The Rise of the Grassroots Rider

Chapter 8 The Glamorous Boss Lady (Part 2)

When Locke finished his work, the landlady also came out with two plates of food. She first placed the food on a table, then went back to the bar and took out a candle that had burned to the size of a thumb. After lighting it, the tavern filled the room with food. A little brighter. Xia Qian noticed the rewrapped packages and the slightly cleaner floor on the bar. She understood something and had a touched look on her face. "Come and eat, sir." Xia Qian greeted Locke.

"Uh... I said you can make something casually, but you really make something casually? Is this what we have for dinner?" Locke pointed at the two plates of black paste on the table in surprise. Locke knew that this was baked mashed potatoes. Locke often ate this when his family had a bad harvest or faced difficulties in life when he was a child.

"This... this is the only food I have here. I'm sorry, sir." Xia Qian blushed and whispered, perhaps because she thought of something and felt like she was about to cry again.

"Forget it, I haven't eaten mashed potatoes for a long time, so I'll just treat it as an aftertaste." Seeing that the pretty boss lady was about to cry again, she quickly changed her words. To be honest, Locke is now a carnivorous creature who can eat meat every time. It is really embarrassing for him to go back to eating baked potatoes, mashed potatoes with a little salt. Locke was curious about what this woman was going through now. You must know that the little thumb-sized candle on the table could be exchanged for a delicious meal with meat if Locke took it to the military camp and exchanged it. Candles are high-end items, mostly used by nobles. Because of the complicated craftsmanship, their prices are very high. They are rarely used by the people. Even rich farmers and businessmen with small assets will use them a little. In Uncle Yoshak's military tent The lighting was only oil lamps. As for Locke's military tent, they could only rely on torch lighting to play cards and pass the time at night.

"I'm just curious. You're a very famous bar owner, and you eat this every meal." Locke said teasingly to the weeping wife. After saying that, without waiting for the lady to say anything else, he picked up the plate of mashed potatoes and rolled into the clouds. When he got up, he was really hungry. He drank a lot of wine without eating anything in the afternoon, and his stomach was burning now.

The landlady heard this and wanted to say something, but seeing Locke's rough eating style at this time, she swallowed what she wanted to say first. Unlike Locke's rough eating style of holding a plate, Xia Qian ate with a spoon, spoon after spoon, eating bit by bit, as if she was enjoying some delicious food, very graceful. Although Xia Qian gave Locke twice as much as hers, Locke quickly resolved the battle and still had more to say.

"Eating so fast..." Xia Qian muttered, "Here, I can't eat it anyway, please help me eat some more." After that, Xia Qian transferred half of the food on her plate to Locke's plate. Locke was indeed not full. He watched the beautiful landlady give him his meal without saying much, picked up the plate and started fighting.

After Xia Qian put the last bit of mashed potatoes on the plate into her mouth, she looked up and found that Locke had already crossed his legs and looked at him with a smile in his eyes. Xia Qian couldn't stand the man's gaze anymore, so she quickly stood up, put away their clean plates, and walked to the kitchen.

When Xia Qian came back again, the two of them sat on both sides of the table and became silent again. Only the short candle in the center of the table was still swaying. "Tell me, why is life so bleak? According to your situation, it shouldn't be like this." Locke broke the calm and asked first.

Looking at this man who wanted to help her, Xia Qian held back the excitement in her heart and told the truth, "Although my tavern can make roughly 30 copper vires every day, when business is good, it can even reach 50 copper vires." "Yeah, but the money almost doesn't belong to me in the end." Xia Qian lowered her head and said.

"Being robbed by those local gangsters? Like today?" Locke asked.

"Well..." Xia Qian said in a low voice, as if she remembered something bad again, and the beautiful landlady showed a distressing look on her face again.

"How is it possible, just these gangsters? They don't know that the customers of this pub are soldiers in the military camp? Where is your husband? Didn't he hook up with the senior people in the camp? He only needs to talk to the senior people in the camp, I believe it will be Someone will come to solve your trouble." Locke was puzzled and asked in surprise.

"When people are hungry to a certain level, they don't think too much. These gangsters are poor people who can't survive. Now in this town, I and the group of women behind the tavern are the only ones who can receive money." Xia Qian Telling the reason, he added shockingly, "Besides, my husband doesn't want me anymore..."

"Huh? Why?" Locke was really curious this time. This beautiful landlady was actually abandoned by her husband. Did that person have his brain kicked by a donkey? Such a beautiful wife doesn’t want it.

"Since he joined your army, he has become the most powerful person in Giza town. Everyone in this town and the refugees who fled from other places have to fawn over him. Why is he lacking a woman now?" Xia Qian smiled miserably and added, "Now the group of women who deal in flesh and blood behind the tavern are under his control, and he doesn't want me, a wretched wife, anymore."

"Perhaps to compensate me, he gave me the tavern." Xia Qian brushed her hair and continued, "At first, those gangsters were afraid of his reputation and the soldiers who drank here, but later they became crazy from hunger and didn't care so much. Every time my shop is empty, they come to steal money. The more times they go, the more they discover that my husband doesn’t care about the pub anymore, and those gangsters become more and more aggressive."

"Why don't you ask the soldiers who are drinking here for help? If you ask for help from someone like me, someone should help you. After all, we still have to drink here." Locke asked.

"Even if I can help, I can only help for a while. Those gangsters will never let me go in the future..." Xia Qian said sadly, "The ale in the tavern now is all saved in the past, because the money earned was robbed. Due to the skyrocketing prices, I haven't brewed new wine for a long time. It's estimated that it will be sold out in less than a week. I may be homeless like the group of women behind the tavern..." The beautiful landlady's sad look made people pity.

"You want me to protect you all the time, instead of just teaching those gangsters a lesson?" Locke changed direction and then crossed his legs and asked her.

When Locke saw what was on his mind, the landlady's sad cheeks turned red, she bit her white teeth and nodded slightly.

"Let's not talk about it. I am just a small team leader. I have 10 men under my command. There is training in the camp. There are not enough manpower to stay here to protect you. Besides, you never know when I will go to war. , Even if I protect you now, what will happen after I leave?" Although Locke wanted to help her, the fact is that Locke is not a person who can be easily tempted by beauty, and she rationally rejected the beautiful boss lady. .

Xia Qian's face turned pale after hearing Locke's rejection, and her eyes showed a look of despair. The candle on the table had burned to the bottom, and the weak flame was crumbling, and finally went out after burning out the last wisp of white smoke. There was another scene in the tavern. Plunged into darkness. The moonlight was good tonight, and it filtered in through the cracks in the window. The faint moonlight shone on the two of them, and they were as motionless as stone sculptures covered with white wax.

"Woo... ow..." The beautiful boss lady let out a low cry again. This miserable woman may have shed the most tears in a year today. She doesn't know where her future is. She is very sad. Confused and helpless. Locke was helpless about this. The world was like this. There was no love for no reason, and no hatred for no reason. Everyone had their own way of living. He couldn't even guarantee that he would survive the war, let alone the ability to survive. Taking care of someone you don't know.

"Sigh... I will ask a few people to look after the tavern these days. You can do business safely for a few days, and then take the money you earn to claim Peters in the occupied area or go to relatives." Or be Moved by the proprietress's cries, Locke decided to do his best to help this beautiful woman and show her a way out. "This is all I can do." After saying that, Locke stood up and prepared to leave. It was getting late and it was almost time to close the camp.

After hearing Locke's words, the proprietress's cry became louder. Tears stained the woman's face, but she still cried, as if she was helpless against the bumpy fate.

Locke slowly walked towards the door of the tavern. He stopped trying to persuade him. If you want to cry, just cry. People can only become stronger after experiencing it. The proprietress's cries gradually subsided, and just when Locke walked to the door of the tavern and was about to move the wooden board at the door to leave, a warm body hugged him.

"I can't let you help me in vain." The landlady said in a hoarse voice, "I have nothing but this tavern and a few barrels of leftover wine. I can't think of a way to repay you except myself." Locke could tell that the beauty was beautiful at this time. In addition to wanting to repay him, the beautiful landlady also felt extremely sad and felt like she was breaking out of a jar.

"You don't have to be like this, we actually..." Before Locke could finish speaking, a fiery tongue blocked his mouth. The beautiful proprietress Xia Qian hugged Locke's strong chest and kissed him wantonly, blocking him from what he wanted to say. if.

Locke was not a person who could endure such a situation. He had not touched a woman for almost a month. Being kissed so passionately by Xia Qian was even more intense. He also began to respond to Xia Qian roughly. Akane, turned around and hugged her, ready to kill this charming goblin right here. "Don't, don't stay here, go upstairs..." Xia Qian was also dazed by Locke's passionate kiss, but she was still relatively sober and urged Locke to go upstairs.