There are only forty or fifty permanent residents living in Black Sands, and the place is slightly larger than the town of Phantoms, but there are many people coming and going, and it seems to be the location of a market in the vicinity. Now is the day of the market, the town is full of people, and there are many horses, cattle, pigs and sheep following the people through, but it is also lively.

Xiao Tianjian quickly found the target tavern, and there was a fragrant smell of stewed meat from that store, which floated all over the street, it was the braised pork he taught, but judging from the taste, it should not be pork.

Minna began to drool as soon as she smelled the smell, she has always loved meat, but since she entered the Elven Forest in August last year, except for those few pots of fish soup, she has not eaten any meat for most of the year, it is rare to smell such an attractive taste, naturally she is hungry, and she takes the initiative to take his hand and go to the store without grandpa urging.

There were a lot of customers in the shop, so they found a small table in the corner and sat down, and quickly ordered their signature stew and pasta. They were greeted by a short, stocky middle-aged man, who looked very kind, and when he heard that they had ordered a large plate full of meat, he happily shouted to the back kitchen: "Wife, add two portions of soup to a large plate of meat, and a plate of boiled noodles!" ”

"Okay~" A neutral female voice came from the back kitchen, "What are you two stinky boys doing?!" How dare you steal it?! Don't get out of here! ”

As soon as she finished speaking, two boys of eight or nine years old ran out of the back kitchen, and one of them still had gravy on his lips. The familiar guests around were laughing: "You two boys have eaten it secretly, your mother's stew is too delicious, isn't it?" The two boys smirked and wiped their mouths and faces, and the short and fat man walked over and knocked on his head, laughed and cursed, and chatted with the others.

A thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl who was pouring wine for a guest came over and said to the two boys solemnly, "Why did the younger brothers steal it again?" Mom and Dad work hard every day, all for the family, if you can't help, forget it, how can you still cause trouble to Mom? ”

The two boys were ashamed of what she said, and they both lowered their heads, and the girl saw that her heart softened, so she slowed down her tone: "If you know it's wrong, say sorry to your mother, and then go and help wash the dishes, but don't break the plate." The two boys hurried away, and soon heard them apologizing loudly to their mother in the back kitchen.

When the customers in the shop saw this, they all praised the girl: "Catherine is now more and more like her mother, she is smart and sensible, I really don't know who will be blessed to marry in the future." ”

The girl blushed and hid in the back kitchen, but the others continued to talk and laugh.

"Isn't it? Just be my daughter-in-law. ”

"You? Your son is so lazy, don't spoil Catherine's little sister! ”

"You stink! What's wrong with my son? He worked as an apprentice in a grocery store and could be his own boss in the future, so where could he not be worthy of Catherine? It's better than the aristocratic young master who doesn't have a clean mouth and only spends all day drinking. ”

"You know what? A good girl like Catherine should marry a nobleman, or it would be a waste of her beautiful face. ”

As soon as he finished saying this, a woman who looked to be thirty or forty years old, slightly chubby, and wearing a stained apron rushed out of the kitchen, and slashed at his table with a sharp meat chopping knife in her right hand: "Which guy is full of food and gossiping about my Catherine?!" Who dares to say a word again, see that I don't cut off his eggs! ”

Although the woman was quite beautiful, everyone was shocked under the fierce light, looked at the cold light flashing on the knife, swallowed their saliva, and shook their heads in unison to say that they didn't dare. The woman drew her knife in satisfaction and went back to the back kitchen, where the shop was quiet for a while, and then there was a commotion again: "The God of Light is above!" Egan, your wife is amazing, how can you stand it? ”

The stocky man known as Egan grinned, not caring at all about what anyone else was saying, and when he heard his wife in the back kitchen telling him to get food, he went off in a hurry.

Minna snickered as she watched, the woman reminded her of Winnie, but Winnie was much cleaner and older than she was. When she leaves here tomorrow, she will be able to return to Chiton soon, and then she will be able to reach Port Matt in ten days at most by sailing east with Grandpa Marshall. She hadn't seen her for so long, and she had missed Winnie a little.

While snickering, she inadvertently glanced at her grandfather, but found that he was in a daze, sometimes looking at the short and fat man Egan who was walking back and forth among the guests, and sometimes looking at the back kitchen, with a shocked look and a little dazed.

"Grandpa, what's wrong with you?" She asked curiously.

"No, nothing." Xiao Tianjian hurriedly retracted his gaze pretending to be nothing, but he was a little restless, Minna had been with him for so long, and knew that this was very different from his usual time, so he looked at him a few more times.

Egan quickly brought over the food that belonged to Minna's grandchildren, two large plates of soup piled high with pieces of meat, and a plate of boiled noodles and nuts that were just hot before coming out of the pot. It tastes delicious!

Of course, she was munching a lot, but Xiao Tianjian was a little absent-minded, and her appetite didn't seem to be very good. When Minna saw it, she asked puzzledly, "Grandpa, what's wrong with you?" Not hungry? ”

Xiao Tianjian woke up for a while, smiled, took a few bites, and sandwiched two pieces of meat for his granddaughter: "Eat more." Minna thanked her happily and ate her head.

Someone outside the store called Igan's name, saying that he was here to deliver wine, but Egan was talking to a few customers, so he called his wife to go, and the woman in the back kitchen came out to take a look, and asked the man to bring the wine to the back door, and at the same time told his daughter to take care of the kitchen, and went to the backyard.

Xiao Tianjian hesitated for a while, took a deep breath, and said to his granddaughter: "Minna, I'm going to go away for a while, you obediently stay here to eat, you know?" After that, he gave her a lot of meat, and then while everyone in the store was not paying attention, he got up and flashed into the backyard.

Minna wondered where he was going, but she obediently stayed in her seat, eating the broth and pasta. At this moment, the words of the people around her got into her ears, and she listened to them without saying a word.

"Have you heard? The aristocratic lord who opened the winery heard that he was now buying noodles at a high price, and one hundred catties were exchanged for five silver coins! A friend of mine sold him 300 pounds, and because of the good quality, he got a total of 15 silver coins. ”

"Five silver coins for a hundred pounds? That's really a high price, my family doesn't have so much grain in stock, but there are still seventy or eighty catties, where did the old man buy it? I'll send it as soon as I get home. ”

"I also have a lot of noodles in the store." It was Egan who said this, "But I still have to do business, I'm afraid I can't sell it to that master." ”

"Brother Egan, why are you so confused? One hundred pounds and five silver coins, which is not a common price. The most famous thing in your shop is that the stew is not the dough fruit, it doesn't matter if you sell some, this is a rare opportunity, if it weren't for the generosity of that man, how long would it take us to work hard to make such a large sum of money? ”

"That old man may not be really generous, and his purchase of a large number of noodles is not a good thing for us." A discordant voice suddenly came from the opposite corner, and Minna looked over and found that it was a man who was relatively clean and decent, about forty or fifty years old, and had a very gentle temperament.

The people around him didn't like to listen, so someone looked at him and said, "Isn't this the former accountant of the brewery?" I heard that you were fired by that old man only last month, and now you say such things, do you want to take revenge on him? ”

The man said unhurriedly, "There is no such thing. My ancestors have been here for generations, and I know that what the old man is doing is harmful to my hometown, but I can't do this kind of thing in order to keep my job. ”

Everyone snickered, and the person who spread the news just now raised his voice: "Then tell me, why is it harmful to us that noble lord who spent a lot of money to buy noodles?" Will he still hurt us if he pays us? Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

The man looked at the man with a mocking look: "In the past few years, the harvest has not been good, but the population has become more and more, and the food is not enough to eat. For the sake of money, you actually left your cultivation to work, and sold the grain that saved your life, didn't you think about what would happen to you without food? When the time comes, starve to death, don't regret it. ”

The others were not happy to hear this: "How disgusting is that you cursed us to starve to death!" As long as we have money, are we afraid that we won't be able to buy food? The corn, potatoes and flour brought by the merchants of the South, delicious and cheap, with those, how could we starve to death? ”

Everyone echoed in unison, but the man still sneered: "Feed your stomach with food from other countries? Haven't you ever thought about what our country will fall into when we are completely dependent on other countries for survival? When the time comes, I am afraid that we will do what other countries want us to do. ”

"The more you talk about it, the more outrageous it becomes, how can the southern country be so rich, how can it be possible to beat the idea of a poor place like ours? Don't try to lie to us, no matter what you say, we won't give up this opportunity to make money. A guest said.

"That's right! Usually, a hundred catties of noodle fruit can be exchanged for four silver coins at most, but now it can be exchanged for eight, and a fool will give up this opportunity. ”

"That's right, that's right, this guy really wants to hurt us. Feed! You bastard! If you talk nonsense, I'm going to beat you up. A large, rude-looking man shook his fist at the man. Seeing this, Egan hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him, and the man frowned in disgust, dropped dozens of copper plates, turned around and walked out of the store.

When they saw that he was gone, they paid no attention to what he had just said, and talked to themselves about how many silver coins they could exchange, and what they would do when they got it.

Minna was a little confused by the sound, but when she thought that the brewing recipe was originally given to the villagers by her grandfather, of course she didn't want to harm them, so she didn't think about it anymore. She had eaten her full stomach, and when she saw that her grandfather had not returned, she was a little bored and dipped her fingers in the gravy on his plate, and put it in her mouth to taste it. At this moment, a few indistinct words came from the corner behind her.

“…… Last night...... Avalanche...... Dead, you tell us...... What is the purpose? I have no enmity with you...... You don't want to hurt us, do you? ”

"How is that possible? …… The owner is looking for someone...... I can't get used to it...... Genie...... How could a treasure be available to someone of his kind? You've done me a favor, and I'm here to repay ......."

Minna's breath tightened, and she quickly pricked up her ears and moved them back, hearing more clearly.

“…… Is it truth or truth? Your boss spent a lot of money to hire people who died, why do you believe that mercenaries like us can succeed? ”

"How can those people compare to you? You are a local, hardy, and familiar with the snow-capped mountains, and outsiders don't know the trick of walking the mountain road, don't you know? That path is nothing to you. If you don't worry, I can also get a magician who specializes in levitation charms, and you'll be safer with him. ”

The man's words were quite attractive, and the other party seemed to be a little moved, but he wanted to discuss it with his friends, so he quickly went first. Minna was so anxious that she couldn't do it, afraid that they would all be gone, and looked at the door leading to the backyard, complaining in her heart why her grandfather hadn't come back.

At this time in the backyard, Xiao Tianjian and the middle-aged woman had just finished a memory, and they were a little embarrassed to each other, the woman uncomfortably arranged her hair and apron, bowed her head and said: "Really, you don't have to worry, I'm doing well, my man is an honest man, my daughter is very sensible, and although the two sons are naughty, they are both good children." Our family now earns enough money to feed the whole family, you don't have to...... Don't ......," she rubbed her hands uneasily, glancing in the direction of the door from time to time.

Xiao Tianjian sighed secretly and reluctantly smiled: "That...... I won't bother, I wish you a happy life. He took out an iron plaque with a beautiful oriental dragon pattern carved on it: "What if...... If you need help, you can take this to the Xiao family firm, and they will help. With that, he shoved the iron card into the other man's hand, whispered "Goodbye, Lila", and turned away.

The woman watched in amazement as he disappeared 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?" That style is not an ordinary person. ”

The woman smiled: "It's just a passerby, and the people from my hometown don't know how I'm doing, so I asked him to come and greet me." She quietly put away the iron tag and pretended to be idle and said to her husband, "Egan, there is something I want to discuss with you, we still have some savings, why don't we get out of here?" You also heard what those people said just now, my daughter is growing up, I don't want her to become a plaything of the nobles, let's move away. ”

Egan thought for a while and said, "Your words also make sense, every time I see that young master come to the door, I am very scared in my heart." But where can we move to? Nomonca? There are more nobles there. ”

"Move to Sico! Didn't you say that your aunt and uncle had a small business there? With my skill in making stew, it's no problem to make ends meet. There is no aristocracy there, and it is a prosperous place, which is the most suitable. ”

Egan began to think about the feasibility of this proposal.

======================I'm the dividing line ===================== the transition scene

When Xiao Tianjian came back to the store, Minna had just seen the party left in the conversation walk out of the store, and when she saw her grandfather, she hurriedly dragged him to pay the bill. Xiao Tianjian was a little inexplicable, and when he heard his granddaughter whisper about the Elven Forest, he hurriedly threw ten gold coins to the girl named Catherine, saying that it was a reward for them, and took Minna out.

Chasing all the way, Minna told her grandfather what she had just heard, Xiao Tianjian immediately noticed that her granddaughter was likely to have found a big fish, so she happily picked her up and kissed her twice, and then tightly embellished the suspicious person.

I saw the man turn left and right in the street, burrow into an alley, and disappear behind the door of a low stone house. Xiao Tianjian observed the entrance of the alley for a while, asked his granddaughter to stay where she was, and told her not to run around, so he walked over lightly.

Minna watched with bated breath as he disappeared behind the wall next to the house, looking around nervously. She had never done anything similar to Wangfeng, and she always felt that everyone was looking at her, which made her very uncomfortable, and she felt that time was sad. Finally, before someone came over to ask her, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when she saw Xiao Tianjian coming back.

"How? That guy is a bad guy, right? As soon as she was carried away by her grandfather, Minna asked in a low voice.

Xiao Tianjian smiled approvingly and pinched her little face: "My little Minna, you have done a great job." That person did intend to reveal the news to the powerful mercenaries and lure them to the Elven Forest. He had just joined his accomplices, and I heard that his men would come to him tonight. ”

Minna was overjoyed when she heard this: "Then we can arrest that person?!" ”

Xiao Tianjian smiled and didn't speak.

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. Minna pouted and watched him busy, very unhappy with his decision not to take herself.

Xiao Tianjian just patted her on the head: "Good, I'll be back soon, stay here, sleep when it's time, I'll tell you everything." ”

Minna watched him leave and thumped her pillow a few times in frustration. She couldn't calm down all night, walking back and forth in the room, wanting to go out, but she was afraid of missing the time when her grandfather returned, so she had to stay in the room in a daze, and then had to turn up the potions textbook.

It didn't take long for the innkeeper to inform the guests to turn off the lights, so the lamp oil was expensive, and the local custom was not to light the lights at night. Minna had no choice but to blow out the oil lamp, but she tossed and turned in the darkness and couldn't sleep, just staring at the door.

I don't know how long later, there was a sudden soft knock at the door. Minna was overjoyed and hurriedly turned over and got up. The door, however, was a strange one, and silently opened a crack, and came in with a hand that held a dagger, shining in the darkness.

(The corner of the veil is indeed only the corner...... But there are several foreshadowings in this chapter, see if anyone can find out? In the PK of this book, the results are urgent, please vote for me a few more times~~~)