Leaving this little episode behind, Qianzhou continued to walk towards the city.

The architectural style of Xizhou is very different from that of Qin, which makes Qianzhou, who has never been abroad, a lot of insight.

The houses on both sides of the road are mostly made of red bricks, giving people a warm feeling in the ice and snow. None of the houses are very tall, only about two or three floors, and some will have a small attic in the shape of a minaret.

The black top is smooth and the slope is angled to prevent snow accumulation.

The houses were lined up like books along the street, and the orange firelight hit the street through the windows - which made Chifune in the snow feel a little lonely out of thin air.

When you look up, you can see the tall clock tower standing in the square in the center of the city.

The bell tower is square in shape, made of gray stone bricks throughout, and the walls are carved in exquisite reliefs. At the very top, the lines of the bell tower begin to retract. A steep black spire is left at the end.

Just now, it rang six times.

Qianzhou turned around, and finally shook off the snow on his body and walked into a tavern.

Nominally a tavern, it's not just about drinks.

In fact, for economic and environmental reasons, there are many pubs in the north.

Because of the cold climate, alcohol will never be sold in the northern region. At the same time, these taverns also serve some simple food and double as a restaurant, a service that is usually offered to bachelors who can't cook.

Lack of tourism and commerce has led to the lack of dedicated hotels in the town, so some of these taverns will also provide accommodation with empty rooms.

Qianzhou looked at the sign of the tavern, and he didn't recognize the words on it. However, judging from the root word, it is likely to be a local slang or compound word.

As Qianzhou entered, the old wooden door made a "squeak" sound to remind the boss that a guest was coming.

As soon as Qianzhou entered the tavern, he felt a hot air mixed with the smell of wine rushing towards him, and his frozen body warmed up.

A gas lamp hangs from the top of the house, illuminating the entire tavern.

On the innermost side of the tavern is a fireplace with a "crackling" sound from the burning wood.

Next to the fireplace is where the bar is located, and the wine rack is full of bottles. Beneath the racks is a neatly stacked row of oak barrels, the mouths of which are tightly corked.

From the bar, there are many wooden tables and benches scattered around. At this time, most of the tables were already full of people, and the sound was noisy.

That's right, on nights when entertainment is scarce, drinking is already the most economical pastime.

The majority of the guests in the tavern are male. Some people sat in the corner drinking stuffy wine, but more often they sat together in twos and threes, either chatting with each other or playing some games such as cards.

When Qianzhou walked into the tavern, some people were surprised by his young foreigner appearance, but he only glanced at it and focused on his own business.

Qianzhou walked over to the bar and sat down.

Unfortunately, there was no handsome or pretty bartender, only a rough uncle sitting in it—he was supposed to be the owner of the tavern.

The boss was about fifty years old, and his hair was mostly bald, revealing a reflective "Mediterranean" appearance. Because of the warmth of the shop, he wore only a cloth shirt, and his thick arms were angular. His palms are broad, his fingers are thick, and he has thick calluses.

But after all, he is old, and the boss's stomach is already fat, and there are many wrinkles on his face.

"What do you want to drink?"

The boss smiled and spoke, his nose red and his beard almost covering his entire mouth.

This image reminds Qianzhou of a black-hearted boss who sells card packs and often makes Carmen.

The boss has a habit of curling his tongue in pronunciation, which makes Qianzhou, who is not familiar with English, a few seconds late to understand what he means.

"No, just give me some hot food and a glass of water. By the way, there must be meat!" Qianzhou emphasized the latter sentence.

"Of course that's fine, our barbecue is a must! But don't customers really drink alcohol? "The owner strongly invited.

"No, I don't drink. Qianzhou politely refused.

"How can a man not drink?" the boss looked sorry, "I can drink three bottles a meal when I'm your age!"

Qianzhou rolled his eyes: "I'm afraid that I will become like you in the future." ”

The boss was not angry, and patted his chest: "When I was young, I was a famous handsome guy, and chasing my girl could drive two streets." ”

"Come on, old fellow, you're bragging again!" a drinker unceremoniously dismantled the boss's stage, "I remember that you chased Susan for four years, and every time you sang downstairs at her house, it was like a crow!"

The people in the tavern laughed.

"Go, go, you talk nonsense, be careful that I will raise the price for you!" said the boss angrily.

While waiting for the barbecue, the boss chatted with Qianzhou again.

"Look like the guests are from the middle of the earth?" the boss put a cup of hot milk in Qianzhou's hand.

"Yes, I'm from Qin. Qianzhou took the cup and thanked him.

The boss showed a surprised expression: "So far, you're not an adult, are you?"

"It's past seventeen this year. ”

"Alone?"

"Almost. Qianzhou took a sip of milk.

To be fair, the milk is not good and smells fishy.

"That's amazing!" exclaimed the boss.

"Nothing, but I'd like to ask how often the train runs here. Qianzhou asked.

The boss touched his beard and thought for a while: "There is a train to transport coal every day, but if you sit with people, it will only run once every three days." In the event of heavy snowfall, the road closure may take longer. ”

"Yes. Qianzhou frowned.

The railway network in this era was not very dense, and only some large cities and mining areas had railroad tracks laid between them. Witlans is already the only city in the area with a train station.

"Boss, do you provide accommodation here?" Qianzhou decided to try his luck tomorrow, and if not, he would wait two more days.

"No problem, there are still a few empty rooms. ”

Soon, Qianzhou's food was served: a loaf of bread, a stack of roast meat, and a bowl of soup.

The bread was quite dry and hard, and the thick soup was not to the taste of the people of Qianzhou Middle Continent. If this was still on Earth, Qianzhou wouldn't have eaten a bite at all, but now the hungry Qianzhou didn't care at all.

As for the barbecue, it turned out to be surprisingly good. The heat is just right, the seasoning ratio is excellent, and the whole meat doesn't smell fishy at all - the boss really didn't brag about the barbecue before.

After running out of food, Qianzhou followed the boss to an empty room on the second floor.

The room smelled musty, but it was clean.

It was here that Qianzhou spent his first night in Xizhou.