Chapter 227: Weier Situo Checkpoint, A Feast at the [Yanzhupaojiu] Tavern

At this Wierstu Checkpoint, some of the merchants who only followed the caravan traveling through Ke'er Shan Jun were to part ways with Jier and his group here.

To thank Jier for his protection along the way, these merchants invited Jier, who had just settled his subordinates, out for some entertainment as soon as the caravan had checked into another inn.

Unable to refuse these people, Jier brought along his subordinates Xueya Site and Weier, while the others helped keep the warriors in check.

Of course, this did not mean the warriors were forbidden from going out to have fun; after all, subordinates follow the example of their superiors. If Jier could go out to play, his warriors could not possibly stay behind, otherwise the mercenary pay and the bounties from killing enemies they received from Jier would have been for nothing!

The Dwarves also, as before, cautiously refrained from going out, instead staying at the inn where they were staying to ask the innkeeper and Shop Assistant about various news. If they had any need to buy or sell things, they would also find Jier's subordinates to accompany them before going out together.

After all, it was still a very rare and surprising thing for the alien Dwarves to be active on the streets alone; just being surrounded and teased by people would make it impossible for them to get anything done. Generally, in such situations, they had to follow Jier's Human warriors. Although such joint activities between Humans and Dwarves would still attract everyone's attention, at least the situation where they couldn't get anything done due to being surrounded would not occur.

The place where the several merchants who were about to part ways invited Jier was the tavern with the highest consumption at this checkpoint, a tavern with the strange name 【Yanzhupaojiu】. Although the tavern's name was strange, it was clearly large in scale, located in the middle of the most prosperous road of the checkpoint. There was even a small 'small square' paved with stone slabs at the entrance, where teenagers in decent clothes were always sweeping, clearing away all the dust and horse manure brought by the passing merchants and travelers on the road.

Some small merchants setting up stalls on the ground nearby would not encroach on the ground in front of the tavern, because in the shadows outside the tavern's main entrance sat seven or eight thugs with iron-wrapped wooden clubs at their waists. These thugs stared intently at every pedestrian who did not look like they were coming in to consume, while for the merchants dressed in gorgeous and wealthy attire, they only took a slight glance before stopping their observation, letting them enter the tavern.

And when Jier walked over, these people saw Jier, who was not wearing armor, dressed only in a capable outfit, with a Glowing Treasure Sword at his waist and a cloak draped over his body, and only took a glance before paying no more attention. Weier was the same, wearing loose fine linen clothes, moving with ease, and with a bulging money bag, looking just like someone who was not short of money to spend.

Only Xueya Site, wearing the outfit of a caravan guard he usually wore, was stared at by these people for several glances, and only after confirming he was a companion with Jier did they stop paying attention. Otherwise, if only a person who looked like a caravan guard came over intending to enter the shop, these tavern thugs would step forward to signal Xueya Site to go to other affordable taverns on the street that were more suitable for caravan guards to consume and drink.

After all, in high-end places, consumption is definitely very expensive.

Once inside the tavern's main entrance, unlike the noisy and prosperous checkpoint street outside, the tavern was decorated quite luxuriously, with the floor all paved with large, thick oak floorboards, and the wooden floor from the tavern entrance into the tavern hall was also covered with a carpet with intricate patterns.

Jier and Weier walked onto the carpet and into the tavern hall without hesitation, while Xueya Site, although it was not his first time following Jier to such a luxurious place, still followed cautiously behind the two.

The tavern hall was quite spacious, with a transparent glass top luxuriously installed at the top, allowing the daylight to shine in and illuminate every part of the tavern hall. Inside the hall, besides a wooden bar in the center where the tavern Shop Assistants worked, various plants were specially planted all around, not only providing cover for the environment around the hall but also making the tavern filled with a fresh fragrance of plants and the scent of flowers.

This tavern seemed to have very good business; even in the afternoon, it still maintained a twenty percent occupancy rate. Some multi-person tables around were still empty, but some two-person tables where one or two people were discussing trade alone or simply drinking and chatting were mostly full.

Jier and his group were noticed by quite a few people as soon as they entered, but he was immediately seen by the merchant friends who had been waiting for a long time, who immediately stepped forward to respectfully invite Jier and his group to sit at a large table in the corner of the hall.

After all, having already traveled the road through Ke'er Shan Jun together, the merchants already roughly knew Jier's preferences for drinking, so a large glass of the tavern's best ale had already been prepared, served chilled with ice cubes.

Jier did not stand on ceremony either, sitting in the main seat of the table and picking up the extra-large oak beer mug for a big gulp: "Phew, really good, really good! What is this wine called?"

The ale in the extra-large oak beer mug was golden in color, rich in foam, smelled of a strong aroma of hops, and tasted of a thick, grain-like flavor.

But it was not astringent or bitter. The brewing of the wine was clearly very particular; the wine was clear and cold, without impurities, and one could see the bottom of the beer mug directly through the gaps in the foam, and there was no sediment at the bottom at all.

In the golden ale, there were also transparent ice cubes floating up and down, which was very refreshing.

"Lord Jier, this is the famous 【Golden Ale】 of this tavern. Besides this, we have also prepared other drinks for the two, Mr. Siter and Mr. Weier. Look, everyone can choose from the full table of drinks."

The merchant who was speaking signaled for Xueya Site and Weier to choose the drinks on the table first, which was considered a sign of respect for the two of them.

Xueya Site glanced at Weier; he did not know what to choose, as every drink was contained in a different wine pot or a large wooden beer mug. He could only distinguish that some were ale, some were wine or fruit wine, and some were spirits contained in expensive glass bottles.

The price of these glass bottles containing the wine alone was very expensive, ranging from a few dozen Copper Coins to one or two Silver Coins depending on the transparency and the craftsmanship of the bottle body.

He himself had quite a bit of money on hand, all of which was the salary Jier paid him, which was much higher than that of an average warrior, but he usually did not spend this money. Unlike those warriors who relied on Jier to make money through force, Xueya Site was simply following Jier all the way from the Western Province to here in the Southern Province to repay the favor of Jier saving his life. Moreover, he intended to take the money in his hand home and spend it on his family, which was his compensation for not returning home for a long time on this trip.

"Weier, help me choose. There are really too many of these various drinks, my eyes are dazzled, I don't really know how to choose." He trusted the judgment of Weier, who came from an extraordinary background, so he asked Weier to do him this favor.

"Of course, Mr. Siter, can you drink spirits? Sigh, I forgot, you are from the Western Province, how could you not be able to drink spirits? How about this bottle, let me see, it is called 【Bright Gems】, a spirit from your hometown."

Saying this, Weier helped pick a spirit contained in a glass bottle that looked like a gem, pulled out the wooden cork on the bottle, and a wine aroma with the taste of time drifted out.

Xueya Site picked up the small copper wine cup placed nearby and tasted a little: "Not bad, strong enough! Hmm... it has a bit of the taste of the wine I often drink at the tavern near my home."

So he immediately filled his wine cup; being able to drink such a glass of wine so far away from his hometown was really not bad.

Weier casually chose a wine poured into a large-bellied silver wine pot and poured himself a glass at will.

Only then did the merchants choose the wine they wanted to drink and let the tavern waiter take the other drinks away. Of course, all the ale remained on the table, because everyone knew that Knights were guys who could eat and drink, and a large glass of ale alone could not satisfy the stomach of Knight Jier.

After the extra drinks were removed, the pre-ordered side dishes were immediately brought up from the back kitchen by several waiters one after another. There were exquisite slices of smoked ham, and the thick wooden dining plate was filled with a rich ham aroma. Even without being fried, just eaten raw, it made people smell the aroma full of ham grease after getting close, and even included the aroma of the wood used to smoke these hams mixed in.

Besides this, there were also large pieces of grilled and fried fish, all of which were large fish caught that day in the river near the checkpoint. The tavern only selected the largest and fattest fresh fish and used sauces to stimulate the aroma of the fish meat. The fish meat was full and chubby, and the most mouth-watering part was the place on the fish belly where the grease was the most abundant.

A whole roasted fat chicken also made a grand appearance, accompanied by the decoration of similarly roasted vegetables. On the large stone plate, the aroma and color of the roasted chicken were quite outstanding, and its belly was bulging, as if it were filled with chopped fruit. The fat chicken was not only roasted very well, but it was also marinated, so the aroma was overflowing.

A plate of diced beef piled up like a small mountain, fried and sprinkled with spices, was also brought up by the waiter and was requested by the merchants to be placed near Jier. The grease aroma of the beef after being fried, plus the taste of expensive spices, was really tempting, making people salivate continuously, unable to wait to eat these foods emitting heat and aroma.

Besides meat, there were of course some staple foods to match them, but if you thought just ordinary Bread would do? Wrong, the waiters brought up porous white Bread slices spread with thick cream and pre-fried with butter. These white Breads were all ground from the finest wheat flour, and unlike the flour containing bran that ordinary people ate, this flour was ground from the fullest high-quality wheat grains and only the wheat grains themselves. The flour also had to be carefully sifted through a sieve to obtain flour as white and glowing as powder, which was then kneaded and fermented by the baker with clean well water. The inside of the carefully fermented Bread was porous and loose, which was Bread that only Noble Lords could eat every day.

Following closely was the goose leg still bubbling and stewing in a small iron pot. The large goose leg was a signature dish that this tavern was good at, and there was only a limited quantity every day. This was only brought out by the tavern after the merchants had paid a deposit in advance; otherwise, ordinary drinkers would not be sold it even if they wanted to eat it. After all, the limited stewed goose legs were mostly prepared for the tavern's regular customers. The goose leg was still stewing in the small iron pot, emitting a rich sauce aroma, and the side dishes were put into the soup pot by the chef according to the order in which each vegetable and root plant was stewed, calculated by time. When it was brought up, every food in the small stew pot was just right to be eaten and was in the best state of taste. However, the goose leg was not; this thing had a tight texture and had to be roasted for a long time or stewed in soup, so it was all prepared by the tavern early in the morning that day.

Finally, sent up together were various foods with the festive joy of the harvest, which were sweet fruit pies filled with fruit fillings and pre-cut, fresh meat pies containing various animal fresh meats and spices, and mushroom pies containing several kinds of fresh mushrooms and cream soup. These were the types and flavors that different people liked, and they were the most atmospheric foods at festivals and celebrations.

Ladies would choose fruit pies with a sweet scent, but most ladies wearing corsets that showed off their figures could only eat a small piece of fruit pie even at festivals. And soldiers and guards who made a living by force often liked to put meat pies with rich meat juices into their mouths in big bites. In many wealthy areas, there were even competitions to see how many meat-filled meat pies the participating strong men could eat within a limited time. As for mushroom pies, this was mostly a festival food loved by common people, but whether this food was delicious or not still depended on how delicious the collected mushrooms were. If one could collect the most delicious and thick top-grade mushrooms, the actual deliciousness was said to be far higher than any other food.

In the Southern Province, every time before the festival season arrived, the local Nobles would collect rare and delicious mushrooms from the people in their territory, which could also be considered a disguised mushroom tax. Of course, those who offered the most delicious mushrooms would also often receive rewards from the Nobles and the privilege of tax reduction for that year.

This full table of rich wine and food and the rich aroma of food drifting around almost hooked the souls of other drinkers in the tavern who were still chatting and talking about things.

It was not that these regular customers who had small glasses of ale or wine on their tables could not afford to eat or drink the big meal on Jier's table, but that there were not many people in Jier's group in total, and they ordered such a large table of delicacies and drinks in the afternoon, making people wonder if they could finish all these things?

You know, this 【Yanzhupaojiu】 was not just a simple high-end tavern; it was also an informal Church Jiedian where Church Priests who believed in the Jiushin worked, lived, and spread the Faith of the Jiushin.

The several bartenders standing straight behind the bar in the tavern were actually Church Priests of the Jiushin!

Although the Jiushin was not a very famous or powerful Church of a deity.

"Come, let us thank Knight Jier for his care for everyone along the way! Although Knight Jier is a young outsider Knight, his bravery and character are really something that makes me, makes us all quite moved."

A merchant raised his wine glass, inviting everyone to hold wine glasses of various colors and drink to their hearts' content while toasting to the dishes of food.

"Oh, I think I am very ordinary, what is there that can make you all so moved?"

Jier was a little surprised. These caravans that joined temporarily along the way would usually stay far away from his team when spending the night, and these merchants would also usually ride horses beside him to brag and chat. Usually, he did not see these people's gratitude for him reach such a high evaluation as it was now.

"Ha, you might find it strange, but we friends have all seen it. Knight Jier, not to mention anything else, your bravery has already been clearly and obviously proven. After all, that Water-Spraying Crocodile, what a powerful Monster! Although the lighting was insufficient that night, everyone was not blind. Everyone could see exactly how you killed that Monster from the Monster's corpse."

"That's right, I even went to the place where you fought the Monster before leaving the next morning. It was quite exaggerated; the whole riverbank looked like it had been trampled by thousands of Cavalrymen."

Jier waved his hand: "Hi, you saw it wrong, that was all caused by Shishou using the Stone on the riverbank to contain the Water-Spraying Crocodile. At that time, I was in a hurry to put on the armor that Shishou brought me. No one would have thought that they would be suddenly attacked by such a Monster at night, so I had taken off my whole set of armor that night and was preparing to rest. When I first made a move, I thought the Monster was not powerful, so I acted tough and only took my weapon to meet the enemy."

"Ha, don't be humble, Knight, besides bravery and character, you also have the virtue of humility!"

Jier was made to blush by the flattery of these people, and he hurriedly drank his ale in big gulps, using the beer mug to cover the smile he could not hide on his face.

?? This month is finally over, phew. I will try to update more next month.