Chapter 37: A Meeting at Bag End

The Hobbits living in the Shire are a branch of Humans; in Sindarin, they are called Perian, which actually means "halflings." They have no objection to this term, but they prefer to call themselves Hobbits.

The ancestors of these little folk can be traced back to ancient times, and their footprints once covered most of Middle-earth before they finally settled in the Shire.

They are very fond of a comfortable life and are highly proficient in farming, craftsmanship, cooking, and other such work.

The most praiseworthy of these is their cooking.

The roasted meat is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with an appetizing aroma; the stews are rich in ingredients, with delicious broth; the ham is perfectly fatty and lean, satisfying without being greasy; the honey mead is sweet and sour, and never goes to one's head.

These things make Allen, who lives here, very satisfied; he feels that only during this time staying at the Green Dragon Inn has he truly and genuinely satisfied his appetite.

For this reason, Allen often wonders if he could bring the cook here back to Wilderness Town.

This is an impossible idea to realize; Hobbits hate surprises, do not like adventures, and are especially fond of their own homes.

If the owner of the Green Dragon Inn knew about this, he would surely kick Allen out of his inn at the first opportunity.

In order to be able to eat such wonderful dishes every day, Allen has never revealed his thoughts.

During these days, Allen has already toured the area with Gandalf, and tonight is the time Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield agreed upon.

Early this morning, Gandalf went out on his own to attend to business.

Allen is not in a hurry; he stayed at the inn by himself, planning to go over in the evening, as it is very close to Bilbo Baggins' home after all.

In the evening, after eating his fifth meal of the day, Allen took a gift and set off toward Bilbo Baggins' home.

This future burglar lives in quite a spacious place, and it has its own name, called Bag End; it is the largest and most luxurious house in this area, and Allen has passed by it many times.

At the time, Allen could often see Bilbo sitting in front of the door smoking, and sometimes Allen would strike up a conversation with him.

After the two became familiar, Bilbo was also very hospitable, filling a pipe for this big man who often came to chat with him, and then the two would smoke and chat together.

This is a simple and very polite Hobbit.

If not for knowing the plot, Allen would never have guessed that this hospitable Hobbit, who knows so well how to enjoy life, would participate in an adventure and become the future burglar Bilbo Baggins.

By the time Allen arrived at the entrance of Bag End, he could already hear the chaotic noise inside; it must be that the Dwarves had already arrived.

Allen stepped forward and rang the doorbell, and soon, amidst a series of complaints, a very depressed-looking Bilbo opened the door.

Once he saw clearly that the visitor was Allen, he wailed, "No, no, no, no, Allen, you have come at a truly bad time, even though many times I have wanted to invite you for afternoon tea or something."

As he spoke, Bilbo looked into the lively room and continued, "But you have heard it too; tonight is truly hellish. I don't know why, but suddenly a lot of Dwarves have arrived, and they even said they wanted to have a party in my house. It's a mess in here now. Allen, please come back another time, okay?"

Perhaps because he saw someone he knew, Bilbo said a lot of complaints, and Allen listened patiently until he finished.

Then, an embarrassed expression appeared on Allen's face, and he said with a smile, "Although it is a pity, I want to tell you that this party includes me as well; please accept my gift."

Allen bowed slightly to Bilbo, handed over the wine he was holding, and continued jokingly, "Then, Master Bilbo Baggins, Allen is at your service."

Bilbo was stunned for a moment, eventually accepted Allen's gift, sighed, resigned himself to his fate, and said, "Bilbo is at your service. Please come in, Allen; at least you are not a Dwarf, right?"

After walking into the house, Allen tidied up and found a corner to sit down; he had come after eating his fill and did not want to join the ranks of those "ransacking" Bilbo's pantry.

However, just as Allen sat down, the doorbell rang again.

The expression on Bilbo's honest face was nearing mania; he put down the wine in his hand, walked to the door again, and then a whole crowd of Dwarves surged into Bag End behind Gandalf.

Then, Bag End fell into a state of total revelry.

It must be said that even when faced with such a sudden intrusion, Bilbo still maintained good manners and even had time to serve Allen a pot of tea and prepare a pipe.

After Allen greeted Gandalf, who had just entered, he smoked his pipe and wandered around Bag End.

He watched everything happening here with contentment.

This is much more comfortable than being in a movie theater; this is truly being on the scene.

Not until the tobacco was finished and the tea was drunk, and the Dwarves had tidied everything up, did Thorin Oakenshield arrive at the entrance of Bag End.

It must be said that this Dwarf Prince has a strong presence; once he arrived, all the Dwarves stopped making a fuss and quietly watched him eat until he finished.

In the original work, Thorin Oakenshield came with Gandalf, and he was even buried at the very bottom of a pile of four or five Dwarves, so he was not very happy at the beginning until Bilbo apologized for a long time, and his mood eased a little.

Now, this future King under the Mountain is late; in fact, because he has no sense of direction, he got lost on the way here, so his mood is still not very good.

Especially after learning that the burglar Gandalf found for him was actually a Hobbit with no combat ability, and that Mr. Bilbo Baggins had even fainted in front of him, this made his mood even more unpleasant.

Thorin Oakenshield is a proud, stubborn, responsible, and extremely charismatic person; he has always led his people who lost their homes in search of a life suitable for them, and it must be said that he is quite successful; the Dwarves living in the Blue Mountains respect him very much.

But as he grows older, Thorin Oakenshield's desire to reclaim his home has grown stronger, and this desire has also made his personality increasingly sensitive, suspicious, profound, and also very prideful and sharp-tongued.

Thorin Oakenshield attaches great importance to this expedition; otherwise, the commission could not have been an equal share of his ancestral treasure.

At this moment, the Dwarf Prince stood up, pointed at Bilbo on the floor, then pointed at Allen, and said helplessly to Gandalf, "Why couldn't you let that Human over there be my burglar? He could completely take on the job of a scout as a side job."

Gandalf whispered in response to Thorin's question, "Thorin, you also know that Allen is the leader of a large Human town, and his town is in the Wilderland. You know what this means; if there is a need to crusade against the dragon, he will also provide you with help. He will not accept the job of a burglar, and besides, I think more highly of Bilbo."

Allen, who was looking at the terms of the contract in the corner, did not yet know that the conversation between these two could also affect him.

However, Allen did not care about this matter, but was more concerned about the content of the terms.

Of course, there is a share for Allen in this; Gandalf would inevitably strive for a contract for Allen from Thorin, otherwise how could Allen accompany Thorin to the end?

The terms are similar to the plot, except that Allen's job content is to ensure that everyone can safely reach the Lonely Mountain and assist the Dwarves in entering the Lonely Mountain, and he can also receive at least a one-fifteenth share.

Allen felt it was acceptable and signed his name; he had learned to write these few characters.

After signing, Allen stood up and handed the contract to the white-bearded Dwarf, Balin.

This old gentleman is also a tough man; in the original work, he was still going to reclaim Moria at the advanced age of 230, which is truly admirable.

Allen chatted with the old gentleman for a while, and after confirming that there were no problems with the contract, he walked toward Thorin Oakenshield.

Allen looked at the gloomy-faced Dwarf Prince and said with a smile, "My lord, do you not believe that Bilbo will become a successful burglar?"

As he spoke, Allen looked at Bilbo, who was still lying on the floor, and said, "I, on the other hand, think this Hobbit will become a great burglar, perhaps even a master-level burglar."

Thorin Oakenshield did not respond to Allen's words; he just looked at Allen, calculating some things in his heart.

Seeing that Thorin Oakenshield did not respond to him, Allen knew he did not believe it; well, no one would believe it.

He thought for a moment and continued with a smile, "If you don't believe it, then let's make a bet."

Thorin Oakenshield finally had a reaction and said slowly, "Bet on what? I even think this Master Baggins won't participate in our expedition at all."

Many of the Dwarves nearby echoed Thorin's words; although they did not dislike this Hobbit who had treated them, this could not increase their confidence in Bilbo.

They believed that Bilbo, this fine gentleman, should still live in this comfortable house; the Wilderness? That was simply not suitable for this Hobbit.

They even made bets on whether Bilbo would join the expedition, and even Gandalf participated.

Allen looked at them and shook his head, saying to Thorin Oakenshield: "I won't bet on that. I believe Mr. Baggins will definitely join the expedition. I bet that one day, you will surely change your opinion of Bilbo Baggins, and he will certainly earn your approval. How about it, want to bet, Thorin Oakenshield?"

Thorin frowned; given his temperament, he was unwilling to participate in such things as gambling.

But right now, he had not a shred of confidence in Bilbo Baggins; on the contrary, he especially hoped that Allen could take on the responsibility of Burglar.

Therefore, Thorin Oakenshield countered: "What is the stake? What is the timeframe? Must it be a lifetime?"

Seeing that Thorin had agreed, Allen smiled happily and said: "No, no, no, let the timeframe be until we reach the Lonely Mountain. The stake is to agree to one request from the other party within one's capabilities; at that time, you could even ask me to become your Burglar and face the dragon."

Thorin thought for a moment and agreed to Allen's bet.

At this moment, someone finally remembered Mr. Baggins, who had fainted on the ground, and they busily carried him to a lounge chair.