Chapter 62

Chapter 62 The Boar-headed Youth

After leaving the ‘Lake Shield’, it was already noon. Lolan Hill looked up at the sun and decided to find a nearby restaurant to have lunch and rest a bit.

This time, Lolan Hill didn’t look for any luxurious restaurants but instead found an ordinary one to see what the common people of this country ate.

The open door of the shop let out slightly noisy sounds. A few guests sat inside, and occasionally, the sound of cooking food could be heard from the kitchen. The aroma of wheat spread throughout the shop.

The dock workers and workshop workers on the lower floor wouldn’t come to the restaurant for meals; it was too luxurious for them. They usually cooked some noodle soup with vegetables near their workplace. Those sitting here eating were mostly travelers, sailors, and small merchants passing through Hope Lane, considered average-income individuals in this city.

Lolan Hill settled down slightly, and a boy quickly walked over. He was somewhat plump, with large nostrils, and his appearance wasn’t particularly pleasing. He held a wooden menu in his hand, listing the items currently available at the restaurant.

“Excuse me, sir, what would you like for lunch?” The boy, around 14-15 years old, had a peculiar accent, not sounding like a local of Hope Lane. He asked excitedly.

The young lady glanced at the menu board he held.

The main dishes were simple types of bread: rough black bread made with bran, white bread made with refined flour, and freshly baked bread with dried fruits.

The side dishes or vegetables included vegetable soup, sausages, smoked meat, dried fish, grilled fish, and two kinds of fruit: oranges and apples. The only drink available was ale.

A few simple categories were written on the wooden board, with faded handwriting, indicating that the menu hadn’t changed much.

“I’ll have a white bread and two oranges, thank you.” In this era, if the meat wasn’t freshly prepared, she generally wouldn’t try it.

In a world lacking freezing and preservation techniques, meat was usually heavily salted for long-term storage. It was difficult to eat directly without boiling it in soup.

“Alright, please wait a moment,” the little boy wrote it down and ran off quickly. After a while, he brought out a dish from the kitchen, containing what the young lady had ordered.

Lolan Hill looked at it; it was relatively clean. The plates were simple pottery. The golden bread had a faint oily luster, and when touched, it felt

The bread was slightly warm, though not freshly baked, but it had been made today at noon and hadn’t been out for long.

As she took small bites of the bread, she glanced around at the other diners’ meals. Most were eating relatively cheap black bread, with a few pieces of dried fish here and there. Being by the sea, fish were plentiful and inexpensive, serving as the primary source of protein for many people’s diets.

Inland, getting meat wasn’t so convenient. Some small merchants would transport salted dried fish inland, using them as both salt and food items, but many people there still couldn’t afford them.

At a nearby table, the meal seemed quite lavish. In the center was a large pot of noodle soup filled with vegetables and slices of preserved sausages, simmering over a small stove. Around it sat five adults, three children, and one elder. Several adult males had large mugs of ale by their sides.

As the young lady finished her bread and began peeling an orange, this family was ready to settle the bill.

“Waiter, we’re ready to pay,” called out the leading man with brown hair.

“Coming right up.”

Then came the sound of a boy writing and calculating behind a wooden board. After a while, he announced the price.

“One large bowl of porridge, ten white loaves of bread, three portions of vegetables, four mugs of ale, two sausages, and three pieces of dried fish. That comes to two silver coins and eighteen copper coins.”

The brown-haired man paused for a moment, then spoke up: “Are you sure about that? This table alone is already over two silver coins?”

Startled by his sudden loud tone, the boy recalculated carefully and slowly replied, “I apologize, sir. I made a mistake. It should be two silver coins and ten copper coins. Each mug of ale was overcharged by two copper coins due to recent price adjustments.”

“You have the nerve to argue!?” The man slammed the table, causing dishes to rattle. The plump boy trembled in fear.

“Even at your age, doing such things. You really have some nerve. I’ve seen these underhanded tricks in gutters before.”

“What? Are you crying like a little girl? Are you kidding me?” The man turned to the other customers in the shop, sneering. Laughter echoed around.

“I-I’m sorry… I made a mistake. How about we waive part of the fee?” The plump boy stood alone at the table, tears streaming down his face, but no colleague came to his aid.

“So you were just messing with me?” The brown-haired man grinned, leaning back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table.

“It was you who first said to charge more, now

“Who said to charge less? You’re treating me like a monkey from the mountains, playing tricks on me!”

  ”I… I’m not. I’m sorry.” His voice was choked up, and his body trembled slightly.

  ”Huh, apologizing now, what were you doing earlier? You’re quite interesting.”

  The other people in the shop watched this scene, occasionally whispering and pointing. The boy became increasingly anxious and uneasy.

  ”Don’t lower your head like that. Did your mother teach you to speak like this to others?”

  ”Yes, lift your head.” As the brown-haired man spoke, the boy slowly raised his head. Snot and tears mixed together, making his already large nostrils even larger.

  ”Your appearance reminds me of a good pet I kept back home.”

  ”It ate and slept every day, slept and ate, and enjoyed rolling around in the mud. It also liked to make noises while eating.”

  ”Can you imitate its sounds?”

  The boy, with tearful eyes, looked at the people present. Everyone was staring at him, silent, as if waiting for a good show. Sadness, resentment, and fear welled up in his heart.

  ”Oink oink…” After a while, he started to mimic the sound of a pig, his voice choked with sobs.

  ”Hahaha, he really did it.”

  ”How interesting.”

  ”Hahaha, what do we call this? A pig-headed youth?” Laughter echoed around, as if they had witnessed a living joke.

  ”That’s enough!” Lolan Hill slammed the table, the room instantly quieting down. Then she stood up.

  The brown-haired man sized up the young lady from top to bottom. “I said, miss, this has nothing to do with you. I was just kindly instructing the shopkeeper. People like him who take shortcuts will suffer greatly in the future.”

  ”You’re just insulting someone under the guise of kindness,” the young lady responded coldly, then walked over and placed three silver coins on the table.

  ”Eat quickly and leave.”

  ”You—”

  The brown-haired man wanted to say more, but seeing the young lady forcefully press one of the silver coins deep into the solid wooden table with her finger, his face showed a look of horror. He hastily stood up, pulling his family out of the door.

  ”Tch, no fun.”

  The spectators gradually dispersed. Only then did the boy dare to cry out loudly, his tears of grievance blurring his already unattractive face, making him appear even uglier and more distorted.

  Seeking recommendations~

  (End of Chapter)