Knights expansion (revised)
The next day, the guests were leaving.
At breakfast before leaving, the ladies praised yesterday's dishes with smiles on their faces, and they praised them again and again, almost asking for the recipes of those dishes.
"That braised beef dish is really good. The sauce is special and the beef is stewed till tender. I wonder if my cook can make it taste half as good as it."
"The sauce for the grilled fish is also very special, a blend of numbing, salty and fragrant. The numbing flavor, in particular, doesn't overpower the freshness of the fish at all, but rather makes it stand out even more."
"I think the creamy stewed white mushrooms is also worthy of praise. There is a hint of wine in the soup, and this wine does not conflict with the other flavors in the soup. On the contrary, it complements them very well. This novel idea is really bold and surprising."
"Stuffed winter melon is quite innovative. I never thought winter melon could be so delicious, even though I'm not a big fan of winter melon."
"I like the two meatballs better, the shrimp meatballs and the pan-fried meatballs. I really want to learn how to make them and let my children try them. They will definitely like them."
Elena was very happy to hear the ladies' praise, and then she generously asked the kitchen to prepare some exquisite jars and fill them with her newly prepared braised sauce and barbecue sauce.
"This is a new sauce I came up with. One is for braising. You can put it in when stewing beef to make braised beef. The other is for grilling. After grilling the fish, heat up this sauce and pour it on top to make spicy grilled fish." Elena first introduced the two sauces, then pinched the edge of her skirt and saluted.
"You are all distinguished guests. I cannot express my gratitude enough for taking the time to attend my father's funeral. I am humbled and overjoyed that you are pleased with my new dishes. I would like to present these two sauces to you. I hope your families will enjoy them as well."
The guests all smiled with satisfaction.
Although they didn't ask how to make these dishes, receiving these two jars of sauces was a pleasant surprise.
After breakfast, the guests left one after another, and Earl Barnett was about to leave. Before leaving, he confirmed the time of the investiture ceremony with Elena again.
"When the time comes, just come directly. You don't need to prepare anything else." Earl Barnett said kindly.
Elena said gratefully: "Thank you, Your Excellency. You are truly a kind lord."
Elena turned and took a small jar from the old housekeeper. "Sir, this is yogurt. You can mix it into various sesame butter rolls, spread it directly on bread, or cut up fruit and mix it with yogurt to eat directly. This dairy product can aid digestion and is a good food. However, it cannot be stored for a long time. It is best to eat it within two or three days. However, I cast a freezing spell on the jar, so it can be stored for ten days."
Earl Barnett nodded and motioned for the servant behind him to take it. "Thank you for your gift. I look forward to seeing you again."
Elena saluted gracefully: "I look forward to meeting you again, Your Excellency."
After completing the important task of the funeral, the first task facing Elena now is to make preliminary preparations for the investiture ceremony.
Although the investiture ceremony was prepared by Earl Barnett, as the inheritor, Elena had to make due preparations.
For example, appropriate ceremonial guards and travel teams should be prepared.
The ceremonial objects can be used as they are already available, such as those originally used by Viscount Elro. All you need to do is replace the old ones and fill in the damaged ones.
However, traveling with a team requires more thought, because as a knight, a team of knights is a must when traveling. The number of knights, the knights' equipment, the horses they ride, and the equipment of the horses are all regulated.
The current knight team of the Viscount's Mansion is seriously substandard in terms of personnel.
It's so disgraceful and it's a loss of face. The officials are worried.
We must recruit people immediately to supplement the Cavaliers.
Under the advice of her subordinates, Elena stamped the notice and the Cavaliers' recruitment notice was posted.
In the noisy market.
People are selling things, buying things, moving things, coming and going, the place is bustling with noise, and full of the breath of life.
In the blacksmith shop, Andre took out his newly repaired broadsword and held it up to the sunlight. The original curled blade and notch had been smoothed out. If you didn't look closely, you couldn't tell any difference from the original one.
However, Andre weighed the sword, swung it a few times, and chopped it twice on the sword-testing stone, but it was still different and not as sharp.
After all, this is the countryside, not Book Harbor, let alone the royal capital, so the blacksmith's skills are still not up to par.
Although he felt regretful, Andre didn't say anything and paid the sword repair fee according to the price agreed upon in advance.
After paying the money, Andre did not leave directly, but picked up a dagger in the blacksmith shop. As a knight, in addition to the broadsword, he also always carried two daggers on his body, one in each secret pocket on his left and right legs. But when he went hunting a few days ago, he accidentally lost a dagger and it fell off a cliff. He had to buy a new one today.
Picking up a dagger, Andre weighed it and found it was a bit heavy. He reached out to grab another one, but it was still heavy. At this time, two people suddenly rushed into the blacksmith shop.
"Boss, give me the best sword."
"Boss, give me the best shield."
When the blacksmith saw that there was a business coming, he immediately asked his apprentice to go to the warehouse to get a sword and a shield.
The apprentice had just gone to the warehouse when more people came into the shop, and this time there were even more people.
"Boss, my armor needs repairing, urgently."
"Boss, I want 10, no, 20 arrows."
"boss......"
"boss......"
Everyone was shouting at the top of their lungs, fearing that the boss hadn't heard them. For a moment the blacksmith shop was noisy and crowded, with people barely able to stand still.
While carrying things for someone, the blacksmith asked in confusion: "What happened today? Why are you all so anxious?" Usually there wouldn't be so many people coming to the shop.
"The Viscount's Mansion is recruiting new knights." Someone shouted excitedly.
Recruiting new knights! Andre's ears instantly pricked up, and his eyes stared straight at the person who spoke.
As he tested his sword, the man said, "The Administration Office just posted an announcement. In five days, there will be an open competition at the martial arts training ground west of town. They're recruiting a lot of people this time, a full ten."
"It doesn't have to be ten." Someone interrupted him. "The announcement said that we'll select the best candidates. Those with outstanding talents will become knights, and those with poor performance will only be candidates."
"Being a substitute is fine. At least one foot has already entered the Cavaliers team. As long as he performs well, he will have a great chance of being promoted to a regular Cavalier." said the person who was refuted.
The blacksmith nodded. "That's right. This is a good opportunity. If that incident hadn't happened, the Viscount's Mansion wouldn't have recruited knights."
Everyone wanted to laugh. This was a rare and good opportunity, but they didn't dare to laugh. They all held it back. How could they laugh? How could they laugh at such a tragic thing as the death of Viscount Elro? They had to hold it back.
Andre didn't laugh at all. He was still thinking about the good news he had just heard.
This is really good news. This is a great opportunity for him to become a real knight.
Andre quickly picked out a dagger, bought a few arrows, and left the blacksmith shop quickly. The atmosphere in the blacksmith shop was still lively with discussions about the competition, and some people were showing off their muscles.
Andre had no interest in discussing or showing off. He just wanted to go back quickly and start martial arts training. This was the most important thing.
After walking two streets from the bustling market area to the quiet living area, Andre walked into a two-story small house facing the street. This was his home.
When I opened the door, a child of seven or eight years old immediately came over and said, "Brother, did you bring me a slingshot?"
Andre was stunned: "Ah, I forgot."
The younger brother immediately pouted: "Humph, you clearly promised, how can you go back on your word?"
Andre felt sorry, reached out and rubbed his brother's head, and said softly, "I'm sorry, I'll bring it to you tomorrow."
"What are you bringing? Don't waste your money." A voice interrupted. The brothers' mother came over and glared at her youngest son. "Study hard. You don't get good grades, and you still want to play? No way!"
The younger brother went back to continue doing his homework feeling aggrieved, but when his mother wasn't looking he quickly turned his head and made a face.
Andre did not expose him, but just gave him a gentle look, signaling him to be good.
The mother turned to her eldest son and said, "Have you heard? The Viscount's Mansion is recruiting knights. This is a good opportunity."
Andre nodded: "I just heard about it, so come back right away. I'm going to training now."
"You must seize this opportunity. It's not only about your life, but also about the future of our family." The mother's face was serious, but soon she revealed a gentle smile. "Mom believes in you. You will definitely make the Cavaliers."
Andre nodded solemnly: "I will, I will bring our family back to Donglang Street."
Donglang Street is a middle-class neighborhood in Fussen Town. The residents of this neighborhood are either city hall employees working in the administrative office or businessmen with small assets in the town. Andre's family once lived here because his father worked in the administrative office and was the right-hand man of the agricultural officer.
However, three years ago, Andre's father died of illness, leaving the family without a pillar of support. The eldest son was still in school, and the youngest son was only four years old. The family quickly faced a financial crisis. Andre's mother had no choice but to sell the house on Donglang Street, lay off the servants, and move to the current neighborhood, an ordinary civilian neighborhood.
Having experienced the cruelty of reality and being burdened by the weight of life, Andre wanted all the time to climb back to his original class. To this end, he practiced martial arts desperately. Not only was he admitted to the strict admissions system of the Palenque Knights Academy, he also graduated from the academy with excellent results.
Andre wanted to become a knight, a real knight, a man with territory and power. However, becoming a knight also requires luck, and it depends on whether the lords need to recruit new knights.
And now, a great opportunity is in front of him.
He has to make the Cavaliers.
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