There are only forty or fifty permanent residents in Heisha Town. The place is slightly larger than Phantom Town, but there are many people coming and going. It seems to be the location of the nearby market. It's market day right now. People are coming and going in the town, and there are many horses, cattle, pigs and sheep passing by with them, which is quite lively.
Xiao Tianjian quickly found the target tavern. There was a fragrant smell of stewed meat in that shop, which spread throughout the street. It was the braised pork he taught, but judging from the smell, it should be Not pork.
Ming Na started to drool as soon as she smelled the smell. She had always loved eating meat, but since entering the Elf Forest last August, except for those pots of fish soup, she had not eaten any meat for more than half a year. It was rare to smell something so tempting. The smell naturally made him greedy, so he took his hand and walked into the store without any prompting from his grandfather.
There were many customers in the store. They found a small table in the corner to sit down and quickly ordered the signature stewed meat and noodles. The person who greeted them was a short, stocky, middle-aged man who looked very kind. When he heard that they wanted to order a large plate of meat, he happily shouted to the cook: "Wife, add two portions of soup to the large plate of meat, and then add A plate of boiled noodles!”
"Okay~" A strong female voice came from the kitchen, "What are you two brats doing?! How dare you steal it?! Get out of here!"
As soon as she finished speaking, two **-year-old boys ran out of the kitchen, one of whom still had meat juice left on his mouth. The familiar guests around were all laughing: "You two boys stole it again. Your mother's stew is so delicious, isn't it?" The two boys giggled and wiped their mouths and faces. The short and fat man walked over and knocked each other. He nodded, laughed and cursed a few words and started chatting with others.
A thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl who was pouring wine for the guests came over and said seriously to the two boys: "Brothers, why are you eating secretly again? Mom and dad work hard every day for the sake of the family. If you can't help, forget it. Why?" How can I still cause trouble to my mother?"
The two boys were ashamed by what she said and lowered their heads. The girl looked softened and softened her tone: "When you know you were wrong, just say sorry to your mother and then go help wash the dishes. Don't leave the dishes." It's broken." The two boys hurriedly responded and soon heard them loudly apologizing to their mother in the kitchen.
When the customers in the store saw this, they all praised the girl: "Catherine is growing more and more like her mother. She is smart and sensible. I wonder who will be lucky enough to marry her in the future."
The girl blushed with embarrassment and hid in the kitchen, but the others continued to talk and laugh.
"Isn't that right? Just be my daughter-in-law."
"You? Your son is greedy for peace and quiet, don't ruin little sister Catherine!"
"You have such a bad mouth! What's wrong with my son? He works as an apprentice in a grocery store and can be his own boss in the future. How can he not be worthy of Catherine? It's better than that noble man who talks dirty and only spends time and money. The young master is strong."
"What do you know? A good girl like Catherine should marry a noble man, otherwise her pretty face would be wasted."
As soon as he finished speaking, a slightly plump woman who looked to be in her thirties or forties, wearing a stained apron, rushed out of the kitchen, holding a sharp meat-mincing knife in her right hand and stabbed it at his table. The last cut: "Which guy is full of food and can still gossip about my Catherine?! Who dares to say one more thing to see if I don't cut off his eggs!"
Although the woman was quite attractive, everyone was astonished under the sharp glance. Looking at the cold light flashing on the knife, they swallowed their saliva and shook their heads to express their fear. The woman pulled out the knife with satisfaction and returned to the kitchen. The shop was quiet for a while, and then started to move again: "God of light! Egan, your wife is so powerful, how can you bear it?"
The short, fat man known as Egan grinned and didn't care about what others said. When he heard his wife asking him to get the food in the kitchen, he went right away.
Ming Na looked on and snickered. This woman reminded her of Winnie, but Winnie was much cleaner, more elegant and older than her. When she leaves here tomorrow, she will surely be able to return to Qedun soon. Then she will take a boat east with Grandpa Marshall, and it will take at least ten days to arrive at the Port of Matter. After not seeing each other for so long, she started to miss Winnie a little bit.
While she was snickering, she accidentally glanced at her grandfather, only to find that he was in a daze. Sometimes she glanced at the short, fat man Egan who was walking back and forth among the guests, and sometimes she looked at the kitchen with a look of shock and confusion. At a loss.
"Grandpa, what's wrong with you?" she asked curiously.
"No, it's nothing." Xiao Tianjian quickly looked away, pretending to be nothing, but she was a little restless. Ming Na had been with him for so long, and knew that this was very different from his usual, so she looked at him a few more times.
Egan quickly served the meals that belonged to Ming Na's grandparents and grandson. Two large plates of soup filled with meat pieces and a plate of hot boiled noodles made Ming Na move her index fingers. He took the spoon and started eating. It tastes really delicious!
Although she ate a lot, Xiao Tianjian was a little absent-minded and his appetite didn't seem to be very good. When Ming Na saw it, she asked in confusion: "Grandpa, what's wrong with you? Aren't you hungry?"
Xiao Tianjian woke up for a moment, smiled, took a few bites, and gave two pieces of meat to his granddaughter: "Eat more." Ming Na thanked her happily and ate.
Someone called Egan's name outside the store, saying he was here to deliver wine, but Egan was chatting with a few customers and asked his wife to go. The woman from the kitchen came out to take a look and asked the man to deliver the wine to the back door. , and at the same time told her daughter to watch the kitchen, and then went to the backyard.
Xiao Tianjian hesitated for a while, took a deep breath, and said to his granddaughter: "Ming Na, I'm going to leave for a while, and you stay here to eat, okay?" After that, he gave her a lot of meat, and then took advantage of it. No one in the store noticed, so they stood up and ran into the backyard.
Although Ming Na was confused about where he was going, she still stayed in her seat obediently, eating broth and noodles. At this time, the words of the people around her came into her ears, and she listened to every word.
"Did you hear about it? The noble man who opened the winery heard that he is now buying noodle nuts at a high price. One hundred catties can be exchanged for five silver coins! A friend of mine sold three hundred catties to him. Because of the good quality, a total of I got fifteen silver coins."
"Five silver coins for one hundred catties? That's really a high price. My family doesn't have that much food storage, but I still have seven or eighty catties. Where can the master buy it? I'll deliver it as soon as I get home."
"I also have a lot of nuts in my shop." It was Egan who said this, "But I still have to do business, I'm afraid I can't sell them to that gentleman."
"Brother Egan, why are you so confused? Five silver coins for one hundred catties, this is not a common price. The most famous thing in your store is stewed meat, not noodles. It doesn't matter if you sell some. This is a rare opportunity. If If it weren’t for the generosity of that gentleman, how long would we have to work hard to earn such a large amount of money?”
"That gentleman may not be really generous. He bought a lot of nuts, which is not a good thing for us." A discordant voice suddenly came from the opposite corner. Mingna looked over and found that it was a cleanly dressed man. A decent man, about forty or fifty years old, with a quite gentle temperament.
The people around him didn't like what he heard, so someone looked at him and said, "Isn't this the former accountant of the wine shop? I heard that you were fired by that gentleman just last month. Now that you are saying this, are you trying to take revenge?" he?"
The man said unhurriedly: "There is no such thing. My ancestors have been here for generations. I know that what the old man did is harmful to my hometown, but I don't speak out in order to keep my job. I can't do this kind of thing. "
Everyone snickered, and the person who spread the news just now raised his voice: "Tell me, that noble man spent a lot of money to buy nuts, and how could it be harmful to us? Could it be that if he pays us, he will also harm us? Did you kill us?" Everyone present burst out laughing.
The man looked at the man with a mocking look: "The harvest has not been good in recent years, but the population is increasing, and there is not enough food to eat. In order to make money, a large amount of flour fruits are used to make wine, and they are sold. Very little of the money goes into the pockets of us ordinary people. For money, you actually left farming to work and sold the food that saved your life. Have you never thought about what would happen to you without food? You may starve to death, but don’t regret it.”
Others were unhappy after hearing this: "You actually cursed us to starve to death. How abominable! As long as we have money, are we still afraid of not being able to buy food? The corn, potatoes and flour shipped by southern merchants are delicious and cheap. , with those, how could we starve to death?”
Everyone agreed in unison, but the man still sneered: "Relying on food from other countries to fill your stomach? Have you never thought about what situation our country will be in when we completely rely on other countries for survival? By then, I’m afraid we will do whatever other countries want us to do.”
"The more you talk, the more outrageous you are. The southern countries are so rich, how can they take advantage of poor places like us? Don't try to lie to us. No matter what you say, we will not give up this opportunity to make money." Yes." said a guest.
"That's right! Normally, one hundred kilograms of noodles can be exchanged for four silver coins at most, but now it can be exchanged for eight. Only a fool would give up this opportunity."
"That's right, that's right, this guy is the one who really wants to harm us. Hey! You bastard! If you talk nonsense again, I'm going to beat you up." A rude-looking man waved his fist at the man. Upon seeing this, Egan hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him. The man frowned in disgust, threw down dozens of coins, turned around and walked out of the store.
When everyone saw him leaving, they ignored what he had just said and talked about how many silver coins they could exchange for and what they would do after getting the money.
Ming Na was a little confused when she heard it, but when she thought that the brewing recipe was originally given by her grandfather to the villagers, and of course he didn't mean to harm them, she stopped thinking about it. When she was full, she saw that her grandfather hadn't come back yet, so she dipped her fingers into the meat juice on his plate out of boredom, then put it in her mouth to slurp it. At this time, a few unclear words came from the corner behind her.
"...Last night...everyone died in the avalanche. What's the purpose of telling us...? I have no grudge against you...you don't want to harm us, do you?"
"How is it possible?...The person the boss is looking for...I can't understand...elf...how can someone like him get the treasure? You have helped me, and I want to repay you..."
Ming Na's breath tightened, and she quickly raised her ears and moved back to hear more clearly.
"...Are you telling the truth? The people your boss spent a lot of money to hire have died. Why do you believe that mercenaries like us can succeed?"
"How can those people compare with you? You are a local, you are cold-resistant, and you are familiar with the snow-capped mountains. Outsiders don't know the secrets of walking on mountain roads. Don't you know that? That road is nothing to you. If you are worried, I can also invite a magician who is good at floating spells. With him, you will be safer."
What this man said was quite attractive, and the other party seemed to be a little moved, but he wanted to discuss it with his friends, so he quickly took the first step. Mingna was extremely anxious, fearing that they would all leave. She kept looking at the door leading to the backyard, complaining in her heart why grandpa hadn't come back yet.
At this time, in the backyard, Xiao Tianjian and the middle-aged woman had just finished reminiscing. They were both a little embarrassed. The woman uncomfortably arranged her hair and apron, lowered her head and said, "Really, you don't have to worry, I'll do it." "It's very good. My husband is an honest man, my daughter is very sensible, and my two sons are naughty, but they are both good children. The money our family earns now is enough to support the whole family, you don't have to... don't..." She rubbed her hands uneasily, and from time to time He glanced in the direction of the door.
Xiao Tianjian sighed secretly and forced a smile: "Then...I won't disturb you. I wish you a happy life." He took out an iron plate with beautiful oriental dragon patterns carved on it: "If...if you need help, you Just take this and go to the Xiao Family Trading Company, they will help." After that, he put the iron plate into the opponent's hand, whispered "Goodbye, Lila", and turned to leave.
The woman stared blankly at him disappearing by the door, and suddenly her whole body went limp. At this time, her husband Egan walked into the backyard and asked, "Who was that just now? He looked like he was not an ordinary person."
The woman smiled and said, "I'm just passing by. People in my hometown don't know my current situation, so I asked him to come and say hello to me." She quietly put away the iron sign, and pretended to be fine and said to her husband, "Egan, There is something I want to discuss with you. We still have some savings, so why not leave here? You just heard what those people said. My daughter is growing up, and I don’t want her to become a plaything of the nobles. Let’s move away. .”
Egan thought for a while and said: "What you said makes sense. Every time I see that young master coming to the door, I feel very scared. But where can we move to? Nomonka? There are more nobles there."
"Move to Xi'an! Didn't you say that your aunt and uncle are doing small business there? With my skill in making stew, I can make a living. There are no nobles there, and it's a prosperous place, so it's perfect."
Egan began to think about the feasibility of this suggestion.
===================== I am the dividing line that changes the scene =====================
When Xiao Tianjian came back to the store, Mingna had just seen the person who had stayed in the conversation walk out of the store. When she saw her grandfather, she quickly grabbed him to pay the bill. Xiao Tianjian was a little confused. After hearing his granddaughter whisper something about the Elf Forest, he hurriedly dropped ten gold coins to the girl named Catherine, saying it was a reward for them, and took Ming Na out.
After chasing her all the way, Ming Na told her grandfather what she had just heard. Xiao Tianjian immediately realized that her granddaughter might have discovered Big Fish. She was so happy that she picked her up and kissed her twice, and then she hugged the suspicious person tightly.
I saw the man turning left and right on the street, entering an alley, and then disappeared behind the door of a low stone house. Xiao Tianjian observed at the entrance of the alley for a while, asked his granddaughter to stay where she was, told her not to run around, and then walked over quietly.
Minna held her breath as she watched him disappear behind the wall next to the house, and looked around nervously. She had never done anything like looking out for the wind. She always felt that everyone was looking at her, which made her very uncomfortable and made her feel sad about the time. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Xiao Tianjian back before someone came over to ask her.
"How's it going? Is that person a bad guy?" Mingna asked in a low voice as soon as she was hugged by her grandfather and left.
Xiao Tianjian smiled approvingly and pinched her little face: "My little Mingna, you have done a great job. That person indeed intentionally revealed the news to the powerful mercenaries and lured them to the Elf Forest. Just now. He is in contact with his accomplices, and I heard that tonight, the people who instigated them will come to see him."
Ming Na was delighted when she heard this: "Then we can arrest that person?!"
Xiao Tianjian smiled and said nothing.
They came to the only inn in the town, asked for a room, took a comfortable bath, and then Xiao Tianjian began to prepare for the night's action. Ming Na pouted as she watched him busy, and was very dissatisfied with his decision not to take her.
Xiao Tianjian just patted her head: "Be good, I will be back soon. Stay here and go to bed when the time comes. I will tell you everything."
Ming Na watched him leave and punched the pillow several times depressedly. She couldn't calm down all night. She walked back and forth in the room, wanting to go out, but she was afraid of missing the time when her grandfather came back, so she had to stay in the room in a daze. Finally, she had no choice but to flip through the potion textbook.
Not long after, the innkeeper informed the guests to turn off the lights. Because lamp oil was expensive here, local custom would not light the lights for long periods of time. Mingna had no choice but to blow out the oil lamp, but she tossed and turned in the dark and couldn't sleep, just staring at the door.
I don't know how long it took, but there was a sudden sound at the door. Ming Na felt happy and hurriedly got up. However, there was something strange about the door. It opened a crack quietly and a hand was stretched out. There was a dagger in the hand, shining coldly in the darkness.
(A corner of the veil is indeed just a corner...but there are several foreshadowings in this chapter. Let's see if anyone can spot it? In the PK of this book, the results are urgent. Please give me more votes~~~)