Volume 4: How big is the heart, how vast is the earth Chapter 105 Snow Wolf Tribe Doing Business
Before St. Bridge's fleet arrived, the Adventurer's Association's fleet arrived first.
The temperature in the northern continent of Bloomfield is generally low, and the time suitable for outdoor activities is only more than seven months each year. The cooperation was reached last year, and this year the Adventurer's Association sent officials to settle in early, and also brought the first batch of adventurers who landed from the west coast. Before the elves built the Elf Wharf, only the Lamia Caravan owned a port on the west coast of the Cursed Land. The Lamia Caravan, who were used to eating alone, certainly could not provide convenience for the adventurers... Those wandering monsters, the Lamia Caravan did not have enough manpower to hunt, but they could always get monster parts from the grassland people at a price so low that it was almost free. Only when they eat too much will they let outsiders run to pick up food from their own plates.
Otherwise, why is it that the relationship between the Lamia Caravan and the Tiger Tribe is always difficult to be harmonious? The Tiger Tribe does not have a port, but the Tiger Tribe has opened a route from the York Mountains to the eastern part of the grassland, and openly allows adventurers to come in and do business... This behavior is good enough if it doesn't make the Lamia Caravan mad, and they are still on good terms. It's amazing.
Five large ships docked at the port. A group of people led by Ms. Benjamin, an official from the association's research department, hurriedly got off the ship to visit General Crest, greet the queen, present gifts, and sign a document to lease two buildings in the Elf Port as a branch of the Adventurer's Association. General Crest stood up and shook hands with Ms. Benjamin. The forest elves' open door to the Adventurer's Association was confirmed.
As a loose civil organization, the members of the Adventurer's Association can be described as a mixed bag of good and bad. But after all, the new adventure land opened up this time is the Elf Forest and the Cursed Land. There is no way the Adventurer's Association will let a group of rookies go to die. The first batch of adventurers who came are all carefully selected full-time adventurers, treasure hunters, explorers, etc. with silver medals or above in the association.
Of course... the Adventurer's Association is just a private group after all. It does not have five social insurances and one housing fund, and is not responsible for covering one's death. These adventurers set foot on new adventure lands, angered the elves and were killed, or they tried to commit suicide by sneaking into the lairs of top-level monsters, or even ran to the underground world at the risk of their lives. The association did not care. In the agreement signed between the association and the forest elves, all adventurers and the association were not considered as a whole at all.
The adventurers were well aware of this principle, and when the ship docked, no one would stubbornly run down without permission. After the officials of the association signed a contract with the forest elves and demarcated the area of the Elf Pier open to adventurers, the adventurers disembarked in batches under the organization of the association, and checked into various hotels according to the arrangements of the vassal races of the elves, according to the groups or regions.
Isaac Robbins is the second son of a minor noble family from a federal country in the southern continent.
Although born into a noble family, the second son who has no inheritance rights and is unlucky enough not to be favored by his parents, actually has a rather bleak life... Isaac is such an unlucky guy. Among the three brothers, the elder brother is the most valued by his father, and the younger brother is the most favored by his mother. He is stuck in the middle and when he becomes an adult, his father gives him a thousand gold coins and kicks him out of the house to fend for himself.
Of course, having such a large amount of starting capital is still much better than that of ordinary civilians. Isaac, who has been instructed by famous teachers since he was a child and has decent martial arts skills, ran to several port cities with the money, bought an orc and a dwarf for a few hundred gold coins, and recruited a human partner to form a small team. Relying on his noble upbringing and conversation, he received many tasks that were mediocre, ran errands and did miscellaneous work for the nobles in big cities, and made a good name for himself in a few years. When the association released the news to recruit groups and individuals to go to the new adventure land, Isaac easily stood out from the countless applicants with his team's nearly 100% task completion rate and good reputation.
"This is the northern continent. Even the air is so different."
After getting off the boat and stepping onto the ground at the dock, Isaac Robbins raised his hand to adjust the round hat on his head and uttered an aria-like sigh.
Unfortunately, there was no gentleman in his team who could match his sentiment. The thief who followed him obscenely even laughed in a very indecent way: "Hehehehe... Isaac, those sissy elves over there, if they put on skirts, wouldn't they be more exciting than the girls in the hotel?"
"...Shut up, Alex. If we are driven out by the elves because of you, I will beat you up." The dwarf Arnold raised his head unhappily and clenched his fist fiercely at the thief Alex.
The orc Melken also looked at the thief Alex with disapproval.
The thief Alex rolled his eyes and snorted twice, but did not make any more noise to cause trouble. Firstly, the dwarf Arnold and the orc Melken had beaten him up more than once or twice, and secondly, the elven vassal who was leading them had turned around and looked at him with some annoyance.
The port built by the elves was not very big. After getting off the dock and walking a few steps, you could see rows of wooden houses and shops open on the street. The vassal who led the way brought Isaac and others to an inn. Isaac, who was very good at dealing with people, took out a few copper coins and gave a tip. Then he turned around and pulled Alex into the room first.
"Listen, Alex, why don't we go into the Elf Forest this time? Because I don't want to take everyone on an adventure before I'm sure the forest elves are friendly enough. I paid one gold coin per person for the boat fare to bring everyone here, and I hope everyone can go back safely."
After closing the door, Isaac frowned and lectured his companions: "Last year, Saint Bridge made a fortune in two trips to the Cursed Land. The prince was even called the Light of Saint Bridge. We certainly can't compare with the prince of a country, but I don't think everyone wants us to travel for more than a month in vain. We must try our best to find valuable things to bring back. Before that, any words or actions that may offend the elves are unacceptable."
"Hey, man, I'm just talking casually. It doesn't mean I will do anything. Don't I have a brain?" Alex yelled angrily.
"Really? You think it's just a matter of talking and it doesn't matter? Then who angered the Duchess and caused our mission to fail, and our team's 100% mission completion rate to fail?" Isaac didn't yell at him, but said calmly, "Arnold and Melkan just made enough money to buy their freedom last year. They hope to buy their own house in the city. Arnold also wants to have his own workshop. If they miss the opportunity to make money because of you, do you think this time it can be resolved with just a fight?"
Alex's face turned purple. Although Isaac said these words to him behind closed doors, he still felt embarrassed to have his past exposed: "Okay, it's all my fault, okay!"
After yelling, Alex opened the door and went out. He glared at Arnold and Malcolm who were moving things in the corridor, then ran downstairs.
"I really can't stand that bastard, Isaac, why don't we change to a more reliable treasure hunter? Why do we have to bring that thief?" The dwarf Arnold was irritable and immediately ran into the room to question.
Isaac sighed: "Don't be angry, Arnold, I think Alex can control himself... After all, this is not the human kingdom."
"Damn it!" Arnold raised his hands to express his helplessness, then turned around and went back to his work.
As the second son, Isaac was educated on how to enjoy life in addition to the necessary etiquette. The reason was that his father did not want him to develop ambitions that would threaten his brother's position. However, this was not entirely a bad thing for him... His heart was relatively pure and unpolluted. He allowed the slaves he bought to redeem their freedom with the money they earned, and he did not have much prejudice against civilians like Alex who were born as street gangsters.
Well... this also caused him to be indecisive. Even though he knew that his companion was a powder keg, he couldn't bear to give up.
After packing their luggage, the three of them went downstairs together and thought about taking a walk on the street, mainly to have something to eat - the person in charge of the elf hotel was a bit of a mysophobe and did not agree to guests eating in the hotel, so they had to go out to eat.
There were many shops open on the street downstairs from the hotel, but the more troublesome thing was that most of the shops sold elven handicrafts, elven spices, various kinds of fruits, sun cloth clothing stores, and even flower seed stores. It took me a while to find a shop selling bread and jam .
There are thousands of adventurers staying in the entire inn street, and with only this one bakery, you can imagine the business... The queue stretches for a long way, and some adventurers who are impatient to wait can only go into the nearby tavern and fill their stomachs with snacks.
"That's terrible. I'm so hungry that my stomach is growling. Why can't we open a few more shops selling food? Don't the forest elves want to do business even if the business comes in?" Not long after reaching the end of the line, the dwarf Arnold, who had less patience, couldn't help but shout.
"Hold on for a minute, Arnold. Malcolm, go to the tavern next door and ask them what food they have."
The orc nodded and was about to leave the team when two elf warriors ran over from the other end of the street and waved, "Hey, there's a place selling barbecue and noodles over there. Anyone who can't wait, come over first!"
When Arnold heard about barbecue, his eyes lit up and he started running with his short legs; unfortunately, there were many people who were as hungry as him, and the dwarf was drowned by the crowd running in the same direction.
"Arnold?!" Isaac was startled and quickly called Melkan back. He ran with the crowd and tried hard to find his short companion among countless buttocks and thighs...
"Here, here! Follow me!" Two elf warriors ran in front to lead the way, shouting, "Don't push others, don't bump into others!"
When Isaac and Melken finally rescued Arnold, who was trapped in the crowd and pushed away, the two elf warriors also brought hundreds of people to the beach outside the port; the originally agitated crowd saw the situation on the beach clearly, and the hungry and angry adventurers calmed down...
At least twenty or thirty Snow Wolf warriors, as majestic as iron towers, were busy on the beach. Barbecue racks built with stones were arranged more than ten meters away. The pieces of meat on them seemed to have just been put on, and blood could be seen. On the other side, there were three large iron pots lined up in a row. The soup in the pots was boiling and steaming. The Snow Wolf warriors standing on one side were using iron colanders to scoop out white or dark brown things from the pots, putting them in bowls and then placing them on the long table on the other side . In addition to the bowls, the long table was also filled with jars and cans with unknown contents.
A snow wolf man who was at least 2.2 meters tall and as strong as a bear stood in front of the large group of diners. This guy was shirtless with his shirt off and hanging around his waist. His dangerous muscles and amazing physique made the adventurers in the front subconsciously want to draw their weapons. Although he was just standing there, he had an imposing manner that could defeat thousands of people. He stood with his hands on his hips and shouted to the adventurers, "Don't be in a hurry! Line up and come in! Those who want noodles go to the left, and those who want barbecue go to the right. Don't push or cut in line, and don't make loud noises!"
Adventurers: “…”
"Those in front advance!" the two elf warriors urged.
The food on the boat... to be honest, it was just enough to keep them from starving. After more than a month on the boat, they had nothing to eat when they got off the shore. They would accept even a plate of potato curry cooked by the devil, let alone the food sold by the legendary "ferocious beast" snow wolf. The adventurers at the head carefully bypassed the strong man blocking the road and rushed to the long table with bowls... everyone would eat until they vomited after eating barbecue, so they would naturally give priority to other options.
The wolf man in front of the long table had the same build as the guy in front, but fortunately he was dressed neatly and had a much gentler look than the previous guy. Seeing the guests, he gave them a simple smile and said, "Welcome. Do you want a large or small bowl? A large bowl costs five copper coins, and a small bowl costs four copper coins."
"Big bowl!" said the first adventurer with green eyes.
"Okay." Yu picked up the shallow bowl as big as his head and picked up the spoon with one hand, "Do you want hot and sour or spicy? We also have spicy."
"...whatever." The adventurer didn't expect that the Snow Wolf Tribe would actually consider the customers' tastes when doing business. He stared at them suspiciously.
"Then let's go with hot and sour. Hot and sour is appetizing." Yu Maliu scooped a spoonful of minced meat, half a spoonful of vinegar, added appropriate amounts of salt, soy sauce, half a spoonful of chili oil, a spoonful of steaming bone soup, and some blanched vegetable leaves, bean sprouts and pickled cabbage. He handed the bowl to the first customer and reached out with his other hand, "Take your fork. When you're done, return the bowl to the basket at the back. Five copper coins."
The green leafy vegetables, red oil, white vermicelli and brown vermicelli in the bowl, together with the aroma, are all delicious. The hungry adventurer swallowed his saliva, stared at Yu warily, took out a ten-gram coin with a face value of five copper coins from his waist bag, carefully placed it in Yu's open palm, and cautiously took the bowl with both hands...
"Let the next person come." Yu saw the man standing there in a daze, so he waved his hand and asked him to go away. He looked behind him and said, "Do you want a big bowl or a small bowl? A big bowl costs five copper coins, and a small bowl costs four copper coins."
The adventurer who bought the powder finally felt relieved. It seemed that the other party was really doing business and not setting a trap. He quickly grabbed a fork from the basket, walked a few steps to the side to make room, and then impatiently used the fork to scoop the food in the bowl into his mouth.
The human kingdom also has flour-based foods, but they are all made from rice and wheat. Due to the poor grinding process, they are mostly mixed with wheat bran and chaff, and are relatively hard. It takes more than ten minutes to cook them thoroughly, and the taste... can only be said to be slightly better than bread.
There is no such trouble with vermicelli made from sweet potato and potato starch. It only takes a few minutes to cook until soft. It tastes delicious and goes well with anything you add it to. The first bite made the adventurer's eyes turn greener. He immediately moved a few pieces with his hands. The sound of him slurping the vermicelli made the people in the queue behind him drool.
"Is it taste good, bro?" A barbarian buddy couldn't help but ask after smelling the aroma of the hot and sour soup.
"Hmm!" The first adventurer who ate the crab... uh, the Snow Wolf tribe vermicelli looked up and nodded casually , then buried his head in slurping the vermicelli.
The cost of this bowl of noodles, apart from the sauce and the whistle, is three taels of vermicelli. It is said to cost five copper coins when sold to adventurers, but because the common copper coins are two grams, the customers give ten grams of pure copper, and the net profit is quite high. Since the net profit is high, the Snow Wolf Man is not stingy when it comes to adding ingredients. The soup is made from pork bones and fish bones, and a few cabbage leaves, a handful of blanched bean sprouts, and a small spoonful of appetizer pickled cabbage are added. It tastes delicious and smells fragrant. The first person who eats it doesn't even want to say a word. The people in the queue behind him are naturally not stupid. They keep urging the people in the queue in front to hurry up and take the bowl and leave, otherwise they will be delayed...
The cooked vermicelli in a bowl can be taken away after adding the ingredients. The speed is quite fast. In just a few minutes, dozens of adventurers picked up their bowls, and the sound of slurping vermicelli and sipping soup filled the air...
On the dock side, Isaac and the other two backed off when they saw that the people selling food were actually the Snow Wolf Clan. It was no wonder that they were overly cautious. After all, the Snow Wolf Clan had a bad reputation, and their reputation was not much better than that of the Elves. Especially Isaac, when he was still in school, he heard that a noble in a certain city spent a lot of money to buy a Snow Wolf Clan warrior slave. He worked hard to train it for half a year, but it was torn to pieces by the brutal Snow Wolf Clan warrior just after it was unlocked. The hired guards and bodyguards were all killed, and several nobles living next door also suffered. Later, they had to send out the local garrison to encircle and suppress it, and it was hard to kill it after paying the price of hundreds of casualties... Anyway, no one in the noble circle that Isaac knew was willing to spend money on such a "ferocious beast". In the slave market of the southern continent, even the royal family of a small country could buy it, but the Snow Wolf Clan was definitely not available.
There were at least thirty Snow Wolf warriors piled up on the beach, asking Isaac to walk among them to consume and eat the Snow Wolf tribe's food. Isaac felt that his little heart could not bear it. But with so many adventurers standing here, Isaac would be embarrassed if he turned around and left first, so he had to stand here and wait for someone to start before following.
After waiting for a long time, no one came out to bravely take the lead. However, more people could not help but walk down the beach, attracted by the vermicelli noodles or the tantalizing aroma of the barbecue stalls...
"I'm really starving, Isaac." The dwarf Arnold looked at the captain embarrassedly, squatted down and supported himself on the dock with his hands, jumped onto the beach, and rushed towards the vermicelli stall with his short legs.
The orc Melken couldn't help but take a step forward, turned his head and looked at the leader eagerly.
"Wait a moment." Isaac made a soothing gesture to Melkan, his eyes fixed on the first group of people going down. He had to make sure that they could leave safely after eating the Snow Wolf Tribe's powder before he could feel at ease.
The adventurer who ate the noodles first slurped for a long time, his mouth was full of oil and his face was red, and he finally finished the big bowl of noodles and left. He walked to the basket behind the long table to return the bowl, then turned around... strode towards the queue and stood steadily at the end of the line.
Isaac: “…”
There were many people who were staring at that guy like Isaac. He returned the bowl and went back to queue, which caused a round of shouting and cursing. Then these old-timers didn't care anymore and jumped off the beach while cursing at that guy and trotted towards the queue.
"Let's go." This time Isaac didn't insist. He called out to Melkan and jumped down.
The adventurer who took out a knife to pick his teeth suddenly felt a chill on his back. He turned around in confusion... and found that the people behind him were all glaring at him.
Innocent adventurer: “???”
A big bowl of vermicelli cooked with 3 taels of flour is enough to fill people up for those with smaller appetites, but people with bigger appetites will inevitably feel unsatisfied. Fortunately, the barbecue stall next door is almost sold out at this time, and the tempting barbecue aroma attracts people to move over there involuntarily, so there is no annoying situation of endless queues at the vermicelli stall.
Hongye inspected the scene back and forth. Seeing that these adventurers were honest and did not default on their debts or eat for free, she breathed a sigh of relief. She put on her clothes and walked back to the intersection with the dock. She waved to the two elf warriors who brought the people over: "Hailin, Kai, have you two eaten? If not, come down and have a bowl of noodles."
"I do want to, but I'm afraid Maomao and the others are too busy right now, so let's wait a while." Hailin smiled.
Hongye looked back and smiled: "That's right...it seems our vermicelli is still very popular."
"Of course. General Crest allocated half of the warriors' powder to the vassal races. The orcs who came to clean the room where I live are willing to smile at us. That guy is usually not nice to anyone." Hailin smiled and said sincerely, "Fortunately, you sent us an extra 20,000 kilograms of vermicelli, otherwise General Crest's anger would probably last a long time. He is still quite scary when he gets angry."
Hongye touched his head and said, "This is nothing. Our tribe kept it for our own use. If it weren't for you taking care of us this time, we wouldn't be embarrassed to use your place to make this money."
Hailin was very pleased with himself. It was he who came up with the idea. It was mainly because General Crest had offended the Council of Elders and was too lazy to ask the people with connections in the city to come and make some extra money. So he simply suggested to the general to use this matter to repay the Snow Wolf Tribe for the extra vermicelli they had given him... Although you have to pay for it, they are willing to give you the part they have kept for themselves out of kindness.
"It is estimated that there will be several groups of adventurers coming this year. Some of these adventurers will enter our forest, and some will stay on the grassland. Why don't you just send a few of you to stay here for a long time to manage the business. You don't have to send all warriors. Ordinary people can come. We forest elves will protect your safety." Hailin suggested.
Hongye smiled naively, and looked seriously at Hailin's expression when she spoke and Kai's reaction beside her. It was obvious that Hailin really regarded the Snow Wolf Tribe as friends. In comparison, Kai was a little cold, but it could be seen that he was willing to get close to them. He seemed to be very satisfied with Hailin's proposal, but he just didn't want to express it in words.
"Ayun is right... not all forest elves are hostile to us." Hongye understood and nodded readily: "Okay, I'll talk to the clan leaders when we go back to transport the goods."
