The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 97 Haunted (Bonus chapter for the Alliance Leader, please subscribe!)

"Where is Ambition?"

"Going to take a bath—going for a shower!"

Tang Qi entered Catherine's room carrying a plate full of dishes.

The standard double room has a thick cotton mattress on a wooden board, which looks much more comfortable and soft than the haystack bed in the Golden Oak.

According to Chuck, a night's stay at the Friendly House costs 8 silver coins, and breakfast is not included.

Compared to the few copper coins of the Golden Oak, this is certainly an astronomical price.

But value is determined by comparison.

Compared to the exorbitant lodging fees in the Lower City that often start at one gold coin, 【Friendly House】truly lives up to its name—

"I've never seen a girl who can bargain so well; she almost cut the accommodation fee in half."

If it weren't for your sake and the fact that the entire group could fill the inn, my wife would never have agreed to sell the room for 5 silver coins.

We even got a free dinner—

'Totocata' is the mixed stew in your hand, which can be translated into common parlance as 'welcome soup'!
Don't mistake this for just a random vegetable and chicken stew. In fact, it's made with simmered turkey broth, green beans, peas, sweet flint corn, red bell peppers, and shredded chicken—and most importantly, carrots of up to four different colors.

During the cooking process, different side dishes need to be added in sequence according to the time, so as to ensure that the heat is adjusted immediately after the previous ingredients are cooked through.

It's too complicated to explain in detail, but it's one of our halflings' signature dishes.

Only this can be cooked in one pot to meet the needs of your three hundred people.

Of course, we didn't lose out either.

After all, the reward is three bottles of Star Plum Wine, which I'll have to keep safe—it's very precious in Dragon Gold City.

Undeniably, although this is just a stew, its flavor is absolutely superb.

Especially after eating dry wolf meat and hard, bitter rye bread for more than twenty days, and even plum wine couldn't save their tongues.

The broth is rich and smooth on the palate. The first taste is the spiciness of black pepper, followed by the delicious chicken broth bursting on the tongue. When you bite into the last vegetable, all that's left is a sweet aftertaste.

Of course, it might be due to some unidentified spices that made the stew a bit salty. But dipping it in a baguette with a crispy crust and a soft, chewy interior just made up for it.

However, Chuck's incessant chatter still led Don Qi to believe that this halfling should be able to get along with the so-called "Chatterbox Rumi".

Yes, and there are also gravel.

Short people often sympathize with each other because they often share their feelings about craning their necks to look at each other's nostrils.

Upon seeing Tang Qi enter the room carrying a plate, Catherine quickly pulled out a chair for him and pushed him to sit down.

There's something I need to tell you.

"Aren't you going to take a shower today?"

"no……"

"So that's washing?"

"Be more serious!"

Catherine gently punched Tang Qi.

It's all his fault; he can barely even look at that word anymore!

"I was referring to the location of the Golden Oak—I realized I had oversimplified things before."

As she spoke, she laid out each entry in her notebook for Tang Qi to examine closely.

Seeing the string of numbers above, Tang Qi had the unsettling feeling of lying in a carriage, his brain sloshing around on the bumpy dirt road, almost making him faint.

"Let's get straight to the conclusion?"

"Okay, so to sum it up—we're not as rich as we think."

Catherine sighed and pushed all her possessions onto the table for Don Qi to examine.

It was a small treasure chest, about the length and width of a forearm, filled with dazzling gems and gold and silver.
"I originally thought that the savings I had accumulated over the years, along with the jewelry my mother left me, would be enough for me to make a living in Longjin City for at least half a year, and that would allow me to get by."

But after asking the hotel owner, I discovered that the money I had wasn't even enough to rent a shop in Longjincheng for more than three months.

Preparing materials and decorating the shop also require money. All things considered, by the time I'm ready to open, I'll have run out of money.

And that was even the worst location in the city—

There are more than a dozen taverns of all sizes in DragonGold City, such as the [Sewer Shaft] frequented by adventurers, or the [Mermaid's Song] favored by port sailors...

To seize market share from them, the only option is to sell 'Star Plum Wine' at a low price. But there's not enough room for too many goods during the escape, and the existing stock can't be sold off cheaply all at once..."

In the end, Catherine was as dejected as a wrung-out sponge, completely devoid of the courage she had shown before reaching Dragon's Tail Pass.

"I surrender."

Tang Qi was also in a bit of a dilemma.

He really couldn't help with the money issue.

Let alone supporting an osteoporotic money pit and a voracious money-devouring beast.

Even if he sold all his possessions, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy Catherine's needs.

But fortunately, Catherine wasn't just complaining; she immediately turned to the next page of her notebook and continued:
"So I gave up the idea of ​​'stationing in Longjincheng' and calculated another expense."

If I open the Golden Oak in Dragon Tail Pass, aside from the cost of materials and decoration, my savings will be enough to last me at least three months.

If we can't break even in three months, I can declare bankruptcy and we can go busking on the streets together.

"That's quite romantic."

"Bet or not?"

She longed for Tang Qi's answer.

Tang Qi understood that she wanted him to help her make this choice out of respect for him.

However, for him, this is hardly a choice.

Eyes can speak.

When Tang Qi met those fiery red eyes, he realized that she only wanted one answer:
"Take the gamble, I believe in you."

"If I lose, I won't be able to compensate you for your 'investment'." "It's okay, just give me your money back."

"I'm not that cheap!"

"We might not necessarily lose. Three months is enough time to get a lot done."

"Do you have any idea?"

"It's not ready yet. I'll let you know when it's almost done."

If you're not entirely sure about something, making a promise and then failing to keep it makes you seem rather ridiculous.

Tang Qi then asked:
"I bet you've already figured out what to do next?"

"Not yet, the main problem is with the site selection—"

Because opening a shop in Longwei Pass doesn't require registering with the labor union like in Longjincheng. You only need to acquire the land use rights and pay taxes monthly.

However, land in Dragon Tail Pass is limited, and there aren't many shops suitable for a tavern. I spent an evening figuring out the situation and finally settled on three decent rooms—”

"One evening?"

"It's just a visit, it won't take long."

Wow, that's incredible action!

If it were me, I would probably take a nap first and make a decision after I wake up tomorrow.

Then, due to exhaustion, hunger, and pondering dwarf jokes, he delayed until the evening of the next day, thinking, 'It's already night, I'll deal with it tomorrow,' and decided to postpone the matter as much as possible.

The girl in front of us even set off only after she had negotiated the price and properly settled the refugees.

Catherine even drew a map of the entire Dragon Tail Pass so that Tang Qi could see it more clearly:
"First, there's the one at the northernmost part of the town, the one furthest from the city gate. It's the first house we saw when we arrived at Longwei Pass—the reason for choosing it is simple: it's the cheapest."

Tang Qi glanced at the network of streets and alleys on the map and shook his head:

"But the entire Dragon Tail Pass is very large, and those who enter and exit Dragon Tail Pass are nothing more than adventurers who have better options. Opening a shop here won't attract much customers."

"Then there's the very center of town, located on the main road, which is also the most crowded area. The downside is that it's expensive, and there are already two taverns competing for that central location—it's not just us who can see the good location."

Tang Qi didn't think to jump to conclusions: "What about the third one?"

"The third one is a bit further out, even more southwest than the Friendship House. The advantage is that it is near the inland sea, with nice scenery, and people often fish nearby, but compared to the second one, the number of customers is only moderate."

"I've talked about the good things, what about the bad things?"

"Haunted."

"what?"

Catherine recounted the information she had previously gathered:

"I heard that months ago, a woman's mournful singing could often be heard coming from this shop, as if some ghost was haunting it..."

The local residents hired priests and adventurers from Dragongold City, but none of them were able to find any clues.

It's just very strange.

Tang Qi's eyes lit up: "So it's relatively cheaper?"

"No, it's the most expensive, 30% more expensive than the shops in the center."

"why?"

"I don't know, but that's how the agents of the shops that are listing the products are pricing them."

Tang Qi blinked, staring intently at the spot between Catherine's fingers, and pondered for a moment:
"It's haunted and the price is high, isn't it obvious they don't want to sell it? Then why put it up for rent at such a high price, deliberately trying to attract attention..."

"It is said that the owner does not live in Longjincheng often, but is unwilling to give it up due to taxes, complaints from nearby residents, etc., so he put it up for sale at a high price."

Longjincheng is a city that values ​​interests. As long as it can be proven that it still has value, it will not be demolished for the time being.

"I never even considered this location because it was so remote, expensive, and offered absolutely no value for money..."

Tang Qi asked in confusion, "But you still did it?"

"because……"

Catherine pretended to look out the window at the scenery, and her voice suddenly became soft.

Like the gentle breeze outside the window, the fluttering wings of birds:

"I think you'll find it very interesting."

"Oh?"

"You...you really like recording your adventures in your journal, don't you...?"

Let me tell you some interesting facts about Dragon Tail Pass; you'll probably find them very interesting.

So you won't have to sigh and complain every day about writing a bunch of boring, rambling entries about taking a shower!

She rubbed her burning cheeks and went outside to get some fresh air.

After calming down a bit, she turned around with her hands on her hips, revealing the rationality she had displayed when calculating the accounts.
"Moreover, the shop has attracted much attention from people in Longwei Pass and even Longjin City because of the rumors of it being 'haunted'."

If you can deal with those 'ghosts,' it will be a great way for us at Golden Oak to make a name for ourselves.

Then, there won't be any problem with people being curious about this tavern.

The geographical disadvantage can be offset by this, actually saving on advertising expenses!

Tang Qi raised an eyebrow:

“Catherine, who is ‘stingy,’ was this also part of your plan?”

"Humph."

"You're right, I might not care whether the tavern loses money or not."

But I'll definitely care if there's a story there.

Tang Qi didn't delay any longer and called out towards the outside of the room.
"Dawn, dawn! It's time for the paladins to get to work!"

　Thank you, Alliance Leader! I'll add an extra chapter today!
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(End of this chapter)