looking, with delicate skin and tender flesh. She doesn't look like anyone here at all."
The other party also withdrew his gaze, drank the wine in the bowl, and said: "Keep your eyes closed, can't you see that this is the official."
The other party was stunned and asked, "Why is the official going our way?"
He said, "The other road is plagued by bandits. Since that road is blocked, we have no choice but to take this one."
The other party became excited and shouted, "Is it because of smallpox?"
Their boss didn't say anything.
He said, "In my opinion, since the smallpox has just passed and everyone is still in a state of panic, we can take this opportunity to capture one or two towns, plunder their supplies, and leave. It will be enough for us to live a lifetime of wealth."
Manbao closed the window and turned to go out to look for General Nie. General Nie was talking to Bai Shan next door. As soon as Manbao pushed the door open, the two of them turned around to look.
Manbao closed the door and turned around and said, "The people living in this inn seem a little strange. General Nie, do you want to send someone to inquire about it?"
Lieutenant General Nie nodded gravely, "Mr. Bai was just discussing this matter with me. I also feel that the people staying at this inn are a bit too brave. I'll go investigate shortly."
Manbao nodded and whispered, "Keep an eye on our luggage."
General Nie decided to arrange twice as many people to guard the luggage overnight.
After he left, Bai Shan then asked Man Bao, "Did you feel it too?"
Manbao said, "I went up and down twice, and their looks really annoyed me."
She said, "Let's rest early today and leave early the next morning."
Bai Shan agreed and asked the steward to arrange the supplies.
There are so many of them who need food and drink on the road, so even if they only prepare enough for two days, it will be a lot. However, this kind of thing has always been done by the manager. But because the feeling of staying here this time was not very good, Manbao decided to go and check the prepared food and water himself later.
But before she even left, the steward came up to her with a helpless look on his face and said, "Master, Miss Man, the water in this inn is too expensive."
Manbao didn't even ask how much it cost, and said directly: "Then just buy some vegetables. We still have the rice, flour, meat and eggs we brought with us."
Steward: "...and water."
"Make it up."
The steward emphasized: "Water here costs money, and it's very expensive."
They replenished their water along the way by boiling it themselves, so they could just go to the well to get it. Usually the guys at the post station could arrange it for you and you wouldn't have to worry about it. Who would have thought that even water would cost money?
Manbao realized it belatedly, "Oh, this is the desert, water will be expensive."
Bai Shan stared and asked, "There's not much water here, so can we still bathe?"
Manbao also became nervous, "Can't take a shower?"
Manager: ...Is this what we are talking about now? Aren't we talking about money?
Bai Erlang also turned his head to look over and said to the steward seriously: "Master must take a bath!"
Liu Huan: “Not bad!”
Yin Huo, who was standing by, smiled and said, "Money is not a problem."
The steward breathed a sigh of relief and was about to say goodbye when Bai Shan suddenly stopped him and asked, "How much is the water?"
The steward said, "Twenty coins a barrel."
Everyone stared, even Yin Huo couldn't help but gasp, "How much is our room for one night?"
The steward said, "Eighty cents." After a pause, he added, "Not counting the bath."
Bai Erlang turned his head and looked at Bai Shan, "I remember when we were staying at the post station, a room in the upper room only cost fifty cents, right? The rooms at the post station were much better than this."
Bai Shan said, "Scarcity makes things valuable. There's only one inn on this road. Does they have a separate well?"
I took another nap after getting up today. It was almost one o'clock. I'm lazy.
(End of this chapter)
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