Ye Zhou almost didn't recognize A Pu.
It's only been two years since I last saw him, but Apu has changed a lot. The young man who used to be a little immature has grown into a real adult and even has a beard. If Ye Zhou didn't have a good memory, he wouldn't have recognized Apu at all.
No matter how many years pass, Ye Zhou will not change.
But for the people here, two years is enough time for earth-shaking changes to take place.
"Byron is busy now!" Apu kindly invited Ye Zhou to his home.
Ye Zhou was also curious about what the town was like now, so he took Sarah to Apu's house.
Apu's house was inside the city wall. Apu called the area inside the wall the main city and the area outside the wall the outer city. He enthusiastically led Ye Zhou to the door of his house - his house was very beautiful. It could be seen that the owner of the house decorated it very beautifully. A small area was specially opened at the door of the house to plant flowers and plants, and vines climbed up the wall.
There is a small platform outside the window with flower pots on it. I don’t know what kind of flowers are planted in them, but there are a few butterflies resting on them. No matter how you look at it, this is a house that is the dream house of many people even in modern times.
"My parents live over there." Apu pointed to a house at the end of the street across the street. "My wife and I live here. She's pregnant."
Ye Zhou was a little curious: "Are you still selling goods now?"
A Pu touched his nose, feeling a little embarrassed and proud: "I have my own small shops in several cities, and now I don't need to go there often."
"Who's here?" As soon as Apu opened the door, a woman's voice came from upstairs.
Mira was wearing a maternity dress - she bought it from the supermarket, it was made of pure cotton, very comfortable and loose.
Her hair was casually tied behind her head, and the freckles on her face had faded a lot. Seeing Apu coming in with a strange man, Mira couldn't help but exclaimed, and she wanted to go back to her room to change her clothes.
When she saw Sarah, Mira forgot about changing her clothes, and she asked cautiously, "Sarah?"
Mira didn't go to the supermarket often before, and she had never seen Ye Zhou, but she had seen Sarah. She didn't know Sarah's identity as a vampire, she just thought Sarah was an ordinary child, but the color of her eyes was a little strange. Seeing Sarah nod at her, Mira said in disbelief: "Why haven't you grown at all?"
After saying that, Mira immediately covered her mouth. She was so embarrassed that she didn't know how to put her hands and feet: "I, I didn't mean that..."
Sarah waved her hand generously: "It's okay, I'm not angry, I'm not tall anyway, you're not wrong."
Apu finally couldn't help it, he said impatiently: "Mira, this is Master Zhou!"
Mira looked at her husband in confusion. Who was Lord Zhou? Did she know him? Should she know him?
A Pu stamped his feet anxiously: "It's Mr. Zhou who runs the supermarket!"
Now Mira finally knew who the man was. She took a breath and couldn't stop holding the handrail, for fear that she would fall down accidentally. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
"Excuse me." Ye Zhou spoke first, and nodded slightly to Mira, "We will leave in a while."
"No, no, no!" Apu said quickly, "You can stay here as long as you want! I am willing to give this house to you!"
"The castle has never been repaired and is now uninhabitable. Otherwise you could live in the castle!"
Ye Zhou had stopped A Pu's flattery and didn't want to listen any more. He could only sit on the sofa and ask, "Nothing happened in the town after I left, right?"
Apu thought about it and decided to tell the truth: "It was fine at first after you left."
"People from the nearby mountains have all come down, and most humans like me have also moved here."
"Maybe there were too many humans running around, so some nearby noble lords discovered us." Apu shuddered, and thinking about that time still made him shudder. "At first, they wanted to do business with us, but we were scared and didn't dare."
He could take the goods out to sell by himself, but it would be terrifying if the lords brought the knights over to discuss business with them.
Apu: "I hadn't even seen a real knight before that!"
Ye Zhou encouraged: "And then?"
A Pu: "Fortunately, there are city walls. They can only surround us and cannot break in."
Speaking of this, Apu started to be proud again: "We have food to eat, and there are some lands in the city. We can also go to the supermarket to buy food. All races have the habit of storing food."
"They surrounded us for four months, and then they left after their food ran out."
Ye Zhou felt a little bit surprised: "Leaving now?"
Apu shook his head: "No, they came again soon, but this time they brought siege equipment."
"Then the crossbow you left us will be useful!"
Speaking of this, Apu expressed regret: "I should have stayed in the town at that time, otherwise I would definitely have learned how to use a crossbow."
"A lot of people died at that time, but not many died on our side. Some of them were accidentally injured by our own people."
Ye Zhou: “…”
That's normal. Training is one thing, and real weapons are another.
"But we're afraid they'll come and fight again. If they come often, we won't be able to bear it." A Pu looked at Ye Zhou's face and didn't see that Ye Zhou was angry before he said, "Byron said he'd go over and talk."
"We sold him a batch of tea every year at a cheap price, and that was the end of it."
Apu: "But he is a count! Since we reached an agreement with him, no one has bothered us anymore."
Ye Zhou asked: "What about the fields outside the city? They are quite far away, right?"
Apu smiled and said, "There are a lot of people in the town now, and many farmers will go out together to help each other with work and harvesting. If they act together, they will not be afraid of encountering danger."
After listening to this, Ye Zhou felt much more relaxed and relieved.
The people here rest and recuperate on their own, and earn food and dignity through the labor of their own hands.
"Since the beginning of this year, many people have wanted to live in the town, but the town is already full," said Apu. "The worst houses have been sold, so they can only build their own houses outside the city wall. At first they were straw huts, but now they have all been replaced with wooden houses."
"These people don't have land, and they don't know how to hunt. There's not much game to hunt around, so they rent farmers' land, or help plant and harvest, and then get paid."
"But don't worry, there are standards for remuneration. There is a clear minimum amount to be paid per acre of land." Apu puffed out his chest proudly.
He feels that the town and the outside world are two different worlds, and as a town dweller, he is proud of it, especially now that the town is getting better and better.
Ye Zhou smiled and said, "That's good."
Apu: "I'll go tidy up your room!"
Ye Zhou quickly stopped him: "No need, I will leave today."
A Pu stared at Ye Zhou with eyes wide open, his eyes showing a look of disappointment that could not be concealed: "You...are not going to stay?"
Ye Zhou smiled and said, "You are living well now, and you don't need me to stay."
The managers of this town now are the leaders of several ethnic groups. They cooperate with each other and check and balance each other. Before Ye Zhou left, he asked Byron to supervise them. Byron is also the manager of a supermarket branch. Once the leaders fight, Byron can also act as a check and balance on all parties.
At that time, Ye Zhou didn't know whether it was possible to give such a heavy responsibility to Byron, but he really had no better candidate.
Now that he knew everything was fine in the town, Ye Zhou felt relieved.
"You guys take a rest." Ye Zhou stood up, and Sarah also stood up.
Apu wanted to stop him, but seeing that Ye Zhou had already walked towards the door, he knew he couldn't stop him, so Apu could only chase Ye Zhou out.
"Is Byron in the store now?" Ye Zhou asked Apu.
Apu confirmed: "He is here. He usually stays in the store. If he is not here, I can't concentrate on anything."
A Pu looked at Ye Zhou's color and sighed in his heart.
The supermarket was still too much for Byron. Before becoming a supermarket manager, Byron had never even run a small stall.
He was always very nervous and would ask and see everything in person.
At the beginning, I even slept in the supermarket every day for fear that thieves would break in.
In the past two years, Apu has watched Byron change from a lively little goblin to a taciturn man. He has become more stable, but it is also very tiring.
Being a store manager might be a good job for others, but not necessarily for Byron.
But Apu said nothing. Some things were better said by Byron himself.
But Byron said nothing.
When he saw Ye Zhou, he couldn't help but step forward and bow to Ye Zhou in a somewhat exaggerated manner. It was Ye Zhou who helped him up, otherwise Byron would not have been able to maintain this posture.
The three of them stayed in an office in the supermarket, which looked very simple compared to Ye Zhou's own office.
There are only tables, chairs and a cabinet.
There weren't many things on the table, just a few books. Byron noticed Ye Zhou looking at those books and immediately said, "I'm learning calligraphy now."
Ye Zhou smiled and said, "Good, you have changed a lot."
Byron's height remained the same, but his face and spirit had changed.
In Ye Zhou's eyes, it was a good change. Byron had gained weight on his face and body, probably because he had been working on the front line for a long time, so the muscles were all tendon meat instead of fat. His temperament also changed a lot, becoming more stable. Although he was short, no one would look down on him because of that.
Byron lowered his head slightly and asked in a low voice: "Are you ready to come back?"
He carefully looked at Ye Zhou's expression and looked at Ye Zhou's lips expectantly.
Ye Zhou said, "I'm not going to come back. I'll send her back."
Byron then looked at Sarah.
Sarah was very rude. She sat on the chair and asked, "Has my mother ever come back?"
Byron knew Sarah's identity. He whispered, "She came back before, but was chased away. She still comes here occasionally. She doesn't want to give up this place, especially after Master Zhou left."
Sarah looked at Ye Zhou: "Don't worry, I will come to you soon."
Byron looked at Sarah with some envy. He also wanted to follow Ye Zhou, but he knew he was not that lucky.
Ye Zhou looked at Byron: "She will stay here. I hope you can take care of her. I don't want you to risk your life for her. When you are in danger, take care of yourselves first."
"Just provide her with information and shelter."
"I will leave something, but not much. She needs to earn money to support herself."
"Don't spoil her."
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