"Trying to rob me!" On Xiaobai's back, Wang Han glanced at the group of bandits at the table, patted Xiaobai's back, and said, "Let's rest at this Hakka restaurant for a while."
Upon hearing Wang Han's order, Xiao Bai immediately headed towards the Hakka people.
"Sir, what would you like to eat?" Seeing the imposing white-armored rhinoceros approaching, the more experienced shopkeeper quickly came forward, looking up at the armored general seated atop the rhinoceros. He forced a wide smile and asked, appearing somewhat obsequious, like a servant fawning over their master. In his mind, a person wearing such imposing armor must be a great general.
"Give me five catties of cooked meat, two jars of wine, and some good dishes to go with the wine." Upon hearing this, Wang Han lightly braced himself on the back of the white-armored rhinoceros and jumped down from the three-meter-tall rhinoceros. He tossed a twenty-tael silver ingot to the shopkeeper and continued, "Give my mount thirty to fifty catties of cooked meat and three jars of wine. Put them in two clean large basins for it."
"Sir, you mean you want to give the mount thirty to fifty catties of cooked meat and three jars of wine?" Upon hearing this, the shop owner asked uncertainly, thinking he had misheard. Although he had never seen this huge mount before, he could tell from its teeth that it ate grass. Why would he ask for meat and wine for it? And thirty to fifty catties of cooked meat was a lot of money. His small shop didn't have that much meat! He couldn't sell that much meat in a day.
(In ancient times, not everyone could afford to eat meat at every meal. Without refrigerators, even cooked meat couldn't be preserved for long. Furthermore, those who could run roadside inns were generally people with some skill or connections, or even local bandits. Local bandits typically wouldn't rob such people.)
"Of course. Get ready quickly." Upon hearing this, Wang Han said confidently, walked to a table with only two men, and slammed his halberd into the ground, driving it several feet deep. Xiao Bai then walked to the side by himself.
"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit down?" Wang Han said to the two men, and sat down on an empty bench.
"Gulp..." The two men glanced at Wang Han, then at the halberd embedded several feet deep in the ground, and swallowed hard in shock. They quickly said, "No disturbance, no disturbance, please enjoy your meal, sir."
After saying that, the two men quickly picked up the three stir-fried dishes and rice dishes on the table and ran to another table with fewer people to sit down.
"Wow, that's some real strength! I think it must have been at least three feet deep."
“I think it’s more than that, probably at least four feet long. That weapon was twelve feet long before.”
The people at the other tables looked at Wang Han as he sat down and couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
——
Seeing Wang Han sit down, the shop owner swallowed hard, cautiously approached Wang Han, and said carefully, "Sir, our shop doesn't have that much cooked meat!"
"I see you still have chickens in your shop, let me kill a few first," Wang Han said, glancing at the chicken coop next to the shopkeeper.
"Yes, yes, yes, sir, please wait a moment." Upon hearing this, the shop owner quickly replied and then withdrew. A short while later, he returned with a village woman, carrying two jars of wine. He placed the wine bowls on the table in front of Wang Han, opened one of the jars, filled the bowl for Wang Han, and said with a smile, "Sir, please drink first. I'll go and kill a chicken and prepare some vegetables right away."
After saying that, the shop owner led the village woman to catch four or five chickens and bring them into the shop.
"Hmph!" After the shop owner entered the shop, Wang Han gave a disdainful snort. His eyes, hidden beneath his armor, suddenly turned bloodshot. He glanced at the fierce-looking man among the large group at the table, then turned and removed the clay seal from the wine jar. Instantly, the aroma of rice wine wafted out.
Wang Han pulled off the mask and began to taste it.
"Boss, this guy is incredibly strong. He's probably a skilled general, and his position must be quite high," the burly man whispered to their leader as Wang Han started drinking.
Upon hearing this, the burly man quietly instructed, "Fourth brother, go quietly and have Lao Qiu secretly put the poison in the food."
“Boss, this is too dangerous. What if we run out of medicine or he finds out we have it? We also have to take care of the others, otherwise it will be terrible if they get away.” The fierce man continued to whisper, “We’d better call everyone in the stronghold to be safe. Otherwise, if he gets away today, we’re finished. He will definitely bring his troops to wipe us out.”
“Yes.” Upon hearing this, the burly man said, “You quickly and quietly go to the mountain stronghold and call everyone here. Fourth brother, have Lao Qiu give the others some medicine as well.”
"Alright." Upon hearing this, the fierce-looking man quickly agreed. Seeing that Wang Han was not paying attention to them, he shouted, "Ouch, my stomach hurts. Everyone, I'm going to relieve myself first. You guys continue eating."
After saying that, the fierce-looking man ran towards the nearby woods.
"Gentlemen, I also need to relieve myself." Another man stood up and said to the remaining men, then started to walk towards the nearby woods.
"It's just a quick pee, why run so far!" Seeing this, the other men immediately laughed and said, "Are you afraid you're a little girl? Why hide so far away? Just go to the back wall of the shop to pee, that'll be fine."
"Haha. That's true!" Upon hearing this, the man said awkwardly, turning around and walking towards the courtyard wall behind the shop.
"They're quite the actors." Listening to the men's laughter, Wang Han sneered, raised his wine bowl, and took another sip. "It'll be my turn to act soon."
"Sir, here's your cooked meat." A moment later, the man who had come to relieve himself returned, and the shop owner respectfully brought two large plates of sliced cooked meat to Wang Han's table.
"Put it down, and bring some wine and meat to the other tables too. I'll pay for it," Wang Han said, tossing another twenty-tael silver ingot to the shop owner. At the same time, Wang Han's gaze fell on the shop owner's eyes, and the scarlet light flashed again. If one looked closely, one could see a three-bladed windmill spinning in Wang Han's scarlet pupils, but it vanished in an instant, and his pupils returned to black.
"I'll get on it right away," the shop owner said hastily, rushing back into the shop. He was just wondering how to drug the people at the other tables. After all, those tables already had all their food and drinks served. Now, the opportunity had arrived.
"Thank you, sir!" Wang Han said loudly, and the people at the surrounding tables heard him. They all thanked him.
On the other side, the village woman, carrying a jar of wine and a large wooden basin for washing vegetables, cautiously approached Xiaobai. She tentatively stepped forward, carefully placed the basin on the ground, opened the wine jar, poured all the wine into the basin, and then ran back into the house as if avoiding some flood or ferocious beast.
Little White sniffed the wine in the wooden basin and sneezed in dissatisfaction. Clearly, it was unhappy with the quality of the wine, and also with what had been added to it, and made it extra strong. However, after Wang Han glanced at it sideways, Little White obediently lowered its head and drank. After all, it was a monster, and this little bit of medicine couldn't overpower it. Wang Han's wine, on the other hand, had been served first and hadn't been drugged. However, the meat had been seasoned.
Wang Han didn't mind at all; on the contrary, he ate with great relish. The cooked meat with added ingredients had a unique flavor.
A short while later, the shop owner and the farmer's wife came out again. The shop owner was carrying several plates of sliced cooked meat, which he served to the other tables one by one. The farmer's wife was carrying a bowl of sliced meat and carefully brought it to Xiaobai, who was drinking.
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