Ming Na was flustered for a moment, but she couldn't hide her joy. She was worried that Riddle would suddenly bring her here and guessed her true identity. But she was happy that she found the Xiao Family Trading Company without any effort. Next, Will she be able to go home as long as she finds the white-bearded manager
However, to her surprise, Riddle did not enter the business, but entered a small grocery store next door and said hello to the shop owner: "How are you? How is your health? You haven't relapsed?"
"I'm in good health. Thank you for your concern, Father, and thank you for your treatment for me." The shopkeeper happily greeted Riddle as soon as he saw him. He was a somewhat fat middle-aged man with a bald head and a big bump on his face. The black mole looks very kind.
After Riddle confirmed that he had fully recovered, he sat down and chatted with him. Ming Na stood beside him, but her eyes looked next door from time to time. She felt a little strange in her heart. Xiao's business has always been prosperous, why next door? No one visits your store
At this time, Riddle lowered his voice and asked the shopkeeper: "Did the big manager next door also drink today? I wonder if he is sober now?"
Ming Na paused and immediately raised her ears.
"Drink, how can you not drink? I just got drunk at noon, and I drank again just now. I may go crazy later." The shop owner shook his head and sighed, "He almost drove away all the customers who came to the door, and the deputy steward also Ignore it, how can we still do business like this? I think when the old steward was here, their business was very good. Even we got a lot of credit. Since the old steward passed away, the deputy steward retired again, and the new The land manager couldn't suppress the others at all. Most of the store clerks left, and most of the rest were fired. We neighbors also felt sad when we saw the Xiao family business like this."
Ming Na was secretly surprised. Has the white-bearded steward passed away? What about Uncle Boderman? Are you still there
Riddle comforted the shopkeeper, and then said: "I heard that these two stewards were very important in Italy? Then they must be very capable. Maybe they were suddenly transferred to Encore City and felt uncomfortable. Only then will you give up on yourself. Sooner or later, you will get back on your feet, and then the Xiao family business will be prosperous again. "
The shop owner smiled and said: "I hope your words will come true, so that we small shops doing business next to Xiao's Trading Company can get more good goods and sell them for more money."
He just finished speaking. There was the sound of breaking things next door, and then a roar: "Get out! I can do whatever I want, you don't need to worry about it!"
An old clerk with some gray hair staggered out of the store next door, wiped the corners of his eyes and went to a nearby store. Many people went to comfort him, but the yelling and cursing in the store continued. The grocery store owner sighed and said to Riddle: "Father, I'm sorry. It seems that you will be disappointed today."
Riddle smiled and said, "We still have to give it a try. If we can't succeed, we have to find someone else. The shopkeeper smiled and took a few silver coins and stuffed them into Riddle's hand. He also gave a large bag of salt and sugar. The latter thanked her repeatedly before taking Ming Na to the store next door.
Ming Na's attention was always focused on the shouting and cursing coming from the Xiao family business. She was also shocked to hear the man cry: "Your Majesty the Earl! How could you do this to me?! I have worked for you for most of my life. Now I can only stay in a small place like this! I can't even get a pension! Even if you are going to die, you should make arrangements for me. Now I have been harmed by your bastard son..." The man cursed There was a hint of crying in the middle. Sometimes a sentence is repeated two or three times and it seems unorganized.
Minna followed Riddle into the door. I smelled the smell of alcohol all over the room, and I knew in my heart that the man was probably going crazy with alcohol. But even if you are drunk, you shouldn't curse others casually, right? Grandpa is not dead yet, and dad is not a bad person.
Minna stared angrily at the drunken man slumped on the floor of the shop. She thought he looked familiar, and soon remembered that he seemed to be the manager of the Yinyi branch, so how did he get here
The more the man scolded, the worse he sounded: "Those named Xiao-Kaduo are not good people! Those named Kaduo are all bad guys! Those named Xiao...anyone named Xiao is not a good person either..."
"That's enough!" A middle-aged man walked out from the back of the store. Mingna recognized him as the "old man" from the Yinyi branch. She saw him pulling the steward and walking back. As he walked, he said, "You want to scold me?" Anyone can do it, but you can't scold Mr. Earl. If it weren't for him, you would be nothing now. Go back to your room and drink. If you get drunk here, you won't come to the door even if there is business. "
"Huh." The steward sneered and broke away, giving him a drunken sideways glance, "Why are you pretending to be a serious person here? Don't you have any complaints in your heart?! The Earl is indeed great. He made us become stewards and made us rich. , he was considered well-known in the business world, but why did he die suddenly?! And he didn’t ask his son to treat us well! Now all the stores belong to his son, and the managers are all replaced by his sons. We old employees They were all kicked out and rushed to such a small place to work as a steward. Who am I? I am the branch manager of Yi Ni! A casual transaction is just a few thousand gold coins. Like now, even spending one more All silver coins must be reported to the superior. Hum, let me tell you, I don’t want to work for such a boss! It’s better if there is no business!” He pushed Lao Gu, staggered back and picked up the A wine bottle and started drinking again.
Lao Gu snatched the wine bottle from his hand, pulled him up and pushed him to the back of the store: "I don't care what you think, get in now! Even if you don't want to do anything, don't deliberately drive away the customers, be careful that the young master and his wife know about it. , take the opportunity to deduct your pension, and then you will really have nothing!"
"Do you think I don't know how much pension I have left? The amount promised by the earl is too big, and those bastards will not agree." The steward looked at him sideways and smiled with some evil intentions, "However, Are you deliberately provoking what you said? Don't think I don't know. You are in contact with those old guys from the previous headquarters. What are you planning? Do you want to take the store back? Last month, Miss Beryl almost came Being kidnapped has nothing to do with you, right?"
Lao Gu's face changed, and he gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know what you are talking about! Get in quickly!"
"Don't worry, I don't want to interfere with your troubles." The steward pushed him away and walked back, "Everyone named Xiao Kaduo is a bastard. You people are not good people. Now you will suffer. It's just that he is slower than others. The earl is dead, and the property will of course go to his son, no matter what you do. You can't get the land back. Will the king and nobles allow servants to rob the master's property? They also want to kidnap the child. Blackmail...this stupid thing, don't drag me down..."
He staggered away all the way, leaving Lao Gu standing there alone, his face turning red and white. I accidentally looked back and saw Riddle standing at the door of the store, his complexion suddenly turned green again: "What is the priest doing here again?! Why... why didn't you tell me you were here?!"
"I have always been here." Riddle smiled, "But you and the chief steward were probably in a bad mood, so they didn't see me, right?"
The expression on Lao Gu's face changed, and finally he sighed: "How much do you want this time? Let's agree first, it can't be too much. All the money in the store has to be handed over. My own salary. How much do you want to raise my nine children?" It’s not enough.”
Riddle frowned slightly and said with a smile, "It's up to you."
Hearing this, Lao Gu touched his body and took out a few copper coins. He went into the store and rummaged through them. He collected three or four silver coins and handed them to Riddle: "That's all you have, take it."
Riddle accepted it silently and nodded to him: "I know what to do, you don't have to worry. However, it's better not to say some things loudly in the store. If you have resentment in your heart, you can pray to the God of Light. You can You will feel at peace in your mind.”
Lao Gu couldn't calm down at this moment, so he waved his hand casually and let Riddle go. The latter sighed and called Minna: "Sarah, don't be in a daze, we should go."
It took a while for Ming Na to wake up, responded, and followed him out of the Xiao Family Trading Firm. After that, Riddle went to several places, raised a lot of money, and returned to the temple with a few bags of things. Minna was still in a daze, her mind seemed to be knotted, and she didn't even pay attention to the road topography in the city.
As soon as they walked into the temple gate, they saw Albert and a few boys coming up to them. While taking the things they brought, he said happily: "Father, the owner of the store just now said that I work hard." , he will become a formal laborer starting next month, and Paul has also found a workshop willing to accept him as an apprentice."
Riddle was also happy for them when he heard this: "That's great. We must celebrate. It just so happened that someone sent eggs, flour and sugar today. Let's make a cake."
The boys all cheered and rushed to carry the things to the kitchen. Ming Na looked pale and said reluctantly: "I'm sorry, I'm feeling a little uncomfortable. Can you go back to your room and rest first?" Her mind was in a mess and she had to find a place to calm down.
Albert and the others were a little surprised, but Riddle nodded understandingly: "Go ahead, kid. If you still feel uncomfortable, just tell me."
Ming Na nodded randomly and rushed back to the room, feeling confused.
Grandpa just returned to his original world. Why did the steward say he was dead? And only you should know the news of his departure, right? She obviously told others that grandpa went on an adventure
She quickly thought of Corbin. If Corbin could overhear the spell to open the storage ring, could it be said that he also heard what grandpa said before leaving? But if that's the case, shouldn't he say that grandpa is dead? Grandpa can also return to the place where he came from in this world through the crystal mirror in the cave, or go back to the Yarrow Forest. In any case, saying that grandpa is dead is too much!
Also, why was the manager of the Yinyi branch sent to Anchor City? The steward said that grandpa's son drove them away. Who were they referring to? The stewards of the trading company? Couldn't it be dad who chased them away
Definitely not, maybe it was my uncle who did it! But why did uncle do this? Aren't those people arranged by grandpa to go to various stores? However, the steward actually scolded all the people with the surname "Xiao Kaduo". It's really abominable! Her surname is also "Xiao Kaduo".
There seems to be something wrong between my father, my uncle, and the stewards. The steward said that my cousin Beryl was almost kidnapped. What happened? Is it the stewards who do the work? Why? What are they trying to extort
What should she do now? Do you still need to contact the branch here? Will the steward help me? And will that Lao Gu... kidnap himself
Ming Na lay on her bed, feeling at a loss. She was in a daze and didn't even eat dinner. It wasn't until the next morning when she woke up from her sleep that she made the decision: No matter what, it seemed that Xiao's Trading Company was unreliable, so she still relied on her own ability. , go south to the Magic Capital to find Teacher Sauron. At least, he would only ask himself to memorize potion books, make cold potions, peel snake teeth and slug skins, but he would never hurt himself.
After making up her mind, she began to feel hungry. She didn't eat at all last night. It seemed that breakfast time had passed now and she didn't know if there was anything left to eat.
She quickly got up, washed her face and combed her hair, and was about to go to the kitchen to find something to eat when she saw a seven or eight-year-old boy standing in front of her door holding a plate and said: "The priest asked me to bring it to you, and he also said that you would Don't skip meals again." After saying that, he stuffed the things into her arms, turned around and ran away.
Ming Na stared blankly at the hot bread and a small piece of cake on the plate. Suddenly she felt like crying. She broke off a corner of the cake and put it in her mouth. She felt it was sweeter than ever before.
After breakfast, she came to the front hall, just as the other boys had finished their prayers and left to do their own things. She walked up to Riddle and thanked him awkwardly.
Riddle showed his scary smile again and said: "No need to thank me, this is a cake made to celebrate Albert and Paul. Everyone has to eat it. Do you... think you are okay now? Even if you have it in the future No matter what makes you unhappy, you can't skip eating, you know? If you have any troubles, you can tell me. Now, do you have anything to say to me? "
Ming Na opened her mouth and suddenly felt the urge to tell him everything. But when she thought of the losses she had suffered in the past and her grandfather's evaluation of Riddle, she hesitated. After a while, she shook her head and said: " It’s nothing, thank you. I will…be obedient in the future…”
But in her heart, she had already made up her mind.
(I was so confused when writing this paragraph...)