Chapter 218: The Brandu Winery

Lijia came down from upstairs and saw several Xiahui People handling business at the Government Building.

She looked at these young people with a touch of envy, then left with a sorrowful heart.

Sitting in the carriage, she looked absent-mindedly at the bustling scene of the distant docks.

Many of these people were heading to Gannaer; it is said that it only takes two hours to travel from Tana City to Gannaer, and those massive cruise ships can go even faster.

There were also many people on the docks who had come from Gannaer; they opened shops here and bought houses in the dock area, presenting a scene of prosperity.

But what did all of this have to do with her?

A person like her would never be understood or accepted by this world; living every day was a painful affair.

Thinking of this, she clutched her chest; the feeling of palpitations made her feel completely uneasy, she truly could not breathe, and her two shoulders felt as heavy as if they were bearing thousands of pounds.

"My Lady, are you alright?" The carriage driver turned his head, wanting to tell his mistress that the road ahead was a bit congested and asking if she wanted to take a different route.

But upon turning back, he saw Lijia's expression, which looked as if she were dying.

"My Lady!" He jumped off the carriage and said worriedly, "Should we rest by the roadside for a while? The road is too jammed right now."

"That might be best. I see a shop over there; let's go over and sit for a while." Lijia felt very dizzy; she got down from the carriage and walked to the shop not far away.

This was the third branch store opened by Cherry, and she planned to open one in Gannaer after some time, though she had to wait for this current shop to stabilize first.

The new chef had not mastered many dishes, but he was diligent and had already learned the most basic types of dishes.

For example, the Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork Rice Bowl.

Or, for example, the Beijing-Style Shredded Pork Rice Bowl.

As well as Stir-fried Shredded Pork with Green Pepper, and so on.

"What would you like to have, Miss?" Cherry was conducting business training for the waiter.

Lijia was stunned for a moment, then said, "I am no longer a young girl; calling me 'Miss' seems rather inappropriate."

"No, you look as young as a girl of fifteen or sixteen, which is why I felt I should address you as Miss. I wonder what you would like to have? It is not lunchtime yet, but we have morning tea; the taste is quite good." Cherry was already performing her third demonstration, and the waiter beside her seemed to have learned something, his eyes lighting up.

The waiters in Tana City were rarely this articulate.

At least, Lijia had never encountered a waiter who could speak like this.

Her chest tightness seemed to have eased significantly, and she said weakly, "Just bring me anything to eat."

"Then I recommend this Master-Servant Set Meal, which includes a dessert, a serving of pan-fried dumplings, and a serving of noodles." This was a set meal Cherry had recently launched, specifically so that her chefs could serve food quickly.

The dessert and pan-fried dumplings were prepared in advance; the dumplings only needed to be heated, and as for the noodles, they only needed to be boiled in a pot and topped with the garnish.

Lijia, who originally hadn't intended to eat so much and only wanted to drink a cup of tea, nodded, "Then let's have that. And thank you, Tom, for noticing my problem."

"My Lady, this is what I should do," Tom said happily. He had never been rewarded by nobles before; being able to eat his fill was already a very rare thing.

Moreover, this was a specialty shop opened by those Xiahui People, and it was said that the food inside was very delicious.

Even if it were just a bowl of noodles, the taste should be far better than black bread.

As a carriage driver for a carriage service, he had to serve many nobles, and the nobles he served changed every day.

It wasn't the first or second time he had driven for this Lady Lijia, but this was the first time he had seen something other than a tip.

"Very well, My Lady. Recently, our shop has a promotion: you can enjoy a 20% discount for dining in, so this meal will cost you 24 Tana." This meal was not cheap in Tana City, but not everyone ate out.

Most people still chose to cook at home, as it was much cheaper that way.

Since it only cost such a small amount, Lijia felt there was no problem; she paid immediately, and then saw a waiter bring over a pot of tea.

"This is our shop's Jasmine Clear Tea, free of charge."

The tableware here had beautiful patterns, like the azure sky; it was hard to imagine that such fine porcelain was just a teapot and tea set for a restaurant.

These Xiahui People... they really were somewhat different.

Lijia poured herself a cup of tea, ignoring the carriage driver who appeared somewhat reserved on the side.

Soon, the dessert, the pan-fried dumplings, and the bowl of noodles were served.

The noodles were the thick noodles unique to Tana City, not the fine noodles made of white flour, but the taste and texture were quite good under the neutralization of the sauce.

Seeing this arrangement, Lijia knew that the pan-fried dumplings and dessert in front of her were for her.

"This is our shop's special Iced Jelly, with special raisins from Gannaer added. Please have a taste; we welcome your feedback," Cherry said very proactively.

This was a requirement for her training of waiters: to be proactive in serving customers and to provide them with a sense of achievement in certain aspects.

For instance, the dessert in front of her.

In reality, whether there was a little more or a little less of something, those nobles couldn't tell at all.

But if they were given an opportunity to submit suggestions, they would come back more often; after all, they could receive enough sense of achievement and respect here.

To think someone actually needed my opinion, Lijia thought, unable to believe it. But then, thinking that the other party was just being polite, her eyes dimmed again.

She thought of her own businesses in Tana City.

Originally, she had managed them herself, but later she handed them over to her second husband.

All of her opinions were wrong, her requirements were incorrect, and the other party demanded she do exactly as he said, ignoring that she had been in business for many years and had family support, and at the very least, would not deceive him.

In the end, under his contempt, she was filled with anxiety; she lacked confidence and felt that there was no place in this world that needed her.

If it weren't for her parents demanding she stay alive and sending a maid to watch her, she might have already left this world.

Sighing, she picked up her spoon and elegantly ate a mouthful of Iced Jelly.

The taste was indeed good, refreshing and cool.

For a place like Tana City, this kind of dessert was absolutely excellent in flavor.

Even if it weren't part of a set meal and were sold separately, it would be quite good.

"The taste is very good, though the sweetness seems a bit much," Lijia said kindly.

"Your suggestion is very effective; I feel the same way, but our Tana City currently has no brown sugar, so we can only use honey as a substitute..."

Lijia looked up and said, "Tana City indeed doesn't grow much sugarcane. As for brown sugar, Gannaer has plenty; many places there have sugarcane as a local specialty."

"You know about this?" Cherry said, somewhat excitedly. "I just need to find brown sugar. Using honey is truly too sweet; if it were brown sugar, that sense of richness should be just right."

"I think that is also the reason why you use jasmine tea to treat customers; after all, the taste of jasmine tea is lighter and can neutralize the overly sweet and cloying taste in the desserts." After hearing what Cherry said, Lijia felt even more that her direction was correct, and she suddenly gained a tiny bit of confidence.

She didn't even know why she had to say so much to this server.

It was clear that she rarely spoke to friends before.

"I am truly so grateful to you. We are also going to open a branch in Gannaer soon. With your suggestion, I think I must head to Gannaer as soon as possible." Cherry then introduced herself, "Oh, right, beautiful lady, I am the owner of this shop; you can just call me Cherry."

"Cherry, a very good name." Lijia smiled slightly, then took another taste of the pan-fried dumpling.

Just as she was savoring the taste of the pan-fried dumpling, the carriage driver at the side had already finished eating the noodles.

These noodles were just too delicious!

He even hoped to pack another portion to take home for his children to eat.

This single portion was enough to make him full, not to mention he even felt a bit stuffed!

And the price wasn't expensive either!

Because Tana City had been developing very quickly lately, the carriage driver's wages were getting higher and higher.

Originally, driving a carriage for a day would earn at most 25 Tana, but now it had to be at least 80 Tana a day for a carriage driver to be willing to drive, and that couldn't even be an experienced one.

Like him, a carriage driver who drove very steadily and had fixed noble clients needed at least 100 Tana a day.

Yet this type of noodle only cost 7 Tana to buy a bowl if sold individually!

It seems he would have to bring his family over to try it when he had time; he really had to thank these Xiahui People!

Lijia returned from Cherry's shop satisfied; her original chest tightness, tinnitus, and heart palpitations were all gone, and she felt she had returned to normal.

That shop owner was also going to Gannaer.

Perhaps she could ask her to go to Gannaer together.

That way, she wouldn't be so awkward.

She hadn't seen her parents for several years, and she didn't know how they were doing.

Ever since her divorce last time, her parents had grown distant from her.

This was also due to her own reasons; she didn't like to contact her parents much, and sometimes she would even deliberately not contact anyone at all.

Even if she clearly saw the other party's letters, and there were maids coming to pass on messages.

Putting away her emotions, Lijia returned to her home.

This house was very gloomy, even though it could still be considered a large house.

The Banyan Tree at the entrance was a full five stories high, completely blocking the sunlight from this side, leaving it hidden from the sky.

Because her assets had been depleted quite a bit, she didn't have many assets left now; her original castle and manor had already been sold by her, and now she could only live in this relatively remote villa with a poor geographical location.

As a noble, she was indeed quite a failure.

Seeing her return, the maid Jiya breathed a sigh of relief.

This time when she went out, Lijia didn't take her along, which made her quite worried.

Her wages all needed to be paid by Lijia, and they were quite generous; she couldn't let her leave her sight, otherwise, if something happened, the master and mistress wouldn't forgive her.

If she were turned into a Zombie to be controlled, that would truly be too terrifying.

"You always look at me with a 'seen a ghost' expression, Jiya; I don't need your excessive concern." Lijia didn't want to see her maid, even if this maid was the person closest to her.

Jiya felt a bit disheartened, but soon cheered up again, "I was just a bit anxious, um, I mean, we are going back to Gannaer soon, but we haven't packed our luggage yet."

"No rush, it'll be quick." Lijia returned to her room somewhat impatiently, then lay down.

She liked lying down; this way she didn't have to face the sunlight.

Although after lying down, her brain would uncontrollably think, and then feel that life really had no meaning.

But she felt that staying lazy like this was a very comfortable thing.

As soon as she took action and saw the morning sunlight, she felt an inexplicable sense of disgust.

And within the sunless, dim room, she could feel that sense of security.

"But we bought the Ship ticket for the day after tomorrow." Jiya said in a low voice; she knew she couldn't urge the other party, nor could she be anxious or angry, as this mistress had had a very eccentric temper from the beginning.

Next door, in the courtyard, the players had already set up the Formation.

During the day, Mofate didn't want to go out at all, nor did he want to see the sunlight; under the protection of bodyguards, Mofate was sleeping on the bed.

To ensure the condition of his skin, he felt that catching up on sleep was a very important matter; otherwise, he didn't know if he would have to engage in battle later.

As for those newspaper materials, he had already completely handed them over to those bodyguards of his; anyway, they had nothing to do.

And in reality, it wasn't just those bodyguards; the players on the forum who had nothing to do were also completing this task, even if this task had no rewards.

Yes, the cunning Amao had posted these tasks directly onto the forum.

And on the forum, there happened to be scanned versions of all newspaper periodicals; as long as they could be found in Tana City, they could be found on the forum.

At this moment, the players were looking for the few clues Mofate had given.

To find the order from Bailandu Winery.

Extract the numbers from it, then perform calculations to derive the date.

If it was written on it that they were selling Oak-Flavored Brandy, it meant the other party's current status was safe and they could be contacted.

And the address provided on it was the contact address.

Sending a letter there would confirm whether the other party would reply.

If they replied, then confirm whether to meet based on the content.

These Bloodthirsty ones weren't fools either; a person's lifespan was at least one thousand years, so most would contact each other through this method.

However, the disadvantage was that sometimes the other party had already moved, and they were still sleeping, so a long-lived newspaper was very important.

Otherwise, one would need to be like Mofate, searching through every single newspaper, not knowing when they would find it.

Dilidili: My eyes are already blurry; it was all in Federal language to begin with, and I still have to learn how to translate it.

Amao to Dilidili: You only need to learn the vocabulary "White Brandy", and then just search slowly.

Yiye Tingqiu to Amao: This vocabulary is truly everywhere, you have no idea how much Federal people love Wine!

(End of this chapter)