While!

The sound of the bell rang from the direction of the rue Saint-Denis Church, and every time the stake of the bell-ringer Moremoch slammed down on the large bronze bell, the deep sound spread throughout the city like a stone falling in the middle of the lake.

Pedestrians walking on the street sometimes invariably raise their heads and stop to listen to the dull sound of the bell...... The sound of the bell reminded them of some sad things, their faces darkened with exhaustion, and they remembered how they had come to the city and why they had willingly breathed the foul air.

- When! While!

Two more bells rang again, and night had fallen.

An ornately decorated horse-drawn carriage made a big turn at the end of the plaza to take in the view of the residents of the high-rise residences at the end of the street, and then staggered from the other end of the street to a row of garden vintage houses facing the street. Was that some lady's car? No, the coachman was dressed in tatters and did not fit well with the luxurious carriage. In fact, in the carriage sat five large men and a fat woman, whose eyes narrowed with a smile, and who was dancing and telling her companions some interesting stories.

Suddenly, the coachman tightened his reins in front of a large red door in the style of France, and the two tall scarred horses were frightened, and jerked their horses straight to their front hooves.

"Mr. Falclohn, I've told you several times that you don't have to stop when you encounter a pit." Voices came from the carriage.

"Gentlemen...... Your destination has arrived. The coachman seemed submissive.

"So......" a goatee's head peeked out from between the two brocade-trimmed curtains, "it's your fifteen dollars, Mr. Falclonn, and wait patiently for us outside." ”

Ducky jumped out of the carriage, and John jumped down after him, and he saw a gentleman in a suit and leather shoes walking towards them in front of the red door.

"In the name of this symbolic costume, if I'm right, you're the famous Dadge van der Linde."

"Oh, I suppose you're the esteemed Mr. Howard who is active in various social places, right?" Ducky responded politely.

"You overestimate me, Mr. van der Linde, and though I have traveled all over the nearby states, my position is merely that of a waiter, and my duty is to welcome every guest who comes to the party, big or small, and I have no right to attend banquets, to use an inappropriate proverb—I am only a layman."

"But the fact that Monsieur Lemieux has asked you to serve him shows that you do have many outstanding merits."

"I can't afford to be promoted by Mr. Mayor, and I can only do as much good as I can for him." Howard made a gesture to invite someone in, "So, gentlemen, please come with me." ”

Howard led the Van der Linde men to the hall, where John saw the fine Oriental porcelain on the elegant wooden shelves, local and French paintings on the marble tiled walls, and some maids with silver scissors tending to three or two potted plants......

Mr. Howard tilted his head to look at the Ducks, and then raised his voice, "As you can see, Mr. Lemieux has a wide range of interests, especially in the field of classical art, and his skills as a follower may be regarded as profound. ”

Daqi snorted: "I have known him for a long time, you must know that more than ten years ago he was still poor, and in the past few years, he has not known what kind of work he has taken on, and he has become what he is now." ”

"As far as I know, Monsieur Lemieux has been engaged in the wine trade for several years, earning a lot of dividends and making a fortune quickly." Howard explained, "It's very likely that you'll taste the wine that Mr. Mayor made himself. ”

Howard led them to the second floor, where a man of medium stature with a gray beard stood on the terrace.

"Monsieur Lemieu!" Ducky shouted.

Lemieux turned and lifted his thin-rimmed glasses against his nose.

"Ducky van der Linde! You won't blackmail me again this time, haha!"

"Look, I said I and Mayor Lemieux are old acquaintances." Ducky opened his arms and faced the crowd in a hug gesture.

"Ducky, you old fellow, hehe...... However, he is my best partner, I have to admit that. Lemieu said.

Howard's face was full of joy: "Yes, yes. ”

"Even so, I have to say, you did come uninvited this time, and I admit that my invitations are indeed in high demand, but you have disappeared for so long that I have almost forgotten about you." Lemieux pulled a half-cut cigar out of his pocket and smoked it, "By the way, Ducky, your little brother, his name is ...... Well...... Arthur Morgan, I've always been right, Mr. Morgan once dealt with Professor Seaphtaclay, the unwitting bastard...... Where is he now? ”

Hearing this, Daqi lowered his head and looked at his toes, kicked the ground paved with high-grade tiles with the tips of his leather boots, and said indifferently: "He died." ”

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, he's a good guy." Lemieuux was sad.

"Some want him to die, and the world will not allow him to live." Ducky's lips moved.

Lemieu nodded thoughtfully: "We have done our due prayers, and let the merciful God do the rest." There's a lot to hope for, isn't it? For example, this thriving market system, and fine wines from all over the world...... Speaking of which, I have to invite you guys to taste my distilled spirits. ”

Ducky nodded in agreement, and Howard's words were fulfilled.

Ducky stopped the crowd who were about to leave: "Wine tasting is not a big deal, right, honorable mayor?" But I have some personal matters that I would like to talk to you about privately. ”

"Okay." Lemieux spread his hands, "You've always pretended to be mysterious. ”

After Ducky and Lemieux left, John waited for more than ten minutes, and finally saw the two of them walking over with smiles on their faces, as if nothing had happened, just like old friends when they get together.

Mayor Lemieux invited the people to a pergola, smiled and uncovered the tarpaulins on the floor, revealing the barrels of iron stacked in a groove that resembled a cellar, and poured a full cup for each of them, and then he drank half a cup himself, and raised his hand to invite John to admire them.

Ducky sighed after taking a sip, "I dare say it's the best wine I've ever had." ”

Lemieux nodded in satisfaction: "Look, it's not me boasting, I'm quite proud of my winemaking skills, I think so to speak." ”

Ducky shook his head for a while, then smiled evilly and said, "I would also like to believe that Monsieur Lemieux must have been good at following his mentor and learned techniques that ordinary winemakers can't learn." ”

"To tell you the truth, this is a high-precision quality wine, made from the finest rice grains and fruits, and I have many winemakers, but none of them will reveal the recipe to anyone......" Lemieux took another sip after speaking, and after a while his cheeks flushed slightly, and the corners of Ducky's mouth couldn't help but rise when he saw the change in Lemieu's expression.

"Monsieur Lemieu, how much wine do you have, and can I make a humble beggar from you? If not, I'll probably pick it up myself while you're drunk. "It's a clever trick to test whether a person is drunk or not, and that is to make some seemingly dangerous jokes with him.

"Haha, as we all know, you Ducky van der Linde is an alcoholic, you don't want to steal my yeast and instruments, and then live in this elixir for the rest of your life."

"If I could, I wouldn't forget Mr. Mayor's kindness." Ducky said with a smile.

"Then you'd be a thief—an old drunkard who was good at stealing. But I'm not going to tell you where I got the instrument from, do you hear Ducky? You've robbed me...... Do you remember? Don't look at it, it's a wine tasting festival, but we're just friends, and if you want to go beyond that, I won't let you succeed, so discourage the idea of skipping me and buying moonshine as soon as possible. "Lemieux was already red, like an apple ripe in early summer.

"Mr. Lemieuux, you're drunk."

Ducky coped calmly, unfazed for another temptation, but judging by Lemieu's reaction, it was unnecessary.

"I'm the mayor, I'm the host of the whole tasting festival, and I'm probably the best person to drink...... I'm not drunk anyway, so you can't fool me. ”

Ducky glanced at Lemieu and launched a final attack: "I don't believe it, you once held a ball, and I remember that you held a cup for the sake of face, but you couldn't drink a sip." ”

"Oh...... Oh, my God! That's the old days. I've changed a lot now...... Still don't believe you? You can ask Stretch Mansda, you ask him...... Who played that game of ecstasy stupidity with him, and then earned his proud moonshine tips? ”

Lemieu seemed to be about to explode, his posture uncontrollable, completely devoid of the old steadiness he had at first sight.

Seeing this, Ducky snatched Lemieu's glass: "Of course it's you, sir, but you're really drunk." Come! Mr. Howard, help Mr. Mayor go back to rest. ”

As Mr. Howard helped Mr. Lemieux away, Ducky turned his head as he repeated the name Stretch Manstar.

"We've got enough information, gentlemen." Ducky picked up Lemieu's goblet and took a sip with his shaped lips under his beard......