Chapter 51: Snow fell in the capital, and we welcomed the Winter Solstice with mulled wine...
Ye Wan carried the pancake cart and took the skytrain for at least an hour before returning to the capital. It was raining in the capital as well, the branches of the trees were blown all over the place, and the rain made crackling sounds when it hit the glass windows.
The temperature in the capital dropped suddenly. Ye Wan wrapped Pancake in a fluffy blanket, quickly went to the fireplace to light a fire, and threw in some fruit wood. Soon the tavern became warm, and the jumping flames dyed the tavern a warm honey color.
She felt her nose was a little itchy, so she went to the kitchen and got an enamel pot. She put the white fungus, lotus seeds and pears into the pot, poured water into it and wrapped it with tin foil. Then she used tongs to put the pot deep into the fireplace and simmered it for half an hour.
"I don't know what happened to Youan." She thought silently
Fortunately, not long after, Youan came back by himself. When he pushed the door open, some snowflakes had already accumulated on his shoulders.
As the warm light from the fireplace shone over, the snow flakes fell and left a small wet mark on the wooden floor. Ye Wan handed him the towel and said in surprise:
"It's snowing! It was still raining heavily when I came back."
She glanced out the window and saw a blur of heavy snow falling in the air.
Ye Wan pulled out two enamel pots from the fireplace. They were wrapped in silver tinfoil and covered with black ash.
Wearing gloves, she carefully peeled back the tinfoil. A pot of piping hot Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup exuded a sweet aroma. She smiled at Youan by the gentle firelight, "Snow is great too. Snowy days are perfect for hot soup, hot pot, oden, and toast, don't you think? Oh, do you want to take a hot bath?"
He had just suffered a great blow in the arena. The evil dark forces were said to be making a comeback. The palace was in chaos. Many ministers advised him not to stay among the people any longer and not to stay among the people and do meaningless things just because of a strange prophecy.
You An walked to the fireplace and sat cross-legged on the ground like Ye Wan did. He took the boiling hot enamel pot. The soup base was warm and sweet, and the lotus seeds with the cores removed were stewed until they were soft. After taking a sip, he felt a warm feeling rising from his body.
Ye Wan started to toast bread on the grill. She used ordinary whole wheat bread bought from Leo's store. She spread a layer of cheese sauce and tomato sauce on it, and added ham slices and dried pineapple.
"Look at this pancake, isn't it exactly like Hawaiian pizza? Just bake it in the fireplace for half an hour and you can eat it."
"Squeak!" Pancake sat on the blanket, watching the cheese slowly melting, and nodded with bright eyes.
The baked pizza base was very crispy, the cheese on top was stretchable, and there were a few grilled sausages. The dried pineapple became even sweeter after being baked, and Ye Wan sprinkled some black pepper and sea salt to enhance the flavor.
Everyone was enjoying the meal very much. Youan suddenly felt that he was sitting on the carpet of a tavern in Honey Lane, with a hot fireplace in front of him. Ye Wan beside him smiled brightly and shared the bread in his hand with him.
This is one of the most important meanings in his boring life, Youan thought.
It had snowed all night, and the peaked roofs of Honey Lane looked like they were covered with a layer of dense icing sugar. A vendor selling mulled wine pushed his food cart through the lane, and the wheels made a crisp sound on the cobblestone street.
Ye Wan only had time to put on a cloak over his pajamas before he hurried downstairs, shouting outside repeatedly, "Wait, don't go, I want a glass of mulled wine!"
The wine seller quickly removed the thermal blanket and took out a large wooden barrel filled with red wine, with fresh orange pulp, apples, lemons and bay leaves floating on the surface of the wine.
He took out a disposable cup, scooped a cup with a large spoon, and inserted a cinnamon roll.
"I really want to drink mulled wine." Ye Wan took the cup and paid him 30 copper coins. It was mulled wine for the Qixi Festival, which was a mixture of sweet orange, cloves and other rich spices.
A handful of snow flew over Ye Wan's head and landed at her feet.
She was frightened.
When I looked up, I saw Youan looking at me with a bad look: "Drinking alcohol so early in the morning without having breakfast?"
"Don't worry, don't envy me. I bought you a cup too."
"No, eat breakfast first."
After saying this, the other party slammed the stained glass window shut, and the snow on the window frame fell down.
Dorothy walked out of the house gracefully, revealing a faint smile: "Yuan looks like your strict mother."
"A little bit, indeed." Ye Wan said.
Then they looked at each other and laughed foolishly.
But the next second, Dorothy's high-heeled boots stepped on the frozen ice. She rushed forward about 3 meters, and then her whole body covered Ye Wan and grabbed her neck fiercely.
Dorothy gasped, "I'm so sorry."
Ye Wan's neck was red from being strangled, and he said loudly, "It's okay, Dorothy. The roads are slippery in the snow, it's normal!"
Dorothy was wearing a white fur cape and black leather boots today, and she looked noble and elegant. However, she was pushing an enormous wooden cart, which looked a bit like the wine cart just now, and it did not match her outfit.
"Where are you going?" Ye Wan was very curious.
Dorothy looked surprised by the question. "The Winter Solstice is coming soon. Why don't you start preparing early? You know, every year on the eve of the Winter Solstice, it snows heavily. The market won't be open on such days. I advise you to stock up early."
After saying this, she half squatted down and pushed the wooden cart away with great effort.
There was another noise behind me, it was Leo.
He didn't push the cart, but instead carried back two large boxes filled with various vegetables and berries with his own arms.
This made Ye Wan feel a sense of crisis. She rushed into the store and knocked on Youan's door:
"This is terrible. The market will be closed soon and we are running low on stock."
Youan seemed to understand: "Oh, the Winter Solstice is coming."
“Is it the dumpling-making festival?”
You An looked at her in surprise: "When did we start making dumplings for the winter solstice? Besides, dumplings are not a native product of Osenna."
It is said that the first day of the week after the first snow every year is the winter solstice, marking the beginning of winter. On this day, giant dolls will be burned in the square, fireworks will be set off, and people will drink until dawn to celebrate the beginning of winter.
Ye Wan planned to go to the market to stock up on more goods, so that she wouldn't have to go out when the market was closed due to heavy snow.
She took out the enchanted, spacious bag again, which she rarely did. "I want to do a lot of shopping."
You An glanced at her coldly and said, "I want to ask..."
His voice was as cold as the snow on the eaves: "How much money have you saved? Do you remember that you are in debt?"
Oh, yes... Ye Wan dutifully opened the safe. According to the exchange rate, the total amount was...
There are about 825 silver coins, which is still a little short of her small goal, and she will soon have to spend a large sum of money to stock up.
Ye Wan was a little petrified: "What should I do, You An?"
The other party sighed, ignoring her, and turned to walk out. Ye Wan, who had been sitting in front of the safe, leaned over and hugged his knees: "Think of a solution."
"Am I an alchemist? Can I make gold?" He tried hard to pull the slender leg out of Ye Wan's arms, and finally had to drag her forward.
"I don't want a bunch of goblins to come to my door with music and drums to collect debts. I don't want such a thing!" Ye Wan cried bitterly, but it was just a dry howl without tears.
Finally, Youan gave up breathlessly, and even his cold voice became a little gentler: "Let me go first."
"No."
"Let me go!"
“No!”
He looked like he had lost his temper. He just closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, "If you hold on to my legs again, my pants will be ripped off by you."
Ye Wan let go of his legs with lightning speed, and then said, "Pervert."
Who is the pervert?
In the end, they had a simple breakfast and prepared to go to the market to stock up on supplies. Ye Wan specially took a cart to carry the still sleeping Pancake in.
The reason is that she can't bear to see it sleeping soundly in its warm bed at home while she is working hard.
Today's market was busier than ever, with queues lining up at almost every stall. Ye Wan ran into Leo, who was there to buy flour again, and asked him if he had seen any low-risk but high-commission tasks in the Adventurer's Association.
Occasionally, when Leo Bakery's business is slow, he will take on some low-risk commissions to earn some pocket money.
Leo pondered for a moment and said, "Oh, there's a mission to cut off 200 ears of Columbus in the Love Canyon in the west. It's quite easy, and the reward is not low, 200 silver coins."
Ye Wan felt a little pain in her ears, and she stammered: "How to cut it...what to cut it with?"
Leo looked at her as if she were a fool, then made a knife-throwing gesture with his hand: "Just use the knife to cut off their ears. You can knock them unconscious first, so that they won't resist."
"This task doesn't sound easy at all." Ye Wan touched his ears and whispered to You An.
"Don't try to take shortcuts, just work hard to make money."
"Oh Euan you are such a cold man," she said.
Finally, they bought a bunch of beef, pork, and vegetables and prepared to go back. Ye Wan said, "I bought a lot of hot pot base at the Strange Shop last time. I am confident that the people of the capital will love my spicy and delicious hot pot.
When passing by Cinderella Plaza, Ye Wan saw many people gathered around a notice that read:
The call for the Winter Solstice Diva Competition is about to begin, and we sincerely invite bards from all walks of life to use music as a sword to cut through the winter wind and snow!
Registration period: From now until the day before the Winter Solstice
There are no restrictions on the subject matter or genre, but music involving black magic such as the Imperius Curse is prohibited. The jury will be composed of five music masters and the citizens present to select the best singer.
Ye Wan was too lazy to look at the long list of calls to action. She searched for a long time and finally found the reward section.
Receive 1,000 monthly silver coins and a Heavenly Sound Necklace supplied by the largest jeweler in the capital.
Ye Wan stared at the 1,000 monthly silver coins, then coughed loudly and said to Youan and Songbing who were looking skeptical:
“I can actually sing quite well.”
After saying that, she quickly ran to the registration window to sign up.
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