Chapter 224, Reward for Escorting the Caravan _1
Translator: 549690339
The next day, in Pruell City.
The streets of Pruell City are unusually bustling today.
The hot pot restaurant has launched a seafood-themed event. On a simple wooden stage, rabbit-maids sing and dance, showcasing their talents.
Even if it isn’t particularly professional, few commoners in this era have seen professional performances.
The main attraction is the lively and active atmosphere.
From early morning, the entrance of the hot pot restaurant was crowded with people, layer upon layer, watching the performance.
Even when the City Lord announced new policies, fewer people gathered than now.
Even if they weren’t eating hot pot, they came to watch the show.
Inside the restaurant.
All the seats are filled, and the customers are tasting the newly launched seafood pot.
“How do you feel, is the effect alright?” Mr. Fang Hao stood in front of the counter.
Behind the counter, Xin YaoYao was wiping sweat and said while keeping accounts: “Yes, Fu Lei has gone to fetch goods again, there are too many customers, and we can’t sustain this kind of demand every day.”
Xin YaoYao is Fu Lei’s girlfriend. This time, she also came to the restaurant to help with accounting tasks.
In the past, Fu Lei would bring fish to sell in the city, and by the time the sun set, he might not have sold all of them.
He would need to take it back and dry it into dried fish.
Now, Fu Lei has returned for the third time to restock goods. If this continues, even if the restaurant makes more money, it won’t be able to keep up with the demand for fish.
“Today is the peak day, the number of people will slightly increase, it will gradually decrease in the next few days.” said Fang Hao.
He was very clear about this.
The population of Pruell City is limited, and most of its inhabitants are just after novelty.
In the next few days, the number of people eating fish hot pot will slowly decrease. After all, most people are commoners and occasionally look to enhance their lives.
“By the way, boss, several nearby villages have recently been attacked by wild animals. Fu Lei wants to seize this opportunity to help the villages eradicate the beasts and then incorporate them as subsidiary villages.” Xin YaoYao said.
The nearby villages she mentioned were small villages near the freshwater lake.
All rely on fishing for a living. If they could be incorporated as subsidiary villages, it would also increase the production of freshwater fish.
“That’s fine, be careful, if the villages don’t want to join, don’t force them.” Fang Hao thought for a moment and said.
“Alright, when Fu Lei comes back, I’ll tell him.”
“Hmm, okay, you get busy, I’ll go sit in the tavern across the road.”
“Alright boss.”
The temperature in the restaurant was too high, so when they came out, both his and Anjia’s foreheads were covered with sweat.
After wiping sweat off, he headed directly towards the bar across the street.
Upon entering the bar.
The landlady was leaning on her chin in a daydream-like state. Seeing them enter, she only had a quick glance.
“What’s wrong, not in a good mood today?” Fang Hao sat down in front of the bar.
The landlady gave him a white-eyed glance, and said, “Did you come here specifically to mock me?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Hmph, as your restaurant is getting more and more popular, look at my bar, there is not a single person.” The landlady complained discontentedly.
She also brought a few bartenders from her bar to try the hot pot.
It indeed was delicious and unlike any food they had ever eaten before. It seemed addictive.
As soon as they smelled the fragrance wafting from the restaurant across the street, they couldn’t help but salivate, wanting to eat it again.
And today, Fang Hao’s restaurant has launched a seafood-themed hot pot event. Those rabbits have been singing and dancing all morning.
It attracted many customers, making the landlady envious.
Add to that, her bar business was getting worse, she felt angry whenever she saw Fang Hao.
“It is still morning, and this is not the peak time for your bar.” Fang Hao comforted softly.
“Sigh! Even at night, there aren’t many customers. My bar is nearing its end.” The landlady sighed.
She looked somewhat depressed, but still used a rag to wipe her hands and poured two cups of beer for them.
What could she say? The restaurant that Fang Hao ran was truly delicious and attracted most of the city’s people.
Besides, Fang Hao’s restaurant has restored the original price of its drinks, and she has appropriately reduced her prices, but she still can’t compete.
What could she say? She couldn’t expect Fang Hao to close his restaurant to take care of her, could she?
“If things don’t take a turn for the better, you could consider helping me.” Fang Hao said with a smile.
This time, the innkeeper didn’t argue but sat down to ponder.
It seemed that the tavern was indeed having a hard time.
Fang Hao didn’t say anything else and turned his eyes to the announcement board on the side.
There were no new maps today.
But there was a new bounty.
Beneath his Swords of Absolution bounty, there was a new listing.
[Bounty: Escort Caravan]
[Task: Escort the city’s cloth merchant to Lyss City.]
[Requirements: A team of 10 mercenaries.]
[Reward: 200 Gold Coins.)
“Is this bounty offered by Tavek?” Fang Hao asked the innkeeper.
“Yes, I heard that he’s planning to transport goods out of the city tomorrow, but he hasn’t found a suitable escort team yet.” the innkeeper replied, softly.
“I remember Tavek being quite wealthy and having his own trade caravan, why is he hiring mercenaries now?”
Tavek was indeed the city’s cloth merchant.
Fang Hao had rescued his daughter from kidnappers and thus, knew Tavek.
In Fang Hao’s recollection, he had his own trading caravan and did business between the various nearby cities. He wondered why Tavek was now posting bounties in the tavern.
“That, I’m not sure. Perhaps, he has more goods this time, or perhaps there are other dangers on the road.” The innkeeper replied listlessly.
“Alright.” Fang Hao finished the beer in his hand, got up and left the tavern with Anjia.
The pair headed straight to Tavek’s residence.
After giving notice of their visit, they quickly met with Tavek.
“Mr. Fang Hao, Miss Anjia.” Tavek greeted them with a smile.
“Mr. Tavek.”
The three of them sat down in the drawing room, and a servant brought over refreshments and pastries.
“I saw the bounty you posted at the tavern, Mr. Tavek. It mentions the need to hire a small team of 10 mercenaries.” Fang Hao directly cut to the chase.
Tavek was slightly taken aback, having not expected Fang Hao to approach him about this matter.
He nodded and said, “It’s not just one team. Any group that can field 10 men can join. If there are more people, the bounty will increase accordingly.”
“I remember Mr. Tavek has his own trade caravan. Why do you suddenly need so many people?” Fang Hao asked, taking a sip from his wine cup.
“Ah!” Tavek sighed heavily, looking distressed, “I ran into some troublesand lost a lot of men and goods. This time, I must transport the goods to Lyss City, so I had no choice but to hire mercenaries. I’m hoping that having more people will prevent any chaos.”
Tavek didn’t spell it out, but one could more or less guess what happened.
His caravan must have encountered danger, suffering heavy losses, and was unable to complete this delivery.
But Tavek had to deliver the goods, which is why he posted the bounty at the tavern.
However, due to the recent incident with the Fire Wolf mercenary group, the city lord had started to investigate and control the mercenaries. Many mercenary groups had left Pruell City to seek opportunities in other cities.
This left Tavek unable to find a suitable team in the short term.
“Where is Lyss City located, do you have a map?” Fang Hao asked quietly.
Tavek was startled but then a joyful look appeared on his face.
He was well aware of Fang Hao’s strength. If he could persuade Fang Hao to escort his caravan, he wouldn’t have to worry about its safety.
“Yes, yes.” Tavek motioned for a servant to bring the map.
With the map spread out, Fang Hao learned the location of Lyss City.
Lyss City was to the south of Pruell City. Although it was also a border city, it was not very close.
Fu Lei’s fishing village was located in between the two cities.
“Mr. Fang Hao, if you’re willing to escort us, I’m willing to pay you double the original fee.” Tavek’s voice was filled with hope.
Fang Hao considered this. It would be a chance to accompany Tavek to another human city.
This would help him in understanding the surrounding forces, as well as aiding his development hereafter.
He looked up at Tavek again, “I can agree to escort your caravan, but I’m afraid the compensation will need to be changed.”
“Oh? What would you like, Mr. Fang Hao?”
“Holy Snow Silk, and the young silkworms that can be cultivated.”